Author: The Nation

Those calling for the determination of presidential election petitions before May 29 are “plainly ignorant or crassly mischievous,”  Minister of State for Labour and Employment  Festus Keyamo has said.

Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), argued that for such to happen, an amendment to some sections of the Constitution and court rules must be undertaken.

“In the future, it is possible to amend our laws and rules of court to accommodate such an idea, but it is clearly impossible under our present circumstances,” he explained in a statement yesterday.

In Keyamo’s view, it is not in the opposition parties’ interest for their petitions against the victory of President-elect Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to be rushed.

If that happens, he argued, the cases of Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)   and  Peter Obi  of the Labour Party(LP) before the Presidential Elections Petitions Tribunal  could be destroyed because “justice rushed is justice crushed.”

Atiku and  Obi are seeking to overturn the victory of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential poll at the tribunal.

The tribunal will today begin a pre-trial conference today.  It has 180 days to complete the task. The appeal will last 60 days.

Keyamo argued in the statement that those who call for the conclusion of the cases before the May 29  inauguration date “do not realise that they are, in fact doing great harm to the cases of the petitioners.

“It is the petitioners that need more  time to prove their cases and not necessarily the defendants,” he said in the statement titled: “ Those calling for a quick determination of election petitions before May 29 under our present laws actually want to destroy the cases of petitioners.”

The statement reads partly: “Those calling for the determination of the election petitions before the swearing-in ceremonies on May 29t  under our present electoral laws and Rules of Court and/or procedure are either plainly ignorant or crassly mischievous.

“They do not realise that they are, in fact doing great harm to the cases of the petitioners. It is the petitioners that need more time to prove their cases and not necessarily the defendants.

“That is why the petitioners are given 21 days to file and the defendants have 14 days to respond. And the petitioners have a further seven days to reply, making a total of 30 days as against the 14 days of the respondents.

Read Also: Keyamo, Melaye fault Obasanjo’s endorsement of Obi

“It follows that in leading evidence in court/tribunal in support of the petitions, the Petitioners would also take more time. It is more arduous to prove an election petition than to defend it.

“If these characters say a single point (let’s say the FCT 25 per cent storm-in-a-teacup issue) should be set down for determination immediately, would the Petitioners’ lawyers agree to withdraw and abandon all other issues raised in their petition and proceed only with that issue? Will they take that risk?

“Ask them privately. They know better. This is because the rules of election petitions do not allow petitioners to prove their cases piecemeal.”

The senior lawyer added that a petitioner cannot pursue a single point up to the Supreme Court and after losing, return to the tribunal or court and say he wants to now prove other aspects of the case.

He said: “Even that single point alone cannot be determined by the Supreme Court before May 29  because of the time given by the rules for parties to file their notices of appeal and exchange their briefs.

“It is indeed only the respondent that can raise a preliminary objection that can determine the petition in limine (that is, at the threshold). Even at that, the rules allow the court/tribunal to take the objection together with the Petition itself and give one judgment at the end in order to save time.

“So, this is free advice to the advocates of pre-May 29th determination of the election petitions: they are doing the cases of their principals (the petitioners) great harm. They should realise that just as we say ‘justice delayed is justice denied’, we also say ‘justice rushed is justice crushed.”

There was panic yesterday evening, following the emergency landing of a Boeing 737 aircraft belonging to Max Air at the runway of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The aircraft blocked the runway for many hours.

The emergency landing, around 2.50pm, according to officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), was due to a burst tyre suffered by the aircraft.

The officials said other aircraft could not land at the runway because airplane, forcing FAAN to close it for some hours.

The officials said since the aircraft made the emergency landing, the airport authority and other agencies, despite the heavy downpour, doubled efforts to evacuate the passengers and their luggage.

However, the airport, which was closed, was reopened for flights at 8.50pm after the incident aircraft was removed around 8.30pm, the facility cleared and certified for flight by NCAA inspectors.

An official said the aircraft was towed out of the runway before it was reopened for normal flight activities.

He said FAAN and other agencies deployed heavy duty equipment to clear the runway to enable other airplanes utilise the facility.

Confirming the incident, Acting General Manager, Corporate Affairs, FAAN, Mrs Faithful Hope Ivbaze said the authority scaled up efforts to ensure the runway was put to use as soon as the Max Air aircraft was removed.

She said: “There was no crash landing of any aircraft in Abuja Airport. What happened was an emergency landing involving a Max Air aircraft. There was no harm to the passengers on board. They have all been evacuated. We are speeding up efforts to remove the aircraft from the runway, so that the airport could reopen to normal flights.”

Sources at the airport said that the Max Air aircraft had arrived from Yola, Adamawa State, when the incident happened.

The source said immediately the tyre burst after landing, officials of Aerodrome Rescue and Fire-fighting Service (ARFFS)  at the airport were swiftly mobilised to handle the situation.

A passenger who was onboard the aircraft said: “We thank God. We are still on the runway and the pilot briefed us on the development.

 ”The pilot called for the stairs and we are now disembarking from the runway to be evacuated to the airport building at the arrival hall.

“We bless God because we had witnessed the pull out of the tyre right from the airport in Yola and we went into a prayer session.”

Read Also: Air Peace makes history, orders 10 brand new 737 MAX planes

He expressed gratitude to God for the safety of the 144 passengers and six crew members.

The passenger said the airline would officially inform the appropriate authorities to carry out an investigation into the incident.

The management of Mar Air confirmed that its flight experienced tyre burst during landing.

The airline on its official Twitter page @MaxAirLtd posted: “On May 7th, 2023, a Max Air flight with 143 passengers and one infant on board, departing from Yola at around 14:05, was scheduled to arrive in Abuja at 15:00.

“However, the aircraft experienced two tire bursts on landing in Abuja, and the emergency response team quickly responded at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

“We are pleased to report that all passengers and crew on board the aircraft are safe and sound.

“The airline has taken all necessary steps to ensure that the passengers are comfortable and are being taken care of during this time.

“They have been conveyed to the arrival terminal with their luggage and belongings. The aircraft tires are being replaced and the aircraft will taxi to the ramp for further investigations before being released for future flights.

“Max Air is committed to providing safe and reliable air travel to all its passengers. We thank all the passengers for their patience and understanding of what transpired.

“The airline would like to extend its appreciation to the airport authorities, emergency services, and all relevant agencies who responded promptly and professionally to ensure the safety of all passengers and crew on board.

“Max Air will continue to provide updates on the situation as more information becomes available.”

Following the incident, Air Peace Airline announced the cancellation of eight of its flight due to the closure of the runway.

The notice which was signed by the management of the airline was posted on its official Twitter page @flyairpeace.

It reads: “Dear Esteemed Customers, the following flights have been, regrettably, canceled due to Abuja runway closure caused by another airline’s aircraft that got stuck on the runway.

“Owerri-Abuja 14:20hrs, Abuja-Owerri 16:00hrs, Abuja-Benin 15:45hrs, Calabar-Abuja 14:40hrs, Abuja-Calabar 16:10hrs.”

Benin-Abuja 16:20hrs, Abuja-Owerri 14:40hrs, and Warri-Lagos 16:20.

“The runway closure has also led to the delay of other flights into and out of Abuja. We empathise with passengers affected and seek their understanding and cooperation.”

For more information on flight schedules and other customer-related concerns, the airline asked customers to contact it via callcenter@flyairpeace.com.

President Muhammadu Buhari will inaugurate the Dangote Refinery on May 22.

Special Assistant to the President on Digital Communications, Bashir Ahmad, stated this yesterday.

He tweeted: “Efforts by the Federal Government to make Nigeria self-sufficient in local refining of crude oil and save the scarce foreign exchange used in the importation of petroleum products have received a boost.

“The 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery, the world’s largest single-train refinery, is set for inauguration on May 22nd, 2023, by President Muhammadu Buhari.”

General Manager, Corporate Communications at the Dangote Group, Sunday Esan, told The Nation that invitations have been sent out for the event.

Dangote Oil Refinery is a 650,000 barrels per day (BPD) integrated refinery project in the Lekki Free Zone near Lagos. 

Read Also: Fed Govt expects Dangote Refinery to start Q1, 2023

It is expected to be Africa’s biggest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility.

The Pipeline Infrastructure at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery is the largest anywhere in the world, with 1,100 kilometres to handle three billion standard cubic feet of gas per day.

The Refinery alone has a 435MW Power Plant that can meet the total power requirement of Ibadan DisCo.

The Refinery will meet 100 per cent of the Nigerian requirement of all refined products and also have a surplus of each of these products for export.

It is a multi-billion dollar project that will create a market for $21 Billion per annum of Nigerian crude.

The refinery is designed to process Nigeria’s and other crude.

  

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised Nigeria and other commodities-producing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to seize Russia’s energy market in Europe.

Geo-political tension persists as the Russia/Ukraine war continues after one year of military attacks.

Europe and the West have isolated Russia, which they considered as the aggressor in the war.

Russia is under economic sanctions, including non-purchase of oil and other commodities from the country.

The most significant potential of the market takeover lies with established exporters, and countries with available facilities like Nigeria, Angola, and Ghana, among others.

Nigeria’s oil production is about 1.3 million barrels per day; Angola’s oil production is 1.1 million barrels per day; Ghana’s oil production is about 420,000 barrels per day.

In a report titled: Geopolitical Divisions Threaten Growth, IMF economists Qianqian Zhang and Ivanova Reyes said commodity exporters in the region could potentially displace much of Russia’s energy market share in Europe.

The IMF said the countries could rely on trade promotion agencies to help identify potential opportunities, build the necessary skills and capacity for exports, and eventually re-orient production to take advantage of new trade flows. “Improving the business environment, such as by lowering entry, regulatory, and tax barriers could also help,” the Fund said.

“What the exact outcomes will be from fragmentation and polarization, and whether these trends will continue are uncertain. What is clear, however, is multilateral institutions will need to continue to facilitate dialogue among nations to promote economic integration and cooperation,” it added.

The IMF said economic growth in Sub-Saharan African economies could permanently decline including a $10 billion loss of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) if geopolitical tensions escalate.

It said economic and trade alliances with new economic partners, predominantly China, have benefited the region but have also made countries reliant on imports of food and energy more susceptible to global shocks, including disruptions from the surge in trade restrictions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The IMF said sub-Saharan Africa stands to lose the most if the world splits into two isolated trading blocs centred around China or the United States and the European Union.

These losses could be compounded if geopolitical tensions cut off capital flows between trade blocs, with the region losing about $10 billion in foreign direct investment and official development assistance.

“Economic and trade alliances with new economic partners, predominantly China, have benefited the region but have also made countries reliant on imports of food and energy more susceptible to global shocks.

“If geopolitical tensions were to escalate, countries could be hit by higher import prices or even lose access to key export markets—about half of the region’s value of international trade could be impacted.

IMF said the reduction in FDI, in the long run, could also hinder much-needed technology transfer. It added that for countries looking to restructure their debt, deepening geo-economic fragmen­tation could also worsen coordination problems among creditors.

Read Also: Russia’s cut may boost Nigeria, others’ oil revenue

IMF said if geopolitical tensions were to escalate, countries could be hit by higher import prices or even lose access to key export markets—about half of the region’s value of international trade could be impacted.

“The losses could be compounded if capital flows between trade blocs were cut off due to geopolitical tensions. The region could lose an estimated $10 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) and official development assistance inflows, which is about half a per cent of GDP a year (based on an average 2017–19 estimate),” the report stated.

The Fund said countries will need to build resilience to manage the inevitable shifts in trade and foreign direct investment.

It said that in this severe scenario, sub-Saharan African economies could experience a permanent decline of up to four per cent of real gross domestic product after 10 years—losses larger than what many countries experienced during the Global Financial Crisis.

The IMF advised that to better manage shocks, countries need to build resilience. 

This, it said, can be done by strengthening the ongoing regional trade integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area, which will require reducing tariff and non-tariff trade barriers, strengthening efficiency in customs, leveraging digitalization, and closing the infrastructure gaps.

Also, deepening domestic financial markets can also broaden sources of financing and lower the volatility associated with relying too much on foreign inflows.

The IMF advised that to take advantage of the potential shifts in trade and FDI flows, countries in the region can try to identify and nurture sectors that may benefit from trade diversion, for example, in energy.

• ‘No more Nigerians left at Egyptian border’
• Fourth batch of 834 citizens back

Nigerians in Sudan should not self-evacuate to the Egyptian border, the Federal Government warned yesterday.

It said the border crossing between both countries was dangerous because of the war.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Dr. Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, stated this while receiving 834 evacuees from Egypt and Port Sudan.

He said there were no more Nigerians left at the Egyptian border as they had all been airlifted, adding that the focus had now shifted to the Nigerians at Port Sudan.

Sani-Gwarzo said the government was prepared to evacuate anyone that indicates interest rather than going to the Egyptian border all alone.

He said: “They will not meet anybody because it is not the normal border situation. You don’t go there on your own. It’s a border that has three crossings.

“You exit from Sudan and this costs eight dollars. Then enter Egypt and pay an entry fee of $25 per person. Then you ride on the Nile River, which is a one-and-a-half-hour journey. The entire bus enters a ferry and it takes the entire bus across.

“So, it’s not a normal border crossing that you just walk to that place and find yourself stranded. You have to be taken there in the first place. We do not have any fears about that. The information we have sent out to everybody who still needs to be evacuated is to proceed to Port Sudan.”

He also explained that the luggage of some of the evacuees was impounded by bus drivers, who were demanding additional charges for the extra days they spent on the road to Egypt.

He, however, assured that the money had been paid and the impounded luggage had been released.

Sani-Gwarzo said: “The rumour you had that they kept your luggage because money was not paid is not true. It is because even after paying the money, they charged us what they call ‘garama’.

“We made an agreement and hired vehicles to bring them to the border and we paid for that but they (bus drivers) said they spent an additional 10 to 11 days waiting. So they charged additional penalties per day, per bus, and we had to pay for them. For each day that the bus stayed with the evacuees, they kept increasing the charges and that is what caused the delay. We concluded everything a few days ago, we paid them and they released the impounded luggage.

“Those buses have returned the luggage and they have now been brought back in the two aircraft. So you will wait and receive all your luggage and by the grace of God none of them is going to be affected.”

On the numbers that came, he said: “I am happy to announce that 834 persons have arrived from the Egyptian border and Port Sudan. Azman Air brought in 322 persons, Max Air brought in 410 and 102 from Port Sudan.”

The Nation reports that this brings to 1,471 Nigerians that have been evacuated from Sudan since the last Wednesday.

Giving an update on those still waiting to be airlifted, he said: “No single Nigerian currently is at the Egyptian border. We have completely concluded all the airlift from the Egyptian side. What remains now is the Port Sudan side and that will be completed in the next few days probably”.

On the number of people still waiting at Port Sudan, he said: “Initially they are about 1700 but the number has continued to reduce with the three flights. In the next one hour or two or less, we are expecting another flight from Port Sudan that will reduce the number of people to just above 1000 and by the time we do additional shuttles of 125 per trip, we will get them out in two to three days but we are also making arrangements with large-bodied aircraft to increase the number of people that will come per flight.”

Meanwhile, one of the evacuees expressed disappointment with the Egyptian authorities.

Abdulnasiru Suleiman, a final year medical student at Sudan International University, said: “It was a very stressful journey and we faced a lot of difficulties because I have never experienced such things before in my life. No food, no water on the way but with the help of embassy officials when we got to the border, they provided much water for us.

“Before we got to the Waldi Halfa border from Khartoum, the journey was two days. We had a lot of terrible experiences such as sleeping on the bus, no food because I was out of money. However, our driver was nice. He bought some of us food which sustained us.

“Getting to the border, the Egyptians were very strict. They treated us anyhow. I was not comfortable with the way we were treated. I pray that peace is restored in Sudan because I want to go back.”

Jemila Azara, whose immediate younger brother Jemilu is stranded in Sudan, lamented that she had been visiting the airport daily since the announcement of the arrival of evacuees with the hope that he would be amongst those airlifted.

Azara said: “I came from Nasarawa State. We were here on Thursday from morning till the early hours of Friday because he told us that they were boarding but he was not on the flight and that was disappointing for us. We had to go and stay at our aunt’s house here in Abuja. He called again in the evening to explain why he was not onboard the aircraft.

“He said they told him that they wanted the females and children because the team believes the boys are stronger than the females. We have been coming to the airport since Thursday to wait with the hope that he will be amongst those returning.

“Today being Sunday (yesterday), he called us again that they were boarding, so we are hoping that he will be amongst those returning today. We are hoping that he will be on the next flight.”

Another family member of a returnee, Rashida Shittu, who was also at the airport for two of her brothers who were studying in Sudan, said the news of the war had been traumatizing.

She said: “When we learnt about the war, it was not easy, especially for my 54-year-old mother. She was really traumatised, we just had to keep encouraging her that all would be well and giving her hope because we all cannot be down at the same time. We know it is not easy to hear that war has broken out where one member of your family is but we prayed to God and thank God they have arrived”.

Meanwhile, senior UN aid envoy Martin Griffiths arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia yesterday to discuss the worsening crisis which experts fear could leave 2.5 million people without enough food and spark a wave of mass migration, of nearly one million.

Griffiths, the Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Co-ordinator, was in Jeddah “to engage in humanitarian issues related to Sudan,” UN spokeswoman Eri Kaneko said.

Saudi Arabia has been working with the US and allies to secure a ceasefire since fighting began in Sudan on April 15, but rival generals Mohammed Dagalo and Abdel Fattah Al Burhan have shown little desire for compromise as the war enters its fourth week.

Riyadh and Washington have supported the “pre-negotiation talks” and urged the rivals to “get actively involved”.

A ceasefire is vital for safely moving aid into the country where health, water and electricity services have collapsed.

Griffith’s visit came as the kingdom announced more than $100 million in additional aid for Sudan.

The Sudanese Doctors Union said the fighting had killed at least 700 people, many of whom are civilians, wounded thousands and led to millions of Sudanese and foreigners fleeing the country.

Many have fled to Chad, Egypt and South Sudan for safety, while others fled to Port Sudan and were then taken across the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia.

In Khartoum, residents remain trapped in their homes and makeshift shelters with little food, medicine and water as fighter jets pummel the city.