The Nation Newspaper

Category: Northern Reports

Supreme Court dismisses Adeyemi’s appeal against APC, Ododo

The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Senator Smart Adeyemi against the judgements of the two lower courts on the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election, which held in Kogi State on April 15, 2023.

The Supreme Court, in a unanimous judgement, held that the appeal lacked merit, having failed to challenge the concurrent findings of both the High and Appeal Courts, or demonstrate that same were perverse.

The Apex Court also held that the two issues raised in the Appellant’s brief were unreasonable, vexatious, not triable and against the provisions of Section 132 and 133(1) of the Evidence Act 2011.

Adeyemi, who represented Kogi West Senatorial District in the 9th Assembly, filed a suit at the Federal High Court seeking to nullify the primary election of the APC, which produced Usman Ododo as the party’s flag bearer for the governorship election slated for November 11.

The case was dismissed by the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal for lacking in merit.

The apex court, while delivering judgment on Monday, first struck out the Appellant’s first notice of Appeal, the Appellant having relied on the 2nd Notice of Appeal filed and held that the power of the Apex Court in respect of appeals against concurrent findings of the two lower Courts could only be exercised when the findings were alleged to be perverse.

The Court also described as contemptuous, the practice of parties appearing on TV stations to discuss pending appeals, saying, “You go saying on television that if the court is a court of justice, the appeal should go in your favour.”

“The court frowns at this practice. Once you’ve engaged a lawyer, go and rest. I am giving this elaborate talk so that you don’t go out and say things that are not reasonable. The Court is manned by reasonable persons,” Justice E. A Agim, who delivered the Supreme Court’s Judgement, said.

The Apex Court said: “There is nothing on the Notice of Appeal of the Appellant showing a challenge as to the perverseness of the findings of the two lower courts.

“The Appellant never alleged that there was no evidence to support the findings of the two lower Courts. This Court has no power to revisit those issues of facts raised in the Notice of Appeal unless there is an allegation that the findings were perverse.”

“On the whole, this appeal fails. The Appellant shall pay the cost of N1 million each to the 1st and 3rd Respondents (the governorship candidate and the APC),” the Supreme Court ruled.

Dapo Otitoju represented the Appellant; Abdulwahab Muhammed, SAN, represented the APC, Umar Abdulhamid represented the 2nd Respondent, and M. Y Abdullahi, SAN, the 3rd Respondent.

The Court of Appeal, on August 18, 2023, held that the appeal argued by Adekunle Oladapo Otitoju on behalf of Senator Adeyemi was completely bereft of merit.

In a unanimous judgment of a three-man panel of Justices of the Court, Adeyemi was said to have failed to establish all grievous criminal allegations made against the conduct of the primary election by APC and its leaders.

Justice Mohammed Lawal Shuaib who delivered the lead judgment resolved all the three issues in dispute against Adeyemi.

Justice Shuaib said that the allegations of manipulations and falsifications of the primary election results made by Adeyemi, being criminal in nature, ought to have been proved beyond reasonable doubt as required by law.

Read Also: BREAKING: Supreme Court dismisses APM’s appeal against Tinubu’s election

He also dismissed another allegation by the Appellant that he was denied fair hearing by the Appeal Committee of the APC based on his petition against the alleged unlawful conduct of the primary election.

Justice Shuaib said that the issue of denial of fair hearing was not raised in his originating summons at the Federal High Court, hence, could not be raised as a fresh issue at the Court of Appeal.

In the absence of cogent and verifiable evidence on the part of Adeyemi, the Court of Appeal held that his allegations remained mere assertions that could not enjoy any probative value.

The Court of Appeal upheld the judgment of Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered on July 12, which had held that Adeyemi did not prove his allegations that Ododo was not lawfully nominated by the APC.

Senator Adeyemi had, therefore, sought an order of the Supreme Court, setting aside the judgments of the lower courts, allowing his appeal and granting all the reliefs sought in his originating summons.

October 23, 2023
Experts seek clinical labs’ regulation
- Ex-Kano gov advocates blueprint for research
Experts in the health sector have called for the enactment of a legislation that would peg the minimum standards before clinical laboratories can be established and operated.

They made the call at the Eighth Biennial Scientific Conference organised by the Association of Clinical Chemists of Nigeria (ACCN) in Abuja with the theme: “Challenges of contemporary clinical chemistry and laboratory medicine practice in Nigeria.”

A former Chief Medical Director of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Prof. Aaron Ojule, suggested the establishment of a regulatory body for registration, licensing and oversight of clinical laboratories.

Ojule, who was the keynote speaker, said clinical laboratories produce results which are used by doctors to treat patients so the results are supposed to be accurate, reliable and timely to influence clinical results.

He said: “What we are doing currently in Nigeria I’m not sure of the accuracy of our results and we have done a study to prove this, different laboratories saying different things on the same clinical specimen so need to work on it.

“That’s why we need these regulatory bodies to make sure that our labs are of good quality and standard and there are prescribed international standards to run clinical laboratories but they are not implementing these standards in Nigeria.”

President of ACCN and Congress Chair, Prof. Joseph Ahaneku emphasised the need for synergy among the professionals and certification of practitioners.

“In the practice of Clinical Chemistry and clinical pathology we have interplay of very high level manpower personnel in the laboratory and the medical professionals

Read Also: More well-equipped diagnostic laboratories can improve cancer care, says expert

“But because of the way we do things, especially in the country where people work in silence.

“We are having this conference to close the gap so that there will be synergy, cooperation and interaction between various professional bodies that have been legislated and for us to also commence a new conversation,” he said.

Also, former deputy governor of Kano, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar urged professional bodies to collaborate and operate together so as to minimise the professional rivalry.

He said there was a need for the country to draw up a blueprint on its national research agenda.

He bemoaned a situation where individuals and organisations were working at cross purposes, concerning a national research agenda, stressing that it was one of the factors bedeviling the health sector.

According to him, it is only that the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) was trying to establish a national research foundation going by our current realities as a nation.

Chairman, Scientific Committee, Prof. John Anetor also stressed the need for collaboration and bringing together expertise and skills from diverse fields.

“Very importantly, this conference gives us an elegant opportunity to renew our call to the government, to provide good governance that guarantees an enabling environment which allows us to discharge our scientific and professional obligation to the patient and society.

“Good governance goes with appropriate funding that makes the service provided and research conducted at par with the best anywhere. This in turn contributes to a robust economy by stemming medical tourism,” he added.
October 23, 2023
APC’s Giwa hails tribunal’s judgment

The Plateau North Senatorial Candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the last general election, Ambassador Chris Musa Giwa, is gladdened by the judgment entered in his favour by the Court of Appeals sitting in Abuja.

The tribunal nullified the election of Hon Simon Mwadkwon and declared the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State as lacking the locus to sponsor candidates, and ordered a rerun which the PDP would not participate in.

Giwa praised the judges for their courage, and wisdom in dispensing justice according to the laws, stating that the judgment was landmark, and a victory for democracy.

Read Also: Kogi East locked down as thousands rally for APC’s Ododo

It would be recalled that after the February 25, general election, Amb. Giwa approached the National Assembly Election Tribunal in Jos seeking redress. Not satisfied with the judgment of the tribunal, he filed an appeal which was successful with the appeal tribunal judges finding merit and ruling in his favour.

Giwa, in a statement, signed by his Media Aide, D’yong Mangut, appreciated his supporters and legal team for the support through this journey and exudes confidence that he would be victorious during the re-run ordered by the appeal tribunal.

Also, he urged his supporters to see the judgment as ‘no victor no vanquished’ and thus celebrate moderately.

October 23, 2023
Over 200 Jigawa women farmers benefit from outgrower programme

About 200 women in Jigawa State have benefited from an all Women Outgrower programme including women living with disabilities in the state.

The programme, which was supported by Rashak Farms and Agro Allied Limited, provided support to these women, covering every aspect of the farming, from seed to sale.

The women received vital input disbursements, including improved wheat seeds, fertiliser, urea fertiliser, insecticides, and other essential resources to enhance their farming endeavours.

Also included was support of the farm’s expert guidance throughout the farming season, such as training, healthcare, providing warehousing facilities to prevent post-harvest losses, and facilitating connections to the best markets for their produce.

Rashak Farms said the programme, which took place in Hadeija, was a pioneer programme, which signifies a pivotal moment in its journey toward promoting gender equality and inclusivity within the agricultural sector.

General Manager, Rashak Farms and Agro Allied Limited, Abubakar Ibrahim, said the farm has been deeply committed to impacting the lives of over 6,000 smallholder farmers for the past 7 years.

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He said through its aggregation programme, the farm has united farmers and connected them to the best markets, empowering over 5,000 of them to achieve economic prosperity and social equality.

He added: “I want to reiterate our belief that this strategic initiative aligns with our vision and will not only boost productivity but also enhance food security in the country and the entire continent. This is just the first Co-hot, and we look to have more Co-hots after a bountiful harvest. Moreover, this is anticipated to enable competitive market sales and bring smiles of impact to everyone involved in the untapped women-led wheat farming initiative’s entire value chain.

“We call on the support of related NGOs, Social Impact investors, and so on to key into this initiative, as there are so many lives that this impact will touch. We have a lot of farmers knocking on our door for this support, but we can only take as many as we can.

“Over 200 enthusiastic and aspiring female farmers in Jigawa state were empowered through our Outgrower programme, breaking down the longstanding barriers that have hindered their participation in agriculture. Notably, the program also welcomed Jigawa women with disabilities, further emphasising our commitment to inclusivity and empowerment. Our Outgrower programme signifies our dedication to providing comprehensive support to these women, covering every aspect of the farming process, from seed to sale.”

One of the beneficiaries of the program Mallama Mariah Lawal said “Other agro allied companies suffocate us with very heavy payback prices. I have been farming for more than 5 years, and this is the best offer because I can still sustain my family and have enough to save after returning the loan amount.”

District Head Tashena, Yunusa Bulama said: “We are very grateful for the opportunity. Our women are very hardworking, We are promising that our women will pay back this loan, and we will live to always remember your sowing this seed of prosperity for our women for years to come.”

He said the ripple effect of the programme would continue having an impact on the women and their children because their women are creditworthy.

The farms added that its outgrower program has supported over 1,200 smallholder farmers from ‘seed to sale,’ providing access to finance, inputs, training, and marketplace opportunities.ver 200 Jigawa women farmers benefit from outgrower programme.

October 23, 2023
Group calls for urgent action to curtail preventable deaths among children

A humanitarian group, Save the Children International, has warned that Nigeria may not be able to achieve the goal of curtailing preventable deaths among children unless urgent actions are taken by the Federal Government, development partners and other stakeholders.

The organisation said Nigeria might miss out on achieving education for all among other targets by 2030 despite the progress that has been made by the country.

The Chief Impact Officer, Save the Children International, Ebrima Saidy said this at a press conference yesterday in Abuja after his visit to the Northeast.

Saidy stated that from data, it was obvious that Nigeria could not achieve these ambitions for children by 2030 because it was critically way behind in achieving the targets.

“Nigeria is one of the countries where we need to raise the bar to achieve those ambitions for children,” he said.

He added that the three main ambitions of the organisation were to make sure that by 2030, no child died from preventable causes before their fifth birthday; that children from every part of the country are able to access good, quality education regardless of their geographical location and also, to ensure that violence against children is no longer tolerated anywhere in the world.

Saidy, however, maintained that to achieve these targets, things must be done differently, as 2030 was just around the corner.

He said to achieve the target, development partners as well as the government cannot continue to do things the way they are doing.

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He called for more investments as well as synergy to achieve children’s rights and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially as they relate to children in Nigeria.

Stating that the organisation has been providing life-saving humanitarian assistance and responding to emergencies, Saidy rsaid last year, SCI’s programme reached more than 24.4 million children and families in over 70 local government areas in 17 states and since last January, SCI has reached out to more than 1,590,047 individuals, comprising 64 per cent children.

While mentioning that he was very impressed with the success rate of projects impacting children when he visited some of the places in the Northeast, he stated that one of the stabilisation centres where children suffering from severe and acute malnutrition were being treated, has an average success rate of 94 to 95 per cent.

Saidy added that there were a lot of SDGs indicators that would be achieved such as access to education.

He said: “But, with the indicators around quality of education, we may not be able to achieve that by the year 2030 and that is not just in Nigeria, but also in many countries around the world.

“This is because of the quality of instruction, the resourcing of schools, the resourcing of teachers, the enabling environment for teachers to provide good quality education, and the infrastructure that is required. We are still way behind on a number of these.”

Saidy said the situation in the health sector was no different, saying: “We are not quite there.”

He added: “We are committed to the SDGs. We know from the data where we are doing well and where we are not doing well. I think the right thing to do is to identify the areas that we are not doing very well and increase government investment in those areas, and coordinate the work of NGOs and the work of the development partners, to say everybody all hands on deck.”

According to Saidy, working together under the coordination of the government would make it possible to make significant strides to get as close to the SCI target as possible by 2030.

He said: “It is not late for us. We are still optimistic that we may not achieve all but we can still push the boundaries as best as possible. Yet, we have to partner to work better together.

“We have to complement each other. We all bring different expertise and different roles and responsibilities; it is about including the children and the communities that we work in. We need to work better with the government. We need to work better with donors and our development partners.

“We want to be able to raise more funding to be able to increase the amount of states that we work in, but also the depth of our work in some of the states that are very, very deprived.”

Saidy noted that Nigeria contributed to one of the largest numbers of early child and forced marriages and out- of – school – children globally

According to him, all the children deserved a better future and as such, the rights of children should be fully protected and fulfilled.

He said this could be done through the creation and adoption of suitable policies, strategies, plans and making sure that those frameworks are budgeted for and implemented to transform children’s lives.

October 23, 2023
Gowon is an icon, says ACF

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has described the former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), as one of the finest and iconic architects of the Nigeria Project.

Its National Publicity Secretary, Prof. Tukur A. Muhammad-Baba, stated this in a message to felicitate Gen. Gowon (rtd), on his 89th birthday.

ACF explained that the birthday was a major milestone in the life of the retired General.

Gowon is the Chairman of ACF’s Board of Patrons.

The group said: “It may well be that in his private moments, especially at this stage in his life, he is concerned and worried about the unsavoury state of affairs in the political and economic lives of the country and its citizens.This is especially significant if the General looks back at the efforts and energy that he and his colleagues had, while relatively very young, devoted to ensure that the country remained one, united and indivisible country.

“As he reminisces, General Gowon will certainly look back with nostalgia at the good times in the history of the country when everyone was positive and hopeful, especially after the Civil War of 1969-1970.

Read Also: General Gowon @ 89: Couldhistory absolve him? (1)

“He had popularised, on the platform of “No Victor, No Vanquished”, the mantra of “To keep Nigeria One, is a Task that Must be Done”.

“The nation is still pursuing the dream but it is not totally lost. The work that must be done will remain a work-in-progress. All hope is not lost, in spite of the perceived formidable challenges in place.

“Therefore, as it extends felicitation with prayers for even more celebrations in the future, ACF encourages the General to, as it firmly believes he will, remain positive, hopeful and prayerful that all will eventually work out fine for the most populous country in Africa with the world’s largest population of the black race.’’

“Happy Birthday celebrations with wishes of all the very best to General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), former Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Grand Chairman, ACF Distinguished Board of Patrons!”

October 23, 2023
‘Why I sold my three-month old grandchild for N50,000’

A 45-year old woman, Oluchukwu Nwosu, has blamed economic hardship as the reason for selling her daughter’s three-month-old baby in Nnewi, Anambra State.

She said her daughter, who had given birth to two babies, abandoned them for her to take care of them.

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She said she sold the baby for N50,000, adding that the other two sons were being catered for by the state community children’s home in Awka.

Nwosu, amid sobs, however, pleaded for forgiveness.

October 23, 2023
Fed Govt to set up photon analysis laboratory

The Federal Government has begun the plans to set up a photon activation analysis state-of-art laboratory in the country.

The Laboratory which can only be found in Ghana in the whole of the continent is the latest technology for the analysis of non-destructive materials characterization technique that exploits high-energy photons to retrieve the elemental composition of a large variety of samples.

The government through the Solid Minerals Development Fund of Nigeria (SMDF) is in talks with a Canadian company to set up the lab in the country.

Chief Executive of SMDF, Hajiya Fatima Shinkafi, said the government realised that sampling is a big challenge in the country which is the reason for the move.

Shinkafi said this in Abuja at the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) event on the sidelines of the Nigeria Mining Week, themed ‘Unlocking Development Financing for Nigerian Mining Projects’.

She said: “We do have plans for an integrated state of the art laboratory with photon analysis which is a non-destructive process. We’re in talks with them. That’s why they’re here for the mining week, we haven’t finalised. We’ve been in the sector and we appreciate what the needs are.

“So Peter has flown in from Canada, and they are experts, they are accredited which is very important for a lab, they are experts at photon analysis, which is the latest technology for non-destructive sampling and testing of samples. We have a lab like this in Ghana, at the moment and I think it’s the only one in West Africa or in Africa even at the moment. So this is the future of technology coming in, in addition to what is basic.

Read Also: Sanwo-Olu inaugurates Abiru’s innovation laboratory in Ikorodu

We realised that sampling is a big challenge. We have not concluded but that’s why he’s here and we’re talking.”

On the aspect of financing of the sector, Shinkafi added, “Over 90 per cent of Nigeria remains under explored with significant potential to discover new and increase the existing deposits that we found. So increased exploration activity is crucial to realising the benefits of the country’s geological endowment and supporting a pipeline of new projects to the market.

“This investment in exploration is why the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and the Solid minerals Development Fund of Nigeria (SMDF) have partnered with Excalibur multi-physics to the ministers exploration big data strategy by developing a data discovery portal and a pre competitive exploration programme.

“The AFC and SMDF will support the globally recognised expertise within the Nigerian Geological Survey agency to improve our understanding of Nigerian mineral resources, the potential and ensuring a solid pipeline for future projects so Nigeria accounts for only 0.02 per cent of the global mining exploration budget. The Minister is committed to changing the story with our big data strategy.

“The projects we have identified today will unlock more than 500,000 ounces of gold reserves which may attract more than $500 million in new mining investment. So our intervention to unlock developmental finance for Nigerian mining projects aligns with the renewed hope vision of $1 trillion GDP and 7 per cent economic growth. We are focused on implementing the transformation again agenda to deliver on the renewed hope vision.”

October 19, 2023
Financial group seeks support for entrepreneurs

Norrenberger Financial Group is seeking government support to drive innovation and assist in curbing the high rate of unemployment with Nigerian youths as this will boast economic growth for the nation.

The group Managing Director, Tony Edeh said partnership with government on robust enterprise supporting system will have direct impact on entrepreneurial growth and employment as statistics from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) shows that micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) contributes 48 per cent of Nigeria’s National GDP.

Edeh who spoke at the 5th Anniversary celebration of Norrenberger Financial Group in Abuja maintained that all hands should be on deck to support youth enterpreuship as they are the backbone of the nation’s growth.

Read Also: Gombe and the economic strides of the ‘Man in Blue’

According to him, “Giant companies like Apple, Twitter and others started as a small innovative company, but with a conducive environment by their government, it has grown to what be what it is today.”

Speaking, the Chairman of the Norrenberger Financial Group, Ibrahim Aliyu Bala stated that with the forex challenges and inflation, it was important for both government and private sector to devise innovative ways of wealth creation, with entrepreneurship in focus.

October 19, 2023
CSOs urge Shelter Afrique to reduce housing deficit

A coalition of civil society organisations has urged Shelter Afrique to help Nigeria reduce its housing deficits.

Executive Director of the group, Paul Samuel said this during a press conference in Abuja yesterday.

The coalition commended the transformation of Shelter Afrique into Shelter Afrique Development Bank.

Samuel said the transformation promised to reshape the landscape of Africans housing and urban development.

While commending Shelter Afrique Shareholders for approving the revised Statutes to elevate the pan-African housing and urban development finance into a dynamic Development Bank during the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in Algiers, Algeria, Samuel urged Shelter Afrique to live up to its expectations in Nigeria as the second largest contributor of fund to the institution.

He said the renaming of Shelter Afrique to Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB) reiterated a renewed sense of purpose, solidifying the finance status as a transformative and sustainable development bank solely dedicated to advancing urban housing and related infrastructural development across Africa.

He reminded Shelter Afrique that Nigeria was in housing deficit of over 40 percent of Africa total deficit that need an urgent action.

He said: “Shelter Afrique must know that Nigeria has a population of over 200 million people, so , their impact must be noticed seriously across our country.

Read Also: Agency upgrades Shelter Afrique’s outlook

cit is as a result of banditry, flooding, kidnapping and other natural disasters. We seriously call on Shelter Afrique to immediately collaborate with the relevant body or institution in tackling the housing deficit in Nigeria. This is our demand.

“We are not begging but we are demanding that Shelter Afrique must do the needful now that they have transformed from Shelter Afrique, Shelter Afrique Development Bank with a vision on Housing and Urban Development.

“What is more interesting now that our Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Musa Dangiwa is the new chairman of SHAFDB, and while the chairman of the board of directors is also a Nigerian, Chii Akpoji.”

October 19, 2023