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Tag: 2019 election

  • I’ll reclaim my mandate – Mohammed Sani Musa

    The Senator-elect for Niger East Senatorial district, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Musa has declared that he will reclaim his mandate at the Supreme Court after the Appeal Court judgment upheld the Appeal filed by Senator David Umaru against his nomination by the APC in the National Assembly elections.

    He expressed his readiness to see the case to a logical conclusion at the Supreme Court.

    The Appeal Court on Monday ruled that Senator David Umaru is the Senatorial candidate of the APC and should be recognised as such.

    In a press statement, Musa said that his mandate cannot be stolen because he polled the highest valid votes castes during the APC primaries held in the state.

    Read Also: Kalu denies nominating brother, cousin for minister

    He declared that the appeal court ruling cannot stand stating that it is an aberration of what justice entails.

    ”The appeal court ruling today cannot stand; it is a miscarriage of justice and a complete aberration to what justice entails.

    “I have no doubt in my mind that the apex court in the land will right the wrong temporarily done to my mandate by the lower court”, the senator-elect said.

  • 2019 election: Tribunal orders service of another petition on Buhari

    The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) has ordered that President Muhammadu Buhari be served a petition challenging his victory, through the National Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    A three-man panel of the tribunal, led by Justice Abdu Aboki, gave the order yesterday in a ruling on an ex-parte motion filed by the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) and its presidential candidate, Pastor Aminchi Habu.

    The tribunal ordered that copies of all the processes filed by the petitioners be served on President Buhari through the APC’s National Legal Adviser at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

    Petitioners’ lawyer, Aliyu Lemu, while arguing the motion, told the tribunal that the bailiff had problem serving President Buhari in his office.

    Read also: Tribunal orders PDM to serve Buhari petition through APC

    He said it was necessary that the President, who is listed as the second respondent, be served through substituted means so that their petition could be heard within the stipulated 180 days.

    The petitioners are, in the petition, praying the tribunal to invalidate the 2019 presidential election.

  • 2019 election: Tribunal orders service of another petition on Buhari

    The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) has ordered that President Muhammadu Buhari be served a petition, challenging his victory, through the National Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    A three-man panel of the tribunal, led by Justice Abdu Aboki, gave the order on Friday in a ruling on an ex-parte motion filed by the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) and its presidential candidate, Pastor Aminchi Habu.

    The tribunal ordered that copies of all the processes filed by the petitioners be served on President Buhari through the APC’s National Legal Adviser at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

    Read Also: Buhari salutes Oshiohmole for building strong, unified party

    Petitioner’s lawyer, Aliyu Lemu, while arguing the motion, told the tribunal that the bailiff had problem serving President Buhari in his office.

    He said it was necessary that the President, who is listed as the second respondent be served through substituted means so that their petition could be heard within the stipulated 180 days.

    The petitioners are, in the petition, praying the tribunal to invalidate the 2019 presidential election.

    They also want the tribunal to order a rerun, for omitting the name of its party’s presidential candidate from the ballot papers used in conducting the election.

     

     

  • Sanwo-Olu: I’ll never betray Lagosians

    Lagos State Governor-elect Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Friday promised not to betray Lagosians after assuming the reins on May 29.

    He reiterated his determination to preside over an all-inclusive government, adding that other campaign promises will also be fulfilled.

    Sanwo-Olu described himself as a winner of free, fair and credible election, saying the electoral commission deserved applause for conducting a peaceful exercise.

    He also extended a hand of fellowship to the 40 opposition candidates who competed with him, stressing that their inputs were required in tackling the myriad of challenges in education, health, transportation and the environment.

    Sanwoolu said:”A victory for one is a victory for all. It is a victory for all Lagosisns. No victor, no vanguished. We will all make life better for Lagosians.”

    The governor-elect spoke at the Lagos State office of the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC) shortly after receiving his Certificate of Return from Resident Electoral Commissioner Sam Olumekun.

    Sanwo-Olu was accompanied by his wife, Dr Ibijoke; his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat; his wife Oluremi; Lagos State APC chairman Tunde Balogun; party secretary Dr. Wale Ahmed; Governorship Advisory Council (GAC) deputy leader Prince Oluyole Olusi; Senator Musiliu Obanikoro and Chief Demola Seriki.

    Also at the ceremony were Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, Pa Sunny Ajose, Jumoke Okoya-Thomas, Hakeem Bamgbala, Joe Igbokwe, Abiodun Salami, Bayo Ajisebutu, Ayodele Adewale, Bayo Ajisebutu, Fausat Gbadebo, Emmanuel Bamgboye and Imam Shakiru Gafar Mofesayo of Lagos Central Mosque.

    Thanking the stakeholders, Sanwo-Olu commended INEC and other apparatus of government involved in the election, saying that the reward for hard work is more work.

    He also thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for showing leadership example of what the APC stood for and for winning Lagos votes.

    The governor-elect also applauded the national chairman, Comrade Adam’s Oshiomhole, Lagos APC GAC leaders, and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who he noted, was in birthday celebration mood.

    He peeped into the future, praying that all the critical stakeholders will be present at his inauguration on May 29.

    However, in a voice somehow laced with emotion, Sanwo-Olu said the inauguration date will coincide with the post-humous birthday of his late mother, who had passed on few years ago.

    Reiterating his commitment to an all-inclusive administration, the governor-elect said his doors were already open to stakeholders, including the opposition, to make their contributions to governance.

    He promised to reenact the true greatness of Lagos which the stakeholders stand for.

    Sanwo-Olu added: “We will not betray public confidence. Better times are coming. Lagosians deserve the best. We must get it right in Lagos.

    “If we get it right in Lagos, we will get it right in Nigeria.

    “We are ready. We are committed.We will do the job that Lagosians have given to us”.

    Imam Gafar, who paired with a Christian priest to pray for Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat, urged them to work for public good.

    The cleric, who also advised them to beware of pychopants who peddle falsehoods, wished the governor-elect a successful tenure.

    Also, he charged Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu and Mrs. Oluremi Hamzat to be prepared for the challenges of adjustment to new life and cooperate with their husbands.

    The REC reflected on the election, saying that it was adjdged credible, smooth, peaceful, free and fair by the international community.

    Hailing Sanwoolu for his victory, Olumekun said:”Lagosians have spoken Your Excellency and I dare say that they spoke loudly and without equivocation ocation.

    “Therefore, the journey to a better Lagos is laid squarely in your court. May God Almighty be your lode-star in this journey.”

    Nothing that Lagosians maintained their peace and decorum during the exercise, he urged them to sustain the tempo of tranquility.

    Olumekun thanked the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security chaired by Lagos Police Commissioner and the National Youth Service Corps for their collaboration.

    He thanked the Branch Controller of the Central Bank of Nigeria Atise Ekhator for ensuring the safety of the sensitive electoral materials, traditional rulers, media led by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) chairman Dr. Quasm Akinreti, civil society, youth and women groups for their cooperation.

    However, the REC lamented the apathy that marred the poll, pointing out that, in Eti-Osa Constituency 1, the turnout was below four percent.

    He said: “This is unacceptable in a sophisticated society like Lagos.”

    Olumekun, therefore, admonished the political parties, pressure groups, religious bodies and civil society groups to rise to the occasion in the areas of voter sensitisation, education and mobilisation of the electorate to complement Inec’s efforts in ensuring large turnout of voters during elections.

  • Adamawa Election: Security beefed up at polling units

    Security has been beefed up at polling units as people in Adamawa trickle out to vote in Thursday’s supplementary governorship election.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the election is going on in 44 units across 29 wards of 14 local government areas of the state.

    Vehicular movement has, however, not been restricted, but armed policemen were seen on roads leading to polling units conducting stop and search on motorists.

    Plain clothes security and unarmed policemen are seen around the polling units observing the exercise.

    Speaking on the security situation, the Adamawa Resident Electoral commissioner, Mr Kassim Gaidam, said that only those with Permanent Voter Cards in the affected units would be allowed access to the polling units.

    Gaidam added that only one agent from each of the political parties was allowed at polling units; but political parties’ monitoring teams would not allowed access to the election venue.

    According to him, the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Zone 3 and the Commissioner of Police in the state are leading other security agencies in monitoring the exercise.

    He said that the National Commissioner in charge of Adamawa, Taraba and Gombe states would be joined by some neigbouring states electoral commissioners to monitor the election.

  • Three more parties dispute Buhari’s victory

    The number of political parties, challenging the outcome of the last presidential election has risen to four, with three more depositing their petitions before the Presidential Election Tribunal in Abuja.

    Beside the one filed on March 18 this year by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the election, Atiku Abubakar, three other parties have also filed.

    There is the one filed by Hope Democratic Party (HDP) and Ambrose Owuru, who claimed to be the party’s presidential candidate. The petition, marked: CA/PEPC/001/2019 was filedonMarch7 this year, before that of the PDP and Atiku, marked: CA/PEPC/002/2019.

    The third, marked: CA/PEPC/003/2019was filed by the Coalition for Change (C4C) and Geff Ojinika, who claimed to be the party’s presidential candidate.

    The core contention of the authors of the third petition is that the election, held on February 23 this year, “was vitiated by substantial non-compliance with mandatory statutory provisions, which irregularity substantially affected the election, such that the 1st respondent (Buhari) was not entitled to be returned as the winner of the presidential election.”

    The fourth petition, marked: CA/PEPC/004/2019, was filed on March 19 this year by the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM) and Pastor Aminchi Habu, listed as the party’s presidential candidate.

    At a pre-hearing session conducted on Wednesday, the tribunal acceded to the request by the People’s Democratic Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last presidential election, Atiku Abubakar for permission to serve their petition of President Muhammadu Buhari through his party, All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Read Also: Buhari, APC chiefs endorse Lawan for Senate President

    PDP and Atiku, who, by their petition, are challenging Buhari’s victory at the election, applied for leave to effect service of the petition on the President on the grounds that they were having difficulty serving him.

    The three-man tribunal, after listening to Chris Uche (SAN), who moved the ex-parte filed by the PDP and Atiku, granted them permission to serve through substituted means.

    Justice Abdul Aboki, who led the panel, ordered that Buhari, who is listed as the second respondent to the petition, be served through any senior official or an officer of the APC at the party’s secretariat in Abuja.

    Justice Aboki, in his lead ruling, said “it is in the interest of justice” to grant the prayers in the petitioners’ motion.rant the prayers in the petitioners’ motion.

  • Ortom will lose supplementary poll, Akume vows

    Despite loud boasts and expression of confidence, Governor Samuel Ortom and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are bound to lose Saturday’s supplementary election to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator George Akume has declared.

    Speaking with our correspondent, Akume, a former governor of Benue state pointedly asserted his former political associate Ortom has no record of achievement to genuinely woo citizens for votes.

    “Find out from this man: precisely what are your achievements? Sometimes I look at this and laugh because one of the achievements he claims is a private initiative in my village, a privately-owned soya processing factory.

    “Those who go to Benue will weep for that state. This is a state that has all the potentials of feeding the entire West Africa sub region.

    “I know the type of industries i tried to set up, agro -based, cassava processing plant, fertiliser plants, the special project in Makurdi which was expected to produce plastic.

    “But since he (Ortom ) came in, what has happened? Recently I heard that he bought 50 tractors to distribute to farmers and what is 50 tractors?

    “When I went to Government House during President Buhari’s visit, I saw ten tractors and i don’t know whether it is just for show man ship but when Sokoto bought two thousand tractors over two years ago, Kebbi got 1,500.

    “The Benue farmer is very hard working, the Benue man is an intelligent person but they also need an enabling environment to enable them express themselves maximally and efficiently in agricultural sector in particular, but it is not happening.

    Read Also; Ortom edges towards victory in Benue

    “The schools in Benue state, if not because of school feeding, primary schools would have been dead; the teachers go there, they don’t teach because they are not being paid,” Akume said.

    The former governor stated that his former political associates whom he helped to uplift will suffer divine retribution for their betrayals.

    According to him: “As a Christian and God-fearing person, I believe in doing good to people. We are enjoined to forgive. In whatever I do, I lay down every consideration.

    “That is part of my philosophy of life, in the political arena and in Benue state in particular.

    “I know and people know what I have done but today fighting Akume, ganging up against Akume is their way to deconstruct but they know very well, my contribution to their political uplift.”

  • ‘Those prodding Atiku to go to court after his money’

    Niger State Governor, Sani Bello, on Thursday said that those pressurising the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar to challenge outcome of the February 23rd Presidential election in court could be doing so to get money from him.

    He made the remark while speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Buhari at the State House.

    According to him, he was at the Presidential Villa to congratulate Buhari on his victory at the poll.

    He said that with his victory in Niger State, people of the state should be assured his administration was committed to providing dividends of democracy to them and to complete ongoing projects.

    The new projects to be embarked upon, he said, will be of benefit to the general public.

    On the Atiku’s claim that he won the election, governor Bello said: “It is not unusual, when you lose elections, you go to court for so many reasons.

    “It could be that you think you won or it could be that someone is telling you that you have won or it could be that someone is telling you some miracles can happen.

    “It could also be that someone wants to get money off you. So there is no reason why after free and fair elections had been conducted and it is clear in the eyes of the world one still believes that there are shoddy dealings.

    “Anyone who feels dissatisfied is free to approach a court of law. It is a free world. Everyone is entitled to his opinion. But honestly, from what I saw in Niger, this election has been the fairest election we have conducted so far.”

    Despite the declaration of election inconclusive in some states by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the governor said that the elections were the fairest election so far conducted in the country.

    He said: “I think INEC did extremely well, the security agencies did very well as well. It is not unusual when you hold elections in a country like Nigeria where you have so many units to have issues with one or two units.

    “If you look at the number of polling units, compare to the ones that have issues, probably, it’s less two or five percent. But generally, the elections went well.”

  • Buhari’s trust in God gave him victory, says ex-NYSC DG

    Ex-director general of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Col Peter Obasa (retired) Thursday attributed President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in the recently concluded election to his reliance on God and his belief in his mission.

    The retired army officer added that “no doubts, he has won God’s favour. He battled through the turbulent period of the early years of his presidency, a period during which most Nigerians wrote him off.”

    Col Obasa made a passionate appeal to President Buhari to pay his gratuity and pension, 35 years after he was compulsorily retired by the military.

    The 81-year old retired military spoke with reporters in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital.

    The former NYSC boss, who served between 1979 and 1984, said that he had received no letter of dismissal from the Army to have informed nonpayment of his entitlement.

    “I make my appeal to Mr. President, in the name of Almighty God, in the names of all that are holy, in the names of all that are good, true, and are just, to give me justice of the type that will attract the approval of God”, he said.

    The octogenarian, who presented a book, titled, House of Exile, during the press conference, chronicled his experiences in 1984, his prison accounts, the nation’s democracy, and judiciary.

    “The Federal Republic of Nigeria official gazette, No 56 of November 6, 1986, under Ministry of Defence, Nigerian Army officers, voluntary/compulsory and dismissal page 1340 declares that I was compulsorily retired from the army. Under that condition, I should be entitled to my gratuity and pension. The Army has denied me both.

    “They claim that I was dismissed. If that was the case, a letter to that effect would have been served on me, and the army would have withdrawn my officer’s sword, ceremonial dress, mess jacket and service suit. I received no letter, and am still in possession of the items mentioned above.

    “Like President Buhari, I am favoured by God. I fought through the tumultuous and terrifying period of my trial and more than seven years in incarceration, and I am here by the special grace of God to ask for true justice. The world wrote me off, some claiming that I would not exit the jail house. How wrong they are. God Almighty fights for the innocent”, he said.

    Retired Colonel Obasa described his trial by the Supreme Military Council (SMC), headed by General Muhammadu Buhari, as illegalities of 1984, saying that the SMC promulgated decrees that had retroactive effect.

    He said: “The laws were backdated by three years. This is immoral and illegal. The God of creation made laws which he handed over to Moses. Those laws became effective from the time they were read to the Israelites.

    “The SMC took over the roles of the executive, legislative and judiciary, the accuser, the prosecutor and the judge. This is illegal. The Nigerian Bar Association condemned this and prohibited its members from appearing before the tribunals to defend accused persons.

    “The process of trial was gravely flawed. Trials were in secret. The public was denied access to the tribunals and it was only when judgements were passed that the world became informed of the verdict.

    “All statements from suspects were extracted under duress. This is illegal

    “Accused persons were compelled long before trial began to sign away the contents of their accounts under duress by the same characters that came to testify at the tribunal that the accused willingly signed away everything. This is illegal.

    “Falsified documents (as exhibits) were brought into the tribunal by the Special Investigation Panel. This too is illegal.

    “Accused people were incarcerated in solitary confinement, denied access to their family and prevented from reaching anything that would enhance their defence. This is illegal.

    “They made it impossible for accused persons to explain clearly how they came about what they had. Everything went under the label of “kickback”. This is illegal.

    “False witnesses were press-ganged to testify against accused persons. This is illegal.

    “From the beginning to the end in my case, the truth was undermined and justice was perverted. This too is illegal”.

  • Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat, others to receive Certificates of Return March 27

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Lagos State, says it will on March 27 present Certificates of Return to the Lagos State Governor-elect, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his Deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat.

    Mr Sam Olumekun, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), said on Thursday that the lawmakers-elect of the Lagos State House of Assembly would also be given Certificates of Return the same day.

    “The presentation of certificate of return to elected candidates is in conformity with Section 75 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

    “The presentation ceremony will take place at INEC Lagos Office, 6, Birrel Avenue, Sabo-Yaba, at 11:00 am for the Governor-elect and his Deputy.

    “Meanwhile, that of the elected members of Lagos State House of Assembly will come up at 2:00pm,” Olumekun said in a statement.

    According to him, all invited guests are requested to be seated by 10:30am and 1:30pm respectively for the two ceremonies.

    The News Agency Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sanwo-Olu, of APC, polled 739,445 votes to defeat Jimi Agbaje of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 206,141 votes, and other contestants in the March 9 governorship election.

    INEC declared Sanwo-Olu winner of the poll on March 10.

    The commission will on Saturday hold a supplementary election in the Ibeju-Lekki State Constituency I where the state assembly election was declared inconclusive.

    Candidates of APC won in all the other 39 constituencies where state assembly elections are already concluded by the electoral umpire.