The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ben Murray Bruce

  • Court refuses to restrain Saraki on choice of Minority Leader

    Court refuses to restrain Saraki on choice of Minority Leader

    Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday refused to restrain the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki and 17 others from departing from the Senate’s standing rules in the appointment of Minority Leader for the 8th National Assembly.

    Two members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – Alaye Don Pedro (Ward 8 Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State) and Okechukwu Ibeh of Umukegwu/Umuopia in Ide Ato Local Government Area of Imo State – had, in an ex-parte motion sought to restrain Saraki and 17 members of the PDP South -South Senate Caucus from choosing the Minority Leader outside the provision of Order 3(2) of the Senate Standing Order 2015 (as amended).

    The plaintiffs are contending that the alleged plot by some individuals to make former Akwa Ibom State governor, Godwill Akpabio (a first term Senator) the Senate’s Minority leader, was in violation of Order 3(2) of the Senate Standing Order 2015 (as amended).

    Named with Saraki as respondents, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/602/2005 are – Akpabio, Nelson Effiong, Bassey Albert, Emmanuel Paulker, Ogola Foster, Ben Murray Bruce, John Owan Enoh, Gershom Bassey, Rose Oko, James Manager, Peter Nwaoboshi, Ighoyota Amori, Clifford Ordia, Mathew Urhoghide, George Thomson Sekibo, Olaka Nwogu and Osinachukwu Ideozu.

    Justice Kolawole in his ruling refused the plaintiffs’ prayer for “an order restraining the 2nd to 18 respondents from selecting or appointing the Minority Leader of the Senate by a procedure in breach of Order 3(2) of the Senate Standing Order 2015 (as amended) pending the determination of the substantive suit.”

    The judge also refused their request for an “order prohibiting the 1st respondent from accepting, recognising, announcing or giving effect to the appointment of a Minority Leader of the Senate, whose appointment is in breach of Order 3(2) of the Senate Standing Orders 2015 (as amended) pending the determination of the substantive suit.”

    Justice Kolawole, who noted that the plaintiffs were neither members of the Senate nor contestants for the position of Minority Leader, said he could not grant their prayers because they failed to establish the interest they sought to protect.

  • Sylva withdraws petition against Murray-Bruce

    Sylva withdraws petition against Murray-Bruce

    A former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, has withdrawn his case against Senator Ben Murray-Bruce at the National and State House of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Yenagoa.

    Sylva contested the Bayelsa east senatorial election on April 8 on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) but lost to Murray-Bruce of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    The former governor, however, protested the outcome of the election and later dragged the winner to the tribunal.

    But Mr. Sydney Ibanichuka, the lawyer to Sylva, was said to have withdrawn the matter on the directive of his client.

    Though no reason was given for the withdrawal, it was gathered that the move was done out of personal sacrifice and the need to maintain the peace in the Senatorial district.

    The lawyer was reported to have said: “Well, the reason for the withdrawal is best known to the petitioners but they have agreed to withdraw for the interest of peace in Bayelsa and Nigeria at large.”

    “I want to see the withdrawal as a personal sacrifice from their hearts. The petitioner had secured the tribunal’s order to inspect the election materials.

    “Also, he secured an order for forensic experts to examine the materials. They had a good case that bothers on irregularities in the election. The decision is a sacrifice.”

    At the hearing on Thursday in Yenagoa, the presiding Chairperson of the tribunal, Justice Ononeze Madu, said the tribunal was committed to ensuring justice and had accepted the decision of the petitioners.

    But a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Justice Duro Adeyele, who is a lawyer to Murray-Bruce, said the action was in people’s interest.

    He said the matter was withdrawn after it had gone through the pre-hearing stage.

    Sylva in his petition asked the tribunal to declare that Murray-Bruce was not qualified to contest the election because of his dual citizenship.

    He further asked the court to declare him the winner of the election following alleged irregularities perpetrated by the PDP.

  • Ben Bruce criticises FG

    Ben Bruce criticises FG

  • Ben Murray-Bruce for Senate

    Ben Murray-Bruce for Senate

    A former Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Mr Ben Murray-Bruce, is seeking the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to contest the senatorial seat for Bayelsa East in 2015.

    Murray-Bruce, who is also the Chairman of Silverbird Group, submitted his nomination form yesterday at the PDP state secretariat in Yenagoa, the state capital.

    He was accompanied to the secretariat by a crowd from Brass, Ogbia and Nembe, the three local government areas under the senatorial district.

    Murray-Bruce promised to fight poverty through appropriate legislation.

    While Ikisikpo hails from Kolo Creek in Ogbia Local Government Area, Murray-Bruce is from Akassa in Brass Local Government Area.

    Murray-Bruce said: “I am running for the Senate because I am interested in making changes. I am not interested in business as usual. Many things have gone wrong in the country and a lot of them can be traced in the chamber. I want to be part of. If we fix these problems, we fix the Nigerian problem…”

     

     

     

  • Jasmine Murray-Bruce takes after father

    Jasmine Murray-Bruce takes after father

    IN her 20s, Jasmine calls the shots at Monae Spa, which is located inside the Silverbird Galleria, Victoria Island, Lagos, and she is the only daughter of Ben Murray Bruce, the Chairman of the Silverbird Group. Apart from running a spa on the Island, she also works with the Silverbird TV. No doubt, she had been influenced by her father’s success in broadcasting and the entertainment industry, and that might explain why she is also toeing the path of her father. Jasmine is a graduate of Chapman University in Orange Country with a B.A in Communication. Her love life, which has been shielded from prying eyes, has dominated discourse, with speculations about the identity of her date making the rounds. She is gradually becoming a force to reckon with on the Island social scene, as she turned heads at a couple of the A-class events that she has been sighted in recent times.