The Nation Newspaper

Tag: declare

  • Igbo declare seven-day mourning for Akunyili

    Igbo communities have declared seven-day mourning to honour Prof. Dora Akunyili.

    They described the late Commissioner for Information and Communication as an Amazon, an illustrious daughter and a pillar of support.

    The leaders of the communities met in Lagos at the weekend to discuss the issues affecting the Igbo nation and chart a way forward for the country’s development.

    They noted with shock the death of Prof. Akunyili and condoled with the family, the Federal Government and the Igbo.

    In a communiqué after the meeting of the Association of Ndiezendigbo Nuzoije at the International Trade Fair Complex, Lagos, the Igbo leaders also deliberated on other issues of importance, including the beginning of work on the Second Niger Bridge, which they described as a watershed in the Southeast.

    They thanked President Goodluck Jonathan for recognising the importance of the bridge to Southeast’s economy, saying the people had suffered because of poor infrastructure.

    In attendance were the National President, Association of Ndiezendigbo Nuzoije, Eze Ibe Nwosu; Eze Hycenth Ohazuruike (Lagos); Eze Alex Anozie (Oyo); Eze Pampas Nwahike (Niger); Eze Willifred Ibe (Taraba); Eze Adiele Maduagwu (Bayelsa); Eze Boniface Ibekwe (Kano); Eze Willy Ejimkonye (Ogun); Eze Obi Okechukwu (Osun); Eze Ebuna Obijiaka (Zamfara); Eze Peter Chukwu (Warri); Eze C.C. Okoli (Suleja); Eze Uche Dimgba (Ikeja) and others.

    The meeting also lauded President Jonathan for resolving the country’s problems despite the challenges.

    They urged Nigerians to support the Federal Government in tackling insecurity.

    The Igbo leaders enjoined politicians to play politics without bitterness, adding that they should not see next year’s election as a do-or-die affair.

    Prof. Akunyili will be buried on August 28, the family has announced.

    “Details of the funeral arrangements will be made available to the public in due course,” her husband, Dr. Chike Akunyili, said in a statement in Awka, the Anambra State capital, last night.

    He thanked Nigerians for the love shown his wife and expressed his family’s appreciation to President Jonathan for the special valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) held in her honour.

    Dr. Akunyili advised anyone who has a tribute or testimonial in honour of Dora to send it by e-mail to amazon4life@doraakunyilionline.org, amazon4laif@yahoo.com, or amazon4laif@gmail.com.

    He urged people who wish to make enquiries regarding her funeral to call any of the following numbers: 08181333222, 08103198444, or 08098020976.

  • South East governors to Jonathan: Declare for 2015 now

    South East governors to Jonathan: Declare for 2015 now

    Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South East and the governors of Enugu,Abia and Ebonyi states yesterday told President Goodluck Jonathan he must seek re-election next year.

    The PDP leaders and governors spoke at the zonal rally of the party in Enugu.

    They said they and the five South East states had all resolved to back him in the race.

    Senator Ike Nwachukwu spoke on behalf of Abia State, Ken Nnamani for Enugu, Arthur Eze for Anambra State, Sunny Ogbuoji for Ebonyi and Steve Uzodinma for Imo State.

    Former Aviation Minister, Mrs. Kema Chikwe, spoke for women of the zone.

    The governors then followed with Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State, saying the rally was organised to ask the President to accept to run and should not disappoint them by saying no.

    “We are not here to be converted. We are not here to campaign, but only for you to say yes”, he said.

    The Abia State governor and Chairman, South East Governors’ Forum, Theodore Orji, told the President that the South East zone would “conscript” him to run if he said no.

    Orji told the President that they would not take no for an answer as the people of the zone would “mob us if you decline”.

    “You have given the people of the zone a sense of belonging. It is during your tenure that our people occupied positions that were forbidden for them.

    “It is during your tenure that an Igbo became Chief of Army Staff, Secretary to the Federal Government, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and so on”, Orji said

    Jonathan said his response to the call for him to contest would come ‘later’.

    He pledged not to disappoint the zone.

    “You have even asked me a question whose answer will come later.

    “I will never, never disappoint Nigeria, particularly the South East,” he said.

    The President thanked the people of the zone for their huge turnout and said that the PDP is the only party they should join.

    Said he: ” The PDP is number one party. We are yet to see number two. There is no rival party. By their fruits we shall know them”.

    The president is optimistic that the PDP would sweep the polls in the zone next year.

    “What is needed is total commitment. The PDP is the only democratic party. Other parties can never take Nigeria to the democratic world,” he insisted.

    Senate President David Mark said he has not seen a crowd as large as “this since my career in politics”.

    He said the turnout showed that the people of the zone love President Jonathan.

    According to Mark, the turnout indicated that the South East is the biggest rallying point of the PDP.

    Vice President Namadi Sambo in his speech said he was highly elated by the unity rally.

    Others who spoke included the National Chairman of the party, Mohamed Mu’azu; the BOT chairman, Tony Anenih; Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and Austin Akobundu.

  • Why we can’t declare winner in Ondo by-election, by INEC

    Why we can’t declare winner in Ondo by-election, by INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the Ilaje/Ese-Odo by-election inconclusive.

    Prof. Babatunde Adeyemi, the returning officer, announced this yesterday at Igbokoda, Ese-Odo Local Government Area.

    The results compiled by INEC showed that Mr. Kolade Akinjo of the Labour Party (LP) polled 23,926 votes.

    Mr. Adewale Kukute of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came second with 22,628.

    Adeyemi said the election was declared inconclusive because the difference of 1, 298 votes between Akinjo and Kukute is lower than the number of cancelled votes.

    He said over 7,000 voters could not participate in the election, adding: “This has violated the Electoral Law, hence the need for INEC to conduct supplementary elections in areas where elections could not hold. I cannot return the LP candidate despite polling the highest number of votes, as the Electoral Law empowers INEC to declare such election inconclusive.” Adeyemi said INEC would announce the date for supplementary elections in places where elections could not hold.

    However, the LP said the returning officer had no reason to declare the election inconclusive.

    In a statement by its Acting Chairman, Chief Dele Akinyele, LP said: “It is instructive to note that the election took place and returns were made in 21 of the 22 wards that make up the federal constituency. The returning officer’s duty is to collate the lawful votes from various units and wards and declare the candidate with the majority of lawful votes as winner.

    “The election tribunal constituted by the president of the Court of Appeal has the sole responsibility of determining any complaint of irregularity or non-compliance with the law.

    “The use of the word ‘inconclusive’ by the returning officer to abort the will of the people will not be applicable in this case because the only condition for declaring a winner is that the candidate must score the majority of lawful votes, which has been satisfied in this case.

    “The introduction of the word ‘inconclusive’ could only be applicable where there are additional requirements of spread before a winner can be declared, as is required in the presidential and governorship elections.

    “The refusal of the returning officer to declare the obvious winner of the election constitutes grave danger to our democracy. The LP hereby calls on the returning officer and INEC leadership to declare Akinjo, who scored the majority of lawful votes, winner.”

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has hailed INEC for declaring the poll inconclusive.

    In a statement by its Publicity Director, Ayo Fadaka, PDP said: “The by-election had to be declared inconclusive because of the many indecorous acts of Governor Olusegun Mimik, who erected several blocks on the path of attaining a free and fair election.

    “The past four weeks leading to the election saw Mimiko relocating the seat of governance to a hotel in Okitipupa, where he planned his onslaught on how to compromise the election.”

    PDP hailed INEC for organising a credible election. It also praised security agents for their professionalism and vigilance during the poll.

    The party urged the people of areas where supplementary election would be conducted to vote for a credible candidate.

  • 4,000 declare for APC in Kwara

    The ranks of the All Progressives Congress (APC) swelled at the weekend, as over 4,000 youths from Ilorin East and South local governments joined the party.

    The leader of the group, Abdulfatai Seriki, said the leadership qualities of Senator Bukola Saraki attracted them to APC.

    Seriki, who contested the House of Assembly election in 2011 under the Democratic Peoples’ Party (DPP), added that his supporters are spread across the 12 wards in Ilorin East and 11 wards in Ilorin South local government areas.

    He said all of them have decided to move together to ensure better development in the state.

    Seriki noted that as a man, who has expertise in solid mineral business with interest in human empowerment, he shares the same style with the leader.

    The ex-DPP man added that the leadership style of Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed and Saraki endeared the youths to the party.

    Seriki said such development was unprecedented in the state’s political history.

    He said they want to contribute their quota to the development of the state.

    The group’s leader urged Kwara youths to support Dr Bukola Saraki for better development and prosperity.

    “We are here today to declare for the APC in Kwara. Our governor and his predecessor have good political pedigree, which we want to emulate.

    “I implore all Kwarans to join these great men totake our state to the next level.”

  • ‘Senate President can’t declare senators’ seat vacant’

    ‘Senate President can’t declare senators’ seat vacant’

    Senate President David Mark has been advised against bowing to pressure from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to declare vacant seats of senators who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Adegboyega Awomolo argued that by virtue of the provision of Section 48 of the Constitution, Mark lacked the powers to declare the seat of a Senator vacant without first obtaining an order from a competent court.

    In a statement at the weekend, Awomolo, a former Osun State Attorney General, contended that the office of a Senator is a creation of Section 48 of the Constitution, who shall be elected by one third of each of the states of the federation.

    Awomolo contended that the certificate of return issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) entitled a Senator to continue to be in office for four years, except he is removed by a court or tribunal lawfully constituted, resigned, died or he was otherwise removed under Section 68 of the Constitution.

    “Can the Senate President remove or declare vacant the office or seat of a Senator who had defected to another political party or who has ceased to be a Senator by reason of Section 68(1)(a – h) of the Constitution?”

    In answering his own question, Awomolo argued that “the Senate President, on his own as president of the Senate, cannot take a decision to declare vacant the seat of a Senator for the following reasons:

    “He has no constitutional or statutory powers to revoke, annul or withdraw the certificate of returns issued by INEC to any Senator.

    He cannot discard, annul or disregard the electoral mandate given to a Senator like him, which is given by the electorate of the affected senatorial district.

    “The constitutional role, duties and powers given under Section 53 or any other provision of the constitution does not extend to determination of validity, lawfulness or whether a Senator has ceased to be a member of the Senate.

    “It is an offence under Section 57 of the Constitution for any person to sit or vote in the Senate, knowing or having reasonable grounds to know that he is not entitled to sit in the Senate. The legal implication of this is that there must be a prosecution and conviction for such a person by a court of competent jurisdiction, after which the seat of the senator will be declared vacant.

    “Section 68 of the Constitution creates a tenure for every senator and prescribes conditions for ceasing to be a senator. Section 68(2) provides that the President of the Senate shall give effect to termination of tenure of a member only after a member shall first present evidence satisfactory to the Senate that any of the provisions of the subsection has become applicable in respect of that member.”

    According to Awomolo, what this means is that there must be an occurrence of the events in sub section (1) and a formal presentation must be made to the entire Senate for decision.

    In such a case, he argued, such decision would be resolved by 2/3 majority of the Senate.

    “Where the facts are contentious, and unclear, the rule of law requires reference to a court of law for determination because the Senate President cannot make a declaration of the state of the law. It is only a superior court of record that can state a declaration of the meaning of a provision of the Constitution based on the peculiar facts,” the lawyer added.

    He said the Senate President, not being the appointing authority, could not exercise the power to terminate a senator’s tenure.

    Awomolo said: “The peculiarity of the matter puts the Senate President in the midst of controversy. Being a member of the highest ruling organ of PDP, he cannot be a judge in his own case. The rule of natural justice and the rule of law will not permit the President of the Senate to use Police or force to evict or bar the affected Senator.

    “A combined reading of Sections 68(2); 79(a)(iii) and 285(i)(c) of the Constitution is that the President of the Senate can only give effect to declare vacant the seat of a member after the Tribunal lawfully established for that purpose has heard and determined whether the seat of a member of the Senate has become vacant.

    “There must be a declaration and a decision of the appropriate Court or Tribunal that the seat of a member of the Senate has become vacant. The President of Senate cannot exercise judicial powers of a court of law. That will amount to a violation of Section 1 of the Constitution, null and void and of no event.

    “A latter provision of the Constitution is deemed to have overriding effect and force. There must be a declaration and a decision of the appropriate Court or Tribunal that the seat of a member of the Senate has become vacant.

    “The President of Senate cannot exercise judicial powers of a court of law. That will amount to a violation of Section 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, null and void and of no event,” Awomolo said.

  • ‘PDP move to declare defecting Reps’ seats vacant nonsensical’

    ‘PDP move to declare defecting Reps’ seats vacant nonsensical’

    A member of the House of Representatives from Rivers State, Dakuku Peterside, has said that the move by the leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to declare vacant the seats of the defecting lawmakers is nonsensical.

    He said more lawmakers and PDP senators would soon defect to the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Peterside, who represents Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro, yesterday in Port Harcourt, declared that the PDP no longer represented the aspirations of the defecting members.

    He said: “It (declaring vacant the seats of the defecting Reps) is nonsensical. It clearly shows that those at the helm of affairs right now in the PDP do not know the provisions of the law and in case they know the provisions of the law, they have shown us in recent times that the PDP is not a party that respects the law.

    “It (PDP) is a party of men who champion impunities, men who champion or support corruption. So, we will not be surprised if they pursue what is not realisable, but I can tell you that it is pure waste of time and effort.

    “The Constitution is clear. When a party is either factionalised or a party experiences a division and in the case of the PDP, of course you know what happened from the period of the last national convention in August, where some governors, some members of the National Assembly walked out of the convention and after then set up a parallel secretariat of the party, set up parallel executive of the party and of course on the floor of the National Assembly it was acknowledged that there are various factions of the PDP.

    “A faction of the party aligned with the APC. There is no denying that there are factions in the party. The party itself admits that and the law is clear in a case where there is a division in the party, the constitution is clear on that.”

    He said: “One is the direction the nation is going. You can see the level of impunity in the country. You can see the level of corruption in the country. Our economic growth is stagnated.

    “We (Reps) were concerned that this is not the PDP of our dreams and that that platform cannot deliver the dividends of democracy to our people. That platform, the PDP, does not represent our aspirations and the things we wish for Nigeria, in the light of that there’s absolute need for us to change platform.

    “The second reason is for those of us from Rivers State, politics is a game of interests. Different incentives drive different actions. Different incentives can premeditate different outcomes.

    “If our incentive for being involved in politics is to better the lot of our people, to protect the interest of our people and to advance the course of our people. Then, there are minimal standards expected of anybody who truly wishes to represent the people.

    “In the case of Rivers State, we were watching as our resources were being taken away. We were watching as the PDP could no longer protect the interest of our people. We were watching as we could not boast of a single developmental project, despite the fact that we gave PDP the highest number of votes in the past election. We were watching as we got not a single project.

    “We were watching as the PDP, which is the facilitator of our democracy at our instance, began to work against Rivers’ interest. It was no longer tolerable for us to remain on such a platform.”

  • Sylva wants court to order INEC to declare him governor

    Former Bayelsa State governor, Timipre Sylva, has asked a Federal High Court sitting in Yenegoa for an order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare him as governor of the state.

    He said he is seeking an order of the court to be declared governor of the state by virtue of his election as the valid governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last governorship election in the state.

    In an originating summons filed by his lawyer, Chief Robert Clarke (SAN), the former governor is praying the court to direct INEC to declare him the winner of the last governorship election in the state.

    In the alternative, he wanted the court to order INEC to conduct a fresh poll, with him as the PDP’s candidate.

    The judge handling the matter, Justice C. E. Archibong, granted leave to Sylva to serve the court’s process on INEC out of jurisdiction in Abuja.

    In his summons, Sylva wanted the court to determine among others, “whether having regard to the provisions of Section 178(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Supreme Court judgment in the consolidated appeals of Marwa Vs Nyako (2012) 5 NWLR, delivered on January 27, 2012, wherein the court held that the tenure of the plaintiff as the Governor of Bayelsa State had long expired since May 29, 2011, the governorship election in Balyesa State became due since April 29, 2011.”

    The plaintiff also wanted the court to determine whether being the incumbent governor of the state as at April 29, 2011, whose name was submitted as a candidate of the PDP for the governorship election, he was the only valid candidate of the PDP for the governorship election conducted thereafter.

    He also wanted the court to consider that by virtue of Section 33 of the Electoral Act, 2011 (as amended), a person whose name had been submitted as a candidate for the state governorship election can be jettisoned other than by his death or withdrawal.

    In addition, Sylva prayed the court to find out whether INEC could legally regard any person other than himself, who had neither died nor withdrawn his candidature from the election, following the expiration of the tenure of office on April, 20, 2011.

    He prayed the court to declare him the governor of the state, being the only valid candidate of the party, if the questions above are in affirmative, and regarding the provisions of Section 221 of the 1999 Constitution and the Supreme Court judgment per Amaechi v. INEC 2008, which held that it is only a party that canvasses votes and wins election.

    The matter has been fixed for February 14 for hearing.

  • Police declare pensions boss Maina wanted

    Police declare pensions boss Maina wanted

    The Nigeria Police Force has declared the chairman of the Pensions Reform Task Team, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina wanted.

    Maina has engaged a joint committee of the Senate investigating pension funds in a hide-and-seek since the investigation began last year, with the two parties trading accusations.

    In a statement by Force Deputy Public Relations officer, Frank Mba, yesterday, the police authorities said Maina wanted for failure to appear before the Senate joint committee investigating disbursements of pension funds.

    The statement reads: “It will be recalled that the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria had on 13th December, 2012, issued a Warrant of Arrest, mandating the Inspector-General of Police to arrest and produce Alhaji Maina before the Senate Joint Committee on the Investigation of Pension Fund.

    “Since then, the subject has gone into hiding, making it difficult for the police to execute the warrant. Consequently, the Inspector-General of Police has directed all AIGs in-charge of Zonal Commands and State Commands, Commissioners of Police to spread their dragnets to all nooks and crannies of their respective areas of jurisdiction, in search of Alhaji Maina.

    “He has also directed all operatives of the Federal Intelligence Bureau (FIB), Force and State CID to join the man-hunt.

    “The IGP wishes to appeal to well-meaning citizens and the general public with useful information on the whereabouts of Alhaji Abdulrasheed Maina, to kindly volunteer such information to the nearest police station, formations, or email policemonitor@npf.gov.ng for necessary action.”

  • ‘We can’t declare President’s assets’

    ‘We can’t declare President’s assets’

    The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) yesterday ruled out the possibility of making public the assets declared by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    It also said it was compiling charges against 12 states bordering on non-declaration of assets and breach of trust.

    The states are: Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Kano, Katsina, Kwara and Nasarawa.

    Addressing reporters in Abuja, its Chairman, Mr. Sam Saba, said the Bureau had no backing of the law to reveal assets declared by the president, governors and other top public officers.