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Tag: Nigerian Newspapers

  • Nigerian Ambassador rallies support for table tennis team

    Nigerian table tennis is not lacking in support at the ongoing 12th African Games as the country’s ambassador to Morocco, Baba Garba was present to cheer the team to victory in the women quarterfinal tie against host – Morocco.

    The envoy accompanied by some officials of the mission including the Head of Chancery, Adamu Ibrahim Gombe took time to chat with the players, while urging them to give their best for the country in the competition. He, however, promised to cheer the team in the finals which will hold on Friday, August 23, 2019.

    Read Also: ‘Egypt can’t stop Nigeria again’

    “We just need to continue to inspire our athletes as my coming here is to motivate the players to give their best and make the country proud. We are excited with their performance and I am looking forward to cheering them during the finals,” the envoy said.

    For Olufunke Oshonaike, the presence of the ambassador was commendable and we hope we can do our best to make it the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

  • ‘Egypt can’t stop Nigeria again’

    Olufunke Oshonaike believes North African opponents, Egypt cannot prevent the Nigerian table tennis team from reaching this year’s final of the 12th African Games holding in Rabat, Morocco.

    Egypt and Nigeria are expected to square up in the final today for the gold medal as well as the sole ticket to Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

    Oshonaike who is eyeing her seventh Olympic appearance told NationSport that she cannot afford to miss Tokyo 2020, as she is primed to be in Japan next year.

    Read Also: 12th African Games: Oshonaike recalls maiden outing with Toriola

    “I have dreamt of Tokyo and gold medal; we will surely be unstoppable this year because we had lost to Egypt in our previous meetings but this year will be an exception. My teammates are ready for the battle against the Egyptians and I am confident that we can stop them this year. This is an important match for us and we know what is at stake and we are ready physically and psychologically for the final,” she said. For Egypt’s Yousra Helmy, the final would be tougher this year.

    “I believe it is going to be tougher this year because two things are at stake. The gold medal and the Olympic Games ticket.”

    This is a double pressure for both teams and we are prepared for the match and we are sure we will come out on top again this year,” Helmy said.

  • Dare laments 38 per cent youth unemployment

    Minister of Youth and Sports Development Sunday Dare has pledged to work with relevant agencies and stakeholders to address youth unemployment.

    The minister spoke on Thursday in Abuja at the 2019 International Youth Day, with the theme “Transforming Education’’.

    He lamented the large number of Nigerian youths out of school and the growing number of those unemployed with a pledge to address it headlong.

    “Youth unemployment as at the 2nd quarter of 2018 stood at 38 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

    “We will work hard to reduce this figure by applying principles and objectives that cut across different sectors of development.

    “We must consciously work to provide enabling environment for the Nigerian youth to excel and reach his full potentials,’’ he said.

    Read Also: Veteran Journalist Sunday Dare is new sports minister

    Dare said the ministry would collaborate with relevant agencies of government as well as development partners to improve the employment situation of Nigerian youths.

    “The ministry will seek and explore linkages with other federal ministries, agencies and development partners towards leveraging on technology and innovation.

    “We have already identified ministries such as Trade, Industry and Investment; Communication; Science and Technology; Agriculture, and Education,’’ he added.

    He said the Federal Government was ready to tap into the large population and vibrancy of the youth to fast track national development.

    Dare is to convene a meeting of the various factions of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) as part of efforts to resolve lingering issues in youth development in the country.

    In his keynote address, he said: “As a practical demonstration to this cause, I will in a couple of days convene a meeting of critical stakeholders in the area of youth development. Unity of minds and purpose must drive our engagements going forward.

    “In this way the Youth Organisations and in particular, the National Youth Council of Nigeria will be refocused to complement the efforts of Government to expand the reach and advance the cause of transforming education among our youths.

    “Furthermore, Government will continue to collaborate with stakeholders to adequately empower the youth; enhance youth civic engagement and participation in the political processes and in decision-making as well as established institutions,” the minister explained.

    NYCN is split across factional lines with contenders either laying claim to the group’s leadership.

    The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr Olusade Adesola, called on youths to be good ambassadors of the country and contribute to national development.

    The International Youth Day is celebrated yearly, on Aug. 12.

    The 2019 commemoration was postponed in Nigeria because of the Eid-el Kabir festivity.

    The event was attended by officials from UNFPA, NYSC, Ministry of Labour officials and other development partners.

  • Fed Govt to prosecute those behind $9b UK judgment, says Malami

    The Federal Government will prosecute everyone linked with the contract that resulted in the judgment of the United Kingdom, Business & Property Courts (the Commercial Court) which awarded a cumulative sum of $9bn award against Nigeria and in favour of a private firm, Process & Industrial Developments Limited, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami has said.

    Malami, who questioned the sincerity of those behind the contract, awarded in 2010, argued that it formed part of the inglorious legacies of past administrations, which this government is being made to grapple with.

    Malami spoke in Abuja on Thursday, while unveiling his agenda on his first day of resumption at the Federal Ministry of Justice. He said henceforth, contract of certain categories will be vetted by the Federal Ministry of Justice before it is signed by any Federal Government agency.

    He said: “Sadly, in spite of the spirited and concerted efforts of the current administration to combat corrupt practices and rent-seeking in all its forms, Nigerians woke up on Friday 16th August, 2019 to the rudest consequences of the underhand dealings of -the past administration that has resulted in the award of $9billion against the Federal Republic of Nigeria by a British court, which ruled that Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID) had the right to seize $9billion in Nigerian assets.

    “It may interest you to know that the dispute that led to the arbitration between the FGN and P&ID, which consequently resulted in the said court ruling arose from a twenty (20) year Gas Supply Processing Agreement: (GSPA) purportedly entered with P&ID by the past administration in 2010, which contract the P&ID never performed as agreed.

    Read Also: Malami: what Buhari told me about justice ministry

    “That being said, it must be placed on record that the Federal Government strongly views with serious concerns the underhand manners by which the negotiation, signing and formation of the contract was carried out by some vested interests in the past administration in connivance with their local and international conspirators all in a bid to inflict grave economic adversity on the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the good people of Nigeria.

    “As a government that has the mandate of the people and their interests at heart, we shall not fold our arms and allow this injustice to go unpunished as all efforts, actions and steps shall be taken to bring to book all private individuals, corporate entities and government officials home or abroad and past or present that played direct and indirect roles in the conception, negotiation, signing formation as well as prosecution of the purported agreement,” Malami said.

    Malami, also appeared worried about the impact of public corruption and the connivance of financial institutions in the thriving crime of illicit finance flow out of the country. He said henceforth, financial institutions, linked with financial crimes, will be prosecuted along with the culprits

    The AGF blamed the current increasing hostile political environment and other challenges in the country on the long years of the failure of the judicial system and the lawless acts of the corrupt and unpatriotic few, who always derive pleasure in seeing the nation falters,

    He expressed his commitment to upholding the rule of law and promised to champion a robust reform of the nation’s justice system to make it function effectively in aid of the administration’s policies targeted at building a great and prosperous nation.

    Malami said “We have done much, but the reality is that there is a lot more to be done especially at this crucial time in the annals of our country when the soul of Nigeria is currently being threatened by an emerging class of mutinous elements at a time that our nation needs cohesion like never before. Nigeria is today bedevilled with an existential crisis of nationhood that is threatening to tear the country apart, with needless calls for separation, dismemberment and ill-motivated restructuring.

    “However, a deep reflection and interrogation of the system and issues in my vantage position as Attorney General of the Federation clearly reveal that a critical part of the problem arose from the long years of failure of our justice system, which has consequently created a very vulnerable political environment.

    As we all know that any society where laws are observed in the breach than in the observance, such a society will automatically degenerate to Hobbesian state of nature when life was brutish, whimsical and short a state to which no Nigerian should pray we return as a country.

    “We, therefore, cannot afford to fail on account of the lawless acts of the corrupt and unpatriotic few who always derive pleasure in seeing us fail as a nation. The law must work; it must speak its firm language of justice at all times, no matter whose ox is gored. It is beyond doubt that the law is the secret that binds societies together.

    “As a social engineer and reformer, I am determined as ever before to use the law as a means to shape society, regulate people’s behaviours and balance the competing interests in the Nigerian society because of the ‘defence of the corporate interest of the Federal Republic Nigeria. And the rights of her citizens, are my primary goal as Chief Law Officer,” he said.

    .Malami argued that the major reason “for the seeming failure of our system is the structural defects

    of our constitution and laws, non-adherence to laws, institutional failure of enforcements, and dysfunctionality of our judicial system which only judicial reforms can reverse if we must exist as a nation.”

    The AGF said he will devote his second coming to working on ways to address all the identified challenges by collaborating with other arms of government and relevant agencies of the Executive arm of government.

    Malami assured that under his watch, the Federal Ministry of Justice shall devote its efforts at developing measures to help reverse “this dysfunctional system” by rigorously pursuing judicial reforms targeted at

    achieving some identified objectives.

    They include:

    *To protect the sovereignty, integrity, solidarity, wellbeing and prosperity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by defending the Nigerian constitution in such a manner that will guarantee the unity and indivisibility. of the Nigerian State;

    *To promote and remain steadfast to the policy thrusts of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration by contributing our own quotas to improving security, fighting corruption and fixing the economy for the greater benefit of all Nigerians;

    *To use the instrumentality of our legal system to improve accountability in public financial management with a view to ensuring that the government and its officials, as well as private individuals and corporate entities, are accountable to the Nigerian people under the law;

    *To apply laws in such a manner that abuse of power by private individuals, corporate entities and national authorities are checked in a way that the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the citizens are protected without any form of discrimination;

    *To ensure the processes of enactment, administration and enforcement of the law are open, accessible, just, equitable and efficient.

  • ‘My tribe played no role in my appointment’

    Minister of State for Environment Sharon Ikeazor has said President Muhammadu Buhari never judged her by her tribe or religion in appointing her as a minister.

    Ikeazor, who spoke at a reception organised in her honour by friends and associates in Abuja, said the President judged her solely on the mandate she was given at the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) and how she was able to execute that mandate, assuring that she will strive to deliver on her new mandate.

    The minister, who said the turning point her life was the Sosoliso air crash which claimed the life of about 60 children, added that she decided to join politics to help fight social injustice when nothing was done about the crash.

    Read Also: Pensioners applaud appointment of PTAD boss, Ikeazor as Minister

    She said: “I keep saying that the Nigeria of our dream is possible and we can achieve it. How was I able to achieve mine? I joined politics. Politics is life and life is politics. I left the law school in 1985 and followed my father’s footsteps. I didn’t get much satisfaction from law and I got into project management, consulting.

    “The Sosoliso air crash was the turning point in my life. 60 children died in a plane crash and you tell me it is an act of God? It was not an act of God, but pure negligence by those who operated the aircraft and the airport facilities. We protested and there was no action taken. No minister resigned and nothing happened.

    “We the women made up of Catholic Women Organisation and Muslim Women were protesting daily and nothing happened. It was then I decided that I needed a platform where my voice will be heard and I can make the difference and that platform was politics. Which was the most decent political party that I could join and maintain my integrity? It was the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) under President Buhari. Everybody thought I was crazy, but I was there for a purpose. Buhari was fighting social injustice and I was fighting social injustice.

    “I can stand here before you  today and say that President Buhari never judged me by my tribe or my religion. He only judged me by the mandate he gave me. I am glad that I was able to deliver on the mandate he gave me and I hope to deliver on the next one. Environment is life and so, we must sought out the issues in the environment. Desertification is there, erosion, flooding, climate change, we will work on it with all your support and prayers.”

  • Ngige: 60 per cent of 2019 budget to be rolled over to 2020

    Chances are high that about 60 per cent of the 2019 budget will be rolled over to the 2020 budget, Minister of Labour and Employment Chris Ngige said on Thursday.

    “Part of the reasons why our budget has suffered is that once it suffered distortion down there at the National Assembly, the Executive is reluctant to implement it because they will feel that foreign items have been introduced into the budget,” he said.

    Ngige spoke when he resumed duty at the ministry alongside Minister of State for Labour and Employment Tayo Alasoadura.

    He said: “We have been warned that we must bring back the January/December budget circle. Therefore, the President of the Senate and officers of the National Assembly have, in one voice, requested from us that the budget should come in September and once they get it in September, they will give it to us in December.

    “So, we must do our part and what that mean is that parastatals themselves must submit their budget here and come and defend it. We are going to be serious about that because we hear of budget padding because parastatals invite Assembly members to come and carry padded things into their places.

    “We must stop that and we have to be serious about that any parastatal under this ministry that does that will be sanctioned so that we can live within our means and we can stay within what we have proposed for the work of the administration.

    Read Also: My immediate task is to put minimum wage issue to rest, says Ngige

    “Section 80 and 81 talks about the budget and how it can be used. If we do our work well, it will be a co-administered thing. We can set up committees and agreed on how it can be done so that it does not suffer distortion out there.

    “It is even appropriate that before we do down to the National Assembly to defend our budget, we should have met with our committee to agree on items or what you called budget lines are not supposed to be tampered with by the National Assembly.

    “The National Assembly can tamper with figures and amount because they have the power of the purse. But line items are not supposed to be tampered with because it is the ministry that does the planning of project, the scaling and the final plans as well as the financial implication.

    “The executive must take the lead by putting its house in order. So, I am sounding a note of warning that we must immediately start our budget planning to ensure that we submit it by September.

    “The call circular from the budget office will come, but before it comes, you can be doing your work because you already know that the 2019 budget has not been aggressively executed.

    “From the retreat we had, we now know that about 60 percent of it has to go back into the 2020 budget and rolled over. That was agreed and so, we can start our work ahead.”

    Ngige, who said he never lobbied to be reappointed as minister, said: “I am happy to come back home. A lot has happened within the last few weeks. Many people were busy here in Abuja lobbying to be appointed minister. But I was not around because I had to take my well-deserved vacation.

    “I travelled to Geneva on the invitation of a few of my African friends and from there I went on vacation in the United States of America. I came back a few days before the announcement of the new ministers.

    “The President reserves the right to make appointments because the constitution gives him that power. We are all product of the constitution. I have taken an oath to defend the constitution and I will discharge my responsibilities without fear or favour.

    “My reappointment and redeployment to the Ministry of Labour and Employment is an endorsement of the work  I have done here which is not personal, but collective. We have differences and I drive people because it is my nature.

    He said the disagreement between him and the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) shortly before leaving office was a family disagreement, which has been resolved.

    Alasoadura said he would have no reason to disagree with Ngige. He said having two ministers in a ministry meant that they must work as a team to actualise the programmes of the government.

  • SSANU, NASU accuse Fed Govt of discrimination

    Non-teaching workers of Nigerian universities, under the aegis of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), have accused the Federal Government of giving preferential treatment to their academic counterparts.

    They warned that unless the government meets their demands, the warning strike, which ends today, may snowball into “mother of all strikes”.

    The unions insisted that the government must release N30 billion to them for payment of their earned allowances.

    According to them, giving 80 per cent of the money earlier released to universities to academic workers was too discriminatory. Their threat is coming as the National Universities Commission (NUC) issued a circular to Vice Chancellors of all Federal universities on the payment of salaries and arrears to teachers of university staff schools.

    Read Also: SSANU, NASU strike paralyse UI

    This has been a subject of industrial crisis between the government the unions since 2016.

    Addressing reporters yesterday in Abuja, the nation’s capital, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the unions, led by SSANU’s National Vice-President/Zonal Chairman, Comrade Solomon Alfa, said the five-day warning strike, which started on Monday to press home their demands, was successful.

    The two unions said the money they were demanding from government would be spent to close the gap created by the discriminatory disbursement of funds earlier approved for settlement of university workers’ Earned Allowances.

    Alfa said the unions were not happy about government’s alleged discrimination in disbursing N25 billion allocated to Federal universities with the academic workers alone taking 80 per cent of the money. The union leader advised the government to immediately reopen renegotiation with them on the 2009 agreement, which he said was long overdue for renegotiation.

    According to him, the unions were protesting the continued discriminatory practice by government in favour of the academic workers in the sharing of money meant for the payment of earned allowances.

    “Consequently, the JAC of SSANU and NASU is demanding N30 billion from the Federal Government for payment to non-teaching workers in order to close the gap it created by the discriminatory allocations.

    “Thereafter, JAC expects that government will not allow such dichotomy to raise its ugly head in the system against after defraying the balance,” he said.

    Alfa said the unions decided to give further update on their warning strike.

    The union leader said the strike was also an opportunity for the unions to create awareness abouth their actions.

    He urge Nigerians to prevail on the government to prevent the “mother of all strikes” in the nation’s tertiary institutions.

    Alfa added: “This repeated discriminatory practice by government of the day in favour of ASUU and against the non-teaching workers is not only worrisome but has portrayed the present government as bias as well as well as causing divide-and-rule capable of creating disharmony in the system as an avenue to crumble and kill the university education system.

    “Therefore, the JAC of SSANU and NASU is calling on all Nigerians to condemn this act of government with a view to correcting itself.”

  • Corruption, security, health top talks as ministers settle down

    Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola on Thursday urged officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to enhance internal security and embrace the spirit of transparency.

    Aregbesola spoke in Abuja during his familiarisation visit to the NIS headquarters.

    A statement issued by the spokesman of the NIS, Sunday James, reads: “On Thursday, 22nd August 2019, the Honourable Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aribesola, made his maiden official visit to the Headquarters of the Nigeria Immigration Service where he charged the Service to enhance internal security, facilitate Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and imbibe the culture of transparency.

    “The Honourable Minister set out three main objectives for the Ministry of Interior under his watch based on the mandate given to him by President Muhammadu Buhari. These are Security, Economy and Transparency which he coded “SET”. Thus, he mandated agencies under him to improve security, economy and transparency in government business. He also expressed his commitment to making them “enhancers of internal security”.

    “He further disclosed that he was very impressed with the level of development he witnessed at the NIS. Some of these include the deployment of technology in the enhanced e-Passport, Technology Building, MIDAS and the Command Control Centre, where activities of NIS operatives at the borders are being coordinated. He thereby committed to supporting the NIS to achieve her mandate. According to him, he saw in the NIS ‘a Service that might be second to none in the sub-Sahara Africa in no distant time’.

    Read Also: Aregbesola tasks NSCDC on intelligence gathering

    “The Honourable Minister was earlier taken round facilities at the NIS Headquarters including the newly commissioned Migrant e-Registration Centre and the ongoing construction of Technology building after which he was briefed on the activities of the Service by the Comptroller General of Immigration Muhammad Babandede.

    “While briefing the honourable Minister, the CGI stated that NIS is an IT-driven agency that is committed to ensuring government business is done professionally.”

    Aregbesola, in a statement issued in Abuja by his Media Consultant, Mr Semiu Okanlawon, decried the internal insecurity bedevilling the country, the Minister said the Muhammadu Buhari government is open to more meaningful ideas that can help in the formulation of new policies in tackling all threats to internal security.

    He said: “We appeal to all of you with ideas. Nobody is a repository of ideas because nobody has the whole ideas on earth. We are appealing to you to share ideas, opinions, suggestions and strategies that can help us to remove, reduce and eliminate all the security threats facing our nation.

    “Besides the fact that the primary objective of every government is the security of lives and property as well as the welfare of the citizens, these can only be guaranteed if and when there are safety and security in the land.”

    Also, Minister of State for Health Olorunnimbe Mamora said the ministry would curb medical tourism and child mortality.

    Mamora also said the ministry would re-invigorate the structures on the ground and address the intra-profession rivalry among the health professionals in the country.

    Speaking to reporters during a reception held for him in Abuja, the minister stated that the new administration in the health ministry would continue from where the former minister stopped.

    He said: “Definitely, we have to do that (curb medical tourism) because we are complaining of not having enough foreign exchange and then the little we have; we are taking them for medical tourism.

    “We need to do things differently by way of reinvigorating the structures we have here. For example, there is what I call the minimum, which we need to put in place. We have good doctors, good health professionals.”

  • We will execute projects to change Nigeria’s narrative, says President

    President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged that his administration will continue to implement policies and execute people-oriented projects that will change the narrative for Nigerians.

    The President spoke yesterday in Zaria, Kaduna State, at the inauguration of the city’s water supply expansion project.

    He said the Federal Government, despite its lean resources, spent N11.8 billion on the construction of the multipurpose 186.1 million cubic meter Galma Dam as its contribution to the project.

    In a statement by his Special Adviser (SA) on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President said: “This project is the culmination of the joint efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria, Kaduna State Government, Islamic Development Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

    “The multilateral nature of the funding for this project underscores the great importance the Kaduna State government and the Federal Government attach to this project, which is designed to provide adequate water supply to the growing city of Zaria and its environs.”

    Read Also: Buhari: we’ve invested N1.3tr in education

    Praising Governor Nasiru El-Rufai for completing the water project, which had hitherto languished for years.

    President Buhari said: “I am aware that the governor undertook to offset all outstanding payments to the contractor in 2015, which led to the resumption of construction activities at the 150 million litres-per-day water treatment plant.”

    The President also praised the state government for demonstrating an appreciable commitment to development through people-oriented projects.

    “To our multilateral partners, the Islamic Development Bank and the AfDB, we are grateful for your part in providing the needed funding to undertake and complete the transmission mains, service reservoirs, booster stations and distribution network.

    “We could not have done it without your contributions. We are hopeful that this partnership will continue as we seek to reach out to other communities, cities and states in Nigeria to provide water facilities and other essential services,” he said.

    The President challenged the Kaduna State Water Corporation, responsible for operating and maintaining the system, to live up to expectation, urging beneficiaries to be responsible citizens by ensuring vigilance over the facilities and payment for water consumed.

    He noted that water infrastructure investments such as this one would serve for decades if they are well managed and well maintained.

    “The project is partly funded by loans that will be repaid by coming generations. We should ensure that they are appreciative even as they continue to pay back the loans,” the President said. President Buhari, who congratulated “the good people of Zaria for being the beneficiaries of such a timely and life-changing water project”, hailed the contractors and consultants for doing quality job and timely delivery.

  • Court dismisses HDP’s petition against Buhari

    The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by Hope Democratic Party (HDP) and its candidate Ambrose Owuru against President Muhamadu Buhari’s election for being unmeritorious.

    A five-man panel, in a unanimous judgment, held that the petition’s first leg was outside the court’s jurisdiction, and that the petitioners failed to prove the second leg.

    In the first part, the petitioners sought to be declared winners of the last presidential election.

    It was on the ground that they won a referendum purportedly conducted on February 16, the date earlier scheduled for the presidential election before it was held on February 23.

    In the second part, the petitioners claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) unlawfully excluded them from the election, their candidate having been validly nominated.  The Presiding Justice, Justice Mohammed Garba, who read the lead judgment, held that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the aspect of the petition relating to referendum.

    He said the court, under Section 239(1) of the 1999 Constitution, exercises original jurisdiction in presidential election dispute to determine whether or not a person was validly elected, not the outcome of a referendum.

    Justice Garba noted that the only part of Constitution where referendum was provided for are in sections 69 and 110, which deal with the process of replacing a recalled legislator, and not for the election of a person into the office of President.

    He added that the Constitution also makes provision for how the outcome of elections should be contested.

    According to him, no provision exists in the Constitution that allows a petition to challenge the outcome of a presidential election by alluding to a purported referendum.

    On the petitioners’ argument that INEC lacked the power to postpone an election, Justice Garba said Section 26(1) of the Electoral Act allows the commission to do so and fix dates, provided the reasons are cogent and verifiable.

    Read Also: Court adjourns for judgment on Atiku’s petition

    “Since INEC is empowered to postpone an election and choose election date, the power to decide matters of postponement is outside the jurisdiction of this court,” the judge said.

    While further holding that the court lacked jurisdiction, Justice Garba noted that since the act of postponement occurred before the election, which was held on February 23, it was a pre-election matter that should be decided at the High Court within 14 days.

    “Being a pre-election matter, which is not within the jurisdiction of this court, and having not been filed within the stipulated 14 days, the jurisdiction of this court cannot be invoked to determine this case,” he said.

    On alleged exclusion, Justice Garba noted that in some of the exhibits tendered by the petitioners, it was obvious that the petitioners were not truthful about their claim to have been excluded from the election.

    He noted that from the final list of candidates made by INEC, which the petitioners tendered, Owuru’s name appeared as number 69, while its logo was conspicuously printed on the ballot papers.

    Justice Garba held that the petitioners did not prove allegation of valid nomination and unlawful exclusion from the election.

    He dismissed the petition, but declined to award cost against the petitioners as prayed by the respondents – President Muhammadu Buhari, INEC and the All progressives congress (APC).

    The court, in three earlier rulings, upheld the respondents’ preliminary objections.  The court held that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the petition and that it constitutes an abuse of court process.

    According to the PEPC, the issues raised in the petition were similar to those raised in two suits numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/221/2018 and FHC/ABJ/94/78/2019 pending before the Federal High Court in Abuja.