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Tag: urges

  • Lagos council poll: ACN urges court to dismiss tribunal’s verdict

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday urged the Local Government Election Appeal Tribunal sitting at the Lagos State High Court, Igbosere, to uphold its appeal against the verdict of the Election Petition Tribunal (EPT), which declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the Agbado-Okeodo chairmanship election.

    The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) declared the ACN’s candidate, Dr. Augustine Arogun, winner of the October 22, 2011, poll and the PDP’s candidate, Otunba Busari Akande, filed a petition at the EPT challenging the declaration.

    On November 22, last year, EPT declared Akande winner of the election.

    The lower tribunal, led by Justice Ade Owobiyi, voided the certificate of return LASIEC issued to the ACN candidate.

    It held that Akande polled the highest number of valid votes in the election, a decision Arogun appealed.

    Yesterday, LASIEC’s lawyer Oladapo Akinosun and Arogun’s counsel Kunle Adegoke, in separate appeals, urged the appellate tribunal to uphold their appeals against the EPT’s verdict.

    Akinosun argued that the EPT lacked jurisdiction to deliver the judgment.

    He said the law stipulates that a petition must be heard and dispensed with within 30 days, unless the petitioner brings a motion in writing seeking extension of time, insisting that the petitioner did not obtain such extension.

    Akinosun said jurisdiction is a creation of statute and cannot be conferred by the court, which he said the EPT tried to do even when it did not receive any application for time extension.

    On the issue of fair hearing which the PDP raised, Akinosun said it is only applicable when a petition is still alive.

    He said: “In this case, there was no petition since there was no application for extension of time when the 30 days lapsed.

    “We urge your Lordships to dismiss the judgment of the EPT and uphold our appeal. The judgment of the lower tribunal was entered in error and should be set aside.”

    ACN’s lawyer Mohammed Ajibola (SAN) also urged the court to uphold the appeal.

    Otunba Kunle Kalejaiye (SAN), counsel to the PDP and Akande, said the respondents filed a preliminary objection on the competence of the appeal.

    Urging the court to dismiss it, he said Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution supersedes any law, such as Section 14 (1) of the Local Government Election Tribunal Law, which imposes time limits on the determination of election petitions.

    Kalejaiye said: “The intention of the makers of the law is to provide an avenue for ventilation of election grievances. Therefore, any legislation that curbs the exercise of judicial powers would be null, pursuant to Section 36 of the Constitution.

    “We urge your lordships in the circumstances to dismiss the appeal and uphold the decision of the lower tribunal.”

    The Justice Opeyemi Oke-led panel reserved judgment till April 10.

  • PIB: Tambuwal urges integrity

    House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal has emphasised integrity and national interest as the lower chamber takes discussions on the Petrolieum Industry Bill (PIB) to the grassroots.

    Inaugurating the 23-man ad hoc Committee yesterday, Tambuwal said: “I should also caution that with the demanding nature of the task before you and high stake interest and expectations lies the glittering but slippery line of integrity test.

    “When you encounter it, do not take a second look, do not slow down, do not stop but rather flee because it is outside the scope of your mandate. May the Almighty God grant you the wisdom and strength to come out of this assignment with greater honour and integrity than you now possess.”

    Saying that the assignment should not be personalised, the Speaker noted that the legislation the committee would be working on is not meant for a section of the Nigerian society.

    He said: “Let me remind all the members of this Committee that the assignment before you is critical, sensitive and demanding. It will not be an overstatement to say that the biggest activities in the country’s oil sector now is the wait for the Petroleum Industry Act.

    “From the tempo of public discourse, it should be obvious to all and sundry that there is high level of interest as well as expectations on the Petroleum Industry Bill from various interest groups both within the country as well as the international community.

    “I, therefore, need not emphasise on the need for absolute circumspection, diligence, transparency and patriotism on the part of the Committee”.

    Earlier, the Chairman of the Committee, who is also the Chief Whip of the House, Ishaka Bawa, discussions would be held in the six geo-political zones.

    Besides, he said the intention of the Committee was to promote national interest above individual, sectional or primordial interests.

    He said a retreat to be held between 18th and 20th of this month in Lagos would precede the zonal public hearings.

    “The essence of the Zonal Public hearings is to bring the process to the doorsteps of the people at the grassroots, especially the oil producing communities, whose views will be a critical factor in packaging the kind of Petroleum Industry Law that will address not only elitist concerns but also the other crucial issues concerning the environment as well as human development”.

    According to him, the public sessions at the zonal level will avail Nigerians, particularly those from the oil communities, the opportunity to participate in evolving the oil industry law that would address the multifarious problems plaguing the sector.

    He assured Nigerians that the members would be guided by patriotism. “We are under no illusion as to the enormity of the task ahead of us and, therefore, fully understand that it will require our maximum dedication, commitment, diligence and, above all, unflinching patriotism to accomplish,” he added.

    Members of the special committee include the Minority Whip, Samson Osagie; Chairman; House Committee on Justice, Ali Ahmad; Chairman, Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Dakuku Peterside; Chairman, Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Ajibola Muriana; Chairman, Perroleum Resources (Gas resources), Baseey Ewah; Deputy Chairmen, Petroleum Resources (Upstream, Downstream and Gas Resources), Chairman Committee on Local Content, Asita Honourable and his Deputy; Chairman Committee on Environment, Uche Ekwenufe and Hassan Saleh, among others

  • Declare me winner, Oke urges Ondo Tribunal

    The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the October 20, last year, governorship poll in Ondo State, Mr. Olusola Oke, yesterday urged the Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Akure, the state capital, to declare him the winner of the election.

    Oke said he should be declared winner, based on the fact that the majority of votes recorded for Governor Olusegun Mimiko were illegal.

    However, he said the tribunal could order a fresh election if the judges are convinced that strange names were unlawfully injected into the 2012 voters’ register.

    Giving evidence in his petition, he insisted that the election was marred by irregularities, especially unlawful injection into the voters’ register.

    Oke, who is the 34th and last witness, adopted four statements on oath as his evidence to prove his allegations.

    The statements were his petition and replies to the three respondents.

    Oke compared the 2011 and 2012 voters’ registers and tendered 12 volumes, including the summary and analysis of the unlawful injections.

    He said the documents contain names, photographs and details of the unlawful injection into the 2012 voters’ register.

    Mimiko’s counsel Mr. Adebayo Adenipekun (SAN) objected to the admissibility of the documents sought to be tendered by Oke on the grounds that they were not signed.

    Adenipekun said the documents are not expert reports or evidence, but an analysis made by the petitioner.

    He said the tribunal ruled on the documents on February 4 and they cannot be accepted at this stage of the hearing.

    Counsel to the Labour Party (LP) Wahaab Egbewole said the documents were not pleaded and listed.

    Counsel to the third respondent Hassan Suleiman (SAN) also argued that the documents were not expert reports.

    The three-man panel, led by Justice A. Kaka’n, rejected the documents on the grounds that they were not signed.

    Earlier, the tribunal accepted Certified True Copies (CTC) of the 2011 voters’ register from Akoko Southeast, Ondo West and Owo local government areas.

  • Nigeria vs Kenya: Stick with AFCON squad, Owolabi urges Keshi

    Nigeria vs Kenya: Stick with AFCON squad, Owolabi urges Keshi

    Ex-international Felix Owolabi has advised Super Eagles head coach Stephen Keshi to stick with players used at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) for the World Cup qualifying match against Harambee Stars of Kenya in Calabar.

    The former IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan left wing-back reasons that inviting new players for the game against Kenya may give the technical crew problems in blending them with the AFCON stars.

    “To make things easy for Keshi, the only thing I think he can do for now, based on the limited time on our hands, is to try and use all the players we paraded at the just-concluded AFCON in South Africa against Kenya in Calabar. The players that played in South Africa are already used to themselves; they lived and ate together for almost a month. So the team won’t have problems if the same players are used for the game against Kenya. But if the coaching crew decides to invite new players for World Cup qualifiers, there won’t be enough time for them to blend the players with those that played at the Nations Cup,” Owolabi said.

    Owolabi, who was part of the squad that won the first Nations Cup for the nation in 1980, also advocated for a friendly match for the national team before the Kenya game.

    “I want to believe that Keshi has his own programme already which I think will be his guide. I think it is wise for Keshi to organise a friendly match for Eagles before the Kenya game. It might be with a local club side in the country or any African country like Benin Republic, Togo or Ghana. The players need the friendly game because since they came back from South Africa they’ve not played together; it was celebration from one state to another. The World Cup is an important competition and we have to prepare very well and I believe a friendly game is part of preparations.”

  • 2013 Hajj: Nigeria urges Saudi on Muharam

    Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), Alhaji, Muhammad Bello had urged Saudi Arabia and Nigeria to take a clear position on the Mahram issue to prevent the re-occurrence of the 2012 episode.

    He reminded the Saudi authorities of the presentation made on the matter in October last year by a presidential delegation led House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

    He also appealed for an upward review of Nigeria ’s Hajj quota taking into account the country’s population; improvement of sanitation in the holy sites and the need to communicate new guidelines on Hajj in good time.

    Bello made the submissions during an interaction with the Deputy Minister of the Saudi Ministry of Hajj, Dr. Sahal Bin Abdallah as-Sabban, as part of preparations for the 2013 hajj.

    The Nigerian delegation was led by Nigeria’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia , Alhaji Abubakar Shehu Bunu.

    A statement by the Public Affairs Manager of NAHCON, Mallam Uba Mana, said: “The Nigerian delegation which comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), was in the Kingdom to hold talks with their Saudi counterparts as part of preparations for the 2013 Hajj.

    “Addressing the Nigerian delegation during the meeting, Dr. as-Sabban said the Saudi Ministry of Hajj is introducing a Hajj Electronic Data Management System beginning from the 2013 Hajj to cater for all pilgrims, promising that the Hajj Ministry will cooperate with Nigerian Hajj authorities to enhance Hajj operations generally.

    “Dr. as-Sabban said Nigeria’s steady improvement in the management of Hajj operations has attracted commendation from Saudi Arabian authorities.”

    Leader of the Nigerian delegation, Ambassador Bunu, called for improved communication and better working relationship between the two countries.

    The Nigerian Consul-General in Jeddah, Ambassador Ahmed Umar, lamented that Nigerian officials have been denied access to pilgrims arrested during the last Hajj for various offences.

    Other members of the delegation were the commissioners in charge of operations, Barrister Abdullahi Muhammad Mukhtar; Policy Personnel Management and Finance, Alhaji Yusuf Adebayo Ibrahim; Senior Special Assistant to the President on Aviation and NAHCON Board Member Capt. Shehu Usman Iyal; NAHCON board member representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador M. J. Z. Abubakar Waziri and a Director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Abdul-Azeez M. Dan Kano, while Deputy Comptroller-General of Immigrations (DCG) Abubakar Kuso represented the Nigeria Immigration Service.

  • Legislator urges Oyo ACN to unite

    House of Representatives member Hon. Abiodun Awoleye (Ibadan North) has called for unity among the members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Oyo State. He said a house divided against itself will fall, urging the chieftains to promote cohesion and harmony in the interest of democracy.

    Awoleye said that, if ACN could forge unity when it was outside power, the lessons of its long suffering outside power should instruct the chieftains to put their house in order as members of the ruling party in the state.

    The legislator emphasised that only a united party can serve as the pillar of support for the hardworking governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi.

    Awoleye urged the members of the party not to allow the opposition parties to disrupt the peace of the party. He said they should not create cracks on the wall of brotherhood.

    The politician asked the party to gird its loins as it prepares for the next general elections. He said the threat by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP to recolonise the state will fail.

    The lawmaker also commended the effort of the leaders of the four opposition parties who are working tirelessly to ensure that the masses are delivered from the PDP in 2015.

    Awoleye, who spoke with our correspondent on phone, said the merger will put an end to corruption and unemployment in the country.

    He added” Fourteen years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in government is a waste. They have nothing to show for it. They cannot deliver the dividends of democracy to the masses.

    “I want to appeal to all the members of the ACN in the state not to allow the opposition parties to interrupt the peace of the party in the state. Governor Ajimobi needs our collective support and that is how we can achieve the main objective of the party.

    “The opposition party was in charge of the government in the state for eight years and they have nothing to show for it.

    “I also want to use this medium to commend the effort of the leaders of the four opposition parties who are working to ensure that the people are liberated from the PDPgovernment”.

  • Gani Adams urges promotion of Yoruba culture

    The National Coordinator of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) Otunba Gani Adams has said the group’s major interest is to ensure peace in the South-West.

    Adams, who is also the chief promoter of Olokun Festival Foundation, made the remark yesterday during the third edition of the Grandmothers Festival, held in Oworonsoki area of Lagos.

    The festival, which is one of the festivals packaged by the organisation, Adams said is in honour of “Yoruba esoteric women”, who he said have helped in “preventing many ugly occurrences in our region.”

    The festival witnessed several cultural displays by different cultural groups drawn from across Yoruba land.

    Otunba Adams also used the occasion to call on well-meaning Nigerians to join hands with his group and other culturally-inclined groups in the country to promote Nigerian cultures and traditions.

    “I would like to use this medium to call on all well-meaning people in the country, especially in Yoruba land to join hands with us in this onerous task of promoting our culture. It is a sad thing to see a Yoruba man or woman who cannot speak our language.

    “The Chinese are able to free themselves from the shackles of colonialism by using their language. You can see where the Chinese are today in world affairs. We are a great and honourable race. The world will begin to respect us when we begin to understand our own potentials.”

    Meanwhile, Adams has pledged his group’s continued support for the promotion of cultural festivals in major towns across Yoruba land.

    “Let me state here that the Olokun Festival Foundation remains committed to the promotion of cultural festivals across Yoruba land.

     

  • Ibadan rainstorm: Lanlehin urges Fed Govt to assist victims

    Senator Olufemi Lanlehin (Oyo South District) yesterday urged the Federal Government to assist victims of last Sunday’s rainstorm in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    Hundreds of residents were rendered homeless by the violent wind that accompanied the first rain of the year in Ibadan.

    Many installations of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), including electric poles, cables and conductors were destroyed.

    The lawmaker sympathised with the victims and urged the Federal Government to come to their aid.

    He described the storm as “another sad chapter” in the lives of the people.

    In a statement by his media aide, Olawale Sadare, Lanlehin urged the victims to take solace in the fact that no life was lost.

    He said: “One would naturally wish that Ibadan should be spared of situations like this, since our people are yet to fully recover from the floods that ravaged the ancient city 18 months ago.

    “We commiserate with our kith and kin in the communities where the storm left in its wake varying degrees of damage to homes, offices, shops, schools, workshops and places of worship.”

    Lanlehin applauded the swift response of the state government and urged the Federal Government to play its part.

    The Vice-Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Planning, Economic Affairs and Poverty Alleviation pledged to assist the victims.

  • Ajimobi urges Nigerians to give back to society

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has urged Nigerians to give back to the society.

    He said it is the collective responsibility of all human beings to assist others.

    Ajimobi spoke yesterday at the inauguration of the Florence Ajimobi Alaanu House at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

    The project was initiated by his wife, Florence.

    It was dedicated to the memory of the governor’s mother, Alhaja Sikirat Ajimobi. The building will serve as a “waiting house” for the families of patients.

    Ajimobi said: “The greatest form of godliness is to render services to humanity, especially the less-privileged. We must learn to give back to the society in one way or the other. The government cannot do everything alone; people need to assist us by contributing to the welfare of others. “Since we assumed office, we have shown a lot of interest in our people’s welfare through free primary health care services and over 500,000 people have benefited.”

    He hailed his wife on the initiative, adding that she had been involved in humanitarian services before he became governor.

    Mrs. Ajimobi said the idea of building a waiting house for the families of patients was conceived last April when she visited some children, who were involved in an accident, at UCH.

    She said their families were going through a lot of suffering while waiting for the children to recuperate.

    The governor’s wife urged wealthy indigenes to contribute to the development of the state.

    UCH’s Chief Medical Director Prof. Temitope Alonge thanked Mrs. Ajimobi for the gesture.

    He said the building, which can accommodate 100 people, would strengthen the hospital’s relationship with the families of patients.

  • Elite club urges community development

    Elite club urges community development

    The Oyo Chapter of the National Association of Saki Elite has called on indigenous people of the community, as well as the government to help develop the town.

    President of the association, Alhaji Taiwo Olawoyin, made the call at its annual meeting in Oyo.

    Olawoyin said that the development of the town, which is located in the northern part of Oyo State, is a collective responsibility of the government and all indigenous people.

    He also called for the upgrade of the Saki satellite campus of The Polytechnic, Ibadan to a fully-fledged polytechnic in accordance with the report of the visitation panel on establishment of the proposed Oyo State Technical University.

    Olawoyin and Dr. Folake Samuel of the Department of Human Nutrition, University of Ibadan who delivered a lecture on the occasion, stressed the need for rural and urban communities to serve as the nucleus of human development.

    Dr Samuel spoke on the topic: “Pathways to Optimal Nutrition.”

    According to them, this generation needs to return to the core African culture neighbours serve as their brother’s keepers.

    Alhaji Olawoyin thanked God for helping members of the association in various ways in 2012 and lauded members’ commitment to the association.

    Also speaking on the occasion, former National President, Association of Saki Parapo, an umbrella body of all indigenes and affiliated associations at home and abroad, Alhaji Raimi Akande, acknowledged contributions of Saki elite  towards the development of the town.