Court of Appeal upholds election of Dapo Abiodun

Court of Appeal upholds election of Dapo Abiodun

The Court of Appeal in Lagos has confirmed the re-election of Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the duly elected Governor of Ogun State. Justice Joseph Shagbaor Ikyegh, in the majority judgment, dismissed the appeal filed by the People’s Democratic Party candidate, Ladi Adebutu, in the 2023 governorship election. Conversely, Justice Jane Esienanwan Inyang, in the minority judgment, allowed the appeal and directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election within 90 days. It would be recalled that in the election, Abiodun secured victory over Oladipupo Adebutu, who garnered 262,383 votes, along with 12 other candidates. Abiodun emerged triumphant with a margin of 13,915 votes.

Football icon George Weah loses Liberia’s presidential election, congratulates winner

Football icon George Weah loses Liberia’s presidential election, congratulates winner

Football icon and former FIFA World Best Player George Weah has conceded defeat in Liberia’s 2023 presidential election. Weah who is the current president of his country is said to have called his challenger, Joseph Boakai, acknowledging his victory. Boakai secured a lead of 28,000 votes in almost all ballots counted. In his address to the country, Weah expressed respect for the democratic process and the voice of the Liberian people. Football icon George Weah loses Liberia’s presidential election, congratulates winnerFootball icon George Weah loses Liberia’s presidential election, congratulates winnerLiberia’s President George Weah – Getty image He said, “the Liberian people have spoken, and we have heard their voice.” Weah had been in power since 2018 and will step down from the presidency after the inauguration of the new president in January. Weah’s presidency which was initially met with excitement, especially from younger voters, faced criticism for perceived failures in addressing corruption, rising price of commodities, and economic challenges. Despite winning the election in 2018 against Boakai with a large margin, Weah’s popularity dropped drastically during his tenure. Boakai, at 78 years old, secured 50.89% of the votes, while Weah received 49.11%, according to the electoral commission. Weah who is the first footballer to become a country’s president, accepted the result of the close race, stating the need for unity in Liberia, “Unity is paramount for mama Liberia.”

Davido’s uncle, Ademola Adeleke narrates how he went back to school to win Osun election

Davido's uncle, Ademola narrates how he went back to school to win Osun governorship election

The Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, who’s also an uncle to music superstar, Davido, has revealed how he went back to school to earn a degree following attacks from the opposition after he contested for the 2018 governorship position in his state. Adeleke while speaking at the combined 9th undergraduate and 5th postgraduate convocation ceremonies of the Adeleke University, Ede, Osun state, on Sunday said after losing the 2018 governorship election, he was subjected to the worst personality attacks and assaults.

Davido's uncle, Ademola narrates how he went back to school to win Osun governorship election

Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke About 75 postgraduate and 537 undergraduate students were conferred with various degrees at the Adeleke University. The governor while addressing the students added that he had to leave the country to escape the attack and to complete his degree programme, after his elder brother, Dr. Deji Adeleke, insisted he must complete his education or forgo his 2022 governorship ambition. Adeleke advised that age should not be seen as a barrier to pursuing educational dreams, saying one of the conditions he was given before his 2022 governorship ambition was for him to complete his education. He said, “Dr Tajudeen Adeleke encouraged me to move ahead. Before I went on exile, he called me to a meeting where we discussed. He told me that I should look at what I have been subjected to by those saying I was not educated. He advised that I should go to (the United States of) America for studies. “He said the only thing I can do for Osun people if I am ready to be governor, I must get educated, I must complete my education; that without completing it, I should forget my governorship ambition. “At my age then, I successfully re-enrolled and completed my degree programme. I am proud of that achievement and I thank my family and friends for their total support. “I came back to re-contest in 2022 as a brand new graduate. The rest is now history. What is the lesson? Our age must never be a barrier to educational pursuit. What we need is commitment and passion to succeed.” In his remarks, Dr Deji Adeleke, who is the founder of the university, said if Nigerians resolved to change the country for better, it could be achieved. He called on Nigerians that desire a good country to contribute their quota to nation-building and stop apportioning blame to those in positions of authority.

Nigerians fume as young boy promised heaven and earth during presidential election campaign is left neglected

"After 5 months" - Nigerians fume as young boy promised heaven and earth during presidential election campaign is left neglected

In what appears to be a disheartening turn of events, Nigerians are expressing their disappointment as the young election hero, whose viral video of chasing Peter Obi’s convoy captivated the nation, has allegedly been left empty-handed despite grand promises made during the presidential election campaign. The incident has reignited debates over the credibility of campaign pledges and the treatment of citizens who actively participate in political processes.

"After 5 months" - Nigerians fume as young boy promised heaven and earth during presidential election campaign is left neglected

A photo of the young election hero. Photo Credit: @google source: google During the presidential elections campaign, the young boy was promised a myriad of rewards ranging from scholarships abroad to substantial financial compensation. These assurances were intended to recognize and appreciate his bold act of running after the convoy of Peter Obi, the former vice-presidential candidate, in a fervent display of support. However, five months have elapsed since the general elections took place, and the promised rewards have failed to materialize, leaving the young election hero disillusioned and causing Nigerians to voice their grievances. Social media platforms have been inundated with expressions of frustration, highlighting the broken trust between politicians and the electorate. @mandemluvme said; “U go dey trust politicians?😂😂😂” @mali.k_3 wrote; “Obi😂😂😂” @jah_rock_ said; “I did not trust this man right from day one… fake man” @thisleksam said; ‘That’s politics for you” @bvenza wrote; “Just da play you da hear da play.” @b_o_w_a_d said; “Peter obi talk say he won give him one post then ? @kuwait_official wrote; “Internet is very bad what’s this again” See below;

"After 5 months" - Nigerians fume as young boy promised heaven and earth during presidential election campaign is left neglected

 

“Tinubu would have lost election if I removed fuel subsidy” ― Buhari

"Why I didn't remove fuel subsidy" ― Buhari

Muhammadu Buhari, the immediate past president of Nigeria Monday revealed why he left his successor, Bola Tinubu to remove fuel subsidy, saying that had the policy been implemented, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Tinubu would have lost the last general polls. Buhari’s former aide, Garba Shehu, via a statement, said the ex-president commended the steps taken so far by the new administration in implementing the removal of petrol subsidy and attempt to unify the Naira exchange rate.

Former President, Muhamadu Buhari The statement, according to Shehu, was in response to persistent queries by some critics who have questioned why it took Tinubu only weeks to remove the petrol subsidy whereas Buhari didn’t do so for several years. According to him, successive polls indicated that the ruling party would have lost the 2023 election if the Petroleum Industry Act, containing the petrol subsidy removal, was implemented before then. In the statement titled “Buhari didn’t fail to remove subsidy “, Shehu wrote: “Why did it take the new Tinubu/ Shettima presidency weeks to remove the petrol subsidy when Buhari didn’t do so for years fails to ask the right question. “The massive electricity subsidy. The fraudulent fertilizer subsidy. Hajj/Christian Pilgrim subsidies. Remember them? “The diesel subsidy. The aviation fuel subsidy. LPFO. Kerosene. Cooking gas and the other subsidy policies we found in place and put them firmly on the ground. Remember them? “For those with short memories, many of those subsidies were all in place when President Buhari was elected to office in 2015: all those in place were gone by May 2023 – including the annual fertilizer subsidy that weighed 60-100 billion Naira (that’s trillion naira in about 10 years – yes you read that right) heavy on the federal budget each year. “So no, Buhari didn’t remove the petrol subsidy – but in vitally important stages he removed every other budget-busting, egregious, economic-growth-crushing subsidy along the way. “So far I have refrained from answering these repeated questions on the removal in Nigeria of subsidies on Premium Motor Spirit, PMS and that arising from the dual rates of the Naira in the Central Bank and the parallel market: Why did Buhari ‘fail’ to do these? “First of all, my thinking is that instead of the former President answering this question, it is the Party, the All Progressives Congress, APC that is best suited to speak and failing to do this, we are forced to say what will follow here. “Secondly, we are mindful of the fact that with a Tinubu/Shettima presidency now in place and for which there is a ‘New Sheriff in Town’. “We do not want to distract them from the onerous tasks facing them and the nation. Neither is it our wish to take the spotlight away from them in any way. “In terms of the timings of the decisions to remove fuel subsidy and unify the currency, the Tinubu/Shettima administration has done overwhelmingly well. Even more importantly, they have been most dexterous in managing the aftermath of the decisions by successfully avoiding any crisis. “To this extent, our wish and prayers are that fellow countryman will continue to support the new leadership in these very laudable decisions and, in particular, for the Labour leadership and civil society to work with them to ensure that the palliative efforts as promised are successfully implemented. “The decision to remove subsidies, as in our case – and we believe in all situations – was not for the President to take all by himself. “That’s why it’s important to remind ourselves – and all those who have conveniently forgotten – that Buhari administration had been on this pathway from the very beginning in 2015. “Removing subsidies for the Naira and PMS was cued and put on hold. Look for example in the Petroleum Industry Act. The important decision was kept for a better time. “It could not have come at a time when tensions were high in the country and no responsible leader would have added fuel to the fire. “In the view of many-including those in the security circles- only a new administration with a goodwill that fills a warehouse can attempt this, and here now comes in the wit and grit of the Tinubu government. “Finally, we must be politically honest with ourselves. The Buhari administration in its last days could not have gone the whole way because the APC had an election to win. And that would have been the case with any political party that was seeking election for another term with a new principal at its head. “Poll after polls showed that the party would have been thrown out of office if the decision as envisaged by the new Petroleum Industry Act was made. “With the election now behind us, a capable leader as we now have in place is best positioned to move forward. We have nothing but confidence that the new administration will carry the nation and all its constituents into a stable future in the aftermath of these major economic and financial decisions. “As they say, there are times when you have to lose in order to win.”

How INEC deleted presidential election results from BVAS – Expert

"How INEC deleted presidential election results from BVAS" – Expert

A witness of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has told the Presidential Election Petition Court, (PEPC) that the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, deleted Presidential Election results on all the 110 BVAS machines he inspected. Mr Hitler Nwala, a subpoenaed witness, made the assertion on Thursday in Abuja while giving evidence as an expert witness for the petitioners in their petition challenging the outcome of the Feb. 25 presidential election results.

"How INEC deleted presidential election results from BVAS" – Expert

A collage photo of the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu and an official holding BVAS The witness who was led in evidence by the petitioner’s lead counsel, Mr Chris Uche, SAN, said that the machines inspected were only those from the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT). He also told the court that he was a Digital Forensic Analyst and that he didn’t know at what point the results were deleted on machines. Under cross-examination by counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), Mr Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, the witness said that he attached a standard device used for such an exercise to the machine to arrive at the conclusion. When asked if he had the authority of the commission to attach an external device to the BVAS machine, the witness answered in the affirmative. Mahmoud further asked the witness if he was aware that inspecting only 110 machines out of 3,163 that were deployed in the FCT amounted to only 3.4 per cent of the total number of BVAS deployed in the FCT and 0.06 per cent of BVAS deployed nationwide. To this, the witness told the court that he only compiled the report and didn’t take out time to calculate the percentages. The INEC counsel attempted to give a BVAS machine to the witness to check if it was deleted as he had said in his report. The witness, however, said that it would be against the ethics of his profession to collect the BVAS machine in open court to check it. “It is professionally wrong to access a device that will be used as evidence in a court of competent jurisdiction because it will temper with the evidence. “We cannot access the device directly, what we do is to extract the evidence and take it for analysis.” Moreover, the witness told the court that since all the devices had the same model and looked the same on the outside, he couldn’t tell if it was one of the ones he inspected by merely looking at it. For his part, counsel to the All Progressives Congress, (APC) Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN told the witness that neither he nor any of his team members signed the six-volume forensic report. The witness, however, insisted that he signed the report as well as the certificate of compliance. On his part, counsel to President Bola Tinubu, Mr Wole Olanipekun, SAN confronted the witness with a portion of his report where he said that from his inspection of the machines, “nothing was intrinsically wrong with them”. “Were you in Abuja on the day of the presidential election? “If you were not in Abuja, how then can you know that there was nothing intrinsically wrong with the machines on the day of the election?” The witness said that he was not in Abuja and so he couldn’t have known if something went wrong with the machines on the day of the election. After the witness was discharged, the petitioners went further to tender Forms EC8A series from 20 local government areas of Ogun, 17 local government areas of Ondo, 27 local government areas of Jigawa, and 20 local government areas of Rivers. The Chairman of the court, Justice Haruna Tsammani adjourned the hearing of the petition until Friday. The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) reports that going by the pre-hearing report; Atiku and the PDP are expected to close their case on Friday. NAN reports that they had asked for three weeks to present their case which elapsed on Tuesday but because they had lost three days, one being the June 12 Democracy Day Public Holiday, the court extended their time by three days.

Court rejects Tinubu’s  request to strike out APM’s petition challenging presidential election

Court rejects Tinubu

The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC on Monday rejected an attempt by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to stop the Allied People’s Movement (APM) in its petition challenging his qualification for the February 25, 2023, Presidential election. Tinubu, through his lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, had sought to use a Supreme Court judgment delivered on May 26, 2023, to terminate the APM’S petition, but the request was turned down. Court rejects Tinubu's  request to strike out APM’s petition challenging presidential electionPresident Bola Tinubu The grouse of Tinubu was that the Apex Court had resolved the sole issue raised in the petition of the APM in the judgment in a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He sought to move the Court to invoke the spirit and letters of the Supreme Court judgment to halt the hearing into the APM’s petition. The Presiding Justice of the Court, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, however, disagreed with Tinubu and held that the party cannot be shut out in the face of fair hearing. Justice Tsammani asked Tinubu to keep his objections against the hearing of the petition to the final address stage of the court’s proceedings. Similar objections raised by APC through its counsel, Charles Edosomwen SAN, against the petition on the same ground were turned down by PEPC for the same reason. Earlier, the APM, through its lawyer, Mr Gideon Ijiagbonya, had informed the Court of receipt of the Supreme Court judgment being sought to be used to terminate its petition. The lawyer said that upon perusal of the judgment by the Supreme Court, he and his legal team concluded that there is life in the petition and applied for its hearing. He, however, sought adjournment till June 26 to enable him to obtain a vital document from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to establish his case. Justice Tsammani, in a brief ruling, rejected a week-long adjournment and fixed Wednesday, June 21, for the hearing of the petition.

Pastor Effa speaks on failed election prophecies, blames CAN

Pastor Effa speaks on failed election prophecies, blames CAN

The Senior Pastor of World Royal City Church in Asokoro, Abuja, Effa Emmanuel expresses his view on the failed prophecies regarding the 2023 general elections, stating that they lacked divine inspiration. The preacher made this known to journalists during a religious conference held in Abuja. Pastor Effa speaks on failed election prophecies, blames CANThe four major presidential candidates for the 2023 elections. It would be recalled that numerous religious leaders made prophetic declarations about the potential outcome of the upcoming 2023 elections, but many of these predictions proved to be inaccurate. Pastor Emmanuel clarified that these flawed prophecies were a result of being humanly conceived rather than being divinely inspired. “We have CAN and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN). I think the leaders of these bodies should have the responsibility of calling erring pastors to order so that we don’t have confusion in the house. “When Paul was speaking, I think to the Corinthians, he said if anyone has a prophecy, one should prophesize at a time, while others should judge. Prophecy is not a recipe for confusion. God is not an author of confusion,” he stated.

Effa Emmanuel, Senior Pastor of World Royal City Church

Effa Emmanuel, Senior Pastor of World Royal City Church Acknowledging that any clergy member who delivers prophecies based on personal imagination is merely expressing their own thoughts, the cleric emphasized the importance of regulating such prophecies. He urged the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) to take responsibility for discerning between false and authentic prophecies.  “If you are inspired by the devil of course you’re a prophet but not a prophet of God. But there are also prophets of God, who speak from God. And if you speak from God, one sign that you are speaking from God is that it comes to pass. If it doesn’t come to pass, then you are not speaking from God. “My take is that CAN and PFN should be able to regulate the house because the church is a house. We should be able to speak with one voice. And then the leaders of the organisations should be able to decipher who is really speaking and representing the voice of God so that we won’t have this rancour and disorder that we’ve had so far,” he added.  

INEC explains why agents were denied access to election results

INEC officials explain why agents were denied access to election results at 2023 Presidential Poll

Three officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC have explained that the Commission instructed them not to give final copies of election results that were tabulated in a Form EC8A, to some political party agents. The officials also admitted that they couldn’t electronically transmit the polling unit results in real-time using the BVAS device during the 2023 presidential election held on 25 February 2023 across the country. They explained this in court on Friday during the hearing of the petition candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, filed to challenge the outcome of the 2023 election. Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar The officials testified before the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja that they were hired as Ad-hoc staff for the general elections. They further told the court that as Presiding Officers, they conducted the presidential election at their various polling units and subsequently handed the results to the Ward Collation Officers, saying that they were warned not to give copies of the results to any agent of a political party that failed to sign the result sheet. Recall that President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima and the All Progressives Congress, APC  had opposed the decision of the petitioners to produce five ad-hoc staff members of the electoral body that participated in the conduct of the presidential election, to testify as witnesses before the court. However, despite the objections, Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel of the court, gave the former Vice President, Atiku, the nod to produce the five witnesses. The court said it would reserve its ruling on the objections and deliver the same at a later date. Whereas two of the witnesses testified on Thursday, the remaining two gave their evidence on Friday.

Uzodinma replaces his Deputy with female candidate ahead of Imo gov election

Uzodinma replaces his Deputy with another candidate ahead of Imo gov election

Ahead of the forthcoming governorship election in Imo state, Governor Hope Uzodinma has replaced his Deputy, Prof. Placid Njoku with a female deputy governorship candidate, Mrs. Ekemaru Chinyere Ihuoma. This was revealed in the final list of candidates released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday where it was discovered that the governor submitted Mrs Ekomaru’s name as his running mate. Mrs Ekomaru who hails from Umunoha, a community in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of the state is the wife of a former governorship aspirant of the PDP in the state, Chukwuma Ekomaru, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. GistReel reports that Uzodinma had Mr Njoku as his running mate during the 9 March 2019 governorship election in the state and both were sworn in as governor and deputy governor of the state in January 2020 after the Supreme Court nullified the election of Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and declared Mr Uzodinma, the winner of the governorship election. According to INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Barr. Festus Okoye, the final list of candidates for the three off-cycle Governorship elections scheduled to hold in Kogi, Bayelsa, and Imo States on Saturday, November 11, was approved by INEC during its regular meeting held on Tuesday 6th June 2023. The list includes the incumbent governor of Imo State and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Hope Uzodinma; the incumbent governor of Bayelsa State and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Douye Diri; the APC candidate in Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva; the APC candidate in Kogi State, Ododo Ahmed Usman; the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Leke Abejide; and the PDP candidate of Kogi State, Dino Melaye. Furthermore, Okoye stated that The decision is in line with the provision of Section 32(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 which requires the publication of the list not later than 150 days to election day i.e. Friday 9th June 2023 following the period for voluntary withdrawal and substitution of candidates by political parties under Section 31 of the Electoral Act 2022. “The final list has been uploaded to the Commission’s website and social media platforms. Same will be published in our State and Local Government offices in the affected States on Thursday 8th June 2023 ahead of the statutory deadline of 9th June 2023. READ MORE: Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma Empowers Unemployed Youths With Rabbits (Photos) “The list shows that all 18 political parties are fielding candidates in Kogi State, 17 in Imo State and 16 in Bayelsa State. The list also shows that two political parties are fielding female candidates in Bayelsa State, one in Kogi State and none in Imo State. “The Commission wishes to remind political parties and candidates that in line with Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the three elections, campaign in public officially commences on Wednesday 14th June 2023 in line with Section 94(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 and ends on 9th November 2023 i.e. 24 hours prior to election day. “Regrettably, the ugly incident last week involving the convoys of two political actors in Kogi State resulting in the destruction of vehicles and other properties ahead of the commencement of campaign is worrisome. “We urge parties and candidates to conduct their political activities with civility and decorum as peaceful electioneering heralds a peaceful election. Political parties and candidates have a responsibility to de-escalate tension ahead of the elections”.