The Kogi State House of Assembly has called for the immediate sack of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, over unprofessional handling of the case against the immediate past Governor of the state, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.

The legislators, during plenary in Lokoja, the state capital, on Monday, condemned what they described as the EFCC operatives’ unprovoked attack on the Kogi State Government Lodge, saying it was an attack on the Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, and the entirety of the Kogi people.

The lawmakers accused the EFCC of assassination attempts on the former Governor and the incumbent, stressing that the persecution of the former governor had gone on for too long and must stop.

This followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Hon. Akus Lawal, representing Ankpa 1 State Constituency. Hon Jacob Olawunmi, Ijumu State Constituency, seconded the motion.

Hon. Akus said the EFCC was out to humiliate and possibly kill the present and former governors. His colleagues all supported this.

Hon. Abu Jibril of Ajaokuta State specifically said the EFCC boss should be prosecuted for allegedly attempting to kill the governor. He called on the President to remove him immediately.

According to him, the EFCC’s conduct shows that the chairman is incapable of leading a supposedly impartial agency like the EFCC.

“The Chairman has shown incompetence that warrants his removal,” he said.

Hon Bode Ogunmola, Ogori/Magongo State Constituency (PDP), said, “If I’m in London and there is a crisis, if I get to the Nigerian House, I will feel safe. If I’m in Abuja and there is a crisis, I believe that if I get to the Kogi Lodge, I will be safe. For the EFCC Chairman to order that fire be opened on the official lodge of the Governor, he should be sacked and prosecuted. We should be told why he wants to kill our Governor.”

The Majority Leader of the House of Assembly, Hon. Suleiman AbdulRazak, alleged that officials of the EFCC were begging the former Governor to let them pretend as if he was arrested.

He said it was an embarrassing act, which showed that the anti-graft agency was acting a script written by some political enemies of the former Governor.

The lawmaker therefore said the President should be notified of the assassination attempt on the present and former Governors; adding that the whole drama was a show to embarrass the former Governor.

He concluded that, on the fateful night, a coup attempt was committed at the Kogi State Governor’s Lodge and called on the President to immediately remove the EFCC Chairman to save the nation from further embarrassment.

The lawmakers noted that the EFCC had an agenda different from the fight against corruption, which had been revealed by the way the Commission approached the issue of arrest, calls on all Nigerians to condemn the act.

Hon Yahaya Umar, representing Omala State Constituency said, “The unlawful conducts of the EFCC show that the intention of the chairman is not to arrest former Governor Yahaya Bello, but to ridicule the state.

“The chronology of how the event happened shows that the problem of the chairman is not with the offences being alleged, but that they want to disgrace the defendant and Kogi State in general.”

On her part, the Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Comfort Nwuchiola Egwaba, stated, “The EFCC is just trying to give the former Governor a bad name through their media trial. The EFCC is not sincere in this fight. It has an agenda it is pursuing and the entire people of the state, particularly the women and youths, will not accept this.”

In the same vein, the Kogi State House of Assembly also passed a resolution, commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR for his economic policies which are aimed at building a strong and virile economy that will be the envy of all.

The Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Aliyu Yusuf, who read out the resolution of the House, stated, “The House formally categorizes the April 17 and September 18 incidents as assassination attempts on the former Governor, and by extension, a threat to the life of Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo.

“The unprovoked attack on the Governor’s Lodge and the firing of live rounds within a diplomatic residential zone further demonstrate that the EFCC has fully marinated in a sense of its own importance and power and now considers itself not only above the law but unanswerable to anyone or institution for its actions.”

“Because the EFCC Chairman has shown constantly, gross incompetence, the House has resolved that the President should relieve him of his appointment with immediate effect and replace him with a competent officer who will give Mr. President’s crusade for rule of law the needed effectiveness,” the lawmakers stated.

The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a lawsuit seeking the removal of Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In his ruling, Justice Ekwo upheld the preliminary objections raised by the 2nd and 3rd defendants, which centred on the claimant’s lack of standing to bring the case.

The 2nd defendant argued that the claimant did not have the necessary locus standi (legal standing) to file the suit. The judge agreed with this argument and dismissed the case on these grounds.

Additionally, the 3rd defendant pointed out that the entity named in the lawsuit, the “Northern Central APC Forum,” was not a registered body. Justice Ekwo concurred, noting that the claimant failed to provide a certificate of registration from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to prove its legal status.

Based on this, Justice Ekwo ruled that the APC group lacked the legal authority, or juristic personality, to file the suit since it was not a registered entity.

He also emphasized that the claimant had not exhausted internal party mechanisms for resolving disputes before resorting to legal action, which further invalidated the case.

Additionally, he held that there was no cause of action against the defendants since the plaintiff has no power under any known law to institute any case in any Nigerian court, while he added that the appointment of officers for APC by its National Executive Committee is an internal affair of the party, which no court can dabble into.

He hence proceeded to dismiss the suit.

He said, “I hereby dismiss this suit for lack of juristic personality of the claimant.

“The claimant has no locus standi to institute the suit and I make an order striking out the suit for lack of locus standi.

“The subject matter is an internal affair of the political party, I hereby strike out the suit for lack of locus standi.”

The North Central APC Forum, led by Saleh Zazzaga, who is the plaintiff in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/599/2024, is challenging the propriety of Ganduje’s appointment as the APC National Chairman when he is not from the North Central geopolitical zone.

The plaintiff had sued Ganduje, the APC, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, before the court, praying for nullification of Ganduje’s appointment by the APC on the ground of gross violations of the party’s Constitution.

The plaintiff, in the suit, contended that the APC National Executive Committee breached the party’s constitution when it appointed Ganduje, from Kano State in the North West geopolitical zone to replace Senator Abdullahi Adamu from Nasarawa State in the North Central geopolitical zone.

They further argued that Ganduje’s appointment to replace Abdullahi was contrary to Article 31.5(1) of the APC Constitution and ultra vires the powers of the NEC of the party.

The plaintiff, therefore, approached the court to, among others, bar Ganduje from further parading himself as the APC National Chairman.

The plaintiff also asked the court to issue an order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission not to accord recognition to all actions taken by the APC, including congresses, primaries and nominations, since Ganduje became APC Chairman on August 3, 2023.

The Forum of All Progressives Congress State Chairmen passed a vote of confidence on Ganduje.

The delegation of 37 state APC chairmen gave the endorsement during a solidarity visit to the party secretariat in Abuja.

DISCLAIMER: This is completely false as INEC has yet to begin collation of results from the local government areas for the 2024 Edo State governorship election.

This purported local government results attributed to our platform as the source was lifted from the official results of the 2020 Edo State governorship election.

We implore our readers to disregard this outright falsehood and visit our website and verified social media channels for the authentic updates about the election and other developments.

mrbishop:

Virtplus:
who told u day??I'm from igueben the whole of the 10 wards was cleared by pdp

Oghene86:


This is not an election case, it has nothing to do with duration of 14 days, it's clearly a judgement of cash and carry, even the lawmakers themselves are not even excited because they know Fubara would still not pay them.

senatordave1:


If Peter that is a stranger can get 210,000 from Edo south, what stops Akpata from winning narrowly..Obaseki is not that electorally strong

Quelme:
which part of Edo are you from?

senatordave1:


And those factors didn't play in in CRS, Bayelsa,Rivers and Aks that have more christians than Edo? There must be something that made Benin people embrace LP and it is still there

Quelme:
obi is not different from the old bloc. He is part and parcel of the cabals.

Shawarmagirl:
To the amazement of y'all, LP might just shock everybody tomorrow. Don't say it's not possible. You are not in the mind of the voters.

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed a suit instituted against the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

The suit was seeking to replace the 27 lawmakers on account of their alleged defection from the People's Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was dismissed for lacking in merit

Justice Peter Lifu who delivered the judgment held that the suit instituted by the Action People's Party APP was statute barred having not been filed within 14 days allowed by law.

While the alleged defection by Martins Amaewhule and 26 others was said to have been carried out in December 2023 , the APP filed the case on July 12, a period of 8 months after the cause of action emanated.

Justice Lifu also held that the case was a gross abuse of court process on the ground that several suits on the alleged defection of the same 27 lawmakers had been adjudicated upon by the Federal High Court.

The plaintiffs were praying the court for an other directing INEC to conduct a by-election for the seats of the 27 lawmakers having defected to the APC.

Reacting to the judgment, Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly Martins Amaewhule said he and 26 other lawmakers never defected from the PDP to the APC.

Aleem26:
Tunji Disu the next IGP as Egbetokun tenure’s ending soon that’s why he’s been transferred from Rivers state to Abuja

PoliticalPower:
Please learned counsels in the house I would like to know what the law actually says about a pending appeal in Nigeria especially in a civil litigation. Does a pending appeal alone automatically stay an execution of a judgement?

The National Examination Council, NECO, has released the results of the 2024 Senior School Certificate Examinations, SSCE, internals with 828,284 candidates, representing 60.55 per cent, scoring five credits, including Mathematics and English Language.

NECO Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Prof Dantana Wushishi made this disclosure while releasing the results before newsmen at the Council’s Headquarters in Minna, Niger State on Thursday.

Wushishi revealed that the number of candidates who made five credits and above, irrespective of English Language and Mathematics, is 1,147,597 representing 83.90 per cent.

He noted that out of the 1,376,423 candidates that registered for the examination, only 1,367,736 sat for it, of which a total of 702,112 candidates were male and 665,624 female.

According to him, “The number of candidates involved in various forms of malpractice in 2024 is 8,437 as against 12,030 in 2023 which shows a reduction of 30.1 percent.”

The registrar also stated that the number of candidates with special needs is 2,267. A breakdown of the special needs shows 1,104 have hearing impairment; 348 visual impairment; 342 albinism; 237 autism; and 236 low vision.

He further revealed that during the conduct of the 2024 SSCE, 40 schools were found to have been involved in whole school (mass) cheating in 17 states while 21 supervisors were recommended for blacklisting due to poor supervision, aiding and abetting, abscondment, extortion, drunkenness and negligence in 12 states.

“One school in Ekiti State was recommended for de-recognition for mass cheating in 2 core subjects and 1 science subject,” Wushishi said.

He further stated that the performance analysis by states showed Abia State leading other states in the country as 83.40 per cent of its candidates scored five credits and above, including Mathematics and English language, while Katsina State ranked bottom on the table with 2.42 percent.

“The state also leads in candidates with five credits and above irrespective of Mathematics and English language 95.84 percent.

“For least performed states with five credits and above including mathematics and English language, Katsina State is bottom on the table with 42.00 percent with just 2.42 percent ahead of Kano which came second to least with 44.42 percent,” the register announced.

ALTERNATEID:

You were expecting Seyi Makinde to go against Wike’s interest?

vanitybutiwanti:
Everybody knows you're anti wike and that's fine.

Don't ban me sha

NgeneUkwenu:


Abeg do for us.. E dey sweet us!

Damagum for President 2031

NgeneUkwenu:
Even . wont be happy with this news. Otherwise e for don carry am go front page.

Yahaya Bello not in EFCC Custody

Media reports today that a former Governor of Kogi State, Mr. Yahaya Bello is in the holding facility of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is incorrect. The Commission wishes to state that Bello is not in its custody.

Bello, already declared wanted by the Commission for alleged N80.2billion money laundering charges, remains wanted with a subsisting warrant for his arrest.

Dele Oyewale

Head, Media & Publicity

September 18, 2024

YAHAYA BELLO MEDIA OFFICE

PRESS RELEASE

FORMER GOVERNOR YAHAYA BELLO HONOURS EFCC'S INVITATION

Former Governor of Kogi State, His Excellency, Alh Yahaya Bello today, honoured the invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

This decision was made after due consultations with his family, legal team and political allies.

The former Governor, who has great respect for the rule of law and constituted authority, had, all the while, only sought the enforcement of his fundamental rights in order to ensure due process.

The case has been before a competent court of jurisdiction, and Alhaji Yahaya Bello had been duly represented by his legal team at every hearing. It is important for the former Governor to now honour the invitation of the EFCC to clear his name as he has nothing to hide and nothing to fear.

The former Governor believes firmly in the efforts of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to place Nigeria on the path of sustainable economic development; and supports the fight against corruption in the country.

It is on record that he was the first Governor of Kogi State to put in place an anti-corruption mechanism to check graft and ensure that the resources of the State work for the people of the State.

He was accompanied to the EFCC Headquarters by high profile Nigerians.

It is our hope that the Commission will be as professional as necessary and respect his fundamental rights as a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Details of his engagement with the operatives of the Anti-Graft Agency will be disclosed later.

Ohiare Michael,
Director, Yahaya Bello Media Office
18-09-2024

souldeep:
If you say make Man U nor score again, wetin you go come tell Bayern?

PRESS STATEMENT
For Immediate Release

The attention of Dr. Anugbum Onuoha has been drawn to recent calls by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor Godwin Obaseki regarding his role as the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Edo State ahead of the upcoming September 21, 2024, governorship election.

While Dr. Onuoha acknowledges the concerns raised by the PDP, he wishes to assure the public and all political stakeholders that his appointment by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is rooted in professionalism, integrity, and a commitment to free, fair, and credible elections.

The relationship between Dr. Onuoha and the Honorable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has been openly addressed, and it bears no influence on the impartiality with which he will discharge his duties as REC. It is important to note that INEC operates independently and ensures all actions comply with the laws guiding elections in Nigeria.

Dr. Onuoha has always maintained a record of service that upholds transparency and fairness, as evidenced by his previous assignments. He emphasizes that his sole objective is to oversee a credible electoral process where the true will of the Edo State people will be reflected without bias or favoritism.

Dr. Onuoha aligns himself with INEC’s commitment to conducting a transparent election, with results declared at the polling units and visible to the public through the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal. He further echoes INEC’s stance that all stakeholders should focus on the electoral process and ensure peace and calm throughout the election.

INEC and its officials are fully prepared to deliver on their mandate, and Dr. Onuoha encourages all political actors and citizens to trust in the process and support a peaceful and democratic exercise.

Thank you.

Dr. Anugbum Onuoha
Resident Electoral Commissioner, Edo State

BREAKING: President Bola Tinubu has arrived in Maiduguri to commiserate with the government and the people of Borno state over the flood that destroyed residential houses, hospitals, markets, schools and other public facilities.

Heavy fine should be imposed for those who collected PVC but refused to vote.That is the best way to address the problem of low voter turnout.

The purpose of our visit has already announced by the Master of Ceremony. I want to let you know that whatever affects Borno, as you said affects me.

It is in that capacity therefore Your Excellency, that we have come here with my delegation as mentioned or announced to commiserate with you, the Government and the good people of Borno state. This is a monumental disaster that has not been witnessed before in the history of the state.

Therefore, we want to let you know that you are not alone in this sad event which led to the loss of thousands of lives and to offer our deepest condolences to the repose of those who had died. Of course, it is a time of rebuilding because that is what follows majorly after such disasters and you are not alone. We want to let you know that we are all partners as far as rebuilding in Borno state is concerned.

Therefore, I want to announce my own contribution to the rebuilding of Borno state to the tune of N100,000,000 and we will appreciate details of where that money can be paid into. And of course finally, we pray for the repose of the souls of those who have died.

May Almighty Allah grant them eternal rest and peace.