₦airaland Forum

The judiciary was constantly in the spotlight throughout 2023, grappling with a chaotic calendar, public pushback over rulings and eroding public confidence.

It was a momentous and trying year for judges whose pronouncements and verdicts came under intense scrutiny. There were also several headline-grabbing verdicts, particularly in relation to the general election.

In October, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it was faced with over 1,000 pre-election litigations in the buildup to the 2023 elections.

Here is a roundup of the major and controversial verdicts recorded in the country during the year.

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AKPABIO’S ‘MIRACULOUS’ EMERGENCE AS SENATOR FOR AKWA IBOM NORTH-WEST

The supreme court judgment which affirmed Godswill Akpabio as the Akwa Ibom north-west senatorial district on January 20, was received with surprise.

Akpabio contested for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) while Udom Ekpoudom, a former deputy inspector-general of police (DIG), won the party’s primary for the Akwa Ibom north-west district.

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However, after losing out in the race to secure the presidential ticket, the party conducted another primary poll which produced Akpabio as the winner.

The APC and Akpabio went before the federal high court to challenge INEC’s decision not to enlist any candidate for the senatorial district ahead of the general election.

While they got a favourable ruling at the trial court, the appellate court, on November 14, quashed the judgment and sacked Akpabio as the candidate of the party.

However, the apex court in its judgment held that the issue was an internal party affair which stripped the appeal court of jurisdiction to hear the matter.

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LAWAN VS MACHINA: THE YOBE NORTH CONTROVERSY

In February, the supreme court declared Ahmad Lawan, former senate president, as the candidate of the APC for Yobe north district.

Bashir Machina, who had won the party’s ticket unopposed during the primary in May 2022, was asked to step down for Lawan.

Lawan lost out in the presidential primary in June 2022.

While Machina declined to step down, the APC in Yobe submitted Lawan’s name to INEC.

The electoral body did not recognise any candidate for the party. But Machina approached the court, seeking to be recognised as the senatorial candidate.

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In September 2022, Machina won in a federal high court in Damaturu, the state capital. A month later, an Abuja court of appeal upheld his election as the APC candidate for Yobe north.

However, three out of five members of the supreme court panel later removed Machina, stating that the case at the trial court should not have started via an originating summons due to fraud allegations within it.

NAIRA REDESIGN POLICY

On March 3, the supreme court invalidated the naira redesign policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The redesigned naira notes were unveiled on December 23, 2022.

The deadline for the implementation of the policy was fixed for January 31, 2023, but it was further extended to February 10.

However, the policy was challenged by some state governors in court.

In its judgment, a seven-member panel of the apex court held that the old N200, N500 and N1000 notes remained legal tender until December 31, 2023.

The supreme court faulted the entire policy of the CBN, saying the timing and implementation were defective.

Also, the December 31 deadline was extended indefinitely.

ABDULLAHI SULE’S COMEBACK AS NASARAWA GOVERNOR

On October 2, the election petition tribunal in Lafia, Nasarawa state, nullified the victory of Abdullahi Sule of APC as governor of the state and declared David Ombugadu, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the winner of the poll.

Two of the justices said Ombugadu won the election, while the third one dissented.

Consequently, Sule and the APC approached the appeal court seeking to overturn the verdict of the tribunal.

Ruling on the matter, the appellate court in Abuja, held that the evidence before it showed that the tribunal relied on “legally inadmissible evidence” to declare Ombugadu as the winner of the March 18 poll.

The court consequently reversed the tribunal’s decision and upheld Sule as the duly elected governor of Nasarawa.

NATASHA BECOMES KOGI’S FIRST FEMALE SENATOR

Having contested three different elections in Kogi state since 2019, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan’s efforts to serve the people of the state came to fruition in October after a judgment by the court of appeal in Abuja declaring her as the senator representing Kogi-central senatorial district.

After the February 25 election, INEC announced Abubakar Sadiku-Ohere of the APC as winner — by a margin of 369 votes.

Dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, Akpoti-Uduaghan, candidate of the PDP, approached the national assembly election petition tribunal seeking to nullify the poll over alleged “irregularities”.

In September, the three-member panel sitting in Lokoja, the state capital, said Ohere’s results were inflated in nine polling units in Ajaokuta LGA.

Kemakolam Orjiako, the tribunal chairman, added that INEC omitted the results of three other polling units meant for Akpoti-Uduaghan in the same LGA.

After necessary corrections were made, the court declared Akpoti-Uduaghan as the winner of the election with 54,074 votes, as against Ohere who garnered 51,291 votes.

Not contended with the judgment, Ohere headed to the appellate court to seek redress — but the court dismissed his appeal for lacking in merit and declared Akpoti-Uduaghan as the winner.

S’ COURT OKAYS CONTINUATION OF NNAMDI KANU’S TRIAL

Since 2021 when the trial of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) began, several cases have been filed against him and several judgments were given — but there is no finality yet.

Following his extradition from Kenya, Kanu is being held in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), while the federal government filed terrorism charges against him.

In April 2022, the federal high court struck out eight of the 15 charges against the IPOB leader.

The remaining seven counts were later quashed by the court of appeal on October 13, 2022.

The judge ordered that Kanu be released.

A few days later, the court granted a stay of execution on its verdict discharging Kanu, after the federal government filed an appeal at the supreme court.

Delivering judgment on December 15, the apex court reversed the verdict of the appeal court.

In a unanimous decision, the five-member panel held that even though the federal government acted “irresponsibly” by forcefully bringing Kanu back to the country from Kenya, no legislation prevents the trial court from continuing with the case.

COURT SACKS ABBA YUSUF AS KANO GOVERNOR

The nullification of Abba Yusuf’s election as governor of Kano is probably one of the most controversial court decisions of 2023.

Yusuf was the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), and was the only elected governor on the platform of the party in the 2023 elections.

After deducting 165,663 votes from the 1,019,602 recorded for Yusuf, the tribunal, in September, sacked Yusuf and affirmed Nasiru Gawuna of the APC, as the winner of the poll.

The tribunal held that the ballot papers (165,663) were not stamped, signed and dated as required by law.

The decision of the tribunal was also affirmed by the court of appeal on November 17.

The appellate court added that Yusuf was not a member of the NNPP when he contested the election.

However, controversy trailed the verdict days later when a certified true copy (CTC) of the appeal court judgment surfaced, contradicting the November 17 ruling.

The copy of the judgment ruled against and in favour of the NNPP candidate simultaneously, eliciting outrage on social media platforms and the streets.

The appeal court issued a statement hours later, blaming “clerical error” for the contradictions or discrepancies.

The matter is now before the supreme court awaiting judgment.

ZAMFARA ELECTION DECLARED INCONCLUSIVE

In November, the court of appeal sitting in Abuja declared the Zamfara governorship election inconclusive.

The ruling came eight months after INEC declared Dauda Lawal, candidate of the PDP, as the winner of the March 18 election with 377,726 votes, defeating Bello Matawalle, incumbent governor and APC candidate who had 311,976 votes.

Lawal became the first governorship candidate to unseat an incumbent in the 2023 elections.

Matawalle challenged the outcome of the poll at the election petition tribunal in Zamfara.

Delivering judgment in the petition filed by Matawalle, the tribunal on September 18, held that the case was devoid of merit.

Matawalle, who is now minister of state for defence, then filed an appeal challenging the decision of the tribunal.

On November 16, the appellate court held that the Zamfara state election petition tribunal did not consider the evidence provided by the appellant.

A three-member panel of the court unanimously annulled Lawal’s victory and declared the election inconclusive.

The court ordered INEC to hold a fresh election in three LGAs – Maradun, Birnin-Magaji and Bukuyun.

GUBER, STATE ASSEMBLY, SENATORIAL: HOW COURT SACKED APC CANDIDATES IN PLATEAU

The situation in Plateau state has been described as a political commotion. From the governorship seat to the senate and even state assembly positions, the APC, through court judgments, seized power from the grip of the PDP.

On November 7, the court of appeal in Abuja affirmed the judgment of a tribunal which declared Simon Lalong as the winner of the Plateau south senatorial election.

INEC had declared Napoleon Bali, candidate of the PDP, as the winner of the election with 148,844 votes, but Lalong and the APC challenged the outcome of the election before the state’s election petition tribunal.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on September 11, the tribunal led by Muhammad Tukur, held that the PDP lacked the right to participate in the election.

Lalong, who was minister of labour at the time, was affirmed as the duly elected senator.

Twelve days later, the court of appeal in Abuja sacked Mutfwang Manasseh, the candidate of PDP, who was declared winner of the Plateau governorship election by INEC.

A three-member panel of the court led by Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu held that Manasseh was not validly sponsored by the PDP.

The court ordered the commission to issue a fresh certificate of return to Nentawe Yilwatda, the APC candidate.

But the power grabbing did not end there. On November 26, APC gained total control of the Plateau house of assembly after a ruling of the court of appeal sitting in Abuja.

The court also declared Nimchak Nansak of the APC as the winner of the Langtang north-north constituency poll for the Plateau state house of assembly, sacking Nannim Langyi, the candidate of the PDP.

The court held that the PDP structure in Plateau collapsed since 2020, adding that the party cannot claim to have a structure to sponsor any candidate to contest an election.

The ruling implies that the PDP lost all its 16 seats in the house of assembly, leaving APC to occupy 22.

TINUBU AFFIRMED AS NIGERIA’S PRESIDENT

On October 26, the supreme court laid to rest, all legal disputes challenging Bola Tinubu’s election as Nigeria’s president.

Tinubu was declared the winner of the presidential election with 8,794,726 votes.

Atiku Abubakar of the PDP came second with 6,984,520, ahead of Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP), who polled 6,101,533 votes.

Initially, five political parties had filed petitions against Tinubu’s election, but the Action Peoples Party (APP) and the Action Alliance (AA) withdrew from the litigation.

There were only PDP, LP and Action Peoples Movement (APM) challenging Tinubu’s mandate.

Amongst the issues raised, the petitioners contended that Tinubu did not score a majority of lawful votes cast in the election and did not get 25 percent of votes cast in the FCT.

They also contended that the APC candidate was indicted for drug trafficking offences in the United States. It was further alleged that Tinubu held dual citizenship and that his vice-presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima had a double nomination.

The allegation that the president had forged his Chicago State University (CSU) certificate was another issue that elicited wide controversy. Atiku went as far as filing another suit in the US seeking to compel CSU to produce Tinubu’s certificate.

However, all the issues raised in the separate appeals were thrown out by a five-member panel of the tribunal on September 6.

The decision of the tribunal was also affirmed by the supreme court.

ELISHA ABBO, ‘intimacy gadget SHOP SENATOR’, LOSES SEAT

The court of appeal in Abuja, on October 16, voided the election of Elisha Abbo as senator representing Adamawa north district. Abbo was the candidate of APC.

The court declared Amos Yohanna, candidate of the PDP, as the winner of the senatorial election.

Yohanna had challenged Abbo’s election because the poll was marred by reasons of corrupt practices and non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

However, the three-member panel of the tribunal dismissed the petition.

Not satisfied, Yohanna appealed the tribunal’s decision.

The court of appeal in its judgment voided the verdict of the tribunal and upheld the appeal of Yohanna.

Though the year has ended, some of the appellate rulings are awaiting final judgments from the supreme court.

Nigerians and the international community have eyes on the judiciary to see the outcome of the cases and what they mean for the growth of democracy of Africa’s giant and most populous black nation.

EnkayDezign:
As we enjoy this yuletide season let's us beware of this fuel stattions and their antics. The fuel wey I buy for 35K at N600/litre no even reach half tank!! how nah!!?

Please be very vigilant of these fuel stations during this period, especially in Ibadan.

Blacklion3:
Fine geh😘
How fa

phemmie06:
I am not looking it from that angle for the Plateau governor

joebeckz:
Firstly, no amount of magic will give you paper next year. You don't need to exaggerate to get quick solutions cos we have good knowledge of student pathways even for In-demand professions. Except you are switching Visa type to COS or it's like. That being said.

You should double your efforts to make more money at the moment.
Your wife can't do anything now cos the hours she is getting for work won't sustain her should she chase you out of the UK.
She needs you at the moment to survive UK bills but might have plans to deal with you when the time is right. Therefore do not relent also.
Save for that time.
Look for a pathway that will make you independent.
Look for good direct streams of COS.


MUST DO
Get a USA visa
Get a Canadian visa
Get other visas

Why?
You willy need them should the need arise.
If she kicks you out.
Fall back to Canada or USA via student route or other pathways.
Do these things quietly.

Don't forget to be a good husband to your wife.
Some women have seen shege from Nigerian men and when they get to societies that have their interest at heart. The quest for revenge sets in.

OP.
WHERE YOU A GOOD HUSBAND BACK IN NIGERIA?

AlabiKILLER2023:
Praying for a notorious criminall to survive


If him survive you might be his next victim

Shellsploit:
Shorite ikeja following next!!!
Imagine paying 1 billion yearly
Hiw much come be there profit after tax?



Haba

onuman:
Monthly allocation largely come from the oil sector, yet modern development infrastructures. including standard gauge railway, are denied the SS and the SE regions where the oil proceeds come from.

Instead, standard gauge railway is built for the northern and Southwest regions.
Goes to explain that Nigeria is sick.

Sprints3:
in otherwords your team is a useless team... Arsenal are not good enough

Ahnii:
Yes love...make I rest that account!
I couldn't deal with the daily mentions from Nl weyreys lolxx

Godsgift7837:
Omo this Christmas money no Dey oh. I don send all my kobo to family back home, na to just buy one bottle of Hennessy and cook better rice. We meove

A report by Economic Confidential, a subsidiary of PR Nigeria, has declared seven states, including Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Kaduna, Kwara, Oyo and Edo as the most viable states in Nigeria for 2022.

The Assistant Editor of Economic Confidential, Zekeri Idakwo, disclosed this at a press briefing and presentation of the 2022 Annual States Viability Index Report in Abuja on Monday.

He said the report was compiled from figures released by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, and the Federal Account Allocation Committee.

Idakwo said, “The IGR of the 36 states of the federation totalled N1.8trn in 2022, which was above that of 2021, which was N1.76trn.


“The report further indicates that the IGR of Lagos State of N651bn is higher than that of 30 other states put together whose Internally Generated Revenues are extremely low and poor, compared to their allocations from the Federation Account.

“A total Internally Generated Revenue of N1.5trn from the seven most viable states in 2022, was almost twice the total IGR of 29 states together that merely generated about N650bn.”
A breakdown of the report showed that while Lagos received N370bn from FAAC, the state generated N651bn; Ogun received N113bn and generated N120.5bn; Rivers received N363.4bn and generated N172bn; Kaduna received N155bn in federal allocation, and generated N58bn; Kwara received N99bn and generated N35.7bn; Oyo received N181bn and generated N62bn; and Edo received N147bn in federal allocation, and generated N47.4bn.


Six states however, including Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Katsina states, failed to generate up to 10% of the total allocations received from the Federal Government for 2022 and were declared insolvent states.

“The six states that may not survive without the Federation Account due to their extremely poor internal revenue generation of less than 10% compared to their federal allocations are Bayelsa, Katsina and Akwa Ibom, the home states of former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan, Muhammadu Buhari, and the current Senate President Godswill Akpabio respectively. Others are Taraba, Yobe and Kebbi States,” the report added.

Bayelsa was bottom of the list, having received N273bn and generating only N15.9bn, representing 5.81% of the allocations; Kebbi received N119bn and generated N9bn (7.67%); Katsina received N165bn and generated N13bn (7.90%); Akwa Ibom received N360bn and generated N34.8bn (9.66%); Taraba received N103bn and generated N10.2bn (9.91%); while Yobe received N105bn and generated N10.4bn (9.91%).

Idakwo stated that the states’ IGR could be improved “through aggressive diversification of the economy to productive sectors, rather than relying on the monthly Federation Account revenues that largely come from the oil sector”.

He added that the states may not be able to stay afloat outside the monthly allocations, noting that some of the states were unable to attract investments due to socio-political and economic crises including insurgency, kidnapping, armed banditry and herdsmen-farmers clashes.

farouk2much:
Yes na taday

Built2last:
I can't verify this news but info has it that this man Hon. Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani; [b][/b] who headed the presidential election tribunal was offered 10 million dollars to any offsore account of his choice and promotion to supreme court before he retires. Condition is that he rules in favour of Tinubu.

Failure to do that, he will be thoroughly investigated and disgraced out of the system. He had a lot of skeleton already and so had no option than play the script given to him.

Seeing this news that he has been nominated to the supreme court makes me want to believe what i heard way back in July

happney65:
So when are they giving the Judgement?Today or when?

The supreme court has reserved judgment in the Kano governorship election dispute between Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and Nasiru Gawuna of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

A five-member panel of the apex court led by Inyang Okoro, on Thursday, reserved judgment after all parties adopted their briefs of argument.

The Federal Government on Wednesday announced 50 per cent reduction in transportation costs along 22 interstate routes during the Yuletide season.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, who chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Presidential Intervention, disclosed this when he briefed State House correspondents at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
Also, the spokesperson for the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Segun Falade, said the union would commence the implementation of the fare subsidy on Thursday (today).

Giving further explanation, Alake said the 50 per cent reduction in the fares was arrived at in conjunction with companies operating luxury buses.

He added that President Bola Tinubu had directed that commuters on all train services would get free rides from Thursday (today) to January 4, 2024.


But the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress faulted the initiative, describing the Federal Government as confused.

The Nigeria Union of Teachers, however, lauded the package as a welcome development.

Alake, flanked by his counterparts in the Ministry of Transportation, Saidu Alkali, and the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, while briefing the State House correspondent, explained that the President okayed the directives in the spirit of the season given the economic realities facing Nigerians.

Inter-state transportation

He said, “President Tinubu wants Nigerians to travel within Nigeria to wherever they want to meet their loved ones without the extra burden of paying exorbitantly for inter-state public transportation.

“It is in this wise that the Federal Government is announcing, beginning tomorrow (today), a special discounted holiday season fare on road transport and zero-fare by rail across Nigeria.

“This means that from tomorrow (today), Nigerians willing to travel can board public transportation via luxury buses at a 50 per cent discount on current cost and all our train services on the routes the trains currently serve at zero cost to and fro on their travels this holiday season.

“This special presidential intervention will commence tomorrow, Thursday, December 21. It will end on January 4, 2024. The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Transportation, will be working with transporters, road transport unions, and Nigerian Railway Corporation to seamlessly deliver on this special presidential initiative,” said Alake.

He added that from Thursday, Nigerians wishing to embark on inter-state travel to any part of the country—Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Ibadan, Akure, Maiduguri, Sokoto, and other major inter-state transportation—hubs will be able to do so at half the cost.

On the operability of the scheme, Alake said, “I can tell you that all the relevant stakeholders in that industry have been engaged and all the parameters laid out and the Minister of Transportation has the full details and it’s on top of the game.

“In fact, we have met the presidents of the various transport unions …They have given us their own side of the case. We have had to haggle and negotiate, and everything is in top shape in terms of execution.”

“This idea did not emanate today. It had been in the works and before we now came to this conclusion of publicising it, all the I’s were dotted, and all the T’s had been crossed. And we have gotten the understanding of the various stakeholders, especially the transport unions.”

He assured Nigerians that there would be no price hikes at the expense of the passengers because the costs had been determined during the negotiations.

However, Alake declined to mention the total amount of rebate the government would give for the project, arguing that cost counts little given the priority of the intervention.

He explained, “Somebody asked what is the cost of all of these. Now, the cost is not important when you want to give succour to the masses, especially when it’s not an ad infinitum kind of policy.

“It is for a couple of days. So, the cost is not prohibitive, beyond the affordability of the government.”

Meanwhile, the Transport Minister, Alkali, who stopped short of mentioning how much would be spent on the 15-day project, explained the FG’s rationale for engaging luxury bus unions.

He said the transport companies operating these kinds of vehicles were preferred for their well-organised structures nationwide.

“Why we decided to use luxury buses union is because they are more organised and more structured.

“So, we held a meeting with the President of the union and they gave us an idea of how much they charge on a normal day but during festive when the buses travel, they return empty and it is on that account that they have to increase the fair during festivities.

“That has been taken into account. We held several meetings with Mr President,” Alkali stated.

He explained that the government prioritised security in its choice of a 50 per cent fare reduction in road transport.

“Why we decided to have 50 per cent for the land transport, you see, when you have this kind of initiative or programme to implement, you have to be mindful of the security situation.

“If you say it’s for free, even those that did not intend to travel will just go to the park and say I want to travel. But with this 50 per cent, they have the ticketing system.

“So for those who intend to travel, the Federal Government will provide 50 per cent for them. They do one trip daily; we are going to maintain that,” the minister added.

The Transportation Minister also noted that the existing train services of Lagos-Ibadan, Warri-Itapke, and Abuja-Kaduna would maintain their current schedules throughout the period.

NURTW confirms deal

The NURTW spokesperson, Falade, confirmed that the union had resolved to commence the price slash from today, following the directive by the Presidency.

He said the decision came after deliberations by the executive members of the NURTW on modalities for the smooth operation of the directive.

“The Federal Government of Nigeria through the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has issued a directive and the modality towards implementing that directive is what we have been discussing in the NURTW Executive Committee. So basically, the 50 per cent slash will take effect from tomorrow (today) as directed”, he said.

Falade did not disclose how the NURTW planned to enforce the directive or whether it would be making any further demands on the government beyond the promise to pay the rest of the 50 per cent discount to the union.

But the organised labour comprising the NLC and the TUC expressed disappointment with development, labelling it as “a show of confusion” on the part of those in government.

Speaking in an interview with one of our correspondents, the National Deputy President of the TUC, Tommy Etim said, “The government is getting more confused. Slashing interstate transport prices can lead to a crash in economic growth. Why not simply announce a slash in the pump price of petrol which has been responsible for the crisis Nigeria is in today?

“Let’s even say you slash the transport fare and people travel, what do you think they will eat?

“There is a poverty situation in the country and instead of looking for ways of tackling it, the government has just been dancing around and this is rather unfortunate.

“The government should know that Nigerians are too wise. It is highly laughable because out of all the problems facing Nigerians, how is this our major problem? So people should travel, come back again to the poverty?’’

Continuing, the union leader noted, “He (the president) needs to up his game and allow those who understand how the economy grows to come into play. The wage award that they promised and agreed to has not been paid. They only paid for one single month and stopped.’’

NLC faults govt

Also speaking, the Head of Information of the NLC, Benson Upah, said, “Government is killing a cow with its mouth and we Nigerians are eating it with our ears.”

However, the NUT commended the Federal Government for giving a 50 per cent discount to commuters who would use the train transportation during the festivities.

In an interview with The PUNCH, the Secretary-General of the NUT, Dr Mike Ike-Ene, said, “On behalf of workers and the general public, I sincerely say kudos to those we came up with the initiative and I hope that it will work.”

Ike-Ene lamented that this government and successive governments were usually quick to make promises without implementation..

He called for the deployment of security personnel on the train, saying the government should avoid the Kaduna kidnap incident.

The Coordinator of the African Centre for Media and Information Literacy, Chido Onumah described the development as a welcome development, and a “relief” for citizens, from the pains of the subsidy removal.

The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Rafsanjani, also commended the initiative, noting, however, that in spite of the price slash, only a section of the citizenry would be able to afford the fares.

He added that the government should have made logistic plans before now, and extended the scheme beyond the two-week time frame to further alleviate the pains of the people.

The Managing Director of Nigerian Railway Corporation, Fidget Okhiria, told one of our correspondents that the NRC had been informed of the President’s directive and had already commenced work on it.

He said the government would be providing some incentives to make the initiative seamless, adding that the NRC would ensure that passengers use the e-ticketing solution for railway services across the country.

Asked whether the corporation was ready to begin free rides from today (Thursday), Okhiria replied, “That is the instruction given to us and it is what we are working on now. It is going to be implemented as directed for the benefit of Nigerians.

“The government has assured us that it would provide some incentives to help us meet our targets. So what we intend to do is to create an opportunity for people to key into the e-ticketing solution.

“Therefore, you must get your tickets online before you can board the train free of charge. We will not sell hard copy tickets and we will not sell at the stations because of security issues. So people should endeavour to get their tickets online.”

He explained that the online sale of tickets was necessary because the NRC would have to get the manifest of those boarding the trains, adding that it would also cut every form of rush or crowding at the stations.

“Once you get your ticket online and you have a seat, there will be no need for rushing, because you will be properly accommodated to ride on the train. So there is no need to come to the station to get the ticket when you can get it online.

“And once the train seats are all fully booked online, anyone who doesn’t have a ticket cannot access the train, nor will such a person be allowed entry into the area meant for passengers with tickets,” Okhiria stated.

Meanwhile, the National President of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, Yusuf Othman, has said that the Federal Government could not compel its members to slash transport fares by 50 per cent ‘’because the business is not owned by the government.’’

Othman while speaking in a telephone conversation with The PUNCH on Wednesday added that the association would first look at the operational cost to see if the directive was feasible.

He urged the Federal Government to come up with modalities on how they intend to implement the directive.

Othman stated, “We can’t direct our members to slash their fares by 50 per cent because we are not the owners of their vehicles and the president himself is also not the owner of the vehicles.

“It is easier for the government to do that in the railway sector because it is owned by the government 100 per cent. But for our case, you have to look at the operational cost and see if it is possible to do that.

In the meantime, transporters in Katsina, Gombe, Plateau, Delta, Sokoto and other states have claimed ignorance of the transport subsidy expected to take off on Thursday (today).

NARTO kicks

Members of the National Union of Roads Transport Workers and NARTO in Katsina State said they have yet to be briefed by their leaders, adding, however, that they would comply with any directive on the initiative from their national leadership.

“You can go around our garage, there is no circular on that and our leaders have not briefed us on the fare slash, “ a driver identified as Muntari declared.

The Managing Director of Gombeline Transport company Sani Sabo, disclosed that the state had yet to get the promised palliatives, promising that as soon as it arrives it would commence the needed reduction in transport fares.

He said, “We are yet to get Federal Government palliative, although they have taken the total number of buses in our fleet but as soon as we get the relief, we will reduce our transportation fares.”

In Delta State, several NURTW members said they had yet to be briefed on the yuletide package.

Union leaders who spoke to our correspondent at the NURTW main garage at Effurun in Uvwie Local Government Area on Wednesday explained that they did not know about the initiative.

“I cannot guarantee that any commercial inter-state motorist would slash his fare without a solid agreement with the government on the mode of compensation.

“Are you saying government will provide us subsidized fuel for our sacrifice during the period?,” an NURTW ex-officio member, Paul Onyekwere, asked.

The state chairman of the NURTW in Sokoto, Muhammed Takutaku, similarly said the union in the state had yet to receive any official directive on the price slash.

He noted that such a development would be feasible only if the pump price of petrol was reduced.

Takutaku added, “Honestly, I am hearing such information for the first time. I am sure if the information affects us, we will receive a letter to that effect from the national headquarters.

“But honestly, if Mr President wants us to implement such a directive, he should lead by example by reducing the price of petrol which I think will help in reducing the transport fares.”

Speaking with The PUNCH in Jos on Wednesday, the state NURTW Chairman, Yakubu Dalyop, said, “We are not aware of any directive for us to reduce transport fares by 50 per cent. Nobody has told us anything.

“If there is such a thing, I’m sure our national body would have communicated that instruction to us because we have a structured body and we only receive instructions from our national body. So, for now, we continue with our normal inter-state prices as before.”

The Bayelsa State branch of the NURTW said that it had not received any directive to ask its members to reduce the cost of interstate transport fares by 50 per cent based on Tinubu’s approval.

A high-ranking state official of the union, who did not want his name mentioned, said they were not aware of any such decision.

He said, “Nobody has communicated that to us. We are not aware. There is no communication to that effect from anywhere.’’

Asked if the state branch would carry out the directive, he said, “If you receive a directive and somebody is buying fuel at N650 per litre, are they the ones providing fuel? Do they just give directives?

‘’If they are giving directives and there are ways to augment, there is no problem. Go and buy fuel to run Yenagoa-Port Harcourt, then you will see the pain. Spare parts that we used to buy at N2,000 have now tripled even more. To every directive, there are conditions.”

The Bauchi State Chairman of NATO, Alhaji Mai Kano, also said he had yet to get any official communication on the fare subsidy.

“We are yet to get any memo concerning that from our National Secretariat. Of course, when we get the directive from our National Secretariat, we’ll act on it,” he said.

Also, transport union officials at the popular Kano Line Motor Park and commercial bus drivers said they were not aware of the announced fare slash as they had not been informed.

An official, Musa Bello, said he was surprised to hear the news of the fare slash, lamenting the rising cost of fuel.

“We are aware that some filling stations have shut down in anticipation of fuel price increase in the new year while others have increased the pump price to between N670 and N680 per litre,” Bello said.

He said no driver would reduce the fare ‘’because he doesn’t know who will pay the balance.’’

‘’As I’m talking to you now, nobody has briefed us about any arrangement on the 50 per cent slash. This is to show you that the government is not serious. Let them reduce the fuel price if they want to assist or support the masses,” he said.

Another driver, Malam Ya’u Shehu, said nobody can force him to reduce the fares ‘’since there were no concrete arrangements between the transport union and the vehicle owners.’’

“From here (Kano), we’re charging N8,000 to Abuja while we charge N4,000 to Kaduna. We are going to charge the same tomorrow because we have not been briefed on any arrangements to that effect,” he said.

Meanwhile, passengers have welcomed the FG directive on the fare slash, describing it as a laudable initiative.

Abdullahi Imran, who was travelling to Lagos, said “Although I have not heard the news of the fare slash, I will rather welcome the news if it is true. I, however, paid N18,500 for my trip.”

Johnson Aregwe, a civil servant, expressed reservations on the practicability of the transport subsidy, saying “Will the government set out a monitoring team to ensure compliance?”

Another commuter, Mrs. Janet Onuigbo, thanked the government for the gesture noting that it would serve as a big relief for holidaymakers during the festive period.

President Bola Tinubu is currently meeting with Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers, Peter Odili, former governor of the state, and other stakeholders at the presidential Villa, Abuja.

The meeting follows the face-off between the governor and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT).

Vice-President Kashim Shettima and Ngozi Odu, Rivers deputy governor, are present at the meeting.

Earlier, Wike was seen at the State House.


Over the past few weeks, Fubara and Wike have been at loggerheads over control of the political structure of Rivers state.

The feud between the duo snowballed to the Rivers house of assembly, causing factions in the state’s legislature.

At least nine commissioners have resigned from the cabinet of Fubara amid the political crisis.

On Wednesday, the Ondo house of assembly declared Aiyedatiwa as the acting governor — after months of political uncertainty in the state.

The assembly took the decision after receiving a medical leave notification from Rotimi Akeredolu, Ondo governor.

Subsequently, reports suggested that the acting governor had ordered that the LG accounts be frozen.

Reacting in a statement on Sunday, the commissioner said: “At no time has the acting governor or any functionary of the state put a freeze on local government accounts or order any closure”.

“This information is fake and baseless. We ask that the good people of Ondo state, particularly officials of local governments to disregard the rumour.

“Necessary complimentary personnel/civil servants have been deployed to the LCDA(s) and they have been advised to exercise due diligence and processes in their operations by the government.

“The state government is committed to proper functioning of the new thirty-three LCDA(s) and the existing 18 Local Government Areas in the state as a way of enhancing development at the grassroots.

“The government is aware of a suit filed by the opposition party before the state high court, and we are hopeful that contending issues before the court will be decided shortly.

“While a date has been fixed for the conduct of local government election in the state, the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) has started working on delineation of a minimum of 5 councillorship electoral wards in each of the LCDA(s).

“Delineation of these electoral Wards by ODIEC is part of the transition guidelines provided for in the Government White Paper for transiting from 18 LGA(s) to 51 LGA(s)/LCDA(s) in the state. Government is committed to a smooth transition that will usher a democratic Elected Local Government Area in Ondo state.”

‘AKEREDOLU’S PROTOCOL CHIEF NOT SUSPENDED’

The information commissioner also denied claims that Bola Alabi, chief of protocol to Akeredolu, had been suspended.

“Also, our attention has been drawn to the social media misrepresentation of our Circular letter No. FAD/DG.156/98 of 14th December 2023 in respect of the preparation of the acting governor’s engagement, which has been mischievously reported to the effect that the Chief of Protocol (CoP) to the governor, Mr. Bola Alabi, has been placed on suspension,” he said.

“Nothing could be further from the truth. The chief of protocol to Mr governor has not been placed on suspension by the Ag. Governor nor by any person.

“It should be noted that the schedule for the preparation of Mr Governor’s engagements is less than two percent of the CoP’s responsibilities.

“Usually, suspension from duty would have warranted removal of salary and privileges, which does not happen in this case. As we speak, Mr. Bola Alabi is busy with Mr. Governor.”

The commissioner added that the acting governor is “prepared, where necessary, to make changes that would guarantee the effective running of the administration”.