₦airaland Forum

ABUJA — Determined to nullify the election of President Bola Tinubu, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his counterpart in the Labour Party, LP, Mr. Peter Obi, yesterday, lodged separate appeals before the Supreme Court.


The two candidates, in their appeals, prayed the apex court to set aside the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, which affirmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, as the winner of the February 25, presidential election.

Specifically, they argued that the lower court erred in its judgment because Tinubu did not get at least 25 per cent of votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, adding that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, deliberately refused to transmit the results of the poll electronically to its portal in accordance with its guidelines.

They also argued that the PEPC glossed over their claims of manipulation of the poll, conducted in breach of the constitution and electoral act in spite of their weighty evidence.

Whereas Atiku, through his consortium of 67 lawyers that comprised 18 Senior Advocates of Nigeria led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN, filed 35 grounds of appeal to challenge Tinubu’s victory, Obi, through his own team of lawyers led by Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, filed 51 grounds of appeal before the apex court.

PEPC verdict, a grave miscarriage of justice – Atiku

Specifically, Atiku, in his appeal, maintained that the verdict of the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel of the Court of Appeal, which had on September 6, dismissed his petition against the outcome of the presidential election, was not only “against the weight of evidence” but occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice against him.

The former Vice President insisted that the PEPC panel erred in law, when it failed to nullify the presidential election on the grounds of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022, even when evidence that was adduced before it showed that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, acted in breach of extant laws and regulations guiding the conduct of elections.

He accused the PEPC of reaching its unanimous decision based on gross misconstruction and misrepresentation of provisions of both the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and the Electoral Act, 2022.


His words: “The lower court erred in law when it refused to uphold the mandatoriness of electronic transmission of results for confirmation and verification of final results introduced by the Electoral Act 2022 for transparency and integrity of results in accordance with the principles of the Act.”

Deliberate non-compliance with election guidelines

He argued that Section 64(4) & (5) of the Electoral Act, as well as INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines for the conduct of the election, which he tendered in evidence, made mandatory, the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, machines for electronic transmission of results of the election directly from the polling units to INEC’s collation system for the verification, confirmation and collation of results before announcement.

Atiku told the apex court that some of the presiding officers who personally handled the BVAS machines at polling units on the election day, had in their testimony before the PEPC, “confirmed the non-transmission of results of the presidential election electronically from the BVAS machines, whereas results of the National Assembly election that held simultaneously, were electronically transmitted without difficulty.”


“The bypass of the use of the prescribed verification technology was nationwide, affecting the entire polling units and collation of results all over Nigeria, and substantially affected the outcome of the election,” Atiku added.
INEC didn’t explain glitch in the e-transmission of results

More so, he told the court that INEC’s sole witness, Lawrence Bayode, admitted that the Commission experienced a technical glitch that made the system to fail to work on the day of the election, “which technical glitch was not explained by the 1st Respondent.”

Besides, he argued that by virtue of Section 169(1) of the Constitution and Section 148 of the Electoral Act, the INEC regulations and guidelines had the force of law, being a direct product of the Constitution itself, thus, qualifying as a subsidiary legislation.

Atiku told the apex court that the non-compliance with the Electoral Act was nationwide, cutting across 176, 846 polling units in the country, a situation he said substantially affected the outcome of the election.

“The case of the Appellants was that under the new legal regime of technology-based collation of results under the Electoral Act 2022, the Appellants, by credible evidence, established deliberate non-compliance by the 1st Respondent with the electronic transmission of election result which was nationwide.”

Doctrine of legitimate expectation

He said the outcome of the election ought to have been canceled “based on the doctrine of legitimate expectation.”

FCT 25% requirement’s mandatory, Abuja not 37th state

On constitutional requirement of one-quarter of the votes in two-thirds of the states and the FCT, Abuja, Atiku, argued that it was an additional and mandatory requirement to the provisions relating to the highest lawful votes and therefore a condition precedent to a declaration by INEC.

“The said FCT, Abuja, cannot be construed as the 37th state of Nigeria as done by the lower court in the light of the clear provisions of section 2(2) & section 3(1) of the 1999 Constitution.


“The lower court failed in its duty to interpret the material word ‘AND’ in the said sub-section.

“The provision of Section 134(2) (b) of the Constitution is clear on the requirement that a presidential candidate must score at least 25% of the total votes in the FCT, Abuja.

“There is no ambiguity or absurdity in the provision of Section 134 (2) (b) of the Constitution to warrant a resort to any other interpretation other than the literal rule as the lower court erroneously did,” Atiku further stated in the appeal he filed alongside his party, PDP.

The Appellants, therefore, prayed the apex court to allow the appeal, set aside the judgment of the PEPC and grant either their main or alternative reliefs.

He prayed the Supreme Court to among other things, hold that Tinubu was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast in the election and also declare that he was not qualified to be declared the winner.


Aside from praying the court to declare him as the authentic winner of the election and order his swearing in as President, Atiku, in the alternative, urged the court to order a run-off between him and Tinubu or to nullify the entire poll and order INEC to conduct a fresh one. Cited as Respondents in the appeal were INEC, Tinubu and the APC.

PEPC erred in law – Obi

In his own appeal, Obi, who came third in the presidential poll, maintained that the PEPC panel erred in law and thereby reached a wrong conclusion when it dismissed his petition.

He alleged that the panel wrongly evaluated the proof of evidence he adduced before it and occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice when it held that he did not specify polling units where irregularities occurred during the election.

Obi and the LP further faulted the PEPC for dismissing their case on the premise that they did not specify the figures of votes or scores that were allegedly suppressed or inflated in favour of President Tinubu and the APC.


They equally accused the Justice Tsammani-led panel of erring in law when it relied on paragraphs 4(1) (d) (2) and 54 of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act 2022 to strike out paragraphs of the petition.

While accusing the lower court of breaching his right to a fair hearing, Obi insisted that evidence of his witnesses was wrongly dismissed as incompetent.

He told the apex court that the panel unjustly dismissed his allegation that INEC uploaded 18, 088 blurred results on its IReV portal.

More so, Obi, alleged that the lower court ignored his allegation that certified true copies of documents that INEC issued to his legal team, comprised of 8, 123 blurred results that contained blank A4 papers, pictures and images of unknown persons, purporting the same to be the CTC of polling units results of the presidential election.

“The learned justices of the court below erred in law and occasioned a miscarriage of justice when they held and concluded that he failed to establish the allegation of corrupt practices and over-voting,” Obi added.


INEC by-passed its e-transmission regulation

He said it was wrong for the lower court to rely on the legal principle of estoppel to dismiss his contention that INEC bypassed its own regulations when it refused to electronically transmit results of the election from polling units to the IReV.

“The petitioners adduced credible and substantial evidence, both oral and documentary, that proved substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2022 by the Respondents in the conduct of the election.

“The court below overlooked that the Respondents failed to disprove the evidence of substantial non-compliance adduced by the petitioners,” the Appellants stated, adding that the panel wrongfully dismissed the issue of double nomination that was raised against Tinubu’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima. Tinubu was indicted and fined $460,000 in drug-related case

Likewise, Obi insisted that the PEPC overlooked evidence that established that President Tinubu was previously indicted and fined the sum of $460, 000 in the USA over his involvement in a drug related case.


“Imposition of a fine is not limited to a criminal conviction, as the word, in law, includes a civil forfeiture,” Obi further argued in his appeal.

Why we’re at S-Court — LP

The Labour Party, yesterday, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said its decision to challenge Tinubu’s election at the apex court was based on the conviction that the lower court erred in fact and in law by arriving at the conclusions contained in the judgment.

Ifoh said: “The 51 grounds are considered an error in law as the party’s legal team intends to prove that the APC Presidential Candidate in the election, Bola Tinubu did not win the election and that it was wrong for both INEC and the PEPC to declare him winner of the election when many incontrovertible points were proving otherwise.

“Obi and the Labour Party are seeking from the apex Court, four key points: Allow the Appeal, set aside the
perverse judgment of the PEPC, and grant the reliefs sought in the petition, either in the main or in the alternative.


“On the issue of the 25% requirement for Abuja, Obi and the Labour Party listed the particulars of error by the PEPC as follows:

“That the PEPC failed to appreciate that for the President to assume the office or position of president, he is also under a mandate to secure 25% of the votes cast in the FCT.

“They also accused the PEPC of overlooking the fuller purport of Section 299 which will be more glaring on a calm examination of Section 301 of the constitution.”

President Bola Tinubu is set to unveil a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers in the coming week, according to revelations made by Comrade Festus Osifo, the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

The announcement comes after a crucial meeting held between the TUC and the federal government to discuss the removal of fuel subsidies.

The federal government, represented by Minister of Labour Simon Lalong, confirmed discussions with President Tinubu and Minister of Finance Wale Edun regarding the wage issue.


Comrade Osifo shared these insights during an appearance on ChannelsTV's "Politics Today" program on Tuesday evening, September 19, 2023.

"The minister of labour told us that he had an audience with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the minister of finance and had reviewed the issue of wage award. But the president asked them to fine-tune the issues before he makes the announcement," explained the TUC president.


Osifo further emphasised that the TUC had given the federal government a two-week ultimatum to address their demands or face the prospect of nationwide industrial action.

Despite Minister Lalong's request for additional time due to the president's travel commitments, the TUC remained steadfast in their resolve for a swift resolution.

"The minister told us all these issues would be streamlined, but because the president has traveled, we should give him an extra two weeks. We said no; we don't have an extra two weeks to give. After more discussions, he said the president would make a proper announcement next week," disclosed Osifo.

Besides the minimum wage, the TUC has engaged with the federal government concerning the distribution of palliatives to states.

Comrade Osifo stressed their commitment to monitoring the fair and effective allocation of these relief measures, noting their desire to scrutinize the implementation template. Additionally, issues related to taxation and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) were raised during the discussions.

THE Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, said yesterday the federal government has till Friday to meet its demands or risk another round of industrial unrest.

This came as the government pleaded for more time to address grievances of the labour movement.

However, Vanguard gathered at the resumed meeting between the Ministry of Labour and Employment and NLC that leadership of the labour movement told the government categorically that nobody could accuse it of not giving government more than enough time to address its demands.

Some of the demands include wage award, tax exemptions and allowances to public sector workers, reduction of cost of governance, provision of Compressed Natural Gas, CNG, buses, release of modalities for N70 billion for Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs, release of officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, by the police and vacation of occupation of Police-backed interlopers, among others.

One of the leaders of NLC at the meeting informed Vanguard that among others, President of NLC, Joe Ajaero, pointed out that the 21-day ultimatum would expire in a few days and hoped the government met the union’s demands before then.

”Precisely, our 21-day’s ultimatum will expire this Friday, September 22. Recall that we issued the ultimatum on September 1, 2023. So, Comrade Ajaero has made that point clear, that the government has up till Friday to address our demands or risk another round of industrial unrest.

”He cited the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, quagmire and asked that the Police and Federal government are called to order to give respite to the union.

”The NURTW issue is within the purview of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, FMLE, which the ministry can immediately resolve.

“At the closed door meeting, after the recess, when the Minister of Labour, Simon Lalong, who initiated the meeting, called on NLC to give the government more time to address our demands, Ajaero responded that nobody can accuse the congress of not giving the government reasonable time because we have given more than enough time to the government to act.

”It is not fair to ask us to give the government a reasonable period when we have already done so. He urged the minister to expedite action within the remaining days of the ultimatum.

”He informed the minister that it is impossible for the congress to leave the meeting without achieving some of our objectives. We will not tell Nigerians that what we got is that we should give government reasonable time.

”So, it is up to the government to meet our demands before Friday. After Friday, NLC will take any industrial action it deems appropriate to respond to the demand of the time,” the source said.

Earlier, Labour Minister, Simon Lalong, had said the Federal Government was committed to addressing the valid grievances expressed by the NLC.

Lalong, who was flanked by the Minister of State, Nkeiruka Onyejecha, told the NLC that it acknowledged and appreciated the invaluable role it played in championing the rights and welfare of workers in the country and pleaded for cooperation and understanding, saying efforts were being made to sort out the teething problems.

Speaking in an interview with newsmen after the meeting, Ajaero lamented the lack of trust between government and the NLC.

He said: “The strike is an effect of a policy that doesn’t have human face. There was no strike before the removal of fuel subsidy. It was the government that said ask for palliatives, ask for wages and we have asked for it. That warning strike was a product of frustration, up till this moment.

“There is the issue of CNG, refineries working, wage award and cash transfer. Of all these agreements, not even one has been addressed by the government and you want us to meet every day.

“Some of us have been around for a long time and our job is not to go on strike but when you enter into an agreement that agreement should be implemented. Before the warning strike we raised the issues of palliatives and wage award and the NURTW.

“Nobody earning N30,000 or N60,000 will buy fuel for one week. We need to find solutions to all these problems and we have articulated them. Each time we finish, they ask for time.

”They asked for eight weeks, we gave them. They asked for four weeks, we gave them. We don’t know what to tell our colleagues or members again.”

On his part, the Labour Minister, Simon Lalong, said the government was committed to addressing all the concerns raised by the NLC in a just and equitable manner.

He, however said government must be mindful of striking a balance that promotes economic growth and secures sustainable progress for the nation as it attempts to address the demands of labour.

Lalong, continued: “We acknowledge the valid grievances that have fueled the recent labour crisis, and we are committed to addressing them in a just and equitable manner.”

He expressed appreciation for the NLC’s presence at the meeting aimed at addressing recent labour crisis and nurturing of economic advancement in the country.


“In recent months, our country has witnessed teething challenges, marked by industrial actions and unrest that have adversely affected the economy.

“I appear before you today not just as a representative of the government, but as an advocate for constructive dialogue, aspiring to understand your concerns and working hand in hand to find lasting solutions that benefit all Nigerians,” he added.

The meeting between the federal government and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) ended in deadlock, on Monday.

The meeting which was convened by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong, failed to address any of the issues raised by Congress as reasons for the proposed strike.

Briefing the journalists after the meeting, Lalong expressed optimism that though it could not immediately address the issues raised by the Nigerian workers, most of their concerns will be resolved before the deadline.

“I fully acknowledge and appreciate the invaluable role the NLC plays in championing for the rights and welfare of our workers.

“Your dedication and tireless advocacy have been critical in shaping a fair and inclusive work environment, and ensuring the wellbeing of our workforce.

“We acknowledge the valid grievances that have fueled the recent labour crisis, and we are committed to addressing them in a just and equitable manner.


“We must also recognize the economic realities that confront us. As we address the concerns of our workforce, we must be mindful of striking a balance that promotes economic growth and secures sustainable progress for our nation.

“Today, I call upon each one of you to join hands in an open-minded and constructive dialogue, enabling us to bridge any gaps that may exist between the interests of workers and the ultimate goal of driving economic advancement.

“In the spirit of unity and with utmost commitment to the betterment of our nation, let us seize this opportunity to listen and understand one another.


“Together, let us explore innovative approaches, reimagining strategies that enhance working conditions and worker benefits while nurturing a robust economy,” Lalong stated.

He expressed optimism that a constructive dialogue which has just began will lead to resolution of the issues on the ground.

On his part, the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said the two-day warning strike earlier embarked on by the union was necessitated by frustration on the part of the working class.

Ajaero stated this at the commencement of a meeting called at the instance of Lalong.


Expressing his displeasure on the way government was handling the palliative scheme amidst the subsidy removal policy, Ajaero said none of the demands raised by workers, which government pledged to meet has been met despite the two-day warning strike.

The apex Labour union said not that workers were keen on embarking on strike but recent developments in the labour sector, particularly the crisis in the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) where the police have taken over the secretariat leaves much to be desired.

Before the meeting broke into a closed door session, Lalong had in his opening remarks said the country was witnessing teething challenges, marked by industrial actions and unrest that have adversely affected the economy.


“We had a meaningful discussion on issues relating to our demands. We equally discussed frankly on issues bordering on the coup plotted and executed by the Nigerian Police against the NURTW, which had led to the sideling of the democratically elected leadership of the union. Both parties agreed that to express concern about.

“This is one sore area that the Nigerian Trade Union is not ready to compromise is that coup must be condemned, whether it is in Niger, whether it’s in Congo, whether it’s in Mali or whether it’s in the trade Union movement in Nigeria,” he told newsmen.

When asked the specific issues considered at the meeting, Ajaero said: ” in the ultimatum we gave and in the NEC resolution, the issue of NURTW was clearly stated and it was at the time the issue has not degenerated the way it is now. That was why we had to bring it along with issues.

“On the other issues you can see that there were no agreement on any, there is no CNG anywhere and refineries are not working neither gas.

“Nothing has been done on the issue of wage award and cash transfer or the ASUU issues. However, we believe that between now and the next few days, when the ultimatum expires, something will happen.”


He said based on the ultimatum issued by the congress, if no progress was made before the expiration, an indefinite strike would commence.

The Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul-Samad Rabiu, says the company is set to reduce the price of cement in Nigeria.

He disclosed this on Friday while speaking to State House correspondents after meeting with President Bola Tinubu.

Rabiu said to support the efforts of the government to crash the price of the product, the company would add two new plants at the end of the year or early next year.

According to him, the plants to be commissioned by Tinubu, would bring BUA Cement’s total capacity to 17 million metric tons.

This, he said will enable the company to reduce the price of cement to about 3500 naira per bag.

He said: “Let me thank His Excellency Mr. President for graciously receiving me today. I came to intimate His Excellency on the affairs of our cement business. We have two new lines of 3 million tonnes each that we will be commissioned by the end of the year.

“So I came to intimate His Excellency and also to explain to him the efforts we’re making in trying to support again the efforts of the government in bringing down the price of cement.

“With this 6 million tonnes that are commissioning by the end of the year. And by the way, His Excellency has agreed to come and commission the plants, sometimes in December or early January next year.

“So I explained to him and we want to support the efforts of the government in bringing down the price of cement. By the time these lines are commissioned, BUA Cement will to be producing about 17 million tonnes per annum. And with that, we intend to bring down the price of cement from its current level of N5000 or N5500 per bag to maybe N3000 to N3500 per bag.

“And we can only do that because we’re producing cement locally. 80% of the raw materials that we’re using to produce cement are in Nigeria. We want to support the government efforts in ensuring that the price of thess commodities are brought down.

“Incidentally, I also saw the Honorable Minister David Umahi, when I was with the with His Excellency, Mr. President, and we agreed to meet so what we’re going to do is by the time we commission these two lines is to announce to Nigerians that the price of cement is going to come down.”

Muhammad Nami, former Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), has spoken about the record he would have set if President Bola Tinubu had not replaced him.

On Thursday, Tinubu had asked Nami to proceed on three months pre-retirement leave, while announcing Zacchaeus Adedeji, his Special Adviser on Revenue, as replacement in acting capacity.

In his farewell statement, Nami expressed appreciation to ex-President, Muhamnmadu Buhari and President Tinubu for allowing him to serve the country for almost four years.

Nami said he was able to collect tax of more than N8 trillion in eight months and would have set a new record of a minimum of N13 trillion at the end of this tax year.

The statement, titled, “My Appreciation To Nigerians’, reads: “With utmost gratitude to the Almighty God, I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the erstwhile President, His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, and the incumbent president, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, for the opportunity given to me to serve the country and humanity as the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for almost four years. I want to extend my deep appreciation to the entire staff of the Service, our esteemed taxpayers, and Nigerians for believing in me, and for the support and cooperation extended to me throughout my tenure.

“I want to put on record that the support and cooperation I received enabled my team to meet our target, and set new records for tax collection in Nigeria. Even as I take my bow, we have so far collected more than N8 Trillion in eight months and would have set a new record of a minimum of N13 trillion at the end of this tax year.

“During the inauguration of the erstwhile Board Members of the Service, I promised to raise the country’s Tax-To-GDP ratio from 6% to 10% in 4-years. We already have achieved a Tax-to-GDP ratio of 10.86% within two years (i.e. as at 31st December 2021.)

“I can, therefore, say that I am leaving as a fulfilled man knowing that I have served diligently. I am equally leaving a Service that is built on world-class best practices. Indeed, it couldn’t have been more fulfilling.

“I implore the staff, taxpayers, and Nigerians to extend the same measure of cooperation to the incoming Executive Chairman, Mr. Zacch Adedeji, to enable him to succeed. Tax collection is a sensitive matter that requires all hands on deck to achieve.”

The Minister of Works, David Umahi, has announced to contractors handling Federal Road projects across the country that the President Ahmed Tinubu-led administration has N431bn ready to be paid out to them.

He made the announcement at a meeting with contractors in his office yesterday.

The minister equally told the contractors that henceforth all contractors will be required to sign performance contracts to guarantee that roads constructed would last for at least 10 years.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Director of Information and Public Relations of the Ministry, Mrs. Blessing Lere-Adams.

Umahi also announced the Ministry’s intention to pay greater attention to dualised roads across the country.

She quoted the Minister as saying, “Why we are here now is to announce our intention to face most of the dualised roads in the country.

“ I want to remind you that Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is funding 50% percent of the contract sum and that funding goes up to 2025.

“We have N431B of money that is ready for contractors to clear but there is no certificate for it, if you are doing a job under Phase 1, make effort to make claims, if your job involves augmentation go back to your Regional Director for understanding before I sign the certificate, any certificate I sign now, I have to take account for it even when I have left office.”

The Minister tasked the contractors to stick to one lane if their job has not gone up to 50% completion; he said he had also come up with Performance Bond meaning that all new projects would be guaranteed for 10 years.

He urged all contractors that have built roads that cannot last up to ten years to write to the Ministry to either stop work or rebuild the road to last 10 years, the Minister warned each of the contractors against coming up with excuses should any of their roads fail to meet the required standards.

The minister appealed for cooperation in ensuring that the concrete technology which the administration was moving towards succeeds.

According to him, this technology has been successfully put to use in India and Singapore.

Earlier, Engr. Umahi encouraged the contractors and other stakeholders to key into the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr President, he said this Administration has 18000 kilometre of roads and inherited a contract sum of about N14.1 trillion and out of which N4trillion is being paid in all those projects, some of the projects have lasted between 10 to 20years.

The Minister said some contractors have jerked up the contractor sum by hundred percent and that is the reason they are not getting paid.

“We are going back to the original concept of the projects and the necessity of any additional works and also see how we get a fair deal, expecting an endorsement from the Ministry of what is not acceptable to Nigerian Society of Engineers is not possible,“ the Minister said.

Umahi also noted that “ Mr President understands road infrastructure, If I come before him with a contract of N44B reviewed to N144B contract sum, I must be able to provide details of how the cost came about.”

Former Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) says he does not need a title to serve in the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, which in his view, is birthing the next generation of leaders.

Fashola, a close aide of Tinubu, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the Lagos State University, Ojo, on Tuesday.


He was at the University to deliver a keynote address at the institution’s fifth research and innovation fair.


The former Lagos State Governor, who also served as Tinubu’s Chief of Staff when the President was governor of the state. was responding to a question on his role in the present administration at the federal level and possibility of an appointment.

He said, “I do not need a title to serve: the president can only appoint at least one minister, for example, from each state which he has done that.

“There are just enough places in parastatals, they are doing that; we are estimated to be 200 million, so there are not enough offices to take everybody.

“All of us must play our roles as citizens, and a citizen does not need a title to serve.

“The biggest title you need is that of being citizen and play our role; we are also talking about the next generation.

”If some do not move on, where is the place for the next batch?”

He said there was the need to bring more outstanding public spirited people to occupy spaces as they evolve.


Fashola said he looked forward to a lot more youthful people being part of the administration.

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has lamented the failure of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to make available a certified copy of the judgment, three days after it was delivered.

Atiku’s lawyers are yet to get a copy of the judgment.

The lawyers are said to have formally applied to the court for certified true copies as of Friday.

The former Vice President and his team of lawyers have just 14 days to approach the Supreme Court with their appeal against the PEPC ruling.

Atiku spoke in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu.

The statement said, “By not making available to Atiku Abubakar, Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, the certified true copies of the judgment of Wednesday for its filings at the Supreme Court, the Presidential Election Petition Court, is undermining Atiku’s and Nigerians quest for justice.”


Shaibu reminded the PEPC that some of the testimonies of Atiku’s witnesses were struck out during Wednesday’s ruling simply because their statements on oath were filed out of time.

He said the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal is not oblivious that Atiku has already lost three days of the 14-day limit stipulated for filing in their processes at the Supreme Court.


“And now, for all intents and purposes, the same court wants to have Atiku and PDP’s appeal to the Supreme Court disqualified by the reason of time deadline.

“Does the PEPC not understand that the lawyers representing Atiku/PDP need to digest the judgment as contained in the CTC, which represents the authentic pronouncements made in court on Wednesday, in order to formulate its case for filing?” Shaibu queried

The only legacy of Vice-President Kashim Shettima is allegedly transforming Borno State from ‘the Home of Peace’ to hell fire, the Special Assistant on Public Communications to former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, has said.

Shaibu said this in a statement on Thursday in reaction to Vice President Shettima’s interview with journalists at the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) in Abuja on Wednesday, wherein he said he will retire Atiku to Fombina and buy goats for him.

Responding, however, Shaibu said it was laughable that Shettima, who has the most woeful governance record in Nigerian history and could not lift the people of Borno State from poverty was planning on investing in Atiku.

He said, “Ordinarily, we wouldn’t have responded to Kashim Shettima since he has an incurable speech deficiency which is so severe that most Nigerians can hardly understand what he says. However, for the sake of the reading public, this response becomes very important.

“He loves to rack lackluster jokes at every given opportunity. Last year, he said Vice-President Osinbajo should have been an ice cream man instead of a politician. Later on, he said Nigeria needed a leader like Sani Abacha.

“As part of his circus act, he visited the annual general conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in an oversize suit, a pair of sneakers and a poorly knotted tie. Shettima needs to decide if he wants to be a statesman or Baba Sala of blessed memory . His behaviour is certainly unbefitting for a man who currently holds the exalted office of Vice-President, even if temporarily.”



Shaibu said it had become Shettima’s stock in trade to deride others because he had nothing worthwhile to say about himself or his principal, Bola Tinubu, whose three months in office have only worsened poverty and inflation.

He said, “Shettima was appointed as commissioner for finance and later became governor of Borno State. Those who brought him had high expectations for him having come from the banking sector. However, rather than bring prosperity to the people of Borno, he opened the floodgates of terror.


“During his tenure as governor between 2011 and 2019, Borno State was taken over by terrorists completely. He ignored a security report about an impending attack on Chibok which ultimately led to the abduction of over 250 schoolgirls.

“Specifically, the head of WAEC’s National Office in Nigeria, Charles Eguridu, stated in 2014 that WAEC had informed Shettima about the danger of holding exams in Chibok and advised that the students be relocated to Maidguri which was relatively safer. Shettima refused to relocate the students and they were abducted, half of whom have not been seen again till today.

“Even though he left government four years ago, the millions of residents of Borno State have yet to recover from the mistake called Shettima. Rather than be penitent, he continues to move about like a clown, making unsolicited dry jokes about others.

“We wonder what manner of substance Shettima was on when he proceeded to denigrate the great Fombina kingdom headed by HRH Barkindo Aliyu Mustapha, the Lamido of Adamawa.”

Shaibu advised the Vice-President to stick to praying to God for forgiveness for thwarting the destiny of the millions of people of Borno State.

“We advise Kashim Shettima to spend the remainder of his days praying to God everyday for forgiveness for destroying the lives of the millions of people of Borno State rather than making dry and insipid jokes at those who have actually bettered the lives of people.

“His lack of sophistication is eroding the elegance of the Office of the Vice-President. Men of honour have held that position in the past and Shettima should learn from the examples they led in public decency. In any case, he would do well by attending a finishing school on Atiku’s scholarship and learn how to behave like a polished statesman,” Shaibu stated.

ABUJA– A former Vice President and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has vowed to approach the Supreme Court to set aside the election of President Bola Tinubu.


Atiku, said he was dissatisfied with the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, that affirmed President Tinubu as the valid winner of the presidential election held on February 25.

Speaking through his team of lawyers led by Chief Chris Uche, SAN, the PDP candidate, said he only got a judgement from the court and not justice.

“Judgement has just been delivered but we have not received justice. Luckily, the Constitution has given us the right to go on appeal.

“This is the court of first instance. We still have the right to go on appeal to the Supreme Court and you see, this is a struggle that is not just for our client, but for the Constitution of this country, for the rule of law and democracy.

“We were expecting an outcome that will improve, encourage the use of technology to enhance election management, to enhance transparency, to enhance accountability, so that Nigerians will believe in democracy.

“So that Nigerians can come out in their masses like they did, to vote. We don’t want Nigerians to be discouraged.

“There are certain things and principle of law that he know that we need to explore and we strongly believe that when we get to the Supreme Court, it will have the opportunity to review a number of things that have been said here today.

“We have the instruction of our client to go to the Supreme Court. So, we have asked for the records. We have asked for the judgement. We are going to apply for the transmission of the records because we have a very limited time to push this.


“So, the struggle continues and as it is said, it is not over until it is over,” Atiku’s lawyer added.

THE Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, yesterday made good its threat to hold a two day warning strike from Tuesday, recording mixed compliance across the country.

While the strike grounded government’s activities in states such as Rivers, Edo, Cross River, Benue, Kaduna and Kano, among others. It recorded partial compliance in Lagos, Abuja, Ogun, Ekiti, Kwara and Kebbi.

Some of the highlights of the strike included the total shut down of the ports, Osogbo Transmission Company, and some power distribution companies, DisCos, raising fears of imminent blackout.

‘Day one met our objectives’

Speaking on the strike, President of NLC, Joe Ajaero, expressed delight over the level of compliance on day one of the two-day warning strike, saying the first day of the strike fully achieved NLC’s objectives.

He said: “We are very happy with the level of compliance. I can tell you that day one of the warning strike met our objectives. We believe that day two will send a stronger signal to the federal government that we are determined to ensure our members and other Nigerians do not continue to suffer the bad policies of our government.

‘’From the onset, we have objectives that we articulated in the communiqué we released on Friday, September 1, 2023. We are doggedly following the objectives until we are satisfied that the appropriate authorities addressed our demands.”

Also in a circular to state councils, titled “Our two-day nationwide warning strike: First day of success”, Ajaero appreciated members of NLC in the states and affiliate unions “for the massive support and efforts at ensuring that the first day of the nationwide warning strike took off with a resounding success across the nation.

“You have all demonstrated that your words and decisions will always be backed by action. This has resonated in every part of the country today (yesterday) and we are sure that the message has been sent to those who doubt our determination to push through with our objectives.

‘’We are glad to inform you that all of our objectives for the first day were fully met because of the high level of compliance experienced as a result of your collective efforts around the federation.

“Congress salutes you all for your commitment towards ensuring that the reasons for the warning strike were fulfilled at this time. We, however, urge you all to continue with the same zeal and determination which saw the huge success recorded today (yesterday) as we move to the second and final day of the nationwide strike to ensure a complete success of the entire exercise.

“While thanking all Nigerian workers and, indeed, the masses for their understanding as we go through this trying time, we call for more efforts of the kind you showed today and urge all of us to join hands to ensure that all loopholes observed during today’s action are plugged so that tomorrow’s action will be a total success.

“It is our civic duty to ensure that we are governed effectively and that those in government remain accountable to the people at all times! We are committed to that and with your continued support; our nation will surely become a better place for all of us.”

Lagos
Though Lagos is one of states that recorded partial compliance, some residents expressed frustration over the hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu.

The strike did not have any effect at the Lagos State Secretariat where workers were seen going about their regular business.

Some banks also opened for business with customers seen entering and exiting the premises.

However, workers of Ikeja Electric were locked out of their offices as officials of the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, manned the gate to turn back customers.
Similarly, the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN, shut all maritime activities in Apapa, Tin Can and other jetties.

MWUN’s Deputy Secretary General, Erazua Oniha, told Vanguard that besides Lagos, the union’s taskforce on the strike also effectively crippled port operations in Rivers, Cross River and Delta states.

Abuja
In Abuja, the block housing the Federal Ministry of Education at the federal secretariat was locked for some minutes and later opened for civil servants to resume work.
Meanwhile, other blocks at the secretariat remained open, with workers going into the building for work.

Delta
In Asaba, the Delta State capital, there was partial compliance, as banks and ports operations were crippled in Warri, the commercial nerve centre of the state.
Chairman of the state chapter of NLC, Goodluck Ofobruku, said: “In Delta State, the compliance is very high. You must not forget that we have NLC and TUC. NLC is controlling 90 per cent of the unions and TUC, 10 per cent.

Rivers
The warning strike began in the capital city of Port Harcourt with a total grounding of all public and other commercial activties

Banks, some filling stations and other commercial institutions along the busy Port Harcourt/Aba expressway, Odili, Abuloma, Sani Abacha and the Ikwerre roads were shut as part of the warning strike, while some major roads in the state capital were virtually empty.

Edo
In Benin City, the capital of Edo State, government activities were completely paralyzed, forcing suspension of two judgments that ought to have been delivered by the National/State Assembly Election Tribunal.

Commercial banks, companies such as Guinness Plc, 7Up bottling company, the Central Park in Benin City, government offices, hospitals and other facilities were shut by the striking NLC members who were led by the state chairman, Odion Olaye.

The Hon Justice O.A. Chijioke-led election tribunal II, was scheduled to deliver judgment in the petition filed by Egor/Ikpoba-Okha Peoples Democratic Party’s, PDP, candidate in the February 25 general election, Mr. Okhuarobo Henry Osamuede, against Mr. Omoruyi Murphy Osaro of the Labour Party, LP.

Akwa Ibom

Also in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, government activities and businesses were grounded as workers shut gates of both federal and state secretariats.

The Idongesit Nkanga Secretariat which houses ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs, of the state government as well as the Secretariat Annex, along Udo Udoma Avenu,e were under lock in Uyo. The federal secretariat was also picketed.

Chairman of the state chapter of NLC, Sunny James, stormed the state secretariat as early as 6am to ensure compliance.

Ondo
In Ondo State, workers ignored the threat by the Head of Service, HoS, Kayode Ogundele, to deal with civil servants who participated in the strike. The workers fully complied with NLC directive.

Government activities were paralysed in the state as NLC leaders who monitored workers’ compliance, chased out some workers who refused to comply, following counter-directives from the states’ HoS.

Reacting, the NLC in the state lambasted the HoS for threatening workers who joined the strike.

Ekiti
In Ekiti State, it was partial compliance as some federal and state workers reported to their duty posts.

A visit to the Old Governor’s Office in Ado-Ekiti indicated that civil servants of Ekiti State Internal Revenue Service, Judiciary Staff Workers at Ekiti State Customary Court of Appeal were also seen at their duty posts.

Monitoring the level of compliance at various public and private institutions, Ekiti State NLC Chairman, Mr Kokapo Olatunde, said: “This strike is not unconnected with the lackadaisical attitude of the federal government over fuel subsidy removal where nothing has been done to cushion the effects of its hardship.

Ogun
In Ogun, the strike recorded partial compliance as civil servants, health workers and others reported for work at their respective duty posts.

A visit by Vanguard to some federal institutions in the state, including Federal Medical Centre, Idi-Aba Abeokuta, observed that medical doctors and nurses were on ground to carry out their duties, while other workers who are members of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, MHWUN, were absent.

Same scenario was recorded at the State Hospital, Ijaiye, Abeokuta, where the hospital gate was under lock.

At the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, FUNAAB, the strike recorded a hundred per cent compliance as members of the Non-Academics Staff Union of Educational and Related Association, NASU, shut the university and preventing both academic and non-academics staff of the university and students from gaining access into the university.

Oyo
In Oyo State, banks and other federal agencies were shut in Ibadan, the capital. The National Coordinator, Federal Workers Forum, Mr Andrew Emelieze, said NLC had given a directive that workers should go “on a two-day warning strike.

‘’In that sense, we have decided that the federal secretariats across the country should be shut because there’s no worker who is not affected by the current hardship.

‘’There’s no worker that is not going through suffering, workers are feeling disappointed, feeling that they have been betrayed and cheated by the system.”

NLC chairman in the state, Kayode Martins, expressed satisfaction with the level of compliance by workers in the state on the two-day warning strike called by the national body of the union.

Osun
It was also a 100 per cent compliance in Osun State, government agencies and other commercial activities, including the Osogbo Transmission Company, were grounded.
Similarly, secretariat of local government areas in the state were deserted as few workers seen were only hanging around the premises.

Addressing newsmen at the TCN entrance, Vice President, West, of the National Union of Electricity Employee, Mr Sodiq Adewale, said the union complied totally with the strike directive. He said: “We are part of the strike and we are critical stakeholders as far as NLC is concerned.”

Also, some branches of commercial banks in Osogbo did not open to customers, while some others opened for business.

However, at the Osun Government Secretariat in Osogbo, some workers were at their duty posts.

Abia
In Abia State, commercial banks in Umuahia, the state capital, did not open for business. The banks apparently stayed away from trouble, and shut their doors against customers.

The office of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC, at Bende Road Umuahia was also locked.

Abia State secretariat at Ogurube layout was also deserted as workers stayed away from their offices.

Anambra
Similarly, commercial banks and the courts in Anambra State were shut as workers fully complied with the strike.

However, at the state secretariat,a few workers were seen on their desks, but had to shut their doors to avoid harassment from officials of the NLC, who earlier in the day drove away civil servants who came to work. In Awka and Onitsha, commercial vehicles were operated freely, just as filling stations did their business unmolested. At the state House of Assembly, committees sat and workers there were on their duty posts.

Benue
In Benu State, the strike recorded substantial compliance as most banks were shut to customers, while majority of the civil servants in ministries, departments and agencies of government stayed away from their duty posts.

Some of the banks visited in Makurdi, the state capital, had their gates locked, while those that opened for business were compelled to close shop by labour leaders who were seen moving round town to ensure compliance.

However, some civil servants who reported for work to provide skeletal services in the state were said to be members of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, who were not part of the strike.

Kano
In Kano state, all government offices and other commercial activities were crippled. It was gathered that officials of NLC as early as 5am yesterday, began the enforcement to ensure total compliance. Vice Chairman of NLC, Ado Riruwai, who led the enforcement, told Vanguard that the union shut down all government offices in the state.

Riruwai, who doubles as the chairman, Private Sector Unions in the state, also said all power sector entities and banks were under also shut.

He further said that they were proceeding to the airport to ensure no flight took off from the airport.

Taraba
In Taraba State, it was a partial success as some workers were seen at their duty posts The state secretariat was open for work earlier in the day but officials of NLC who were monitoring to ensure compliance told workers to vacate their offices.
Other major government parastatals were also not left out of the enforcement.

Kwara
Also, in Kwara State, the strike recorded partial compliance as some workers were at their variousduty posts.

Vanguard gathered that a counter directive by the state government on Monday the evening created confusion for the state workers.

Some workers who spoke with Vanguard on condition of anonymity, claimed that they didn’t join the strike because their leaders didn’t direct them. Commenting on the success or otherwise of the strike, the state chairman of National Union of Agriculture and Allied Employees, Kayode Ehindero said the strike was a success.

Kebbi
In Kebbi, the state secretariat in Birnin Kebbi as at 12pm, was active as workers turned up for work.

However, a visit to the courts at GRA area in Birnin Kebbi, showed that staff and lawyers were seen in the court preparing to begin court proceedings as usual. Banks were fully operational.

Attempts to get the reaction of the leadership of Kebbi NLC were not successful as the vice chairman of the union, Kelani Abdulwaliyu, did not respond to calls or text messages sent to his phone.

Adamawa
However, the strike recorded full compliance in Adamawa State as all public institutions remained closed . Banks and other financial houses were also locked. The state and federal secretariats were also shut as officials of the state NLC went round to monitor the strike.

State chairman of the NLC, Comrade Emmanuel Fashe, enjoined all workers to be peaceful and abide by the rules of the strike.

Niger
Also in Niger State, the strike recorded total compliance as workers kept away from their duty posts.

The strike was monitored by the state chapter of NLC, led by the chairman, Idris Lafene.

The Minna General Hospital, IBB Specialist Hospital, old and new secretariats and other departments and agencies outside the secretariats were under lock. The state chairman and his team entered most of the premises to inspect offices to ensure no staff was inside.

Lafene expressed satisfaction over the level of compliance, stating that the state NLC was still not happy with the exemption of civil servants and pensioners from the distribution of palliatives which begins across the state today.

Kaduna
It was a similar success story in Kaduna as federal and state government workers, bank officials, telecom operators, Judiciary staff, polytechnic staff and others, all joined the strike .

Our correspondent who visited courts, bank, ;institutions, ministries and other government departments in the state capital found them closed, and there were no signs of workers on duty, apart from security guards. Students were, however, seen boarding few commercial vehicles available to return home, since classes could not hold.

The city was peaceful and calm, even as traders, bus and Keke NAPEP drivers continued to do their business without any molestation.

Ayuba Magaji, the NLC chairman in Kaduna State, said the” strike was embarked upon to press home our demand for wage increase.”

Blackout looms as electricity workers join strike

Meanwhile, power supply across the country was limited yesterday as electricity workers joined the two-day strike called by the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, over petrol subsidy removal by President Bola Tinubu.

With supply short, electricity distribution companies, DisCos, issued notices to consumers alerting them of the situation. In its notice to customers, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, blamed the general power outage across its franchise area on the strike.

The notice read: “We are aware of the general power outage being experienced across our franchise due to enforcement by NLC of the 2-day warning strike embarked upon by the labour union.

“We apologise for any inconvenience you may be experiencing as a result of this, as we continue our engagement with key stakeholders towards minimizing the impact of the strike on our customers.

“In the meantime, we recommend that you take necessary precautions to manage the outage effectively. Kindly unplug sensitive electronic devices and appliances from power sources pending the restoration of power.

“We will continue to provide updates on developments regarding the impact of the strike action on our operations through our official social media handles”, the utility added.
On its part, the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, Kaduna Electric, in a statement by its Head Corporate Communications, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, explained that the action by its workers had shut down its feeders.

The statement read: “We regret to announce that the outage being experienced currently in our franchise states is due to the warning strike embarked upon by the Nigerian Labour Congress and its affiliate unions.

“The action has necessitated the shutting down of all 33KV feeders by the striking workers. We hope the impasse between the federal government and the NLC shall be resolved soonest so that power
supply can be restored”.

However, despite the outages, checks on national grid supply showed that as at 3pm, 18 power plants were still in operation, generating a combined 2,886 megawatts.
The data from the National System Operator, NSO, a semi autonomous unit in the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, showed that Azura-Edo IPP with 387MW, Egbin Power with 363MW and Kainji Hydro with 320MW topped grid supply.

Interested parties in the February 25 presidential election have said they are optimistic of getting a favourable judgement as the Presidential Election Petitions Court fixed Wednesday to announce its verdict.

Presidential candidates of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar; Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi; and Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Chichi Ojei had filed the petitions challenging the declaration President Bola Tinubu as winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal, Umar Bangari, Esq in a statement yesterday confirmed that the five-member panel presided by Justice Haruna Tsammani has also directed that media access to the proceeding would strictly be on accreditation.

The panel, according to the statement also approved the live transmission of the proceedings of the three petitions, which according to it, is to promote transparency and openness.


“Only accredited individuals, including counsel and representatives of political parties will be granted access into the courtroom. Interested members of the public are advised to watch the proceedings from their television sets,” the panel said.

Earlier, the Department of State Services (DSS) had warned against violent protests over the outcome of the proceedings.

The issues

Atiku and PDP, through their counsel, Chris Uche (SAN) contended that Tinubu was not qualified to contest the election having submitted “forged certificates” including from the Chicago State University and the NYSC certificate with the name ‘Adekunle.’


The leading opposition party and its candidate argued that Tinubu was fined the sum of $460,000 in drug and narcotic related offences in the Northern District Court of Illinois, USA in 1993, which is a breach of Section 137(i)(d) of the Nigerian Constitution, adding that he failed to disclose his dual citizenship with Guinea in INEC form EC9.

They further contended that Tinubu failed to score 25 per cent of the total votes cast in the FCT as provided in Section 134(2)(b) of the Nigerian Constitution, that his running mate was not properly nominated having been a candidate of the Borno Central Senatorial District before he became the vice presidential candidate.


According to them, the election was marred by irregularities and corrupt acts including the non-compliance with the Electoral Act for the direct upload of results from the polling units after the sum of N355 billion was invested in it.

In their petitions, Obi and LP, through their lead counsel, Livy Uzoukwu (SAN) contended that Tinubu was disqualified by the reason of double nomination of his running mate, Kashim Shettima in more than one constituency in one election cycle after he was nominated APC candidate for the senatorial seat and remained so until July 15, 2022, when he was formally substituted, which breached Section 35 of the Electoral Act, 2022.


They also contended that the forfeiture of the sum of $460,000 in the USA was a fine as defined in the constitution and the previous judgments of the Supreme Court.

Obi contended that the non-upload of results of the election from the BVAS machines to IREV resulted in blurred results from INEC with 18,088 polling unit results and votes cast by 2.55 million voters; he submitted that he was the only candidate with the majority of lawful votes cast and the 25 per cent required in the FCT under Section 134(2) of the Nigerian Constitution.

In their sole issue before the tribunal, APM and Ojei, through their lead counsel, Yakubu Maikasuwa (SAN) contended that Tinubu and Shettima were not validly nominated to contest the February 25. They argue that by the combined reading of sections 131(c) and 142(2) of the Nigerian Constitution, 1999 and Section 133 of the Electoral Act made them to invalid.


They contended that when Kabiru Masari announced his withdrawal as an APC placeholder on June 24, 2022 to the date Shettima’s name was forwarded to INEC on July 14, 2022, was 21 days and that breached Section 33 of the Electoral Act, 2022, which provides for 14 days for the replacement of a candidate for an election.

In their replies, INEC, through its lead counsel, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) asked the court to dismiss the petitioners’ petitions submitting that APM’s petition had been determined by the Supreme Court on May 26.

INEC said both Atiku and Obi failed to prove that electronic collation of results was provided for in the law. He said they failed to counter its position that technical glitches on the Amazon Website Service (AWS) affected the upload of results.

On his part, Tinubu, through his lead counsel, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) asked the court to dismiss the petitions for failing to establish the claims made before the court.

He asked the court to hold that Tinubu scored 25 per cent of two-thirds of votes in the FCT and had the requisite numbers as interpreted by the courts in Shagari vs Awolowo in 1979, adding that the intention of the constitution was not to make the FCT a special state but the 37th state of the federation.

Counsel to the APC, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) also asked the court to dismiss the petitions for lacking in merit.


Tribunal will affirm Tinubu’s mandate – APC

But the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed optimism that the tribunal would affirm President Tinubu as winner of the election tomorrow.

The APC National Publicity Secretary, Barrister Felix Morka, told Daily Trust yesterday that the party expects nothing other than affirmation of Tinubu’s victory. He said, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu won the last presidential election fair and square.

“We are confident that the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal will affirm the mandate handed to President Tinubu by the majority of the Nigerian electorate.”

We expect justice, nothing else – Atiku

Candidate of the PDP, Atiku has, however, said the judgment should be based on the 1999 Constitution as amended.

He said he expects nothing else, but that justice should be served in the petition in line with the provisions of the 1999 constitution and the Electoral Act 2022.

Atiku, a former vice president, while reacting to the announcement of Wednesday as the judgment day told Daily Trust through his Media Adviser, Mr Paul Ibe that “We expect that the PEPT will render justice in line with the 1999 constitution as amended and all the other bodies of law that guided the election.”


Meanwhile, efforts to get the reaction of the national leadership of the PDP was not successful as the National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba neither answered his phone calls nor responded to a text message sent to him as of the time of filing this report.

Ballots, not tribunal will make pronouncement – LP

Reacting, the Labour Party (LP) expressed optimism that the judgement would be in its favour tomorrow.

The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Obiora Ifoh, told Daily Trust that the wish of Nigerians would prevail, saying, “We are optimistic that the judgement would be in our favour and that all our prayers to the tribunal would be positive.”


Also, the Connected Development (CODE) has urged Nigerians, especially the youths to be law abiding and allow the judicial process to take its course.

Executive Director of CODE, Mallam Hamzat Lawal, said this yesterday in Abuja at the formal presentation of the ‘Uzabe: Nigeria Decides Citizen Led Election Report’.

He said, “To me, everywhere is calm, there is no tension, there is no cause for alarm. In 2011, 2015 and 2019, people who were aggrieved went to court and there is no difference in 2023.

“One hopes that we would have a process free from politicians interference; a process that is expected to be transparent and credible so that we can have a situation that the ballot rather than the judiciary would make pronouncement. I have confidence in the judiciary and we would continue to support the process.”

LAGOS—FORMER Deputy National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Bode George, yesterday, took a swipe at the economic policies of the Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government saying it is hurting Nigerians.


He also warned the judiciary not to allow it to be used to disrupt the electoral process as it delivers judgment on the Presidential Election Petition.

Speaking during a state-of-the-nation press conferece in Lagos, the elder statesman faulted the Federal Government’s method in the distribution of palliatives to Nigerians describing it as voodoo economics.

On the palliatives given to states by the Federal Government, George said: “There is no individual in this globe called earth that knows it all. Who is the Chief Economic Adviser in the Villa? Is he a voodoo economist? Is he a medieval economist? Basic theory in economics says that when too much money is chasing a few goods, it causes hyperinflation. You gave N5 billion to states as palliatives, Who took that decision? Lagos has more than 22 million people, Bayelsa has about two million people and they have the same money.

“Kano with a huge population got the same with Jigawa. Is it money for the boys or money for the people? The whole world is now a global village.

“The moment Russia shut down their gas pipeline to Europe; they have all been in hell. What we are talking about here is the pain the people are passing through.

“In England too, there is pain and the people are shouting, doctors are on strike and the salary can no longer meet their daily needs. The cost of electricity has gone through the roof. “But in Nigeria, what the hell are we doing here?”

Warning the judiciary not to truncate the electoral process, the PDP leader said: “Whoever that the tribunal eventually announces as the winner of the election, I am saying, if the judiciary pronounces anybody the president with the shambolic procedure from this election, it will be a shame on this country. The judiciary should never go through that route.


“The procedure is faulty and so they should direct the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to go back and do the election again. If it is one million times, go back and do the election. You see now that there is peace in Kenya because the Supreme Court said go back and do the election.

“Otherwise, if they pronounce Mr A or Mr B as the winner of that shambolic election, then democracy in Nigeria would be redefined as the government of the judiciary, for the judiciary and by the judiciary. Is that a democracy?”

The Police Service Commission (PSC), on Monday, formally inaugurated 11 members of the board that will conduct recruitment exercise for the Nigeria Police Force.

Members of the board, who were inaugurated at the headquarters of the commission has the Commissioner representing South East zone at the PSC, Onyemuche Nnamani as the Chairman while Olabode Akinbamilowo, a Deputy Commissioner of Police will serve as the Secretary.


Other members of the board include the DIG manning Development Training Department of the police; Muhammed Magaji from Ministry of Police Affairs; Ifeoma Anyanwutaku, the Permanent Secretary of the PSC; Prof. Joseph Olowofela from FCC and Representative of Police Colleges, CP Hassan Yabanet.

Also included were Yusuf Sanusi of Recruitment Department of PSC; Sani Usman Hada of ICT unit of PSC; Barr. Victoria Onyekwuluije of Legal Department of PSC and DSP Ahanmisi Obehi of the Office of Chairman of PSC.


Speaking during the inauguration, the Chairman of PSC, Solomon Arase, said the recruitment exercise would commence in no distant time, adding that it was coming on the heels of Presidential approval for the annual recruitment of 10, 000 personnel into the Force.

According to Arase, it was part of Tinubu’s promise during the electioneering campaigns, aimed at strengthening the Nigeria Police towards optimal functionality in resolving the insecurity challenge in Nigeria.

He said the task of recruiting qualified persons, of good conduct and character is no doubt an arduous one, but can be made easier through the cooperation and assistance of our community leaders, traditional and religious institutions.

“Every Nigerian who is desirous of Police Reforms in our dear country is, therefore, implored to assist the Board during the recruitment exercise by ensuring that the bad eggs in the society are not foist on the Board, and/or allowed to surreptitiously get recruited into the NPF without alerting the Board through whistle-blowing,” Arase added.

The PSC listed some of the responsibilities of the board as determining and declaring the available vacancies in the NPF that needs to be filled up and drawing up guidelines for every recruitment process in the Nigeria Police Force.

Others include: Determine the online platform to be employed in the advertorials and recruitment of applicants as well as placement of advertorials on national dailies and other forms of information dissemination on the recruitment among others.

The former IGP, however, advised the board members to shun corruption in its entirety and its appearances, saying the should “strive like Caesar’s wife to be above board in the conduct of the recruitment exercise.”

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, on Thursday, suspended another 26 members of the party for creating faction within its fold.

The suspension came barely 24 hours after 84 members of the party were expelled for allegedly involving in anti-party activities.

A statement by the Osun APC chairman, Tajudeen Lawal, said allegations against the affected members, who all are supporters of the ex- governor, Rauf Aregbesola, were treated by the Disciplinary Committee of the party, while its findings were deliberated upon by the State Executive Committee.

Prominent among those suspended are; ex-Secretary to the State Government, Mr Moshood Adeoti; and an Executive Director, Business and Marketing NICOMSAT Abuja, Mr Najeem Salaam; who was Speaker of the State House of Assembly during Aregbesola’s tenure as governor.


Also on the list are Senator Mudasiru Hussain, who currently serves as Osun State Commissioner in the National Population Commission; ex-commissioners during Aregbesola’s tenure, Adelani Baderinwa, Sikiru Ayedun and Kazeem Salami.

Others suspended are; the chairman of the defunct The Osun Progressives, Mr. Adelowo Adebiyi; ex-Deputy State APC chairman, Mr. Adesiji Azeez; and ex-Assistant Chief of Staff to the governor, Mr Gbenga Akano.

The list of the suspended members also have:


10 Mr. Kunle Ige
11. Mr. Biodun Agboola
12. Barr. Gbenga Awosode
13. Mr. Rasheed Opatola.
14. Hon. Gbenga Ogunkanmi
15. Hon. Israel Oyekunle
16. Hon. MBO Ibraheem
17. Mr. Akeem Olaoye
18. Hon. Francis Famurewa
19. Hon. Tajudeen Famuyide
20. Hon. (Mrs.) Adenike Abioye
21. Hon. Wasiu Adebayo
22. Hon. Rasheed Afolabi
23. Mr. Segun Olanibi
24. Mr. Tunde Ajilore
25. Mr Ganiyu Ismaila Opeyemi.
26. Mr Zakariah Khalid, Olaoluwa-South LCDA.

The statement announcing the decision of the party further read, “Following complaints of anti-party activities, the State Executive Committee of the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress constituted a Disciplinary Committee to investigate the allegations against some of its members.

“This disciplinary measure came in response to the allegations of misconduct bordering on factionalization of the party and creating parallel party organ.

“The Disciplinary Committee undertook a thorough and impartial review of the allegations and the findings were carefully deliberated upon by the State Executive Committee.

“As we move forward, we enjoin our members to remain focused on our goals and continue working together to serve the interests of our constituents and our State. Our commitment to transparency, inclusivity, and adherence to our party’s core values remains unwavering.”

Despite tough reforms taken by the Nigerian government to fix its financial situation, Naira has emerged as the worst performing African currency in three months and is even missing in the list of the top ten foreign currencies in the market.


This is coming after a global currency ranking report titled: Highest and strongest currencies in Africa by Clacified.com, revealed that Africa’s exclusion from the global currencies is a no-brainer given that it is home to the world’s ten most under-developed and developing countries. Nevertheless, several legal tenders on the continent commanded respect in the foreign currency market.

The report noted that dozens of African countries are higher than the Naira even though the Nigerian economy is Africa’s largest economy with the highest nominal GDP, an influencing factor in currency valuation. It further stated that the United States dollar (USD) remains the global benchmark when ranking currencies and placed the strongest currencies based on each country’s currency dollar strength or purchasing power.


Top on the list of currencies include; Tunisian Dinar, Libyan Dinar, Moroccan dirham, Ghanaian Cedi, Botswana Pula and Seychellois Rupee. Others include Eritrean Nakfa, South African Rand, Zambian Kwacha and Egyptian Pound with Nigeria conspicuously missing from the list.

It will be recalled that President Bola Tinubu had taken steps to revamp the economy by eliminating fuel subsidies in place since the 1970s and diverting money to increased investment in education, agriculture, and job creation. He also stated that there will be reforms carried out in monetary policies.

In June 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the unification of the FX windows. Ever since then, the Naira which was N432/$1 at the official CBN rate is currently at N762.71/$1 while at the parallel rate, it is standing at N920/$1.


Reacting to this development, economic experts who spoke to Daily Sun via a telephone chat, did not seem to agree with the report. They however advised the FG to accelerate more productivity in Nigeria as this will reduce the scarcity of FX. The Managing Director, APT Securities, Kurfi Garba, said, “I do not agree that we have the worst performing currency in the continent. There are others but I can understand that in the last 3 months the Naira has been dwindling, losing almost 100 per cent but extending that beyond three months, I do not think we are the worst even in West Africa. Right, the dollar is at N920/$1”.

Garba stated that there is currently scarcity of FX due to the country not meeting up to the demand of exports of crude oil due to vandalism. According to him, about 800,000 barrels of crude oil is stolen per day. He said, “We were selling 2 million barrels per day and getting a lot of money. However, at the moment, we have allowed criminals to keep stealing our oil products and now export 1.2 million barrels per day which means 800,000 barrels of oil is being stolen daily. If we can stop that and continue selling 2 million barrels, we will have more dollars and we will be able to meet our demands. But if we do not have that, we have to borrow”.

Giving further suggestions on how to tackle FX, Garba said that the government has to stop patronising foreign goods. “We have to accelerate more productivity in Nigeria, this will reduce the scarcity of FX a bit because when we keep patronising foreign goods, getting FX will keep getting difficult. We have so many mineral resources but we are not tapping into their potential enough. Why can’t we accelerate the production of these minerals so that it will fetch us more FX and therefore have this FX to satisfy our needs. These are steps or efforts the government has to take”, he said.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described its 16 years in power (1999-2015), as the golden era of Nigeria’s democratic governance.

The party which is celebrated its 25th anniversary devoid of funfare on Thursday, August 31st, said the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, frittered away all the progress made in 16 years within 8 years.


National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, said this in a statement he signed, in Abuja.

He declared that the PDP is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a call on Nigerians not to succumb to hopelessness under the prevailing despairing situation in the country but remain optimistic in the hope that their democratic mandate will ultimately triumph in the end.

The PDP Spokesman noted that the party in essence, outlook and operation remains the only broad-based, all-embracing Pan-Nigerian political Party birthed on the principles of national unity, freedom, social justice, development and overall wellbeing of citizens; which over the years stands steadfast to its democratic ideology of good governance and citizens’ participation in political leadership.

Ologunagba said, “Today, the PDP celebrates the resilience of Nigerians in the democratic process and particularly the founding leaders and teeming members of our Party for their sacrificial roles in returning, nurturing and sustaining democracy in our country.

“The belief that power resides with the people is at the core of PDP’s sustained focus on guaranteeing the Rule of Law, adherence to the principle of Separation of Powers, personal freedom of citizens, a free Press, credible electoral process, liberalization of the economy, vast infrastructural development, massive employment and business opportunities among other initiatives that made the PDP years in government the Nigerian Golden Years.

“It is on record that the PDP administration, through deft management of the economy, achieved $18bn debt relief from the Paris and London Clubs, consolidated the banking sector, revolutionized the telecommunication sector, revamped the oil and gas, manufacturing, aviation, agriculture, real estate and other critical sectors to turn the inherited moribund economy into one of the fastest growing in the world and handed over a $550 billion economy (largest in Africa and 26th globally) in 2015 to the APC.

“Under the PDP’s result-oriented leadership, our Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) grew to over $8b; our Foreign Exchange Reserves grew from $2bn in 1999 to over $40bn in 2014. Today, under the incompetent and corrupt APC administration our FDI plummeted to $-0.19bn in 2022.


“The APC government had remained silent to reports by JP Morgan that Nigeria’s Foreign Exchange Reserves had fallen to $3.7bn as at the end of December 2022.

He said further, “The PDP administration guaranteed a stable economy that boosted domestic and international investors’ confidence in all sectors, grew the Nigeria Stock Exchange into one of the most profitable in the world, achieved food security through massive investment in agriculture with increased purchasing power of citizens which ranked Nigeria as a major development hub with Fitch BB rating under the PDP administration.

“Sadly, all the gains achieved by the PDP have been rolled back by the APC, which in a space of eight years, wrecked our economy and turned our nation into the poverty capital of the world with frightening 35% unemployment rate, where hunger, starvation, strange diseases and sudden deaths now ravage our citizens.

“Under the vicious, corrupt and incompetent APC’s watch, major multinational companies are exiting Nigeria; the Naira has fallen from N197 to US$1 under the PDP to abysmal over N900 to US$1; petrol which sold at N87 per liter by 2015 now sells for over N600 per liter. This is in addition to multiple harsh tariffs, taxes and levies imposed on citizens by the APC administration.

“Life in Nigeria under the APC has become very unbearable such that Nigerians are now resorting to suicide and slavery mission abroad as options.


“The fraudulent APC administration has succeeded in mortgaging the future of our nation with reckless accumulation of N85 trillion foreign debt with no corresponding development project to show for it.

“Typically, the APC has no answer to allegations that bulk of the borrowed funds were looted by APC leaders. It has also not provided answers to the alleged looting of over N20 trillion, including fuel subsidy funds by its leaders.

“While the PDP established the EFCC, ICPC and fought corruption, the APC adopted corruption as a state policy where government Agencies have become Automated Teller Machines (ATM) of APC leaders and their cronies.

“This corroborates Transparency International (TI)’s rating of Nigeria as the most corrupt West African Nation and ranking 150 out of 180 in the World Corruption Perception Index under the APC.

“On security, it is evident that the PDP succeeded in containing terrorism to the fringes by 2015 only for the APC to import terrorist elements and bandits into the country, as confessed by one of its leaders, to assist the APC to violently rig the 2019 general elections.

“Nigerians can recall how APC leaders openly romanced and even paid money to the terrorists ravaging our country. Our nation now ranks as one of the highest in World Terrorism Index with more than 20,000 citizens reportedly killed under the APC watch since 2015.

“The APC came to power by the instrument of lies and propaganda and seeks to sustain its hold with violence, intimidation, manipulations and election rigging.

“Nevertheless, the PDP urges Nigerians not to lose confidence in the Nation but remain hopeful as our Party continues to lead the charge for a country where the Will of the people prevails.”

Ologunagba expressed PDP’s gratitude to all Nigerians especially its members and supporters for their support, solidarity and love over the years.

He also assured Nigerians of the party’s continued commitment to the principles of democracy and positive engagement of citizens in the cause of Nation building.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division Nigerian Army (NA), Major General Mohammed Takuti Usman, on Wednesday asked soldiers to be loyal to President Bola Tinubu and the constituted authority, at all times.

Usman said this while addressing soldiers at the 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Abeokuta, Ogun State.


The GOC told them to be professional and exhibit total loyalty beginning with the President down to the top echelon of the Armed Forces.

His comment comes amid the military coup spreading across African nations with Gabon being the latest, on Wednesday.


Usman, flanked by the Brigadier General, Mohammed Tajudeen Aminu, the Commander 35 Artillery Brigade, warned that Nigerian Armed Forces would not condone disloyalty.


He admitted that there are some challenges, but they are not peculiar to the Brigade Command.

“While we are looking at the challenges and how to solve them, you have to be disciplined soldiers, you have to be loyal soldiers.

“When I mean loyalty, your loyalty must start with the Commander in chief of the Armed Forces who is the President. That’s first, and then down the ladder. Loyalty to the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Army Staff, down to your Brigade Commander.

“You have to be loyal. There is no room for soldiers that are not loyal to the constituted authority, no. If you are not going to be loyal, then, leave, go and do other work. But the Armed Forces cannot stand it if you are not loyal.

“Discipline, loyalty and top professionalism. We are bearing arms so that other people can sleep well and go about their normal activities. You also have to be hardworking. If you go on any course, make sure you do your best and be among the best. Once you have all these, you will grow in this job,” he said.

The GOC commissioned Quarter Guard project at the Barrack.

He also visited the Alake and paramount ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, who pledged to always support the GOC and the Nigeria army.


He noted that Nigeria won’t be a safe place if there were no soldiers in the country.

The Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday, clarified that he is working for President Bola Tinubu and not the All Progressives Congress.

“I am not working for APC. I am working for Tinubu who have trust in me to help him deliver the renewed hope,” Wike said when he featured on Channels TV Politics Today.

He added, “I owe nobody any apology at all. I was in PDP and I worked for Ahmed Bola Tinubu to become the President of Nigeria.”

The PUNCH reports that controversy surrounded Wike’s reported APC membership after his name featured in the ruling party’s campaign council for the governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states on November 11.


This followed the denial, on Tuesday night, by the party of releasing the controversial documents containing notable names of chairmen, co-chairmen and members of the campaign councils for the governorship elections that went viral in the media and online platforms.

The rebuttal was contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka.

The statement read, “The attention of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been drawn to National Campaign Council Lists for November 11 2023 Governorship Elections in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo States in circulation in sections of the media.


“The lists are not official documents of the Party and should be disregarded,” the APC rebuttal read.

The inclusion of Wike, which was revealed in the documents signed and posted on the social media platform of the ruling party on Tuesday evening by the party’s National Organising Secretary, Suleiman Arugungu, generated heated debate, especially in the camp of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

But speaking on Wednesday night, the minister insisted that he is still a member of the main opposition party.

He, however, said he owes nobody an apology for supporting Tinubu during the February 25 presidential election.

Asked if he is afraid if his party would take disciplinary actions against him, the former Rivers State governor responded: “Who is the party? Who are they?

“With all due respect, I have not seen that person who will suspend me. Nobody will do it. Who will discipline me? I should be the one calling for the discipline of these people who violated the party’s constitution. Who dare say they will suspend me? Who is the person?”

The Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso faction of the New Nigeria People’s Party has held a parallel meeting of the National Executive Committee in Abuja to reverse his suspension.

The faction announced the expulsion of the new acting National Chairman of the party, Major Agbo and some notable members involved in the NNPP flag bearer’s sanction.

The move is coming hours after Kwankwaso was suspended by the party’s Board of Trustees for alleged anti-party activities for six months.

The decision to sanction Kwankwaso and appoint new national officers that included Agbo, acting National Secretary, Ogini Olaposi, and 18 others was taken at a NEC meeting in Lagos earlier on Tuesday.


Prior to the NEC session, Agbo and founder of the party, Dr Boniface Aniebonam had allegedly been on suspensio since August 24.

Aniebonam and Agbo however kicked against the decision, insisting that if any member deserved to be punished, it ought to be the presidential candidate of the party over his alleged suspicious activities in recent times.

Reacting, the National Auditor of the party, Ladipo Johnson, described Kwankwaso’s suspension as an illegitimate move.


Johnson, who claimed he was the chairman of the disciplinary committee that subsequently expelled Agbo and his loyalists at the NEC meeting in Abuja, affirmed that there was no division in the party as being speculated.

He said, “It is a fake news. Do you hold NEC meetings in the Apapa area of Lagos? Of course, it is not the proper thing to do. We held NEC in Abuja today.

“The Agbo you talked about has been expelled along with some other people. He was the one doing all this nonsense and that’s because you know him as national publicity secretary. Who made him acting chairman? Ask yourself, is that how one becomes a chairman?

“I don’t like your use of the word ‘faction.’ Is that how one creates a faction? If you come to NNPP headquarters, you will see us there.

“You will also see that Agbo’s office has been locked for over a week. And he didn’t even go to any court to say what we did was wrong. They are the judges themselves and they are the ones you should be calling a faction. That’s because they were suspended and eventually expelled from the party. Let me send you a statement on the NEC we just held.”

The statement, made available to The PUNCH on Tuesday evening, confirmed that a NEC meeting actually took place in Abija where a decision on the purported expulsion of Agbo, a new party logo and constitutional amendments were taken.

It partly read, “At the National Executive Committee meeting of the NNPP held in Abuja today August 29, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, Agbo Major and several others were expelled from the party.


“The NEC also moved several other motions relating to the Logo of the party, the Amendment of the constitution, ratification of the State caretaker committees, and the suspension of two Articles in the constitution of the NNPP 2022.

“At the meeting were the Executive Governor of Kano State, the National Chairman, Distinguished Senator Kawu Ismaila, the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, Engr Buba Galadima and many others.

“NEC noted that there were suspended (now expelled) persons who purportedly held a Board of Trustees meeting in Apapa, Lagos this morning. Naturally, their meeting was null and void and to no effect.”