₦airaland Forum

THE PLACE OF CARD READERS IN ELECTION PETITIONS - A
REVIEW OF THE AMBODE AND WIKE CASES.

Few days ago, the Rivers State Election Petitions Tribunal nullified
the election of Governor Nyesom Wike and ordered for fresh
elections. Part of the reasons given by the Tribunal for the
nullification was that the petitioners had proved that there was
substantial non compliance with the Electoral guidelines
especially on the use of card readers.
A few days after that judgement was delivered, Governor Wike
made a broadcast to the people of Rivers State. Part of what he
said in the broadcast is here reproduced -
" So far, I am not aware of any state where the election was
postponed as a result of failure of card readers. Furthermore, the
Court of Appeal in Agbaje v. Ambode stated that the partial or non
use of the card readers is not a basis for the cancellation of an
election. Yet, against all legal odds and grains of logic, the
Tribunal in it's wisdom decided to accord undue legal weight to
the straw statements around the non use of card readers to
support it's decision in the face of a hopelessly bad case of the
petitioners".
The governor said further -
" As we all know, our judicial system is built on the doctrine of
hierarchy of courts in which lower courts are bound by the
decisions of courts higher in hierarchy on the same or similar
issues. It is therefore strange for the Rivers State Governorship
Election Tribunal to arrive at a decision that negates subsisting
judgments of the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court".

Now, as compelling as the statements of the Governor appear, let
me state with all due respects to His Excellency that that the
statements exhibit a clear misunderstanding of what the Court of
Appeal stated in the Ambode case. This misunderstanding is very
unfortunate, considering the fact that Governor Wike is himself, a
lawyer.

The Ambode case is reasonably straight forward. The decisions
are technical but lawyers will appreciate the reasonings of the
Court of Appeal which, in my humble view, are spot on.
Election petitions are highly technical proceedings which require
complete compliance with the Electoral Act. Any deviation
therefrom is fatal to the case.
The grounds upon which an election can be questioned are clearly
set out at Section 138 of the Electoral Act, as amended. These
grounds are sacrosanct and they are ;

1. That a person whose election is questioned was, at the time of
the election not qualified to contest the election.

2. That the election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices or
non compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

3. That the respondent was not duly elected by majority of lawful
votes cast at the election.

4. That the petitioner or it's candidate was validly nominated but
was unlawfully excluded from the election.

These four grounds are the ONLY ones under which an election
can be validly challenged. Like I said before, these grounds are
sacred. They are sacrosanct and must not be tampered with,
neither can anyone validly alter the wordings nor introduce new
grounds.

After setting out the grounds, a good election petition can then
proceed to separately introduce facts in support of the grounds.
Any attempt to substitute the grounds with other façts is suicidal
for the petition. This was where lawyers to Jimi Agbaje missed the point. Instead of setting out the grounds upon which they are questioning Ambode's election, which grounds MUST conform with S. 138 as shown above, they engaged on a frolic of grammar and introducedthe partial or non use of card readers as a ground for their petition.

What they ought to have done was to use the second ground in
S.138 which talks about non compliance and then separately set
out facts in support thereof, and later call credible witnesses to
give oral evidence of the facts but they failed to do that.

In dismissing the Agbaje case, the Court of Appeal stated clearly
that " Put simply, a petitioner cannot project the non presence or
improper use of smart card reader as a GROUND for questioning
an election. It does not qualify as one". (Emphasis mine).
This was the main reasoning of the Court of Appeal in dismissing
the Agbaje case.
The situation in the Rivers State case is different and the two
cases are clearly distinguishable.

I thought Abuja just like Lagos is no man's land. Plz correct me if I am wrong.

This short piece is a clarion call to all Nigerian youths to wake up from slumber and take our destinies in our own hands.

I was glued to my Television this afternoon as I watched the screening of the Ministerial Nominees by members of the Senate. I couldn't help but marvel at the intelligence, eloquence and deep understanding displayed by some of the prospective Hon. Ministers. Especially, the likes of Babatunde Raji Fashola (fmr. Gov of Lagos State ), Emmanuel Ibe Kachiukwu (GMD NNPC), Lai Mohammed (APC Spokesman), etc. However, I noticed the total absence of youth representation in the course of the ministerial screening by the Senate . This got me thinking, does it mean Nigerian youths are not matured for leadership? Are Nigerian youths only relevant in times of Electioneering and Political Campaigns ? Are we docile or inferior compared with our contemporaries in other Climes or is the system skewed in a manner which consistently militates against the interest of the youths? Call me crazy but honestly, Why would a former Governor who spent eight years in power be nominated for a ministerial position while youths that makes up more than 67% of Nigeria's Population according to the National Population Commission (NPC) are left out. Must our leaders continue to recycle themselves into juicy political positions year in year out while the Youths endure?

I am not a Politician, but the truth must be told, The future of this Country cannot be salvaged by the same Papas and Mamas who have failed us (the youths) and are instrumental to our present predicaments i.e Unemployment, Poverty, Poor Healthcare, Insecurity, reliance on crude oil, Poor Infrastructure, the list is endless. If this Country must embrace real change and reclaim its enviable position in the comity of Nations, then, the youths of this country must be at the helm of affairs, yes, the youths must be empowered and encouraged to inject fresh Ideas in lifting this great country from the shackles of Poverty, Hopelessness, stagnation and Socio -Economic Injustice.

To my opinion one way of achieving this, is by the amendment of relevant legislations such as the Nigerian Constitution with the aim of introducing innovative provisions mandating the reservation of certain appointments and elective Political Positions for the youths.

furthermore, the youths must form an independent(exclusive) political party to redeem and thrust ourselves to the Nigerian political scenery as this will present a formidable opposition to our grandparents whom have continually deprived us the opportunity of making meaningful contributions to National Development. After all, " the Kingdom of God suffereth violence and only the violent ones can take it by force" According to the Holy Bible.

The older generation have failed us but we must aspire not to fail posterity.

Kenneth is a lawyer by profession. He can be reached via email: myuc4life@yahoo.com or radicallawyer101..com.

PMB sabi these ones?? But he is a president. free me joor.....

ladyF:
Lol....Q1 : What has this guy been smoking? E strong sha! What he should be bothered about is: were the appointments on merit?

It's [size=20pt]LadyF[/size] again

An Intelligent and Well Articulated Opinion . God Help Us to See Beyond Ethnicity and Religious Bigotry. Amen

All You Folks Calling Her " a gold digger " Whats The Hating For?? I Don't See Anything Wrong With One Setting Standards For Herself.

Sai Baba....

Electricity no doubt is an integral part of our daily existence. In fact, both developed and developing economies would gradually become stagnant if the world is to be left without electricity today. According to the United States Energy Information Administration, the world’s total generating capacity is about 170,505 Tera Watt-hour (TWh). Northern America consumes 22% of the world’s energy, Europe and Euro Asia consumes about 23%, the Asia Pacific Region consumes about 40% while Africa consumes a paltry 3%. It is without gainsaying that Electricity drives economic growth. The sources of Electricity Generation include: nuclear, Hydro, gas turbine and renewable sources such as solar and wind.

Now, coming back home, Nigeria with a land mass of (356,669 sq mi) and a population of approximately 182 Million (2011 census) generates about 4, 545 Mega Watts, though, our generating capacity peaked at an all time high of 4,656 MW on the 16 July, 2015. This improved generation can be attributed to the on-going reforms in the sector as is evidenced by the numerous Power Projects going on in various parts of the country: including the construction of Power Plants, refurbishment and repairs of Transmission grid and substations etc.
Reforms in the industry had ultimately led to an unprecedented level of private participation in the sector as Generation and Distribution are now bestowed on private hands as against the former regime when Generation, Transmission and Distribution were the exclusive reserve of the Federal Government. The direct effect of this is that for the first time in Nigeria, Electricity consumers are increasingly becoming aware of their Individual and Group rights and the best possible way of enforcing these rights.

However, without prejudice to the Commission’s Customer Complaints Handling Standards: Handling and Procedures, Energy Law with emphasis on Electricity is an area rarely ventured into by Legal Practitioners. Is it that the Industry is not worth the effort? The answer of course is ‘’NO’’. Currently, the industry is worth more than 25 Billion Naira and still growing. Experts predict a quadrupling of that figure even as the industry evolves and attains an appreciable competitive state. The lack of interest in the Industry as stated earlier on is evidenced by the sparse Landmark Judicial pronouncements in the sector by Superior Courts of records in the country.
Since privatisation, poor and inadequate service delivery has been a cankerworm bedevilling the sector. This is manifested in the sheer number of complaints emanating from Electricity consumers on a daily basis, from my experiences working with the Consumer Affairs Division of the Commission, this complaints usually borders on; Issuance of High Estimated Bills by DISCOs, multiple cases of non-instalment of meters paid for, Issuance of bills for energy not consumed, illegal disconnections, non-replacement of faulty or shabby electricity installations, the list is endless. A careful perusal of the above stated complaints shows a persistent trend of gross violation of citizens’ rights and breach of service contracts on the part of the DISCOs. For instance;

a. There have been confirmed cases of accidental electrocution of innocent citizens as a result of negligent acts of Discos’ staff not attending to and repairing electrical installations and cables or even demanding aggrandizements when faults are discovered and reported to them. This to my humble opinion is a clear violations of such victim’s rights to life: as it’s enshrined in Sec (33) 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (2011) as amended.

b. Secondly, the high number of cases bordering on illegal disconnection of supply even after effecting payments for energy consumed in violation of Sec. (2) of the Connections and Disconnections Procedures for Electricity Services as was Issued by NERC and also complaints of non-supply of electricity meters paid for under the CAPMI scheme within the mandatory forty five (45) days period is a breach of Consumer’s service contracts with DISCOs and also enforceable.

c. Furthermore, the plethora of complaints addressed to the Commission, bordering on issuance of high estimated bills, if properly investigated and proven constitutes clear violations of the Commission’s Estimated Billing Methodology with its attendant consequences.
However, I applaud the Commission’s efforts under the leadership of Dr. Sam Amadi and the Commissioners in upholding its mandate in the industry as a regulator, even in the face of paucity of funds. However, my humble submission is that more work needs to be done by the Commission in the areas of effective enforcement of the Commission’s rules and orders against erring DISCOs as it is empowered under Sec. (75) of the EPSR Act (2005) and also and also an aggressive public enlightenments campaign amongst the general populace of their rights and obligations as electricity consumers.

Finally, the Power industry in Nigeria now in private hands is in dire need of all the judicial activism and attention it can garner. This will go a long way in making the DISCOs more responsible and on their toes and further help in quick acceleration of industrial growth and competition in the industry with its resultant stimulating effects on the economy. ‘’ after all the purpose of Law is Social Engineering and Development’’


‘’The Author is a lawyer with special interest in Energy and Power is a National Youth Service Corps Member serving with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). For comments and suggestion please email him: myuc4life@yahoo.com or visit www.radicallawyer101..com for more informative articles’’

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — Jurors in Missouri have found a 23-year-old man guilty of infecting another man with HIV and endangering four others while attending college in suburban St. Louis.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports (http:///1RMlPhe ) former Lindenwood University student Michael L. Johnson was convicted Thursday on one count of recklessly infecting another with HIV and four counts of recklessly risking infection of another with HIV. He was found not guilty on a sixth charge of exposing another man to the virus that causes AIDS.

Jurors deliberated for two hours and 20 minutes before returning the verdict.

Johnson, a former wrestler, was expelled from the university in St. Charles and had remained in jail since his arrest in 2013.

The newspaper reports sentencing is Friday, where Johnson faces a maximum of life in prison.




[b]http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/former-college-student-found-guilty-of-exposing-man-to-hiv/ar-BBjOcdU?ocid=LENDHP

[/b]NB. Materialistic Girls beware.

The new employees just started work today. couldn't find a young person there, only old men. I pray NERC retains we young Corps members serving them diligently.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission just concluded it's recruitment exercise and is currently holding orientation exercise for it's successful candidate. just wanted to find out if any member of Nairaland was successfully absorbed. I am a Corps member serving at the Commission, that is how I got to find out.

Am in kano now. The place is making alot of sense, being sorrounded by a beautiful lake scintillating, natural and an ambient enviroment. God be praised.

LASU admission list has just been posted. Anyone seen there names yet?

I Have Had A Most Bitter Experience with the Glo Blackberry internet service. Being a blogger and a student who carries out research online on a regular basis I require a constant internet conectivity to do my work and keep in touch.
After the expiration of my MTN BIS on sunday, I felt like having a change of network. I called (333) Glo blackberry internet service
1) It took more than hours before the customer care Rep picked my call. When she did, she started by asking some demeaming questions which I answered her. She inquired of my blackberry phone model and I told her(Bold 3). She then went ahead and gave me the code for subscription.
2) On monday, I sent the Code and #1000 was debited from my account balance. A message was sent to me shortly, notifying me that I have now subsribed to the Glo BIS. For hours I noticed i still couldn't browse with my phone, I called back their customer care and a rep told me to remove my battery and put it back which I did but still no show. I excercised patience and waited till the next day when I called back their customer care to my supprise the ultra rude lady who attended to me told me my device was no longer compatible with their network. I asked why and she told me about an upgrade and how my device is a CDMA Device and went further to suggest I find a device that is compatible with their network. I protested on why i wasn't informed earlier on before subscribing to their network and why they went ahead to deduct my money since the service I subsribed to wasn't compatible with my phone a Blackberry Bold 3. You can imagine my anger and fustration to cut a long story short. GLOBACOM NIG LTD is out to defraud Nigerians. If you value ur health and time, do not subscribe to Glo BIS service, for what I passed through in the hands of thieving Glo I wouldn't even wish for my enemy

I heard from a friend sch fees has been reviewed upwards 295,000. Hw authentic is dat info?

Hahahahahahahahahaha...... LMFAO. See what hunger and lack of clients can cause. Someone plz take this one to Yaba Left.

He should have gone for it without thinking anyone was degrading Him cos they wouldn't have approached him at first if the didn't think He is worth it.
There is no way anyone can compare sunshine Stars with Arsenal F C. Just as @OP cited, Wenger has a lot of respect for African Players and buys them even more than Chelsea. Nigerian Players and their PRIDE I guess.

Adesinawale: DO U WANT TO PASS UR NECO/WAEC AT A SIT ? SO YOU WANT TO BE CURRENT ON UR SCHOOL NEWS ? DO YOU WANT TO OWN YOUR Personal SITE ? Visit http://distinctionswap.tk. ARE U A NECO STUDENTAND YOU WANT HELP IN YOUR EXAM OR DO YOU WANT TO EARN FREE RECHARGE CARD ? http://distinctionswap.tk. LEARNHOW TO ACTIVATE MTN MAGIC SIM AND BROWSE THE INTERNET FOR FREE ? PC,LAPTOP,ANDROID AND MOBILEPHONES INCLUDED NOW AT distinctionswap.tk
LEARN HOW TO GET AIRTEL 140 MB FOR FREE NAW AT http://distinctionswap.tk
LEARN HOW TO SEND FREE SMS WITH YOUR MTNSIM TO ALL OTHER NETWORK ITS REAL DONT DULL UR SELF NAW AT
http://distinctionswap.tk
http://distinctionswap.tk

Nawa oooo who be this fool na

@Op nah, I've not but I'll do that on Monday. What about You? Which campus do you prefer? Am considering Lagos campus, What do you think?

Kenneth, eligible applicant from Abia State University, Uturu.

Good Day Fellow Nairalanders,

seriously I need help on which Law School to apply. I read Law at Abia State University, Uturu, now it's time for me to proceed to the Nigerian Law School for my BL certificate and subsquent call to Bar come Oct. 2013.

The problem is that I am quite confused on which Law Sch to vie for
a) Abuja
b) Lagos
c) Kano
d) Yola
e) Yenogoa
f) Enugu.
I come from the south eastern part of the country and wish to explore other climes and cultures.
Senior coleagues and practicing lawyers on Nairaland please advice on the ideal place as regards
a) Academic Standard
b) Serenity And Educationally Friendly Enviroment
c) Friendly Cost Of Living
d) Good hostel facilities
Etc.
Matured and educative advice and comments would be appreciated. Thanks.
Kenneth.

23 July. 08062682899.

This country needs a massive mass revolution for there to be a real balance of wealth.

I thought she was married to Jermaine Dupri (JD). Anyway congrats.

How did this piece of shit ever made it to the front page? I wonder ooo

Fantastic goal from Mba

Give her Herpes or H.I.V. She will never forget You.

32643BA0 strictly for responsibly people.

Women nowadays are so cheap that guyz see it as a waste of time, pursuing one for too long. Infact, bck then in sch, i kno of guys who met a gal 2nite and stil fvck her that same night. For me, pursuing a girl is no longer a big deal. If she is not interested, I WALK....

Total bullshit, dumbest story of the century. By the way, i thought this stories are supposed to be censored because the other day i posted a very reasonably topic and it was arbitrary removed. I wonder the kind of moderators we have in NL.

SUCKS