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Oyo State House of Assembly on Tuesday passed the Oyo State Security Network Agency Bill, 2020 codenamed Operation Amotekun.

The lawmakers in their dressing had showed their readiness for the day’s business as majority of them wore customised outfits in the shade of leopard skin.

The session started with a clause by clause consideration of the bill before it eventual third reading and final adoption and passage.

While some of the lawmakers wore amulets, armbands depicting combat ready atmosphere, the lawmakers’ unanimously reechoed the whining of the leopard the moment the Speaker, Adebo Ogundoyin hit the gavel passing the bill into law.

Local hunters’ chants and songs immediately rented the air of the hallowed Chambers with lawmakers congratulating each other on the extent of the job done.

Sani Omolori, clerk of the national assembly, will remain in office despite attaining the legal requirement for retirement, TheCable can report.

Omolori, who started his civil service career on February 6, 1985, was due to retire last month but will stay for another five years after an amendment of the conditions of service of the national assembly staff — considered to be illegal in some quarters.

TheCable gathered that the amendment, which was secretly effected through a bill tagged the “Retirement age and conditions of service bill”, increased the requirement of retirement for the staff to 65 years or 40 years of pensionable service, contrary to civil service rules.

Sources privy to the matter told TheCable the bill was secretly approved towards the end of the tenure of the previous assembly despite rejection by many lawmakers, including those now in leadership position at the two legislative chambers.

Although the amendment covers all staff of the national assembly commission, Omolori and some top officials including Giwa Anonkhai, clerk of the house of representatives and Olusanya Ajakaye, secretary of the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) are the main beneficiaries, according to those aware of the issue.

Ajakaye, who was born on August 19, 1959, was due to retire in August last year, while Anonkhai, born on November 25, 1960, is due to retire in November.

SECRET PROCESS

Contrary to the tradition of the house, the new amendment was approved without public hearing and other critical stages a bill passes through before being passed. Its implementation also took effect without the assent of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“The whole thing was done quickly and referred to a joint committee where they reconciled the differences,” one of those who worked closely with the clerk’s office on the matter told TheCable.

LAWMAKERS BREACHING THE LAW

The civil service rules, which guide the conduct of civil service in the country, stipulate 60 years of age or 35 years of pensionable service as requirement for retirement, with the exception of judicial officials.

Section 8 (020810) of the rules states: “(i) The compulsory retirement age for all grades in the Service shall be 60 years or 35 years of pensionable service whichever is earlier.

“(ii) No officer shall be allowed to remain in service after attaining the retirement age of 60 years or 35 years of pensionable service whichever is earlier.

“(iii) The provision of (i) and (ii) of this Rule is without prejudice to prevailing requirements for Judicial Officers and Academic Staff of Universities and other tertiary institutions who retire at 70 and 65 years respectively.”

Despite the provisions of the rules, top lawmakers in the previous assembly smuggled in the amendment bill allegedly with the backing of the national assembly management.

A source that was involved in the amendment process said: “It (the amendment) was secretly done in the form of a bill towards the end of tenure of the eight assembly. The senate rejected it but the house of representatives approved the extension by five years.

“So, they set up a conference committee which met and approved it. And it was done in such a way that it will not need the approval of the president to come into effect. It was not done through the normal procedure.”

INFIGHTING

For an institution charged with the responsibility of making laws, the move was said to have infuriated many of the lawmakers who saw it as an outright breach of the law.

Among those lawmakers are Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila who are both now senate president and speaker of the house of representatives respectively.

TheCable gathered both leaders have distanced themselves from both the amendment and its implementation.

“Both the speaker and senate president are against it; they said it can’t stand and that what is the difference between them (the management staff) and others in the public service?” a source privy to the matter told TheCable on Friday.

“Even as at then, there were a lot of other lawmakers too who were against it and were protesting but nothing much could be done.”

TheCable could not reach Omolori for comments. Yahaya Danzaria, director, public affairs at the national assembly, declined comments on the matter when contacted on Friday.

“I will not be able to answer now… meet me in my office on Monday,” he told TheCable over the phone.

Mohammad Ali Dastak, a newly elected member of Iranian parliament, has died of coronavirus.

Dastak, who was recently elected as the representative for Astana Ashrafieh, died on Saturday morning. He tested positive to the virus a few days ago.

Kianush Jahanpur, Iran health ministry spokesman, said the virus has killed at least 43 persons in the Islamic Republic, amid 593 confirmed cases.

“Unfortunately nine people died of the virus in the last 24 hours. The death toll is 43 now,” Jahanpur said.

“The new confirmed infected cases since yesterday is 205 that makes the total number of confirmed infected people 593.”

But there are reports that not less than 210 people infected with the disease have died in Iran.

The confirmed cases in Iran has made it the country with the fourth-highest number of cases in the world and highest number of coronavirus deaths outside China.

Masoumeh Ebtekar, Iran vice-president for women and affairs, had recently contracted coronavirus.

Ebtekar contracted the disease two days after Iraj Harirchi, the country’s deputy health minister, tested positive to it.

To curtail the spread of the virus, Iran has cancelled Friday prayers while officials urged residents to avoid travel within the country.

It also banned Chinese citizens from entering the country.

Nigeria recorded its first case of the disease on Friday, following the arrival of an Italian businessman from Milan, which has the highest rate of the infection in Europe.

Lafarge Africa Plc, a cement manufacturer, has confirmed that an Italian, who is the first case of coronavirus in Nigeria, visited its plant in Ewekoro, Ogun state.

Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, a spokesperson of the company, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.

She said all those who had direct contact with the Italian whose identity was not stated, have been identified.

“The Lagos State Government has reported a first case of n-COVID19 (Coronavirus) in Nigeria. The individual concerned works for a vendor that provides services to Lafarge Africa Plc in Ogun State,” the statement read.

“As a business, we have immediately identified the persons who had direct contact with the concerned individual. We have equally initiated isolation, quarantine and disinfection protocol.

“We thank the exemplary leadership of the federal ministry of health, Ogun and Lagos State Governments for swiftly providing response and testing facilities and we are working in full co-operation with all local authorities. Lafarge Africa is also working in close partnership with International SOS, our medical service provider, a leading global health company.

“Health and Safety remains a core value at Lafarge Africa and we intend to leverage this strength at this critical time.”

PRESIDENTIAL Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) Chairman Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) on Tuesday said immunity for legislature’s principal officers would weaken the anti-graft war.

He believes public officers with nothing to hide should not demand immunity from prosecution.

He said: “I think that is unacceptable because it is going to weaken our war against corruption. Already, we have those statutorily exempted by the Constitution.

“It’s unacceptable to extend immunity beyond what we already have. We have to wait eight years for governors, allowing them to misbehave as they like before any action can be taken against them.

“Anyone who has a clean record should not be thinking of immunity. They shouldn’t.”

Human rights lawyer Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) is of the view that the bill should be killed “with the heaviest of sledgehammers”.

He said: “The bill is another way of asking for legislative immunity against legislative rascality and lawlessness. It is a bill asking for immunity against transparency and accountability.

“It is a bill asking to be shielded from criminality even when a crime is committed. It is a bill seeking to be regarded as a sacred cow, not accountable to anybody, including the Judiciary.

“If it were not for selfish purposes, if it were altruistic and nationalistic, or because they want to be at par with the Executive, why have they not also brought in the Chief Justice of Nigeria, who heads the third arm of government under Section 6 of the Constitution?

The bill is an insult to our collective intelligence.

“It undermines our humanity as a country, disrespects us as Nigerians and makes the tail want to wag the dog. It is unacceptable, insulting, narcissistic, egregious, insidious and invidious.”

Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) said the bill is illegal and would not survive.

“The bill will soon be defeated on the floor of the House because it is illegal and unconstitutional.

“Apart from the President, Vice President, Governors and Deputy Governors who are entitled to immunity under Section 308 of the Constitution, no other public official or citizen is entitled to be excluded from prosecution for corruption or other criminal offences.

“Only a constitutional amendment can confer immunity on any other group of Nigerians.

“I can assure you that the amendment will not be approved by Nigerians. It was tried in the past but it was popularly rejected,” he said.

A former senator representing Rivers East, Magnus Abe, said the bill’s timing was wrong.

He added that it would not enjoy public support.

He said to widen immunity to lawmakers might lead to giving it to other categories of people including heads of the Judicial arm of the government

Kano Pillars team manager, Kabiru Baleria has been confirmed dead. He died at the age of 57 years.

Pillars’ spokesman, Rilwanu Malikawa Garu confirmed his death .

He died in Kano at Doctors Clinic after suffering from an undisclosed ailment.

He has been buried according to Islamic rites.

Many shops were destroyed in a fire outbreak at Jabi motor park in Abuja on Friday.

The cause of the fire could not be ascertained as of the time of filing this report, but men of the federal capital territory (FCT) fire service are at the scene of the inferno.

The incident, which started abut 10:12am, sparked off chaos in the park as passengers and motorists scampered for safety.

The fire raged on as it spread to shops where there are car batteries and gas.

Fire fighters are currently battling to put out the inferno.

At least four officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) have been kidnapped.

William Aya, a deputy superintendent of police, told NAN that the officers were kidnapped at a spot in Alo-Offoke community on the Itobe-Ayingba road.

The officials were said to be travelling to Makurdi for promotion examination when their vehicles were stopped by some gunmen.

“Information gathered reveals that four civil defence personnel were among the kidnapped victims,” Aya said, indicating that those kidnapped may be more than four.

He said three other persons that sustained injuries during the attack were currently receiving treatment at a hospital.

Aya said the police responded immediately it received distress calls that some armed men were operating between Alo- Offoke and Ayingba.

“The Divisional Police Officer in charge immediately mobilised his personnel to the scene where they met two abandoned vehicles, one Volkswagen Sharon bus with registration number Kogi KNA 220 LG and a Volkswagen Gulf car with registration number Lagos EZ 376 SMK,” he said.

“Both vehicles were riddled with bullets and occupants suspected to have been abducted while 20 expended AK47 ammunition and civil defence kits were recovered from the scene.”

Aya said the command had flagged off aerial surveillance patrol of Obajana axis and other black spots.

He said the operation also involved ground troops consisting of police and military personnel who are now combing the bush to rescue victims.

He said the new operation was being led by the state Commissioner of Police, Ayuba Ekpeji.

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N2.5 Billion NBC Scandal: Pinnacle’s Lucky Omoluwa slumps, dies

Lucky Omoluwa, chairman of Pinnacle Communications Limited, has died.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt from family sources and associates that Mr Omoluwa died at the National Hospital, Abuja.

His death comes amidst the commencement of trial in a corruption case involving his company, himself, and Modibbo Kawu, the suspended head of the federal broadcast regulator, the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission.

Mr Omoluwa, a golfer and top philanthropist, was accused by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission of digital switchover fraud to the tune of N2.5 billion.

The alleged collaborators used Pinnacle Communications, a broadcast engineering firm run by Mr Omoluwa, to carry out the suspicious transactions.

Multiple sources said Mr Omoluwa slumped on Tuesday morning and later passed on at the hospital, which has not yet issued a statement on the development.

Rasheeda Okoduwa, a spokesperson for ICPC, did not immediately return a request seeking comments about the potential impact of Mr Omoluwa’s passing on the ongoing trial.

The Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi, yesterday explained his frosty relationship with some traditional rulers in Iwo, Ola-Oluwa and Ayedire Local Government Areas of Osun State.

The Oluwo was last Friday reported to have beaten the Agbowu of Ogbaagba at a peace meeting convened by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 11.

Breaking his silence on the outrage that trailed the incident, the Oluwo yesterday asked his critics to leave him to God and stop judging him on the social media.

According to him, Nigerians, outside Iwoland are ignorant of the true situation of things and the hardship some monarchs in their domains are inflicting on their subjects.

Oluwo, in a statement he signed, said: “For those, who care to know the background to the Ologbagba’s arrogant attitude at the AIG zone 11 peace meeting, I have decided to break my silence.

“What played out at the peace meeting was a gang-up to twist my hands backward and prevent me from defending these poor people they have continued to oppress with impunity.

It was a case of the oppressor fighting back against the defender of the oppressed, their victims.

“In the course of the meeting, the Ologbagba tried to play out their orchestrated plan when he tried to poke his walking stick in my eyes and I quickly responded to prevent him from achieving their plan, to turn me to a blind king.

“Many of these monarchs are lording themselves over their subjects, taking their family lands and selling their inheritance with impunity. They have gone as far as arresting and imprisoning anyone in these families, who tried to obstruct them from selling their heritage.”

Residents of Ogbagba have stormed Osun State Secretariat, Abere Osun State to protest the alleged beating of their monarch, Agbowu of Ogbagba, Oba Dhikirulahi Olabira on Friday during a peacemaking meeting by the Oluwo of Iwo.

The protesters bore placards with inscriptions such as: “Justice must prevail“; ” Oluwo destroys traditions: Suspend him!”; “Oyetola save our souls” and “Suspend Rasheed Akanbi now”, among others.

Rima settles in a chair at an upscale Riyadh cafe, looks around carefully, and seeing no one she recognises, drags on her electronic cigarette and exhales a cloud of smoke.
“I feel that smoking in public is a part of exercising my newly won freedoms. I am happy that now that I can choose,” the 27-year-old Saudi who works for a private company in the capital told AFP.

Like Western feminists of the early 20th century, in an era of social change in Saudi Arabia some women are embracing cigarettes, shisha pipes or vaping as a symbol of emancipation.

The sight of women smoking in public has become much more common in recent months, an unthinkable prospect before the introduction of sweeping reforms in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

The kingdom’s ambitious de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has rolled out an array of economic and social innovations to project a moderate, business-friendly image.

Women are now allowed to drive, attend public sporting events and concerts, and obtain passports without the approval of a male guardian.

Rima, who started smoking two years ago, dismisses concerns about the harmful effects of tobacco but is worried her family will find out.

She says she is prepared for a showdown.

“I won’t tell them that this is about my personality liberty, because they won’t understand that women are free to smoke like men,” said Rima, dressed in a traditional black abaya with gold embroidery matching the hijab that covered her hair.

Najla, 26, who like Rima asked to use a pseudonym, said that despite the rapid social changes, double standards still existed and that it was still considered a “scandal and disgrace” if women smoked.

The only woman lighting up amid several tables of male smokers, she said she intended to “challenge society” and ignore the occasional dirty looks.

“My rights will be fully respected when my family accepts me as a smoker,” she said, recalling that a friend was sent to an addiction clinic when her parents found out about her smoking.

Najla started smoking while still a school student, and like her, up to 65 percent of female Saudi high schoolers light up secretly, according to a 2015 study by the medical faculty at King Abdulaziz University cited by Arab News.

– ‘Everything is allowed‘ –
Despite the limitations, in a country where until just a few years ago religious police would chase and hit women for infractions like wearing nail polish or allowing a strand of hair to escape from their hijab, the changes have been head-spinning.

“Most of our women clients order shisha. It’s something that was totally unimaginable just three months ago,” a Lebanese waiter told AFP at an upscale cafe in north Riyadh.

Heba, a 36-year-old longtime smoker who sat at a table nearby, described growing up in a closed country where “everything was forbidden to women”.

“I never imagined I would be able to smoke shisha in public next to men,” she told AFP.

“Now, everything is allowed. Women venture out without hijab, without abaya and they even smoke publicly.”

But even as the kingdom has introduced reforms, it has attracted condemnation for a heavy-handed crackdown on dissidents including intellectuals, clerics and female activists.

In 2018, authorities arrested at least a dozen women activists just before the historic lifting of the decades-long ban on female motorists.

Many of the detained have accused interrogators of sexual harassment and torture. Saudi authorities reject the accusations.

“There is no doubt that at the persona level there is more freedom,” said Walid al-Hathloul, whose sister Loujain is on trial over allegations of having contacts with foreign media and diplomats.

“But the reforms in favour of women are part of a public relations campaign to improve the kingdom’s human rights record,” he told AFP.

“The arrest and demonisation of women activists is proof of this — it’s designed so that the reforms will not be credited to the activists,” he told AFP.

The United States is discussing military cuts in Africa, has tightened visa rules for Africans and President Donald Trump notoriously was quoted as disparaging the continent with a vulgar epithet.

But in his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa in his nearly two years in office, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will seek to lay out a positive vision for US cooperation with the continent where China has been increasingly active.

Pompeo on Saturday begins a trip to Senegal, Angola and Ethiopia, chosen for their leaders’ attachment to democratic values in a continent that has seen backsliding in recent years.

“These three countries are major contributors to regional stability. Also, the countries are benefiting from dynamic leadership,” a senior State Department official said on customary condition of anonymity.

The official said that a “major theme” will be the growing role of China, which has poured money into the continent as part of its global blitz of infrastructure spending.

China has invested especially heavily in Angola, which racked up an estimated $25 billion in debt to Beijing to be repaid with oil shipments.

The United States has been encouraging developing countries to exercise caution with China, saying that big-ticket projects can turn into debt traps that primarily benefit China, and has billed the US private sector as an alternative.

The US official said Pompeo would stress “economic growth, trade and investment” in a continent whose population is forecast to double by 2050.

“We want to absolutely empower that youth and make sure that they are a force for dynamic growth and economic empowerment and better governance in the world,” he said.

Concerns on security
The United States has hardly sent consistently supportive messages ahead of Pompeo’s trip. The Pentagon announced this week that it will start adjusting its military presence in Africa as it considers cuts, with resources instead expected to go to countering China, Russia and Iran.

France has voiced particular concern at the impact of US cuts on the fight against Islamist extremism. The French are leading a 4,500-strong operation in the Sahel to crush a rise in militants, with the United States providing in-flight refueling and other logistical support.

“I think the signal the US government is said to have sent that they are withdrawing from the Sahel will be very, very worrisome in Senegal and in the Sahelian countries,” said Ahmadou Aly Mbaye, a professor at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar.

“This should be a very important talking point during his visit,” said Mbaye, who is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

Weeks before Pompeo’s trip, the United States said it was also sharply tightening visa rules for citizens of six countries including Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, and Sudan, whose new civilian government has been seeking international support.

US officials said the countries needed to resolve technical issues related to security, but some critics recalled Trump’s widely reported remarks in 2018 when he used a profanity to describe African and poorer Western Hemisphere nations that send immigrants to the United States.

A trip is not a ‘strategy’
One former US diplomat expressed confusion over the goals of Pompeo’s trip to sub-Saharan Africa, the only region he has not previously visited.

“It’s not clear why he is going now and whether this is part of any broader US strategy on Africa, especially when the administration has indicated in just the last few weeks that it intends to exponentially reduce its security and aid investments,” said the former diplomat, who requested anonymity to speak candidly.

“You can’t just check the box of having an Africa policy by stopping in a few countries on a big continent and then call that a strategy.”

Witney Schneidman, who worked on Africa in the State Department under President Bill Clinton, said Pompeo’s trip showed the Trump administration trying belatedly to set “a positive tone on the continent.”

But he said that Pompeo would have his hands full explaining the mixed messages from Washington, which include sharp cuts in both the Commerce Department and overseas aid in Trump’s latest budget proposal.

“I think that he risks getting caught up in a sort of China-China-China dynamic and really needs to convey to African leaders that Africa is genuinely a priority for the United States,” said Schneidman, who is also at the Brookings Institution.

“If he can cut through and promote those messages clearly, then I think his trip will be successful.”

The last secretary of state to visit sub-Saharan Africa was Pompeo’s predecessor, Rex Tillerson, in March 2018.

He was unusually buoyant in Africa but the trip was not auspicious. On his return, Trump fired him.

The personal home of the immediate past Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, was on Friday attacked by unknown protesters.

The attack comes just hours after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) issued a Certificate of Return to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, in the 2019 governorship election, Diri Douye.

Some angry protesters suspected to be loyal to the All Progressives Congress (APC) earlier in the day attacked the PDP secretariat in Yenagoa, the State capital, destroying properties.

Diri was issued the certificate of return following the Supreme Court ruling which sacked APC candidate, David Lyon as Bayelsa State governor-elect.

Members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and supporters of its candidate, Senator Douye Diri, have stormed the Abuja office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in anticipation of the collection of certificate of return for the party’s candidates.

On arrival, they were taken in for a closed-door meeting with the chairman, commissioners and other officials of the commission, who, after the meeting promised to later address the media.

Reactions have continued to trail yesterda’s judgement of the Supreme Court that sacked the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governor-elect in the November 16,2019 gubernatorial election in Bayelsa State.

The Peoples Democratic Party had filed an appeal at the apex court challenging the joint candidature of Lyon and his running mate, Biobarakuma Degi-Eriemienyo, on the ground of alleged certificate forgery.

But the ruling has drawn mixed reactions from legal practitioners. The Guardian yesterday sought the views of some of them.

Constitutional lawyer and author, Chief Sebastine Hon (SAN), noted: “The Supreme Court was, with respect, correct in its decision. The reason is plain enough: Under the constitutional scheme of the 1999 Constitution, one is not qualified to become a governor unless and until he chooses a running mate, who will contest the election with him. The fate of each, therefore, is inextricably intertwined, until they are inaugurated, in which case, each acquires a distinct legal personality and has to personally answer for his good or bad deeds.

“The apex court had settled this in 1999 when Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, after being elected with Mr. Boni Haruna, left for the vice presidency before being sworn in. But then, the rider in the judgment of the Supreme Court is that INEC should issue a certificate of return to the next political party whose candidate scored the majority of votes cast, at least 25% of which must be in two-thirds of the local governments, must be watched closely. If the PDP candidate satisfies these twin conditions, he should be inaugurated. If he does not, the Speaker of the House of Assembly will be inaugurated as the Acting Governor and INEC will conduct a fresh election; but the APC will stand disqualified from contesting in that rerun, since its candidature at the annulled election was, ab initio, a farce.”

To Dr Abiodun Layonu (SAN), “the implication of this judgment is that in calculating the votes to identify who has the 25 per cent spread, all the votes of APC would be discounted. Some people are of the opinion that the PDP candidate did not satisfy the spread, but I cannot tell until INEC determines that.

“The Supreme Court said whoever came second and satisfied the constitutional requirement should be sworn in. Another implication of this decision is that the APC has lost the state completely.

“The Supreme Court said his running mate infected him with a virus, so they are both out. The court also asked that a fresh certificate of return be given to the second runner-up who satisfied the constitutional requirement.

“All David Lyon’s votes would be discounted. Then the 25 per cent vote would be counted based on the remaining vote because once there is a disqualification, the votes are wasted votes.” Senior lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN) held:

“The constitution states clearly that sovereignty belongs to the people. The concept of election is to allow the people choose their leaders freely. We must avoid situations whereby leaders emerge through the courts, as that will be circumventing the will of the people. Let us allow the people to choose their leaders. The fellow who committed perjury was the deputy governorship candidate. So, his ‘sins’ should not have affected his principal. The court should have simply removed him and ordered fresh elections at worst or asked the governor-elect to nominate a new candidate because the outcome of that election is an indication that the people of Bayelsa rejected the PDP totally.

“These tribunal/court cases in Imo, Bayelsa, Zamfara, etc, constitute serious indictment of INEC and the political parties. There is no legacy that the present administration has bestowed upon us as a nation in the area of electoral reforms, but rather things have gotten worse. Having suffered electoral injustice in his previous efforts, it is shocking that the president has retained and continued to benefit from obviously flawed electoral processes.

According to Professor Edoba Omoregie, “It’s difficult to react critically to the judgment, having not read the full judgment. However, if media reports are anything to go by, I think the judgment raises so many questions. From a strict democracy considerations, one wonders whether the judgment accords with the idea of majority rule. How possibly democratic is it for a candidate who won majority votes in an election to be denied the fruits of his victory, and the people denied his services, because of a technical issue of the qualification of his running mate? The qualifications for gubernatorial office are set out in the constitution. Do they include what the Supreme Court considered in this judgment? On the other hand, for strict constructionists, the judgments may be meaningful to the extent that both the candidate and his running mate ran on the same ticket. Therefore whatever affects the latter, affects both! In the end, I think the judgment leaves a lot of sour taste in the mouth. I honestly believe that our electoral jurisprudence should focus more on strengthening the idea of majority rule, far more than technicalities. This would require clear legal framework to bring about, either by way of constitutional alteration or statutory amendment with a focus on affirming majority rule over and above other considerations.”

Dr. Paul Ananaba (SAN) submits: “The decisions of the Supreme Court are final not because they are infallible. They are infallible because they are final. The implication is that APC has no qualified candidate at the governorship election. The candidate that scored the highest vote after the APC candidate and also satisfied the constitutional requirement for spread is automatically elected. INEC has no discretion than to comply with the decision of the highest court of the land irrespective of its views.”

Contributing, Chief Albert Akpomudje (SAN) said: “In law, the Supreme Court is correct, if truly the deputy governor forged certificates. They have held such judgments before. Although it is painful because he won based on majority votes, but the law is an ass as they say. Again, we hope that this is not an issue of compensation for the PDP because of the outcry in Imo State judgment. People might read that meaning to the judgment. Quashing the candidature of any of the party’s candidates is the law because both of them ran on a joint ticket.”

But a Port Harcourt-based lawyer, Mr. Festus Oguche faulted the apex court for allegedly being inconsistent in its decisions. He maintained that court ought to have recalled its earlier judgment that brought Yahaya Bello of Kogi State.