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Three ad hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, who were Presiding Officers for the Feb. 25 general election have told the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, that only the results of the presidential election refused to upload to IREV.

The three presiding officers were subpoenaed by Abubakar Atiku and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Led in evidence by the petitioner’s counsel, Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, the witnesses told the court that they were able to use the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, machine to transmit results for the senatorial and House of Representatives’ elections successfully.

They, however, told the court in their separate testimonies that they were unable to use the BVAS to transmit the presidential election results thereby making them unsatisfied with the entire election process.

The three witnesses, Janet Turaki, Christopher Ardo and Victoria Sani told the court that they were presiding officers in Yobe, Bauchi and Katsina states respectfully.

The witnesses all agreed that other aspects of the election went well until it was time to upload the presidential results then the BVAS machines refused to work.

Ms Turaki, under cross-examination by counsel to INEC, Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, told the court that the accreditation of voters was successful and voting went on smoothly at her polling unit.

She said it was after she attempted to upload the presidential election result after capturing it with the BVAS machine that the network went awry.

The witness said that having failed to successfully upload the presidential election results, she handed over everything to her ward collation agent and filled out the complaint form that INEC had provided for such purposes.

She said that she and other party agents present signed the result on the form EC8A before she took it to the ward.

For his part, Mr Ardo told the court under cross-examination by counsel to President Bola Tinubu, Wole Olanipekin, SAN, that he felt unfulfilled in his assignment with INEC on the election day.

He said this was due to his inability to transmit the presidential election result as required by law.

In her own testimony, Sani under cross examination by counsel to the All Progressives Congress, APC, Charles Edosanwan, SAN, told the court that she believed that she performed her duties as a presiding officer to the best of her ability.

The five-member panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani adjourned proceedings until Tuesday for a continuation of the hearing in the petition.

Mr Atiku and the PDP are before the court challenging the outcome of the Feb. 25 presidential election.

One of the grounds of their petition is that INEC failed to transmit election results to its INEC Result Viewing Portal, IREV, in real-time as the Chairman, Yakubu Mahmood, had said it would before the election.

President Bola Tinubu has given his assent to the passage of the Nigeria Data Protection Bill, 2023 into a law.

The newly enacted legislation will provide a legal framework for the protection of personal information, and the practice of data protection in Nigeria.

This was announced by the National Commissioner, Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB), Dr. Vincent Olatunji at the NDPD Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan(SRAP) validation workshop in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.

It was learned that the bill was introduced to the Senate and House of Representatives for consideration and passage on Tuesday, 4 April 2023 via a letter from former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Now an Act, the new law establishes the Nigeria Data Protection Commission and replaces the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) established by President Buhari in February 2022.

The Commission will be headed by a National Commissioner with the responsibility for regulating the processing of personal information.

This is the third law Tinubu would assent to barely three weeks after his inauguration as Nigerian President.

The Labour Party (LP) and its candidate, Mr Peter Obi, on Tuesday tendered additional 191 exhibits in 157 Local Government Areas of the federation including INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) reports obtained from five states to prove allegations of malpractices in the conduct of the February 25 presidential election.

The petitioners in their petition No: CA/PEPC/03/2023 are contesting the declaration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his All Progressives Congress (APC), as winners of the election.

The tendered exhibits comprised results sheets and reports used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the election.

Although there was stiff opposition against their admissibility in evidence by counsel to INEC, President Bola Tinubu, vice president Kashim Shettima and the APC, the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) admitted as exhibits to be used in the prosecution of the petition.

A breakdown of the documents tendered showed that the petitioners tendered IReV reports from 101 Local Government Areas obtained in five States of Adamawa (21 LGAs): Akwa Ibom (25); Ogun (20); Ekiti (16) and Rivers (19) respectively.

A Total of 191 other documents including certified true copies of INEC Forms EC40Gs; EC40G1; EC40GPU and reports were obtained from 56 LGAs from 4 states of the federation.
The states are Niger (10 LGAs); Osun (15 LGAs); Edo (15 LGAs); and Sokoto (11 LGAs) respectively.

The electoral materials were tendered by a senior lawyer in the petitioner’s legal team, Mr Peter Afoba, SAN.

Besides, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate also tendered 5 Reports on the conduct of the election in Niger State and 8 in Edo to back up his allegations of malpractices during the conduct of the election.

The admission of the exhibits was vehemently opposed by counsel to the respondents, who were represented by Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN) for Tinubu and Shettima; Abubakar Mahmoud(SAN) for INEC and Afolabi Fashanu (SAN) for APC.

Regardless, the Justice Haruna Tsammani led five-member panel admitted them and marked them as exhibits to be used by the court in the prosecution of the petition.

Meanwhile, the Court has shifted further hearing in the petition to June 14.

Four days before the election of the presiding officers of the National Assembly, the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and President Bola Tinubu are facing the prospect of the repeat 2015 scenario.

Efforts to get other aspirants in the race to step down for the endorsed candidates— Godswill Akpabio, Jubrin Barau, Tajudeen Abbas and Benjamin Kalu has been futile.

In the House, Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase has refused to back down from the race, and during the valedictory session, he informed his colleagues that their prophetic pronouncement on his aspiration.

“I want to appreciate my political leaders among whom (was) Solomon Lar. When I was contesting in 2007, I went to him and he prophesied the number of (times) I’ll come to this assembly,” he said.

“And he prophesied that the next time when I return I’ll be the speaker. Insha Allah, I’ll be the speaker of this chamber,” Wase had said.

Former Governor Abdulaziz Yari has been gaining momentum among the senators, and there are speculations that he may reach an agreement with Orji Uzor Kalu to run a joint ticket.

Kalu recently confirmed that there is indeed an ongoing conversation between him and Yari on the race.

Four days ago, Yari was in Daura, where he paid homage to former President Muhammadu Buhari.

He was at Daura alongside 22 other senators-elect. And he has consistently argued against the zoning formula announced by the party.

Can they pull an upset?

President Tinubu has refused to publicly compel the lawmakers to do his bidding, rather he has embarked on persuading the lawmakers-elect to see reasons with him.

On Wednesday, he held a meeting with members-elect but he did not ask them to vote for any individual in particular. Also, he met with the G7 lawmakers in the House, but Wase did not attend the meeting.

Similarly, during a meeting with the traditional rulers, President Tinubu told the monarchs that he is ready to work with anyone that emerges from the election on Tuesday.

This mixed signals from the president is causing concerns within the camp of the Joint Task, the group spearheading the campaign of Abbas.

However, with the meetings, it appears Mr Tinubu has been able to use the tactics to sway a number of lawmakers.

Amobi Ogah, a Labour Party member-elect, who attended the meeting was full of praises for Tinubu, declaring the day as the “best day of my life”.

In the past weeks, the momentum appears to be back to Abbas and Kalu as other aspirants have been quiet except Wase.

Current Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila seems not ready to take any chances, which explains his reason to stay till the election on Tuesday before taking his appointment as Chief of Staff.

The Presidential Election Petition Court sitting in Abuja on Saturday corrected the lawyer representing President Bola Tinubu, Emmanuel Ukala SAN, during cross-examination when he asked a polling unit presiding officer in FCT to confirm whether the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS machine she used at her polling unit could not transmit scanned copy of result sheet, but worked elsewhere and that 94.7 percent of the presidential election results is on the INEC Results Viewing Portal, IReV.

The subpoenaed witness(PW17),
Alheri Ayuba who said she served in the Federal Capital Territory was presented in court by the Peoples Democratic Party and Atiku Abubakar, as part of the witnesses for the petitioner.

At the resumption of sitting on Saturday, PDP counsel, Chris Uche SAN, said he would call more subpoenaed witnesses beginning with her.

Alheri Ayuba came up and adopted her statement on oath but the lawyers representing Tinubu, Kashim Shettima and All Progressives Congress asked the court not to take her testimony.

“Ruling on the objection will come at the delivery of final judgement,” Justice Haruna Tsammani held.

Under cross-examination, INEC counsel, Oluwakemi Pineiro asked the witness to confirm if she performed her duties diligently on the day of election and that election went on smoothly.

The witness agreed that the election went smoothly except with regards to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machine which did not transmit scanned copy of results after she clicked “send” on the device.

On the usage of BVAS, APC lawyer, Emmanuel Ukala SAN asked the witness to confirm if when the BVAS failure to transmit results was resolved, it showed pending on the device and will be sent to the INEC Results Viewing Portal, IRev later.

“It’s not possible my lord; I could not log in on BVAS not to talk of sending the results,” the witness replied.

Ukala then put it to her that despite the glitch she experienced at her polling unit, a lot of presidential election results were successfully sent to IREV by BVAS machine.

He suggested to her that over 94.7 percent of the presidential election results is currently on IReV.

The witness said she wouldn’t know about that, adding “I only operated in my polling unit.”

But Justice Haruna Tsammani told Ukala to “limit” his cross examination to the polling unit where the presiding officer said she served.

He wondered how she can competently speak about results on IRev when she only served at a polling unit.

Ukala replied the judge that he only wanted to pass across his own position on the election to the open court.

The APC legal team asked her if she filled any INEC Form complaining about the BVAS despite Labour Party winning at her polling unit, to which she said there was a form for laying of complaint at the Ward collation centre and “I filled the form stating I was not happy that the BVAS did not transmit the scanned result.”

The APC insisted that the actual name of the presiding officer that operated at the polling unit she identified was Felix Blessing.

She disagreed.

Subsequently, the court discharged her from the dock.

Then came Sadiya Mohammed Haruna, a presiding officer in another polling unit in FCT

Under interrogation by INEC lawyer, Steve Adehi SAN, she admitted that everything went well in her polling unit except the BVAS transmission of result.

INEC accused her of not serving at the polling unit she identified because her appointment letter from the electoral commission stated “ward” but did not specify the polling unit.

She insisted that INEC deployed her to serve at her polling unit.

When Ukala’s turn came, he repeated same question he asked the first witness for today regarding results on the IREV.

“Not really sure. I am only concerned about my polling unit,” Haruna said.

The APC lawyer, S. Umoh SAN told her that the polling unit she mentioned was not the exact place she served.

She denied it.

The court subsequently adjourned to June 13 for continuation of hearing.

So far, the PDP has brought 17 witnesses, largely state collation officers and INEC ad-hoc staff, to substantiate their claim that the election was rigged.

Former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has said he could have slapped his predecessor, Engr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, if he met him at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Daily Trust had reported how Kwankwaso met with President Bola Tinubu at Aso Rock on Friday.

While briefing State House reporters after a meeting with Tinubu on the security situation in Kano State following the demolition exercise embarked upon by the administration of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, Ganduje expressed displeasure.

“I know he is in the building but we have not met. Probably if we met, maybe I could have slapped him.”

Ganduje said the demolition exercise was done without carrying out any investigation or giving due notice in line with the provisions of Land Use Act.

The former governor said he spoke at length on the issue while reporting the matter to the president and had petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, with video evidence of the looting and vandalisation that trailed the demolition.

He said the governor who he described as a “stooge” of Kwankwaso was no longer happy because of the condemnation that greeted the move.

Daily Trust reports that the state governor had said the demolition exercise was part of the fulfillment of his campaign promise to “restore” the urban development masterplan of the city.

He had also insisted that the exercise was not a vendetta against the past administration of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and that many more demolitions would follow.

The Ondo State cabinet has reportedly split into factions over the State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu's sickness which has made him incapacitated and unable to carry out official duties.

It was gathered on Thursday that the situation had caused divisions within the governor's cabinet, with some members of the State Executive Council taking sides with the deputy governor while some others remained hopeful that the governor would recover from whatever ailment he was suffering from.

SaharaReporters earlier reported that the governor who is currently battling with an illness, was unable to attend President Bola Tinubu’s first meeting with Governors of the 36 States under the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.

Checks by SaharaReporters, which had exclusively reported that Akeredolu was bedridden in his residence in Ibadan, Oyo State, showed that Akeredolu absented himself from the NGF meeting and was therefore not on any of the photographs. Tinubu had met with the governors around 12:36pm on Wednesday.

SaharaReporters had last week reported that ailing Akeredolu was unable to sign official documents due to his deteriorating health condition.

It was also learnt that to prevent pictures of the governor’s emaciated looks from getting out, the family asked security agents and a few politicians around him to put off their mobile phones.

“His condition is very critical now, which is why he is being flown abroad. He is currently in Ibadan because that is where the family prefers to have him when his condition is critical because of the prying eyes and civil servants in Ondo,” a source had revealed.
The Guardian reports that some of the cabinet members who were said to be in the dark as to the actual state of the governor’s health, had been allegedly plotting to ensure that they remained in government in case of any eventualities as regards the governor’s health status.

An anonymous source reportedly said that some of the cabinet members had already begun to express loyalty to the Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

“The Governor has been advised to deliberately spend quality time resting. So, the deputy governor went to Ibadan to see him and took some files with him. So for now, the deputy governor is more or less in charge and some of the cabinet members are tilting to his side already,” the source said.

Reflecting on the moments when I captured the first picture of ST! 📸✨

Looking back at my journey, all of this still feels like a dream. I met ST at a wedding in November 2021. Shortly after this meeting, ST decided to give me an opportunity without knowing me from anywhere. Despite my occasional slip-ups, he has always had my back, even when he didn’t have to.
Today, I wish to extend my deep gratitude to ST for giving me this opportunity.

I appreciate the congratulatory messages I have received, but I would like to request that you express those as sincere "Thank You" messages to ST. I believe it is important to give honor to whom it is due.

So, thank you, Boss

Teeming supporters of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) booed the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, at the Sani Abacha Stadium, venue of the inauguration ceremony for the new governor.

Immediately, the first-class monarch arrived the venue, angry crowed started shouting on top of their voices.

A similar treatment was meted to Emir of Bichi, Alhaji Nasiru Ado Bayero, younger brother of the Kano Emir.

But security operatives quickly moved in and escorted the monarchs to their seats.

In a landmark ruling, Abuja High Court has dissolved the parallel executive committees (EXCOs) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State.

The court declared that the EXCOs responsible for nominating Siminialayi Fubara as the party’s governorship candidate, in the primary were not the authentic EXCOs recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The case, with suit number W/6084, was brought before the court by representing of “the genuine state executive committee members of the Rivers PDP”.

The defendants named in the case were the PDP, along with Amb. Desmond Akawor and Dr. Benibo George, who were part of the parallel EXCOs that was dissolved, and INEC.

The court’s decision has now raised doubts about the legitimacy of Siminialayi Fubara’s candidacy, his subsequent victory in the March 18 governorship election and the entire electoral process.

The ruling of the Abuja High Court discrediting the parallel EXCOs has significant implications for the political landscape of Rivers State.

Outgoing Governor Nyesom Wike, who was believed to have been spurring and supporting the parallel EXCOs, may now face challenges regarding the validity of his actions and decisions.

Political analysts and legal experts have voiced concerns over the potential consequences of this judgment.

They believe that if the EXCOs responsible for Fubara’s nomination were indeed not the authentic representatives recognized by INEC, his candidacy could be considered illegitimate.

This situation could potentially lead to legal disputes and a reevaluation of the governor-elect’s tenure. As the news of the court ruling spreads, stakeholders within the PDP and the wider political community are closely monitoring the developments.

Many are eagerly awaiting further clarification on the implications for the Rivers State government.

The judgment of the Abuja High Court serves as a reminder of the critical role played by INEC in the electoral process and underscores the importance of adhering to due process and established guidelines in selecting candidates for public office.

It remains to be seen how this ruling will impact the political landscape of Rivers State and what steps will be taken to address the concerns raised regarding the legitimacy of Governor-elect Siminialayi Fubara’s candidacy.

Senator Godswill Akpabio, former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, has asked Nigerians not to judge him by his record as a member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet.

According to PUNCH, Akpabio said this in an interview with journalists in Abuja this weekend.

The senator-elect, who is eyeing the presidency of Nigeria’s senate, had resigned in 2022 to contest the presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

He had stepped down for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who won the ticket and eventually emerged winner of the 2023 presidential election.

“I do know that I have not changed in any way. I am somebody God has given the opportunity to be an uncommon transformer wherever I go. I will not like to be judged by ministerial appointment for Niger Delta, which everybody knows is a problematic place,” Akpabio was quoted to have said in the interview.

“But I would like to be judged by my record as a lawyer of 36 years, Commissioner of six years and a governor of eight years.

We’ll work with Tinubu to clear Nigeria’s debt – Akpabio

He promised that if elected Senate President, Nigerians he would sustain the January-December budget cycle initiated by the 9th National Assembly.

According to him, the introduction of the January-December budget cycle was one of the major success stories of the outgoing Assembly.

Akpabio said, “If given the opportunity by my colleagues to lead the 10th Assembly, one of the programmes I will like to sustain would be the January to December budget cycle

“The Introduction of that is what I commend the 9th National Assembly for very seriously because it allows for proper planning and allows the government to take off on a good note and also help bring about foreign direct investment into the country.

“So I think that will be sustained by the 10th Senate and that is whether I am Senate President or not. I believe working with my colleagues, we shall sustain it, because it is a collective idea. Everybody is important.”

Akpabio was first elected to the Nigerian Senate in 2015 from where he became the Minority Leader on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (APC) but later defected to the ruling party.

A former deputy chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Callistus Okafor has approached the Supreme Court to declare him as the authentic chair of the party.

Speaking with journalists on Friday, Okafor said the constitution of the LP still acknowledges him as the substantive deputy chairman of the party.

He also said Lamidi Apapa, the acting chair could not emerge in illegality, as his “emergence would have been better if there was no consent judgment”.

Okafor added that with the consent judgment, Julius Abure is an illegal LP chairman.

“I am the only acting national chairman of the Labour Party. Every other person parading himself as such is fake. Lamidi Apapa and Abure are both fake,” Okafor said.

“Let everybody know that I have approached the Supreme Court of Nigeria on Thursday, May 18 and prayed the apex court to declare Abure’s LP chairmanship claims, illegal.

“I have drawn the attention of the court to the fact that the acting secretary of the LP, based on the party’s constitution, cannot emerge as the Chairman.

“I have also asked the supreme court to declare null and void and of no effect, whatever Abure has done in his so-called capacity as the chairman of the LP.

“I specifically drew the attention of the honourable justices of the apex court to the fact that Abure has conducted an illegal convention and primaries for LP which he has no legal power to do.

“I have also asked the court to recognise my party’s membership list because the list is with me and could be verified.”

The Labour Party which became very popular when former Anambra governor, Peter Obi emerged as its presidential candidate has plunged into a leadership crisis since Apapa, deputy national chairman of the party (south), declared himself the acting national chairman following the sack of Julius Abure by a court.

In April, a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court issued an order restraining Abure from parading himself as the LP’s national chairman.

The LP had said Apapa has been suspended over “anti-party activities” alongside Akingbade, national legal adviser; Gbenga Daramola, national financial secretary; Anselem Eragbe, national youth leader; and Abayomi Arabambi, national publicity secretary.

Meanwhile, chieftains of the party including Obi had said there is no crisis in the party, insisting that Abure remains the chairman.

Afrobeat musician, Seun Kuti, was on Thursday rushed back to the magistrate court in Yaba, Lagos by the police as they seek four days’ extension ‘to conclude investigations’.

Seun was arraigned in court on Tuesday for allegedly assaulting a police officer, an offence contrary to Section 356 of the Nigerian Criminal Code Act. But he was granted a suspended bail on Tuesday.

SaharaReporters earlier on Thursday reported that the musician could not return home yet due to a delay caused by the Chief Magistrate and Registrar of the Yaba Court in Lagos.

SaharaReporters learnt on Thursday that the Chief Magistrate and Registrar had not resumed in court to sign Seun’s bail papers, as of the time of filing the report.

“The Chief Magistrate and Registrar haven’t resumed to sign Seun Kuti’s bail papers,” a source had told SaharaReporters.

However, it was learnt that the police took Seun to court again on Thursday to seek the magistrate’s permission to hold him for more days, without informing the musician’s lawyers.

“Seun Kuti was rushed back to court by police to get four more days’ extension to conclude investigations.

"This is apparently to forestall the commencement of his summer tour that should start on Saturday

“The case was stood down and his lawyers are heading to court. Instead of signing his bail bond, the Chief Magistrate commenced a secret hearing that didn’t notify his lawyers,” a source privy to the hearing said.

The Chief Magistrate Court in Yaba, Lagos granted bail to Seun Kuti on Tuesday and ordered the police to finish their investigation into the alleged assault of a policeman in 48 hours and allow Kuti to go home.

The Chief Magistrate also asked the police to remove themselves from prosecuting him.

She directed that the case file should be duplicated and forwarded to the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions for prosecution.

SaharaReporters had reported that the police prosecutors claimed at the Magistrate Court that the assaulted policeman was in a coma, and was receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.

Some senators-elect have given indication as to who will be the next Senate President when the incoming 10th National Assembly is inaugurated on June 13, 2023.

Senator-elect from Zamfara State, Sahabi Ya’u, told journalists on the sidelines of an induction programme organised for Senators and Members-elect for the 10th National Assembly at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja, that as far as he and many of the Senators-elect on the platform of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) were concerned, the zoning arrangement on the presiding officers of the next Senate made by the party was unknown to them.

Ya’u, who has queued behind the aspiration of Zamfara West Senator-elect, Abdul’aziz Yari, said: “I read about the zoning arrangement in the papers like other people. Nobody has discussed such a plan with us and in any case, Senators-elect are the ones to decide who they want as President or Deputy President.”

Also, commenting on the issue at another interview session with journalists, Senator-elect Victor Umeh of the Labour Party (LP), said Senators-elect and not any party’s arrangement, will decide who becomes what on the day of inauguration of the 10th National Assembly.

“APC as the ruling party and the party with majority of seats in the Senate has zoned the positions of President and Deputy President of the 10th Senate to the zones it felt deserve them, but on the day of inauguration, Senators-elect will decide the fate of those interested in the positions as provided for by relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution,” Umeh stated.

Another senator-elect, Sulaiman Kawu Sumaila of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) openly declared on live television that the APC arrangement was an insult on the parliament, saying Yari remains his candidate for the office of Senate President.

Meanwhile, Yari, declared on Monday in Abuja that he was in the race for the Presidency of the 10th Senate in line with constitutional provisions and not zoning arrangements made by any political party.

Yari, who stated this while fielding questions from journalists on the sidelines of an induction programme organised for Senators and Members-elect for the 10th National Assembly at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja, pointed out that his aspiration was not an affront against his party, the governing All Progressives Congress (APC).

Recall that the National Working Committee (NWC) of APC had anointed Senators-elect Godswill Akpabio and Barau Jibril as Senate President and Deputy, respectively for the 10th Assembly.

But Yari insisted that he is still in the race as provided for by Section 50 (2) of the 1999 Constitution.

“My aspiration for the Presidency of the 10th Senate is covered by relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution, which to me, is superior to any other law or arrangement.

“I am a loyal party man, nobody has told me that any position has been zoned to anywhere as far as the 10th National Assembly is concerned.

“Position of President of the Senate is first among equals among the 109 Senators. Any Senator-elect who wants to occupy the position must seek for support of others, which I am doing.

“It is a hire and fire arrangement. I want them to hire me as President of the 10th Senate on the day of inauguration. Many of those approached by me have given their support and I won’t disappoint them.

“My becoming Senate President on the day of inauguration lies with a decision that will be made by 108 other Senators that day and nothing else,” Yari declared.

National Chairman of Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure, has fired back at Lamidi Apapa, the suspended Deputy National Chairman of the party over allegations that the FCT State High Court suspended Abure.

He also took a swipe at the former Spokesman for the Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s presidential campaign council, Bayo Onanuga, mocking him for rushing to celebrate Lamidi’ “jaundiced” interpretation of the position of the court.

Abure in a statement Saturday, accused Apapa of desperation to fulfill the mandate from his “pay master”, adding tha “time is running out fast on them and that they are in a hurry to achieve their target…”

The statement reads, “My attention has been drawn to the news making the rounds that the court yesterday suspended me as the National Chairman of the Labour Party. That is far from the truth and the figment of the imaginations of Lamidi Apapa and his cohorts

“What happened was that we raised objection to the entire suit they filed and the ex-parte order and the court assumed jurisdiction on the matter.

“That was what happened and for Apapa to address a press conference and misinform people and carry out propaganda that I was suspended by the court simply shows the height of their desperation. I need to make it abundantly clear that the substantive matter has not even started.

“We have submitted our notice of appeal to the court and we are moving all the matters from that court and taking it to the court of Appeal.

“This same court in FCT in 2023 in the case of Sulieman v APC did the same thing and the Law Report decided by the Supreme Court overruled and also made it very clear that the court has no jurisdiction over such matters.

“The Supreme Court subsequently affirmed the position of the Appeal Court. So when my Lord assumed jurisdiction, even though it was obvious he lacked jurisdiction.

“The lower court however never suspended me in its ruling. This is why I was surprised to read from social media the jaundiced interpretation offered to the media by Apapa after he addressed the newsmen.

His address simply showed that time is running out fast on them and that they are in a hurry to achieve their target set by their paymasters”.

While mocking the suspended deputy national chairman for hurriedly “giving an ultimatum to the counsels to Labour Party and our Presidential candidate, Peter Obi to within 48 hours to surrender themselves to him”, the LP leader disclosed that Apapa “has detailed another lawyer procured by the APC paymasters to appear for Labour Party before the tribunal on the next adjourned sitting, being Wednesday May 17”.

The statement continued, “He was obviously asleep when the ruling was ongoing or that he does not understand the difference between a court ruling and a judgment. He needs to be schooled on some of these legal terminologies.

“We have raised an alarm earlier of plots to scuttle our cases at the Presidential Election Tribunal. The latest development is that Apapa has detailed another lawyer procured by the APC paymasters to appear for Labour Party before the tribunal on the next adjourned sitting, Wednesday May 17.

“Apapa also will appear as representing the party on the same date at the court. These actions are geared towards creating the impression of a factionalized party. We are calling on the police and DSS to prevent the planned desecration of the court by these paid agents.

“We took special notice of the tweet by the Special Adviser to the President-elect on Media, Mr Bayo Onanuga on Friday where he hailed the purported emergence of their hireling, Apapa and for properly interpreting the roles scripts assigned to him.

“In his tweet Onanuga referred Apapa as the man who controls Labour Party affairs and that “the order will send chills down the spines of Obi and his lawyers as Apapa wants all cases withdrawn.

“Interesting times. We want to tell Onanuga and his co-jesters that their celebration will soon be cut short and their laughter will soon turn to weeping.

“Let me at this juncture tell the likes of Apapa, Onanuga and their cohorts that Labour party is a democratic institution and you don’t use coup d’ tat to grab leadership, you don’t use the back door to take over the leadership of the party.

“That is what Apapa and co tried to do. Though we understand them because they have been paid by their paymasters. If you look at the statement they made yesterday, they were talking about the tribunal.

“Whatever they said is about the tribunal, and it is no longer news that these disgruntled and disgraced Labour Party members have been paid to truncate the cases in the tribunal. .

“We all know how to remove the National Chairman, and how a new one can be elected. So it is unfortunate that this group of people found themselves in the Labour Party. The time has come for us to separate the wheat from the chaff.

“The party was a small party and because we want to have numbers, we accommodated all forms of charlatans and dubious people into the party.

“These are people who didn’t offer anything to the party. Apapa scored zero in Oyo state in the Presidential election. Arabambi who is claiming to be the Publicity Secretary scored zero in Ogun state in the presidential election.

“They even supported other candidates from other parties. In Edo, We scored 79 percent of the votes in the presidential election.

“In the governorship election and House of Assembly election, in spite of the dollars and harassment that were deployed by the PDP government, I am the only national chairman that won my ward.

“My performance as the national chairman of this party is not in doubt. I inherited a party that was in arrears of salary payment, a party that has no image and today I have made the party number one party in Nigeria.

“In this party, I have paid my dues. I have been here for 20 years building this party and today the party has become one to reckon with in Nigeria. So for these hirelings to say they want to take over the party, we laugh at them.

“And I urge Nigerians to ignore them because whatever information they are getting from them are fake news.

“I want to reassure you that we are in control and I remain the national chairman. I assure you that we continue to provide leadership. Our cases in court, we will continue to defend them.

Our House of Reps and senatorial cases, we will continue to defend them until victory is assured. Same goes for the presidential election tribunal. No amount of distraction will stop us from attaining our aspirations”.

Nigeria’s Central Bank says it will mop up all dormant account balances and unclaimed balances in banks into a designated account it has created.

CBN announced this in its new Guidelines on the Management of Dormant Accounts drafted in April 2023, which was obtained by The Whistler.

According to the apex bank, the balances will be invested in government securities and would be returned to the beneficiaries not later than ten days of notice.

The new guidelines which take effect immediately repeal the October 7, 2015 Guidelines on the Management of Dormant Accounts and Other Unclaimed Balances by Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria.

The draft guidelines say, “The Central Bank of Nigeria shall open and maintain an account earmarked for the purpose of warehousing unclaimed balances in eligible accounts. The account shall be called “Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund Pool Account."

‘The eligible accounts CBN said are dormant accounts balances that have remained with the FIs for a period of 10 years and beyond.

"The eligible accounts and financial assets are: Current, Savings and Term deposits in local currency; Domiciliary accounts; Deposits towards the purchase of shares and Mutual Investments; Prepaid card accounts and wallets; Proceeds of uncleared and unpresented financial instruments belonging to customers or non-customers of FIs; Unclaimed salaries and wages, commissions, and bonuses.

Others are: "Proceeds of stale local and/or foreign currency drafts not presented for payment by beneficiaries; Funds received from a correspondent bank without sufficient details as to the rightful beneficiary and/or a recall of funds made to the remitting bank to which the Nigerian bank’s account had not been debited and A judgment debt for which the judgment creditor has not claimed the amount of judgment award.

"Financial Institutions shall treat accounts and financial assets that have become dormant as follows:

“Formulate policies for the recognition and management of dormant accounts and financial assets that are consistent with this guideline and other extant regulations; ii. Establish effective controls to ensure surveillance and second-level authorization on reactivation of dormant accounts, among other measures;

“Maintain a register of dormant accounts balances; Transfer balances that have remained in the dormant account register for up to ten years to the ‘UBTF Pool Account; and Require customers seeking to reactivate dormant accounts to provide evidence of account ownership, valid means of identification, evidence of the present place of residence, and affidavit on the accuracy of the information to reactivate the account.”

CBN said when it receives the unclaimed balances, the apex bank will, “Open and maintain the ‘Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund Pool Account’; Maintain records of the beneficiaries of the unclaimed balances warehoused in the UBTF Pool Account; Invest the funds in Nigerian treasury bills (NTBs) and other securities as may be approved by the ‘Unclaimed Balances Management Committee’;

“Refund the unclaimed funds to the beneficiaries not later than ten (10) working days from the date of receipt of the request. Where it is imperative to extend the timeline, a notice of extension shall be communicated to the requesting FI stating reasons for the extension.”

The Central Bank said any bank or financial institution that contravenes any provision of the new guidelines would pay a fine of not less than N2,000,000 as a penalty.

It added that failure to comply with CBN’s directive in respect of any infraction will attract a further penalty of N200,000 daily until the directive is complied with or as may be determined by CBN.

Finestgurlie:
no naa why not include mc Oluomo dayo isreal etc.

The 36 states chairpersons of the Labour Party (LP), on Thursday met in Benin, the Edo State capital, to reiterate their support and implicit confidence in the embattled national chairman of the party, Julius Abure.

Addressing journalists shortly after the meeting, the Kwara State Labour Party chairman, Kehinde Rotimi, insisted that the suspension of Abure falls short of the party’s constitutional requirements for such action and therefore null and void.

He added that it is only the National Executive Council (NEC)-in-Council that has the constitutional powers to suspend the national chairman.

Rotimi who doubles as the Chairman of the LP chairmen across the country, said that they were in Benin City for solidarity with the national chairman who, he insisted, was wrongly accused and not given fair hearing before being recently suspended by some members in his ward.

He said the action was against natural justice.

He said: “The illegal decision to suspend the national chairman by ex-members of the party falls short of the party’s constitutional requirements and therefore it was null and void as it was only the NEC in council that has the constitutional powers to suspend the chairman.

“I therefore advise all to disregard the purported suspension as it was a clear aberration that needs to be disregarded as it falls short of our constitutional requirements.”

“This is the reason why the 36 states Chairmen are gathered in Edo to say no to the illegality by some former aggrieved members who have since left the party to join other political parties and to reaffirm our implicit and unflinching vote of confidence on our chairman, Barrister Julius Abure who has done a great job despite all the intimidation and harassment.”

While thanking Edo people in particular and Nigerians in general for the massive support given to the party during the just concluded general elections, he assured Nigerians that members have put in place every necessary processes to recover their stolen mandate.

Also, speaking, the embattled national chairman of LP, Julius Abure, dismissed his alleged suspension with a wave of the hand.

He noted that the purported suspension was the handiwork of opposition parties who are bent on disrupting and disorganizing the party as they are not comfortable with its huge strength as demonstrated at the last polls.

He remarked: “All the melodrama you are seeing is a clear manifestation of other political parties who are not comfortable with the strength of Labour Party as exhibited in the last elections and are desperately looking for way to discredit the party with a view to tarnish our image.

On his part, the Edo state chairman of the party, Kelly Ogbaloi, noted that the party’s current travails has to do to with the general elections which he said did not reflect the will of the electorate.

According to him, “the dissidents who claimed to have suspended the national chairman are mere instruments in the hands of opposition parties who are bent on distabilising the resurgent party and tarnish its integrity.

Abure also noted that the will of the people was subverted in the last election.

“Today, we have again reaffirm our confidence on our national chairman, Barr Julius Abure, who have stood his ground to take the party from where it was in comatose and to rebuild it to where it is today and we thank him for his resilience in making sure we are where we are today and we are here today to repose more confidence on our chairman, Barr Julius Abure.”

The crisis rocking the Labour Party deepened on Thursday as seven members of the National Working Committee of the Party, announced the National Vice-Chairman (South), Lamidi Bashir Apapa, as the acting chairman of the party, replacing the suspended chairman, Julius Abure.

As of the time of this report, stern-looking police officers have taken over the secretariat of the party.

Speaking after an emergency meeting held at the party’s secretariat in Abuja, Apapa said the NWC members acted on the judgement of the Federal Capital Territory High Court which restrained Abure from parading himself as the National Chairman of the LP.

The PUNCH reports that apart from Abure, the court also restrained three other officials of the party over alleged forgery.

Justice Hamza Muazu also ordered that the originating processes of the court be served on the restrained officials – Abure, the National Secretary, Umar Farouk Ibrahim; the National Treasurer, Oluchi Opara; and the National Organising Secretary, Clement Ojukwu.

The judge held that the ex parte application for an interim injunction restraining the four officials by aggrieved members of the LP before the court has merit and granted the same.

Apapa told journalists that the NWC also reviewed the suspension of party members and exco that had earlier been suspended by the party leadership.

The three other officials restrained were also replaced by Alhaji Saleh Lawal- acting National Secretary, Rowland Daramola- acting Treasurer, and Prince Reuben Favour – acting Organising Secretary.

“The NWC equally reviewed that recently there are some cases of suspensions that were badly handled. And this National Working Committee meeting has reviewed them, and the suspension all over are hereby reviewed and the officers are reinstated.

“With effect from now, the so-called officers who the court had barred should not parade themselves as officers of the party until cases against them are treated or handled by the party”, Apapa stated.

He also denied the allegation that the party has been invaded by the ruling All Progressives Congress, saying the current leadership believes extensively in the presidential candidate of the party, Peter Obi.

Earlier, Abure, however, had in a statement, raised an alarm accusing the APC of using thugs and a detachment of the Nigerian Police Force to invade the party’s headquarters in Abuja.

The embattled LP chairman stated that the invaders who are armed reportedly pulled down the fences, burglaries, doors and windows to have access to the secretariat and in the process sacked workers and party members.

Abure said, “Though, I was out of town but information has it that the agenda of the Invaders was to inaugurate an illegitimate executive which has been chosen for them by their sponsors.

“This incident is coming days after a similar invasion in our Imo state Secretariat which up till now is still being occupied by the agents of the Imo state government.

“Only yesterday (Wednesday), our presidential candidate, Peter Obi through the LP Presidential Campaign Council alerted Nigerians of a plot to hound him out of the country over APC’s covert plot in collaboration with some security agents to frame him up allegedly on matters bothering on treason.

“Labour Party is only a political party which is contesting for power. The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has conducted an election that ranked us third, a position we have rejected and have approached the Tribunal to contest. That is our only offence.

“We, therefore, call on President Muhammadu Buhari to call his party, the APC to order and also rein them in from using unorthodox means to suffocate political structures in Nigeria.”

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, has issued an order attaching funds standing to the credit of the Oyo State Government and its agencies in four banks.

Justice A. O. Ebong issued the order while ruling on a motion ex-parte for garnishee order filed by the ex-chairpersons and councillors led by Bashorun Majeed, Bosun Ajuwon and Idris Okusesi.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the affected banks are First Bank, United Bank for Africa, Wema Bank and Zenith Bank.

Justice Ebong ordered the banks to show cause why the order should not be made absolute.

The ruling on the motion marked: FCT/HC/BW/M/238/2023, was delivered by the judge on March 2 and a certified true copy was sighted on Sunday in Abuja.

The funds, according to court filings, are to settle the outstanding balance of N3,374,889,425.60 from the judgment debt owed some former local government chairpersons and councillors sacked on 29 May 29 2019 before the end of their tenure by governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state.

The garnishee proceeding, initiated for the chairpersons and councillors by their lawyer, Musibau Adetunbi, is in the execution of a judgment they got against the governor and six others from the Supreme Court on May 7, 2021.

The ruling reads: “A garnishee order nisi is hereby granted to attach the judgment debtors’ accounts with garnishees Nos. 1 to 4 in the motion ex-parte, for the purpose of settling the judgment debt outstanding in the sum of N3,374,889,425.60 as awarded by the Supreme Court and conceded by the judgment debtors in Exhibit 11 attached to the applicant’s motion.

“The garnishees (1st to 4th) shall file affidavits and attend court on the next adjourned date to show cause why the order nisi should not be made absolute.

“A copy of this order nisi shall be served on the judgment debtors as required by law. This matter is hereby adjourned to the 4/4/2023 for continuation.”

It was gathered that the judgment creditors have since effected service of copies of the order on the judgment debtors as ordered by the court.

Listed as judgment debtors with the Oyo State Governor is the state’s Attorney General, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, the Accountant General, the House of Assembly, it’s Speaker and the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission.

The ex-chairpersons and councillors were elected in the election conducted by OYSIEC on March 12, 2018, for a three-year term.

Upon learning that Mr Makinde, who took office on May 29, 2019, had planned to sack them, they sued before the High Court of Oyo State to challenge the constitutionality of Sections 11 and 12 of the Oyo State Local Government Law 2001, which empowered the governor and the House of Assembly to dissolve LG executives in the state.

In its judgment on May 6, 2019, the Oyo state High Court declared Sections 11 and 12 of the state’s Local Government Law 2001 as unconstitutional, on the grounds that it violated Section 7(1) of the Constitution.

Despite the subsistence of the judgment, Mr Makinde sacked the chairpersons and councillors on May 29, 2019 and subsequently appealed the judgment.

The Court of Appeal, in its judgment on July 15, 2020, set aside the judgment of the High Court, a decision the affected officials appealed at the Supreme Court.

In its judgment on 7 May 2021, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court presided over by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, allowed the appeal marked: SC/CV/556/2020 and set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal.

The court, which awarded a cost of N20 million against Mr Makinde, ordered that the ex-chairpersons and councillors, who were unlawfully sacked by the governor, be paid their salaries and allowances from May 29, 2019 to May 11, 2021 when their tenure ought to have expired.

In the lead judgment by Justice Ejembi Eko, the Supreme Court came down hard on Mr Makinde, who it found, acted arbitrarily and undemocratic.

Justice Eko said: “I will not conclude this appeal without commenting on the disturbing ugly face of impunity displayed by the Governor of Oyo State (1st respondent herein) on 29th May, 2019, tantamounting to executive lawlessness, outrightly and vehemently condemned by this court in the case of the Military Governor of Lagos State v. Ojukwu.”

He noted that, even before appealing the High Court judgment, Mr Makinde on May 29, 2019 “issued imperial directives dissolving all democratically elected local Government Councils in Oyo State in spite of the subsisting judgment of Oyo State High Court in the suit No. 1/347/2017.

“Series of applications were filed by the judgment creditors, the present appellants, to restrain, particularly the 1st respondent (the Governor), from embarking on the self-help designed to contemptuously frustrate the judgment of the High Court.

“He was not dissuaded. He proceeded in his imperial omnipotency to continue in his untrammelled, albeit invidious contemptuous, disregard of subsisting judgment of the High Court.

“It is unthinkable that a democratically elected governor would embark on these unwholesome undemocratic tendencies. These tendencies no doubt endanger democracy and the rule of law.

“It is almost becoming universal phenomena that the democratically elected Governors have constituted themselves into a specie most dangerous to democracy in this country.

“They disdainfully disregard and disrupt democratically elected Local Government Councils and appoint their lackeys as caretaker committees to run affairs of Local Governments,” Justice Eko said.

APC agent votes NNPP in Governorship/House of Assembly Election in Kano