₦airaland Forum

fergie001:
You cannot divorce the Courts from political expediency. Not just in Nigeria but all over the world. Even in the US Supreme Court, you can see the shift towards far right decisions.
The Judges are product of this same political expediency because it is the politicians who nominate them to be there.

That is not to say they will not follow the path of legality or constitutionality, they will do their best to see how they can balance it up.

Now, I will go to the meat of the case...


People tend to elevate this report.

The 1979 Constitution had no special status for the State Capital but this Committee pressed that some status be created for the FCT.

Several Govts have failed to recognise that because the FCT is seen lower than a State. Others have 3 Senators, the FCT has 1. Unlike States, the Executive and Legislative powers of the FCT are vested in the President and National Assembly respectively.
This culminated in the Court of Appeal case between Musa Baba-Panya v President, Federal Republic of Nigeria;

See the judgement:
It is therefore, doubtlessly clear that by virtue of Section 299 of the Constitution of the Federation, the Federal Capital Territory is in law a State. In others words, the Federal Capital Territory should be treated as one of the States in the Federal Republic of Nigeria."

What does 299 say?
Section 299(1) of the 1999 CFRN:
The provisions of this Constitution shall apply to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja as if it were one of the States of the Federation;

In Ibori v Ogboru (2004), the Court of Appeal opined:
.....the Federal Capital Territory is to be treated like a State, it is not superior or inferior to any State of the Federation”.

The Constitution should never be read to say what it has not provided, even though it should be liberally construed to giving meaning and effectiveness, so as not to have embarrassing anomaly that can result in vacuum of any office or cause serious crisis in the polity. (Belgore JSC as he then was in Buhari v Obasanjo.

HOW DO YOU EXPECT OUR COURTS TO SUBJECT THEIR JUDGEMENT TO A COMMITTEE SET UP TO ELEVATE THE FCT TO THE STATUS OF A STATE BECAUSE OF THE CRIES OF THE MARGINALISED INDIGENES NOW TRY TO ELEVATE THE FCT ABOVE THE OTHER 36 STATES because of a seeming AND

I am curious.


Too much of ifs, what if what if?
The FCT argument will cause more problems than solutions if not now, later..... So I don't want to go too much into it.

No run-off will exist because of FCT.... I won't say much on that.


Was Tinubu CONVICTED in 1993?


We are talking about a criminal allegation which must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.

Is PDP the maker of the document?
How can your certificate be authentic when the gender is allegedly not?
It is contradictory.

The maker is expected to testify, this has been chorused many times.

How did they get the CTCs?
Who is the maker of that document?
Can you get the CTC without the maker of that document certifying and clarifying that the document indeed came from them?


His picture is on the alumni booklet of CSU, and we have seen them before now. Calling CSU will have helped us solve this issue.


Even if PDP is contesting the gender, are they not supposed to call up the maker of the document?

Any alteration or seeming forgery should evoke calling up the maker of the document.

Failure to do so, is tantamount to dumping papers on the Court and expecting the Justices to do a Jack Bauer.

In Atiku Abubakar v INEC, Buhari & APC.... The SC said this:

The version of the law I know on the subject (i.e. if there are other versions) is that when documents are tendered from the bar, such documents have no probative value until the makers of such documents are called to testify on the document and are subjected to crossexamination on them. It cannot be as argued by the learned silk for the appellants above. Whether it is a certified public document or any other document, the need for the maker to testify and be cross-examined on it has not yet been jettisoned by this court.

The court is not permitted to go home and interrogate those documents privately in the inner recess of its chambers. This will amount to shopping for evidence, thus descending into the arena of the conflict. One wonders how the appellants expected judgment to be entered in their favour when they failed to do the needful in respect of those documents which were the pivot of their petition.” (Tanko Muhammad CJN as he then was).

This should answer the question.

Let’s just wait for the court to rule.

But I will ask you the question I asked Garfield…

Are you suggesting that Obi and Atiku’s lawyers do not know these things and that you know about Election prosecution more than the retinue of SANs from Ikpeazu to Uzoukwu to Chris Ani to Ozekhome, et al?

sushieater:
Bros, I no dey for insults. Just stop with the misinformation, like I told you. Reach out to Obi if you have access to him and hear from him directly. I no follow you you dey do all these long talk. Believe whatever you want to believe about Obi's case at the PEPT but stop with the lies and misinformation. If you're smart enough, you'll start asking questions about what I just told you instead of arguing about what you know absolutely nothing about. Some of us know Obi reach him Papa & Mama house/supermarket in Onitsha, down to Agulu as well. No be sudden misinformed Internet fake news peddlers like you go teach me history or educate me on something that I have first hand information about.

Ok.

Goodluck to you and what you know.

sushieater:
Bros, your misinformation plenty die. From changing "AND THE FCT" in the constitution, to saying it's now "AND 25% IN THE FCT", To this Blatant lie about Obi Fighting Uba Brothers and AC at the same time. For your information, the major documents wey Obi use win Ngige for court Came from the Uba brothers cus they were hell bent on removing Ngige from that office. Na dem rig Ngige in, na dem still get evidence of wetin dem use rig am in wey dem give Obi to take comot am for office through court.

So, Obi didn't fight anybody, na Uba brothers(Especially Chris, wey be Ngige Godfather) really help am win that case. Ngige went to AC way after he has been booted out of office. Nothing concern Tinubu's AC with their matter then.

You can go and verify from Obi himself if you're close to him or know someone close to him. No dey rewrite history for us abeg. Make all the case you want for Obi, but no dey decieve or misinform the public including yourself.

I suggest you stick to eating Sushi sir, than dabble into the middle of a conversation you don’t know where it started.

I’ve been having a discussion with someone, and the comment you quoted was a reply to the content of his own comment but you chose to expose your deficient intelligent quotient to the public than properly follow the discussion and know what led to what.

And yes, after Uba brothers turned against Ngige, he ran to the Atiku/Tinubu political alliance for political protection even though he was still in PDP. If you don’t know history, ask to be taught. The Lotanna2 I replied to knows that what I said is true, that’s why he didn’t dispute it. He has been following Nigerian politics for a long time and I’m sure he knows the intricacies of what transpired in that Obi case.

Lastly, Obasanjo/Uba brothers didn’t win the case for Obi. After they fell out with Ngige, they got INEC to start asking the court to cancel the election and order a rerun or an entirely new election. The courts disagreed and declared Obi.

Please get yourself educated.

Lotanna2:
I don't understand your point on obi but there's a big possibility that obj influenced that court judgment against ngige.obj and anenih indirectly admitted removing osunbor in 2008 after he misbehaved.it is lawyer easier to influence lower court.but now,who will influence them against tinubu? Tinubu is the best political bargainer around unlike buhari that uses brute force.the judiciary were even more likely to remove buhari than tinubu.the certificate case was very dangerous and before them buhari used DSS to raid judges houses and sacked onnoghen.

You are too easily deceived by things that suit your narrative.is a judge expected to say they won't do justice or they won't use technicalities? It seems you are easily deceived and people can easily defraud you.again,it looks like you're a rigid and dogmatic fellow.calm down.an average Nigerian is corrupt.that court as presently constituted will not rule against tinubu.you heard the political comment of ariwoola the cjn and you still believe in a mere judge somewhere.forget this matter.it is not that deep.in my family,we shared ourselves among lp,apc and pdp in case of anything.obi is not worth it.if obi actually won,no Jupiter could have stopped his victory.gej tried everything in 2015 but no way.ive never said this but it looks like the Nigerian system does not want someone from se to rule for now.if it is to happen,it will be from APC

Your argument is still on political expediency and politics around the judiciary rather than the meat of the case.

Tinubu’s problem at the Tribunal is too multifaceted to be simplified the way you are trying to do it. From INEC not following it’s guidelines, to 25% in the FCT, to Certificate problems, to result manipulation to favor him. You can’t compare his case to Buhari’s case in 2019.

In 2019, the case against Buhari stood on two legs: server and his waec certificate.

There was no law permitting INEC to own a server, so that leg easily fell flat. Once that was out of the way, it was easy to get around his certificate problem. Do you honestly think Tinubu’s case can be that easy?

Talking about me being dogmatic…. I would rather say that once I’m convinced about a thing, I see it through to the end. My conviction is strong.

Remember we had this back and forth before the election. I was convinced of Obi’s chances and the fact that would win the election. I gave state by state analysis of what the outcome would be.

You accused me then of being emotional, and boasted that you have been following and/or prosecuting elections for a long time and that was wrong. I remember the numbers you assigned to Tinubu and Atiku in the Southeast and Southsouth. I told you it won’t be so. And I said what I said then as informed by reason, facts and monitoring of the pulse on ground but you dismissed my stance then. I’m sure the outcome has shown who was right and who was wrong.

It was so much that they had to turn-off the IREV in order to stop Obi from winning.

Now we are back to it. Once again you are claiming to be a repository of judicial precedents and an expert on the political undercurrents that would determine the outcome of the Tribunal. And I’m just here once again to tell you that though I do not know anything for sure, if Obi’s chance is 1%, I will hold onto it until the final whistle.

And look below to see that you people might not have it figured out as you presuming.

Lotanna2:
He submitted forms for 21 states.does it mean he won 21 States? The truth of the matter is that the manual forms is worse for obi than irev that is why he is silent.assuming he was rigged out,apc covered their tracks well in other states except rivers and benue where they started rigging late after results were uploaded.he must have matched the figures and decided to go with irev which has up to 18000 blurred results...

Outside the law,obi cannot win in court.go back to the judgment in shettima case,the judges attacked pdp for trying to media bully them.this is an indirect warning to lp.amina Augie personally attacked atiku which shows their bias against the opposition.
Let's go to the TRIBUNAL,see how the president Monica was shoved aside.like Fergie stated,at least two to three of those five judges will be picked for supreme if they rule for tinubu.tsammani the presiding judge is assured of a slot.at least three judges here will surely go with tinubu giving him majority.besides,the lower court nowadays prefer taking the safer judgment to avoid upturn at the apex.
Back to the apex court,you heard ariwoola comments about g 5? What other signs do you need? With the way they sided with ariwoola and pushed tanko out,you can see he's in control of his colleagues.ive not even mentioned the tribal and religious affiliation.justice agim who usually writes leading judgment was picked above agube his senior.the man is grateful to ayade.inyang okoro has ties with akpabio.kekere ekun eagerly awaits assuming cjn and won't want to rock the boat.only nweze might be neutral.look at the security implications,Nigeria is calm.what if a sack brings unrest like it did in bayelsa? Demographically,he is more acceptable than obi in 4 to 5 zones while obi acceptance is in 3 zones.Tinubu have cultivated ties with the jury for many years plus wike links.tinubu as gov did superb for the judiciary compared to obi.all these things will factor in.obi should rest.

And we are back to political expediency and not legal merits of what is on ground.

Well, I’d be a fool if I rule out what you are saying. I understand you. Because this is Nigeria, it would amount to foolhardiness to think that Tinubu and his men are not making some underground moves to make sure the Tribunal judgment is favourable to them.

But there’s one thing about the judiciary you are not considering. The fact that no matter who is in power, the succession plan remains the same. If Obi becomes president, there’s no way he’s going to jump Justice Kekere Ekun to make Centus Nweze the CJN. It’s not like the military (security agencies) where things are left to your whims and caprices.

Again, remember that in 2003, Obi was against a sitting governor and a sitting president with a certain Andy Uba who had an overreaching influence in the Nigeria of then.

Later on, when Ngige refused to be railroaded by the Uba brothers, they (Uba brothers) sort to booth him out of office which made Ngige run to the Atiku/Tinubu alliance for political protection.

That way, Obi was against Obasanjo/Uba brothers in one arm, and Atiku/Tinubu/Ngige in another.

I know the Nigeria of today is not the Nigeria of 2006, but are you saying that the judges were not pressured then? Are you saying that both the Obasanjo and Atiku camp did not make sinister moves to compromise the judges but Obi still came out victorious. That was a miracle that could still happen now.

In fact, I’ve read somewhere that one of the judges then said, “we will do justice even if the heavens fall”. The only reason I don’t make reference that statement is because I’ve not been able to independently verify it.

What I’m saying in essence is that we are both Nigerians and we understand the society we are in but “we cannot stop going to war because of casualties”; I mean, we cannot always write the judiciary off until the give their judgment.

Even if this Obi case is 99% chance tilting towards Tinubu and 1% chance left for Obi, 1% percent is still a chance. And even though it’s not every time that things go against the odds, but things do sometimes go against the odds.

Lotanna2:
Oga,when did obi say he won akwa ibom? Another issue with obidients is imagination and illusion.why must you superimpose things for obi? Any way,obi proof of winning rivers and benue is via irev which is secondary evidence going by adeleke vs oyetola supra and regulations 93 of inec guidelines.the inec director already explained that there can be issues during uploading.

So you didn’t hear Obi submitted form EC8As for Rivers, Benue, Akwa Ibom, Lagos, Plateau, Taraba, Adamawa, etc?

Seems you choose what to see and what not to see depending on how it satisfies your biases.

Is it just coincidence or why are the criminals suddenly getting freed by the courts?

First it was Abba Kyari.

Now, it’s Senator Nwaobashi.

Is this how Tinubu is going to rule us?

By setting criminals free?

Lotanna2:
If you have been following court cases,you would notice that the defence hardly waste time in defending cases.during the 2015 guber cases in aks and rivers,the defence put no argument and I believed it was over.during the pre hearing,while obi and atiku were asking for 7 weeks,tinubu lawyers just needed one week and with cases being consolidated,they had even less time.in 2019, the defence used about two weeks.the lone inec witness simply took care of the glitches, irev and upload which concerns inec.bsmidele took care of qualifications.the apc lawyer fagbemi clearly said there's no need to open any case as they will depend on positive response extracted from obi's witnesses just as they did in 2019.the only time I remember the defence wasting time is obaseki certificate case.the defence in aks,rivers and Lagos has started closing their cases in less than a week.

Me and Fergie didn't say a petitioner must prove his case on its strength.it is an age long judicial principle.wgatever we say and do abd what apc are doing have been decided or backed by case laws and extant laws unlike you that speaks anyhow without reference.this is why obi is losing,there's no precedent to work with...assuming the court annuls the election solely on FCT,how does it help obi? You are bothering about apc star witness when your own star witness already fumbled.this is ironic.comot body

INEC brought their ICT employee to speak to glitches which is just one leg of Obi’s petition against INEC.

What was INEC’s defence of Obi’s claim that he won Rivers, Benue and Akwa Ibom?

aswani:
You might be comfortable with allowing big men to intimidate you when you yourself can identify nonsense going on even with your laymans knowledge, I am not.

Obi and his mighty SAN's are yet to prove anything.

We’ll see about that when the judges rule.

Lotanna2:
Ikpeazu did not retrieve adeleke mandate,he already won the polls.winning at the supreme court was a formality.being on the defence team is easy than being a petitioner.apart from obi's 2006 victory,his other victories were from a defensive point.in this obi case,he is not the lead lawyer.he is even third in line.he gave legal advise to atiku team in 2019.

I never underrated obi,I am the only batist here that believed obi will finish second beating atiku and had the best chance of winning tinubu.i still believed his real votes placed him above atiku afterall atiku won just one region.i knew obi would have over 5 mil votes.how did I know? I simply gauged his strongholds,support and campaign.atiku even tried more than obi in court tbh.

It doesn’t matter the standpoint or side that Ikpeazu has always stood in his cases, does it deny him of the experience?

And does being 3rd in line in the Obi petition mean he will not offer his full legal services and bring his experience to bare on the case?

Like I said before, I’m not saying they have done the best of jobs, but I won’t let you dismiss their efforts until the court rules.

By the way, what have you to say on INEC and Tinubu’s poor defence? I know you and Fergie always argue that a petitioner cannot be hoping to win his case based on weak defence of the respondent, but did you expect INEC, Tinubu and APC defence to be this shabby?

Tinubu’s star witness was asked, “how many states are in Nigeria”, and he fell yakata and said “36”. Does that not make mess of all the arguments you people have been making here that Abuja is a state?

See, you can’t claim this case is Uhuru for Tinubu, you just can’t.

Lotanna2:
Nobody has monopoly of knowledge.when you keep practicing at something,you develop new tricks and break grounds.i am a slow learner but once I grasp full knowledge of things,I best my tutors.
Everything was laid in court,nothing is secret esp with social media obidients.obi won when cases usually ends at appeal court and standard of proofs was easier and more flexible.by them,everyone underrated obi.

And now? Are you not underrating Obi?

Did you not underrate Obi before the election? And still underrating him at the Tribunal?

Meanwhile, I insist that whatever you think you know, I refuse to believe that you know more than the retinue of senior lawyers prosecuting Obi’s case.

I’m not saying they may have done the best job but I refuse to conform to your dismissive approach to what they have done in court.

If anything, somebody like Ikpeazu has successfully retrieved 2 governorship seats from the Supreme Court that I know of; one as recent as March of this year. I find it abhorrent that you would now suggest that such a man does not know how best to lay evidences in court.

lexylaw40:
Before 🛢 oil was discovered in the niger delta , yes cocoa was Nigeria's mains source of income and also palm oil and groundnuts fro. The North

This is why I don’t blame the Nairalander that said he would never trust any history written by you people.

There was cocoa in the West.

Palm oil in the East.

And groundnut in the north.

These 3 formed the mainstay of the economy of the pre colonial Nigeria.

Stop twisting history.

aswani:
It is not a science experiment where you are allowed to extrapolate information based on a sample.

Tribunals quite rightly require a high burden of proof to overturn results and LP's lawyers did not get anywhere near it.

If you want to know the kind of herculean effort required to overturn results, Google what Tinubu and Oshiomole had to do to overturn the Edo state gubernatorial results in their favour. And that was just for a relatively small state that Edo is.

Lol!

The funny thing is that you forgot you are talking about a man who has prosecuted electoral fraud before and returned victorious.

Before Oshiomole, there was already Obi.

Are you now saying that the man who successfully retrieved his mandate from the court in 2006 doesn’t know how to prosecute electoral case in 2023?

And are you guys claiming to know better than all the SANs prosecuting Obi’s case?

You know better than Ikpeazu who has successfully retrieved more than one mandate from the Supreme Court?

You know more than Livy Uzoukwu, Okutekpa, Ananamba, and other legal luminaries who have practiced law for most part of their life?

Lotanna2:
True.it shows he is not sure of what he wants.justice kekere ekun said you must not just prove irregularities but show how it affects the election and your margins.election is maths.the tribunal simply review and analyse issues.the best way is to present them with raw figures like hope and sekibo did.ok if there was rigging,how many units were affected,how many votes are involved and from final deduction,what is left? Can you give us a specimen of the invalid votes

Lol!

You keep forgetting that you are talking about a man that has prosecuted election fraud before and came out victorious. Have you asked if he quoted figures then?

And do you claim to know better than all the SANs prosecuting Obi’s case?

You have knowledge of legal procedures and judicial precedents more than they do?

Lotanna2:
Since there was no time,he should have isolated about 6 to 12 states to make it easier and counting.the time constraint and difficulty in counting is why we say it's impossible to upturn a presidential election in nigeria.even the imo case,uzo had to target 338 units.if buhari with 2 years couldn't achieve anything in 2007,then obi cannot.

I like Mrs Doris and her accent,she looks like an half cast,reminds me of Sally mbanefo of ntdc during gej time.tinubu may give her a higher post,that's how kemi was promoted from commissioner...
Hope is a political fraudster,always outsmarting his opponents yet you guys still underrate him.i think he compromised Sam anyanwu and used him to rubbish ihedioha.then, entered into a pact with ihedioha to handover to him in 4 years.he has brought ohakim closer.hes the only igboman that can move very high at federal level

If Uzodimma is the man to take the chance of Igbos, we might as well continue to stay without the presidency.

aswani:
Without mincing words, the Tribunal judges are not ruling on how fair the elections are, they are going to make their decisions based on the proof they receive from the petitioner.

The Tribunal is a court of law, not a court of public opinion.

Quote frankly, Peter Obi's sole focus should have been on getting the raw numbers required to overturn the election results. He clearly didn't have them and so decided to play to the gallery instead, what a shame considering the importance of what was at stake.

So, since Obi didn’t quote figures, therefore his case was not good enough?

Parachoco:
You Igbos should start writing the story of Nsukka, Abakaliki, Umuahia, Enugu, Nnewi and leave the history of Ijaw alone

Ijaws are not busy night and day on Nairaland talking about Igbos history.

Make una face una history and leave Ijaw history alone, we do not need una help abeg.

Make una stop attaching Igbos with Ijaws, we were never one, we are just neighbors, that's all.

Nah One Nigeria dey cause this Madness una don engage unaself in though

You and who is “we”?

Hope you know it’s Kalabari that is being talked about, not Ogbomoso?

Lotanna2:
What has obi done with all the ec8a tendered? What has he showcased or proven? Why did he now calculate based on only irev without comparing with other copies? You are mistaken about hope.go back and read his petition from the tribunal.i have the appeal court judgment here if you want it.hope lay everything bare.he stated clearly that his total votes in those omitted units were 213,000 while pdp scored 1900.that is what gov ajasin did in 1983.that is what sen uchendu did in 2018 against George sekibo,what adeleke did in 2018 before technicality set in.evej atiku tried to do this in 2019.you must calculate and lay everything before the judges.they will now crosscheck,verify and review.they will not do your job for you.it is a tribunal with just 6 months and not a civil court with limitless time...

All obi needed to do is simple.count all the votes in irev,lp copies,police copies ,inec copies and record them.check to see if you win in any copy.or get forensics to identify all votes,stolen,invalid etc and properly record them.if obi won,it would show.if he didn't and he noticed mass irregularities,it will show.there is no need to target 20 or more states.if actually he lost,all he needed was to investigate the votes from the ne/nw where obi did poorly and some SW states to see if he can detect invalid votes and reduce tinubu votes.since he believes he won Lagos and plateau by bigger margins,why not recount those two states? Atiku tried to do this in 2019.oyetola tried to do this.obi can even target areas where tinubu won that was fraught with overvoting.this thing is very simple.instead,he brought truckloads of results,documents and kept it in the court without explanation of what he found.does he think the judges will count or go through it when he didn't lead evidence? Instead of a detailed explanation,he is yapping about glitches,servers,tinubu qualification,nitda etc that will not help him.what is so hard in getting polling unit based evidences?

Anyway,I just discovered that the executive orders signed by tinubu was masterminded by imo commissioner of finance Mrs Doris nkeiruka anite.see how bat spots talents and utilize them nationally?

Let’s just allow the Judiciary to do their job.

Because I know that maybe one reason Obi didn’t go into calculation was because of time constraints. It’s easier to do that in a few polling units. But it becomes difficult when you have thousands of polling units with limited time.

About Uzodimma’s commissioner, I think he might play a prominent role in Tinubu’s government. And with battered opposition in Imo, I won’t be surprised if he retains his seat.

Lotanna2:
I only sound certain or authoritative if I am cocksure.during the shettima case,I wasn't sure.i was afraid.worst case scenario is a rerun in 18000 units.but instead of comparing results like uzodinma,he depended on secondary results.
Tbh,this election is the best since 1999.there was so much improvement.lp witnesses agreed that the polls were free and fair,their only issue was in terms of upload of results.obi failed to prove his case.when he couldn't prove how he won,he started talking of irregularities and when he couldn't prove it,he now looked at disq tinubu and after that failed,he is now depending on targeting apc witnesses forgetting that a petitioner will succeed on the strength of his case and not on the weakness of defence.

I keep asking you, are you aware that OP submitted form EC8A for all the states he’s contesting their results?

And following the Supreme Court ruling that form EC8A is the primary source of data for an election, why do you keep discountenancing that fact?

So, it’s usually funny when you say that Obi has not proven his case; maybe because he hasn’t quoted figures.

But let’s take Uzodimma’s case for example, all his time in court, did he quote any figure for the court? No. His only prayer was that his votes were wrongly canceled in about 133 polling units. And that if that cancellation is voided, he won the election.

Now, when the Supreme Court agreed with him, it was the Supreme Court that did the tabulation and came up with a figure.

So, what were you really expecting Obi to do?

Parachoco:
Is so funny how an Igbo man from the South East go dey tell Ijaws about Ijaw History

Where is it written that only the member of a tribe can write the history of the tribe?

And did the OP tell you those are his words? That he is posting it on Nairaland, does it mean he wrote it?

And lastly, how did you come to the conclusion that the OP is Igbo?

Lotanna2:
Fair enough but based on my estimation,they are 90% going to rule against fct.if it happens,I don't want you to say they were bribed or coerced.

You know sometimes I suspect you guys as agents of government commissioned to water the ground for a likely outcome that would totally be antithetical to the provisions of law. That’s why some of you sound so authoritative and convinced sometimes while we are left speculating.

But whether you are commissioned to prepare the public for a predetermined outcome or not, one thing is certain - that the 2023 general election was heavily flawed and manipulated to achieve a predetermined outcome. Any ruling from the judiciary that upholds, in its totality, the outcome of the election will forever remain questionable and seen to have been coerced or bought.

wegevv:
I have gone back and forth with this FCT status thing. I mean it does make sense; FCT doesn’t get to elect its own Governor and has only one senator. It is the capital territory and is expected to be the most diverse in the country. It’s not really a huge ask to require that the candidate that wins the popular vote and also has spread in 24 states in the country also has to get just 1/4th of the votes here. It does say a lot that Tinubu couldn’t secure it here. The English interpretation of that line leans towards FCT being required as well.

On the other hand, the strongest argument against the FCT requirement in my opinion is not the lazy section 299 but rather the consistent use of the phrase “states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja” in the constitution. That kind of negates the strength of the “and” used in that line since the constitution consistently uses that phrase throughout the document.

It’s definitely open to interpretation so I’m fully expecting the courts to go with the ruling party if I’m being honest

Yeah. You do have a point. It’s a double-edged sword that could cut either way. But with the document of the committee on FCT having been provided in court, I now have a firmer conviction that that argument is not as easy as it seems.

But we keep our fingers crossed.

Lotanna2:
The truth of the matter is that the judges have already taken a decision on FCT,it is an open and close case.no argument or document will swing their minds.none of the arguments making fct mandatory are tenable while those shutting down fct are concrete.if you say fct is a melting pot,is Lagos,pH,kad,Kano not even better melting pots? If you say it is a centre of unity and governor of fct is the president,don't you think state govs should have 25% in their capitals and senators too should get 25% since they manage abj legislatively?
Concerning the AND,all texts right from childhood both online and offline always categorize Nigeria as having 36 states and FCT.it has more to do with grammatical structure and territorial placing not electoral.why not just say AND IN THE which is incontrovertible? Take note that if they are mentioning 36 states without fct,it is AND zamfara and fct comes in when all territories are referred.
In all matters concerning fct,the judges have equated fct to a state.they have stated clearly that it is not inferior or superior.that is a legal expo.eveb Fergie has easily dismissed the tribunal case.he is hardly wrong.
The funny thing is that In the end,tinubu will prevail and the most annoying thing is that you will not learn.instead of you to calm down and learn from us,you will bring up another nonsensical narrative and still fail.the purpose of argument is to learn and develop yourself not to wallow in ignorance or unenlightenment

I agree with you that arguments should not be about who wins it but about the education and enlightenment it provides. But I refuse to be categorized as someone who argues to win rather than arguing to learn.

Like in this situation, we are all speculating on what the judges will likely rule. And you dare not claim to know what they would decide and provide it as a fact that should not be questioned.

You, I, Fergie, non of us know anything for sure. And until the court rules, it’s reprehensible to present your position as unquestionable.

I will say it again, the FCT has a special status in the constitution and for anyone to be declared president, he must score 25% in the FCT. That’s a constitutional provision. And until the courts interpret it otherwise and establish a contrary authority, don’t question my position.

Lotanna2:
The aim of the document was to show that fct is to be treated like a state and that it is not the only centre of unity or melting pots that is from apc perspective.
Making someone or something special does not mean it is superior to others but to make it equal or equitable.special status are usually granted to people or places that are less or handicapped or challenged compared to normal situations inorder to bridge a gap.
I don't see the skewed argument here.it is a foolish argument to say fct is superior to states.there is no place in the constitution that places Abuja above states,I challenge you to show me where something is conferred to the fct and denied to states.rather,the constitution seeks to treat fct like states even though it is less.no court or judge will ever give a judgment making a vote,somebody or place superior or inferior except there's immunity(executive) or imprisonment.
Think about it,if it is mandatory for FCT to be separate,then no winner will emerge until someone gets the highest votes plus 25% in fct.but the constitution says in that rerun,the winner will just have highest votes.why is the fct no more required? The judges may have considered that argument if tinubu did not get the spread in about 24/25.with him getting 29,it is not tenable.

Lol!

The problem is that APC took the document to court having given it their own interpretation. But the court will look at the document holistically and not through APC’s prism.

Now, you ask where in the constitution is Abuja provided for specially and my answer is “And 25% in the FCT. That’s a provision that shows that Abuja has a special place in the Nigerian state.

The section 299 that you guys always refer to talked about the administration of Abuja. That in administration of Abuja, it should be taken just like a state. It is worlds apart from the status of Abuja in Nigerian presidential election.

Meanwhile, do you have any explanation why Wole Olanipekun tried to submit Senator Bamidele’s business card to the judges? He wanted the judges to call the senator?🤔

okeysoninv:
The likes you were happy seeing ipob destroying goods of women in awgu yesterday, flogging school children and teachers. ipob is cancer that must be eradicated in ENUGU and south East. once the leadership of ENUGU state is ready we are prepared to provide information of all the members of ipob miscreants in Enugu. Wike treatment is the best for ipob . The governor Mr mba just resumed office last month but your expecting him to turn Enugu into Heaven. its a gradual process but for now we eradicating ipob menace in our society. no society can function where a non state actors is carrying gun here and there. If you support Carnage going on in Igbo land may Carnage never depart from ur household. Amen.

It’s actually a pathetic situation if Mbah is listening to people like you because he would end up making a huge mistake.

Soludo started this way, where did it lead him? Can’t you learn from what has happened elsewhere?

Before Mbah took office, sit-at-home was already beginning to die gradually. People were already beginning to go out on Mondays. But that singular stupid move of Mbah which was obviously informed by counsel of stupid idiots around him, aggravated the whole situation to ground zero all over again.

Now, where were his army and police when UGM were flogging and harassing Enugu people yesterday

And look at you laying curse on me instead of engaging me constructively. Shows the pathetic wavelength of your intellectuality.

okeysoninv:
The likes you were happy seeing ipob destroying goods of women in awgu yesterday, flogging school children and teachers. ipob is cancer that must be eradicated in ENUGU and south East. once the leadership of ENUGU state is ready we are prepared to provide information of all the members of ipob miscreants in Enugu. Wike treatment is the best for ipob . The governor Mr mba just resumed office last month but your expecting him to turn Enugu into Heaven. its a gradual process but for now we eradicating ipob menace in our society. no society can function where a non state actors is carrying gun here and there. If you support Carnage going on in Igbo land may Carnage never depart from ur household. Amen.

It’s actually a pathetic situation if Mbah is listening to people like you because he would end up making a huge mistake.

Soludo started this way, where did it lead him? Can’t you learn from what has happened elsewhere?

Before Mbah took office, sit-at-home was already beginning to die gradually. People were already beginning to go out on Mondays. But that singular stupid move of Mbah which was obviously informed by counsel of stupid idiots around him, aggravated the whole situation to ground zero all over again.

Now, where were his army and police when UGM were flogging and harassing Enugu people yesterday?

And look at you laying curse on me instead of engaging me constructively. Shows the pathetic wavelength of your intellectuality.

Lotanna2:
This is false sir,I have read 2007 judgment more than 10 times.the supreme court never made any ruling on FCT in 2003 or 2007 or 2008.yaradua actually had 65% in fct so a ruling on it did not arise.but in 2003,they made only a side comment on FCT issue saying that if there's any ambiguity in it,they will utilize the law of ambiguity and choose the most reasonable cause of action.that matter was laid to rest.
With your little experience on the judiciary,you should know that they will never raise the status of someone or a place above another except there's immunity.the constitution frowns at inequality.besides when a case is 50 50,the judiciary tends to side with the status quo or in this case incumbents....
Additionally,the fct is actually below or inferior to a state in reality.but the constitution has placed it on the level of states to avoid confusion.

I will try to get the right judgment and revert to you.

But did you read that Tinubu’s witness came to court yesterday with a document that was prepared by a committee on FCT which recommended that it be accorded a special status?

And how can you claim that an entity governed by the president is inferior to places overseen by governors?

All these skewed arguments just to bend reality to conform to Tinubu?

mrvitalis:
Same way of thinking... Attacking symptoms not root cause

If that road was good that refuses dump won't be there two that doesn't stop the road from being constructed three believe that is the least problem on that road

You are right.

But I think Alex Otti is ready to construct the PH road though.

He got Julius Berger to look at the road already.

I’m sure contract for the road is being finalized.

Otti will reconstruct Port Harcourt road.

OkayDaddy:
On the Abia end of the road coming from Rivers, you will see refuse dumps on an entire lane of the express.
Na Federal Government turn one lane of the expressway into massive open refuse dump?
Let them even relocate the refuse on the expressway first.

Hasn’t that been done already?

okeysoninv:
ipob terrorist on the microphone. My able Governor has vowed to end reign of terror against our peaceful Enugu state. We support him. carry your ipob terrorism out of Enugu State.

Bro, I have as much interest in the welfare of Enugu, just like you do, but don’t you think that what Mbah is doing is aggravating the situation?

IPOB feel challenged and you know what happens whenever anyone feels challenged, he will push back.

And it’s not like you know where these guys are so that the security agents can go and arrest them.

That’s why the guy you quoted is right.

What Mbah should have done would have been to ignore the IPOB talk and concentrate on governance.

Concentrate on providing water across Enugu in 180 days.

Then go to Abakpa and try to have mercy on them because they have suffered. No road inside Abakpa is motorable.

The road from New Market to Enugu-Expressway has collapsed.

The section of Enugu-Onitsha Expressway that runs from Abakpa junction to New Market junction is dilapidated. Mbah can fix it without waiting for Federal Govt since it runs through the city center.

Don’t you think those are the things Mbah should have preoccupied himself with instead of IPOB issue that would end up boomeranging?