POLITICS
Presidential Election: Labour Party Heads to Court
By Jude Opara, Abuja
Less that 24 hours after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 Presidential election, the opposition Labour Party (LP) has indicated that it will be challenging the outcome in Court.
Vice Presidential candidate of the party, Sen.
Yusuf Ahmed-Datti told a news conference that the party won the Presidential election but was denied victory by the federal government and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) who had to engage in illegality to take away their victory.Ahmed-Datti who expressed confidence that they will reclaim their mandate from the Court also advised the party faithful and supporters to remain calm and law abiding because Peter Obi and himself believe in peace.
“Nigerians should continue to exercise their civic duties. Democracy belongs to the people who can practice it. Nigeria should continue to make effort to practice it. The only language we understand is peace. Obi and I believe even more in Nigeria and Nigerian people.
“We won election in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, they refused to upload the result, they refused to refer to INEC Election Review Portal (IReV) just for them to defeat us. It took a serving government illegality and constitutional breech to defeat Peter Obi and my humble self. Nigerian people are winners and Nigerian people are waiting for a day when Peter Obi and myself, through the rigours of legality and constitutionality will get to power somehow, one day”.
When asked if he still has confidence in the Nigerian judiciary given the complaints by some people because their alleged penchant to deliver frivolous judgements, Ahmed-Datti said; “Irrespective of the low level of confidence we have in the system, your responsibility is your responsibility. Nigerians contested for the 2023 Presidential election through Peter Obi and my humble self, we shall continue to keep the struggle alive irrespective of the low confidence level we have in the judiciary.
“We had extremely low confidence on the promise of the government concerning the election yet we went ahead with the election. So it doesn’t matter how low the confidence level we have in the judiciary but the law is the law.
“But there is a confidence we have in ourselves. The confidence we have in ourselves is that the election so to say, did not hold because from the polling unit, the electoral act 2007 as amended provided the direct transmission of result. It is that direct transmission that shows that elections were held and they were not transmitted. So if there were not results, what election are you talking about?
“Going to the ward collation units, no INEC officer shall make entries without he or she making reference to the existing ongoing concurrent IReV which did not exist. So, how did they collate the results? If there is no valid collation, what result are you talking about, if there are no results what elections are you talking about?
“Illegality has been performed and as far as we are concerned, here is an incoming government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that is illegal and unconstitutional and we are submitting our case to the court of law and it is for them irrespective of the level of confidence of Nigerians or Africans have in them, it is for them to shore up that level of confidence”.
Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Friday said the Senators from Kebbi State, elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were set to decamp to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).Ganduje said this while addressing State House Correspondents after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa on Friday.
The APC chairman led Dr Nasir Idris, the Gov. Nasir Idris of Kebbi and Senators Adamu Aliero, Yahaya Abdullahi and Garba Maidoki to the meeting with Tinubu.He said a lot of discussions went underground between the major stakeholders in Kebbi and that they came to the conclusion that the three PDP senators from the state would decamp to the APC.“This is a good development and it is in consonance with what is happening in Nigeria today.“Almost every week in the Senate and House of Representatives, you see members of other political parties decamping to our party.“So, we came here so that Mr President will bless this resolution and he has graciously given his blessing, and by Tuesday you will see what will happen in the Red Chambers.“Our constitution is very clear about this, and with our political dexterity in managing such affairs, I assure you that there will be a smooth integration,” said the APC chairman.He added that the fear of one-party state was misplaced::”We are not saying we are working for a one-party system, but if this is the wish of Nigerians we cannot quarrel with that.“You know they say too many cooks spoil the soup; too many political parties spoil governance.”Ganduje said that the move was in continuation with the initiative of Tinubu, saying, “APC must do what we must do democratically in order to increase our numerical strength, and also our quality and capacity of followership.” (NAN)
From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
The Speaker, Kogi State House of Assembly Rt. Hon. Aliyu Umar Yusuf has warned that the present lawmakers would not allow any political officer holder or individual to ridicule the chambers as an institution.Aliyu stated this while fielding questions from Assembly correspondents when the embattled Coordinator, Kogi State Social Investment Programme Agency (KOSSIPA), Hajiya Aishat Oyiza Omade finally honoured the Assembly invitation after several months of defiance.
Aliyu asserted that the Assembly under his watch will never be subjected to ridicule adding that, the present eight Assembly remains committed to protecting the legislative arm of government without fear or favor.”She was not even qualified to appear before all of us. It must be a serious issue before such can happen. According to the report we received from the committee, she seems not to be available after several invitations. The report was brought to the house and the lawmakers have to come together in protecting the committee by compelling her to come.”The objective of our pronouncement on Tuesday was achieved. Any officer irrespective of the office you are occupying in Kogi State can be invited. She has come and we have admonished her to always work in accordance with the law.”By extension, we have admonished other office holders to be wary of the law. Any position that they find themselves in is guided by rules and this must be obeyed. We didn’t give her much attention that is why the house out of its magnanimity referred her back to the committee she failed to honour before now.”She cannot be bigger than the committee. What we have achieved is to allow them to take charge of what they want her to do. Let it be on record that there is no petition against her or infractions committed before now.”The thing is that she failed to honour invitations of the committee that oversees her agency. We have compelled her to come. This will send a signal to others that nobody is above this institution called Kogi State House of Assembly”.He maintained that the committee has the legislative duties backed by law to carry out their oversight function for the purpose of good governance in Kogi State.The number three citizen of Kogi State dismissed public insinuation that the house has been compromised to wade the big stick against the KOSSIPA boss.According to him “Nothing has exchanged hands. If we don’t want to be serious about this, we won’t come to the plenary and discuss. We are very serious about it. The essence is to let them know that we are not rubber stamps. If we need an explanation from the Governor, we will write to him.”If she had failed to appear today, the world would see what would have happened. I don’t want to be one person that will wade any provision of the constitution to any officer in the State. We must do the right thing by obeying the constitution governing us. We were the one that screened her here. So, why is she evading the house invitation?It would be recalled that the lawmakers on Tuesday threatened to issue a bench warrant of arrest against Omade if she failed to appear before the house on 7th May, 2025.Omade was accused of failing to appear before the house adhoc standing committee on special duties, legislative compliance, government house administration and Governor Office headed by the majority leader of the house Hon. Suleiman Abdulrazak member representing Okene 1.
From Samuel James, Ilorin
The Kwara State legislature has urged the state government to enforce the Street Begging Practices Prohibition Law, warning that it unchecked would cause more serious social and security challenges.The Legislature made the appeal following a motion of urgent public importance titled “Need to Control the Trend of Street Begging in Kwara State and Mitigate the Associated Security Risk”, moved by Hon.
Abdullahi Halidu Danbaba (APC–Kaiama/Kemanji/Wajibe) during plenary on Wednesday. While leading the debate, Hon. Danbaba raised concerns over the growing trends of street begging which he described as a threat to social public order and danger to vulnerable individuals who may be exposed to its abuses, trafficking, and exploitation.He then called for immediate intervention to protect the beggars and the general public.The Honorable Speaker, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu while reading the resolution, directed the Office of the Secretary to the State Government to constitute a committee to assess the scope, causes, and security implications of street begging across the state.He said the committee should map out a comprehensive strategy to mitigate the menace.The Legislature also called on Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq to mandate the State Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs, and Community Development to establish a community – based task force.According to them the task force would identify and report cases of street begging while supporting the reintegration of the beggars into the society through targeted interventions.Furthermore, the House members also read for the first time a Bill to amend the Kwara State Secret Cults and Secret Societies Prohibition Law.The proposed amendment seeks to introduce stiffer penalties for offenders and address related issues.
SON Urges Business Owners to Seek Assistance on Product’s Quality
ShareThe Head of Mechanical department of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mr Ijacha Ego, has urged stakeholders, especially, manufacturers...
Lagos Pays N978.6m Insurance to Families of Deceased Workers
Share The Lagos State Government, in collaboration with LASACO Assurance Plc, on Friday presented cheques worth N978.62 million to 510...
CSCS Shareholders Laud N1.76 Dividend Payment, 2024 Financial Report
ShareShareholders of the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) have expressed satisfaction with the company’s impressive financial performance and the declaration...
Suspected Ritualist Caught with Human Organs
Share The Police command in Lagos State has detained a 25-year-old suspected ritualist for allegedly being in possession of human...
Visa Delay: Nigeria Withdraws from World Relays in China
ShareNigeria has withdrawn from the 2025 World Relays scheduled to take place in Guangzhou, China, citing delays in the issuance...
UN Fund Allocates over $4m to Support Congolese Refugees, Angola Cholera Outbreak
ShareThe UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has received two new allocations from the UN to support Congolese refugees in...
Tinubu Welcomes Qatar’s Investment Initiatives, Affirms Nigeria’s Readiness for Partnership
SharePresident Bola Tinubu says Nigeria is ready to partner Qatar to explore opportunities in the agricultural sector.The President said this...
50m people in West, Central Africa at Risk of Hunger -WFP
ShareThe UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that millions of people in West and Central Africa are facing record...
Benue Govt., RGL Sign MoU on Otukpo Food City Complex
ShareThe Benue State Government on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rexzodeneh Group Limited (RGL) for the development...
Kebbi’s PDP Senators Set to Decamp to APC – Ganduje
ShareDr Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Friday said the Senators from Kebbi State,...
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
English
French
German
Italian
Portuguese
Russian
Spanish