POLITICS
Ortom, Abounu Loses Bid to Stop Recovery of Over 42 Vehicles, Other Assets

……Abounu Loses Bid to Stop Recovery
From Attah Ede Makurdi
Benue State High Court sitting in Makurdi, presided by Justice Theresa Igoche yesterday, dismissed the preliminary objections raised by the immediate Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom and His Deputy, Engr.
Benson Abounu against Governor Hyacinth Alia and Government of Benue State, to stop retrieval of over 42 vehicles and other assets allegedly donated to them and their cabinet members before their exit from office on May 29th, 2023.Ruling on the motion, the court held that the former governor and his deputy were being speculative and seeking to limit the exercise of the constitutional powers of the democratically elected state governor, Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyacinth Alia.
Justice Theresa Igoche upheld the preliminary objection of the Defendants on two major grounds that the suit was speculative for failing to establish a cause of action.
She further averred that the suit indeed sought to delimit the constitutional powers of the Defendants as donated unto them by Section 5(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and accordingly struck out the suit.
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Former Governor Ortom and his deputy, Engr. Benson Abounu instituted a suit marked No: MHC/199/2023 to challenge the alleged retrieval of vehicles and properties allegedly donated to them and their cabinet members by the Benue State Executive Council before their handover on May 29th, 2023.
Both Ortom and Abounu alleged that such action of retrieval was a constitutional affront to their collective right to ownership of property legally and legitimately vested in them.
However, counsel to the Government of Benue State, the Governor of Benue State and the Chairman of the Assets Recovery Committee, Mohammed Ndarani (SAN) who had appeared with Vershima raised and argued a Notice of Preliminary Objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain, hear and determine the suit on the grounds that it was speculative as it failed to give identity of the cars and properties allegedly taken from the Plaintiffs.
Moreso, the suit sought to limit the proper exercise of the executive powers of the governor to appoint appropriate committees to help in the administration of the state.
Arguing further, Mohammed Ndarani (SAN) maintained that, the terms of reference of the committee to decipher the extent of their powers and to help determine whether the committee had overlapped its authority were not before the court.
He said the committee was also not shown to have completed its work to conclusively establish whether they had permanently taken custody of any vehicles, hence for investigative purposes, temporary taking of custody of vehicles is allowed under the constitution.
Counsel has also stressed that, if such frivolous suits were allowed to linger, development would be greatly hampered across the country.
In his submission, Douglas Pepe (SAN) who appeared with Paul Sule maintained that, the Plaintiffs’ cause of action was potent and alleged that over 32 vehicles donated to the Plaintiffs by the Benue State Executive Council before they left office on May 29th, 2023 had been taken custody off by the Defendants, which was an affront to their right to ownership of property.
……Abounu Loses Bid to Stop Recovery
POLITICS
Buhari Felicitates Tinubu at Midterm, Calls for Nigerians’ continue support

Former President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated his successor, President Bola Tinubu, on his midterm, calling for Nigerians’ continue support for his administration’s efforts to address poverty and inflation.
This is contained in a statement issued by Buhari’s former Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Wednesday.
Buhari also called for steadfast support for the All Progressives Congress-led government as it marks its second year in office, saying reforms would achieve success gradually, not overnight.
He warned that necessary reforms and desired changes must not fall victim to mettlesome domestic politics.
According to him, as the party and the government celebrate, the country should be reminded that leadership is a continuous journey.
Buhari expressed support for the ongoing efforts by the Tinubu-led administration to curb poverty and inflation, which, he said, had hit the poorest families.
Seeking Nigerians’ support for Tinubu-led administration, he said that the task of reducing poverty and inflation mustn’t be left only for the government.
“The private sector and all of us, as citizens, must join in all ways we can,” he said.
The former president urged Nigerians to remain optimistic and stay confident about the country’s future, saying ‘our expectations from our governments should not get heavy’.
While expressing his heartfelt felicitation to Tinubu on his two years in office, Buhari prayed God to keep and grant him the wisdom and care to continue to lead the country. (NAN)

President Tinubu Appoints Ex- Speaker, Enugu Assembly, Odo, as UNN Governing Council Member
President Bola Tinubu has appointed the former speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Chief Eugene Odo, and Mr. Muhammad Tahir, as governing council members of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
The appointment comes as part of the President’s renewed efforts to reposition federal tertiary institutions for excellence and global competitiveness.
Odo served as a two time speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly between 2007 and 2015.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Chieftain also served under the previous administration of Muhammad Buhari as a governing board member of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife.
Also appointed were the governing councils members of the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) and Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), Awka.
The appointments were contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by the presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, in Abuja.
Onanuga said President Tinubu charged the new council members to justify their appointments by ensuring that their respective universities move forward.(NAN)
POLITICS
PDP NEC Gets Under Way in Abuja

By Johnson Eyiangho, Abuja
All is set for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 99th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting today at the party’s Presidential Campaign Office, Legacy House, located in the Maitama District, Abuja. After a marathon meeting of the various organs of the PDP at the Bauchi State Governor’s Lodge, officials of the party have converged on Legacy House for the long awaited NEC meeting, which had been postponed for several times.
Security in and around the house has been beefed up with the deployment operatives from the Police, DSS and NSCDC. Many prominent members of the party, including its 2023 Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, former President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, and Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, were absent from the marathon meeting.The NEC, one of the highest decision-making organs of the PDP, comprises of Party National Chairman and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC), state governors, serving and former presidents, former vice-presidents, the chairman and secretary of the Board of Trustees (BoT), principal officers of the National Assembly, state chairpersons, former governors, and founding members, among others. The NEC meeting is expected to address critical issues affecting the party, including strategies for upcoming political engagements, leading to the 2027 general elections.On Monday, barely 24 hours to the much expected NEC meeting, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) keep to its threat and sealed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Secretariat, Wuse Zone 5 for failure to ground rent, a situation the party described as temporary set back.However, reprieve came to the PDP and others who had their properties sealed as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, intervened and gave them 14 days to pay their ground rent.