COVER
Platrau: APC Begs Supporters to Maintain Peace after Mutfwang’s Sack
–Appeal Court Verdict Temporary Setback – Gov
By David Torough
Plateau chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has begged its members to celebrate the Court of Appeal governorship judgment with modesty and decorum and avoid actions that could puncture peace in the volatile state.
The party’s sate chairman, Rufus Bature, gave the advice in a statement signed by the State Publicity Secretary, Mr Sylvanus Namang.
The statement read, “We appeal to members and supporters of the APC in Plateau to remain calm and refrain from provocative acts that could hurt the peace.”
The chairman advised that the acrimony and disaffection that prevailed in the wake of appeal should be put behind as Plateau State had become a laughing stock.
He called on security agencies to be at alert to avert any act capable of causing a breakdown of law and order.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Sunday nullified the election of Governor Caleb Muftwang and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise Nentawe Goshwe of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the March 18 Plateau State governorship election.
The three-member panel, in a unanimous decision held that Muftwang was not validly sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as provided by Section 285(2) of the Nigerian Constitution.
Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, who led the panel while delivering the lead judgment, cited Section 177 of the Constitution, noting that the PDP did not validly sponsor Manasseh for the governorship election.
The panel held that the party violated the court order that a valid congress be conducted in the 17 local government areas of the state by conducting congress in only five local government areas and as such, it is a nullity.
The court while dismissing the decision of the Plateau State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal held that the issue of qualification is both a pre-election and a post-election matter, contrary to the findings of the tribunal, which held that the appellant lacked the legal right to contest the validity of the respondent.
The court noted that under Section 134 of the Electoral Act, it is the sole right of a political party to sponsor its candidate having met the necessary requirements to do so.
While evoking Section 136 of the Electoral Act, the court ordered INEC to retrieve the certificate of return issued to Governor Mutfwang and issue a fresh one to Goshwe.
INEC had declared Mutfwang the winner of the March 18 governorship election after he scored 525,299 votes to defeat 17 other candidates, including Goshwe, who polled 481,370.
Goshwe challenged Mutfwang’s election at the tribunal, claiming that the governor was not validly nominated and sponsored by PDP and that PDP had no structure to sponsor any candidate for the governorship election.
He alleged that Mutfwang’s election was not conducted in compliance with the Electoral Act, adding that the PDP candidate did not win the majority of lawful votes cast during the election.
The tribunal headed by Justice R. Irele-Ifijeh dismissed the petition for lacking merit.
Not satisfied with the judgment of the tribunal, the APC candidate approached the Court of Appeal, praying it to declare him winner on grounds that the governor was not qualified to have stood election because he was not validly sponsored and nominated by his party.
The APC candidate told the court in his Notice of Appeal that there was over-voting and non-compliance with the 2022 Electoral Act during the election.
Last week, lead counsel to the appellants, Prof. Goke Olagoke (SAN) urged the court to set aside the judgment of the tribunal and declare his client winner.
He told the court that the appellants’ case is that Governor Mutfwang was not qualified to be in the race because of lack of valid sponsorship by a political party, contrary to section 177 (C) of the 1999 Constitution.
Olagoke said his submission was predicated on various court judgments, including the Court of Appeal’s decisions, adding that the court is bound to abide by the decisions for consistency.
In a motion dated October 30 but filed on November 2, 2023, the governor, through his legal team led by a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), Godwin Kanu Agabi (SAN), urged the court to strike out some grounds of the appeal for being incompetent.
He equally filed a notice of preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to adjudicate on the appeal.
Agabi drew the court’s attention to the fact that the nomination and sponsorship of a candidate for election is purely an internal affair of a political party, which the court has no jurisdiction to entertain.
He submitted that the word qualification used by the petitioner is misleading as the issue raised by the petition bordered on nomination and sponsorship.
The court finally entered judgment in favour of the appellant.
Meanwhile, Mutfwang has described the verdict of the court as a temporary setback.
A statement by the governor’s Director of Press and Public Affairs (DOPPA), Mr Gyang Bere last night maintained that the judgment would not deter Mutfwang’s plans of repositioning the state toward steady growth and development.
Mutfwang expressed strong optimism that his mandate would be restored.
He said, “I want to assure the people of Plateau that the mandate they overwhelmingly gave me will be restored; I have instructed my legal team to file an appeal at the Supreme Court.
“I hereby admonish citizens of the state and supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to remain calm, for as long as God remains on the throne, the mandate of the people will not be tampered with.
“I want to also reiterate my commitment to the rule of law and assure you all that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
”I have unwavering faith in the judiciary and the Constitution of Nigeria.”
He appealed to the citizens of the state to be law abiding, adding that the judgment is a temporary setback.
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Federal Government said it was determined to reverse the country’s negative assets liability which stands at N39trn.
The Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Dr. Oluwatoyin Madein disclosed this on Tuesday at a one-day sensitization workshop on National Assets Register and the Strategic Importance of Legacy Asset Rendition in the Implementation of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) Accrual basis Accounting in Nigeria held in Abuja.
The workshop with the theme: “Legacy Assets Rendition and Preparation of Stand-Alone Financial Statements by MDAs was organised by the OAGF for directors of finance, internal audit and heads of accounts of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
She said the reason it appears as though Nigeria has more liabilities than assets is because the country has not been able to collate, evaluate and place value on the assets of the federal government.
She said that Nigeria adopted IPSAS accrual accounting with effect from 1st January 2016 but till date many legacy assets have yet to be recognized, measured and uploaded.
“Consequently we still have huge negative net assets in our 2021 consolidated financial statements which stood at N39 trillion,” she said.
Madein said the strategic importance of legacy asset rendition cannot be overstated. But unfortunately, the pace of rendition by MDAs has been disappointingly slow. “This delay hampers the timeliness and accuracy of the consolidated financial statements and significantly impacts our ability to address the net asset deficit as expected.
She said the federal government has decided to build a National Asset Register (NAR), that will capture all the assets owned by the government, including buildings, land, roads constructed by government, hospitals, schools, equipment and many others.
“We need to take a good inventory of these assets. The financial statement the federal government gives must be accurate, comparable and useful,” she said, adding that the financial statement needs to be useful because donor groups, investors and other international organisations that are interested in the Nigerian economy need to see the value of the country.
According to her, “Legacy asset management represents a pivotal tool for strengthening our fiscal position and alleviating our budgetary pressures.
“By systematically cataloging and valuing legacy assets, MDAs can unlock substantial value that would otherwise remain dormant.”
She warned that her office will initiate measures to enforce compliance, adding that sanctions will be applied to non- complying MDAs that continue to delay these critical renditions.
The AGF gave a deadline of December 31 2024 for all MDAs to submit their stand-alone financial statements which are in three parts: statement of financial position, statement of financial performance and cash flow statement.
“We need that so that by the time we will be presenting the federal government account for 2024 we will be able to shift from a financial statement that we always get negative assets to the one that will have positive assets, meaning that our assets will be over and above our liabilities,” she further stated.
By David Torough, Abuja
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has begun an investigation into the treatment of minors held in police custody, as directed on Friday by President Bola Tinubu.
The minors were among 76 individuals who charged for treason related offences for participating in the August 1-10 #EndBadGovernance protests in many parts of the country.
Their release followed widespread backlash that greeted their arraignment in court on Friday with four of them collapsing in the courtroom.
Their frail and malnourished appearance had sparked public outrage, forcing the Attorney-General of the federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi to take over the case files from the police.
Force spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi said yesterday that the IGP has vowed to address any procedural breaches arising from the detention of the minors.
Adejobi added that the police boss has summoned heads of police investigative units for a conference on Thursday, 7th November to discuss child-friendly investigation practices.
The development has ignited calls for humane treatment of minors and adult suspects while in police custody.
Earlier, the freed minors and other protesters charged with them had arrived at the State House Auditorium in Abuja at 2:00 pm.
They were received by Vice President Kashim Shettima on behalf of President Tinubu with governors of their respective states on ground to take them back home.
The trial judge, Justice Obiora Egwatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja had earlier dismissed the case against the protesters following the withdrawal of the charges by the federal government.
Those that attended the reception ceremony for the protesters were the Deputy Senate President Jubrin Barau, as well as Governors Uba Sani (Kaduna) and Abba Yusuf (Kano) among others.
Other members of the Federal Executive that received the children were the Education Minister, Tunji Alausa; Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Nentawe Yilwatda; and Minister for Environment, Balarabe Lawal.
Others include the Ministers of State for Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Tanko Sununu, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (Northwest), Abdullahi Yakasai.
Meanwhile, several groups and individuals, including human rights lawyers have called on the federal government to see to the education of the children many of whom are out of school.
Making the call yesterday, human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, urged the government to prioritise the rehabilitation of the minors and release them to their families.
Falana also called for the release of minors detained in similar protests in Kano and Borno states and sought an end to the criminalisation of peaceful protests in the country.
On his part, the senator representing Borno South district, Ali Ndume, called for compensation for the protesters for the trauma suffered during their three-month incarceration.
More than 1,000 persons including minors were detained across the country for participating in the protests.
Those that were arraigned in courts were charged for terrorism, arson, treason and other capital offences.
With the release of the minors, Nigerians have expressed the hope that other protesters being detained across various states will also be released in the days ahead.
From Attah Ede, Makurdi
The national grid collapsed once again yesterday throwing the entire nation into darkness.
The latest grid collapse makes it a record eighth time this year alone, despite huge investments in the country’s power sector.
The country recorded more than 93 cases of grid collapse during the eight-year administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2023.
This persistent grid collapse has led to frequent blackouts, impacting businesses and daily life across the country.
Reacting to the development, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) yesterday attributed it to “a partial disturbance at about 1.
52 p.m. following a series of lines and generators tripping.”A statement by TCN’s General Manager Public Affairs, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, said the data from the National Control Centre (NCC) revealed that a part of the grid was not affected by the bulk power disruption.
She, however, did not specify which part of the grid was not affected by the disruption.
Mbah assured that TCN engineers were already working to restore bulk power supply to the states affected by the “partial disturbance.”
According to her, the TCN was able to restore bulk power supply to Abuja at 2.49 pm, and that the company was gradually restoring power to other parts of the country.
”We sincerely apologise for every inconvenience this may cause our electricity customers, ”she said.
Nigeria had, in the past decade, secured about 10 loans totaling about $4.36 billion from the World Bank to address challenges in the sector.
But there has not been any significant improvement even with additional funds from multilateral and donor agencies.
This has heightened speculations that a sizable chunk of the loans may not have been disbursed for the purposes for which they were obtained.
The frequent fluctuations in power supply have continued to take a toll on industrial and domestic consumers leaving frustration and low productivity in the aftermath.
The Bola Tinubu administration has continued to seek additional World Bank loans, securing $1.901 billion in new funds since he assumed office in June 2023.
The administration has also been making frantic efforts to expand the nation’s energy options through renewable energy projects.
The government has also initiated massive solar energy extension, especially to rural communities across the country to bridge the gaping power gaps.
With a population estimated to be more than 200 million, Nigeria has not been able to exceed 5000 Megawatts at any period in the past 10 years despite assurances by successive administrations.
More disturbing to Nigerians is the astronomical increase in electricity tariffs across the board, peaking above 400 percent with the last hike that was affected earlier in the year.
Reacting to the latest supply disruption, the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC), said the reoccurring national power grid collapse was hindering the company’s capacity to supply adequate and constant power to its franchise areas.
Citing the case of Benue State and other areas, the Head, Corporate Communications of JEDC, Dr Elijah Adakole, on Tuesday, said that the disruption had affected Benue State badly.
Adakole, in a statement, said loss of power supply from the national grid occurred Tuesday afternoon at about 1:52pm cutting power supply on all the company’s feeders.
“We hope to restore normal power supply to our esteemed customers as soon as the grid supply is restored back to normalcy.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding as we strive to serve you better”, the statement added.
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