By Jude Opara, Abuja

A Labour Party( LP) affiliated group – Labour Party Coalition for Good Governance has raised the alarm over what it described as desperate moves by the Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah over the fog surrounding his discharge certificate  from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

The group warned that if not checked, Mbah’s moves posed a national security threat, just as it was cable of destroying a major national institution such as NYSC.

Spokesman of Coalition, Ken Asigwa, in a Press conference in Abuja, said it was a grave concern that Mbah was adopting unorthodox tactics to cover the allegation of certificate forgery and thereby keep himself in office.

The specifically alleged that Mbah was  “shopping in a desperate attempt to illegally keep himself in power” in direct reference to  court cases initiated by the Governor in Abuna and Enugu  with intent to secure judgment that would stop the NYSC from proceeding with the injuries into his  discharge certificate forgery allegation.

“You may recall that the newly sworn-in governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah, has been on a voyage of forum shopping in a desperate attempt to illegally keep himself in power.

“It is this desperation that has led him to different courts in both Enugu and Abuja, where he has made efforts to procure black market judgements to forestall the inquiry into how he procured the fake NYSC discharge certificate that he parades.

“In one of such desperate moves by Mbah, he made attempts to gag the NYSC by getting a pliant judge to issue him with a black market order that sought to abridge and erode the powers of the Enugu State Governorship Election Tribunal and the NYSC, constitutionally created bodies, from carrying out their statutory and constitutional functions.

“Since the revelation by the NYSC and its Director-General that the newly sworn-in governor of Enugu State, Mr. Peter Mbah, parades a forged NYSC discharge certificate, the governor has launched a syndicated campaign of calumny against the NYSC and its Director-General.

“At a time when the NYSC is celebrating 50 years of unblemished existence and service to Nigerians, Peter Mbah should be restrained by all well-meaning Nigerians before he destroys that revered institution.

“The above exhortation is vital given that the governor, like a bull in a China Shop, has a litany of inglorious past records of a penchant for the destruction of revered institutions of government,” Asogwa alleged  at the press conference.

“You may recall that shortly after the exit of Peter Mbah as the Commissioner for Finance, Enugu State in 2007, the State Ministry of Finance office was gutted by fire in some circumstances that bore the imprimatur of an orchestrated plan designed to destroy evidence.

“Also kindly remember that when Chimaroke Nnamani, the former governor of the State, was charged with corruption, Mbah’s name was initially included by the EFCC after some rigorous and painstaking investigations that revealed that he had a case to answer in the mindless plundering of the State between 1999 and 2007.

“As a result, a 31-count charge was preferred against Mbah and his co-accused by the EFCC at the Federal High Court, Lagos. “However, how Mbah’s name was thereafter surreptitiously left out in the course of the prosecution still baffles the Enugu people.

“Again, during the fuel subsidy probe of the Jonathan administration, Peter Mbah and his Pinnacle Oil were invited by the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee on the probe of the fuel subsidy regime of that administration. Enugu people, to date, still consider how Peter Mbah eventually wriggled out of that probe as one of the wonders of this world.

“Currently, Peter Mbah is back in his elements, trying to destroy both the judiciary and the NYSC in a desperate bid to foist himself on the Enugu people who rejected him at the poll” the Group further alleged.

“In taking you back to memory lane, you may recall that Mbah’s NYSC saga blew open after the NYSC’s response to a Freedom of Information inquiry by a law firm into the validity of the discharge certificate Mr. Mbah submitted to the INEC.

“When the NYSC responded and repudiated the certificate, a non-governmental organization brought a direct criminal complaint of forgery of the NYSC Certificate against Mbah at the Zone 6 Magistrate Court.

“The court thereafter ordered the AIG Zone 7 to carry out an investigation on the authenticity of the said NYSC Certificate. The AIG, on his part, wrote to the NYSC to confirm the authenticity of the said NYSC Certificate.

“As can be gleaned from court filings made by the NYSC in response to Mbah’s suit against the Corps, it is evident that the NYSC had long responded to the Police inquiry by sending a letter that equally repudiated the discharge certificate to the office of the Inspector General of Police.

“Why the police have chosen not to respond to the Wuse Magistrate Court’s order still bears the hallmark of Mbah’s pattern of comprising every institution.

“Having set the above tone, we wish to forewarn Nigerians as follows:

“The implication of allowing Peter Mbah to destroy the NYSC, the way he had in the past destroyed other institutions of government, is that going forward, issuing authorities in Nigeria will no longer be the authority saddled with the responsibility of confirming the authenticity of certificates issued by them.

“For the straight understanding of Nigerians, the import of the dangerous game Peter Mbah is playing with his NYSC discharge certificate saga is that in the unlikely event that he succeeds in getting the court to validate his non-existent NYSC discharge certificate, all that is required by anyone is to go to a business center to forge certificate, or is to go to court to get an order validating the certificate and that way the certificate would be accepted as being authentic, irrespective of such certificate having not been issued by the appropriate issuing authority.

“We, therefore, urge Nigerians not to stand by and allow one desperate fellow to destroy the integrity of a national institution that has served Nigeria well since 1973,” the Group warned.

It said the NYSC needed “collective protection” from those it described as “desperate power scavengers” who acquired notoriety for the destruction of anything that stood   in their  while pursuing their ambition.

The legal team of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday said it was denied access to electoral documents by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), despite paying N6 million.

The team is requesting the documents as exhibits, to tender before the presidential election petition tribunal, to prove its case against the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the last election.

Eyitayo Jegede, lead counsel to Abubakar, told the five-man tribunal yesterday that INEC’s refusal to provide the documents is frustrating the PDP candidate’s case.

Jegede had sought to tender results from 10 out of 21 LGAs in Kogi state to prove the former vice-president’s case against Tinubu.

The LGAs whose results were sought to be tendered are Ankpa, Dekina, Idah, Ofu, Olamaboro, Yagba East, Yagba West, Kabba-Bunu, and Igalamela Odolu.

Jegede said the team had to subpoena INEC officials to provide the required documents before the tribunal.

However, Haruna Tsammani, chairman of the tribunal, said the court would have difficulty marking and numbering the documents as exhibits, adding that it was insensitive to tender such sensitive documents piecemeal.

Jegede sought adjournment of the case to enable his team to get the required documents from INEC.

The commission, represented by Abubakar Mahmoud, did not object to Jegede’s request for adjournment.

Also, Wole Olanipekun, Tinubu’s lawyer and Lateef Fagbemi,  counsel to the All Progressives Congress (APC), did not oppose the request for adjournment of the case.

Tsammani subsequently adjourned the case to June 7.

Tinubu, the standard bearer of the APC, was declared the winner of the February 25 election with 8,794,726 votes.

The outcome of the election is being challenged by Abubakar and Peter Obi, flagbearer of the Labour Party (LP).

Court Dismisses Suit Against Tinubu over 25% FCT Votes

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the suit filed by five residents of the federal capital territory (FCT), who sought to stop the inauguration of Bola Tinubu as president.

Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge, yesterday, ordered the lawyer representing the five residents to pay the sum of N10 million each to the attorney-general of the federation and the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

Ekwo held that the plaintiffs have no locus standi to file the suit.

The presiding judge also said the suit can only be filed at the presidential election petition tribunal and not the federal high court.

The plaintiffs had averred that Tinubu failed to secure at least 25 percent of votes cast in the FCT.

The suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/578/2023 was filed on April 28.

The plaintiffs — Anyaegbunam Okoye, David Adzer, Jeffrey Ucheh, Osang Paul and Chibuike Nwanchukwu — sued for themselves and on behalf of other residents and registered voters in the FCT.

They had asked the court to determine “whether or not the person who is to be elected president of the federal republic of Nigeria, and consequently administrator of the FCT through the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and the Federal Capital Territory Development Authority, on the first ballot is required by section 134(2)(b) of the Constitution to obtain at least 25% of the votes cast in the FCT”.

The plaintiffs also wanted a declaration extending former President Buhari’s tenure, while also asking the court to set aside the certificate of return issued to Tinubu and restrain the CJN and any other judicial officer from swearing him in.

Mr Mudashiru Obasa,  reelected Speaker, Lagos State 10th House of Assembly, says the newly inaugurated assembly will not tolerate executive interference.

Obasa (APC-Agege I) made this known  in  his acceptance speech to mark the beginning of the 10th assembly at its complex in Lagos on Tuesday.

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu had made proclamation of the 10th assembly which marks commencement of the beginning of the legislative arms of government.

Obasa was subsequently reelected for the third term as the speaker of the assembly while Mrs Mojisola Meranda was elected as the Deputy speaker.

Obasa said the legislature must be allowed to operate independently, especially in line with Section 101 of the Constitution.

The speaker said the sanctity of the legislature as an independent body was adequately provided for in the Constitution in accordance with the principles of Separation of Powers.

“In this regard, no other arm of government is allowed or permitted to interfere with the functioning and independence of the legislature in a manner that will make legislature become subservient or subordinate.

“It must be underlined that in any constitutional democracy, the legislature must be allowed to operate independently.

“This is especially in line with  Section 101 of the Constitution which confers on it the power to regulate itself, without violation,” he said.

Obasa said that  to improve the legislature and establish good governance,  the lawmakers must be steadfast and remove any and all obstacles in their path, saying that he had faith that they would succeed.

He, however,  said assembly would sustain its cordial relationship and robust cooperation with the executive arm of government.

However, Obasa stated  clearly that the 10th assembly would not compromise the sanctity of its institutional independence and constitutional roles.

The speaker further said he expected that resolutions passed by the house would be given favourable considerations just like bills passed by the house.

The speaker urged Nigerians to embrace the removal of fuel subsidy  as it had a lasting positive effect on the country.

He said Nigerians should take a cue from the introduction of the mobile communications networks in Nigeria years ago and how they were beyond the reach of many citizens, saying that today, mobile phones were everywhere and calls were cheaper.

The speaker said the lawmakers must prioritise the welfare of their constituents and ensure that the policies and legislative framework were geared toward meeting their needs.

He said under his leadership, the house would operate an open and inclusive administration where all members were carried along and given equal opportunity to contribute toward the development of the state.

The speaker pledged his commitment to serve the house with humility, honesty, and dedication, saying that together they would  leave a legacy of excellence that generations yet unborn would be proud of. (NAN)