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Programme: CITY TALKS WITH REUBEN ABATI

Time: 12:00pm

Guest: Adeyinka Patrick Olumide-Fusika (SAN)

Topic: "Presidential Election Petition Tribunal Judgement"

Date: 9th September, 2023
                         
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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will on Saturday address World leaders at the 2023 G20 Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India.

The Nigerian leader will address Global Unity in ‘One Earth-One Family-One Future’ Session at the Summit, which will be held at the Bharat Mandapam International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Naija News reports that President Tinubu, who had earlier been welcomed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the venue of the G-20 Summit, will address the gathering at 3:00 p.m. in India and 10:30 a.m. in Nigeria.

Recall that Tinubu on Friday received Foreign Policy and Economic Intelligence briefings ahead of the commencement of the G-20 Summit today.

According to a statement by the President’s special adviser on media and publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu received briefings from the Hon. Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Industry, Trade & Investment.

Taking to the X platform (formerly known as Twitter), Ngelale wrote: “H.E. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu receives comprehensive Foreign Policy & Economic Intelligence briefings from the Hon. Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Industry, Trade & Investment in preparation for tomorrow’s commencement of the G-20 Summit.”

The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has said despair or surrender is not an option in seeking justice on the petitions challenging the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President.

Naija News recalls that PEPT on Wednesday upheld the victory of Tinubu in the 2023 election and dismissed the petitions of Peter Obi and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

On Friday, Peter Obi, during a press briefing in Anambra State, said he was heading to the Supreme Court and would ensure that all the judicial process is exhausted.

In a statement via X, formally known as Twitter, on Saturday, Peter Obi said understandably many LP supporters would be disappointed with the PEPT verdict; however, despair is not an option.

The former governor of Anambra State urged his supporters to keep hope alive as the journey ahead required sacrifice, perseverance and resilience.

He wrote: “Understandably, there has been a note of general disappointment within our fold and, indeed the general population of Nigerians who hoped that the outcome of the February 25th Presidential election would usher in a new and different Nigeria of our dreams. That dream has only been deferred for now but remains alive for all times.

“Since the Tribunal verdict, there has been a note of general despair among the Obidients and the generality of our supporters. I assure you all that on this journey, despair or surrender is not in our options. Today, I want to personally reach out and encourage you all to keep hope alive. Considering the challenges that lie ahead of us as a movement, despair is not an option.

“Nothing good in life comes easy. Throughout history, positive changes come only with sacrifices, perseverance, resilience and fluctuating fortunes. Right from the onset of our journey, I told you all that the journey upon which we were about to embark was not a short sprint, but a long and tough marathon. It was always going to be difficult, painful and excruciating.

“We set out knowing fully well that the forces we are up against are entrenched and formidable but not insurmountable. They would resist the wind of change and try to push us into surrender or despair. We must not succumb to their design.

“I am inspired that we have endured the odds placed in our way at every point. In such a short space of time, we have persevered to get to the point where we cannot be ignored any longer. Therefore, I urge you to abide and never think of giving up.

“I wish to assure you that our recent disappointments have inspired me to re-dedicate myself to the cause of building a New Nigeria. For me, rescuing Nigeria is a lifelong commitment, and on this journey, we shall be resolute but orderly, principled but lawful.”

African Union (AU) has become a permanent member of the G-20 group, a move proposed earlier in June.

Naija News reports that this was made known at the ongoing summit in New Delhi, India, on Saturday by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The African Union was made a permanent member of the G20, comprising the world’s richest and most powerful countries.

The African Union, a continental body of 55 member states, now has the same status as the European Union – the only regional bloc with a full membership. Its previous designation was “invited international organization.”

In his opening remarks at the summit, Modi invited the AU, represented by Chairperson Azali Assoumani, to sit at the table of G20 leaders as a permanent member.

In a post on his official social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Modi said: “Honoured to welcome the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 Family. This will strengthen the G20 and also strengthen the voice of the Global South.”

Other issues being decided on at the summit include more loans to developing nations by multilateral institutions, reform of international debt architecture, regulations on cryptocurrency, and the impact of geopolitics on food and energy security.

The 38-page draft circulated among members left the “geopolitical situation” paragraph blank — reflecting deep division over the war in Ukraine — but 75 other paragraphs indicated broad agreement on issues such as cryptocurrencies and reforms in multilateral development banks.

The National Legal Adviser of the Labour Party (LP), Kehinde Edun has condemned the Lamidi Apapa faction for claiming the party did not pay party agents in the 2023 presidential election.

Edun described the statement of the faction’s spokesman, Abayomi Arabambi during an interview with Punch as lies.

Speaking on the issue of not presenting documents from polling units at the presidential tribunal, Edun noted that the ones requested by the court are from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and not party agents.

He further stated that the party faced that issue because INEC acted as if it was at war with the party.

Edun, in an interview with Punch, said, “That (not paying agents) is a lie. What was required to prove our case was the one in INEC’s custody. For it to be admissible, it must come from the proper channel. So it is not true. The court also knew where these things were. We are only deceiving ourselves.

“We applied for INEC to produce them and the court gave an order. But INEC refused to bring them. It was as if INEC was at war with us. Everybody was under pressure including the court and INEC. The law is that you have to prove your case and the court is only concerned with what is before it.

“Nobody pays attention to the Apapa group. They are a group of suspended former members who are now doing the bidding of their paymasters. So it is expected they will be happy with the verdict of the tribunal. As far as we are concerned, they are not members or a faction of the Labour Party. They are an extension of the ruling party who they are working for. They are rejoicing with their paymaster.”

Obi’s media aide, Tai Obasi, speaking on the same issue said, “You know what the Apapa faction is all about. It is part of the old order we are fighting to change and struggling to ensure Nigeria becomes a new Nigeria. You can see those who don’t want things to be done right. Apapa and his group are the comedy aspect of the party.

“The fact is that you cannot stop halfway when you want to do something right. You have to see it to the end. The judgment at the tribunal was not right. That’s why we are heading to the Supreme Court.”

The chief spokesman of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, simply said, “We won’t want to join issues with the Apapa faction. Let them continue with their allegation. We will see how it can take them. They can’t do more damage than what they have done already.”

Following President Bola Tinubu’s approval, the Federal Government is set to construct 7,000 houses in Kaduna and other states affected by conflict in the northern part of the country.

Apart from Kaduna, others are Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Niger and Benue states, Vice President Kashim Shettima said on Friday. He stated this in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital during the commissioning of projects executed by the state government in the last 100 days.

The former Borno State governor who was representing Tinubu said the Nigerian leader has approved N50 billion for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to kick-start the Pulaku initiative – a non-kinetic solution to the crisis confronting the people of the northwest region.

“The President has approved the construction of 1000 houses in Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna Niger and Benue, with all the ancillary facilities of schools, clinics, veterinary clinics and ranches for the Fulani community; in Kaduna and Benue, he insisted that all the victims must be carried along,” Shettima was quoted in a statement by his media aide, Olusola Abiola.

Shettima said all parts of the country will benefit from the developmental strides of President Tinubu, while also stating the Federal Government’s plan to re-ignite wheat production.

He added that President Tinubu was aware of the challenges confronting Nigerians and would make efforts to address them.

“Issues confronting Nigerians will be addressed. We will use all available vehicles to fix things. President Tinubu means well for this country and he is determined to change the fortunes of the nation for the better,” he assured.

“He is a person filled with a lot of empathy for the less privileged in the society. Some of the painful decisions taken by the government were products of the circumstances we have found ourselves in.

“Be rest assured that in the coming weeks and months, this government will unveil a lot of projects and programmes that will touch the lives of many.”

Gunmen suspected to be bandits have burnt down the parish house of Saint Raphael’s Catholic Church in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State, killing a seminarian in the process.

An eye witness told Channels Television that the bandits in their large numbers stormed the Saint Raphael Parish at Fadan Kamantan, Kafanchan Diocese on Thursday night and set the building ablaze alongside a vehicle parked on the premises.

Sources said the late seminarian, Stephen Danlami, died from the smoke he inhaled while trying to escape from the raging fire, while other priests inside the parish house were said to have escaped.

Shortly after the incident, police authorities in the state said it had launched a manhunt for the assailants.

The spokesman of the Kaduna State Police Command Manir Hassan said the bandits stormed the worship centre in droves.

According to him, while the assailants could not enter the main building, they set the house on fire alongside a motorcycle and vehicle part on the premises.

The police spokesman corroborated eyewitness accounts that the victim died due to the smoke he inhaled while trying to escape from the burning building.

The President Election Petitions Court (PEPC) has released a copy of its judgement in which it affirmed the election of President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday.

The Court of Appeal hosting the election court released the 798-page document yesterday a few hours after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, had raised the alarm that the court was yet to provide his lawyers and those of PDP certified true copies of the judgment.

Soon after it was released, copy of the judgement went viral on social media, with members of Whatsapp groups posting it on their various platforms.

Earlier yesterday, Atiku had said it was anti-democratic that three days since the PEPC delivered its judgment on his petition challenging the outcome of the February 25 presidential election his lawyers cannot access the copies.

He added that the situation is concerning in light of the fact that he and his lawyers have just 14 days to file their appeal to the Supreme Court on the judgment.

A statement issued by his special assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu, to this effect noted: “By not making available to Atiku Abubakar, Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, the certified true copies of the judgment of Wednesday for its filings at the Supreme Court, the Presidential Election Petition Court, is undermining Atiku’s and Nigerians quest for justice.”

Expressing Atiku and PDP’s frustration in progressing with the filing of their appeal at the Supreme Court, Shaibu reminded the PEPC that “it had made heavy weather at the delivery of its judgment on Wednesday that parties need to adhere strictly to the time schedule set by the court.”

He said, “The PEPC is not oblivious that three precious days of the 14-day limit for parties to file their processes at the highest court have been wasted by the Appeal Court.

“We wish to remind the PEPC that it struck out the testimonies of some of the witnesses of Atiku during the litigation at the court of first instance because their statements on oath were filed out of time.

“And now, from all intents and purposes, the same court wants to have Atiku and PDP’s appeal to the Supreme Court disqualified by the reason of time deadline.

“Does the PEPC not understand that the lawyers representing Atiku/PDP need to digest the judgment as contained in the CTC which represents the authentic pronouncements made in court on Wednesday in order to formulate its case for filing?” Shaibu queried.

He said further that there can be no justification for refusal of the court to make available the CTC of its judgement for Atiku to continue with his quest on behalf of over 200 million Nigerians for substantial justice as opposed to the judgement rendered by the PEPC.

“It is curious that the same PEPC that claimed that the judgement was ready as at the time it was delivered on Wednesday is still grappling with typos and errors, according to available information. Why did the PEPC not wait till next week to deliver the judgment as it would still have met the legal deadline instead of rushing to render a judgement which text is still undergoing panel beating?

“It is anti-democratic of the court to steal, already at the last count, 3 precious days out of the 14-day time limit for Atiku to file his processes at the Supreme Court. The lost time would never be recovered,” he added.

Laolu Akande, former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s aide believes the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) inability to electronically transmit results of the presidential and National Assembly polls has broken Nigerians’ trust in the agency.

While INEC had in the lead up to the February 2023 exercise repeatedly said it would transmit polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), that did not happen during the presidential and National Assembly elections.

Despite criticisms from Nigerians, the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) ruled that the electoral umpire is at liberty to determine how to transmit election results.

In the wake of the development, Akande said INEC’s inability to e-transmit results has reduced the commission’s trust level among Nigerians.

“It is important to establish something we cannot basically run away from. INEC came out of this election as a damaged good. There is no doubt about that. INEC itself set up a standard. INEC determined the guidelines. INEC committed to the people of Nigeria that this is how we are going to declare the result of this election. In fact, the chairman of INEC went abroad and said, ‘What we are going to do is that this results, when we get it, we would put it on IReV in real-time’,” he said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday.

According to him, the comment heightened people’s trust in the electoral umpire.

“But guess what? When it was time for INEC to fulfill its guidelines – for certain reasons we could talk about that- INEC failed to do what it said it would do. Now it is right that if you look at the law, and I think the judges also affirmed, INEC has not really broken the law. But INEC has broken the trust of the Nigerian people,” he added.

The development, he argued, not only affects INEC’s integrity, it raises legitimacy questions for those who won the elections.

“It is a problem for political legitimacy for people who came out of that system,” the former VP aide said.

“So, there is a lot of cynicism, there is a lot of distrust [about those declared winners]. INEC is responsible for that,” he noted.

The Kano State Government has approved N3.57 billion to fund a foreign scholarship programme for 550 graduates with first-class degrees from the 44 local government areas of the state.

The decision was made during the recent Executive Council meeting where several key initiatives were given the green light.

“The Kano State Government is committed to nurturing and supporting our exceptional talent,” the state’s Information Commissioner Baba Halilu said in a press conference after the Friday meeting.

“By sponsoring 550 first-class graduates, we are investing in the future leaders of our state.”

The scholarship programme is poised to provide these graduates with opportunities for advanced education abroad, further enhancing their skills and knowledge. This move is expected to have a profound impact on the state’s human capital development.

In addition to the foreign scholarship program, the Council approved N63 million for the procurement of HIV test kits, highlighting the government’s dedication to public health initiatives. The funds are expected to contribute to efforts in combating the spread of the virus within the state.

Furthermore, the Council approved an allocation of N15 million for community mosquito spraying across Kano State. This measure seeks to mitigate the health risks associated with mosquito-borne diseases and ensure the well-being of residents.

Stakeholders believe these initiatives underscore the Kano State Government’s commitment to educational advancement, public health, and community welfare.