A former deputy national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has said the country’s 1999 constitution is the reason things are not working.

According to the former military Governor of Ondo State, the country’s constitution, which is copied from the American constitution, needs to be changed because it will not take the country to the promised land.

George stated this on Tuesday at an event which took place at the Function Suite, Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos State.

The PDP chieftain asserted that the Nigerian constitution is military in setting and needed to be reviewed.

He said, “Having served that long in the military, I can authoritatively confirm to you that the Nigerian constitution is absolutely military in setting. In the military, orders come from top to bottom.

“But in a democratic dispensation, powers come from the people to the top. But we have copied the American constitution, and that’s why things are not working. We must deceive ourselves if we think this constitution will take us to the promised land.”

Speaking further, the PDP chieftain also backed the idea of state policing, noting that it would be a very effective way of securing the country.

A Labour Party member, Hon. Mbachu Henry, representing Awka South Constituency I, has returned as a volunteer Physics teacher in his community public school.

In the letter sighted by Naija News, dated 13th July, the lawmaker wrote to the principal of Igwebuike Grammer School in Awka South in Anambra State requesting to teach as a volunteer instructor.

Mbachu, who recognized the scarcity of science teachers in government owned secondary schools across the state, noted that he is doing this because of his passion for education.

The statement reads partly: “Pursuant to his mission of building a future for the Children of Awka South 1 Constituency, On Tuesday, July 18, 2023, Hon. Nigeria Henry Mbachu officially resumed as a Secondary School Physics teacher at Igwebuike Grammar School Awka, amidst cheers and extreme excitement by the

“Recall that on Thursday, June 27, 2023, the young lawmaker embarked on an oversight visit to Igwebuike Grammar School, Awka, to access the learning environment and condition of Students at the institution, which coincidentally happens to be his alma mater. Interestingly, having taught in the Institution as a Physics Teacher at the beginning of his career, the Lawmaker wrote to the Commissioner of Education to be a volunteer teacher of Physics in the great citadel of learning that has produced giants, a request that left all in awe and admiration.

“Having secured approval from the Commissioner of Education on July 13, 2023, the Lawmaker appreciated the Executive Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, CFR, for the successful recruitment of 5000 teachers to improve the workforce at the Public Secondary Schools in the state, an idea that has impacted positively on the development of the State’s educational system.

“Concluding, he assured the good people of Awka South 1 Constituency that he would devote his spare legislative time to committing his ample talents and experience to raising the next generation of Leaders.”

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio has assured Nigerian workers of the readiness of the government to review the salaries of its workers as a move towards cushioning the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy.

The President of the Senate, gave the assurance while receiving in courtesy, the Governor of Ekiti State, Abiodun Oyebanji and members of the National Assembly from the state.

Akpabio also noted that the removal of fuel subsidy by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration was to address corruption in the Petroleum sector. He said the removal of fuel subsidy was the beginning of fighting corruption in the system.

Accoring to Akpabio, "Nigeria as a country would not have survived the next few years if the fuel subsidy had not been removed, adding, salaries and wages of workers would be reviewed in order to ensure that Nigerians have a living wage."

Speaking further, Akpabio told the governor that "the Senate is very proud of your representatives in the 10th National Assembly. They are commtted and dedicated members of the legislature and that means the people of Ekiti, the "land of knowledge" have a lot to offer this country particularly, the Senate. We will work with Ekiti State for the overall benefit of Nigerians", he declared 

Speaking earlier, the Ekiti State Governor, Abiodun Oyebanji, commemded the President of the Senate for his achievements in office in the last one month. He declared the total support of the people and government to the success of his tenure as the President of the 10th Senate and their readiness to partner with the legislature to move the country forward.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s administration over the proposed N8,000 monthly cash palliative of N8,000 for 12 million Nigerian families in the space of six months, saying it was a ploy in robbing the poor to pay the rich.

Recall that Tinubu, last week, wrote a letter to the National Assembly seeking approval of an $800 million loan to be disbursed to 12 million households in the portion of N8,000 each, designed to cushion the effect of removal of fuel subsidy.

Reacting to this palliative, NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, in a press release, on Tuesday, said the Federal Government is already using dictatorship style to impoverish Nigerians.

Ajaero further said the FG did not consider the plight of the Nigerian workers before making the decision on the palliative, as it said, “We have restrained ourselves from making further comments publicly on the vexatious issues around the recent but unfortunate unilateral hike in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in the guise of the so-called subsidy withdrawal which has unleashed predictably as we had earlier warned unimaginable and unprecedented hardship, sorrow, anguish and suffering upon Nigerian workers and masses.

“Our resolve is anchored on our strong and abiding faith in the outcomes of the processes of social dialogue and its mechanisms, especially within a democratic setting which fortunately all the major stakeholders in the nation’s socioeconomic framework pleads to at this particular point in time though some have demonstrably shown that it does not go deeper than the rhetoric.

“However, the government of Nigeria seems to have been misled into believing that resorting to impunity and imperiousness in governance in a democracy is a beneficial option as it pursues its stated and unstated objectives.

“It is this belief that we are sure has continued shaping the actions of this government since its inauguration on the 29th day of May, 2023 to continue inflicting mindless and heartless pains on the populace one after the other without the decency of embracing the tenets of democracy which requires wide and deep stakeholder consultation on weighty matters of state.

“Nigerians would remember that the federal government had called for dialogue in the aftermath of its disastrous forlorn trajectory in the astronomical increase in Petroleum product price and our subsequent call for a nation-wide industrial action. We were also witnesses to the actions of the federal government in procuring an unholy injunction from the Courts which were served us in Gestapo style by trucks laden with fully armed soldiers and Policemen.

“In all of these provocations, we remained committed to the principles of the Rule of Law, good conscience and democracy so that we can continue to be the moral compass for leaders in the public space. This explained our decision to suspend action on the proposed strike.”

Ajaero said, “As it stands, rather than reciprocate the goodwill of Nigerian workers, the federal government has insisted on threading the path of dictatorship and seeking to impoverish the people further by taking steps that can only be described as robbing the people of Nigeria to pay and feed the Rich.

“It is on this basis that the NLC strongly condemns the decision of the Tinubu-led administration to seek the approval of the National Assembly to obtain another tranche of external loans worth N500b from the World Bank for the purposes of carrying out a phantom palliative measure to cushion the effect of its poorly thought-out hike in the prices of Premium Motor Spirit.

“Remember that the $ 800 million which was already proposed before the devaluation of the Naira by this government was worth about N400 billion then but is now worth about N650 billion after devaluation. It is from this, it proposes to bring out N500 billion for distribution.

“The proposal to pay N8,000 to each of the so-called 12 million poorest Nigerian households for a period of six months insults our collective intelligence and makes a mockery of our patience and abiding faith in social dialogue which the government may have alluded to albeit pretentiously.

“The further proposal to pay National Assembly members the sum of N70 billion and the Judiciary N36b is the most insensitive, reckless and brazen diversion of our collective patrimony into the pockets of public officers whose sworn responsibility it is to protect our nation’s treasury. We believe that this may amount to hush money and outright bribery of the other arms of government to acquiesce the aberration.

“It is unconscionable that a government that has foisted so much hardship on the people within nearly two months of coming into office will make a proposal that clearly rewards the rich in public office to the detriment of the poor. What this means all this while is that the government is seeking ways of robbing the very poor Nigerians so that the rich can become richer.

“There is no other way to explain the proposal to pay a misery sum of N8,000 Naira to each of the mysterious poorest 12 million Households for six months which amounts to N48,000 and pay just 469 National Legislators N70b or about N149m each while the Judiciary that has about 72 Appeal Court Judges, 33 National Industrial Court Judges, 75 Federal High Court Judges and 21 Supreme Court Judges and a total of about 201 Judges receives a total of N35b or N174m each. If these other two arms are projected to receive this, what members of the Executive Council will receive is better left to the imagination of Nigerians perhaps, the balance of N150b will go to them.

“These proposals are not just unacceptable to Nigerian workers but are also dictatorial and thus undemocratic. It is not a product of social dialogue which would have produced collectively negotiated outcomes by critical national stakeholders. We had thought that this government given the circumstances of its emergence ought to have been a stickler to all the preachments of the fine tenets of democracy which would have shored up its image and begun to build legitimacy for itself unfortunately, it seems to be in a hurry to abandon the remaining pretensions to democracy that the previous administration left behind.

“Furthermore, the actions of the federal government show that it does not have trust and confidence in the very Presidential Committee that it set up to take a comprehensive look at the consequences of the Petroleum Product price hike and make recommendations on the way forward to ameliorate its negative impacts upon the citizenry. What this means is that the government may actually not be interested in the work of the Committee and may have used it as a window to pretend to Nigerians that it is taking steps towards dealing with the consequences of its policies.

“We do not understand why the federal government would seek to undermine itself as its action suggests. Why not wait for the Committee to sit and come up with the needed recommendations which would then guide the government’s fiscal and monetary policies? Seeking to borrow and going to the NASS for an approval means that it has already taken decisions on what it wants to do and has a budget thus is in need to borrow to fund these activities. Like they will tell you; it is a fait accompli.

“We reiterate that we do not have confidence in how the data for the never changing 12m poorest households was generated neither do we have confidence in the mechanisms being pursued for the distribution of the cash transfers. The history of such transfers especially the school feeding programmes even while the children were at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Trader Moni saga fills Nigerians with trepidation reminding us of the continued heist of our collective resources by those in Public office.

“We have continually demanded that this register be made public but, it seems to have become an instrument of the occult shrouded in mystery and wielded by the grandmasters whenever opportunities like this present themselves.

It is important to inform Nigerians that despite having shown our readiness to commence work in the Committees, the federal government which convenes the meetings is yet to inaugurate the National Steering Committee thus stalling the Work of the Proposed Committees.

“If the government had wanted an expedited action which Nigerians want more, the best approach would have been to quickly inaugurate the Committees and allow them do their work but as we write, nothing has been done except the continuation of the borrowing spree and subsequent allocation to themselves.

“NLC would not want to continue to be part of the usual charade of Committees with outcomes that are never implemented. We would not want to waste the time of Nigerians especially workers on Committees that have already been programmed to fail and thus ignored.

“We do not want to provide a cover for the government to get away with the hardship it has imposed on the people. We do not want to legitimize impunity.

As a result, if the government does not want to stop these fortuitous actions that it is pursuing in the name of palliatives, we will be forced to constructively review our engagement with the government on this vexatious issue and take matters into our own hands.”

A recent check on ticket price showed that a one-way economy class ticket from Lagos to London on Turkish Airlines cost $1,636 (N1,313,708, using the rate of N803/$ on the I&E window).

But a one-way ticket from Cotonou to London on Turkish Airlines cost $469 (N376,607) for the same date.

A flight from South Africa to London or Istanbul, despite the long distance, has always been cheaper than flights from Lagos to London or Istanbul, on the same airline and same date.

The difference in ticket prices has made a number of Nigerian passengers fly from Accra, Ghana to London, Canada and other frequently visited destinations in a bid to cut costs.

The question then is why the wide disparity in ticket prices from Nigeria and other African destinations? Is it just a rip-off as many have alleged or there are several factors that contribute to this worrisome trend?

While foreign airlines have linked the high cost of tickets to the exchange rate in Nigeria and their trapped funds, some aviation stakeholders have argued that other African countries with high exchange rate and trapped funds still have relatively cheaper fares than there is in Nigeria.

Some stakeholders have argued that foreign airlines have continued to leverage demand and the absence of Nigerian carriers on international routes to “rip off” Nigerians.

In 2019 when Air Peace commenced flights from Lagos to the United Arab Emirates, base fares immediately dropped on the route from N400,000 on Emirates and Qatar to about N250,000.

“We just need our local airlines to stand up to the task and compete with these foreign airlines coming here to rip us off. All foreign airlines operating in Nigeria increased fares exponentially but same airlines’ tickets are cheaper in neighbouring countries to the same routes,” a stakeholder who did not want to be mentioned told BusinessDay.

Another stakeholder explained that Virgin Atlantic tried to fly to Accra from London with the same aircraft configured for Nigeria with heavy emphasis on upper class but it quietly quit even at the lower fares.

“Nigerians were now flying to Ghana to take advantage of the slightly lower fares to the UK. If no one can bankroll an airline with the financial muscle to equip it with dozens of aircraft to fly locally then even international is a near impossibility. If we lower our taxes and improve efficiency then the airlines could lower their fares. If we code share on lucrative routes with local airlines partnering to take a small share we might be able to get in the game,” he said.

He noted that if Nigerians accepted that jet turboprop aircraft are the best Nigeria can afford for local flights and had a hundred of them, the country would have the beginnings of an industry.

He said: “As long as we scare away the only airline in the world that was persistently trying to do business with us because they understand our market and value our custom (Ethiopian Airways), we aren’t flying anywhere in a hurry. It will take us 100 years.

“When you look at the taxes airlines are charged in conjunction with exchange rate issues (hopefully now rested but they still need to get their money out) coupled with lack of competition on the route, they can pretty much charge what they like, provided they continue to get passengers who are willing to pay.”

Last month, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) disclosed that Nigeria owed $812.2 million out of $2.27 billion trapped funds, making it the country with the highest trapped funds globally.

Kingsley Nwokeoma, president of Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria, told BusinessDay that foreign airlines are not ripping off Nigerians in anyway but the exchange rate and trapped funds which is close to one billion dollars has forced them to block the low inventories (low fares) in Nigeria while these low fares are available in other African ticket selling platforms.

He said this action is simply to reduce the amount of trapped funds in the country.

“If the government does not work with foreign airlines to resolve the issue, it will affect the Nigerian economy and will be a plus to other neighbouring countries,” Nwokeoma said.

He advised the Central Bank Nigeria (CBN) to sit down with the airlines and try to see how they would pay part of the money to the airlines. “Boeing will not ask the airlines if people are repatriating money or not. They want their money paid. The same applies to other service providers,” he added.

The AFARN president said that the amount of money being owed by the CBN “is embarrassing because it is a business these airlines are running and if there are no funds, it will definitely affect safety”.

Seyi Adewale, an aviation analyst and chief executive officer of Mainstream Cargo Limited, told BusinessDay that international airlines are significantly benefitting from a barrage of odds against the Nigerian travelling citizens, adding that the odds could start from an overview that the propaganda is generally not in Nigeria’s favour.

Adewale said: “The general narrative that international airlines have trapped funds already places us at a disadvantage as resounded by IATA.

“Secondly, the notion that pre-existed the floatation of the naira is that there was a wide disparity and indeed an arbitrage between official naira dollar exchange rate and that of the parallel exchange rate that accentuated the controversy of what exchange rate the airlines are to adopt and how this affects the repatriation of their funds.

“There were about four exchange rate platforms with significant differing rates amongst all the four. This may have been tamed by the recent fact that the naira-dollar now has managed-floatation policy from the new federal government that has potentially limited the propaganda narrative against Nigeria. It is instructive to note the out-of-box thinking that is now at play regarding the currency and debt swap allegedly adopted by Ethiopian Airlines and Dangote Group.”

He said the international airlines benefit from the fact that domestic airlines are yet to substantially demonstrate the capacity to fly long haul routes and “Nigeria does not have a national carrier able to ‘fight back’ in a reasonable manner or benefit from the signed Bilateral Air Service Agreement with the respective countries”.

He said it will not be surprising that the countries party to these agreements are not willing, interested or supportive of the recognition of the domestic airlines in a fair manner.

“Relating to our culture, the propensity for Nigerians to travel at the slightest instance further exacerbates this issue with its hugely dispersed Diaspora population,” Adewale said.

“It may please us to remember that airline ticketing/ selling rates are also demand and supply based. This can be proven with the high disparity between flying in or out of Lagos as compared with that of Abuja,” he said.

Olumide Ohunayo, an industry analyst and director of research at Zenith Travels, said the continuous increase in ticket on the Nigerian route is because of the demand pull.

According to Ohunayo, this demand pull is not being met by capacity on the route and that is why the price difference is so much.

He said: “As popular as the London route is with 21 frequencies already used to the maximum by British carriers, we need a representative on this route. Listening to the Air Peace chairman, it is not the will but the support. Government needs to support local locals on international routes.

“When an airline flies into another country, it becomes a flag on that route. The ministry of justice, foreign affairs and aviation are supposed to follow the airline through. The airline must not be a national carrier before it gets protection. Virgin Atlantic is protected by the British government on issues that have to do with international trade and the same applies to numerous carriers from the United States.”

The suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has asked the Federal High Court in Lagos to admit him to bail on self-recognizance pending the determination of the charge filed against him by the Federal Government.

The bail application was filed by a former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), who leads 10 other lawyers, including five other SANs for Mr. Emefiele.

The case has been assigned to Justice Nicholas Oweibo

Emefiele, in the nine-ground application, denied being guilty of the gun possession-related charge and said he was neither a flight risk nor would not jump bail if granted.

Meanwhile, the Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday claimed that Maxwell Okpara, who it described as the lawyer of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), is the lawyer of suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele.

The service said this in a tweet on its official handle @officialDSSNG.

According to the tweet, Okpara mobilised like-minded lawyers against the Director General of the DSS, Yusuf Bichi.

The tweet reads: “Charge and bail, overzealous uninformed IPOB/ESN lawyer Maxwell Okpara mobilises other like-minded lawyers against DGSS. Futile Efforts. Well, Nigerians, beware! This is in bad faith. Transferred aggression.

“A Biafran Republic agitator and outlawed IPOB counsel defending the suspended CBN governor. Is IPOB defending one of theirs? What a contradiction. Hmmm. What’s the connection? Is someone telling us something? May Maxwell be properly educated on points of law, please.”

Following criticism that has trailed the planned disbursement of N500 billion palliative, President Bola Tinubu has ordered a thorough review of the interventionist programme.

This was contained in a press statement issued on Tuesday by Dele Alake, the Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy.

The N500 billion interventionist programme was initiated to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal in a request the president sent to the National Assembly and billed to last for six months.

It was tacitly approved.

However, expressions of dissent and disapproval, especially by some.opinion leaders and economists, have left the president to call for a review, which he said would ensure proper approach to the vexatious issue.

The statement also indicated that there would be release of grains and fertilisers to almost 50 million farmers.

Alake said the President had a covenant “with Nigerians that their welfare and security will be topmost in the Renewed Hope Agenda of his government,” as a consequence, would continue to hold his side of the agreement.

He however noted that there has been misconception regarding the policy which he said has led to a lot of ill-information.

“The Administration believes in the maxim that when there is prohibition, there must be provision, ” he said adding that, “Since subsidy, the hydra-headed monster threatening to kill the economy, has been stopped, the government has employed a broad spectrum of reliefs to bring help to Nigerians.”

He stressed that based on the agreement to listen to Nigerians, “the N8,000 conditional cash transfer programme envisaged to bring succour to most vulnerable households be reviewed immediately.

“This is in deference to the views expressed by Nigerians against it.

“That the whole gamut of palliative packages of government be unveiled to Nigerians.

“Immediate release of fertilisers and grains to approximately 50 million farmers and households respectively in all the 36 states and the FCT,” he added.

He further pointed out that, “The President further assures Nigerians that the N500 billion approved by parliament to cushion the pain occasioned by the end of subsidy regime will be judiciously utilised. The beneficiaries of the reliefs shall be Nigerians irrespective of their ethnic, religious or political affiliation.

“President Bola Tinubu has promised to always prioritise the wellbeing of Nigerians and he is irrevocably committed to the vow. A number of decisions taken so far by this Administration have buttressed this stance.

“You will recall that the President took a similar decision after listening to complaints from the business community/stakeholders about burdensome taxes, particularly multiplicity of taxes they are made to experience.

“This warranted the signing of four (4) Executive Orders cancelling some classes of taxes, while suspending the implementation dates of others.

“In addition, the President has also set up a Tax Reform/Fiscal Policy Committee to bring up recommendations that will engender a wholesome fiscal environment for the country and remove anti-business barriers,” he added.

The Labour Party (LP) has said that the latest adjustment in the petroleum pump price is just the beginning of hard times Nigerians will be facing under the All Progressives Congress (APC) led administration.

Spokesman of the party, Obiora Ifoh, said Tuesday night, the party had earlier warned that the bourgeoisie government in place can only enrich the upper class and inflict penury on the people.

“You offer a paltry N8000 to a family of five and extract all they have laboured for through obnoxious policies. Nigerians do not deserve what they are getting from the present government.

“The Labour Party condemns the attitude of the government to its people. This is even coming at a time the Nigeria currency has continued to devalue under the watch of this government,” Ifoh said.

He, however, expressed optimism that Nigeria will overcome the taskmaster of the time and Nigerians soon witness the promised land.

His reaction came after some stations operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) increased the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, from N537/litre to N617/litre in Abuja and N620 in Kano.

The increment occurred less than two months after President Bola Tinubu announced the discontinuance of subsidy on petrol, leading to the upward review of the price of the commodity from N198/litre to over N500/litre.

A Federal High Court sitting in Kano, on Tuesday, stopped Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-corruption Commission from investigating alleged missing N100 billion from Local Government Council accounts.

The court presided over by Justice S.A. Amobeda, also halted the Kano Anti-graft Commission and its agents from inviting, investigating, arresting, and intimidating Local Government chairmen in the state, pending the determination of the Applicants’ Motion on Notice.

The applicants before the Court are 15 LG chairmen in the state from Dawakin Tofa, Ungogo, Dambatta, Kunchi, Rimin Gado, Karate, Bichi, Tsanyawa, Gwarzo, Tarauni, Dala, Turun Wada, Kano Municipal and Shanono; while the respondents are Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-corruption Commission and Bar. Muhuyi Gado.

The Court granted Interim Injunction, “restraining the Respondents jointly and severally, personally or through their agents, servants, privies and/or assigns, arresting whomever and however from inviting, investigating, arresting, detaining, harassing and/or intimidating the Applicants in respect of Local Governments accounts, their personal accounts, vouchers and cash books of Local Governments herein, pending the hearing and determination of the Applicants’ Motion on Notice.”

The court also stopped the respondents from taking any further steps in connection with, or relating to, or arising from the invitation by the Respondents against the Applicants, as communicated in the 1st Respondent’s letters, dated 7th and 10th July 2023 respectively, pending the determination of the Applicants’ Motion on Notice.

The Court also granted an accelerated hearing of the Applicants’ Motion on Notice and directed the Respondents to maintain the status quo in respect of the subject matter of the suit, pending the hearing and determination of the Applicants’ Motion on Notice.

There was drama on Tuesday at the governorship election petition tribunal sitting in Birnin Kebbi as the principal of Sultan Abubakar College, Sokoto said the Kebbi State deputy governor did not graduate from the school.

The Deputy Governor, Senator Umar Abubakar, claimed he finished from Sultan Abubakar College, Sokoto in 1979. But the principal of the school disowned the deputy governor by tendering 15 documents before the governorship election petitions tribunal.

The principal, Muhammed Zayyanu Umar, while being cross examined by counsels to the Governor and Deputy Governor insisted that there was no records in the school to support the testimonial allegedly given to him from the college because his name was not in the list of the 1979 graduands of Sultan Abubakar College, Sokoto.

The Peoples Democratic Party Governorship candidate, Maj General Aminu Bande (rtd) is challenging the victory of the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Nasiru Idris and his Deputy Umar Abubakar in the last general election in Kebbi State .

The principal is the first subpoenaed witness to be cross examined by the respondent’s counsels after the tribunal admitted the 15 documents he presented to it.

While giving his testimonies and answering questions from the respondent counsels, Barrister Wale Agunbiade SAN, Yakubu Maikyau SAN and others, the principal insisted that based on the documents he submitted to the tribunal, the results of 1979,1980,1981 and 1982 did not carry the name Umar Abubakar alleged to be a graduand of the college within the period, particularly in 1979.

He insisted that based on the available records in his office as principal of Sultan Abubakar College, Sokoto, the deputy governor did not finish from the school in 1979.

A director in Sokoto State Ministry of Education , Abdulsamad Hamzat Yisa who was subpoeaned to testify at the tribunal said the ministry set up a committee to investigate the principal but they found that the principal was right .

Earlier, the counsels to the respondent had objected to the continuation of the hearing on the grounds that the list of witnesses were served on them around 8pm. They argued that report of pretrial indicated that parties should be served list of witnesses within 24 hours.

But the petitioner’s counsels told the tribunal that apart from the list of 15 witnesses scheduled to testify, there are other subpoenaed witnesses which are court witnesses not petitioners witnesses.

On that ground the tribunal chairman, Justice Ofem I. Ofem ruled that, on one part, agreed with the respondent counsels that since the notice served them was not within 24 hours, the tribunal will not proceed to take the witnesses but on the other hand subpoenaed witnesses which notice was served to the respondent since 12th of July to be heard.

The petitioners had called 21 witnesses,15 of them are normal witnesses while six are subpoenaed witnesses from government agencies and departments.