The National Publicity Secretary of Labour Party, Abayomi Arabambi said any member of the party calling for an Interim Government should be arrested and prosecuted.
Arabambi stated this while speaking in an exclusive interview on Political Hub, a Vangaurd’s politcal show on Thursday.
The Labour Party Spokesperson described proponents of Interim Government as mercenaries and members of mushroom parties.
He said, “These are the people we call Obidiots. They are not part of us, they are just bunch of merceneries. These are people that are predators, people that have no bearing. They thought our party is an avenue for them to come and expand their illegal coast.
“Obidients and the Labour Party should be wary of anybody that wants to cause war. The Obidients are the people that are with the Labour Party, who have agreed to follow the rule of law.”
Recall that the Lamidi Apapa-led faction of the party had, earlier, distanced itself from the calls for an interim government and the agitations that the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, should not be sworn in on May 29, pending the determination of the petitions before the Presidential Election Tribunal sitting in Abuja.
The faction of the party, noted that the swearing-in of Tinubu “may not have any impact on the ongoing legal tussle on the presidential election involving our party, APC and INEC.”
LP in a statement made available to Vanguard in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, by the faction’s spokesman, Arabambi, posited that the Electoral Act and the Constitution of Nigeria did not give room for a vacuum, “so whether the President-elect is sworn in or not, there is right to remove him legally if it is found out that he was not duly elected.”
Arabambi recalled how the Court removed Chris Ngige and confirmed Peter Obi as the Governor of Anambra State in 2003.
Citing sections 136 and 146 of the Nigeria Constitution, Arabambi said only death or permanent incapacity can stop a president-elect from being sworn in.
Noting that, “what Peter Obi is crying for is not supported by the law,” Arabambi noted that “a refusal to swear-in Tinubu as President on May 29, will create a vacuum in the system, saying the law does not allow this.
Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) needs to regain its “eminent position” in politics.
The PDP presidential candidate spoke on Thursday at an event organised for the party’s governors-elect and outgoing governors in Abuja.
Abubakar expressed worries that the PDP which was a dominant political party is “receding”.
“We have a number of challenges. We started as a dominant political party in 1999 and since then have been receding,” he said.
“I think it is time for us to take stock and find out why we are receding and how can we make sure that our eminent position as the leading political party in this country, as the oldest political party in this country, we regain our position.
“This is a very important challenge which I think requires a whole day seminar for us as a party to ensure that we regain our eminent position in the politics of this country and the whole of Africa.”
Abubakar congratulated the PDP governors-elect and asked them to be united and loyal to the party.
The PDP was in power from 1999 to 2015.
Abubakar, who contested the 2023 elections on the PDP platform, lost to Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Also speaking, Nnamani Sambo, former vice-president, advised the party’s leadership to address the arbitrary suspension of members.
He said it was unfortunate that some party members were being suspended without giving a fair hearing.
“I will seize this opportunity to publicly call on the acting national chairman to look into what is happening in Kaduna state because all the ingredients for trouble and problems in the party are being put in place,” he said.
“So likewise in other states, I will use this opportunity to call on all party members to cooperate to let the party continue.”
Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto and chairperson of the PDP Governors Forum, said the party’s legacy must be sustained.
“I’m happy to bequeath to you and indeed the members of this forum, a forum that is strong, cohesive and vocal in the defence of democracy and good governance in the country,” Tambuwal said.
“With the calibre of governors-elect, I see here today, I can say confidently the forum is going to be in good hands.”
A Sharia Court in Kaduna, yesterday ordered a woman, Fatima Muhammad, to return the N80,000 received as dowry in exchange for divorce.
The Judge, Malam Muhammad Adamu-Shehu, gave the ruling after the complainant told the court that she wanted to redeem herself from the marriage and was ready to return the dowry.
He advised her to file another suit to claim custody of their three-year-old child.
The complainant had earlier told the court that she was no longer interested in the marriage, hence not ready to entertain any avenue for settlement.
“I am tired of the union and I cannot be an obedient wife to him; I prayed court to grant me custody of our three year old daughter,”she said.
The defendant, through his counsel, Mr L. R. Ibrahim, told the court that he still loved his wife and wanted to keep the relationship.
He prayed court to give him more time to try settling out of court.
The Ilorin Zonal Commander of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Michael Nzekwe, has pointed out that bank officials assist criminals in carrying out financial crimes.
Nzekwe said this on Thursday during an interactive session with compliance officers of banks in Ilorin, which drew participants from Kwara and Kogi State.
He said: “there is no major fraud, especially money laundering, that is ever committed without the connivance of bank officials.”
As a result, he advised bankers to “carry out due diligence and know your customers. By doing this, you save yourselves from trouble and make our job easier.”
He also identified the role of banks compliance officers as key to the fight against economic and financial crimes.
He therefore reiterated the need for bankers and EFCC operatives to be on the same page as new trends in cybercrimes continue to unfold.
The Commander charged the bankers to share necessary information and report suspicious transactions to the Commission.
He also advised bankers to adhere strictly to bank rules, regulations and be diligent in the discharge of their duties.
“Know Your Customer” (KYC) and “Know Your Customer’s Business” (KYCB),” the Zonal Commander tasked the bankers to take the two requirements seriously as it would help to keep fraudulent customers at bay.
Aggrieved Senate Presidency aspirants for the 10th National Assembly, on Thursday, stormed the National Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja.
The aggrieved aspirants included former Zamfara State Governor and Senator-elect representing Zamfara West, Abdulaziz Yari; Senator representing Niger East, Sani Musa, and former Abia State governor and Senate Chief Whip, Orji Uzor Kalu.
The three Senators who addressed the APC National Working Committee (NWC) led by the party’s National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, expressed the disaffection of their geo-political zones and presented a joint petition to the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
Yari Speaks
Senator Yari, who was the first to speak, accused the APC NWC of failing to seize the initiative and leaving the president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to take a unilateral position on critical party matters.
The former Zamfara State governor said the North which gave the highest number of votes to Tinubu was about to be marginalised and warned of dire consequences.
Yari stated that the North could withdraw its support for the President-elect before the 2027 general elections if the region is sidelined.
He said: “We are here to present our letter of grievances to you and also tell this honourable house as a leader that we are not satisfied with the arrangement and what we are expecting from you People is to give us fair play.
“Mr chairman, we know each and every success came from God. Mr chairman, we from this axis, we strongly believe that we have done our best despite the whole challenges. Everyone has done his best but we are number one. One other thing about people from the North is that they believe Buhari was a messiah.
“That was why they came blindly and picked us without any condition or in regard to anything but despite the fact that many things have happened along the line; they maintain the relationship, they maintain the love and they have not given excuses. In 201-elect beforethe 2027 general elections.
“The president-elect got 63.4 percent of the votes from the North. Where he came from the south he got 36.6 percent. Atiku Abubakar from Northern Nigeria got 68.8 per cent of the total vote and he got from Southern Nigeria 33.2 per cent. So, now if there is anyone who can say we own APC; we own the president-elect, it is Northern Nigeria.
“Without undermining any part of the country, they have given their best and we can understand their situation but justice needs to be done. We should not be blinded that the power of anyone is absolute but only God is absolute. We should not look at these four years as 20 years and then we are going into another election.
“So, whatever decision you are going to take, we are expecting you as a friend that works with the President-elect to tell him not to go there. We don’t need rocket science to explain why you can defend what you are trying to do for the betterment of the APC, and for the betterment of the president.”
Senator Yari also warned of the gang-up of the lawmakers from the Northern against Senator Godswill Akpabio and Senator Jibrin Barau, on the floor of the Senate on June 13 when the 10th National Assembly would be inaugurated.
He said: “If care isn’t taken, the opposition can have their way, the margin between us and the opposition isn’t much. What we are doing is in the best interest of all of us. Only justice can save this party. Anything to the contrary, walahi talahi Northern Nigeria will take a decision.”
Orji Kalu Speaks
The former Abia State Governor, in his own presentation, said the South-East should not be sidelined in the forthcoming administration because the APC lost in the region.
Kalu who described the victory of the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi as a hurricane zone, said the region deserved to be accommodated in the power equation to cement national cohesion.
He said: “We must live together as people who have worked together for many years. So, the votes shouldn’t be a measurement, we had a hurricane in our zone. So, vote cast shouldn’t be used.
“The party needs everybody, those who didn’t work for the party today can work tomorrow. Yes, there was a presidential candidate from the south east and there was a presidential candidate from the other areas. So, I want to appeal to the NWC that every section of the country should be given a pie of the cake.
“I am not saying that the North didn’t vote but there was a time that the South-East was voting for other parties. “We have had elections in this country when the President of Nigeria lost his section of the country but nobody discriminated against him. We must be our brothers keepers by giving something reasonable to the South east. “What you have done doesn’t look very nice. What you have done is against the Constitution.
“I am a party man but this isn’t acceptable to us but this is the first time that I am going to say no to this party. “It is better that the party goes back to the drawing board and reviews what has been done. You zone to a place, you don’t zone to an individual. All the 109 Senators are capable of being Senate President, but you must go back to the drawing board.
“The South east has moved from one governor to two. It won’t be nice to exclude us. We can’t cohabit very well with the stand of our party. We will vote according to our conscience because we are going to do a secret ballot and we have done it before. We have four of us here . Mr. Chairman, it behoves on you as a Senator not to have a divided house from the beginning. When we disobey you, it isn’t going to end very well.”
Musa Speaks
Also speaking, Senator Musa also declared that the North Central zone has been offered the short end of the stick despite its contributions to the victory of the president-elect.
Musa further warned that if the zoning arrangement was allowed to stand, it would create a grave danger for the promotion of internal party democracy in the ruling party.
He said: “It would have been easier to see if the proposed decision was discussed before it was issued. The party had a meeting with the President elect. As a politician he knows that he has to listen to whatever the party will put on the table. He would have looked at what the party would give him before making a decision. That didn’t happen.
“A decision was taken and we felt: is it to an individual or the party? No one is above the party and we are practicing democracy. The status quo can’t stand.
“We have said that to move forward there must be internal democracy. If we don’t allow internal democracy to prosper, how do we move forward as a nation. The North Central has always been a victim and I ask, are we not part of this country? Every democracy comes with its reward and we talk about building a coalition that will be strong.
“I would have expected my brothers from North West to reject the zoning formular, but they are keeping quiet. Membership of the party is voluntary but my principle isn’t voluntary. This injustice must be corrected. It is only fair that after South West and North East, other zones must be accommodated. Anything short of that, we are being shortchanged. We are pained and the reason is that we put in all the efforts to make sure that APC realized what we wanted. What was that? The Presidency.”
APC Chairman Reacts
In his response to the individual submissions of the aggrieved aspirants, the APC National Chairman admitted that the party was wrong not to have carried the aspirants along before ratifying the zoning template.
He, however, assured the aggrieved Senators that his leadership would open further consultations with the president-elect upon his return from Europe.
He said: “We are happy to receive you to come and express your displeasure for what we have done. As chairman of the APC and members of the National Working Committee, we take responsibility.
“As chairman, I take responsibility for what has gone on air. I take absolute responsibility for that. And in that spirit, I welcome you to this office on behalf of my colleagues. Yesterday, we received members of the lower chamber who are also contesting for the speakership in the lower chamber and we had similar pronouncements – words of disagreement from them.
“What we will not do today from what we have received from you is to start to open any discussion with you at this sitting as to how what you heard got to be what you heard.
“Yes, there were no sufficient or adequate consultations with you who are contesting and it is a simple principle of democracy that you get views and opinions. But, the circumstances that we found ourselves in after the elections frustrated our desire.
“We must as democrats open up. We will go back to the drawing board. We owe our party that duty to take a look wat whether what was done can not be changed; what was done needs some changes or reviews.
“Hold the fire until the last word is heard from us. We are the custodians of the party as NWC but we are not acting alone. The voice of the president-elect is an essential voice. We must accommodate him, the best we can. I will not compromise on that.
“So, he is right now outside the country and by the grace of God when he comes back we will go back to the drawing board and put ours heads together again and see what we will get. I cannot preempt that, I will wait until we hold that meeting with Mr president-elect, the same team that we had the same meeting with. If we need to enlarge the committee we will do so we will be better informed through contributions that will be made.
“We will go through your memo, line by line and ensure that we are able to capture the spirit of your presentation and see what will be the best way out of the situation we have. Whatever you heard is the art of human endeavour and we are not perfect as human beings. We can make mistakes. So, if we find in the course of further consultations the mistakes that need to be looked at, we will look at them.
“The important thing is that the spirit of the party must be kept alive. We just came out of election, the whole country is looking towards us. We are just counting down to inauguration on the 29th of this month. Our eyes must stay on the ball but in doing so, we must make sure justice will be done. We will do the best as human beings to deliver justice to all and sundry.”
“On the issue of the North-Ceentral, I remain tongue-tied talking about north-central. Your argument is extremely plausible. I assure you, we will take a look at what has been given to the public.
“I don’t want to believe that vote is not essential thing. The vote remains the essential thing in every democracy because the vote is the opinion of the populace.”
MEMBERS of the Mainland Independent Group, MIG, a socio-political pressure group, based in Lagos State, have assured Nigerians that the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, will surely be inaugurated as the next president of Nigeria on May 29, 2023.
Speaking on behalf of the MIG, during a prayer session for the president-elect, organised by the group, Ibrahim Megida lampooned those clamouring for interim government, describing them as clowns who deserve to be pitied.
Megida, a Lagos-based APC chieftain, who co-ordinates the group, also dismissed moves to stop him at the court, as an exercise in futility.
Megida said Tinubu’s victory had come solely from God and not the making of any man adding that “this is why the enemies of progress and trouble mongers, calling for Interim Government should shut up. They shall labour in vain and will never succeed, as Asiwaju’s presidency is an appointment with destiny and not the work of any man.”
Apart from the president-elect, prayers were also rendered for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Messrs Tunji Bello, Ibrahim Odunboni, Monsuru Alao and APC members across the country.
An Ondo State High Court has sentenced 61-year-old Pastor Famakinwa Ajayi, to 18 years imprisonment for defiling and impregnating a 16-year-old girl.
Ajayi, of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ayede Ogbese, in Akure North council area of the state, was charged to court on a two (2)-count charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a child, contrary to Section 31(1)of the Child’s Rights Law of Ondo State and sexual abuse and exploitation contrary to Section 32 (1).
It was learnt that the victim later gave birth to the defendant
The suit No: AK/195C/2021, was filed on behalf of the Ondo State Government by Mrs. Helen Falowo (Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Ondo State Ministry of Justice).
Justice Yemi Fasanmi, while delivering judgement discharged and acquitted the defendant on Count 2 but found him guilty on Count 1 and proceeded to convict and sentence him to 18 years imprisonment.
Falowo said that the defendant defiled and repeatedly had carnal knowledge of the victim at his house in Ayede Ogbese township in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, where the family of the victim were tenants.
The defendant was also alleged to have raped the victim at the market square where he took her on the pretext of delivering her from demonic spirits.
“He continued in this dastardly act unabashedly till the innocent minor became pregnant in October 2021.
The defendant, however, confessed to having slept with the victim once in his living room before he was charged in court.
Meanwhile, upon being briefed of the incident by the Ayede Ogbese Women Vanguard of the town, a renowned women/human’s rights and wife of the monarch, Olori Olufunmilayo Nejo-Oluyede, took in the victim, sent her back to school and agreed to sponsor her education forthwith
Olori Olufunmilayo Nejo-Oluyede, also,
empowered the victim’s mother in a small business to enable her to cater for the needs of the baby, whom she affectionately christened “Peter”.
Before then, the victim had dropped out of school and had resorted to hawking pure water on the Ayede Ogbese Akure-Owo highway, alongside her mother.
Commenting, on the development in his domain, Oba Ajibola Oluyede, expressed his profound satisfaction with the judgement of the court.
Oba Oluyede said that “This will certainly serve as a deterrence to others.
The Kaduna State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend Joseph Hayab, has said 14 of the 40 worshippers abducted on Sunday are still in captivity.
They were abducted during a church service in Madala, Chikun Local Government Area of the state around 9:30 am.
Although some of them have reportedly escaped and returned home since the incident occurred, “14 of them are still being held by the bandits while others have returned home,” he said.
The police and state government have yet to comment on the matter.
Uncertainty over multi-billion naira Abuja Airport runway project
Bayelsa, Imo, Kogi gov’ship: INEC to publish candidates’ details today
Recently, a woman and her child returned home after being abandoned in the bush by their abductors, with the bandits assuming that she was dead.
In a mild shakeup at the company, Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla Inc., says he would be resigning as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Twitter.
The billionaire, in February 2023, had said he may step aside as CEO of Twitter and hand over the company to someone else by the end of the year.
Musk, who announced his exit from the company in a tweet on Thursday, said a female CEO will appointed in six weeks.
The successor’s announcement by the billionaire comes seven months to the end of the year.
Son of former Zimbabwean Vice President jailed 20 years for raping niece
Musk said he would act as Twitter’s chief technology officer (CTO) and chairman, when his successor — a female yet to be identified — takes over.
“Excited to announce that I have a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in six weeks,” Musk tweeted.
“My role will transition to being executive chair and CTO, overseeing product, software and system operations (sysops).”
If all goes well, the new CEO will be the first female to lead the social media giant. Since its creation, Twitter has been led by five men: Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Dick Costolo, Parag Agrawal, and Musk.
Last year, the Tesla billionaire said he would resign as Twitter’s CEO when he finds someone “foolish enough to take the job”.
Prior to this, Musk had used a Twitter poll to determine whether or not he should remain as CEO, with a promise to abide by the results.
57.5 percent out of the 17.5 million users who partook in the poll, asked for his exit.
….4 suspects arrested — Police
One person was allegedly shot dead, yesterday, when officers of Amotekun Corps, in Ekiti State, clashed with traders at the popular Atikankan area of Ado-Ekiti.
Vanguard gathered that trouble started after the Amotekun officers were trying to relocate the traders from the Atikankan area of Ado Ekiti to a new area allocated to them by the government at Agric Olope.
However, some of the traders, who were not ready to relocate, attacked the Amotekun officers, and one of them opened fire on them.
According to reports, two officers of the corps were seriously attacked, in retaliation by the traders.
Ekiti State Police Command confirmed the clash, saying four suspects have been arrested.
According to the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Sunday Abutu, The command received a distress call that there was a clash between the operatives of the Ekiti State Security Network Agency (AMOTEKUN) and a group of irate youths in the Atikankan area of Ado Ekiti.
“The Command immediately deployed operatives to the scene to maintain peace and forestall further damage. Upon reaching the scene, it was discovered that two persons were seriously injured and rushed to the hospital.
“The Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, CP Dare Ogundare, has ordered a discreet investigation into the incident to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book. Four suspects have been arrested so far in connection with the incident. Meanwhile, normalcy has been restored to the area.”
More...
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday, arraigned one Wilson Daphey (aka Jefrey Guiseppe) before Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on a nine-count charge bordering on obtaining money under false pretense and money laundering.
Daphey allegedly manipulated and obtained the sum £120,150 from one Ms Petra Goschenhofer with the assistance of Evans Nnamdi Aguh, Christopher Chinedu Ajufo, Ifeanyi Enuma and Ojinanaka Kingsley Chukwuma, all of whom are currently at large.
Count two of the charge read: “That you, WILSON DAPHEY (AKA JEFREY GUISEPPE) between November 2018 and December 2019 at Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with intent to defraud over the internet, presented yourself to one Ms Petra Goschenhofer whom you met on Instagram as American civil engineer, who lives in Rome but currently (end of September/beginning of October 2018) in Dubai for a construction project, and in that assumed character obtained a total of sum of £69,880 and thereby committed an offence contrary to section 22 (2) (b) (ii) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Act, 2015.”
The defendant pleaded ‘not guilty‘ to all the charges.
In view of his plea, the prosecution counsel, Deborah Ademu-Eteh, prayed the court for a trial date and the remand of the defendant.
The defence counsel, E.O Clement, however, moved the bail application of the defendant.
Justice Olajuwon adjourned the matter till May 17, for ruling on bail application while the defendant remains in EFCC custody.
The Federal Operations Unit, Zone B Kaduna, of the Nigeria Customs Service, has intercepted a sack of military uniforms and others with a duty-paid value of N628m en route to Nigeria from the Niger Republic.
The zone’s Area Controller, Musa Jalo, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday said the military wears were intercepted between March and April 2023.
Jalo also said during the period under review, the zone made 188 seizures of 17 different contrabands at different locations in the zone.
He said, “Our operatives, while on a stop-and-search operation, intercepted one Volkswagen Golf driven by a Nigerien citizen along Jibia-Katsina Road.
“During the operation, the officers observed and identified a sack in the vehicle that was later opened, and assorted military camouflage shirts, trousers, and t-shirts were found.”
Jalo added that after further examination and interrogation, the driver was identified to be a Nigerien citizen and was delivering the uniforms to an unknown person in Katsina.
“The uniforms were counted to be 22 pairs of foreign tactical military camouflage shirts and trousers and another 25 pieces of military camouflage t-shirts,” he added.
According to Jalo, the seized military uniforms have been handed over to the Directorate of Security Services for further investigation and possible prosecution.
“Also, based on credible intelligence, operatives of the unit intercepted one used Mitsubishi Canter with number plate AKR 10 XG conveying sacks of Cannabis Sativa otherwise known as marijuana concealed with bags of cassava flakes and sawdust along Bungudu-Tsafe Road in Zamfara State.
“After physical examination, the vehicle was found to contain 46 sacks of Marijuana, with a street value of N2.1m,” he added.
Jalo said the operatives also intercepted a white narcotic substance together with two male suspects and one locally-made pistol at the Maigatari axis of Jigawa State.
He said on further tests of the substance by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Kaduna State Command, the illegal substance was discovered to be Opium with a total weight of 422 grams.
“The street value of the Opium substance is N31m. The 422 grams of Opium substance together with the suspects and one locally-made pistol were handed over to the Kaduna State Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency,” he said.
The Customs boss said during the period under review, the zone impounded 1,147 Jerrycans 25 litres each of automotive gas oil valued at N3m.
He added, “In line with the extant laws and guidelines as directed by the Customs headquarters, the PMS and the diesel that were seized have been auctioned and the proceeds remitted to the coffers of the Federal Government.
“Other items seized included 37 units of used vehicles, five units of vehicles as means of conveyance, 2,109 bags of foreign parboiled rice of 50kg each and 69 bags of foreign parboiled rice of 25kg each.
“Others are eight Jerrycans of foreign refined vegetable oil, 25 litres each, 1,241 cartons of foreign spaghetti and macaroni. Other items are 39 bales of foreign second-hand clothing, 30 sacks of foreign second-hand shoes, 14 cartons of foreign fruit juice, 21 cartons of foreign pomade, 80 pieces of foreign car batteries and one carton of foreign milk.”
..Storms court with Dokpesi, Babangida, Secondus, others
…Seeks live broadcast of proceedings
…Court adjourns to May 18, Thursday
The battle to stop the swearing-in of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu declared President-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) became more intense on Thursday as the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar alongside other political bigwigs in his party stormed the court to press the case seeking to nullify Tinubu’s victory.
Also present at the Thursday hearing of petitions and applications at the Presidential Election Petitions Court, (PEPC) sitting in Abuja, were the former Governors of Adamawa, Boni Haruna; Niger, Babangida Aliyu; Cross River, Liyel Imoke and Adamawa, Jubrilla Bindow as well as former National Chairman of PDP, Mr Uche Secondus, and Chairman of DAAR Communications, Mr Raymond Dokpesi who is in support of Atiku and the PDP.
The tribunal will be hearing Atiku and the PDP’s motions seeking live transmission of proceedings of the court as well as petitions challenging the outcome of the Feb. 25 Presidential Election.
Atiku’s who has placed before the court an application, pushing for live broadcast of the day-to-day proceedings with regard to his petition alongside his party, the PDP, are specifically asking the court for an order directing the court’s registry and the parties on modalities for the admission of media practitioners and their equipment into the courtroom.
The application filed on their behalf by their team of lawyers led by Mr. Chris Uche, SAN, is predicated on the grounds that the matter before the court is a dispute over the outcome of the Presidential Election held on Feb. 25.
In their argument, they submitted that the matter is of national concern and public interest, involving citizens and voters in the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, who voted and participated in the said election.
They also said that the matter is critical because the international community is also interested as regards the workings of Nigeria’s electoral process.
According to Atiku, being a unique electoral dispute with a peculiar constitutional dimension, it is a matter of public interest where of millions of Nigerian citizens and voters are stakeholders with a constitutional right to receive.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Election Petition Court on Thursday adjourned the matter in space of a week, to Thursday, May 18, 2023, for the continuation of the pre-hearing of the petition by the Atiku and the PDP against Tinubu, of the APC.
In the petition marked CA/PEPC/05/2023, the PDP and Atiku are challenging the declaration of Tinubu as the President-elect by INEC.
Listed as 1st to 3rd respondents in the petition are the INEC, President-elect, Tinubu, and the APC.
The pre-hearing of the petition was taken first on Thursday morning after counsel for Atiku and PDP, Chris Uche (SAN), indicated an interest in the matter.
….I didn’t lose Presidential election
Meanwhile, Atiku on Thursday argued that against all odds, he did not lose the February 25 presidential election.
In an address to outgoing and incoming Governors elected on the platform of the PDP, at a reception and award ceremony organised by the PDP Governors forum, in Abuja, on Thursday, Atiku however wished for more time for all the issues and challenges, facing his party to be discussed.
Atiku who admonished Party faithful to keep faith and remain focused on the task ahead which according to him is the recovery of the party’s stolen mandate, implored party members to give commitment and unravel the mystery behind how the PDP slipped from being the oldest and dominant political party in 1999 to its present drifting state.
[NewsDirect]
A sizable number of primary health centres across the various local governments in the country face extinction due to the failure of government at the grassroots to recruit nurses.
Findings by DAILY POST confirmed that many of the health centres in rural communities are no longer functioning as there are no trained personnel to man them.
In some places, the health centres, with some arrangements of the local government and community leaders, are being manned by the so-called auxiliary nurses or nurses employed as casual staff, who are only doing the little they could to make less quality health care available to the people.
Our correspondent confirmed that the problem is highly prevalent in many rural communities.
This is also because the few nurses and community health workers that are available in many local governments are not ready to work in villages where there are no basic amenities. As a result, they seek transfer from remote areas to places where they would have access to good roads, electricity, telecom networks and others.
The condition has turned out to mount pressure on secondary and tertiary health institutions in the country.
It is also the cause of many preventable infant and maternal mortalities, as pregnant women resort to traditional birth attendants.
Madoga is a community in Ifonyintedo Ward, Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State. The sleepy community lies at the boundary between Nigeria and Benin Republic.
Some residents of the area share dual citizenship because of their proximity to the neighbouring country, which made it almost impossible to identify the demarcation between the two countries.
As an agrarian settlement, residents of Madoga are primarily farmers and traders, struggling to make ends meet.
When our correspondent visited the village, residents complained of no government presence in their area, except a primary school with dilapidating structures.
“We don’t have any government presence here. Does the government even know we exist? We have been forgotten by those in government. The only thing we have here is that old primary school. Aside from that, there is nothing else,” Bayo Adegbola told our correspondent.
Adegbola regretted that the only primary health care centre in Madoga had been shut down, saying this has exposed residents to various health hazards.
According to locals, pregnant women and people with minor ailments can no longer access primary health care within their immediate environment.
It could be observed that the abandoned clinic is now covered with bush.
The beds and other equipment are out of shape. Ceilings and the roof have fallen off. The wards and other offices have been taken over by bats and rodents.
“It is most unspeakable that this clinic is deteriorating and nobody is doing anything about it. Our pregnant wives travel to another community in Benin Republic whenever they are about to give birth. Is that how it should be? Maybe the government should cede us to the Benin Republic,” a community leader said, pleading anonymity.
Just like Madoga, Obaningbe is another agrarian community under Ipokia Local Government. The community is a few kilometres away from the local government headquarters, but villagers said they have been forsaken by government at all levels.
“We don’t have anything here. No road, no electricity, no water. We only have a primary school. The clinic we used to have is no longer functioning,” a farmer, who identified himself as Jimeto, told our reporter.
According to Jimeto, the clinic, which was built in 2004, was shut down for no just reason, stressing that: “maybe the government can no longer maintain it, we don’t know.”
Our correspondent noted that the building is currently wasting away after it was abandoned by the government when the nurses working there retired.
Aside from the two communities mentioned, it was reliably gathered that many of the PHCs in the rural areas in Yewa, Egba and Ijebu are in shambles.
It could be recalled that the Medical Director, Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta, Prof Adewale Musa-Olomu, once decried the state of primary health centres in Nigeria, calling for the need to restore them.
Olomu urged the state governments to revitalise the healthcare centres, submitting that many have lost their lives as a result of the decaying health centres.
He attributed the increase in childbirth mortality rate to poor condition of various primary health facilities in different local government areas of the nation.
DAILY POST recalls that Governor Dapo Abiodun, after his inauguration, promised to renovate or build at least one health care centre in each of the 236 wards of Ogun within his first 100 days in office.
The Governor said he had renovated at least one in each of the 20 local governments, blaming the COVID-19 pandemic for his inability to fulfil his earlier promise.
“We have rehabilitated specific Primary Health Centres – PHCs, in each local government to assist in capacity build-up in view of their proximity to the community. We will pre-position PPEs to each of them so they could also serve as first responders,” Abiodun said.
The renovated ones include: Adeun PHC (Abeokuta North LGA), Erunbe HC (Abeokuta South), Sango PHC (Ado-Odo/Ota), Obada HC (Ewekoro), Oyero HC (Ifo), Ogbere PHC (Ijebu East), Ilaporu HC (Ijebu North), Ijari HC (Ijebu Northeast), Isoku HC (Ijebu Ode), Iperu HC (Ikenne), Owode HC (Imeko Afon), Idiroko PHC (Ipokia), Owode HC (Obafemi Owode), Osiele HC (Odeda), Mobalufon HC (Odogbolu), Comprehensive Health Center, Iwopin (Ogun Waterside), Ode PHC (Remo North), Magun HC (Sagamu), Igbogila HC (Yewa North), and Ajilete HC (Yewa South).
Villagers said the reason for the collapse of the health centres was because most of them were abandoned when there were no nurses to attend to patients.
“Those health centres are dying because the government is not recruiting new nurses. Those who were recruited 35 years ago must retire. But after their retirement, there is no one to step into their positions. That is why primary health centres in rural communities are abandoned.
“Today, The Local Government Service Commission is the one to recruit nurses on behalf of each local government.
“Before now, the local governments themselves used to recruit health attendants and junior staff, but they no longer have the autonomy to do that. That’s where the problem started from,” a former local government administrator told our correspondent.
Our correspondent reports that some incumbent local government Chairmen did not want to speak with our correspondent, claiming that the situation predated their administrations.
The Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker refused to comment on the matter when she was contacted.
However, one of the local government chairmen disclosed that the Local Government Service Commission is currently recruiting nurses, community health workers, health attendants and others.
[DailyPost]