The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has distanced himself from the social media attacks on the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christain Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye.

In a statement on Wednesday by the Head of Obi-Datti Media Office, Diran Onifade, the LP flagbearer also distanced his supporters, popularly known as Obidients, from the attacks on Adeboye.

Obi stated that the claim that his supporters were responsible for the attacks on the renowned cleric is another campaign of calumny from the opposition ranks.

The former Governor of Anambra State said he and his supporters have great respect for Adeboye, adding that issuing personal insults is not his character and he does not encourage his followers to do the same.

The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to yet another campaign of calumny emanating from opposition ranks, this time blaming ‘Obidients’ for recent unjustified social media attacks on the revered General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye.

“We wish to state categorically that supporters of Mr Peter Obi, like their Principal, have great respect for Pastor Adeboye and therefore are not involved in any social media hounding of the revered man of God most especially over a statement he did not make.

“It has become a pattern for desperate political operatives to orchestrate a ruse and blame it on Peter Obi’s supporters in furtherance of the opposition’s subterfuge strategy which has failed back to back.

“We wish to appeal to fellow Nigerians to ignore the antics of election riggers who believe that demarketing Peter Obi is their sure means of keeping a stolen mandate.

“Nigerians are aware by now that issuing personal insults is not Peter Obi’s character and he does not encourage his followers to engage in same.”

PRESIDENT-ELECT Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, May 10, embarked on a fresh foreign trip, 19 days to his inauguration as Nigeria’s President.

This is coming 16 days after he returned from a trip to London, Saudi Arabia and Paris.

A statement released on Wednesday by the media aide to the President-elect, Tunde Rahman said Tinubu had travelled to Europe on a working visit.

Rahman stated that Tinubu would utilise the opportunity to make arrangements on his transition plans and programmes for his administration.

“The President-elect has hitherto promised to hit the ground running and the visit is reflective of his commitment to the promise as he has already begun talks with global actors in the important areas of the economy and security.”

Rahman stressed that the visit would enable Tinubu to engage with investors and other relevant stakeholders to market investment opportunities in the country.

“Tinubu hopes to convince them of Nigeria’s readiness to do business under his leadership through mutually-beneficial partnerships premised on jobs creation and skills acquisition.

“Reviving the country’s economy forms a major plank of Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the meeting is part of his efforts to re-establish Nigeria’s importance in the global economic chain and create empowering opportunities for the country’s huge youth population.

“Already, meetings with multi-sectoral actors in Europe’s business community including manufacturing, agriculture, tech and energy have been lined up.”

Tinubu travelled to Europe in late March after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him the winner of the presidential election conducted on February 25.

While Nigerians speculated on the reasons for the President-elect’s trip, Rahman argued that Tinubu needed rest after touring the 36 states and working hard for his victory at the presidential poll.

Rumours spread that Tinubu jetted out to Europe to attend to a medical emergency. Rahman, however, debunked the claims.

[ICIR]

A Federal High Court in Abuja has barred the National Broadcasting Commission from imposing fines on Nigerian broadcasters.

The court held that NBC is not a court of law and as such, has no power to impose sanctions as punishment on broadcast stations.

In a ruling on Wednesday, the presiding judge, Justice James Omotosho, gave an order of perpetual injunction restraining NBC from fining broadcast stations in Nigeria, stating that the commission lacked the judicial powers to impose penalties.

Omotosho also voided the N500,000 fines imposed by NBC on each of the 45 broadcast stations, back in March 2019, stating that the fines were contrary to the law and thus unconstitutional. He then declared them null and void.

He added that the NBC Code which gives the commission the power to impose sanctions upon broadcast stations conflicts with Section 6 of the constitution which has vested the judicial power in the court of law.

He said the commission did not comply with the law when it sat as a complainant and at the same time, the court and the judge on its own matter.

The judge agreed that the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, being a subsidiary legislation that empowers an administrative body such as the NBC to enforce its provisions cannot confer judicial powers on the commission to impose criminal sanctions or penalties such as fines.

He also agreed that the commission is not the Nigerian police, and therefore, has no power to conduct criminal investigations that would lead to criminal trial and imposition of sanctions.

“This will go against the doctrine of separation of powers,” he said.

Omotosho held that what the doctrine sought to achieve was to prevent tyranny by concentrating too much power in one organ.

“The action of the respondent qualifies as excessiveness,” he added.

Following the N500,000 fines the NBC imposed against 45 broadcast stations in Nigeria in 2019, the Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda sued the commission in court in November 2021, seeking a declaration that the sanctions were a violation of the rules of natural justice.

The lawyer representing the Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda, Noah Ajare, stated that the sanctions violated the right to a fair hearing under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Articles 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap AQ) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

The group argued that this was so because the code, which created the alleged offences of which the broadcast stations were accused was written and adopted by NBC, “and also gives powers to the said commission to receive complaints of alleged breaches, investigate and adjudicate the complaints, impose sanctions, including fines, and ultimately collect the fines, which the commission uses for its own purposes.”

They, therefore, sought an order setting aside the N500,000 fines purportedly imposed by NBC on each of the 45 broadcast stations on Friday, March 1, 2019.

They also sought an injunction preventing NBC from being able to impose sanctions on any other broadcast stations in Nigeria for offences under the Nigerian Broadcasting Code.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) has pledged to support Nigerian students who were evacuated from war-torn Sudan and ensure that they are integrated into Nigerian universities.

The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, made the pledge in a statement issued on Wednesday, adding that the board would provide all necessary infrastructure to ensure the transition is smooth for the students.

He also added that the board would support the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) in any way necessary to aid the evacuation process for the remaining students.

“What we will do is that we will provide the necessary infrastructure, the necessary enablement to make you accommodate or return these candidates (students) to our educational system,” he said.

Oloyede admonished the students not to emulate students who returned to Nigeria from Ukraine, due to the ongoing with Russia, about a year ago who did not comply with the procedures necessary to allow them to continue their academic programmes in Nigerian universities.

“We must thank NIDCOM for making efforts that the students are brought into the Nigerian university system and we have given the Commission the process and procedure.

“There are procedures (for transfer of students); the transcript, the rules and regulations, and nobody should be under any illusion that Nigerian university will award certificate with less than two years stay and residency in the university, and the procedure is done legitimately and properly with the cooperation of the National Universities Commission and the individual institution.

“The guideline from JAMB has already been handed over to the chairperson of the Commission,” he stated.

The JAMB boss also explained that students are expected to spend no less than 2 academic sessions in any Nigerian university upon transferring.

“If you are doing a five-year programme, you will go to year four, because you are going to spend year 4 and year 5.

“For instance, if you are studying Medicine and you are in your 600 level, and if the Medical and Dental Council assesses what you have done; practical is okay, they will just move you to year 5, 500 level. You will do 500 level and 600 level, and you will have the certificate of the institution in Nigeria,” he said.

Meanwhile, NIDCOM Chairman, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, said that so far, 1,730 Nigerians have been evacuated from Sudan as of Tuesday and that the majority of them are students.

She assured that the necessary procedures are underway to ensure they are successfully integrated into Nigerian universities.

“The key thing is that there are processes to follow but they are not difficult processes and that is what we learnt from JAMB. The institutions are already saying they want to give support, they want to admit them but the key thing is to follow the process as stipulated by JAMB,” she said.