Following the suspension of some government officials by the government of President Bola Tinubu, a group within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on the auspices of the Progressive Foundational Movement (PFM), has called for the immediate suspension of chairmen of Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) over alleged inefficiencies.
The APC group claimed the two agencies have failed woefully in the fight against corruption in the past four years, especially the Code of Conduct Bureau, where the Chairman has not, in the past four years, sent one person to be prosecuted at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
In a statement released Thursday in Abuja by the National Coordinator of the group, Barrister Aganaba Johnson, he said the chairman of the CCB, Isah Mohammed, “is inefficient to continue to hold the position of CCB chairman. For the first time in CCB history, a Board member has to petition the Chairman to the National Assembly for ineptitude and corruption, because the Chairman is running the Bureau as his personal business empire without recourse to the Board for any decision he takes.”
The statement added that the CCB chairman should also be investigated for “hobnobbing with the suspended CBN governor Godwin Emiefiele and the NNPC GCEO, Mele Kyari.
“The President should also beam his sweeping anti-corruption cleansing to the Code of Conduct Bureau and the Code of Conduct Tribunal, as these two agencies have failed woefully in the fight against corruption in the past four years, especially the Code of Conduct Bureau, where the Chairman has not in the past four years sent any one person to be prosecuted in the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
“The Chairman Isah Mohammed is inefficient to continue to hold the position of CCB chairman, it is on record that for the first time in CCB history a Board member has to petition the Chairman to the National Assembly for ineptitude and corruption, because the Chairman is running the Bureau as his personal business empire without recourse to the Board for any decision he takes.
“He has more than two thousand petitions on his table that he refuses to be investigated and prosecuted. Several instances abound with petitions against NNPC and CBN henchmen where the Chairman refused to assign the petitions for investigation.
“The Chairman needs to be investigated for his hobnobbing with Emiefiele and Mele Kyari, and because he was appointed by Malami and the Villa cabal, he feels he’s above the law just like Bawa, the suspended EFCC Chairman,” the statement said.
The group listed cases the CCB Chairman allegedly refused to investigate to include; “Cases of abuse of office, corruption against the suspended CBN Governor, Godwin Emiefelie, case of abuse of office and corruption against NNPC GCEO, Mele Kyari, case of abuse of office and corruption against former MD of NDDC, Effiong Akwa, case of abuse of office and corruption by the former Accountant General, case of abuse of office and corruption and non-declaration of Assets against the MD and all the Directors in PHCN, case of abuse of office and corruption against the former MD of NIRSAL, case of abuse of office and corruption against former Minister of Aviation, case of abuse of office and false declaration of assets against Deputy Governor of CBN Kingsley Obiora, case of abuse of office and corruption against the former permanent secretary, Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono.
“Others are cases of abuse of office and corruption against former Secretary, National Universities Commission, cases of abuse of office and corruption against Permanent Secretary, Director of Procurement and Director of Finance, Ministry of Power and lastly cases of abuse of office against the permanent secretary and several Directors of Ministry of Works, among others.”
The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has alerted that consumers should be prepared to pay higher amount for goods as prices are set to rise.
The President of MAN, Segun Ajayi Kabir, gave the hint on Thursday while explaining the downside risk of the new Central Bank of Nigeria policy of liberalizing the naira at a single window, the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) window.
Although expected, the CBN on Wednesday sent a circular that signals banks can buy FX from anywhere and at market price.
The new policy is at variance with the different windows held by the apex bank where they dictate the pricing of forex.
Ajayi said on Arise, “To us, it comes with a lot of certainties. I believe that it is going to create efficiency in the market and it is going to lead to capital inflow and give us a market penetration. It would improve our participation in the export market.
“As manufacturers, there is a downside. It is going to make our imports more expensive and so you will expect that the cost is going to be transferred to the final consumers. But on the balance, we see it as a positive development.
“What has happened tends to be in line with what we had anticipated that there will be some measure of unification and so this floating has tended to narrow if not remove the gap between the official rate and the parallel market rate which we have always complained has been inimical to productivity and particularly manufacturing.
“Our immediate reaction will be that it has its pros and cons but at least it has given us some measure of certainty and we are able to plan better and anticipate what we will require to import our raw materials, spares, and machines that are not locally available.
“But like I said, it comes with plus and minuses even when we had the official rate, most of our members were unable to procure forex and most of them were having to rely on the parallel market or some other means.”
Under the Godwin Emefiele-led forex regime, manufacturers had decried that they were unable to source dollars at the official rate which was pegged around N460/USD.
Asides from forex, manufacturers are grappling with rising taxes.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari introduced new Fiscal Policy Measures (FPM) for 2023 in a Circular dated 20 April 2023 signed by Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning.
The MFP revised Excise Duty Rates and additional excise taxes ranging from 20 per cent to 100 per cent increase on previously approved rates for alcoholic beverages, tobacco, wines and spirits which took effect on 1 June 2023.
These are above the 2022 FPM’s approved Roadmap for 2022-2024 in the form of new and higher ad-valorem excise duties and specific rates while the excise duty rate on non-alcoholic beverages was retained at of N10 per litre.
He said the fiscal policy measure implemented at the last minute of Buhari’s government escalated the problems of the sector.
He accused the past administration of negligence of the plights of businesses, adding “A well-researched document was given to them on the impact of the policy on those industries.”
But the MAN president said, “The trust deficit that Nigerians have for the system is actually deep. In the manufacturing sector especially, there are perennial and lots of promises that have been made.
“For instance, the issue of infrastructure. The Electricity Act 2023, people believe that it holds a lot of promise and the fact that people can self-generate power.
“There are low-hanging fruits that the government can do to make fiscal and monetary policy. The multiplicity of taxes and levies. A joint tax force has a unified collection of taxes but some state governments have already taken that license to impose outrageous and sometimes irresponsible taxes imposed on the people. You can imagine asking a small-scale business in Kaduna to pay a haulage fee of N5m.
“I mean that is ridiculous because they are not even able to make that turnover in a quarter of the year. They are the issues that the Federal Government, state, and local governments have to work together on multiple taxes.”
Despite the recent increase in the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 18.5 per cent by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to curtail the rise in inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation rose to 22.41 per cent in May 2023.
The CBN said inflation is a major challenge, adding that the drivers of inflation are outside its control including Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) supply.
The 22.41 per cent surge was disclosed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Thursday indicating the fifth consecutive surge in 2023.
According to the report, the figure showed an increase in 0.19 per cent points when compared to the 22.22 per cent recorded in April 2023.
Similarly, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 4.70 per cent points higher when compared to the rate recorded in May 2022, which stood at 17.71 per cent.
The NBS report stated, “In May 2023, the headline inflation rate increased to 22.41 per cent relative to April 2023 headline inflation rate which was 22.22 per cent. the May 2023 inflation rate showed an increase of 0.19 per cent points when compared to April 2023.”
The NBS attributed the surge to the food inflation rate which quickened to 24.82 per cent in May from 24.61 per cent in the previous month
Also, on a year-on-year basis, it rose by 5.33 per cent points higher compared to the 19.5 per cent recorded in May 2022
The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of oil and fat, yam and other tubers, bread and cereals, fish, potatoes, fruits, meat, vegetable, spirit
Other factors that contributed to the May inflation according to NBS are, food and non-alcoholic beverages recorded to be 11.61 per cent, housing water, electricity gas & other fuel 3.75 per cent, and transport to be 1.46 per cent amongst others.
Recall that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during the World Bank meeting, disclosed that Inflation is a global threat now to economic growth, and Nigeria is on the receiving end.
A Kaduna High Court has dismissed a defamation suit filed by the immediate past governor of the state, Nasir el-Rufai, against a former senator representing Kaduna central, Shehu Sani
The ex-governor had sought N2 billion in damages over comments credited to the former lawmaker.
In the suit filed in 2018, El-Rufai said Sani defamed him by referring to him as a “drunk, loose cannon and an embarrassment to President Muhammadu Buhari”.
El-Rufai claimed that Sani’s statements are totally false and injurious to his person in the eyes of the public.
While delivering his judgement on Thursday, the trial judge, Justice H.A.L Balogun dismissed the suit filed on the ground that it was an abuse of court processes
Balogun said the same case was filed by el-Rufai in different courts in the state.
Counsel to Sani, Kimi Livingstone Appah, had drawn the attention of the court to the fact that the former governor filed the same case in four different courts in the state.
The judge agreed with Appah’s preliminary objection and dismissed the case.
Addressing journalists after the ruling, Appah described the ruling as a victory for democracy and freedom of expression.
Over the years, El-Rufai and Sani have been involved in a series of altercations based on their political differences.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has closed its case against a former Minister of Power, Mohammed Wakil and four others.
In the matter which was ongoing before Justice K. Dagat of the Federal High Court, Maiduguri, Borno State and the Maiduguri Zonal Command of the EFCC, the suspects were re-arraigned on a-seven count charge of criminal conspiracy of commiting money laundering to the tune of N450,000,000.00.
Wakil, alongside Garba Abatcha, Ibrahim Shehu Birma, Dr. Abubakar Ali Kullima and Engr. Muhammad Baba Kachalla, allegedly connived to commit the crime.
According to EFCC, they received the said sum from the $ 115 million disbursed by a former minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke to influence the outcome of the 2015 presidential election.
The commission presented three witnesses who testified against them and they pleaded not guilty to the charges read to them.
Count one of the charges read: “That you, Hon. Muhammad Wakil, Garba Abatcha, Ibrahim Shehu Birma, Dr. Abubakar Ali Kullima and Engr. Muhammad Baba Kachalla on or about the 26th day of March, 2015 at Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did agree amongst yourselves to do an illegal act, to wit: conspiracy to commit money laundering and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 18(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2022 (as amended).”
Before closing its case today, the prosecution counsel, Mukhtar Ali Ahmed appearing alongside S.O Saka, Faruku Muhammad, A.D Aliyu, V.O Ekanem and A.A Ayanshola tendered some documents.
The documents include the statements of the defendants and evidence of payment received by the three Senatorial districts.
A draft from the first defendant and a response letter from Fidelity Bank detailing the means of identification of the first and second defendants, which were admitted as exhibits as well.
Justice Dagat thereafter adjourned the case till October, 3, 4 and 5, 2023 for the defendants to open their defence.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has invited the immediate-past Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, over the investigation into the Nigeria Air project.
The minister is due to appear before the commission within the week to answer questions related to the launch of the national carrier and the alleged N3billion spent on the airline project.
EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, who confirmed that there was an ongoing investigation on the Nigeria Air project, however, did not give further details.
He said, “I can confirm that there is an ongoing investigation in that regard.”
However, EFCC sources said the commission would look at the N3 billion public fund sunk into the project.
The EFCC had already questioned officials of the Nigerian Air over the recent launch of the airline in Abuja.
The sources told LEADERSHIP that, “We have already questioned some officials of Nigeria Air.
“We have invited the former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika. We are expecting him within the week.”
Recall that Sirika had explained on a national television few days ago that the federal government had spent less than N3billion on the Nigeria Air project so far.
The former minister, who stated this while he appeared on Arise News Channel on Sunday, said the total money budgeted for the project in the last seven years was N5billion out of which only N3 billion had so far been released.
Sirika further said the bulk of the money has been spent on consultancies, salaries and administrative costs, stating that the N85 billion figure being bandied around as purportedly spent on Nigeria Air was false and baseless.
On the total money for the establishment of the Nigeria Air, the minister said the total market capitalisation was $200 million out of which all shareholders will pay according to their shares.
He explained that Ethiopian Airlines owns 49 per cent, MRS owns 31 per cent, SAHCO owns 15 per cent while federal government of Nigeria owns five per cent.
The former minister also made it clear that no amount has been paid in cash by any shareholder as the signing of the agreement was ongoing.
On the monies spent by the federal government already, he explained that they would be used as the five per cent equity and if it spend above 5%, the federal government will get a refund.
He also said Nigeria Air won’t enjoy any special tax privileges as all the taxes other airlines are expected to pay will be the same taxes Nigeria Air will be paying.
The minister also accused the immediate-past chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Aviation, Hon. Nnaji Nnoli, of asking for five per cent shares of the Airline for him and his people.
The minister said Nnoli approached him for five per cent for him and his people (which could be fellow committee members or family members) and he told him to approach the shareholders to buy the shares from them as the federal government of Nigeria is not the owner of the airline.
DOCUMENTS: How INEC ‘Blurred Additional 2.5M Votes’ In 18,088 Polling Units Against Peter Obi – Professor Tells Presidential Tribunal
AdminA professor of Mathematics at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra, Eric Uwaduegwu Ofoedu, on Thursday told the Presidential Election Petition Court sitting in Abuja that from the INEC Result Viewing Portal, IREV, 18,088 polling unit results were blurred but when compared with Form EC8As (polling unit results) given to Labour Party agents at the affected PUs, votes of 2,565,269 accredited voters were not reflected in the final results announced by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Yakubu Mahmood.
This was contained in Ofoedu’s statement on oath admitted before the PEPC after being lead to give his evidence in chief by the lawyer representing the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, Onyechi Ikpeazu SAN.
In his statement on oath obtained by THE WHISTLER, the professor, who said he specializes in numerical functional analysis and data science, disclosed that the affected scores from the polling units which favoured Obi was recovered using LP agents EC8A copies and certified true copies of EC8As as supplied by INEC.
He said on February 20, 2023 he was engaged by the Labour party and was later subpoenaed to carry out a data analysis on the election results state by state.
“I observed that, from IREV portal, scores on Form EC8As of 39,546 polling units were inaccessible – contain uploads not connected with the Presidential Election.
“From IREV portal, 18,088 polling units results were blurred. This number of PUs negatively impacted the votes of 2,565,269 accredited voters and 9,165,191 voters that collected their PVCS,” he said.
According to him, overvoting checks on the 2023 presidential election showed that 4,457 polling units with a total of 2,317,129 PVCs collected were affected, adding that the figure exceeds the margin of lead of 1,807, 206 votes over the first runner declared by INEC, that is, Atiku Abubakar.
On the 39,546 polling units allegedly not accessible on IREV, Ofoedu disclosed that both the number of accredited voters (5,532,553) and the number of PVCs collected (23,119, 298) exceeded the margins of lead by far from the INEC-announced results (1,807,206 over Atiku and 2,693,193 over Obi).
Citing Rivers State as an example, the witness said: “From results on IREV portal, LP got 208,564 votes while APC got 118,999 votes in Rivers state as against 175,071 votes for LP and 231,591 votes for APC as announced by INEC.”
In Benue state for instance, he said in the court document that a final vote count of 281,426 votes for Obi and 258,683 votes for Tinubu were obtained after he added actual votes on the Form EC8As obtained from LP agents in the state.
He was of the view that there is no correlation between the results declared by the INEC Chairman and what is available on the IREV portal or CTC of Forms EC8As from the polling units as supplied by the electoral umpire.
At the proceedings on Thursday, he asked the court to adopt his statement on oath while admitting his evidence as Obi’s exhibits against the 2023 presidential election.
But before he spoke, the legal team of INEC, President Bola Tinubu, and All Progressive Congress raised an objection, asking the court not to take his testimonies or admit his documents as evidence.
The five-man panel of the court led by Justice Hassan Tsammani noted their objections but directed the witness to go ahead and adopt his statement.
The witness, through Ikpeazu, tendered as his evidence, Reports of Data Analysis from the Results of the February 25, 2023, presidential election in Nigeria(IREV Scores Investigation alongside LP agents EC8A copies and CTC of EC8A from INEC), River state, Benue state among other documents.
The documents were again opposed by the respondents but the court admitted them while adjourning to Friday for cross-examination of the witness.
Recall that INEC said on March 1 that Tinubu polled 8,794,726 votes while Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party had 6,984,520 votes and 6,101,533 votes respectively.
But petitioners contend that if the actual results from the 18,088 polling units are reflected and the alleged overvoting are deducted, the court would see he was the elected winner of the 2023 polls.
After that, the next subpoenaed witness called by Obi’s legal team was Lumic Edevbie, a Director of Operations, Arise News.
He tendered a video recording contained in a flash drive to the court as evidence.
The respondents objected to the video being played but the court noted their assertion but ordered that it be played.
It was admitted in evidence and the video was played.
The video showed when INEC Chairman, Yakubu Mahmood gave an address at Chatham House, London, saying that the result transmission real-time was the way to go and IREV was a secured archive of scanned polling unit results.
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday approved the appointment of the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, as his Special Adviser on Security.
THE WHISTLER had exclusively reported that President Tinubu had penciled Ribadu down for appointment as National Security Adviser out of three names considered for the position.
But the new development, according to presidential sources who spoke to THE WHISTLER on Thursday, indicates that Tinubu may have scrapped the office of the National Security Adviser and replaced it with that of Special Adviser on Security. The security adviser’s functions would, however, remain the same as the NSA’s.
The presidential source revealed that President Tinubu may have opted to name Ribadu as special security adviser, instead of NSA, to avoid hurting the nation’s military chiefs who may not consider a retired police officer as a competent superior.
The rivalry among security agencies in the country is well documented, especially the lack of love lost between the military and the police over roles in national security. The police force has always complained about the military’s incursion into its constitutional mandate of being in charge of internal security.
The development had led to claims that security funding was channeled more to the military to the detriment of the police force.
By appointing Ribadu as a security adviser, the presidential source said security chiefs will now report directly to the president instead of the NSA.
The decision to bypass the traditional appointment of an NSA, if unaltered, will confirm concerns about the silent rivalry between the police and the military.
Another presidential source echoed that the decision to do away with an NSA was due to Ribadu’s background in the police force which might lead to perceived bias in favour of the police among military personnel and that the sentiment likely influenced Tinubu’s choice to appoint him in a different capacity.
Ribadu is widely recognized for his remarkable track record as the chairman of the EFCC, where he spearheaded the fight against corruption during his tenure. His appointment as the Special Adviser on Security positions him as a key advisor to President Tinubu on matters pertaining to national security.
While his experience in law enforcement and the fight against financial crimes have earned him respect, questions may however arise regarding his expertise in handling broader security matters that extend beyond his previous role at the EFCC.
As Special Adviser on Security to the President, Ribadu will be tasked with coordinating efforts across various agencies to ensure the safety and stability of the nation.
President Tinubu’s decision to bypass the appointment of an NSA may signify his desire for a more direct and hands-on approach to national security matters.
THE WHISTLER further reports that by having the security chiefs report directly to him, Tinubu may be aiming to maintain a tight grip on security decision-making and ensure a seamless flow of information without potential obstacles arising from the rivalry between Ribadu and the military chiefs.
The Governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti on Thursday said that his predecessor, Okezie Ikpeazu left a humongous debt burden of N191.24bn and an empty treasury when he handed over the affairs of the state to him on May 29.
Otti who won the Governorship election in Abia during the last general elections said this in reaction to claims that Ikpeazu handed over billions of naira to him.
The statement was signed by Ferdinand Ekeoma Special Adviser (Media and Publicity); Mr. Kazie Uko
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor; Mr. Mike Akpara, Special Adviser to the Governor on Finance and
Mrs. Njum Onyemenam, Accountant General of Abia State.
Setting the records straight, the Governor said in the statement that the sum of N77,927,939,042.82 was owed Banks in the country, N71,022,162,441.01 was owed as domestic debt while external debts liabilities was put at N42,289,206, 109.84.
Providing further breakdown of the indebtedness, the Abia State Governor explained in the statement that from the N77,927,939,042.82 owed banks, United Bank for Africa accounted for N8,012,830,371.44; Zenith Bank N21,557,168,761.71; Union Bank N597,637,399.55 and Central Bank of Nigeria N47,760,302,510.12.
For the domestic debt obligation, he said that Salaries and Subvention Arrears was put at N18,162,102,692.92; Pension Arrears N21,283,876,789.80; Gratuity Arrears N27,012,996,061.64; and Contractors Arrears N4,563,186,896.65.
The statement further stated that the Okezie Ikpeazu-led government did not leave any N24bn in the account of Abia state government as was falsely claimed.
It noted that the $200m and $50m the government claimed to have left for the new administration are loans they were pursuing which is yet to crystalize.
The statement reads in part, “The Okezie Ikpeazu-led government did not leave any N24bn in the account of Abia state government as they falsely claimed.
“The $200m and $50m they claimed they left for the new administration are loans they were pursuing which is yet to crystalize.
“Outside the humongous financial liabilities left behind by the Ikpeazu-led government, they also left physical liabilities in all our key institutions. For example, our University Teaching Hospital lost accreditation for the first time in history.
“Our only state Polytechnic also lost accreditation. The regulatory authorities predicated their action against these institutions on Non-payment of salaries, lack of Equipment and Lack of Infrastructure.
“Poor internal generation of revenue, with the little they generated frittered away in payment to consultants for no added value. They pay as much as 20 which is highly unethical.
“Doctors who have been on strike since February 2023 just called off their strike, and they emphatically stated that they based their decision on their conviction that Governor Otti would solve the problem that necessitated the strike action.
“Finally, the elementary question is; if ikpeazu had the billions he claimed to have left behind for the Otti led-government in April and May, why did he not pay workers and pensioners before leaving office, since Governor Otti just took over from him on the 29th of May 20237
“If Ikpeazu is trying to preempt anti-corruption agencies by making such provocative false claims, he should know that they work with facts and figures, therefore even if he runs into the APC to seek refuge as he is planning to do, these anti-corruption agencies would pursue and bring him to justice from there.”
‘2023 Election Not Satisfactory’ — Atiku’s Forensic Examiner Asks Court To Deduct Illegal Votes Declared By INEC Chairman
Admin…As INEC Chairman Subpoenaed Again Over National Voters Register
A statistician and forensic examiner, Samuel Oduntan, who was presented by the Peoples Democratic Party and its flagbearer, Atiku Abubakar, has urged the Presidential Election Petitions Court sitting in Abuja to deduct “irregular votes” from the 2023 presidential election results declared in favour of President Bola Tinubu by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Yakubu Mahmood, in the 2023 election.
Oduntan made the request during cross-examination by lawyers representing the Independent National Electoral Commission, President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress.
According to him, he studied the polling unit results from across the federation, alongside 6 team members and discovered that alleged irregular votes were entered across the states including where the PDP won.
Under cross-examination by Tinubu and Shettima’s lawyer, Wole Olanipekun SAN, he admitted however that he did not attach pictorial samples of any of the INEC forms he referred to in his report.
He explained that he did not have to attach them to his report because he was convinced the PDP lawyers would tender INEC electoral forms as exhibits to buttress his assessment of the polls.
“Did you take the votes of all the 18 political parties into consideration during your analysis?,” Olanipekun asked, to which the witness responded in the affirmative.
He was asked severally to tell the court if he was not satisfied with votes given to Atiku Abubakar because of the irregularities he discovered.
The witness maintained he was not satisfied with irregular votes entered across the states, adding “and that is why we seek a deduction.”
Under further cross-examination by Lateef Fagbemi SAN, Oduntan admitted he had been following and analysing INEC conduct of elections since 1999.
He said his inspection of the election results was in company of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) officials.
Oduntan noted that he did not conduct extraction of reports from BVAS machine because it had already been reconfigured by the electoral umpire.
The witness was subsequently discharged by the court.
Afterwards, PDP’s lead counsel, Chris Uche told the court that following a subpoena on the INEC Chairman to produce more electoral documents, few of the documents requested for have been accessed by them.
He then tendered as more evidence, Forms EC8D series (results for the 36 states), EC8DA(Final Declaration of results), CTC of accreditation data on BVAS machines in respect of Rivers State and for the entire federation, and EC9 Form (containing particulars of Tinubu).
The documents sought to be tendered were objected to by the respondents but the court admitted them as Atiku’s evidence.
Uche further notified the court of another subpoena against the INEC Chairman to produce the Voters Register used in the 2023 election.
The court subsequently adjourned hearing to Friday.
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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has expressed its dissatisfaction with the submission of 18,000 blurred Incident Report (IReV) sheets by the Labour Party (LP), describing it as an ambush.
On Thursday, the Labour Party (LP) submitted 18,000 polling unit results that were blurred during the presidential election to the tribunal.
LP presidential candidate Peter Obi has challenged the election process that resulted in President Bola Tinubu's victory, as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The defendants in the lawsuit include INEC, Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Reporting from the proceedings, it has been disclosed that Onyechi Ikpeazu, the legal representative for the petitioners, has submitted data analysis reports on the presidential election. These reports were presented through Eric Ofoedu, a professor of mathematics at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, who was also a witness for the LP.
Ikpeazu revealed that the documents included inquiries into IReV score sheets from Rivers and Benue states.
The petitioners have submitted 18,000 polling units with blurred results obtained from the IReV portal.
The admissibility of the documents was objected to by Abubakar Mahmoud, who serves as the lead counsel for INEC.
According to Mahmoud, the situation was akin to an ambush. He further stated that the LP had provided a copy of the witness' statement only a few hours prior to the start of the proceedings.
Admittedly, my team and I are facing a challenge and are unsure of the next steps to take. According to him, it is an ambush.
It was expected that the counsel would have presented the statement earlier, in accordance with the court's regulations and in the spirit of collaboration. The meal ought to have been delivered promptly to prevent this surprise attack.
Mahmood has made a plea to the court, requesting that the LP be compelled to allow the INEC legal team a 48-hour period to review the documents that have been submitted.
Despite objections from Wole Olanipakun, the counsel for Tinubu and Shettima, they ultimately agreed to hear the witness's statement and suggested a later time for cross-examination.
Arise News TV journalist Lumnie Edevbie was summoned as a witness for the LP and was presented as evidence by Patrick Ikweato, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) who is part of the party's legal team.
During the trial, a witness presented a video statement from Yakubu Mahmood, the chairman of INEC, which was recorded at Chatham House in London on January 17. In the video, Mahmood expressed confidence in the reliability and efficiency of the bimodal voter accreditation system (BVAS).
According to all respondents, they objected to the adoption of the statement of the witness and the viewing of the video.
The session was adjourned by the five-man panel, headed by Haruna Tsammani, until Thursday. This was done to allow for the cross-examination of the witness and further hearing of the petition.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Wale Edun, Nuhu Ribadu, and Dele Alake as his trusted special advisers.
Dele Alake has been appointed as a special adviser on special duties, communications, and strategy.
Nuhu Ribadu, who previously served as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has been appointed as a special adviser on security. Additionally, Wale Edun has been named as a special adviser on monetary policies.
On Thursday, the State House's director of information, Abiodun Oladunjoye, issued a statement announcing their appointment.
In all, the President has designated a total of eight individuals to serve as special advisors.
In recent developments, Yau Darazo has been appointed as the special adviser on political and intergovernmental affairs, while Olu Verheijen has been named as the special adviser on energy.
In a recent development, the president has appointed Zachaeus Adedeji as a special adviser on revenue, and John Ugochukwu Uwajumogu as a special adviser on industry, trade, and investment.
Salma Ibrahim Anas has been appointed as a special adviser on health.
According to the president, the appointments will take effect immediately.
On June 6th, 2023, the Senate granted Tinubu's request to appoint 20 special advisers.
President Bola Tinubu has inaugurated the National Economic Council (NEC), charging the Council to work with his administration to revive the economic fortunes of Nigerians.
Speaking at the inauguration of the NEC at the Council Chambers of the State House in Abuja, President Tinubu noted that the task of reviving the economy before the new administration is daunting but noted that there would be no excuses not to deliver, since they all begged and even danced before Nigerians to give them the job.
He charged the Council to get to work, pointing out that Nigerians are waiting for them, saying “it is very reassuring that our citizens are behind us, but they want reforms and they want them very quickly”.
The NEC, which is under the chairmanship of the Vice President, was inaugurated on Thursday, a week after Tinubu called for its convening to fast track the process of finding answers that will mitigate the effects of the petroleum subsidy.
The NEC meets monthly and has the mandate to “advise the President concerning the economic affairs of the Federation, and in particular on measures necessary for the coordination of the economic planning efforts or economic programmes of the various Governments of the Federation.”
Those in attendance when meeting commenced are Governors Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq (Kwara); Ademola Adeleke (Osun); Yahaya Bello (Kogi); Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti); Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa); Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom); Peter Mbah (Enugu); Bassey Otu (Cross River); Caleb Muftwang (Plateau); Nasir Idris (Kebbi); Aliyu Radda (Katsina) and Hycinth Alia (Benue).
Others are Dauda Lawal (Zamfara); Dapo Abiodun (Ogun); Charles Soludo (Anambra); Mai Mala Buni (Yobe); Agbu Kefas (Taraba); Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta); Siminalayi Fubara (Rivers); Mohammed Bago (Niger) and Ahmad Aliyu (Sokoto).
Others are Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi); Uba Sani (Kaduna); Godwin Obaseki (Edo); Alex Otti (Abia); Douye Diri (Bayelsa); Abba Yusuf (Kano); Bala Mohammed (Bauchi); Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Borno Deputy Governor Umar Kadafur with Ondi Deputy Lucky Ayedatiwa.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume; Chief of Staff Femi Gbajabiamila; the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari; Acting Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, Acting Governor of Central Bank, Folashodun Shonubi, Permanent Secretaries Budget and National Planning, Federal Capital Territory Administration, and State House are also there.
Popular social media commentator, Daniel Regha has reacted following the suspension of the Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), AbdulRasheed Bawa, by President Bola Tinubu.
Taking to his Twitter handle Wednesday, Regha claimed Bawa’s suspension means “nothing”.
According to him, “If Tinubu & this administration are serious, they should sack the INEC chairman (Yakubu)”.
“Bawa (EFCC boss) was incompetent but let’s not pretend like Tinubu is suspending anyone to fight corruption or fix Nigeria. There’s ulterior motive,” he stated.
This is the second time in barely a week Tinubu will be suspending principal officers since he was sworn-in as Nigeria’s 16th President.
Recall Tinubu on Saturday, June 10, had suspended the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele following an ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy.