The Supreme Court has adjourned the appeals challenging the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the February 25 election.

Naija News recalls that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the election, but Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alongside Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP) rejected the result and headed for the court.

The duo challenged the election result alongside the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) candidate, but the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal struck out their appeals.

Unsatisfied with the PEPT judgement, the three political parties filed appeals at the Supreme Court, which heard the matter on Monday.

However, APM on Monday announced the withdrawal of its appeal during the proceedings at the apex court while PDP and LP continued with their cases.

The appellant’s lawyer, Chukwuma Majukwu Umeh, applied to withdraw it.

Following the withdrawal, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal for lack of merit.

In dismissing the appeal, members of the Supreme Court panel noted that it was a frivolous case because the apex court, in an earlier case of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) v. INEC and others, resolved the issue that Shettima was properly nominated.

The 7-member panel led by Justice John Okoro however adjourned the matter of the PDP and LP after the arguments of lawyers of the respective parties.

Okoro held, “This appeal is reserved for judgement until a date to be communicated to parties.”

Former governor of Ekiti State and chieftain of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, Ayodele Fayose, on Sunday, commended the performance of incumbent Governor Biodun Oyebanji of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Fayose, who spoke at a special thanksgiving service at Cathedral Church of Emmanuel Okesa, Ado Ekiti to mark Oyebanji administration’s first year in office, said not only will Oyebanji successfully complete his first term, but he would also get reelection for a second term.

Fayose spoke on behalf of ex-governors of the state, Niyi Adebayo and Kayode Fayemi.

He said, “We are all together for Biodun Oyebanji. I am not a member of your party (APC) and I will not be. I am with you (Oyebanji) hundred per cent.

“Where is Bisi K (Chief Bisi Kolawole, PDP 2022 governorship candidate)? We are going to support you (Oyebanji). You have come to visit me at my house seven times. You are doing it differently and you will get a different result. This church will pray for you and you will do it (governorship) a second time.”

In his remarks, Adebayo said Fayose’s assertion “is the position of we, the former governors. Thank you very much.”

The Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who spoke earlier, said, “I am looking forward to being the chairman of your (Oyebanji’s) re-election campaign,” adding that “the governor has earned the confidence and trust of the people for a second term.”

Bamidele, who represented the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said, “Governor Oyebanji is entrenching the culture of respect and the culture of performance. He is lucky to have Governors Adebayo, Fayose and Fayemi as mentors and advisers. What he is doing differently is that he is giving the state a new political order, uniting various groups where youths, women, and civil societies consider themselves as stakeholders.

Making his remarks, Oyebanji said he counted himself lucky to be standing on the shoulders of the former governors, whom he described as “giants”.

“Today is about God in our life as people of Ekiti State. It is not because I am the best person in the state or because I know how to do it; it’s not because I am the most brilliant, all is by the grace of God. For the little we have achieved, I give God the glory,” he said.

In his sermon, the Bishop of the Diocese of Ekiti, the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, the Rt. Revd Olusola Ajayi, hailed Oyebanji for making a positive impact in the lives of the people of the state in the last year.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced that the Student Loan Scheme payment will commence in January 2024.

Naija News reports that Tinubu gave the assurance on Monday while speaking at the 29th edition of the annual Nigerian Economic Summit, anchored by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.

He also reiterated that his administration will end industrial actions in the nation’s academic environment.

Speaking on plans to stabilise the economy, with the collaboration of all stakeholders, especially the private sector, Tinubu stressed the need to immediately initiate a sustainable credit scheme, which he said would aid an effective anti-corruption campaign.

He said: “By January 2024, the new Students Loan Programme must commence. To the future of our children and students we’re saying no more strikes.

“There must be consumer credit, scheme will have to come to effect as soon as possible. I thank my team and my colleagues to build this programme, develop it now. We cannot talk about anti-corruption when you have to look for cash to buy a car, when there’s no mortgage for homeownership.”

On the occasion of his 60th posthumous birthday, former Super Eagles forward Rashidi Yekini has been honored by Google.

Google paid tribute to the late legendary striker with a special doodle.

Yekini passed away in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, on May 4, 2012, at the young age of 48.

The doodle started with a biographical snippet about the iconic striker: “Today’s Doodle celebrates iconic Nigerian footballer Rashidi Yekini, an accomplished forward known as the ‘Goalsfather’ for his ability to sneak shots past the keeper. On this day in 1963, he was born in Kaduna, Nigeria.

“Yekini faced difficulties at the beginning of his life, including homelessness and poverty. He worked as a welder and mechanic to earn money, but his true aspiration was to pursue football. Soon, he started playing in front of scouts, and in 1981, he joined his first football club, UNTL FC, in Kaduna.

“The talented striker subsequently played for the Shooting Stars, scoring an impressive 45 goals in 53 games. His remarkable scoring abilities earned him the title of African Footballer of the Year in 1983, making him the first Nigerian player to receive this prestigious honor. The following year, he helped lead the Shooting Stars to the finals of the African Champions Cup.

“In addition to Nigeria, he also played for football clubs in Spain, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, Portugal, Tunisia, Switzerland, and Greece. While playing for a Portuguese team called Vitória Setúbal, he won the Bola de Prata (Silver Ball) as the league’s top-scoring player in the 1993-94 season.

“Happy birthday, Rashidi Yekini!”

Yekini is considered one of Nigeria’s finest strikers.

The former player of Vitoria Setubal in Portugal played a crucial role in Nigeria’s qualification for their first World Cup in 1994.

He was the top scorer at the Senegal 1992 and Tunisia 1994 nations cups.

Yekini was also the first Nigerian to score a goal at the World Cup.

The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) made a surprising decision on Monday at the Supreme Court, as they dramatically withdrew their petition challenging the nomination of President Bola Tinubu for the last presidential election.

APM had alleged that Kashim Shettima, who later became a vice presidential candidate to Tinubu, engaged in double nominations, making Tinubu’s candidacy unlawful and unconstitutional.

The party argued that the withdrawal of Kabiru Masari as the initial vice presidential candidate and placeholder was not in accordance with the law.

During Monday’s proceedings, APM’s counsel, Chukwuma Machukwu Ume SAN, faced questioning in the case.

Justice John Inyang Okoro interjected, reminding Ume that the Supreme Court had previously ruled that matters relating to candidate nominations for elections are internal affairs of political parties.

The Presiding Justice also emphasized that even if judgment was in favor of APM, it would not benefit the party in any way.

Taking note of these remarks from the court, Ume applied to withdraw the appeal in order to lessen the court’s workload.

Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, representing Tinubu; Abubakar Mahmoud SAN, representing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); and Akin Olujinmi SAN, representing the All Progressives Congress (APC), raised no objections to the withdrawal. Consequently, Justice John Okoro dismissed the appeal.

The dismissal did not come with any cost against APM or its lead lawyer.

In the meantime, the hearing for the appeal filed by the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, has commenced.

The High Court sitting in Adamawa State has fixed a date for the arraignment of the suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa-Ari.

Naija News gathered that the court scheduled the arraignment for November 6th, 2023.

Hudu faces multiple charges including announcing false electoral results, breaching his oath of neutrality, disorderly conduct during elections, inciting disturbance, and personating a public servant.

Ari in a controversial manner, announced the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aishatu “Binani” Dahiru as the winner of the Adamawa governorship while the collation of the April 15 supplementary election was still ongoing.

The suspended REC had said that he announced the results of 69 polling units in the supplementary poll due to security pressure. He was suspended and grilled by the police.

The arraignment which was initially set for July 27th, 2023, was delayed due to the REC’s failure to appear in court.

The development saw Justice Benjamin Manji Lawan adjourned the case for the third time.

The court then set October 23rd, 2023, to enable the electoral umpire to arraign its suspended officer for alleged electoral offences.

Unfortunately, the scheduled arraignment could not take place as planned, due to the court’s inability to sit.

This comes days after the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Chairman of INEC, Rotimi Oyekanmi, said the commission is in court with Ari.

Oyekanmi, however, in a recent interview, said the commission is waiting for the prosecution board to take over Yari’s prosecution.

In an effort to address poor waste disposal practices and other environmental sanitation offenses, the Lagos State Government has taken the decision to seal the Alaba International Market.

On social media platform X, the Commissioner for Environment, Tokunbo Wahab, announced this development on Monday.

Wahab stated that the market was closed due to its failure to adhere to proper waste disposal practices, failure to pay waste bills, and various other gross environmental sanitation offenses.

“Alaba International Market, Ojo, has been sealed off due to its poor waste disposal practices, failure to pay waste bills, and numerous gross environmental sanitation offenses,” Wahab wrote on X.

From the small handguns of the 15th century to the sophisticated machine guns and other small and light weapons of our time, the world has suffered mayhem and wanton destruction due to the rightful and wrongful use of these weapons. In the hands of non-state actors, these weapons are used to challenge the state monopoly of coercion and in committing all levels of criminality, from kidnaping, armed robbery, banditry, and criminal revolt against the state.

The more dangerous dimension in Nigeria is the illegal possession of military grade arsenal by criminals and non state actors. This unlimited and unchecked proliferation of illegal arms has reached the epidemic level in Nigeria in recent times with attendant national security implications . Neither the Executive nor the legislature or the security agencies seem to have mustered the will to tackle it. Only a few cosmetic exercises have been done. I acknowledge the little gains made by these efforts, but they have not been enough to reduce, if not eradicate, the menace of the proliferation of small and light weapons in Nigeria.

The issue of illicit Small And Light Weapons (SALW) is a serious concern globally, and Nigeria has not been immune to its effects. Illegal small and light weapons refer to weapons that are not controlled by a state or a non-state entity and are often used in criminal activities or conflicts. The proliferation of such weapons in Nigeria has had devastating consequences, contributing to the perpetuation of violence, crime, and insecurity in various parts of the country. There have been reports of the circulation of small and light weapons in different regions of Nigeria, particularly in areas affected by conflicts, such as the Niger Delta, the North-East region plagued by Boko Haram insurgency, and other volatile areas,but no serious attempt ,by Nigerian authorities, has been made to get data about the estimated number of SALW in circulation . These weapons often find their way into the hands of criminal groups, insurgents, and other non-state actors, fuelling instability and posing a threat to both national and regional security. With access to many illegal weapons, the rogue elements have become emboldened and more aggressive, hence less amenable to entreaties to make peace and are objects of terror to all. The situation where these rogue elements have better and more sophisticated weapons than the security agents leave much to be desired. We expose our security men to harm’s way in their seemingly onerous task of protecting us.

The statistics on small and light weapons aberration in Nigeria are alarming. According to Small Arms Survey, a Swiss-based non-profit, in 2020, Nigeria had an estimated 6.2m of arms in the hands of civilians, excluding those of the military and law enforcement agencies. This means that 3.21 per 100 persons in Nigeria have firearms, whereas 224,200 and 362,400 guns were in the possession of the military and other law enforcement agencies, respectively. This is by far the highest number of civilian small arms and light weapons in any African country. The same organisation posits that Nigeria has more Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) than any country in sub–Saharan Africa.

The economy of SALW is growing and robust in Nigeria due to the multifactorial and complex situations fuelling the proliferation of illicit SALW. These factors include illegal smuggling of weapons through our porous borders, the conflict in the Sahel region in recent times, stolen firearms and gunrunning by rogue security personnel, a thriving local arms industry in places like Awka, Calabar, Lagos and other known local weapon manufacturing locations in Nigeria, illegal mining activities and oil bunkering, drugs and narcotics linkages, political violence especially during elections, armed vigilantes and extremists, and private security outfits. The demand and supply of these weapons are growing, creating a vicious circle of use of these weapons to perpetuate criminality. The superiority of the man with the gun over others who do not, and his ability to bend others to his whims and caprices, makes ownership of illicit arms attractive to many, even if not for use in criminal acts, but for self-defence. This is the bane of Nigeria. Citizen’s self-help in security issues is an aberration and does not help the SALW conundrum Nigeria has found itself.

Nigeria has attempted to combat this issue, including participating in international initiatives, and implementing various policies and programs to control the spread of illicit weapons. I must acknowledge the work done by the Amnesty office, which has conducted small arms and light weapons amnesty at various times. They collected many SALW in exchange for giving the people who submitted them cash incentives. Furthermore, the Nigerian government has set up legislative, institutional, and policy frameworks to tackle this menace. The National Commission for the Coordination and Control of Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons is one such instrument to deal with these issues. However, not much has been heard of the activities of this agency . Notwithstanding , continued commitment and collaboration at the national and international levels are crucial for effectively addressing the epidemic of illicit small and light weapons in Nigeria and creating a more stable and secure environment for its citizens.

Addressing the challenge of illicit SALW in Nigeria requires a combination of strategies and multifaceted approach that involves cooperation between the government, security agencies, and international partners. Strategies might include a nationwide arms decommissioning exercise , strengthening border controls to prevent the influx of weapons, improving intelligence-gathering mechanisms to track illicit arms trafficking, and implementing disarmament, and reintegration programme to retrieve weapons from non-state actors and reintegrate them into society.

Furthermore, promoting community-based initiatives, fostering dialogue, and investing in socio-economic development can help address the root causes of conflicts, thereby reducing the demand for these weapons. Strengthening law enforcement and promoting judicial reforms are also essential in ensuring that those involved in the illicit arms trade face legal consequences.

It is time to strengthen appropriate institutions to enforce laws and regulations on the control of SALW. We must upend the penalty and punishment for bearing illegal arms and ensure people know the severe consequences of being caught with illicit arms. We must invest in Intelligence to track the movement and location of these illegal arms and take the war to those who engage in this unlawful and dangerous business. We must remember that we can either cut off the supply for SALW and watch the demand fizzle away or vice versa. Any actions or inactions that will hurt the SALW economy will be in the right direction. Political merchants and their thugs should never forget that Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) live longer after elections.

Government at all levels must collaborate with civil societies and other interested local and international agencies to systematically reduce the risk of proliferation and transfer of SALW by confiscating and destroying these weapons. They must raise awareness, especially among children and youths, about the dangers of illicit SALW through a robust and well-organised campaign, education, outreach, and representation. They must implement evidence-based policies and practices to control the spread of SALW. Private citizens must resist the desire to resort to self-help in the issue of insecurity, thereby worsening the scourge of weapon proliferation. The government must take back control of the security of the nation, which is its primary role, and give citizens confidence that the government can and will protect their lives and property.

The  proliferation of SALWs, occasioned by multiple factors of porous national borders, allows for the smuggling of these weapons from other countries connected with previous and present conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa, a booming business of gunrunning by security personnel, a thriving local arms industry and nonexistence of a robust and fit-for-purpose regulatory and enforcement mechanism are the main factors fuelling Nigeria’s security challenges, giving rise to criminal activities across the country. This grim revelation does not bode well for Nigeria, especially at this critical time when the nation is experiencing severe economic and security challenges across almost all the regions. It is time we stepped up our game to confront illicit SALW and start resolving our insecurity problems. The government must take back control of its supremacy in the use of instruments of coercion in Nigeria and make most non-state actors disengage in trying to control some or all parts of the Nigerian state.

GODSWILL Obot Akpabio aspired to be president of Nigeria and ended up president all the same, but of the Senate. In that capacity, he presides over the National Assembly. That makes him the number three citizen of the country, behind only the president and his vice. It is ordinarily a pretty perch from which a lot can be accomplished but that also depends on what “a lot” means.

Unlike many politicians in Nigeria, Akpabio went to schools that were in existence at the time he received his certificates and he has school mates who are still alive. He completed High School at the Federal Government College, Port Harcourt and received his first degree in law from the University of Calabar where he was also Speaker of the Students’ Union Parliament. At the Law School in Lagos, he sat two rows behind former Ohanaeze Nd’Igbo President-General, Nnia Nwodo, and three in front of this writer. On November 3, 1988, he was admitted to the Nigerian Bar.

Akpabio is one of very few politicians to have held office continuously in Nigeria through the quarter century since the country returned to civil rule. Coincidentally, the man whom he succeeded as Senate President is another. 

Over this period, Akpabio has held a combination of appointive and elective office in the state cabinet as both commissioner and governor; and at the federal level as senator and minister. On his first tour of duty in the Senate, he took control of a small fraction as Minority Leader in 2015 with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Three years later, in 2018, Akpabio flipped party, crossing over to the All Progressives Congress, APC. Now he carries on as if he owns the whole place.

In 2023, Akpabio’s ambition was the presidential ticket of the ruling party but, as it turned out, it was not his turn. By the time the presidential ticket was decided, however, the party had also concluded primaries for the other elective positions down-ballot. In his home constituency in Akwa Ibom State, the ticket for the Senate was originally decided in favour of Udom Ekpeudom, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police.

Like his predecessor in the office of Senate President and by dint of a brand of judicial invention to which Nigeria uniquely holds the patent, Akpabio successfully edged out the original winner and ended up with a ticket to the Senate from the party. Emmanuel Aziken delicately reports that “the role of money in the rediscovery of Akpabio and Lawan remains in the realm of speculation and extending that in this commentary may breach upon the integrity of the Supreme Court which validated the candidature of the two men”.

Akpabio’s tenure as Senate President has been busy. He has the dubious distinction of being responsible for the largest cabinet, coinciding also with the harshest times in the country’s history. He led the upper chamber to consent to the appointment of 20 special advisers to the president and successfully screened 49 nominees for ministerial appointment, including at least one serving member of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC. He also turfed out three ministerial nominees, including the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai.

Under him, the business of the Senate happens at the speed of Abracadabra.

When Akpabio ran to be Senate President, his campaign manager was Ali Ndume, the senator for Borno South who, coincidentally, grew up in Port Harcourt around the same time that Akpabio did high school there. When the spoils fell to be shared thereafter, Senator Ndume emerged the Majority Whip.

 There was, therefore, justifiable spectacle to the scene that unfolded on the floor of the Senate around October 11, when Mohammed Onawo, who represents Nasarawa South, rose to complain that the Senate President was “just passing bills without prior notification; even money bills, you just pass without anyone’s contribution and within 2 hours. This is not good for Nigeria and history will judge you.” Senators generally bridled at the fact that they had been “ambushed all the time when very sensitive bills are brought and expected to be passed with the speed of light, which is not good for this country.” This complaint ostensibly had the support of the Senate Whip.

  This sounds serious. For example, the National Broadcasting Corporation, NBC, has sent to Akpabio an oppressive Social Media Regulation Bill. At his rate of parliamentary business, it could all be passed in less than a day with few or no questions asked.

 Anyway, Senate President Akpabio did not bother to controvert Senators Onawo or Ndume. Instead, he took the opportunity to articulate his philosophy of parliamentary business and leadership that is best described as the doctrine of prophetic altruism. In his own words: “If what we pass is good for the country, history will judge me right. If what we are passing with the speed of light is in the interest of Nigerians, history will judge me right. I don’t think we would come here to pass a bill that will not be in the interest of Nigerians.”

  Four years ago, while he was still a minister in the federal cabinet, Thisday newspaper reminded us that “Akpabio is not a man of ideas, neither is he one to embrace the niceties of democratic norms because respect for due process and the rule of law – the core values of democracy – are not part of his forte. He’s just a believer in the power of cash and whatever cash cannot buy, more cash can buy it.”

  Akpabio’s philosophy of prophetic altruism embodies three dangerous propositions. First, he sets up a contradiction between parliamentary due process on the one hand and public good on the other, manufactured in his head entirely for the purpose of retrenching the former without no intention of fulfilling the latter.

  Second, he transforms “if” from a contingency to a prophecy, essentially granting himself the license to trample whatever he can in pursuit of whatever he fancies in the misbegotten belief that his fancies represent the public interest. 

  Third, Akpabio goes further in a fit of terminal conceit to clothe his presumption with irrefutability, preening himself as the embodiment of every citizen and transforming him into the parliamentary equivalent of Louis XIV.

  This shows a remarkable consistency of hubristic narcissism but will be news to citizens beholding the filigree of new SUVs to all members of the National Assembly funded from the proceeds of unconcealed quantitative easing, while many of them die from an epidemic of penury supervised with glee by Akpabio.

  When he governed Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Obot Akpabio liked to describe himself and his tenure as “uncommon”. By the time he arrived the Senate, he found himself in the company of 108 others. To separate himself from them, he metamorphosed into the “Uncommon Senator”. In an uncommon act of grace to his predecessors, Akpabio chose instead to promise as he ran to lead the 10th Senate that he will be an “uncommon transformer” if chosen. His rhetoric of running an uncommon Senate has now disintegrated into a reality of uncommon lawlessness.

  In the past week, Akpabio boasted about how he ignored the invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to answer to serious allegations of financial crime against him because, he claimed, it was based on a “frivolous petition”. He implied in the same line that former governors were above the law. 

A lawyer and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Fourteen officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority caught at different locations across the state extorting money from motorists are set to face a disciplinary panel.

The agency’s Public Relations Officer, Adebayo Taofiq, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists on Sunday.

According to the statement, the 14 male officials include 11 officials on the senior cadre and three junior officials.

Taofiq quoted the agency’s General Manager, Mr Bolaji Oreagba, as saying that the cases against them had been investigated and that the next phase was for them to face the panel.

He added that to get rid of the individuals tarnishing the agency’s reputation, the agency would continue to mete out severe punishment on officers who act contrary to the law.

He also cautioned the public to stop bribing LASTMA officials.

 The statement partly read, “The General Manager of LASTMA, Mr Bolaji Oreagba, disclosed that these affected officers whose cases have been investigated would be facing a government disciplinary committee known as the Personnel Management Board which would adjudicate their cases in line with the Public Service Rules. 

 “According to Mr Oreagba, the 14 male officers (11 seniors and three juniors) were caught at different locations across the state extorting money (bribes) from motorists.

 “He said the agency would continue to mete out stiff and severe punishment on officers and men in its efforts to weed the agency of a few bad elements tarnishing its image.

 “We thereby call on residents, especially the motoring public, to support us by promptly reporting any errant officers at the nearest LASTMA offices or use any of the agency’s complaints hotlines with proof of evidence.”