Connect with us

Politics

Kogi: Appeal Court reserves judgment in Ajaka’s petition against Ododo

Published

on

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reserved judgment in the appeal by candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the November 11, 2023 Kogi governorship election, Muritala Ajaka, and his party, against the decision of the state election petition tribunal.

In its May 27 judgment, the tribunal upheld the victory of Usman Ododo of All Progressives Congress (APC) and dismissed Ajaka’s petition.

A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal yesterday took final submissions from lawyers to parties in the case, and announced that judgment is reserved, to be delivered on a date to be communicated to them (the parties).

Kanu Agabi (SAN), while adopting the briefs filed on behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), prayed the court to dismiss Ajaka’s appeal for lacking in merit. He said there were inconsistencies in the appellant’s case.

Advertisement

Agabi argued that the Appeal Court had decided that if the grounds of a petition were inconsistent with one another, and were not consistent with the reliefs, it should be struck out. He also argued that the evidence of the petitioners were grossly insufficient, citing a Supreme Court decision.

The former Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) argued that once the evidence called is grossly insufficient, there is no evidence. He said the petitioners only called 25 witnesses out of the scores listed.

According to him, of the 25 witnesses called by the petitioners, there was no single polling unit agent among them. He also argued that the first petitioners’ witness (PW1) did not file any witness deposition beforehand as required by law and, as such, cannot give evidence in an election petition.

Ododo’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN), noted that no single evidence of the PW1 was admitted as evidence by the court on the ground that he failed to front load his witness statement beforehand.

Advertisement

He said the tribunal was right to have expunged the evidence of PW1, having declared it inadmissible, and added that the appellants failed to prove the allegation of over voting in their petition.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Education

BREAKING! END of road for Fubara as FG halts allocation

Published

on

The Federal government has confirmed that it has stopped the October monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee, FAAC revenue payment to Rivers State amid the ongoing crisis in the oil rich state.

The Spokesperson of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, disclosed this exclusively to an online newspaper on Friday.

This comes as the Nigerian Government on Wednesday announced the approval for the disbursement of N1.1411 trillion as the October 2024 Federation Accounts Allocation Revenue to Federal, State, and local government councils.

However, a report emerged that FAAC revenue in October was not disbursed to Rivers State following a court stopping the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian government from carrying out such action.

Advertisement

Reacting to the development, Mokwa said the OAGF as a government agency will respect the court order.

Meanwhile, he stated that the October monthly FAAC revenue has not been disbursed to respective states as of filing the report.

“What I got is that the October 2024 FAAC has not been distributed yet. However, the Federal Government will obey the court order on the matter of Rivers State allocation.

“We are going to follow due diligence as long as there is no contrary order. In case there is a contrary, the status will remain,” he revealed.

Advertisement

He added, “The process of disbursement of the October 2024 monthly allocation is going.”.

Recall that on October 30, this year, Justice Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court barred CBN and the Nigerian government from disbursing monthly allocations to the Rivers State government.

This comes after an originating summons filed by the factional Rivers State Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule.

The Amaewhule case was based on the grounds that the Rivers State Executive, under the leadership of Simi Fubara, was yet to comply with the order of a Federal High Court directing it to re-present the 2024 appropriation bill to the Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Advertisement

In the past month, the Amaewhule faction, backed by Wike, former Governor of Rivers State, had been in a political battle with Fubara.

Recall that upon the emergence of Fubara as governor, he fell apart with his predecessor, Wike, which had led to a month-long crisis in the oil-rich state.

Daily Post

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Education

No feud between Akpabio, Bamidele

Published

on

Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele has denied ever having any altercation with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

This was contained in a statement issued by his media office noting that:

“Our attention has been drawn to fake news currently being circulated on the X handle of one Jackson Ude, a known serial blackmailer and cash-and-carry journalist.

“The post is about an alleged altercation and physical fight between Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele and President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio on Wednesday.

Advertisement

“For the record, it is a verifiable fact that Senator Bamidele has never been involved in physical assault in over two decades of his political trajectory, not even when he was a young man leading the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) as President.

“It is surprising that the purveyor of this misleading information in his selfish agenda and unprofessional conduct threw ethos of Journalism into waste bin and decided to feast on roadside gists to tarnish the image of the Senate Leader.

“We are aware that the fake news is meant to cause disaffection within the Senate and by extension; heating up the political system.

“To think that the Senate Leader, President of the Senate and other principal officers of the Senate together received the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. YU Dunhai and his delegation few minutes after leaving the plenary on Wednesday is a significant testimony against Ude’s imagination.

Advertisement

“Further to this, photographs of the Chinese envoys with the leadership of the Senate were widely published in today’s major national newspapers. It is equally verifiable that the Senate Leader and the Senate President both drove out of the National Assembly premises in the same vehicle yesterday.

“This time again, the Senate Leader is sounding a note of warning to all attention seekers in the ilk of Ude to be careful and not take the Leader’s gentlemanliness for granted.

“Henceforth, the Leader will be forced to use the instrumentality of the law to protect himself and his office as enshrined in the CyberCrime Act 2015.

” We, therefore, urge the public to disregard this misinformation and treat it with the disrespect it entirely deserves.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Politics

Obi Urges Nigerian Graduates to Seek Opportunities Overseas if Needed, Vows to Fix Nigeria for Their Return

Published

on

Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate in Nigeria’s 2023 election, has encouraged Nigerian students to seek better opportunities abroad if local conditions don’t meet their needs.

Obi shared this advice during his visit to Anambra State, where he made donations to Peter University in Achina/Onneh and the College of Nursing Sciences in Adazi-Nnukwu. Addressing nursing students, he reaffirmed his commitment to supporting institutions that nurture skills, professionalism, and character.

Obi advised students that, if career opportunities are limited locally, they should feel free to explore options abroad.

“If things aren’t working here, go where they will work for you,” he said, expressing optimism that, with efforts to improve the country, Nigerians working abroad would eventually return.

Advertisement

Speaking at Peter University, Obi urged students to dedicate themselves to their studies, highlighting education as a transformative force essential for national development.

Emphasizing that investment in education is an investment in the future, he encouraged them to aim for excellence, assuring that a stronger Nigeria would await them.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Naija Blitz News