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I’m not afraid of impeachment, says Shaibu

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Ahead of the September 21 Edo State governorship election, the factional candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr Philip Shaibu, has vowed to carry on with his preparations even if doing so would cause his impeachment by the state House of Assembly.

Shaibu, the deputy governor of the state, said this at a press conference in Abuja on Saturday.

On Thursday, the returning officer in the PDP governorship primary and Governor of Zamfara State, Dauda Lawal, announced Asue Ighodalo as the winner of the delegate election, having polled a total of 577 votes.

However, in the parallel primaries that took place at the Benin residence of the Deputy Governor, the returning officer, Bartholomew Moses, declared Shaibu the winner, saying he won “with over 300 votes.”

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Addressing journalists in Abuja, Shaibu described himself as the authentic candidate, noting that the primary that produced Ighodalo was nothing short of a social party attended by “people who wore aso ebi from all over the place.”

Shaibu, who defected to the PDP alongside the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, in 2020 from the All Progressives Congress, said his office has been subjected to all manner of degrading treatment by the governor, adding however that he is the man to win the election for the PDP.

He said, “Even as we speak, my team has been calling me that, ‘Look at what these people are doing. They are saying they are going to impeach you, that you have gotten too far.’ They are threatening to impeach me.

“And I said, well, if fighting for my rights and all of us collectively triggers my impeachment, so be it.”

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Shaibu, who described Ighodalo as “my far elder brother,” however, urged the PDP to know that the lawyer-turned-politician does not have what it takes to win the poll.

“If the party wants to win the election, they will not go for Ighodalo. If the party wants to win the election, the people have spoken, and they have spoken very loud and clearly.

“If people can stand bullets to say this is who we want, then the party should follow that direction,” he added.

The deputy governor also said that he has appointed former APC Deputy Chairman, Edo State Chapter, Pastor Kenneth Asekomhe, to chair a committee to reach out to Ighodalo’s camp to forge a common front for the PDP in the election.

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“He is the chairman of the committee that I have set up to reach out to the Ighodalo group for us to have a discussion to see how we will go because it is only him that is not on board,” he further said.

Shaibu also said he is working with the National Vice Chairman (South-South), Mr Dan Orbih.

“The leader of the legacy coalition is Dan Orbih. We are working together and that is why it is important that Asue (Ighodalo) join the legacy coalition because the coalition is those that were in APC that moved to PDP to meet those that were already in PDP.

“Those that were in PDP that we met are the legacy. The coalition now is that we joined the old PDP moving together because we don’t want to hear new and old PDP and that is why we call it a legacy coalition,” Shaibu stated.

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On whether the Independent National Electoral Commission monitored the primary election that produced him, Shaibu spoke affirmatively without going into details.

“INEC and the party were there but I will not disclose a lot. If we don’t go to court, fine. But if we do go to court, all this information will be unveiled,” he threatened.

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Edo Election Tribunal: Parties to adopt final addresses March 3

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The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has announced an adjournment until March 3, when the parties will be able to adopt their final written addresses regarding the dispute related to the governorship election conducted on September 21, 2024.

This date was confirmed by the Tribunal’s Chairman, Justice Wilfred Kpochi, after the lawyer for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ferdinand Orbih (SAN), stated that his client’s case had been closed.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, are disputing the declaration of APC’s Monday Okpebholo as the election winner, contending that there were significant flaws in the electoral process.

At the resumption of proceedings yesterday, Orbih initially told the tribunal that he would not be able to proceed with the case because the documents his team sought to tender were yet to be brought from Benin.

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Orbih subsequently changed his mind and said having reviewed the conduct of the case and evidence led so far, his team found no need to lead further evidence.

The APC, which is the third respondent in the case, had promised to call 28 witnesses. It called four on Wednesday when it opened its case.

Orbih said: “We have carefully done a further comprehensive review of the evidence led by the petitioners, evidence elicited from their witnesses under cross-examination, the evidence led so far by the respondents in this petition and the documentary evidence presented before the tribunal.

“We have also considered the fact that time is of the essence and there is no need embarking on an exercise that will not take into account that the time of the tribunal is precious.

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“Taking all these factors into consideration, we are happy to close the third respondent’s case, with the leave of the tribunal,” Orbih said.

Lawyer to the petitioners, Adetunji Oyeyipo (SAN); Kanu Agabi (SAN) for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) for Okpebholo, did not object to Orbih’s application to close the case of the APC.

The tribunal, however, rejected Orbih’s request that the seven days earlier allocated to the respondents to file their final written addresses should be extended by three days.

Ruling, Justice Kpochi held that the days earlier allocated to parties could not be extended because the tribunal also required adequate time to consider all evidence led, including documents tendered.

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He ordered the respondents to file their addresses within seven days, beginning from February 14; the petitioners to file within five days from the date of service, while the respondents shall file their replies, if any, within three days.

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I regret supporting  Tinubu in 2023 election – Kano APC Chieftain

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Alhaji Abdulmajid Dan Bilki Commander, a distinguished politician from Kano and a key member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has stated that he regrets his decision to campaign for President Ahmed Bola Tinubu during the 2023 general election.

In a telephone interview with Daily Trust, he noted that the performance indicators known to all Nigerians reveal that President Tinubu has not fulfilled the expectations of many who voted for him in 2023.

He emphasized that he has never regretted any action as deeply as he does his support for President Tinubu.

“It pains me, but it is the truth and let the truth be told. I am an active member of APC, but I must admit that Nigeria’s administration under APC has failed Nigerians and as an individual who had dedicated his time and resources in convincing people to vote for the party, I want to state here that I am regretting my action,” he said.

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Commander also stated that as a representative of the masses, he has to seek for their forgiveness as what he had promised them from the APC-led government were not been delivered to them.

He explained that Nigerians were suffering and their expectations from the APC government were not met.

“Nigerians are hungry and angry. Their security not guaranteed and governance lopsided, they couldn’t afford two square meals per day,” he said.

Credit: Daily Trust

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Edo 2024: Why we are confident of victory at tribunal – PDP

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The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Dr. Tony Aziegbemi, has asserted that the party is poised for success at the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja, attributing this confidence to the robust nature of their petition and the qualifications of their witnesses.

Speaking in Benin yesterday, he noted that the PDP’s petition contesting the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, on September 21, 2024, is unparalleled and distinct from the typical petitions seen in Nigeria.

Aziegbemi stated, “I am assured that the tribunal will recognize PDP and its governorship candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, as the legitimate winners of the election, due to the substantial evidence we have provided.”

“In the petition, we did not plead financial inducement or ballot box snatching that will be difficult to prove. We focused on over-voting.

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“If the law says where the number of votes cast is more than the number of accredited voters, and such is authenticated by the BVAS extract, it means the unit’s result must be cancelled because of over voting. These are things you can place your fingers on and say if it happened and you can prove that it happened, and you have documents to show that it happened, because INEC certified all the documents for us. That is where our confidence stems from. This is why our petition is unique.

“The only witness by Okpebholo at the tribunal’s sitting on Monday admitted that there was over-voting in his Ovia Southwest Local Government of Edo State. We used him to authenticate what we have been saying that there was over-voting in 133 polling units in the local government.’’

Edo PDP chairman urged the teeming members of the party to remain calm and law-abiding, while being confident of victory at the tribunal.

The sitting of the Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led three-member tribunal will continue today.

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