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Gov. Okowa threatens to close Igbo shops in Asaba if Omo Agege is voted

by Leading Reporters March 3, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa has allegedly threatened the Igbo business community in Delta State with eviction from their shops if they go ahead to vote for any other governorship candidate that is not PDP’s Sheriff Oborevwori

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as well allegedly offered a vote-inducing bribe of $50,000 to the Igbo traders leaders who were summoned to meet him in Asaba yesterday, with a charge to them to go and mobilize their members and kismen to vote for PDP governorship candidate come March 11.

Governor Okowo has gone on the war path, vowing to destroy any element that hinders the emergence of Sheriff Oborevwori as his successor.

An ally of Okowa who would not want his name on prints hinted this platform that Okowa would not mind plunging the state just to have sheriff emerge, after his woeful political outing at the vice-presidency level

“Our principal is making an irredeemable mistakes in his desperation to get vote for Sheriff. Threatening a people like Igbos for vote is definitely going to nail him. He thinks he can induce them with money. With what we saw in Abuja and Lagos, Igbos have realized their political value and will not bark down again. They’ll eat your money and still mess you up. That’s what my principal hasn’t realized. He picks offence when we try to tell him that appeal will work better than threat.

Meanwhile, Delta indigenes have enumerated the reason for abandoning Okowa. Aside from foisting his partner-in-crime Sheriff Oborevwori on the people as his successor, the group under the auspices of Greater Delta Agenda has enumerated the collection and mismanagement N850 billion loans, the divesting of state funds into personal businesses, including floating a bank using proxy, non payment of pension, incessant increase of school fees in state tertiary institutions, and the menace of joblessness where countless graduate resort to Keke riding as a way of surviving the hardship occasioned by Okowa leadership.

March 3, 2023 0 comments

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APC demands immediate resignation of Malami, Emefiele

by Leading Reporters March 3, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

The National Vice Chairman (North-West) of the All Progressives Congress APC, Mallam Salihu Lukman, on Friday called for the resignation of the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele and the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami for misleading the president, Major General Muhammadu Buhari to flout the Supreme Court order on the new naira redesign policy.

The development comes hours after the apex court invalidated the CBN policy on the grounds that it was implemented without due consultation, adding that it was also not in line with constitutional provisions.

Consequently, the Supreme Court ruled that the old N200, N500 and N1,000 naira notes should co-exists with the new ones until December 31.

Reacting to the news, Lukman lamented that the sudden implementation of the cash swap policy and tight deadline had brought untold hardship to Nigerians.

The Kaduna politician, therefore, noted that the right thing for public office holders like Emefiele and Malami to do after such public office abuse was to accept their limitations and resign honourably.

In a statement titled “Cashless Policy: Supreme Court Invalidates Actions of the Federal Government”, Lukman expressed delight in the ruling of the Court declaring the FG’s cashless policy as unconstitutional and an utter violation of the fundamental rights.

He said, “It is also unfortunate that President Muhammadu Buhari could be misled into such acts of illegality and abuse of executive powers as pronounced by the Supreme Court. We, and indeed all Nigerians, are grateful to the Supreme Court Justices led by Justice Akomaye for this landmark judicial intervention.

“Given the injurious nature of the consequences of the cashless policy of the Federal Government as was implemented thus far, and the damage of the Supreme Court ruling to the profile of President Buhari, Godwin Emefiele and Abubakar Malami must take personal responsibility for this act of illegality by the Federal Government. In advanced democracies, public officers who commit such acts of illegality voluntarily resign from their appointments.

“Therefore, if indeed, the cashless policy of the Federal Government was supposedly designed to conform with extant legal provisions of the Nigerian Federation, now that it turned out in the direct opposite, both the CBN Governor, Mr. Emefiele and the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Malami should accept the limitations of both their knowledge of the law and commitment to democracy by resigning from their respective offices forthwith. Rule of law is fundamental to democracy and individuals who flagrantly violate the laws or promote acts that breach the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria must not be tolerated.”
The APC vice chair also saluted the resilience of Governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Yahaya Bello (Kogi) and Bello Matawalle (Zamfara) for challenging the Federal Government on behalf of the masses.

He noted that they have shown true heroics through their action alleviating the sufferings of the people.

“On behalf of our party leaders and members from North-West, we salute our three Governors, Mallam Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai, Alh. Yahaya Bello and Alh. Bello Matawalle, respectively of Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states for their courage and initiative to challenge the action of the Federal Government in the Supreme Court. It is a patriotic duty to challenge the policy of government, which unfortunately plunge Nigerians into hardship and unimaginable shock, notwithstanding partisan affiliations.

“By doing so, our leaders in APC led by Mallam Nasir, Alh. Yahaya Bello and Alh. Matawalle has once again demonstrated superior commitment to democracy. We call on Nigerians to take note of the fact that the crusade against the Federal Government cashless policy was led by APC, not minding the attempt to sensationally politicise it to the benefit of opposition political parties and their candidates in this election season.

“It is gratifying that Nigerians resisted the antics of subversive politicians who wanted to use such crude methods, including inflicting untold hardship and pains on Nigerians to provoke citizens into voting against the APC during the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections. We commend and salute Nigerians for their faith in our party, APC and determination to support our party and our candidates during the 2023 elections. We are indeed confident that Nigerians across all the 36 states of the Federation will reaffirm this confidence during the Governorship and States’ Houses of Assembly election on Saturday, March 11,” he stated.

March 3, 2023 0 comments

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Just In: Labour Party Scores Legal Victory Against APC, Tinubu

by Leading Reporters March 3, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

The candidate of Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi, on Friday, secured leave of the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja to have access to all the sensitive materials the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, deployed for the conduct of the presidential election held on February 25.

Peter Obi and Labour Party have taken legal steps to challenge the presidential election.

The appellate court, which will sit as the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, equally ordered the electoral body to also grant the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar access to the election materials.

A panel of the appellate court led by Justice Joseph Ikyegh made the orders after it heard two separate ex parte applications the two aggrieved presidential candidates filed alongside their political parties.

Cited as respondents in the matter were INEC, the acclaimed winner of the presidential election, Bola Tinubu, as well as his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Both applications were predicated on Section146 (1) of the Electoral Act 2022, Paragraph 47 (1, 2 &3) of the First Schedule of the Electoral Act of 2022, as well as under the inherent jurisdiction of the Court as referenced by Section 6 (6) A & B of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

While Obi, in his application that was moved by his team of lawyers led by Mr Alex Ejesieme(SAN), sought six principal reliefs, Atiku’s lawyer, Mr Adedamola Faloku, sought seven prayers from the tribunal.

Specifically, the applicants urged the court to compel INEC to allow them to obtain documents in its custody that were used for the presidential election.

They maintained that the requested documents would aid their petition against the outcome of the presidential contest that was declared in favour of the candidate of the APC, Tinubu.

It will be recalled that INEC had declared Tinubu of the APC as the winner of the presidential poll, ahead of 17 other candidates that contested the election.

According to INEC, Tinubu scored a total of 8,794,726 votes to defeat Atiku who polled a total of 6,984,520 votes and Obi of the LP, who came third with a total of 6,101,533 votes.

Both PDP and LP had since rejected the outcome of the election and vowed to challenge it in court.

March 3, 2023 0 comments

Africa & World

Nigerians attacked in Tunisia, as President Saied calls black Africans criminals

by Leading Reporters March 3, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

Tunisia’s president claimed their presence was a source of “violence, crime, and unacceptable acts.”

Several Nigerians, as well as their Ivoriens, have fled their homes in Tunisia in the face of state-sanctioned attacks, taking refuge on the premises of their country’s embassy.

They were attacked by Tunisian nationals as President Kais Saied continues to deepen discrimination and unfair prejudice against dark-skinned people from Africa.

Mr Saied recently announced that sub-Saharan migrants were on a mission to weaken the country’s Islamic Arab identity and their presence in the country has to end.

“There is a criminal plan to change the composition of the demographic landscape in Tunisia and some individuals have received large sums of money to give residence to sub-Saharan migrants,” he said in a statement.

Mr Saied also spoke at his country’s national security council meeting convened on the matter and referred to the migrants who have sustained the country’s informal economy with surplus cheap labour as “hordes of illegal migrants.”

He argued that their presence in the country was a source of “violence, crime, and unacceptable acts.”

Mr Saied insisted on the “need to quickly put an end” to the migration as it was an “unspoken goal to consider Tunisia a purely African country, with no affiliation to the Arab and Islamic nations.”

Since the announcement, hundreds of sub-Saharan migrants have been victims of targeted attacks with the majority having their housing, jobs, and freedom withdrawn.

Forum Tunisien Pour les Droits Economiques et Sociaux (FTDES) an advocacy group in the country said over 300 migrants have been arrested in the onslaught on trumped-up charges.

FTDES condemned the assault on the rights of migrants and called on Tunisian authorities to “fight against hate speech, discrimination and racism against them.”

The group also tasked the government to “intervene in the event of an emergency to guarantee the dignity and rights of migrants.”

“(We) call on the Tunisian government to respect its commitments to the implementation of international agreements on the rights of migrant workers and refugees, as well as the recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review and The Committee on the Protection of Migrant Workers,” it added.

The actions of the government of Tunisia are in flagrant violation of the African Charter on Human Rights and Peoples as well as their obligations under the 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugees which Tunisia adopted in 1957.

March 3, 2023 0 comments

LeadingReporters Demand for Quality Education in Nigeria Image

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Constructive Dialogues and the Demand for Quality Education in Nigeria

by Leading Reporters March 3, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

Conversations at Education Summits with key stakeholders in Nigerian education revealed the power of inclusion: having been given a voice, these stakeholders now felt a greater sense of agency and a desire to become leaders in education reform.

As an important part of its charge, the RISE Nigeria project attempts to fully understand the nature and dimensions of education demand in the country, to better understand the reasons for where that demand is weak.

The project has meaningfully advanced this inquiry in one of its components, the Political Economy of Education Reform (PE), where it designed an experimental system of organised dialogues between local education stakeholders and government officials around empirically determined education issues, to investigate the impact of these conversations on cumulative attitudes. The conversations have, directly and collaterally, disclosed the underlying aspirations and attitudes that drive and dissuade education demand, and have, importantly, additionally inspired and informed attitudinal transformations towards greater demand for quality education among participating stakeholders.

With these dialogues, the RISE Nigeria project is attempting to ignite a sense of stakeholder agency in the education development process; to build the expectation of, and demand for, quality education; and, crucially, to enable the sharing of knowledge, experiences, and expectations between sides, to strengthen the demand-supply process.

Education demand and quality education in Nigeria

There is clearly a significant education demand problem in Nigeria, as the country presently has the highest population of out-of-school children in the world. Most of these children are in rural areas (almost half the population of children from rural areas who work are out-of-school) and from the poorest households (almost two-thirds of the population of children from the poorest households are out-of-school). Interestingly also, education demand for girls is demonstrably lower than for boys, with 37 percent of school-age girls in Nigeria out-of-school, compared to 27 percent for school-age boys.

Again, the quality of education in Nigeria’s public elementary schools is cumulatively low—as recently as 2017, in the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum, Nigeria ranked only 120 out of 137 assessed countries in the quality of elementary school education.

To scrutinise the larger education problem, the RISE Nigeria Project selected representative samples of relevant geographical areas and populations across the country’s geo-ethnic landscape; and here, amongst other studies, vast numbers of respondents were systematically surveyed to investigate human-driven causes of the nation’s education problems.

An instance from one of those studies which is perhaps largely representative of the types of stakeholder mindsets at the heart of poor demand for quality education in these populations, is one where a respondent in a conversation with a project-enumerator had said,

“My eldest boy went to [elementary] school here [in the community] for six years and can barely write his own name. Why should I waste time and my limited funds sending his younger ones [to school]? It is better that they work with me on the farm and make money for us to feed with.”

The objective of the RISE Nigeria project was to investigate and analyse attitudes such as this one, as well as the other intangible drivers, such as aspirations, which shape education demand. Parallelly, the project gauged the quality of education in the study areas, examining how education quality was responsible for those attitudes, was an outcome of them, or both.

In the Political Economy of Education Reform (PE) component of the project, these determinations formed the bases for constructive dialogues, in Education Summits, towards solving the education problems.

The education summits and the post-summit gatherings

The RISE Nigeria Political Economy of Education Reform (PE) experiments, fittingly, put parents and communities at the forefront of the education development discourse. In each of the 3 selected study states—Enugu, Oyo and Jigawa—3 study Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 3 control LGAs were chosen, for a total of 9 study LGAs and 9 control LGAs. In each of the study LGAs, a painstaking stakeholder-mapping process identified the most prominent/influential/representative parents, community members, community leaders, and teachers themselves, to helm the determination of the most pressing constraints of their local education systems, and to subsequently converse with government representatives to address these problems.

In the data-gathering phase of the experiment, in addition to evaluating the state of infrastructure and learning at the study schools, a recorded survey of these stakeholders was used to establish those leading local education problems. The data-collection phase then segued into an Education Summit in each LGA, where these dialogues between education stakeholders and government officials were held.

Outcomes from those deliberations speak to their efficacy in engendering commitment across the aisle to participation in education reform. While government personnel in each of the education summits appended a social contract that articulated the resolutions as a gesture of their intent to facilitate the required improvements, the stakeholders themselves in these and subsequent affiliated gatherings (there were post-summit gatherings in each state, where government officials and the local stakeholders were separately convened, to assess progress on resolutions from the summits) earnestly identified possible areas for their own meaningful participation and intervention, towards quality education (among other goals).

In Enugu state for instance, at the education summits for the 3 study LGAs there—Udi, Nsukka and Nkanu West—Quality of Education was, as determined by the preceding surveys, a priority unanimously brought forward by the local stakeholders to the deliberations. On this issue, they demanded, among other things, more scrutiny of teacher qualifications, regular training, and upskilling of serving teachers, and periodic evaluation of the teachers to guarantee quality learning.

The demand-side post-summit events in Enugu state assembled these previous, and other newly selected stakeholders to measure progress since the summits, and to discuss any possible contributions by them to the development process. As it turned out, the stakeholders were quite eager to make meaningful contributions. For example, some retired teachers pledged to return to the classrooms of their local schools to teach pro-bono and thereby improve the quality of learning there. Some SBMC members volunteered to visit their local schools regularly to check for teacher attendance and punctuality. Also, some stakeholders pledged personal funds, or volunteered to help source donations from local philanthropists, towards improving the quality of education at their schools.

The results

Overall, this opportunity to effectually have a say in education development was something that these stakeholders had mostly not often been given, one that they were immensely appreciative of, and one that they were intent on utilising optimally.

Importantly, these summit and post-summit congresses revealed all the latent and predominant stakeholder attitudes that inform the demand for quality education (or the lack of it), and that weaken or prohibit stakeholder-participation in education-improvement conversations.

Even more significantly, the fact of their inclusion in this important education development process, where heretofore they were typically only disenfranchised bystanders and voiceless observers, roused a firm, collective sense of agency within the study stakeholder groups, and emboldened them to envisage and demand reform that would lead to the quality education that their children deserve but have no access to.

For them, if (as the RISE PE project has pioneered) their opinions and recommendations were fittingly incorporated in the planning of education development and intervention, then they would, as they have done in the RISE dialogues, emphatically assert their claim to needed improvements of their education systems, while conscientiously taking up their own roles in those development processes. If education policy design in Nigeria assimilates this inclusive procedural model, as is the aim of the PE project, then these underserved stakeholders will perhaps lead the charge for a renewed focus on quality education delivery in Nigeria’s public education system.

Going forward

In recognising the effectiveness of the stakeholder dialogues in transmuting attitudes and renewing aspirations towards quality education, the RISE Nigeria project infused its project dissemination with more of these events, in attempting to, with the reiteration of this participatory methodology, start to lend it the visibility that would hopefully catalyse its uptake and spread within the education sector nationwide. Furthermore, as a demonstrated stopgap for the disconnects between policy design and need in education, the dialogues of the RISE Nigeria project may even be replicated beyond that sector.

Hopefully, dialogues like these will quickly become a mainstay and yield better outcomes in Nigeria’s education system, hastening the country’s still stunted advancement towards the 4^th Sustainable Development Goal of quality education for all.

Credit: RISE blog posts and podcasts

March 3, 2023 0 comments

Leading Reporters Six States Ask Supreme Court To Cancel Presidential Election Image

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Supreme Court to abrogate presidential election

by Leading Reporters March 3, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

Adamawa, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Sokoto states have dragged the Federal Government before the Supreme Court over the conduct of the February 25, 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections.

The suit filed by the Attorneys General of the six states has the Attorney General of the Federation as sole respondent.

The plaintiffs on February 28 predicated their case on the grounds that, “The collation of the national election results from the 36 states of the Federation, and that of the Federal Capital Territory, for the said 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections have not been carried out in compliance with the mandatory provisions of relevant sections of the Electoral Act, 2022; the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022, made pursuant to the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022; and the INEC Manual for Election Officials, 2023.”

In the suit filed by their lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, the states said the agents and officials of the Federal Government and INEC failed to transmit the collated result as prescribed by the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022; the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections 2022; and the INEC Manual for Election Officials requiring transmission of the results by the use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System in flagrant breach of the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022; the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022; and the INEC Manual for Election Officials, 2023.

They stated that, “non-compliance with the due process of law has led to a widespread agitation, violent protests, displeasure, and disapproval from a wide spectrum of the Nigerian populace, including international observers, political parties, well-meaning Nigerians and former Head of States of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

The plaintiffs argued that the federal government through INEC, “is empowered by law to correct the elections due to technical glitches and errors arising from the conduct of the elections with substantial effect on the electoral process in line with the provisions of Section 47 (3) of the Electoral Act, 2022; and other relevant sections thereof.

“Whilst queries were being raised as to the failure or deliberate refusal of INEC to transmit the results electronically, INEC suddenly pulled down its portal harbouring the Regulations and Guidelines, thus leaving the plaintiffs in the dark

“Most Nigerians, including the governments and peoples of Adamawa State, Akwa Ibom State, Bayelsa State, Delta State, Edo State, and Sokoto State, are entitled to a proper and electoral lawful process and procedure that guarantees a free, fair, transparent and credible election”.

Amongst the issues raised for determination by the apex court were: Whether having regard to the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, governing the 2023 nationwide general elections, particularly paragraphs 38 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022; and paragraphs 2.8.4; 2.9.0; and 2.9.1 of the INEC Manual for Election Officials, 2023 thereof, the electronic transmission of votes collated at polling units and the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in the transmission of collated result is made mandatory.

“Whether the Federal Government of Nigeria through presiding officers of its executive body, Independent National Electoral Commission was bound to electronically transmit or transfer Polling Unit Results in Form EC8A using BVAS by uploading Scanned Copy of the said Unit Results to the Independent National Electoral Commission Result Viewing Portal (IReV) in the course of the General Elections held on the 25th of February, 2023 throughout the Federation.

“Whether the Federal Government of Nigeria in the recently held Presidential and National Assembly elections conducted nationwide on 25th February, 2023 through INEC, complied with the mandatory provisions of extant laws, INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Presidential Elections, 2022″.

“Whether the failure of the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Defendant and INEC to electronically transmit or transfer Polling Unit Results in Form EC8A using BVAS by uploading Scanned Copy of the said Unit Result to the Independent National Electoral Commission Result Viewing Portal (IReV) after the counting and announcement of the Polling Units results on 25th of February, 2023, violates the provisions of Sections 25; 47(2); 60 (1), (2), (4) & (5); 62; 64(4)(a) & (b); 70; and 148 of the Electoral Act, 2022, governing the 2023 nationwide general elections, particularly paragraphs 38 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022; and paragraphs 2.8.4; 2.9.0; and 2.9.1 of the INEC Manual for Election Officials, 2023, for the conduct of the presidential election.

“Whether the failure of the Federal Republic of Nigeria through INEC to comply with the provisions of Section 60 of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the Regulations and Guidelines for Conduct of Elections, 2022 made pursuant to the Electoral Act and the Constitution of the FRN, 1999, as amended, in collating and announcing the results of the Presidential and National Assembly Elections render the already announced results and the elections conducted as a whole a nullity”.

“Whether the entire results of the presidential election conducted on the 25th of February, 2023, as announced by the Chairman of INEC at the National Collation Centre, Abuja in flagrant provision of Sections 25; 47(2); 60 (1), (2), (4) & (5); 62; 64(4)(a) & (b); 70; and 148 of the Electoral Act, 2022, governing the 2023 nationwide general elections, particularly paragraphs 38 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022; and paragraphs 2.8.4; 2.9.0; and 2.9.1 of the INEC Manual for Election Officials, 2023, for the conduct of the Presidential Election, were valid.”

The plaintiffs urged the apex court to declare, “that the Federal Government of Nigeria, through INEC was bound to electronically transmit or transfer Polling Unit Results in Form EC8A using BVAS by uploading Scanned Copy of the said Unit Result to the Independent National Electoral Commission Result Viewing Portal (IReV) in the course of the General Elections held on the 25th of February, 2023 throughout the Federation in compliance with the provision of Sections 25; 47(2); 60 (1), (2), (4) & (5); 62; 64(4)(a) & (b); 70; and 148 of the Electoral Act, 2022, governing the 2023 nationwide general elections, particularly paragraphs 38 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022; and paragraphs 2.8.4; 2.9.0; and 2.9.1 of the INEC Manual for Election Officials, 2023, for the conduct of the presidential election.”

They are seeking “A declaration that the entire results of the Presidential Election conducted on the 25th of February, 2023 announced by the Chairman of INEC at the National Collation Centre, Abuja, in flagrant violation of the provisions of Sections 25 of the Electoral Act, 2022, governing the 2023 nationwide general elections, particularly paragraphs 38 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022; and paragraphs 2.8.4; 2.9.0; and 2.9.1 of the INEC Manual for Election Officials, 2023, for the conduct of the Presidential Election, were invalid, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever.

“A declaration that the fundamentally flawed electoral process through the non-uploading of the results of each of the 176,974 Polling Units nationwide, in respect of the presidential election and National Assembly Elections held on Saturday, 25th February 2023 were not in accordance with the provisions of Sections 25; 47(2); 60 (1), (2), (4) & (5); 62; 64(4)(a) & (b); 70; and 148 of the Electoral Act, 2022, governing the 2023 nationwide general elections, particularly paragraphs 38 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022; and paragraphs 2.8.4; 2.9.0; and 2.9.1 of the INEC Manual for Election Officials, 2023, for the conduct of the presidential election.

“The plaintiffs also brought an application praying the apex court for an order directing a departure from the rules of the apex court in the interest of justice by directing for accelerated hearing of the substantive suit. Besides, plaintiffs also filed another application seeking for an order for abridging time for parties to file and serve responses for and against the suit. No date has been fixed for hearing.

March 3, 2023 0 comments

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Gov Okowa’s kinsmen brands him ‘Judas of the South’: vow to vote out Sheriff

by Leading Reporters March 3, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

In an apparent retaliatory move Deltans have vowed to vote out PDP leadership at all levels in Delta State.

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa who his kinsmen refer to as the ‘Judas of the South’ incurred the wrath of Deltans through his incessant loans, non payment of pensions and mismanagement of hundreds of billions of naira that accrued to the state under his watch.

Furthermore, Okowa is said to be running a sectional government that only favour his kinsmen and selected associates.

Despite huge sums of money that accrued to the state, Okowa embarked on untamed borrowing. The loans are believed to have been squandered in his political quest. Governor Okowa was the running mate to Alh Atiku Abubakar and most of the party’s funding is believed to have come from Delta State.

March 3, 2023 0 comments

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Atiku orders Ribadu, Ganduje, others out of his place

by Leading Reporters March 3, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

The presidential flagbearer of the People’s Democratic Party PDP in the just concluded presidential election, Alh Atiku Abubakar has shot his doors against Tinubu’s pro-peace delegation led by former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC Alh Nuhu Ribadu. LeadingReporters has been authoritatively informed.

Others in the delegation believed to have sent by Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu to plead with Atiku to accept out of court options included Governors Abdullahi Ganduje, of Kano, Atiku Bagudu, of Kebbi, Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa, and Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa.

Atiku who has concluded plans to head to the Court, told the visitors that he was not ready to see them.

The visit was apparently part of the moves being made by the Bola Tinubu to reach out to all those who had contested with him during the last Saturday’s Presidential elections adjudged by many as the most fraudulent elections in the history of Nigeria.

The former Vice President had met with party leaders to explore options to reclaim the stolen elections. Part of the agreement reached was to seek redress at the court where evidence would be rendered to show how the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, rigged the Presidential elections in favor of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.

March 3, 2023 0 comments

Leading Reporters You voted for a better Nigeria, Tinubu tells Nigerians. Image

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#ElectionResults: You voted for a better Nigeria, Tinubu tells Nigerians

by Leading Reporters March 1, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

“You voted for a better Nigeria,” an elated Bola Tinubu declared an hour after he was declared the President-Elect of Nigeria by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday morning.

The former Lagos State Governor and presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) also thanked all those who participated in the February 25 election with particular mention of ‘Articulated’, ‘Obidients’, ‘Batified’ and ‘Kwankwasiyya’ supporters for their patriotism.

Full speech below:

I am profoundly humbled that you have elected me to serve as the 16th president of Nigeria. This is a shiny moment of any man and affirmation of our democratic existence. From my heart, I truly say thank you.
Doing cultural greetings will not be able to capture his gratitude. He says he wishes everyone well. Whether you are a position holder or not.
Ibrahim Masari from Katsina is a trustworthy person. A leader, dependable and honest human being.
Whether you are Batified or articulated, Obedient, or Kwanhasia, you voted for a better Nigeria. You decided to place your trust in the democratic vision of a Nigeria funded on a shared basis. Renewed hope has dawned and landed in Nigeria.
I represent and I promise, and with your support, I know that promise will be fulfilled.
I commend INEC for running a credible election, no matter what anyone says.
The lapses that were reported were relatively few in number and irrelevant. With each cycle of elections, we steadily perfect the process of our democratic existence.
We should be proud of this.
Don’t jolt that because you did not win the election.
Be helpful to our integrity, Character and reputation
We have created the biggest democracy as Nigerians.
I thank President for supporting my campaign. He is indeed a true Patriot. I must thank his wife and his entire family for being committed, patriotic, loyal and firm.
I also thank my running mate and vice President-elect- Senator Kashim Shettima, who is also a former governor, who is also from Borno and a strong pillar of support.
I remember Faleke, an elder and committed and dependable.
To the progressive Governors of the party and the party leadership and loyal members, you have the opportunity to betray your party, in spite of the cashless policy, some of you still owe party agents. But despite this, you delivered victory to your Party. There is no way I can ever intentionally let you down. I owe you a debt of gratitude to the entire women’s campaign organisations who polled the highest number of voters.
He officially accepts to be the servant of the country and not the leader. To work and make Nigeria a great country. I take this opportunity to appeal to my fellow contestants to team up together. It is the only nation we have and only one country that we must build together and we must work together to put broken pieces together.
We must not act like an orchestra that has no direction from a conductor. We have elected a conductor, as the President-Elect. Let’s collaborate to make a symphony of progress. We have what it takes and what is needed-knowledge, creativity, the mind, determination. We are the same country performing wonders in other countries, we can do it here. I promise I will work with you to make Nigeria a destination for returning home to contribute to the great country of Nigeria.
The Youths, I hear you loud and clear, whatever the course, we are going to chart the path together. We are going to embark on this journey together, united. No one is too small to be creative. Insha Allah.
We will work together and I will pay undivided attention to your education. We will be creative and provide credits and education loans. Four years course will be four years course and no more strike. Your universities will have the autonomy to upgrade your syllabuses. I know where it pains. And believe me, you will see the reward of your election.

March 1, 2023 0 comments

Leading Reporters Election that produced Tinubu as president flawed, says Buhari

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Buhari: The Election that produced Tinubu as president was flawed

by Leading Reporters March 1, 2023

written by Leading Reporters

“If any candidate believes they can prove the fraud…, then bring forward the evidence.”

President Muhammadu Buhari has admitted the Saturday presidential poll in which former governor of Lagos Bola Tinubu emerged as the winner is flawed.

Mr Buhari also charged Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party to challenge the outcome of the poll in court if they have proof that the exercise was rigged in Mr Tinubu’s favour.

“That is not to say the exercise (Saturday’s election) was without fault. For instance, there were technical problems with electronic transmission of the results,” said the Nigerian leader. “Of course, there will be areas that need work to bring further transparency and credibility to the voting procedure. However, none of the issues registered represent a challenge to the freeness and fairness of the elections.”

Mr Buhari disclosed this in a statement by his media aide Garba Shehu, congratulating the president-elect.

“I know some politicians and candidates may not agree with this view. That too is fine. If any candidate believes they can prove the fraud they claim is committed against them, then bring forward the evidence,” said Mr Buhari.

“If they cannot, then we must conclude that the election was indeed the people’s will – no matter how hard that may be for the losers to accept. If they feel the need to challenge, please take it to the courts, not to the streets.”

The president’s speech followed INEC chairman Mahmood Yakubu’s declaration of Mr Tinubu as the winner of Saturday’s presidential election at the National Collation Centre in Abuja.

Mr Tinubu polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat PDP’s Atiku Abubakar, winning 12 of 36 states of Nigeria. Mr Abubakar polled 6,984,520 votes.

Peter Obi of Labour Party, came third, polling 6,101,533 votes.

The declaration of Mr Tinubu as the president-elect came amidst huge protest by PDP and Labour Party, calling for suspension of result collation and and outright cancellation of the presidential poll due to INEC’s failure to upload election results on its server in real time.

March 1, 2023 0 comments

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