Nelson Ugwuagbo

The member representing Pankshin North in the Plateau State House of Assembly, Gabriel Dawang, on Tuesday emerged the new Speaker.

The emergence of the member of the Young Peoples Party followed the resignation of the former Speaker, Moses Sule, and his deputy, Gwottaon Fom.

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Timothy Dantong, representing Riyom constituency, also emerged the new Deputy Speaker of the Assembly.

The Senate Committee on Electoral Matters has said that it will make it mandatory for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to upload election results…

The Senate Committee on Electoral Matters has said that it will make it mandatory for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to upload election results online.

The committee chairman, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, told Channels TV on Tuesday that the current law does not make it mandatory for INEC to upload results, but that the committee is working on amending the law.

He said, “That is one of the things that we are going to do. Under the current law, it is not mandatory for INEC to upload results, that is what the court has said. But as we are going forward, it is going to be mandatory.”

In addition to other electoral reforms being considered, Alli said the committee proposed resolving all pre-election matters before the election and upgrading election technology.

“We looked at elections and election petitions. In terms of legislation about election petitions, what we think is all pre-election matters resolved before the election.

“We are also looking at a situation where election petitions are concluded before swearing in.

“We are thinking of approving the time within which to file and conclude election petitions so that somebody will not be sworn in, that is what led us into having these off-cycle elections. There would have been no need for it if we were able to conclude election petitions before the swearing in.

“We are looking at the development of technology, improvement on technology because a lot of Nigerians were disappointed when the use of the IReV didn’t work, but going forward we will try to ensure INEC do something about that,” he said.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has faulted verdicts of the Nigerians judges on the electoral disputes, saying three to five judges should not overturn decisions made by millions of voters during an election.

Obasanjo described the powers vested in the hands of a few judges as “totally unacceptable.”

The former President spoke in wake of the ongoing judgements of the Court of Appeal on the electoral disputes arising from 2023 elections in Nigeria.

Only last week, three governors were sacked in separate judgements delivered by the judges of the Court of Appeal.

The affected governors are, Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, Abba Kabir Yusuf in Kano, and Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State.

The decisions have triggered reactions, earning the judiciary more knocks than kudos.

Speaking at the high-level consultation on Rethinking Western Liberal Democracy in Africa held at Green Resort Legacy, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Obasanjo faulted what he labelled “cathedral pronouncements” by the judges.

Obasanjo said “I believe whatever form of democracy we have or whatever system of government we have, three or four men in the judiciary should not be able to overturn the decisions of millions that have voted. Now, we have to find a way to handle that. I don’t know what the way will be but, for me, I think it’s totally unacceptable that millions (of votes), maybe 10m on one side, maybe 9million on the other side. Then, you have five people sitting down, three of them agree, two disagree. And you come up and make cathedral pronouncements that cannot be changed, I believe that should not be accepted.

“How do we do it? I don’t know. But whatever form of democracy we have, we should look at how to handle this. If you say ‘go again for election,’ then, what happened to the previous election? I don’t know.

“So, I personally feel strongly about. It does not matter what you say about the judiciary, but in fact only five people or seven will sit down. If they are five, three may agree, two may not agree, and the decision of three will be final. All that you have done comes to the decision of three or decision of four.”

President Bola Tinubu has asked for German investment in vital Nigerian economic areas, including electricity and rail transport.

According to a statement released by the president’s spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu made the request at a meeting with German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz on Monday in Berlin, outside the G20 Compact with Africa Economic Conference.

According to the President, important growth-enabling businesses in transportation, energy, and the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power require German investment.

The President said that there should be a renewed urgency to the uneven and sporadic implementation of the Presidential Power Initiative, which is backed by Siemens.

“For me, I am very much committed to pursuing all aspects of the Siemens power project and the skill development opportunities that will emerge from that project for our talented youths who can participate in sustaining the industry,” Tinubu said.

He added that Siemens can contribute to Nigeria’s rail network by supplying cutting-edge trains and railroads, just as it is doing in Egypt, where it is building a 2,000 km ultra-high-speed rail network spanning 60 towns.

The German Chancellor, Mr Olaf Scholz said that he was prepared for this but that in order to move forward, financial and administrative obstacles resulting from the sector’s governance issues needed to be addressed.

Tinubu brought up the issue of value-added processing in Nigeria’s solid minerals, agriculture, automotive industry, and other job-generating sectors to the German leader’s notice

A fresh crisis has hit the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as its leaders in the state have asked the state chairman, Dr Tony Aziegbemi, to resign over an alleged viral video where he was seen pitching his tent with calls for Edo Central candidacy for the party’s gubernatorial ticket for the 2024 election.

Recall that the Edo PDP has been engrossed in a series of crises with the 2024 election around the corner, leading to many of its bigwigs, such as Senator Mathew Urhogide, Kenneth Imasuagbon, former Minister of Works, Mike Onolememhe. Gideon Ikhine. Two ex-commissioners in Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration, Andrew Ewanta and Efe Stawart, among others, are leaving the party.

This fresh crisis is coming barely 48 hours after the PDP announced its timetable for the state’s 2024 governorship election.

The leaders alleged that the party’s chairman acted in a manner suggesting that he was supporting the candidature from Edo Central extraction to emerge as the flagbearer for the party.

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Aziegbemi, in the viral video, was seen telling a gathering of people believed to be PDP faithful that “it is now time to keep our eyes on the ball. From now on, it is for all of us to queue behind the governor so that we can make that right choice, and PDP should remain in Osadebey Avenue and make sure that man or woman is one of our own, is of Esan extraction.”

Speaking on behalf of the party leaders in Oredo Local Government Area, Martins Osakue said the video proved what he said last week: that Aziegbemi was a landlord that had abdicated his position.

He called on the National Working Committee of the party to do the needful, saying, “If Aziegbemi refuses to recuse himself from the exercise, they should remove him from the scene and just be an onlooker.”

Reacting, Aziegbemi said it was within the democratic right of any member to ventilate his views on party matters.

“That is democracy in action. I was actually talking about the wish that the next governor would come from Edo Central. The delegates will determine where the candidate will ultimately come from.

“It is my personal wish, which is premised on the spirit of the Edo in us: fairness, equity and justice,” he said.

In a related development, protesters under the aegis of PDP National Back (PDP-NB) on Monday stormed the party’s national secretariat in Abuja demanding the resignation of the acting national chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum, and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC).

The group, led by their conveners, Salau Olusola and Ami Gift, said the failure of the Damagum-led NWC to discipline former Rivers State Governor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and his G-5 members for their anti-party activities during the last election showed a lack of capacity to lead the party.

In a protest against alleged high handedness of Osun State chief judge, Justice Adepele Ojo, members of Judiciary Staff Union (JUSUN) of the state yesterday paralysed activities at the state High Court in Osogbo.

The protesters led by their chairman, Comrade Gbenga Eludire, who were armed with placards with inscriptions such as “Judiciary staff deserves better; We are tired of oppression and stagnation” among others, accused Ojo of refusal to pay wardrobe allowances of workers in the last three years among others.

Speaking with newsmen during the protest, Eludire, who claimed that their agitations were different from the actions of the state government, called for thorough investigation into the activities of the chief judge.

Meanwhile the speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Adewale Egbedun, has said the lawmakers have no intention to encroach on the constitutional duties of the National Judicial Council (NJC) on disciplinary action on the Osun chief judge.

Reacting to NBA condemnation of the ongoing process of investigating the chief judge, Egbedun in a statement by his chief press secretary, Olamide Tiamiyu, said the House is only trying to expose corruption.

“The House is fulfilling its constitutional duty of exposing corruption as stipulated in Sections 128 (2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The Osun State House of Assembly is aware of the position of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the decisions of the Supreme Court in various cases stating that the governor of a state and the House of Assembly cannot remove a chief judge from office without the participation of the National Judicial Council.

“Therefore, we urge commentators to be cautious in their utterances, as they may convey the misconception that the Osun State House of Assembly has removed or intends to remove the chief judge of Osun State without the involvement of the National Judicial Council.

“It is pertinent to also clarify that the Osun State House of Assembly was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit filed by the chief judge of Osun State at the National Industrial Court, Ibadan,” Tiamiyu said.

The Osun State chapter of the Staff Union of Nigeria blocked the entrance to the Osun State High Court in Osogbo on Monday over what it termed as persecution of it members under the Chief Judge, Justice Oyebola Adepele Ojo.

They carried placards with various inscriptions such as ‘Judiciary staff deserves better,’ and ‘We are tired of oppression and stagnation,’ among others.

The protesting workers led by Gbenga Eludire said the Chief Justice has refused to pay their allowances and other emoluments in the last three years

He however said their protest was not born out of solidarity for anybody

It would be recalled that Justice Adepele-Ojo was last week Thursday, asked to step aside by the state House of Assembly pending investigation on allegations of corruption, gross-misconduct and abuse of office

The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, on Monday affirmed the election of Hyacinth Alia as governor of Benue State.

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the March 18 governorship election, Titus Uba had approached the appellate court to set aside the judgment of the tribunal which upheld Alia’s election.

At the tribunal, Uba among other things alleged that Alia’s deputy, Samuel Ode, presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission contrary to Section 182(1)(j) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

He also claimed that Alia’s name was submitted less than 180 days before the election date, and Ode was also not submitted to INEC after the party conducted a further re-run primary election.

A three-member panel of the tribunal, headed by Justice Ibrahim Karaye, dismissed the petition on the ground that it was a pre-election matter and was statute-barred.

Ruling on the appeal on Monday, the appeal court’s three-member panel led by Justice Onyekachi Aja Otisi held that the Uba failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the allegations of forgery against Ode.