The Supreme Court of Nigeria has affirmed the victory of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the duly elected President of Nigeria at the February 25th Presidential Election.
The Court dismissed the appeals of Peoples Democratic Party’s Presidential Candidate, Abubakar Atiku and Labour Party’s Presidential Candidate, Peter Gregory Obi.
The opposition parties had approached the court to challenge the election that produced Tinubu as President.
The Supreme Court held that there was no merit in Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi’s appeals and dismissed them!
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the assumption that unless a Presidential Candidate scored 25 % of votes in Abuja, he would not be President, is a fallacy.
Ruling on the appeal brought before it by the Presidential Candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, against President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, the apex Court said Abuja is like any other State of the Federation.
Tinubu did not score upto 25% of the votes cast in Abuja during the February 25 Election. But the Supreme Court said that does not matter. And does not affect Tinubu’s victory.
The Chairman of the Seven-man Panel of Supreme Court Justices, Inyang Okoro, agreed with the ruling of the Presidential Election Petition Court. He asked: “Are you saying if someone scores 25 % votes in 30 States but not in Abuja, he should not be President? Is that how you interpret the law?”
Ahead the the 6th Edition of the Guaranty Trust Company, GTCO Fashion Weekend coming up next month, the Group Managing Director, GMD of the financial giant, Segun Agbaje has disclosed that the bank is committed to helping indigenous small businesses to succeed.
The annual fashion fair, aimed at promoting local SME’s is expected to hold between November 11 and 12 in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital.
The Group’s chief executive stated this in his reaction to the release of its third quarter report to the Nigeria Exchange Limited, NGX and the London Stock Exchange, LSE, for the period ending September 30, 2023.
According to the report, the Group reports a profit before tax, PBT, of ₦433.2billion, representing an increase of 155.2 percent over ₦169.7billion recorded in the corresponding period ended September 2022.
Agbaje who stated that the commercial bank has shown, through the result, its resilience to the challenging business environment in the country, stressing that “going into the final quarter of the year, we will continue to leverage the strengths within our growing financial services ecosystem” to enhance customers and stakeholders’ experience.
Agbaje said; “Our 3rd Quarter performance underpins our strategic positioning as a leading Financial Holding Company and reaffirms our strong capabilities to successfully navigate the challenges in our operating environment. Going into the final quarter of the year, we will continue to leverage the strengths within our growing financial services ecosystem to improve our products and service offerings, enhance customer experience, and maximise shareholder value.
“We are proud of our work towards Promoting Enterprise across the African continent over the years and remain committed to helping indigenous small businesses thrive through our consumer-focused fairs.
“The 6th Edition of the GTCO Fashion Weekend is scheduled to hold in Lagos, Nigeria, on 11/12 November 2023, and will give entrepreneurs in the Nigerian fashion retail space a free-business platform to showcase their diverse talents and creativity to a global audience.”
Other details provided in the report indicate that the Group’s loan book (net) grew by 17.7 percent from ₦1.89trillion recorded as at December 2022 to ₦2.22trillion in September 2023, while deposit liabilities increased by 37.9 percent from ₦4.61trillion in December 2022 to ₦6.36trillion in September 2023.
The Group’s balance sheet remained well structured and resilient with total assets and shareholders’ funds closing at ₦8.6trillion and ₦1.3trillion, respectively. Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio, CAR, remained very strong, closing at 25.1 percent, while asset quality was sustained as IFRS 9 Stage 3 Loans improved to 3.8 percent in September 2023 from 5.2 percent December 2022, however, Cost of Risk, COR, closed at 4.1 percent from 0.6 percent in December 2022 owing to Management’s conservative stance on provisioning as macros worsened y-o-y, weighing negatively on the ECL variables.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has held that the Result Viewing Portal (IREV) deployed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2023 General Election is not a collation system.
Justice Inyang Okoro, Chairman of the of the Supreme Court panel which heard appeals by Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi over February Presidential Election said this on Thursday in final verdict on the outcome of the presidential election.
Justice Okoro ruled that failure to transmit election results electronically on IREV did not affect the election results.
“The court below held that the IREV is not a collation system, and I agree. The unavailability of the INEC results on the portal cannot be a ground for the election to be nullified.
“It is my well considered opinion that the failure to transmit results to the IREV, did not affect the result of the election. This issue is resolved in favour of the respondents.”
Processes and activities for the 2023 general elections end on Thursday with the Supreme Court laying to rest issues over the poll.
The general election commenced with the Presidential/national assembly poll and governorship/house of assembly.
Results of the election were announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which declared winners for all the contested positions.
For the presidential, Bola Tinubu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared winner over Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic (Party) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP).
Dissatisfied with the outcome, PDP and LP candidates approached the Election Petition Court to challenge the outcome.
The court, in its judgement last month, affirmed victory of Tinubu after dismissing the petitions of Atiku and Obi.
In the course of pursuing justice, Atiku had sought for academic records of President Tinubu from Chicago University to support his claim that Tinubu forged the credentials he presented to INEC for the poll.
Armed with his findings, Atiku approached the Supreme Court, urging it to accept his fresh findings from Chicago University. The case was heard last Monday.
Delivering judgement on Thursday on the appeal filed by Atiku, Supreme Court ruled that it could not admit fresh evidence to determine the appeal.
The Supreme Court in a judgement delivered by Justice Inyang Okoro, rejected the motion on notice, stressing that fresh evidence could not be entertained and that the evidence was belated.
“An election tribunal shall determine its judgment within 180 days of filing of petition and therefore the court of appeal lost jurisdiction after 180 days
“The Supreme Court cannot activate its Section 22 of the Supreme Court Act after 180 days has lapsed at the lower court. I still wonder how the appellants intend to use the evidence in this appeal.
“The application to file fresh evidence runs foul of the provisions of the Electoral Act that prohibits the amendment of election petition of 21 days of the election petition.
“The Supreme court found as ridiculous the submission of Atiku Counsel that the 180-day rule does not apply to court of appeal sitting on the presidential election petition.
“The provision of the Constitution has spoken. There cannot be an addendum. Appeals are continuation of hearing on matters of the lower court.”
With the Supreme Court verdict, the winner and losers will now return to the drawing board, preparatory to next election in 2027.
The leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has reacted to the removal of Timipre Sylva from the November 11 Bayelsa State Governorship Election List by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, saying the move is premature.
INEC had removed Sylva‘s name from the List following a High Court Judgment on October 9th that disqualified him from participating at the Governorship poll.
Reacting to the development, Felix Morka, the APC National Publicity Secretary in a Statement in Abuja, stated that “The attention of the APC has been drawn to the updated list of gubernatorial candidates for the Nov. 11 governorship election in Bayelsa by INEC, which excluded our candidate’s name, Chief Timipre Sylva.
“This action by INEC may not be unconnected with the High Court judgement of October 9, which disqualified Chief Timipre Sylva as the candidate of our party.
“Our candidate and party promptly appealed that judgment and brought other processes seeking a stay of the judgment’s execution.
“Recognising the extreme urgency of the matter, the Court of Appeal granted an order of accelerated hearing of the matter now fixed for definite hearing on Friday Oct. 27,” Morka said.
Morka added that INEC was a party in the matter and had been served with all relevant filings and orders regarding the matter.
He said that delisting APC’s candidate in the circumstances as INEC had done was clearly premature and could pre-empt the outcome of the valid appeal in the matter.
He said that removing the party’s candidate from the list of governorship contestants in Bayelsa would foist a situation of helplessness on the appellate court, the candidate and the party should the appeal succeed.
Morka urged INEC to withdraw its amendment under reference in the interest of fairness.
He appealed to the people of Bayelsa, especially APC’s teeming members and supporters, to remain calm while the judicial process runs its full course.
He expressed confidence that the party’s candidate would be victorious both at the Court of Appeal and at the poll.
It would be recalled that Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a judgement delivered on October 9, disqualified Sylva from featuring in the November 11 governorship election.
Okorowo ruled that Sylva, having been sworn in twice and ruled for five years as governor of Bayelsa, would breach the 1999 constitution as amended if allowed to contest again.
Reno Omokri, a social media critic has blamed continued depreciation of the Naira on some recent policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) and high taste of Nigerians for Imported products.
According to Omokri, the CBN has dumped the age long practice of “defending the Naira with $1.5 billion every month. It is not because of any act of bad.”
He stated in a statement that “While I condemn the Senate for buying foreign-made SUVs, this is not why the Naira is ₦1310 to a dollar.
“The reason behind the sudden drop is because the Central Bank of Nigeria abruptly stopped the decades-old practice of defending the Naira with $1.5 billion every month. It is not because of any act of bad governance. It is a deliberate fiscal policy known as floating the Naira.
“Before this, we were spending more money subsidizing the Naira than we were spending on fuel subsidies. And as a result, we were subsidizing imports.
“The idea behind the policy of floating the Naira is that Nigerians should change their consumption habits and buy more made in Nigeria goods. That way, the $1.5 billion a month can be spent on something more productive. It is a good policy, which all of us should support.
“77 million Nigerians use MTN. Another 60 million use Airtel. That is 137 million people spending $20 million daily on data and phone calls. That money is going to South Africa and India.
“25 million Nigerians spend an average of $15 monthly on DSTV. That is $375 million going to South Africa. Last year, Nigerians spent £25.3 million on 644,452 bottles of imported champagne.
“We spend $75 million on imported whisky. Those funds are leaving our economy to service the British, French and South African economies.
“Nigerians also spend nearly a quarter of a billion dollars importing human hair, bleaching creams, fake eyelashes and other cosmetics.
“This is more than we spend importing books. The funds are going to India and Asia, and those countries are not buying made-in-Nigeria goods. Please fact-check me on all these data.
“So given these consumption habits, if you were President, would you continue to invest $1.5 billion in subsidizing the Naira so your citizens can waste it on such mundane things? Perhaps not.
“You can actually play a role in growing our economy. You post photos of yourself on social media wearing foreign designers and jewellery and powerful cars.
“Of course, it is your money, and you can do whatever you want with it. But if you are going to criticize the drop in the purchasing power of the Naira, it may not be a bad idea to lead by example and post photos of yourself with made-in-Nigeria clothes and other products once in a while. Otherwise, you will be telling your followers to do what you are not doing.”
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, is among the top government officials who were present in the Supreme Court on Thursday during the hearing of an appeal filed by the Labour Party, LP candidate Peter Obi against the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Other members of the ruling party who represented President Tinubu in court include, Abdullahi Ganduje, APC National Chairman Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, NSA, amongst others.
Wike is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and a presidential aspirant of the party during the 2023 presidential election.
He was appointed minister of the nation’s capital by Tinubu who won the highly contested election.
The minister and former Governor of Rivers State supported Tinubu during the February 25 election against Atiku Abubakar, the PDP candidate, on the basis that he would not back another northern candidate for the presidency after the expiration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure.
His reason was not acceptable to some political analysts who claimed that Wike would have backed Atiku if the PDP candidate had picked him as his running mate, instead of Ifeanyi Okowa, the immediate past governor of Delate state.
For instance, Senator Dino Melaye, during one of his spats with Wike claimed that the former Rivers governor begged him during several telephone conversations, to appeal to Atiku to pick him as the PDP vice presidential candidate.
Not a few analysts insist that the minister is headed for the ruling party based on his recent romance with the ruling party.
The Supreme Court, on Thursday, declared that it has no jurisdiction to receive fresh evidence in the appeal brought by the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, against the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The jurisdiction of this court is donated by the constitution,” Justice John Okoro who read the judgment said today, adding that the timeline to file evidence in the case has lapsed.
Tinubu was declared winner of the February 25 election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
The APC candidate’s election was also affirmed winner of the election by the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC on September 6. 2023.
So, one year after this tragic incident happened, Nigeria, finally, lost one of its very few Oncologists. It lost Dr Olufemi Olaleye in a most scandalous manner. In a most shameful incident.
Dr Olaleye did not die, has not died. But he is a living dead. For what’s there left for him to live for. He lost his job. He lost his family. He lost his reputation. He lost his integrity. He lost himself. And worse, he lost God. Otherwise, how could a man so brilliant, so talented, paint himself with tar, and drown himself in a gutter? Was he cursed?
You, perhaps, have heard of, or read the tragedy that is Dr Olaleye. But for the purpose of this write-up, a brief recap.
Dr Olaleye is the Medical Director of Optimal Cancer Foundation, Ikeja, Lagos. There are very few Cancer Hospitals and Centres and Foundations in Nigeria. So you can imagine how painful the loss of one of them is, especially, when you realise the number of people, and especially, women, down with this cursed disease. He was doing well with his Foundation, taking care of Cancer patients, and even engaged in charity work for the underprivileged, those who couldn’t afford the abominable cost of Cancer treatment.
He, atimes embarked on such charity outreaches with celebrities, including the very devastated accomplished actress, Kate Henshaw.
He had a happy family, or so most people thought. His family photograph which has surfaced online since after his shame gives the impression of a happy, contented family. He sat there in a beautiful pose with his beautiful wife and daughter. Not a few families would turn green with envy just looking at the photograph.
But the pose turned out a fake, as fake as Dr Olaleye. Beneath the beautiful smiles is a storm. The plastered smiles on the faces of his wife and daughter, perhaps, were genuine. However, given the benefit of hindsight, Olaleye’s smile and pose as a good family man were fake. Just a confirmation of the saying to never judge a book by its cover. Beneath his smiles were devilish thoughts. Wicked thoughts. Smiles from a man soaked in sin. Smiles of a man who has no respect for family. Smiles of a man who has no respect for his wife. Smiles of a man, who, perhaps, from day one, had no respect for his marriage vows. Smiles of a man who has no respect for his children. Smiles of a man who has no reslect for his home. Smiles of a man who has no respect for his profession. Smiles of a man, who without a thought, let everybody down, his patients, himself.
Dr Olufemi Olaleye
And why?
He had no discipline. He had no morals. He had no control over his hot libido.
The road to the unraveling of Dr Olaleye’s double life began when his wife’s niece, a minor, came to live in their home with them. As soon as he set his eyes on the minor, he lost himself. He lost control. He was filled with evil thoughts. He yearned for her, a minor. He forgot the blood relationship between his wife and the minor. He must have her, or heaven would fall, literally. Nothing could stop him. Not the cameras in the house.
Aside from waiting for when the minor would be alone in the house, he knew how to dodge the cameras. He knew where was safe. He gradually, bit by bit, introduced the minor into his dirty lifestyle.
He first introduced her to adult films. And then, eased her to the other weird acts.
The minor was helpless. She gave in. To fear. Out of fear. He had threatened to kill her if she told anybody, as well as kill the person she would tell.
So, this man, who swore to an oath to protect lives, could, also, be a killer if pushed. His cup was soon to run over. Not able to endure any more, the minor confided in the family’s driver. And hell was let loose when his wife heard.
She reported to the Police. Those who blame her for going to the Police are not in her shoes. They hardly know what she had endured, perhaps, for years. They hardly understand the shame she has been put through. It, obviously, may not have been her husband’s first time. She may have endured, all the while because, he may have been sowing his wild oats outside. But to strip her of all self esteem by pouncing on her niece, a minor, and, in their home, was the limit.
By so doing he stripped his wife of all her dignity and self respect, her self worth.
Dr Olaleye is lucky his wife went to the Police to report. Some other women could have done worse. His wife was calm. She got to the root of the outrageous act, and plotted her sweet revenge. She prepared for him a farewell gift which took the whole of one year to put together.
On Tuesday, October 24, 2023, at the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court, Ikeja, Lagos, the Honourable Justice Rahman Oshodi, handed Olaleye his deserved gift.
Confronted with a two-count charge, both grounded on the defilement of a minor, Olaleye stood no chance. Not even his doctor-colleague who examined the minor gave him a chance. Everything was piled against him. His sins were spread on the table before him.
An obviously disappointed Justice Oshodi gave him the full measure on both counts. Not satisfied with one life sentence in jail, His Lordship gave him two life sentences – in case he comes back to life after the first life sentence. It was a seal on a wasted life.
I would have given an arm to watch Dr Olaleye as Justice Oshodi condemned him to eternal hell. Did he cry? Did he slump? Was he shaken? Hardly. He knew he was dead, already, literally, of shame. He was down already, and had no need to fear a fall. He has passed being embarrassed, or feeling shame. He was just there. Like a wood.
Actress Henshaw said he had no remorse, and showed none all through his trial. She said he could repeat the same shameful act if given an inch of an opportunity. She described him as being “shoulder-up” for the period the trial lasted. A man full of ego, he probably believed he could be saved.
So, was Dr Olaleye cursed? Did anybody swear for him? How did he allow himself to fall from an Olympian height to the bottom of a gutter? How could he have fallen to the temptation of defiling a minor, his wife’s niece, kept under his care when there are dozens of free women who could have satisfied his libido? Or was it a disease? Why did he not consult his colleagues in that field to help him cure his affliction?
Incidentally, the defilement of minors is fast becoming a norm. It is no longer an exception by a few depraved men. They are not safe anywhere. In schools (by their teachers). In Worship places (by their Pastors/Imams, choir masters, Sunday School teachers, etc). In their homes (by their relations, even by their fathers). What can be done?
A couple of days ago, a Rivers State High Court Judge, the Honourable Justice Suzzette Wike, immediate past First Lady of Rivers State, proffered a solution. Castrate anybody who defiles a minor, she said. Well, why not?
But back to Olaleye. It’s shame he ended the way he ended. I weep for this complete waste. Such a waste.
