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Summary Of The Grounds Of Appeal In Peter Obi’s Case Against President Bola Tinubu To The Supreme Court

By
The Source
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Bola Tinubu and Peter Obi

Although the appeal filed by Peter Obi and the Labour Party to the Supreme Court against the Judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) is based on fifty-one (51) grounds of appeal, the major complaints they raised against the Judgment are as follows; that:

The PEPC was wrong when it struck out the witness statements on oath of ten (10) out of the thirteen (13) witnesses called by the Petitioners on the ground that the statements were filed after the expiration of the period of twenty-one (21) days prescribed by the 1999 Constitution (as amended) for them to file the statements. They complain that the decisions of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal which the PEPC cited in support of the decision do not apply to the facts of this case. That the Court of Appeal, in coming to the above decision, refused to follow its previous decisions in many cases, which were cited and submitted to it, that a subpoenaed witness need not file his statement alongside the petition and any such statement filed after the time allowed for filing the Petition is competent and valid. (See Grounds 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the Notice of Appeal).

The PEPC was also wrong when it struck out the witness statements on oath of the Petitioners’ witnesses (i.e. PW4, PW7, and PW8 who were Expert Witnesses) on the ground that they were persons interested in the outcome of the Petition. They failed to consider and appreciate the decisions of the Supreme Court to the effect that a person interested means “a person who has a pecuniary or other material interest in the result of the proceedings – a person whose interest is affected by the result of the proceedings, and therefore, would have a temptation to pervert the truth to serve his personal or private ends”. The PEPC failed to take into account that in this case, there is no evidence on record in the instant case that any of the Petitioners’ witnesses had any pecuniary or material interest in the result of the proceedings.

It is also their complaint here that by the decisions of the Supreme Court, a person interested does not mean “an interest in the sense of intellectual observation or an interest purely to the same party. It means an interest in the legal sense which imports something to be gained or lost”. That the interest of PW4, PW7, and PW8 in relation to the documentary evidence produced by them, on subpoena, was merely products of intellectual exercise. The PEPC ought not to have struck out their evidence on this ground. (See Ground 15 of the Notice of Appeal)

The PEPC was wrong when it decided that the electronic transmission of results with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) from the polling units to the IReV is not mandatory under the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022; and that INEC has a discretion whether or not to use BVAS to upload and transmit the results.  In coming to this conclusion, the PEPC relied on the decision of the Federal High Court in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1454/2022 and refused and ignored the recent decision of the Supreme Court in OYETOLA v. INEC (2023) LPELR-60392 (SC) that the use of BVAs to scan and transmit the results of the election from the polling units to the IReV is “part of the election process” under the new legal regime governed by the Electoral Act, 2022. The PEPC also ignored the decision of the Supreme Court in OYETOLA’s case that “the Regulations provide for the BVAS to be used to scan the complete result in Form EC8A and transmit or upload the scanned copy of the polling unit result to the Collation System and INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV)….”

It is their further complaint that contrary to the decision of the PEPC, the use of BVAS to transmit the election results to IReV under the present legal regime governed by the Electoral Act 2022 is mandatory.  They contend in coming to the above decision, the PEPC overlooked the provisions of Paragraph 2.9.0 on page 36 of the Manual for Election Officials, wherein INEC stated the mischief the introduction of electronic transmission of results was meant to remedy under the new Electoral Act 2022 under the sub-heading “Electronic transmission/upload of the election result and publishing to INEC Result Viewing (IREV) Portal”, wherein INEC explained that:

“One of the problems noticed in the electoral process is the irregularities that take place between the Polling Units (PUS) after the announcement of results and the point of result collation. Sometimes results are hijacked, exchanged, or even destroyed at the PU, or on the way to the Collation Centers.”

The PEPC also failed to consider that in the same Manual and Guidelines, INEC stated that: “it becomes necessary to apply technology to transmit the data from the Polling Units such that the results are collated up to the point of result declaration. The real-time publishing of polling unit-level results on the IREV Portal and transmission of results using the BVAS demonstrates INEC’s commitment to transparency in results management.”

They further complain that since INEC itself had stated in the same paragraph 2.9.0 of the Manual for Election Officials that this commitment is backed by Sections 47(2), 60(1, 2 & 5), 64(4)(a & b) and 64(5) of the Electoral Act 2022, the PEPC was wrong when it held that the provisions of the Manual on electronic transmission of results conflict with the Electoral Act. They make the case that since the provisions of the Manual complement the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 in this respect, there is no conflict between the provisions of the Electoral Act and the Guidelines and Regulations; and the issue of the Electoral Act superseding or prevailing over the Guidelines does not arise in the circumstance. (See Grounds 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 29, 30, 31, and 32 of the Notice of Appeal)

The PEPC was wrong when it refused to hold that since INEC had represented and assured the whole world in the exhibits and video recordings tendered by the Petitioners in Court that it [INEC] was going to use the BVAS to transmit the results of the election from the polling units to the IReV electronically as mandated by the Electoral Act 2022, INEC could not turn around in this case to now argue that it had discretion on whether to use the BVAS or not.

The decision of the PEPC makes a complete “nonsense” of the chief objectives of the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022. Contrary to the decision of the PEPC, “it is clear from the pleadings and evidence adduced that the failure of the 1st Respondent to upload and transmit the results of the elections from the polling unit to IReV as mandated by law substantially affected the outcome of the election, in that the credibility, integrity, and transparency of the entire election process were compromised and could not be guaranteed.” (Grounds 25 and 28 of the Notice of Appeal)

The PEPC was wrong when it declined jurisdiction to determine the issue of disqualification of the 2nd Respondent (Tinubu) based on the alleged double-nomination of his Vice-President. The PEPC ignored and refused to follow its previous decisions wherein it had relied on extant decisions of the Supreme Court and emphatically held that the issue of double-nomination as raised by the Appellants herein is an issue of qualification that can comfortably be brought and ventilated under 138(1)(a) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), now Section 134(1)(a) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

The PEPC was wrong when it concluded that the Petitioners did not prove their case of double-nomination of the Vice-President (Kashim Shettima) because the law and evidence tendered in the Court did not support that conclusion. (See Grounds 33, 34 and 35 of the Notice of Appeal)

The PEPC misapplied the provisions of Section 137(1)(d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) when it reasoned and concluded that the 2nd Respondent (Tinubu) was not disqualified from contesting the Presidential Election based on the forfeiture orders made against him by the US District Court. The PEPC wrongly read the provisions of Section 137(1)(e) of the Constitution (which is a different and independent provision) together with Section 137(1)(d) of the Constitution and concluded that there is no evidence that the 2nd Respondent had been arrested, charged and convicted by a Court of Law to warrant his disqualification from contesting the election.

They complain that the interpretation given by the PEPC is contrary to settled principles of interpretation and the abundant binding case law cited and commended to it on the meanings of “fine” and “forfeiture”. The Court below failed to give a broad, liberal, and purposive interpretation to Section 137(1)(d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) as laid down and enjoined by the Supreme Court in cases too numerous to mention. (See Grounds 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, and 44 of the Notice of Appeal)

The PEPC was wrong when it decided that a winner of the Presidential Election does not need to score at least 25% of the votes cast in the FCT, Abuja, under Section 134(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended). It is complained that the PEPC ought not to have relied on the Preamble to the Constitution to interpret the provision because the provision is clear and unambiguous. The law is that the Preamble in an enactment (including the Constitution) can only be resorted to in order to “clarify any ambiguity in the words used in the enacting part”; and it “cannot be used to give a different meaning to the clear wording of a provision.” They also contended that the PEPC introduced and relied on extraneous matters/considerations in its interpretation of Section 134(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) because the issue before the Court was not whether or not the FCT has a “special status” over other States; or whether or not every citizen of Nigeria has the equality of vote; or whether or not the right of every such citizen to elect their President whose policies are supposed to and will affect all of them equally regardless of which part of the country they reside or live” as erroneously invented by the Court below. (See Grounds 45, 46, 47, 48, and 49 of the Notice of Appeal)

Boy With Missing intestine Dies As LAHA Urged Governor To Release Funds, Order Immediate Arrest Of Surgeon

By
Akinwale Kasali
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By Akinwale Kasali

Adebola Akin-Bright, the 12-year old whose small intestine allegedly missed after a surgery at a private Hospital, Obitoks Medical Centre, Alimosho, Lagos, has finally died.

Sadly, he died Tuesday, the day the Lagos State House of Assembly called on Governor Babajide Sanwo- Olu to, with immediate effect, direct the Ministry of Health to release funds for his overseas treatment.

Governor Sanwo-Olu visited the boy a few days ago at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH where he was transferred,  and promised to stand by him and pay for his medical treatment.

The Lawmakers on Tuesday urged the Governor to redeem his promise and prioritize the health of the boy, not knowing he had died about the same time the order was being made.

Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, while presiding over the day’s plenary, moved that Master Akin-Bright needed the urgent treatment abroad.

Obasa and the House also called for the immediate arrest of the doctor of the private hospital, Obitoks Medical Centre in the Alimosho area of the state, who performed the initial surgery that led to the missing small intestine while investigations continue.

The Speaker’s position followed a preliminary report by the Majority Leader, Hon. Noheem Adams, who briefed the House on the findings of a five-man ad-hoc committee created to investigate the circumstances that led to the disappearance of the boy’s intestine.

Giving the preliminary report, Hon. Adams said members of the ad-hoc committee visited the boy at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) on Tuesday.

Adams, who chairs the committee, said that the full report would soon be presented, adding that some shocking discoveries were made in the course of its investigations.

“We made some shocking discoveries in the course of our investigation. The incident is very unusual, but we want the boy to survive and we know Mr. Speaker is very interested in his survival too.

“We went to LASUTH on the directives of the Speaker, Rt. Hon Mudashiru Obasa, to find out the health status of Adebola Akin-Bright.

“The hospital told us that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had taken care of the bill for his treatment at LASUTH.

Adams, however, said they were told by the hospital that Akin-Bright needed to be transferred urgently to either the United States of America or United Kingdom for an intestine transplant and that communications were ongoing with hospitals in the two countries.

In his contribution, Hon. Temitope Adewale, another member of the committee, said the patient’s health was deteriorating and that urgent steps needed to be taken.

“He is now given GMO nutrient and there is the urgent need to take him abroad.

“Mr. Speaker, you have given this boy the opportunity to survive by setting up the committee,” he said.

Meanwhile, the House has thrown its weight behind the investigation by the police the sudden and controversial death of upcoming Musician, Oladimeji Aloba, popular as Mohbad’s.

The Speaker, while commending the Governor for also inviting the Department of State Services (DSS) into the issue, directed the Clerk of the House, Barrister Olalekan Onafeko, to write the Lagos Police Command and the DSS intimating them that the House supports the investigation and expect justice for the bereaved family.

Obasa also urged fans of Mohbad to be patient and continue to act with decorum while the investigation continues.

On Tuesday, hundreds of youths embarked on peaceful protests across a number of States in the Federation to protest Mohbad’s death.

“Why We Should Re-elect Uzodinma” – Ohakim

By
The Source
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Ikedi Ohakim and Hope Uzodimma

A former Governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim,  has called on the electorate in the State to elect the incumbent Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma for a second term in office during the November 11 Governorship election in order to guarantee the implementation of Imo charter of equity.

Ohakim stated this, according to a statement issued by Amby Uneze, Special Adviser to Governor Uzodimma on Print Media, on Monday in his Owerri Residence during an interaction with Journalists, adding that the Imo Charter of Equity which started in 1998 was only truncated by 2011 by Senator Rochas Okorocha.

He maintained that it is only the incumbent Governor, Uzodimma that can implement the Charter to the fullest, having only one more term to complete his Constitutionally guaranteed eight years in office.

Ohakim who traced the historical background of the Charter however, blamed the collapse on the lies sold to the Imo people by Okorocha that he would serve only one term as well as promoting false allegation against him of flogging a reverend father, hence the Catholics without proper investigation bought the lies which eventually truncated the charter of equity in the State.

According to the former Governor, I totally agree with the elders who drafted the current charter with the proviso that its implementation will begin after the incumbent governor, Senator Uzodimma, would have completed his second term in 2028.

“Given our experience in 2003 and 2015 – forget the aberration of 2011 – we have to take into consideration the factor of a sitting governor. It is heartwarming that Governor Uzodimma is favourably disposed to the idea of returning to the charter because it will take a sitting governor to make it work; as we witnessed under Governor Achike Udenwa and as it the case in all the States around us where power sharing is working.

But if Uzodinma gets his second term through another round of scrambling for power among the three zones, it will again be ‘to your tents oh Isreal’. In other words, contrary to the thinking in some quarters that Governor Uzodimma might have engineered the new interest on the Charter,the truth is that it will be impossible to implement it without taking his interest – as an incumbent – into account,” he stressed.

On insecurity, Ohakim admitted that the situation is worrisome in the State and across the South East, but he exonerated Governor Uzodimma from the insinuations that he deliberately hoisted it in the State.

He described such notion as nonsensical even when the governor and himself had been victims of insecurity, noting that Governor Uzodimma is on top of the situation.

Ohakim maintained that verifiable statistics with the Nigeria Police does not show that Imo State has the highest number of crime in the South East.

“As a private citizen, I move around the South East and I can say without any fear of contradiction that on the matter of insecurity, our dear State, Imo, is not worse off. That does not mean that we should give any room for complacency but we should not blackmail ourselves and act in a manner that would rubbish the collective integrity of our dear State and it’s people.

“I have been personally involved in several meetings on the matter of insecurity in the South East and I know that the governors are doing quite a lot. Whether we like it or not, the matter rests squarely on the shoulders of the Federal Government; which is why I would once again restate my position that in this highly tempestuous time, we need a governor who enjoys a good rapour with the federal authorities as Governor Uzodimma does,” he stated.

Ohakim also called the youths to try as much as possible to protest the elders instead of being used as tools to destroy their future and render the society ungovernable.

Lagos IGR Hits N400bn In 6 Months

By
James Orji
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Lagos state government says it generated N400 billion for the first six months of the year.

The revelation was made by the state commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Ope George, at the 2024 Budget Consultative Forum in Ikeja, the state’s capital.

He explained that the state is poised to meet this year’s IGR target, adding that more funds need to be generated to meet the yearnings of the people of the state.

He promised more support for the small and media scale enterprises in the state.

The commissioner said: “We have a good credit rating and good IGR which can help us attract the right set of investment and funding. So, we have to be very creative with our funding by ensuring it’s a mix of IGR and all the funding mechanisms.

“ We’re looking at PPP’s, and being able to get nice concessions at the right rates. So I think we’re fortunate because we are going in the right direction and, hopefully, we can continue to build on that to attract the right investments and funding to be able to solo-fund our budgets and our projects.

“We have a huge informal sector and we hope to tap into it to get the benefits therein. It is something the state is very keen to exploit. We have the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund which helps small and medium enterprises with loans and grants, and we will continue to build on that. The SME’s are integral parts of our economy.

“That is why this consultative forum is important – we hear from the people what they need and we act on it because we are better informed. And when the people know what they are getting, they comply more with paying their taxes and levies promptly.”

The state has the biggest IGR among the 36 states in the country with an average monthly generation of N50 billion.

Dangote Refinery Shifts Production To October

By
James Orji
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Dangote Refinery has assured Nigerians that production will commence soon at the plant in October, the S&P Global Commodity Insights report said.

The 650, 000 barrel a day refinery was initially scheduled to start production in July following its commissioning by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote promised during the commissioning that the first product from the refinery will be churned out latest by August this year.

Devakumar Edwin, Dangote Group Executive Director, who is overseeing the $19.5 billion refinery, said on Monday that the refinery is now ready to commence production after the short delay.

He said the long-awaited refinery will start with diesel and jet fuel.

According to him, the refinery will not depend solely on crude oil from Nigeria, saying arrangement has been made to buy crude from Russia, Arab Gulf nations, and other crude oil producers in order to be able to meet its target of meeting Nigeria’s domestic fuel consumption.

He said, “Right now, we are ready to receive crude. We are just waiting for the first vessel. And so as soon as it comes in we can start.”

Africa’s largest producer currently imports all of its refined goods, depleting its foreign exchange reserves. However, delays and cost overruns caused many to doubt that Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, would ever deliver. Meanwhile, fuel costs in Nigeria have risen since President Bola Tinubu eliminated an expensive subsidy in late May.

Although the refinery was designed to process light sweet Nigerian crude, state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corps, which is a shareholder in the project, cannot supply the refinery until November, Edwin said, so Dangote is buying oil from trading houses.

Vitol and Trafigura recently carried out inspections of the plant, he said.

“At the last minute [NNPC] said, ‘We have actually committed our crude on forward basis to someone else’, so immediately they don’t have the crude,” he said. This is a temporary issue, and the refinery should run on exclusively Nigerian crude by November, he said.

Edwin said the scale of the refinery meant being “solely dependent on Nigerian crude would not be advisable”, meaning the refinery can process most African crudes — apart from heavy Angolan grades — as well as Middle Eastern Arab Light and even US light tight oil.

“We can take even some of the Russian grades… if the global system opens up to allow us to receive [them],” he said.

Although discussions started as far back as 2013, Edwin said Dangote only began physical construction five years ago following a string of delays and mishaps. The first plot of land in a free zone in Ogun state was ditched following potentially “disastrous” political interference, he said.

After buying 33 square km of land in Lagos state for $100 million, the team found more than 70% of the plot was swamp and spent a year clearing it. Then, faced with the possibility of rising sea water claiming the land in the next 70 years, Dangote spent $50 million elevating the land by 1.5 meters. “We had to hire the world’s largest dredger, second largest dredger, and third largest dredger to… pump in about 65 million cubic meters of sand.”

The company also had to construct a port capable of receiving extremely heavy assembled equipment because it lacked the infrastructure to assemble equipment in Nigeria, import 200,000 pikes to prevent sinking, buy 320 cranes and invest in a 10 million ton per year granite quarry.

Ultimately delays proved a blessing, Edwin said, because “we had time to increase the capacity of the refinery [and] improve efficiencies in the design.” What will be the world’s largest single-train refinery began life as a 300,000 b/d project, Edwin said

Uzodimma Flags Off Distribution Of Items For Flood Victims In Imo

By
The Source
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Hope Uzodimma - Imo Civil Servant Promotion

The Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma has flagged off the distribution of items for those affected by the 2022 flood disaster in parts of the State.

He did this on Tuesday under the  Federal Government’s 2023 Special National  Economic and Livelihood Interventions for the 2022 Flood Affected Persons and the Most Vulnerable in Imo State.

The intervention covers the three zones of the State – Okigwe, Orlu and Owerri –  and the Governor carried out the flag-off at Amakohia, Orlu Road in Owerri North Local Government Area.

Performing the ceremony, Governor Uzodimma thanked the Federal Government and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the several interventions in support of the victims of the flood disaster in Imo and other places.

He recounted how the flood and erosion destroyed peoples homes and farms and in the process left many citizens stranded with untold hardship.

Governor Uzodimma however reminded the audience of how President Tinubu, on assumption of office, promised to create prosperity for all and cushion hardships in the country, saying that the government has continued to do so through her positive economic policies.

“The President has done a lot to ameliorate the difficulties resulting from the fuel subsidy removal,” he said,  and thanked him for everything he has done for the people.

The Governor described the Special Interventions to cushion the effects of the flood menace on the people as a wonderful idea.

He reiterated that “the government and people of Imo State are grateful to President Tinubu and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in collaboration with the Imo State Emergency Management Agency (ISEMA) for a thorough job.”

He charged all involved in the allocation and distribution of the items to ensure that they  are received by those they are meant for.

Governor Uzodimma requested the security agencies to support the NEMA and SEMA to ensure  no excuses are given for failure during the distribution.

He asked the beneficiaries to appreciate the federal government and particularly Mr. President on other policies meant to revive the economy and shore up the value of the Naira.

Earlier in his message read by the NEMA Southeast Coordinator, the Director General, Mustapha Habib Ahmed, said that “the Special National Economic Interventions was for the vulnerable and people most affected in the 2022 flood disaster.”

He appealed to the beneficiaries to put items to proper use and resist the temptations of selling them.

Items distributed include; food items, sewing machines, water pump, rice seedlings, liquid fertilizers, pesticide and others.

Obi, In Bayelsa, Bemoans Absence Of Development

By
The Source
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The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has decried the slow and inadequate development in Bayelsa State.

Speaking after the flag-off of the November 2023 gubernatorial election for the Labour Party in Yenogoa today Tuesday, Obi described the level of poverty in the state as painful and avoidable given the huge natural resources available in the state.

‘Today, I and the National Working Committee of our Party, led by Barr Julius Abure, were in Bayelsa State, for the flag-off of our gubernatorial elections in the State. We rallied behind our Gubernatorial Candidate, Engr Udengs Eradiri, and his running mate, Commodore Benjamin Natus.

“I felt a sense of pain in Bayelsa, knowing that the State, with all its endowed natural resources, remains the second poorest state in Nigeria with an 88.5% poverty rate.

Recall that “It was in Oloibiri, Bayelsa that Nigeria first discovered oil in January 1956. Yet, Bayelsa still lacks the most basic amenities and good infrastructure.

Sixty-seven years after the discovery of oil in Bayelsa, the State cannot boast of good roads. This is a result of leadership failure, at different levels of government.

“We must begin to rid our nation of all forms of corruption that have held us down, and begin to deliver good governance to the people.”

The former Anambra state Governor then urged the good people of Bayelsa to support the Candidate of the Labour Party, to, not only transform the State, but enable the party to move the State in particular, and the nation in general, from consumption to production.

“That is the way to build the New Bayelsa, and ultimately, the New Nigeria of our

Uzodimma Visits Scene Of Fatal Attack, Assures Killers of Security Operatives At Ehime Mbano Will Be Fished Out

By
The Source
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Uzodimma Visits Scene Of Fatal Attack on Security Operatives

An outraged Governor Hope Uzodimma has assured the public that those behind the Tuesday gruesome killing of security operatives at Ehime Mbano area of Imo State will be fished out and made to face the law.

Some members of the Joint Security Task force whose actual number and identities are yet to be established were killed in an ambush by gunmen while on duty at the Umuezeala Owerre area of Ehime Mbano.

When Governor  Uzodimma visited the scene of the ugly incident accompanied by the Imo State Commissioner of Police and the Director Department of State Services, he expressed sadness over the lives lost.

He assured that “the State Government in collaboration with security agencies would fish out the perpetrators with a view to bringing them to book.”

Governor Uzodimma however urged the leaders and people of the Communities in the area to avail the Government and security agencies of the vital information they need to do their work.

He also prayed for God’s mercy for the victims and the fortitude for the families to bear the irreplaceable loss of their loved ones in the incident.

Gunmen ambushed and killed, reportedly, eight of the Security Operatives, burnt four of them, and set fire on their two Hilux operation vehicles.

Obi, Labour Party Files Appeal To Supreme Court, Lists 51 Grounds Against Judgment Of PEPC

By
The Source
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0
Bola Tinubu and Peter Obi

The final legal battle for the contentious February  25th, 2023, Presidential Election begins with the Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Gregory Obi, and the Labour Party, filing an appeal against the September 6, 2023 ruling of the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC.

Obi and LP’s team of lawyers led by Dr Livy Uzokwu, SAN, on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, complied with the statutory deadline for the filing of the Appeal and  approached the apex court on 51 grounds, which they termed an error in law to prove that the All Progressives Congress, APC Presidential Candidate in the election, Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not win the election and that it was wrong for both INEC and the PEPC  to declare him winner of the election when many incontrovertible points were proving otherwise.

In enunciating their grounds Obi and the Labour Party sought from the apex Court, four key points:

*Allow the Appeal.

*Set aside the perverse Judgment of the PEPC.

*And grant the reliefs sought in the petition, either in the main or in the alternative.

On the issue of the 25% requirement for Abuja, Obi and the Labour Party listed the particulars of error by the PEPC as follows. That the PEPC failed to appreciate that for the President to assume the office or position of the Governor of Abuja, is also under a mandate to secure 25% of the votes cast in the FCT.

They also accused the PEPC of overlooking the fuller purport of section 299 which will be more glaring on a calm examination of section 301 of the constitution.

No date yet has been fixed for the hearing of the case.

Leaders, Nigerians Insist On Justice Over Musician’s Death

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, has remarked that what Nigerians owe the deceased music star, Ilerioluwa Oladimeji Aloba (Mohbad) is to ensure justice and urged police authorities to unravel the mysteries surrounding his death.

A statement by the Governor’s Special Adviser on Media, Mr Yinka Oyebode, said justice could only come through a thorough investigation of the circumstances leading to his death, as well as various revelations that came out thereafter.

This is just as some youths in Ondo state paralyzed commercial activities in the state capital, Akure, when they embarked on mourning protest over the death of the musician.

Governor Oyebanji spoke on Tuesday just as Ekiti youths plan to hold a procession in Ado-Ekiti, the State capital to mourn the late Singer and demand justice for him.

Describing Mohbad as a talented singer, who at 27 had already carved a niche for himself in the entertainment world with several hit songs to his credit, Governor Oyebanji said the death of the singer at the peak of his career and the circumstances surrounding it are highly regrettable.

While extending condolences to members of the late singer’s immediate and extended families, as well as his fans worldwide, the Ekiti State Governor urged the Nigeria Police to investigate the death and ensure that justice is done.

The Akure protest, tagged “Justice for Mohbad”, saw participants, mainly youths in black atires walking round major streets in the state capital.

They displayed placards with inscriptions such as “Say No to Marlian Music”,  “Justice for Mohbad”,  “We want a coroner’s inquest into Mohbad death”, amongst others.

The presence of security operatives comprising men of the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) were also observed as the youths marched through NEPA, Arakale and Oba Adesida roads, causing heavy traffic girdlock.

One of the protesters, Ajulo Sunday said they are demanding that the person responsible for Mohbad’s death be held accountable.

“The untimely passing of Mohbad  has shed light on the numerous issues within the music industry. His death should serve as a warning to other music record labels that promote bad behavior.

“We want the police to deploy all forensic, technical and other vital assets that are relevant to the investigation of homicide cases of this nature towards supporting their investigation process because we want justice for Mohbad.”

Also, Awolumate Iremide, while noting that Mohbad had filed a police petition against Sam Larry and others after he was assaulted during a video shoot with Zlatan Ibile, wondered why nothing was done until his demise.

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