Fashola: Nigeria Police To Arraign Chike Ibezim

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September 6, 2023

By Adesina Soyooye

The Nigeria Police Force has concluded arrangements to arraign Mr Chika Ibezim in Court.

He is to be arraigned on charges bordering on alleged conspiracy, criminal intimidation, cyberstalking and cyberbullying.

This follows a petition from Priory Terrace Solicitors on behalf of the immediate past Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, SAN.

According to the complaint to the Pilice, Ibezim made a false publication on his X (Former Twitter) platform on Saturday, August 5, 2023, to the effect that Fashola was drafting a controversial verdict for the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal Court to be delivered in favour of President Bola Tinubu.

A statement issued on September 5, 2023, by the Police, signed by Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa, reads:

CASE OF CONSPIRACY, CRIMINAL INTIMIDATION, CYBERSTALKING, CYBERBULLYING: CHIKE IBEZIM COMPLICIT, TO BE ARRAIGNED ONCE COURT RESUMES

“Following a report from Priory Terrace Solicitors on behalf of Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, CON, against one Nnamdi Emmanuel Ibezim, Police Investigators from the Force Intelligence Bureau carried out intensive investigations into the complaint and discovered that the suspect made a false publication on his handle – @ReporteraNews on the social media platform ‘X’, formerly known as Twitter on Saturday 5th August, 2023, alleging that the complainant was involved in the drafting of a controversial verdict in the ongoing Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and that the military have been deployed to his residence to restrict movement thereby intending to cast aspersion on the person of the former Minister, contrary to Section 24 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention) Act, 2015, which has the potential to cause harm, distress, and damage to his reputation, as well as posing great threats to national security and stability of our dear country.

“Further investigations to wit technical and tactical analysis into the phone number used for making the publication in question, it was discovered that it is registered to one Chike Ibezim. Armed with this intelligence, police investigators proceeded to the office address of the suspect in Maitama, Abuja, where Chike Ibezim was arrested, while Nnamdi Emmanuel Ibezim, and one Tope who it was alleged handles all social media correspondences are currently at large and have not honoured all invitations by the Nigeria Police Force.

“In this wise, the Nigeria Police Force wishes to state clearly that our radar is on other individuals who are involved in this case and others alike for possible arrest and prosecution. The NPF thereby warns that cyberstalking and other cyber-related unguarded utterances are criminal and capable of heating up the polity and causing chaos.

“This new trend of cyberstalking, and a massive spread of fake news should be discouraged in all manners for our collective sake, and the sake of our dear country.”

For Second Time, NPFL Shifts Date For Commencement Of League Season

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Ayodele Oni

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September 6, 2023

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By Ayodele Oni

Again for the second time, the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) Board has postponed the kick-off of the 2023/2024 NPFL league season

This was contained in a letter on Wednesday, signed by the board COO Davidson Owumi, to all the club chairmen.

The news of the postponement was conveyed to all the clubs while citing the exigencies connected to the sponsorship of the league as the reason for the latest postponement.

The new league season was initially proposed by the NPFL board to kick-off on August 26, a date ratified by the Club Owners Association on August 4 after a consultative meeting between the board and the Association in Abuja.

No new date for the start of the season has been fixed as this was not contained in the letter sent to the clubs.

Peter Obi Loses; PEPT Says No Evidence Of Mass Rigging

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Adesina Soyooye

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September 6, 2023

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By Adesina Soyooye

Peter Obi, the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, has been knocked out by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal Court.

Obi had petitioned against the declaration of Bola Tinubu, then candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as winner of the February 25, 2023 General Elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission, Commission. Among other things, Obi and INEC had alleged mass rigging.

But on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, the Honourable Justice Abba Mohammed who read the lead judgement dismissed the allegations of mass rigging.

He said the petitioners made “generic accusations of irregularities” but failed to specify the anomaly, the places where it occurred and those affected.

He said: “They failed to state the number of votes affected and the number of people disenfranchise.”

PEPT said that Peter Obi and LP claimed to have scored the majority of lawful votes cast, but failed to state the number of lawful votes they scored.

“The determination of election is about figures,” the court held.

…Details, later.

On Shettima, Tinubu, APC Are Right – PEPT

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Ayodele Oni

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September 6, 2023

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By Ayodele Oni

The Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel of the Presidential Petition Election Tribunal on Wednesday said the Allied Peoples Movement’s petition challenging the qualification of Vice President, Kashim Shettima, was a pre-election matter.

The Allied Peoples Movement, (APM), petition seeking to disqualify Vice President Kashim Shettima has thus been rejected by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal.

The party had maintained that Tinubu’s selection of Kashim Shettima as his vice-presidential candidate for the election was an improper use of Tinubu’s sponsorship by the All Progressives Congress, (APC).

When Shettima accepted the nomination for vice president on July 14, the opposition party asserted that he was still the APC candidate for the Borno Central Senatorial District.

The PEPT, in its decision on the issue concluded that it was a pre-election matter and that it lacked jurisdiction to consider it.

The court also held that APM lacked locus standi to institute matters bothering on nomination and sponsorship of Shettima.

Reading his verdict, Tsammani said the matter ought to have been challenged before the conduct of the presidential election.

“The issue of qualification or disqualification is a constitutional one. The issue of disqualification or qualification is a pre-election matter, must be determined before the conduct of the election.

“This court has no jurisdiction to hear the matter and even if it does it is status-barred because it is a pre-election matter.”

Hike In School Fees: Crisis At UNILAG As Security Operatives Shoot Sporadically, Arrest Protesting Student

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Akinwale Kasali

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September 6, 2023

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By Akinwale Kasali

There is pandemonium at the University of Lagos, UNILAG, as protesting Students are chased, arrested and forcefully dispersed by Security Operatives who are alleged to have shot sporadically into the air.

The unrest at the Federal Institution was as a result of the increment in the Tuition Fee, which didn’t augur well with the Students who resorted to staging a protest at the school premises.

In a Live Video on Social Media, the protesting students could be seen running helter skelter as gunshots are heard.

The Students could also be heard shouting on top of their voices against the arrests by Security Operatives.

It would be recalled that the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, vowed to go on with their planned massive protest Wednesday, September 6, against the recent increment in school fees by some federal universities in the country, insisting that the increment will never come to stay.

The students’ body asked the institutions which had already started implementing their own increment to be ready for them or stop the policy forthwith and refund any student who might have paid the new fees.

In a statement on Monday, Temitope Giwa, a final Year Student of UNILAG, NANS’ Public Relations Officer, said nothing would stop them from protesting as planned.

Giwa insisted that the entire UNILAG and other Nigerian students reject any fee hike by any public tertiary school be it university or polytechnic in the country.

He explained again that they had made this position with genuine reasons known repeatedly not only to the public but also to President Bola Tinubu by officially communicating their objection to the fee hike to him.

According to NANS, “We have let the president Know that our parents are going through very difficult times, the experience of which they have never had in Nigeria’s history.

“That the recent removal of subsidy on fuel in particular has brought untold hardship on them and also on us. Our parents have suffered enough hardship and to add fee hike to their struggles is to suffocate them.

“So, we have not shifted our ground on this matter as the economy rather bites harder each day in the land.“

PEPT Upholds VP Shettima’s Nomination, Quashes APM Petition

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Akinwale Kasali

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September 6, 2023

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By Akinwale Kasali

There is wild jubilation by All Progressives Congress, APC, members, as the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, PEPT, ruled that the issue of double nomination brought forward by Allied Peoples Movement, APM, as a pre-election matter is invalid.

The APC recorded its first victory as the election tribunal has upheld the nomination of Kashim Shettima as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s running mate.

The APM had argued that the APC Presidential Candidate, Tinubu, was improperly sponsored by the All Progressives Congress, APC, as vice-presidential candidate for the election.

The opposition party had claimed that Shettima was still the APC candidate for Borno Central Senatorial District on July 14 when he accepted the nomination for vice-presidential candidate.

However, ruling on the case on Wednesday, the PEPT said that it is a pre-election matter, and that it lacked the jurisdiction to entertain it.

The court also held that APM lacked locus standi to institute matters bothering on nomination and sponsorship of Shettima.

The PEPT Court says that Section 142 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria did not enlarge scope of disqualification of Candidate in an election for which it has no jurisdiction.

Details Later…..

G-20: ‘We Are Here For Business’ Tinubu Assures India Billionaire

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James Orji

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September 6, 2023

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured the business community in India that his government will ensure that all bottlenecks are removed for business to thrive in Nigeria.

The president is currently attending the G-20 Summit in Delhi, where leaders from leading economic nations in the world, such as the US, Canada, UK, and others have converged.

Ahead of President Tinubu’s departure on Tuesday, the Presidency announced that one of the president’s itineraries at the meeting is to meet with top Indian businessmen who are interested in investing in the country.

Tinubu will also have meetings on the sidelines of the summit with other top business leaders from across the world with the aim of attracting foreign capital into Nigeria, his spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said.

According to a statement issued by Ngelale on Tuesday, the president had a meeting with Gopichand Hinduja, chairperson of the Hinduja group of companies in India, where he assured him of a stable, conducive environment for foreigners planning to invest in the country.

The combined wealth of Hinduja one of the richest men in the world, is close to $35 billion.

The statement quoted Tinubu to have said during the meeting, “We are here for business. I am here to personally assure our friends and investors that there is no bottleneck that I will not break. Nigeria will become one of the most conducive places on earth to make good profits and create lasting jobs.

“With my support, there is nothing standing in your way of enjoying the unrivalled opportunities presented by our massive market and the ingenious & hardworking nature of the Nigerian people. We are open for business.”

The G20 summit is expected to take place from September 9 to 10 in the Indian capital.

D-Day: Tinubu Knows Fate Today As Commander-in-Chief

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James Orji

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September 6, 2023

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will today know his fate as the commander-in-chief more than seven months after the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC declared him the winner of the February 25 presidential election.

On September 4 the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPT, announced that it was ready to give judgment on the contested election. A 5-member panel of the judges of the Court of Appeal will decide the matter today.

Recall that the INEC announced that Tinubu secured 8,794,726 votes to defeat Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who got 6,984,520, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, who polled 6,101,533 votes.

Four political parties are challenging the results announced by INEC at the tribunal. The parties are the PDP, LP, Movement, APM, and the and th Action Alliance, AA.

Ahead of the judgment by the court, security has been beefed up by all the security agencies in the country, including the police, Army, DSS, amongst others to avert a breakdown of law and order.

Will the tribunal validate the election of Tinubu. Will it declare Atiku Abubakar of the PDP or Peter Obi of the Labour Party, the other two candidates in the historic election the winner? That is the big question on the lips of many Nigerians who have waited for months for the court to make their decision on the matter.

The major argument before the tribunal is whether the Prof. Yakub Mahmood-led INEC was right to declare Tinubu the winner without securing 25 percent of the vote cast in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, a condition legal experts say must be met fof any candidate in the election to be declared winner of a presidential election in the country.

Other matters to be determined by the tribunal are academic qualification of Tinubu, the alleged double nomination of Kassim Shetima as his vice president, and the alleged indictment of Tinubu in the US on drug-related issues, amongst others.

Obi, the LP candidate claimed in his petition before the panel that the failure by the electoral umpire to upload the results of the presidential election on its website is enough to invalidate the election. The LP candidate insist that the requirement is a major requirement of the Electoral Act which he claimed that INEC failed to adhere to.

The LP candidate is also asking the court to declare him the winner of the election or invalidate the results announced by INEC, and the conduct of fresh elections in which Tinubu of the APC will not participate.

The PEPC had two days ago issued a statement notifying the public of the judgment, which it said will be broadcast live for transparency.

“The court of appeal wishes to inform the general public that judgment in the following petitions before the Presidential Election Petition Court will be delivered on Wednesday, 6th September, 2023:

The statement said, “• CAREPC/03/2023 between Mr. Peter Gregory Obi & Anor VS. Independent National Electoral Commission & 3 Ors.

“• CA/PEPC/04/2023 between Allied Peoples Movement VS. Independent National Electoral Commission & 4 Ors.

“• CA/PEPC/05/2023 between Abubakar Atiku & Anor VS. Independent National Electoral Commission & 2 Ors.

“In a bid to promote transparency and openness, these judgments will be televised live by interested Television Stations for the public to follow.

“Access to the Court premises will be strictly on accreditation.

“Only accredited individuals, including counsel and representatives of political parties, will be granted access into the Courtroom.

“Interested members of the public are advised to watch proceedings from their television sets.”

Whatever the decision is reached today by the panel, the candidates still have the opportunity to challenge the judgment in the Supreme Court, the highest court in the country.

NIMASA: Oyetola Vows To End Illegal Fishing In Nigeria’s Waters

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James Orji

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September 6, 2023

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The Minister of the Marine and Blue Economy, His Excellency Adegboyega Oyetola, has stated that tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, harnessing marine tourism, safety and security are top of the agenda of his administration as Minister of the newly created Ministry of Marine and Blue economy.

He stated this during a working visit to NIMASA headquarters in Lagos, where he met with the Top Management staff of the Agency. The Minister said the time has come for Nigeria to fully harness its vast potentials in the maritime sector, noting that the working visit was to ascertain and properly appraise the situation of things with a view of taking practical steps and measures towards addressing them.

In his words, “Today, we have come to see some of the things you told us in Abuja and to properly appraise the situation of things with a view to taking practical steps towards addressing them. I am particularly interested in the NIMASA Modular Floating Dock because of its potential to generate employment and stemmed capital flight. But we must find a way of ensuring stakeholders’ buy-in, in whatever we do so that we are seen to be working together for the growth and development of Nigeria”.

Speaking further, the Minister noted that it was time for Nigeria to float a National Carrier, stressing that through a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) arrangement, and the support of stakeholders, such a plan would be achieved in the interest of the maritime industry and Nigeria as a whole.

The Minister averred that management of the resources of Nigeria’s Marine and Blue Economy entailed proactive, smart and strategic thinking. He called for the rediscovery, harnessing and packaging of the nation’s maritime resources, including seafoods, in line with all associated international standards and specifications.

The Minister, who bemoaned foreign dominance of the fishing industry, assured that under his watch it will no longer be business as usual.

In his words “According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the fisheries sector contributed 1.09% of the country’s total GDP in the year 2020 and 0.9% in the Q3 of 2021. We are regarded as a net importer of fishery products. But we are determined to change the narrative by putting in place measures to make Nigeria a major player in that regard”.

Oyetola stressed that safety and security of the maritime corridors of Nigeria was a priority area in his agenda for the ministry, noting that without safety and security, there can never be a meaningful achievement in the industry. He added that with the rich endowments of her marine and blue economy, Nigeria had no justification not to develop marine tourism, which is a revenue-spinner for most countries, especially at the period when diversification of the economy from oil was sacrosanct.

According to him, “Nigeria makes up about 853 kilometres of the estimated 47,000 kilometres of coastline in Africa. Nigeria has one of the largest wetlands in the world, with its coastal and marine ecosystems covering a total of 70,000 square kilometres. There are countries around the world that rely solely on earnings from the tourism sector. Here in Nigeria, we also have what it takes to attract tourists to waters. Therefore, we shall be developing the infrastructure in cities and towns that are lake or coastal facing for this purpose”.

The Minister commended the Management of NIMASA under the leadership of Dr. Bashir Jamoh, OFR, for his grit and determination in ensuring that the Agency fulfils its mandates. He noted that he had full confidence in the capabilities and dedication of the Agency’s management, and stated that he looked forward to witnessing the continued success of NIMASA in shaping the future of the country’s maritime sector, reiterating that together, a thriving marine and blue economy that benefits everyone can be actualised.

Jamoh, in his opening remarks, had welcomed the Minister to the Agency, declaring that his appointment was unique and timely. The DG noted that the uniqueness of the Minister’s appointment was based on the industry and stakeholders’ clamour for independence, and the magnanimity of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR to create the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, showed that the President was a listening leader.

During the visit, he also inspected the NIMASA Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and intelligence, C4i centre, NIMASA e-library, the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) radio room, Marine Environment Management Laboratory, the newly acquired NIMASA headquarters, Search and Rescue Base Clinic and the NIMASA Skill Acquisition Centre in Apapa.

NNPP Intrigues: Why Kwankwaso Was “Expelled”

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The Source

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September 5, 2023

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By Akinjide Aina, Abuja

The intrigues in the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP which has now peaked with the expulsion, by the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the party, of former Kano state Governor, Senator Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso and the party presidential candidate in the February, 2023, presidential election may have been carefully orchestrated and stage-managed to provide a sound alibi for the former governor and his group, the kwankwasiya movement, to leave the party.

However, the NEC claimed it expelled Kwankwaso, following his alleged refusal to appear before the party’s Disciplinary Committee.

He had been earlier suspended by the party’s leadership.

Recall too that NNPP faction loyal to Kwankwaso had before now expelled the party’s founder, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam and the National Chairman, Agbo Major

An impeccable source within the party swore that the crisis was a smokescreen for defection from the NNP by Kwankwaso and his allies.

He told this magazine that the former Kano governor and his faction which breathed life into NNPP upon joining the party last year now realised that their political growth will be stunted if they remain in the party.

“NNPP managed to secure Kano where it produced a governor and several state and National Assembly members, and that’s the only state it has a foothold in Nigeria. And so, the Kwamkwasiya movement feels that their principal and his political loyalists will get stuck in a party that has no prospect of growth or expansion if they remain there because the next election is four years away.

“What you are seeing, therefore, is a carefully orchestrated, stage-managed crisis to provide a valid reason for total exit from NNPP by the Kwankwasiya movement,”, the source informed.

In the coming days, continued the source, “Kwankwaso is likely to “resign” from the NNPP, citing his “expulsion”. His exit will be followed by an announcement by the Kwankwasiya movement that it has pulled out of the party”

Meanwhile, between the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, it is not yet clear where Kwankwaso is headed if he exits NNPP. He was a former member of both parties.

Shortly after President Bola Tinubu was inaugurated, he paid him a visit at Aso Rock prompting speculations that he was lobbying to be appointed a Minister.

Last month, he met with the PDP Presidential Candidate in the February election, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, raising speculations about his alleged alliance talks with the former, in the hope that the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal will cancel the election and order a re-run.