The All Progressive Congress, APC, is presently enmeshed in Crisis in Kogi State. Its candidate in the November 16th, 2019 elections may be disqualified.
The candidate, Governor Yahaya Bello, is said to have registered twice as a voter in Abuja and Lokoja.
Based on this allegation, Natasha Akpoti, the Governorship Candidate for the Social Democratic Party, SDP, has filed a case before the Federal High Court in Abuja requesting for Bello’s disqualification.
Akpoti, in her submission before the court filed on her behalf by Mike Ozekhome, SAN, is asking for Bello’s disqualification.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1221/2019 and dated October 10, Akpoti alleged Bello registered as a voter on May 23, 2017 at the government house in Lokoja after he had reportedly registered as a voter in Abuja in 2011.
The suit listed the APC as first defendant and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as the second defendant.
Akpoti asked the court to determine: “Whether Yahaya Bello, the candidate of the 1st Defendant (APC) in the forthcoming Kogi governorship poll being organised by the 2nd Defendant (INEC) has by his act of double registration committed a wrongful act capable of disqualifying him as a voter or person to be voted for having violated the provisions of Section 24(E) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended).
“Whether Yahaya Bello, candidate of the 1st defendant, is on account of his double registration as a voter, a fit and proper person to be sponsored as a governorship to candidate by the 1st Defendant or allowed by the 2nd Defendant to contest as a governorship candidate the forthcoming Kogi state governorship election.
“Whether Yahaya Bello, the candidate of the 1st defendant in the forthcoming Kogi state governorship election is not liable to be disqualified and/or barred from participating or contesting in and/or voting for any political office for the next 10 years, pursuant to his flagrant violation of the provisions of Section 24(E) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended).”
She further asked for a court order disqualifying and/or barring Bello, or directing INEC to disqualify the APC candidate from the governorship race or for any political office for the next 10 years.
Among other things, she is also seeking an order of mandamus compelling INEC to investigate the allegation of double registration against Bello and prosecute him on completion of his first term in office as governor in January 2020.
The Senate is under fire. Some senators are threatening to bring the roof of the red chamber down over allege job scam involving President Ahmed Lawan , Ovie Omo-Agege, deputy Senate President and other principal officers.
This is the first leadership crisis since Lawan emerged Senate President in June this year.
Some senators have accused their leaders of appropriating job slots from top government agencies for their family members and constituency alone.
The Senate is currently investigating allegation that government agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS have secretly been recruiting.
Other federal agencies mentioned in the allege scam are the NDLEA, National Space Research Development Agency, Federal Civil Service Commission and the National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN.
“How can some persons decide to appropriate over 100 job slots from an agency of government without thinking of other senators. We also have people from our constituency looking for jobs. Everything must be done in openness and fairness,” an aggrieved senator from the south west told the magazine on Tuesday.
Other senators who spoke with the magazine said their worry is that the vacancies were not advertised according to the public service law.
Since the allege secret recruitment is believed to have favoured some sections of the country, the Federal Character law has also been violated, other angry senators told the magazine
Over 100 vacancies from the FIRS alone were said to have been filled in the last three months by family members and relations of Senator Lawan and other top notch in the senate.
Sources told the magazine that these agencies are doing this to soften the ground for them when they face the senators for their budget defense.
Meanwhile, the Senate has disclosed that it’s aware of plans by some federal agencies to shun ongoing investigation over the secret recruitment.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Character, Danjuma La’ah, told journalist in Abuja on Tuesday that the agencies consider the investigation a waste of time.
According to him, he was aware that some agencies had been boasting that nothing would come out of the probe because they had allegedly reached out to the leaders of the Senate..
La’ah said, “We are hearing that some agencies will not honour our invitation because they have connection with the Senate leadership. I am not aware that any agency gave out employment slots to the Senate.
“The leadership has not told us that they received any slot.
“As the chairman of this committee, who is also representing Kaduna South, I am not in any way aware that we have been given any employment slots, so we are going ahead with our probe.
He explained that his committee will get to the bottom of the scam “I have taken it upon myself that I will probe deeply into the agencies’ claims and carry out an extensive investigation. We are going to expose all those that are tarnishing the image of the Federal Government.”
Critics, however warned that nothing is likely to come out of the probe considering that the leadership of the senate is involved in the matter.
Access Bank Plc. Executive Director, Retail Banking, Victor Etuokwu has stated that the bank has hit one billion naira daily in loan value through its expanded digital lending portfolio.
The bank had disbursed over N45 billion in over two million disbursements to individuals this year alone, Etuokuw said.
Etuokwu stated this on Tuesday adding that the bank expanded its digital lending portfolio, which enables customers to access quick funds for emergency 24 hours a day has hit N1 billion daily in loan value.
Access Bank, he added remains the number one digital lender across Africa.
“This is a deliberate choice we made when we introduced the first USSD-based digital lending product in Nigeria based on our deep understanding of our operating environment.
“In the past two years, we have disbursed over 3.5 million loans to individuals.
“We acknowledge it is no mean feat when compared to where the market is coming from, but this is still a scratch in the overall potential of this market,” he said.
“This year alone we have disbursed over N45 billion in over 2 million disbursements to individuals and have recently witnessed a spike in our volumes hitting N1 billion daily.
“This achievement and our focus on retail lending reiterate our commitment to democratise access to financial services leveraging digital technology,” Etuokwu said.
He explained that the bank had continued to expand its loan portfolio using its proven innovative algorithms and deep machine learning capabilities.
The introduction of its digital loan portfolio has expanded , with PayDay Loan as the flagship product.
“The bank’s retail innovation journey has led it to expand its digital loan offerings to other multi-tenured variants to fit the needs of its diverse retail customer segments,” he said.
Etuokwu said that the bank also launched a dedicated loan application platform known as QuickBucks in the third quarter of 2018.
QuickBucks, he explained is a Mobile Banking Application for digital loans aimed at improving customers borrowing experience for retail loans.
On his part, Chinedu Onuoha, Head Digital Banking Business Development, Access Bank, said the digital lending has achieved a milestone, adding that the bank is poised to providing financial satisfaction to its customers.
“Our objective is to ensure that there is a digital loan product for every adult Nigerian who has proven means of livelihood because we know that every individual at one point or another requires some form of financial support.”
The Coalition of United Political Parties has fired back at the Supreme Court over their allegation that they, the CUPP, are trying to name a child “before it was born”, accusing the apex Court of taking sides and descending into the arena and taking “sides and has decided to join issues with the opposition”.
The Supreme Court had reacted to the accusation of the CUPP that the presidency is pressurizing her-the Supreme Court- to jettison the age old custom of the Apex Court to use the highest ranking members of the Court for the Atiku’s Appeal. The CUPP has warned of what they see as the consequences. In their own reply Tuesday, they insisted that the CUPP statement was a “Blatant falsehood, misinformation and malicious rumor being generously peddled.”
In a reply made available to this Magazine, the CUPP said Apex Bank did not deny the allegation in their statement.
Below is an extract from the statement from the CUPP.
“The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has again read with dismay a statement credited to the Supreme Court in which the apex court that is expected to be neutral on all issues descended heavily on the coalition for alerting Nigerians on the issue that concerns them and the nation.
“The Supreme Court has by that statement successfully descended into the arena, has taken sides and has decided to join issues with the opposition perhaps because the supposed quiet plan and alliance with the APC led Federal Government had been botched.
“The CUPP and opposition have before now exposed the plan to alter the order of seniority which is used in appointing Supreme Court justices that sit on presidential appeal since 1979. We had insisted that the plan is to truncate the appeal filed by the Coalition consensus candidate and Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
“It is noteworthy that the attack on CUPP by the highest court in the land came less than 24 hours after the APC issued its own statement in which it threw caution to the wind, fired a childish arrow at the grand opposition alliance and said unprintable things about the opposition while not addressing the issues raised and making claims of Nigeria being an imaginary one-party state.
“We know of a fact that it is not a coincidence that the two separate statements from the ruling party and the apex court came almost the same time. The releases were clearly syndicated. It is a confirmation of our long-time believes that something sinister is going on.
“They have confirmed that they are both reading from the same book and are on the same page. It is expected that those concerned will be coming out of their holes one after the other because the opposition has exposed them.
“The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Muhammed, has, by this statement smelling of malice and hatred for opposition members, removed his mask and through the Supreme Court attempted to attack the integrity of the opposition grand alliance, the CUPP, and twist facts.
“Nigerians should also note that nowhere in the entire statement did the Supreme Court summon the courage to deny the facts so clearly stated by the opposition, knowing the same to be true and correct.
“So, who are those people with ‘inordinate ambition’ that the Supreme Court is talking about? Is the Court trying to tell us that any of the litigants has inordinate ambition which must not be allowed to see the light of the day?
“Has the Supreme already given the judgment of the appeal in a hurry without even constituting a panel? Such a harsh biased comment should not emanate from a highly respected Court as the Supreme Court of Nigeria. The person who made that Statement should know that the Court exists to serve Nigerians and Nigerians have all the rights to share concerns regarding real events that have recently become the norm in our Judiciary.
“If the Spokesperson of the Supreme Court had nothing dignifying to say, the Court should have maintained a respectable silence. Using words like “orchestrated campaign of calumny” has brought the Court to the arena of politics.
“What is expected of any Supreme Court was to simply reassure citizens of its dedication and commitment to do justice, instead of attacking citizens. Is there anything that this Court wants us to do? Does the Supreme Court also want to curtail citizens’ freedom of speech?
“If the Court can speak so harshly to citizens for expressing concerns about justice, then we are doomed to accept the gagging of media by the Executive as a normal act. God help us.
“We are therefore assuring those who have made it their new occupation to be attacking the Opposition that they will soon hear from the CUPP on indisputable facts and evidence of abuse of office against them which will put a big question mark to their continued stay in the public space.
“Now that they have fetched ant-infested firewood, they have called a party for the lizards.
“The Chief Justice of Nigeria must not be allowed to drag the Supreme Court to the mud in his personal pursuit of an unpopular agenda and effort to get at the Opposition for opposing the controversial procedure of his appointment as Chief Justice of Nigeria.
“The ongoing attack on the Opposition by both the Supreme Court and APC including the threats of intimidation and harm against the coalition spokesperson Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere will not make us abandon the struggle for justice/fairness and our opposition to the strange move to alter the order of seniority in composing the panel of Justices to hear Atiku’s Appeal at the Supreme Court.
“The Nigeria Opposition Coalition CUPP wishes to state clearly that the only way out of this challenge is for the CJN to constitute the Supreme Court panel that will hear Atiku’s appeal in order of seniority in accordance with the age-long tradition that has been in practice since 1979. This will create a semblance of shielding the Supreme Court from the politics of the APC and the hijack agenda of the Federal government.
“The world and Nigerians are watching and waiting for the official composition of the panel to sit on Atiku’s Presidential election Appeal to know if the Supreme is still independent or has been hijacked by agents of the Buhari APC.
“We stand on this call and we make bold to say that no amount of blackmail and campaign of calumny from the Supreme Court and the APC, jointly or separately will make us shift ground”.
I don’t know how old Fatima Daura is, but his father, Mamman Daura, should flog her. She has dis-respected both President Muhammadu Buhari and, First Lady, Aisha Buhari. In the process, she has ,also, desecrated the Presidency. There is no precedence.
You must have heard of Mamman Daura. In the Buhari administration, he is large. He stands like a colossus. True or false, many things are attributed to him. He is President Muhammadu Buhari’s uncle (some say nephew) and friend. His daughter, Fatima, tells us they are closer than that. She says that they are not only related and friends, but were brought up together. For good measure, she adds, “They are twins”, so we understand how close.
No wonder, it is alleged, that Daura is one of the most powerful men around the President. They say he is the power behind the throne. They say he is very influential.
They say, with him, everything, almost, is possible. They say he is like a clearing house. When people, including the President’s wife, Aisha, talk about the Cabal in the Villa, fingers are pointed at him. He is the Headboy of the Cabal, they insist.
The man has not denied the crown.
Aisha Buhari
He hardly talks. He is hardly seen at Presidential functions, or other social events. He works from behind. A quiet, smooth, operator. He does not stand in your face. Yet, he is what he is: Large. Influential. Powerful.
No wonder he is held in great awe. In government and business circles, he is revered.
But Fatima has dragged him into the public domain. And, not a few Nigerians are outraged.
Three incidents forced themselves on us these past few days. Thanks to the ever buzzing and aggressive Social Media, we were treated to a “wedding” between the President, and his Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Sadia Umar Farouk, 44. Then, First Lady, Aisha, suddenly returned to Nigeria after over a two-month absence.
The third, from which the title of this write-up emanated, is the scandalous video of the altercation between Aisha and Fatima Daura in the Villa.
So, I begin with Buhari’s fake wedding to Farouk.
When I first saw the lovely “wedding photographs”, I burst out laughing. Farouk dazzled. And I said to myself, our President has an eye for beautiful women. But I knew it was fake.
Mr President seems, to me, very disciplined in that department. His age and health aside, he seems a one-woman man. To him, one is already a handful!
I also felt that Buhari wouldn’t appoint a Minister, and marry her two months later. It makes no sense. On top of that, he gave her a portfolio, that would keep her so busy she will not even have the time to massage him, not to talk of the more rigorous activities in the “other room”. You know, those cheeky fellows say she is a massage specialist.
Whoever fabricated that story, the accompanying invitation cards, and the photographs deserve an award. Very imaginative and talented, but shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it. The borderline was crossed. The public was deceived. And the blood pressure of some people shot-up a notch. Seeds of doubt were planted within the Buhari and Farouk families.
Poor new Minister Farouk, from New York where she was on an official duty, she issued a statement telling us: “The First Lady is my friend and sister”. She needed to do that. Aisha has many fans. Sadly, her ministerial tenure will now be dogged by this fake wedding. Security agents should fish whoever wedded Buhari and Farouk without their knowledge, and shame him/her for what they are: A bunch of nuisances and home breakers.
It may have been a coincidence, but Aisha suddenly came back, just when the story of the “wedding” was rocket-high.
Her absence from the country had been a subject of interest. Speculations reigned. The reason for her absence ranged from her protest over her husband’s relationship with Farouk, and her subsequent appointment as a Minister, to Aisha storming out of Nigeria because being a blunt person, she didn’t like the state of affairs in the country, to the famed cabal suppressing her, to her husband clamping down on her, and to IPOB’s absurd claim that she absconded because she, finally, found out she had been living with a stranger, Usman, not the gallant General who swept her off her feet.
The surprise is that neither her office, nor the Presidency said a word to stop the wild speculations. When somebody finally woke up from a deep slumber and did, it was not only late, it was weak.We were told that as a private citizen, Aisha was free to travel and stay away as long as she wanted. Of course. Except that she is not a private citizen.
She is not just the President’s wife, she is Nigeria’s First Lady. She asked us to call her the First Lady, not the Wife of the President which she had favoured during her husband’s first term. He appointed, for her, she has just told us, six Special Assistants, excluding a number of Personal Assistants, to help her run her office. They are paid with tax payers’ money. So, she is not a private citizen. Yet, somebody chose to mismanage her absence.
But a sure-footed stormy petrel, on arrival, she told Nigerians the truth. She said she had been away, on extended holiday, for health reasons, on the advice of her doctor. So, question: what was wrong in her managers telling Nigerians she was resting on the orders of her doctor? If she is ill, she is ill. She is a human being. Why the secrecy which allowed the speculations? Then, again, the timing for her return was mismanaged.
Why at the peak of the fake news about her husband taking a second wife? It was as if she rushed back in panic. She had been away for two months, plus, three months wouldn’t have made any difference. Her sudden return, almost, confirmed she hurried back to protect her territory. She capped it by making a statement on the fake marriage. She shouldn’t have. At best, she should have dismissed it in one word: FAKE!, and moved on.
But it was a week everything conspired to go wrong. Which was why Fatima Daura timed the release of the scandalous video of her altercation with Aisha, over the occupation of an apartment, to coincide with Aisha’s return. She stole the show in a negative manner.
Thanks to Fatima, we now know that her father, not elected, or appointed, to any position, has been living, for free, with his family in the Villa. They were living in the Glass House, she told us, and now , allocated an even bigger apartment in the same Villa. So you ask what qualified her family for that privilege. And, she answers swiftly: Her father is the President’s friend and relation. His twin brother!
In case Fatima does not know, following are what she did.
She told us her family has been eating off Nigerians. That a number of their bills are picked by tax payers.
She exposed the side of the First Lady not quite known: A woman given to uncontrolled anger that screams at the slightest provocation and calls her security details “bloody idiots.” She presented our First Lady as a violent woman who picked up a metal chair and wilfully broke a door in a public house. In case Fatima does not know, the Glass House is a public building. If the damaged door has been repaired, it was with public funds. She presented the First Lady as a non-compassionate woman, who in the process of asking them to quit from the Glass House, almost hit her (Fatima’s) younger sister with a chair.
She presented her as an insecure and frustrated woman who is obsessed with being suppressed, and her space taken away. Perhaps that explains Aisha’s repeatation in the video: “Enough is enough, I need to know when you are leaving?”
The irony? This was a fight over a public house. The Dauras, thanks to the President, were given the Glass House to live in. More than three years after, the President gave them an even bigger apartment to live in. This was to allow Buhari’s son, Yusuf, who was recovering from an acciden stay there. Immoral as the occupation of the apartment by the Dauras is, what was wrong in asking them to make way for Yusuf? The Buharis, until the end of the President’s tenure, are the landlords in the Villa.
Neither Aisha, nor Fatima, has told us the real reason behind that confrontation. Moving out from a house to another, within the same environment, was not enough for this “wahala”.
The Glass House is not part of the First Lady’s apartment. Knowing that the Dauras were still there, what did she go there to do? She says the doors were locked. Would they have left the doors open since they were still living there?
Did the Dauras deliberately delay in moving out from the Glass House to the bigger house? Perhaps.
But even then, was it the First Lady’s job to ask them out? Did she discuss with her husband who gave them the apartment? The story does not add up.
Whatever, I am outraged at the disrespect shown the First Lady by Fatima Daura. I am shocked that, according to the First Lady, Fatima had the guts to mock her, and laugh at her. I am shocked that Fatima could video such an ugly incident before Mrs Buhari’s Security guards. According to Mrs Buhari, her security guards stood by, and did not stop Fatima. Lord, have mercy!
That was very disrespectful to her and her husband, the President. But the First Lady explained it away. The Security Guards, obviously DSS personnel, did nothing because Fatima is Mamman Daura’s daughter. And the connection: Lawal Daura, the DSS boss at the time of the incident, she hints, got the job, thanks to Mamman Daura!
Fatima did not stop at recording Aisha, she leaked it to the media, and followed up with a more damaging interview explaining what happened. Who asked her?
She insists she has more video shots of the embarrassing incident. So, clap for her. Obviously, somebody is pushing her. Otherwise, the incident happened about two years ago, why release the video now? Why talk about it now?
For the records, I am scandalized that Aisha responded to that video and Fatima’s interview. That was not dignifying. She should have ignored her. So now, we know how many soldiers and policemen we have in the Villa – 400!
Which country makes public the number of security personnel guarding its Presidential Villa?
The Presidency, according to reports, says it is investigating the video for confirmation. Good.
Fatima is not denying. She is at home with what she did. If her father does not ”flog” her for this mischief, she could release more. She should be called to order. She has not only embarrassed her family and the Buharis, she has also exposed Nigeria to ridicule before the civilised world.
Finally, the Security Guards who watched as Fatima videoed the First Lady, and did nothing, should be held responsible for this shame of a nation. How low can we descend?
The Nigerian education system appears to be at the evening of its glory judging from the level of graduates churned out by the institutions of higher and other learning in the country, The Source can now conclude..
Besides government neglect through budgeting and other educational indices, incessant strikes, decaying infrastructure and outdated study aids appear to be on the front burner of the plagues bedeviling the system.
Last Tuesday a Reuters study indicated that African countries have lost the competitive edge in international job auction due mainly to poor graduates they churn out every year.
Though the report indicts low enrollment for the dismal outlook the quality of graduates appear to be of more worry for the continent. And more and more erudite scholars are leaving the shores of Nigeria with a few leaving the government Universities to private ones. Even academic excellence is compromised. Professors are appointed through regional quota and pecuniary considerations.
” I remember a professor of a Federal University that was appointed because a traditional ruler prevailed on the university to appoint him because he is one of ‘our people’. And this is in a sensitive course like medicine”, a retired professor told this magazine.
“When it comes to education, really we have a problem,” Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese Tycoon who sponsored the Reuters report on African youths and education, told Reuters. “When you look at the demographics, and you look at the economic growth, you see that we’re actually falling behind.”
Nigeria is usually called the giant of Africa, but has lost key indices of development in the last four years to Rwanda, South Africa and Ghana.
It has become commonplace to find University graduates who could not express themselves correctly. Only recently the National Youth Service Corps lamented the low standard of graduates coming for their scheme.
“If Nigeria must get to her height as far as educational attainment is concerned, even by United Nation’s average, we are not where, we should be. We are deteriorating; we hope that education with all the importance attaches to it will not collapse.” says The Head of Department, Commercial and Industrial Law in the Faculty of Law, University of Calabar, Hon Jake Otu Enya, while commenting on the budgetary allocation to education in the 2020 budget. Government had budgeted N48 billion for education while budgeting N149 billion for the feeding of the President and Vice President.
No Federal University in Nigeria has an updated Library, and professors still use lecture notes prepared for the nineteen seventies to teach in 2029, according to findings.
It appears that with the Buhari administration, Book is actually haram”, says a Lagos State University Lecturer that does not want to be named. “By the time this government finishes with us we will all become alimajiris. After all, none of the children of the ruling elites school in Nigeria.”
The Police Service Commission has disowned the Police recruitment list being bandied about by the Nigerian Police force, urging members of the public to disregard the list. The Commission says the list is fake.
The police had released a list of about a thousand candidates who were, according to them, billed for training into the constable cadre of the force.
But the Commission, through its Head, Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani, distanced itself from the said list, calling it an “act of illegality” and a “serious breach to the Federal Character requirements.”
Excerpts from the statement released by the PSC and signed by Ani reads;
“The Police Service Commission dissociates itself from a purported list of candidates scheduled for training and, allegedly, released by the Nigeria Police Force in respect of the recruitment exercise into the Constable cadre of the Force.
“The Commission notes that the list released by the Police is an act of illegality and from close observation was in serious breach of the Federal Character requirements.
“The Commission urges the public to be weary of the list as it will soon resume the remaining stages of the recruitment process and release the authentic list of successful candidates, local government by local government.
“The Commission is presently in Court against the Nigeria Police Force over the hijack of its constitutional powers to recruit, and had filed originating summons and interlocutory injunction restraining the NPF from going ahead with the exercise. The processes filed since the 27th of September 2019, by Kanu G. Agabi, CON, SAN, were brought to the knowledge of the Inspector General of Police the same day.
“In the letter notifying the IGP of the pendency of the suit, No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1124/2019; Kanu Agabi, SAN, had stated ‘we write to inform you of the pendency of the above mentioned suit before the Federal High Court Abuja. By this notice you are to stay further action in the subject matter of this suit pending the hearing and determination of the case’.
“It is unfortunate that despite the pendency of the Court processes, the Nigeria Police Force went ahead to release a purported list of candidates it has invited for training.
“The Commission wishes to state that the list is unknown to it as it believes it is a product of illegality. The hearing for the Commission’s suit has been scheduled for Wednesday, October 23rd at the Federal High Court 5, Abuja”.
The PSC and the NPF have been in conflict over whose right it is to recruit the 10,000 Constables approved by President Muhammadu Buhari. The recruitment was suspended abruptly. But the NPF has since continued with the exercise without reference to the PSC.
The Constitution gave the PSC the powers to recruit, promote and discipline any Police officer, except the Inspector General of Police.
The Supreme Court has angrily reacted to the claims by the Congress of United Political Parties, CUPP, over their position on the appointment of the Judges who will preside over the Appeal by the Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, over who won the 2019 presidential election.
Atiku has appealed the ruling of the Presidential election tribunal which sat in Abuja. The Tribunal had ruled that president Buhari was Validly elected returned by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC
The spokesperson of CUPP, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, has alleged that the Presidency is pressurizing the Chief Justice of the Federation, CJN, Justice Tanko Muhamed, to jettison the age old custom of appointing Judges in order of seniority for such a serious political case like the Appeal by Abubakar. A celebrated case when a presidential appeal of this magnitude was entertained by the Supreme court was the Shagari versus Awolowo case, where there was an interpretation of the legal definition of two-thirds of 19, there being nineteen states of the federation at that time. The Supreme Court had allegedly followed the seniority rule.
The case went to the incumbent president, Shehu Shagari, at that time, with the Supreme Court ruling that no Lawyer should cite that judgment as precedence.
Other parties have, however, taken the Independent National Election Commission to the Supreme Court this time, besides Atiku.
But the Supreme Court, in its reaction, had frowned at the statement of the CUPP, describing its action as a case of “naming a baby before it is born”.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Festus Akande, described thestatement as “blatant falsehood”.
“In the light of the blatant falsehood, misinformation and malicious rumor being generously peddled by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) through its spokesman Imo Ugochinyere, we wish to state clearly that the association is not and can never constitute itself into an agency of the Nigerian Judiciary or assume the role of an alternate Supreme Court of Nigeria”, the statement said.
“We have been watching, rather cautiously, the drama of the absurd being exhibited on daily basis by this association, which sadly debases our collective morality and sense of decency as people from a civilized and well cultured society, like Nigeria.
“Sensitive issues, like the presidential election appeal, should not, in all honesty, be taken to the altar of frivolous drama and misguided oration that is displayed on the screen of our national television with reckless abandon by people who ought to be some sort of role model to the younger generation.
“It will be recalled that even weeks before the presidential election appeal was filed at the Supreme Court, the CUPP had already, in its characteristic manner, constituted its own ‘panel’ for the Supreme Court and aggressively brandished the list on television and newspapers.
“Shortly afterwards, when the appeal was eventually filed at the court, the coalition came out once again with another imaginary list of panel members and followed it with yet another malicious allegation against the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) of ‘handpicking’ them in contrast to the ‘tradition’ of selecting the most senior justices of the court.
“Let it be known that the Supreme Court is not an assemblage of individuals with no defined purpose, vision and modus operandi.
“Our operations are strictly guided by the Constitution and extant laws. We are not an appendage of any individual or group of people, and we don’t pander to the dictates of anybody or association.
“The Supreme Court, and by extension, the Judiciary, is an independent arm of government that can never be intimidated or dictated to by anybody.
“The CUPP’s action only amounts to naming a baby before it is born. We should be mindful of our utterances to avoid inflicting a devastating harm on the nation.
“This exhibition of unbridled utterances and prevarication will only endanger the progress and cohesiveness of our country.
“The Supreme Court has been entertaining presidential election appeals over the decades, but the unnecessary hysteria and superlative drama being woven around this particular one calls for caution and moderation.
“The constitution of any panel to sit on a matter in the court is the sole prerogative of the Supreme Court and it is never an issue for the court to debate on the television or pages of newspapers.
“We are not a political party or social club and should never be dragged into any form of baseless pedestrian discussions that will drive valid reasoning aground. Enough of this orchestrated falsehood and campaign of calumny.
“We are here to serve the interest of the generality of the Nigerian masses and not a select individuals or groups with inordinate ambition.
“As soon as the presidential appeal panel is constituted, the public will be duly informed as Supreme Court is not a secret society. Let us always observe caution when disseminating information to the public.”
Claim by Nigerian Airforce on Monday that it has neutralized and killed some top commanders of Boko Haram in Borno state appears a good news following suggestions in the Defence community that the war against the dreaded insurgents has become so difficult for the Nigerian armed forces to win.
Many soldiers are now deserting the battle fronts, said Turkur Burutai, Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff in an interview.
The development has now opened the window for ISWAP,the remnants of ISIS who have now joined boko haram in the bloody battle to take over more territories in many parts of North.
But in the face of all of these, the inability of the nation’s armed forces to secure necessary platform has pushed back efforts to defeat the blood thirsty insurgents, said the army.
Major General Olusegun Adeniyi, the Theatre Commander, Operation Lafia Dole, the military wing fighting the insurgents in the North East, has recently disclosed to the National Assembly that the Army is disadvantaged because of lack of fighter helicopters.
“The only thing that needs to be given to the army now is Nigeria Army Aviation with its own helicopters,” General Adeniyi said at a meeting with lawmakers last week.
The question is whether the Nigerian government is prepared to roll back gains made by Boko Haram and its allies in the last few months leading to the takeover of new territories in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.
It does not seem so.
For instance, the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has recently come under pressure from Nigerians to increase defense spending in the 2020 Budget.
According to the estimate President Buhari presented recently to the joint session of the National Assembly, the Ministry of Defence, comprising different operational units like the Army, Navy, Air Force, Defence Headquarters, Nigerian Defence Academy, Defence Intelligence Agency and 11 other units was allocated a whopping N878,458,607,427 total allocation.
The allocation is the second highest allocation of all the sectors.
Meanwhile, recent revelations indicate that over 90 percent of that allocation will be used to pay salaries and allowances of service men in the country.
“Considering this fact, you will understand what we are saying that the attitude of the government does not show seriousness in the war against insurgence, James Ayodele, a Defense analyst told the magazine on Monday.
He disclosed that modern military equipment are urgently required to curtail the advance of insurgents in Borno, for instance, who have been burning villages and chasing residents from their land.
The governor of Borno state has recently employed some Saudi Arabia Islamic spiritualists to save the state from being totally sacked by the insurgents.
Apart from divine intervention, analysts insist that the purchase of modern military platform such as the Boeing made Apache helicopters, for the Nigerian armed forces could turn the battle against the insurgents who have killed over a million people in its quest to establish a caliphate.
The Nigerian Airforce consisting 10,000 personnel are armed with 12 Chinese Chengdu F-7s, and 11 Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jets, armed helicopters, and military transport aircraft.
Even though the nation’s armed forces are among the largest in the continent, it’s very far from what a modern fighting force should be, analysts say.
Recent checks by the magazine indicate that huge resources needed to be committed to this cause considering that one of such helicopters could cost the nation’s tax payers at least $20m.
But analysts insist this will not be too much because of Apache’s cutting edge features, such as clear night vision, precision et al which differentiate it from other elite fighter helicopters.
According to findings, the AH-64A (2007) version of the helicopter costs around $20 m.
The information sourced from Boeing also indicates that the AH-64D(2010) version goes for $33m while the AH-64E costs $35m.
Other elite helicopter fighters also include the Bell AH-1Z Viper ($31 Million), Kazam Mi-35 ($36 Million) and Denel Rooivalk ($40 Million),
We also have the Eurocopter Tiger ($41 Million), Sikorsky Sea Hawk ($43 Million), NH-90 $(50 Million), Boeing V22 Osprey ($72 Million) and others.
But the money to buy these high profile combat helicopters is not the major challenges facing the federal government, the biggest constraint is the refusal by United States and its allies to sell military weapons to Nigeria.
Even though President Donald Trump had allowed his government to sell weapons to Nigeria at the early stage of President Buhari government, it has since seized from doing so over allege human rights abuses by the nation’s armed forces waging war against Boko Haram in the North east.
Recall that President Buhari recently turned to Russia to help
A Pandora box has been opened at the Presidential Villa – Aso Rock. In two separate interviews, Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari, and President Muhammadu Buhari’s niece, Fatima Daura, have confirmed a family feud in the Villa.
It all began when a video, which went viral, showed a scene where an angry voice was expressing frustration that a door was locked against her, and, asking that she be told when the person she was talking to would leave. “Enough is Enough”, she said more than once. And, apparently, referring to the person who live there, she asked: “Is he the President’s son, or his wife?”
The face of the angry woman was not shown. But the voice was identified as that of Mrs Buhari. In this era of anything goes that is the Social Media, not many people believed she was the one. But in two separate interviews, both Mrs Buhari and Fatima Daura confirmed the video as real.
Fatima is the daughter of Mamman Daura, President Buhari’s uncle, and allegedly, a very powerful power broker, who has more than a passing influence on the President.
There have been stories in the past of a no-love-lost relationship between Mrs Buhari and Mamman Daura. She, allegedly, deplores the over-bearing influence he purportedly has on her husband. When she granted an interview referring to a cabal drawing her husband back, many people pointed fingers at Daura.
Yet, nobody could quite confirm how poor the relationship was until the video of an angry First Lady surfaced.
Fatima, surprisingly, admitted that she shot the now viral video. She admitted to leaking it. She says there are more shots. She says the President’s wife was violent towards her and her sister. She said Aisha abused her family. She said Aisha used a metal chair to break the key to a door in the Villa. And she said the chair almost hit her younger sister. She spoke to the Cable.
But Aisha, in her own interview granted the BBC Hausa Service, accused Fatima of being economical with the truth. She said the Daura family flouted the President’s order to quit a house in the Villa for her son. She said she was locked out of some rooms in the Villa. She said Fatima mocked her and laughed at her. And she, also, disclosed that the Security men attached to her stood-by, and watched as Fatima videoed her and mocked her.
Fatima: “If one reasons well, he or she will understand that it is not possible to say that the wife of the President is denied access to get apartment, but let me give a context.
“The apartment in question is called the Glass House. You know that there are several houses and apartments in the Villa. When the President got into office, he gave the Glass House to our father, Mamman Daura.
“You all know that they are friends, and are related, more so, they grew up together like twins. He gave the Glass House to our father that he could stay there. Our dad stayed there for three years now, until when the President’s son, Yusuf, had an accident and went to Germany for treatment. When he returned, The President told our father to move out of that apartment to an even bigger one in the Villa, that Yusuf is going to stay and be treated in the Glass House. The Glass House is closer to the main presidential apartment, and that will make easier access to him by his mother. It is not in her apartment, which is the main apartment.
“On that day, my mom and dad were not around. So, my dad instructed me and my sister, both of us are working, and we go to work every morning, that we should come on a Saturday, and move our belongings to the new apartment as the President instructed.”
As they were there, packing, she said they heard some noise outside, while she was in the inner room. Her sister who was close to the main gate, went to see what the noise was about and, there, was Mrs Buhari.
Fatima: “On getting there, it was the wife of the President. When she came, the door was locked, and she picked a metal chair, and broke the door. My sister that went out was almost hit by the chair. She threw the chair which broke through the door, And almost hit my sister.
“I was so shocked, and afraid of getting there because she was shouting and raining abusive words and saying we should move out of the apartment. That she had never seen this kind of thing before.”
At that point, she said, she had to use her phone to record it for proof. If she didn’t do that, nobody would have believed her because, Aisha, she revealed, was saying she was being suppressed. “So, I recorded it to show to my parents and the Security.”
The President’s wife said Fatima did not say the whole truth. She said the Dauras flouted a presidential instruction. And that Fatima was mocking her and videoing her, while her security aides did nothing. She said she was locked out.
The Presidency says it is investigating the video to confirm its authenticity. But reports quote an unnamed Presidential source as saying that Fatima did not tell the whole story and the truth. The source also said the incident was not recent, and described its release now as mischievous. “She abused the First Lady first, before she reacted”, the source said.
Since the Presidency is investigating, Nigerians are waiting for the outcome, and how it will be handled. But they agree that the incident is bad business for the Presidency.
