Politics

Courts reinstate Soludo, Uba as APGA, PDP candidates

Published

3 years ago

July 20, 2021

Senator Ugochukwu Uba of the Peoples Democratic Party and Prof Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance have been reinstated as candidates of their parties in the forthcoming Anambra State governorship election.

The court has directed Independent National Electoral Commission to list the two politicians as candidates of their respective party.
Justice Obiora Nwabunike, who adjudicated on the case involving Uba, Valentine Ozigbo and the PDP, said the party erred by using what it called ‘super delegates’ without vacating a pending order by an Abuja court.
The judge said, “With the evidence before me and having heard from parties involved in the matter, I rule that Ugochukwu Uba is the duly elected candidate of PDP.
“It’s not for nothing that court judges are called My Lords. When a court makes a pronouncement, it must be obeyed. No matter how foolish or ugly, it must be obeyed.
“So, it was wrong for the PDP to go ahead to conduct the primary election at the Dora Akunyili Women’s Development Centre that produced Valentine Ozigbo, with what they called super delegates against a live judgment of a court, without overturning the judgement.
Read Also; Anambra 2021: Ozigbo says no cause for alarm over exclusion by INEC
“That action cannot be vitiated or mitigated by the argument adduced by defence counsel that party primaries are internal affairs of political parties.
“I order that Ugochukwu Uba’s name should be enlisted by the INEC without further delay and the defendants should pay a cost of N10 million to the applicant.”
In the other case, Justice C.C. Okaa reinstated Prof Soludo as the APGA candidate and ordered INEC to publish his name immediately.
The court also ordered INEC to remove the already-published name of Chukwuma Umeoji, ordering him to stop parading himself as the candidate of APGA
Justice Okaa reaffirmed Victor Ike Oye as the indisputable National Chairman of APGA and ordered Edozie Njoku and Jude Okeke to stop parading themselves as national chairmen of APGA.

The Jude Okeke-led APGA national executive kicked against the ruling reinstating Soludo as the party’s candidate.
The faction’s National Publicity Secretary, Ikechukwu Chukwunyere, told reporters at a briefing in Abuja that an order by a High Court in Jigawa State was still subsisting.
He said, “We have invited you here today to brief you on the happenings in our party and the desperation of some anti-democratic forces to desecrate the judiciary and jettison the rule of law principle which is fundamental in a democracy.
“On Friday, 16th July 2021, the Independent National Electoral Commission published the list of candidates for the Anambra State Governorship election in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines for the election.
“In compliance with the judgment of two competent High Courts, INEC published the name of Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji, a member of the Federal House of Representatives, as the valid and duly nominated candidate of our great party.
“All institutions of state must obey the judgment of courts; that is the position of the law.
“A case was filed by the Victor Oye-camp without notifying the Jude Okeke group. We heard of it on Friday, quickly mobilised our lawyers to apply to join the case but the judge refused because allowing the joinder would mean taking an adjournment for consequential amendment of the processes to reflect the new names joined.
“The judge dismissed the motion even when no lawyer in the case filed anything in opposition.
“Having failed to deliver the judgment on Friday, the judge this morning (yesterday) in a court surrounded by over 150 policemen and soldiers and wherein every person who was not a lawyer was chased out of the court delivered a judgment and predictably granted all the prayers of the applicants and even more.
“The judgment from Awka cannot vacate the judgment from Jigawa. They are courts of coordinate jurisdiction.
“They cannot change the position of INEC with it. Hopefully, this matter will be sorted out soon and peace will return to APGA.”

Politics

Senate in rowdy session as lawmakers quarrel over sitting arrangement

Published

4 days ago

April 30, 2024

Trends Admin

Senate in rowdy session as lawmakers quarrel over sitting arrangement

The Senate broke into a rowdy session on Tuesday after three senators engaged in a heated argument over arrangement of seats.

Danjuma Goje, senator representing Gombe Central, and Sahabi Yau, senator representing Zamfara North, expressed displeasure over the seats assigned to them.

They complained to Opeyemi Bamidele, the majority leader.

The Senate is currently using its refurbished chamber, two years after renovation began on it.

According to the standing rules of the upper legislative chamber, senators should sit in order of rank.

The Easter and Sallah recess was postponed to accommodate the completion of the renovation of both chambers of the national assembly.

However, while Senate President Godswill Akpabio read his welcome address, the heated argument among the three senators began.

It was learnt that Goje and Yau, sitting on the second row on the right side of the aisle, did not like the seats allocated to them by the senate committee on services.

Sunday Karimi, senator representing Kogi west, is chair of the senate services committee.

The four-term senators subsequently insisted that they should have been assigned seats on the front row on the extreme right — opposite the row of the majority leader and the deputy senate president.

After the argument, Kawu Sumaila, senator representing Kano South, called for a “point of order” which was ignored.

Thereafter, Bamidele moved a motion for a closed-session.

Politics

Ganduje drums support for Tinubu, says no vacancy in Aso Rock 2027

Published

4 days ago

April 30, 2024

Trends Admin

Ganduje drums support for Tinubu, says no vacancy in Aso Rock 2027

National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, says members of the opposition are trying to discredit the Bola Tinubu-led administration in their desperation for Aso Rock in 2027.
He however declares that there is no vacancy in Aso Rock in 2027.

Ganduje said the administration of President Tinubu had been contending with accumulation of many years of neglect, policy summersaults and other disjointed decisions by previous administrations.

The APC national chairman gave the position while addressing supporters and support groups at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja.

Ganduje urged the APC supporters and groups to be committed to the party so that it could continue to forge ahead.

He said the leadership of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and its chieftains were afraid, having been defeated in the last general election and already foreseeing another defeat.

Ganduje said the NNPP elements were now engaged in a propaganda campaign against the leadership of APC.

He said, “They are so afraid because we are consolidating. They are so afraid all over the country because we are receiving new entrants into our party. That is creating fears in their minds.

“They are already eyeing 2027, but at that time, there is no vacancy. Only our President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will, Insha Allah, continue as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Ganduje claimed the leadership of NNPP and its chieftains in Kano State were sponsoring protests and campaigning for his removal as APC national chairman.

Politics

Another PDP bigwig dumps party

Published

5 days ago

April 29, 2024

Trends Admin

Dr Cosmos Ndukwe

Another PDP bigwig dumps party

Dr Cosmos Ndukwe, one of the key opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidates for 2023, has resigned from the party.

This is stated in a letter written by the former Deputy Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly to the Chairman of his Item C Ward in Bende Local Government Area, which was copied to the party’s State Chairman, Hon. Asiforo Okere, and the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum.

The former Chief of Staff to the Governor and Commissioner for Works under ex-Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu claimed “personal reasons, current commitments, and aspirations” in his decision to leave the PDP.

He praised the party for providing him with the opportunity to enter the political spotlight and wished it success in the state.

The letter posted on his Facebook page on Monday morning read, “I hope this letter finds you well. It is with a heavy heart that I compose this correspondence to tender my resignation as a member and stakeholder in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Abia State, effective immediately.

“My decision to resign as a member within the party stems from personal reasons and reflections on my current commitments and aspirations.

“After careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that potting out of PDP is the best course of action for me at this time.

“I am immensely grateful for the opportunities that the PDP has afforded me during my tenure as a Councillor, Deputy Chairman Local Government, Chief of Staff to Executive Governor of Abia State, Deputy Speaker Abia 6th House of Assembly and Presidential Aspirant PDP 2023.