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Akpabio declares Umahi, Giadam’s senatorial seats vacant
Akpabio declares Umahi, Giadam’s senatorial seats vacant
The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has officially declared the seats of two senators, David Umahi representing Ebonyi-South, and Ibrahim Giadam representing Yobe-East vacant.
This announcement came as a result of their appointments as ministers.
The declaration of vacancies in the senatorial seats was made during the plenary session on Wednesday in Abuja.
Akpabio cited Section 68, Sub-section (1)(d) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) as the basis for this decision.
According to Akpabio, the constitutional provision necessitated the declaration of vacancies following Umahi’s and Giadam’s appointments to ministerial positions.
Consequently, Akpabio called upon the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to initiate the processes for conducting by-elections in the affected Ebonyi-South and Yobe-East senatorial districts without delay.
This move aligns with constitutional requirements to fill vacant positions in the Senate resulting from senators’ appointments to executive or ministerial positions.
Meanwhile, former Minister of Labour Employment and Productivity, Simon Lalong, has been sworn in as a member of the 10th Senate.
Lalong was sworn in on Wednesday at a session presided over by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio.
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He took the oath of office at about 11:57a.m on the floor of the Senate.
Akpabio immediately congratulated Lalong, a former governor of Plateau State, and the Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Campaigns during the 2023 presidential poll that produced President Bola Tinubu.
Lalong will represent Plateau-South on the platform of the APC.
Lalong, a former Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, had tendered his resignation to President Tinubu earlier on Tuesday.
Speaking soon after his inauguration, Lalong said he actually wanted to be a senator after he served his tenure as governor in May 2023.
Lalong said, “This was my first choice, to be candid.”
According to him, he opted to hold the position of minister in the interim and on the invitation of Tinubu because he had a case he was pursuing at the courts.
Lalong promised to do his best to serve his electorate to the best of his abilities.
Also reacting to the inauguration, the National Chairman of the APC, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, described it as a moment of happiness.
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“This is a moment of happiness. We are so happy that he won at the Court of Appeal
“What Nigerians will expect is good legislation. As we know, the APC has the majority and will work for the prosperity of all Nigerians,” Ganduje added.
The Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, had on November 7 upheld the judgment of the lower tribunal, which declared Lalong the winner of the Plateau-South Senatorial District election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) initially declared the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Napoleon Bali, as the winner.
Bali had scored 148,844 votes, while Lalong recorded 91,674, according to INEC.
But Lalong challenged the result on the grounds that the PDP had no proper structures in the state on which a candidate could contest an election
Akpabio declares Umahi, Giadam’s senatorial seats vacant
News
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has directed the immediate freezing of all state-owned bank accounts.
In a statement issued on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, the governor stated that the accounts would remain frozen until further notice.
He instructed commercial banks, ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to comply with the order immediately or face severe consequences.
The statement reads: “All state bank accounts with commercial banks have been frozen. Commercial banks must comply with this order and ensure that not a single naira is withdrawn from government coffers until further notice.
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“Heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies must ensure full compliance without delay.
“Following necessary investigations and reconciliations, the governor will take appropriate action and decide on the way forward. For now, this order remains in effect.”
Okpebholo also directed relevant agencies to revert the name of the Ministry of Roads and Bridges to its previous title, the Ministry of Works, a change made during the Godwin Obaseki administration.
“It is odd to name a government institution the Ministry of Roads and Bridges, especially when not a single bridge was built by the previous administration — not even a pedestrian bridge.
“In the coming days, we will examine further actions taken by the previous administration and make decisions that serve the best interests of the state,” the statement added.
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
News
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
Prominent Islamic scholar Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Gumi has criticized the widely discussed two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling it a “deception.”
His remarks followed a recent summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Riyadh, where President Bola Tinubu and other leaders condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and urged an end to hostilities.
In an interview with Daily Trust at his Kaduna residence, Gumi argued, “This Two-State Solution is a deception. No Israeli will allow a Palestinian to survive, and Palestinians will never allow Israel to survive.
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The only solution is to dissolve the two states and create a democratically electable region.”
Gumi commended the OIC’s support for Palestine, noting that Muslims and Arabs worldwide increasingly see the treatment of Palestinians as “genocide” and accuse Israel of human rights abuses.
He also called for a return to the pre-1948 structure, where Palestinians, Jews, and Christians lived together, suggesting a single, inclusive state that allows peaceful coexistence.
“When I hear people talking about Two-State Solutions, I know they are just deceiving themselves,” Gumi added, advocating for a unified region where people of all faiths can live together, similar to the multi-faith coexistence seen in countries like the United States.
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
News
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
The Labour Party candidature of Olusola Ebiseni for the upcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State has been nullified.
The nullification follows the sacking of Ebiseni by the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday.
The governorship election of the southwest State will hold on Saturday, 16 November 2024.
The judgement disqualifying Ebiseni was unanimously delivered by the three members of the panel and read out by the chairman of the panel, Justice Adebukola Banjoko.
The judgment granted the prayer of the Labour Party who preferred the case against Ebiseni.
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Justice Banjoko held that, “the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 brought by the Labour Party against Chief Olusola Ebiseni and two others is allowed.”
Justice Banjoko further stated that the Certified True Copy of the judgment would be provided to the parties involved in the appeal as soon as possible for their review.
Recall that Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to accept and recognize Olusola Ebiseni and Ezekiel Awude as the Labour Party’s governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the November 16 Ondo State governorship elections.
Justice Nwite confirmed that the second primary election conducted by the Labour Party, which resulted in Ebiseni and Awude being selected as candidates, was valid and should be upheld by INEC.
However, the appellate court has now overturned the judgment of the trial court’s judgment.
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
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