Obi tenders 136 exhibits from Lagos, Edo, 4 other states before Tribunal
Candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi, who alleged that the 2023 presidential election was rigged, on Friday, tendered before the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, sitting in Abuja, 136 additional exhibits to support his claim.
The exhibits, which were admitted in evidence by Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel, comprised of results of the presidential election from six states of the federation.
The states the court admitted their presidential election results contained in Forms EC8A, were; Adamawa, Bayelsa, Oyo, Edo, Lagos and Akwa Ibom.
Obi, who came third in the presidential election, told the court that the results he tendered in evidence, were certified true copies he obtained from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
He had on Thursday, tendered results of the election from 115 Local Government Areas, LGAs, in Rivers, Niger, Benue, Cross River, Osun, Ekiti.
At the resumed proceedings on Friday, the petitioners, obtained permission from the court to submit additional results from six LGAs in Rivers State, which were admitted and marked as Exhibits PB 16 to PB 21.
However, INEC, opposed the admissibility of the additional results from Rivers State, which it said were “strange” to it.
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Mr. Kemi Pinhero, SAN, who led INEC’s legal team, told the court that the Commission would advance reasons why it opposed the admissibility of the results, in its final written address.
Likewise, counsel that represented President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, Chief Akin Olujinmi, SAN, as well as that of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, challenged the admittance of the results in evidence.
The respondents said they would equally reserve their reasons for objecting to the admissibility of the election results in their final written address.
Thereafter, Obi and the LP, tendered in evidence before the court, additional results from Bida LGA in Niger State, which was admitted as Exhibit PE 24.
Whereas the court admitted results from 21 LGAs in Adamawa state and marked them as Exhibits PH 1 to PH 21, it also admitted results of the presidential election from 8 LGAs in Bayelsa state and marked them as Exhibits PJ1 to PJ 8.
Also tendered, were results from 31 LGAs in Oyo, which the court admitted as Exhibits PK 1 – PK 31, while results from 18 LGAs in Edo state were marked as Exhibits PL1- PL 18.
The petitioners further tendered results of the presidential election from 20 LGAs in Lagos state which were admitted as Exhibits PM 1 – PM 20, with results from 31 LGAs in Akwa Ibom state, accepted in evidence as Exhibits PN 1 – PN 31.
It will be recalled that though Obi won the presidential election in Lagos state, he, however, alleged in his petition that there was massive suppression of votes in the state, adding that electorates that would have voted to him, were openly harassed or intimidated.
Meanwhile, by consensus of all the parties, the Justice Tsammani-led panel vacated its initial decision to continue the hearing on Saturday.
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Even though lead counsel for the petitioners, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, said his team was ready to appear before the court on Saturday, however, counsel for all the respondents took turns to beg the court to shift further hearing of the case till next Monday, a request the panel acceded to.
It will be recalled that Obi and the LP had indicated their decision to call a total of 50 witnesses in the matter.
Specifically, Obi, in the joint petition he filed with the LP, is contending that President Tinubu was not the valid winner of the election.
The petitioners, in the case marked: CA/PEPC/03/2023, equally maintained that President Tinubu was not qualified to participate in the presidential contest.
According to the petitioners, as at the time Tinubu’s running mate, Shettima, became the Vice Presidential candidate, he was still the nominated candidate of the APC for the Borno Central Senatorial election.
The petitioners further challenged Tinubu’s eligibility to contest the presidential election, alleging that he was previously indicted and fined the sum of $460,000.00 by the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, in Case No: 93C 4483, for an offence involving dishonesty and drug trafficking.
On the ground that the election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices and non-compliance with the provision of the Electoral Act, 2022, the petitioners argued that INEC acted in breach of its own Regulations and Guidelines.
The Petitioners argued that the electoral body was in the course of the conduct of the presidential poll, mandatorily required to prescribe and deploy technological devices for the accreditation, verification, continuation and authentication of voters and their particulars as contained in its Regulations.
They are, therefore, praying the court to among other things, declare that all the votes recorded for Tinubu and the APC, were wasted votes owing to his non-qualification/disqualification.
Vanguard
PDP crisis: Two ex-Senate presidents lead fresh plot to oust Damagum
Two former Presidents of the Senate, Chief David Mark and Dr Bukola Saraki are leading a fresh charge aimed at removing Amb. Umar Damagum as the Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The push by Mark and Saraki has received the backing of prominent stakeholders, including the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Muftwang and other political office holders elected on the platform of the PDP.
Similarly, former governors from the Northcentral zone who served on the party’s platform have also aligned forces with the group.
Rising from a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja on Thursday night, the party chieftains resolved to produce a candidate from the zone early 2025 to replace Damagum.
According to them, the move to replace Damagum with a substantive chairman from the Northcentral, has received the endorsement of key party stakeholders from the Northwest and the Northeast zones.
Among those being projected as potential candidates to take Damagum’s seat include Mark; a former Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam; and a former House of Representatives member from Nasarawa State, David
David Ombugadu.
A communique issued after the meeting, said the stakeholders
reviewed the festering crisis in the party following the exit of the erstwhile National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu.
Ayu lost his seat to the crisis triggered by disagreements over the emergency of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 general election.
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The crisis has continued to deepen with the apparent overbearing influence of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike on the Damagum-led national leadership.
The Northcentral stakeholders argued that Damagum’s continued occupation of the office breached provisions of the PDP constitution.
The communique states in part, “The PDP’s constitution clearly states that succession of offices in the party at all levels is largely to the extent that any vacant position can be replaced by appointment from the zone, as per Section 47 (6) of the party.
“The party is guided by its constitution at all times. Therefore, the leadership of the party needs to rise up to the occasion to restore goodwill and cohesion in the party by making necessary sacrifices and compromises to restore confidence and cohesion in the party.
“It is in the light of this that the stakeholders of the Northcentral Zone appeal to the conscience and goodwill of our compatriots in other zones of the Northern region to restore the seat of the chairmanship of the party back to the Northcentral Zone to serve out its tenure.
“That the stakeholders must strive to build consensus to get the buy-in to the position of Northcentral zone.
“The Northcentral is united and will strive to preserve the PDP as a veritable platform for good governance in Nigeria.”
The meeting, which was attended by Governor Muftwang, also had former Governors Jonah Jang (Plateau), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Idris Wada (Kogi) in attendance.
Others at the meeting included the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro; incumbent PDP National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN); and a former Information Minister, Prof Jerry Gana.
Also at the meeting were former senators Tunde Ogbeha, Philip Aduda, Suleiman Adokwe, Dino Melaye, Mohammed Onawo and Peter Jiya.
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Similarly, former Ministers, Labaran Maku and Sarah Ochekpe also attended the meeting. Other stakeholders like Simon Mwadkwon, Mrs. Margaret Icheen, Mr. Raymond Dabo, Maika Jiba, and Isa Dobi were also present.
Damagum, who is from Yobe State in the Northeast zone, emerged Acting National Chairman in March 2023 following the exit of Ayu who is from Benue State in the Northcentral zone.
Damagum was the PDP Deputy National Chairman (North) before his appointment as Acting National Chairman.
By virtue of Section 47 (6) of the party’s constitution, he ought to have relinquished the seat for a substantive National Chairman from the Northcentral zone where Ayu hailed from.
The Section reads: “Where a vacancy occurs in any of the offices of the party, the Executive Committee at the appropriate level shall appoint another person from the area or zone where the officer originated from to serve out the tenure of the officer.”
Ayu was elected chairman in 2022 for a four-year tenure that should expire in 2026 before his tenure got truncated in 2023.
Several moves by critical organs of the party, including the PDP Governors Forum, the Board of Trustees (BoT) and the National Caucus to replace Damagum have been thwarted by the Acting National Chairman, allegedly with the backing of Wike.
Miffed by the development, the PDP Governors Forum, led by Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, had, a few weeks ago, directed the Damagum-led leadership to convene the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting latest by February 2025.
The NEC meeting has suffered four postponements between August and November 2024, as Damagum, who is supposed to convene the meeting has been evasive.
The power to ratify any candidate chosen by the Northcentral zone to replace Damagum is vested only in the NEC.
PDP expels South-East national vice chairperson over anti-party activities
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oguduokwor Ward, Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, has officially expelled Ali Odefa, the suspended National Vice Chairperson of the party in the South-East, following allegations of anti-party activities.
Odefa had been suspended on September 11, 2024, by the ward executives, a move that was later upheld by the Federal High Court in Abakaliki. In its ruling on November 29, 2024, under suit number FHC/AI/CS/182/2024, the court affirmed the legitimacy of his suspension.
On Wednesday, Onyeka Ovuta, the Acting Chairperson of the PDP in Oguduokwor, announced Odefa’s expulsion in a statement. Ovuta explained that the decision followed recommendations from the party’s disciplinary committee, which confirmed the allegations against Odefa.
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The party announced that Mr Odefa by the virtue of his expulsion, “ceases to be a member of the party.”
Reacting, Mr Odefa laughed off the expulsion, stating that those who announced it were “frustrated charlatans”.
He said the expulsion cannot stand because “it did not take place in the ward but in Abuja”. He said those who made the announcement against him were not ward executives of the party.
“Let them come home come and announce it. Or is our ward now located in Abuja?”
INEC recognises Sylvester Ezeokenwa as APGA national chairman
Sylvester Ezeokenwa has been reinstated as the national chairman of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).
Ezeokenwa was reinstated by the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday, December 17.
According to Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, the commission had been served with the judgement of the Supreme Court.
The apex court judgement with the Appeal No. SC/CV/824/2024 APGA & ANOR vs OYE & ORS was delivered on November 27, 2024.
The court ruled that Ezeokenwa should be recognised as the national chairman of the party.
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“In compliance with the judgement of the apex court, the Commission has restored Barr. Ezeokenwa as the Chairman of APGA and restored his name on our website accordingly,” the INEC commissioner said.
He also stated that the reisnstatmemt of the new chairman would automatically lead to the withdrawal of the recognition of Njoku as the national chairman of the party.
The court also upheld an earlier judgement of the appeal which did not confer any enforceable rights on Njoku.
If also awarded N20 million each against the appellaants.
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