“The government wishes everyone journey mercies and reassures that security measures have been provided to ensure a free, fair and credible election.”
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Stop blackmailing judiciary, Presidency tells Atiku, PDP
Stop blackmailing judiciary, Presidency tells Atiku, PDP
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, has called on the PDP and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, its presidential candidate, to stop their campaigns of calumny and blackmail against the judiciary.
Onanuga made the call in a statement on Monday in Abuja while reacting to Atiku’s recent allegations against the country’s judiciary.
“In separate statements, the PDP and the spokesman of Atiku Abubakar, its defeated presidential candidate in the Feb. 25 presidential election, threw caution to the winds.
“They assaulted the integrity of the judiciary and made wild and libellous allegations against President Bola Tinubu.
“In the wake of the poor run of some elected governors of the party at the appeal court, the PDP and former vice-president and his spokesman have become overtly desperate to hang their woes on President Tinubu and the judiciary, an important arm of government in Nigeria.”
He added that in blaming others, Atiku and his party failed to demonstrate whether they had done any soul-searching before going public with their weighty, specious and reckless allegations.
He urged Nigerians to disregard the malicious allegations by the PDP and its candidate that Tinubu, while he was Governor of Lagos State, silenced the opposition and corrupted the judiciary.
He also asked the public to disregard the allegation that Tinubu was planning to foist a one-party state on the country by appointing loyalists as Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).
Onanuga stressed that Tinubu was a democrat to the core who had never interfered with the judgment of the judiciary.
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“We had witnessed how under his watch, the PDP governor in Osun defeated the APC at the Supreme Court.
“Similarly, the PDP governor in Bauchi also won his case in the Appeal Court, beating the APC.
“President Tinubu is also not planning to impose a one-party state as Atiku has serially alleged and his party and spokesman have now parroted.
“These allegations are deliberately aimed at unnecessarily heating up the polity and causing disenchantment in our country. They exist only in the imagination of the PDP and the former Vice-President,” Onanuga said.
He added that unlike Atiku Abubakar, President Tinubu’s record as a democrat par excellence and a strong advocate of the rule of law had been globally acknowledged.
According to Onanuga, Tinubu’s record of service as governor, which witnessed giant strides in various facets, is responsible for the dominance of his political structure in Lagos State and not by any undemocratic conduct.
“In contrast, it is on record that Atiku Abubakar recently confessed about the electoral heist his party executed in the South-West in 2003, which Tinubu survived out of the six governors of the defunct Alliance for Democracy.
“Atiku and PDP are now crying wolf over the Appeal Court rulings on governorship polls in Plateau, Zamfara and Nasarawa States.
“We hasten to ask the former vice-president where he was in 2019 when the court ruled against the APC in Zamfara and awarded all the positions won by the APC to PDP,” he said.
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Onanuga wondered where Atiku was, also in 2019, when in Rivers, the court stopped APC from fielding any candidate in both the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections.
He further wondered where Atiku and the PDP were in 2019 when on the eve of the swearing-in of Bayelsa Governor-elect David Lyon, the Supreme Court handed the victory of the APC to the candidate of the PDP, Gov. Douye Diri.
“Atiku and PDP then savoured all these court-handed trophies as sweet victories for PDP and celebrated the courts as protectors of democracy.
“Now that the same courts are annulling PDP victories, based on the blatant violations of the law by the lawless party, the party is mudslinging the judiciary and President Tinubu.
“We once again implore Atiku and PDP to stop their campaigns of calumny and blackmail against the judiciary and the honourable judges and justices.
“Judgments are based on law and evidence. In election petition cases, they are based on the Electoral Act and the Constitution, not on sentiments and emotions,” Onanuga stressed.
He added that it was irresponsible and a disservice to our country for the opposition, after failing to observe the letters and spirits of the law, to now turn around to tear down an important arm of government.
Stop blackmailing judiciary, Presidency tells Atiku, PDP
(NAN)
News
Pension bill: Police retirees to embark on protest
Pension bill: Police retirees to embark on protest
The National Union of the Police Retirees, Kaduna State Branch has arranged for what it called a mother of all protest to remain at the National Assembly until President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signs the Pension Exit Bill.
The Bill to exit the Nigeria Police from the Contributory Pension Scheme and the bill for the establishment of the Nigeria Police Pension Board, as the police retirees are patiently waiting for, and there is the tendency that, the promise may not be fulfilled, as September is winding up.
This is contained in a press release signed by the chairman of the Police Retirees Kaduna State Chapter, CSP Mannir Lawal Zaria Rtd and the Vice Chairman ASP Danlami Maigamo Rtd and distributed to journalists in Kaduna.
CSP Mannir Lawal Zaria Rtd lamented that the police retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme are dying immensely due to poverty and hunger.
“The union is also pleading that, as the death toll is on the increase among the police retirees under the contributory Pension Scheme and the prices of commodity of any type is also on the increase.”
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He said: “Federal government should come to the aid of the police retirees under the contributory Pension Scheme before they all perish, by immediately paying the following allowances to the police retirees under the contributory Pension Scheme.
“Two point five percent differential, the Federal Government Palliative and three consecutive pension increases by the Federal Government as well as the minimum wage increase.
“During the Police Retirees, Kaduna State Branch monthly meeting held last Wednesday at Police Officers Mess Kaduna. Members became shocked and worried, as there is a sign of unfulfillment of a promise that began to manifest itself because it can be recalled that, on 22/09/24.
“The National Union of the Police Retirees under the contributory Pension Scheme carried out a nationwide peaceful protest to the National Assembly Abuja.
“During the protest, the Chairman of Senate Committee for Police Affairs, Senator Ahmed Abdulkadir Malamadori, addressed some of the retirees in his office, where he promised the retirees that, before September 24, they would be exited from the Contributory Pension Scheme to the Define Benefit Scheme (DBS) that the two Police Bills would be Harmonize.
“Sequel to this, the blood pressure of many concerned police retirees has risen above maximum. Therefore, the Kaduna Branch has unanimously agreed that, if by the end of this September, the Nigeria Police is not exempted from the contributory Pension Scheme,” he said.
Pension bill: Police retirees to embark on protest
News
Edo poll: Court gives fresh order on APC candidate Okpebholo
Edo poll: Court gives fresh order on APC candidate Okpebholo
A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama has ordered a judicial review concerning the criminal summons issued against Senator Monday Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the upcoming Edo governorship election.
The court’s decision follows an application submitted by Okpebholo’s legal counsel, Adaze Emwanta.
The presiding judge, Justice O.C. Agbaza, delivered a ruling after hearing an ex-parte motion on Wednesday. He agreed to the reliefs sought by Okpebholo’s counsel, setting the next hearing for October 28.
The criminal summons was initially issued by Magistrate Abubakar Mukhtar of Wuse Zone 2, who had ordered Okpebholo to appear in court on September 20.
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The summons stemmed from allegations that the APC candidate provided false information regarding his date of birth on forms submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The case, which was filed by an Edo indigene, Honesty Aginbatse, accused Okpebholo of conflicting dates of birth in his nomination documents. In response, Okpebholo sought intervention from the FCT High Court to prevent the summons from proceeding. His legal team argued that the criminal charge was part of a plot to tarnish his image ahead of the election.
According to Okpebholo’s defense, the issue of his birthdate had already been addressed and resolved at the Supreme Court’s registry through a Deed of Regularisation, which was officially gazetted by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in August. The APC candidate also alleged that the summons was not served to him directly but circulated on social media to damage his reputation on the eve of the election.
Meanwhile, in a separate but related case, the Federal High Court in Abuja is set to rule on a motion filed by the APC seeking to amend its summons in a lawsuit involving INEC, Asue Ighodalo, and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Justice Peter Lifu has reserved his judgment on the case, with both the PDP and Ighodalo contesting the jurisdiction of the suit.
The legal battles surrounding Okpebholo continue as the Edo governorship election approaches, raising questions about their impact on the candidate’s campaign.
Edo poll: Court gives fresh order on APC candidate Okpebholo
News
JUST IN: Edo declares Friday work-free day for gov election
JUST IN: Edo declares Friday work-free day for gov election
The Edo government has declared September 20 as a work-free day to facilitate travel for workers and residents ahead of the state’s governorship election.
The election is scheduled for Saturday, September 21, across 18 LGAs in the state.
In a statement, Joseph Eboigbe, secretary to the state government (SSG), assured that adequate security arrangements are in place for a secure and democratic election process.
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“This is to enable workers and other electorates travel to their voting areas ahead of the September 21 governorship election in the State” he said.
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