Dailyreporters24

By Nasir Ahmadu Bello.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidates have filed petitions at the election petition tribunals in Kano, Plateau and Rivers states challenging the outcome of the March 18 governorship polls.

The Kano State chapter of the APC has filed a petition before the Kano election tribunal challenging the emergence of Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) as governor-elect.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Yusuf as winner of the election conducted on March 18, 2023.

The final results announced by the returning officer, Professor Ahmad Doko Ibrahim, said Yusuf polled 1,019,602 while the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, polled 890,705 to come second.

Dailyreporters24 reports that Gawuna had conceded defeat and congratulated Yusuf a week after the announcement of the final results.

However, the APC in a five-volume petition is alleging that Abba Kabir Yusuf was not qualified to contest the election on the grounds that his name was allegedly not in the list of members of NNPP sent to INEC.

However, the gubernatorial candidate of the APC, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, was not joined as a party in the petition as parties involved are the APC,  the petitioner and on the other hand, NNPP, Abba Kabir Yusuf and INEC as 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents respectively.

The APC also alleged that the NNPP did not win the election with the majority of lawful votes, arguing that some of the votes cast for them were invalid and if removed from their scores, APC will have the highest number of votes cast.

The party said the Kano Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) was wrong for declaring Abba Yusuf the winner, arguing that the margin of lead was not higher than the votes cancelled, arguing that the election ought to have been declared inconclusive.

The petitioner is asking the court to declare APC as winner of the election.

The respondents have 21 days to respond to the petition after the court processes served on them.

APC candidate files petition against PDP, INEC in Plateau

Similarly, the APC governorship candidate in Plateau State, Nentawe Yilwatda, has filed a 400-page petition against the state’s governor-elect, Caleb Mutfuwang of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), at the election petition tribunal in Jos.

In the petition, Nentawe predicated his petition on three grounds.

He claimed that Caleb Mutfwang was not qualified to contest the election, arguing that he should be disqualified for “non-compliance” with the Electoral Act.

The APC governorship candidate who is the first petitioner also contended that Mutfwang was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast during the election, among others.

The Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) has arrested 11 for internet fraud in Jere and Maiduguri local government areas of Borno.

Its spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

He said the suspects who were arrested on Wednesday included Olatunji Sherif, Bright Felix, Jude Magaji, Jonah Jondi, Ojobaro Abdullahi, Jerry Zizighi and Micah Joseph.

Others are Mari Ayuba, Ibrahim Abdullahi, Adam Abiodun and Victor Chinonso Okolieaboh

Uwujaren said they were arrested in a sting operation following credible intelligence on their alleged criminal activities.

“Items recovered at their residence included one Mercedes Benz GLK 350, a Toyota Corolla saloon car, smartphones, MTN 4G Wi-Fi and power banks.

“The suspects will be charged to court as soon as the investigation is concluded,” he said. (NAN)

By Yasir Adamu.

The President-elect, Bola Tinubu, has challenged the competence of a petition the Labour Party, LP, and its candidate, Peter Obi, filed to nullify his election.

Tinubu, in a preliminary objection he filed alongside his Vice-President-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima, maintained that Obi was bereft of the locus standing to file a petition to challenge his election victory.

He argued that Obi was not validly nominated to contest the presidential election in line with the mandatory provisions of sections 77(2) and (3) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

He insisted that Obi’s name was not found on the register of members of the LP, noting that he defected to the party from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, less than 30 days before the primary election that produced him as a presidential candidate, was conducted.

Adducing reasons why he won the presidential election, Tinubu, in the preliminary objection he filed through his team of lawyers led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, said it was his consistency and track-record of excellence in public service, that endeared him to millions of the electorates across the federation.

He further accused Obi of jumping from one political party to the other, insisting that the LP lacked the requisite structure to win the presidential contest.

On his qualification, Tinubu told the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, that he is a holder of a Degree of Bachelor of Science in Business and
Administration from the Chicago State University since 1979, saying he has
vast private and public sector work experience, including working with Mobil Oil Nigeria as an auditor, and later treasurer of the company.

“In a bid to actualize his quest for public service, left his lucrative and secure employment in Mobil Oil Nigeria, and forayed into active politics, as a founding member of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP).

“In 1992, he was elected by an overwhelming majority of lawful votes cast as a Senator of the Federal Republic Nigeria, representing Lagos West Senatorial District.

“The votes secured by the 2nd respondent at the time were the highest scored by any senatorial candidate in the entire country.

“As a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he distinguished himself as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Finance, Appropriation and Currency.

“Following the annulment of June 12, 1993, Nigerian presidential election and the consequent fresh militarization
of the Nigerian political leadership, which terminated the structures of elective governance in that Republic, he became a founding member of the notable pan-Nigerian pro-democracy group, the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) where he was at the forefront of advocacy for a return to democratic governance and the fight against military rule.

“During the period in (viii) above (popularly referred to as the dark days of Nigeria’s military era because of human rights abuses and a clampdown on pro-democracy advocates), he suffered many arrests, intimidations, threats, search and violation of premises, which ultimately eventuated his proceeding on exile out of Nigeria.

“Many pro-democracy activists suffered wanton attacks including death suspected to have been state-sponsored in the said dark days and it was commonplace that a number of them proceeded on exile and together with the 2nd respondent, they continued to mount international pressure for the return of democratic rule to Nigeria. These pressures eventually yielded positive result in 1999 with the return of democratic rule to Nigeria by the birthing of the 4th republic which is currently running and in which period, the 2nd respondent has been a constant and prominent feature.

The Nigerian Customs Service, NCS Seme Area Command has lamented the severe impact of prolonged border closure on revenue generation at the Seme border.

Customs Area Controller Seme Command, Comptroller Dera Nnadi, gave  the figures during a media briefing of the First Quarter, Q1 performance of the Command and the handing over of fake $6 million to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC as well as handing over of other seized items to partner government agencies at Seme, Badagry.

He said: “The major source of revenue of the Command (import/export) have not been enhanced since the opening of the land Borders as directed by the Federal Government of Nigeria as the traders are still bracing with the challenges of having been out of business for over two years.”

Nnadi also disclosed that the Command made a seizure of 1,160 pieces of dead rats, 1,102 pieces of dead tiny birds and 34 pieces of monkey skin and 14 parcels of cannabis sativa

Customs Area Controller Seme Command, Comptroller Dera Nnadi, gave  the figures during a media briefing of the First Quarter, Q1 performance of the Command and the handing over of fake $6 million to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC and handing over of other seized items to partner government agencies at Seme, Badagry.

He explained that the command found that an international syndicate specialises in such illicit deals, saying: “We must be conscious of the fact that the entire world is battling with various diseases. We just came out of Ebola and CoronaVirus, who knows what would come out of these dead rats and birds if they are not seized.”

Nnadi said that in the first quarter of this year, Q1’22, the Command facilitated the movement of  goods under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme, ETLS. These  include   425 Trucks with fees amounting to N314.72 million; 412 baggage declarations with duty amounting to N58.84 million

He said that the items imported under this arrangement included food products and beverages produced within the sub-region.

For export, he said that 1,243 trucks bearing 40,096.47 metric tons of made in Nigeria cargo were declared on 165 Single Administrative Documents (SAD) with Free On Board value of N4.29 billion  and National Export Supervision Scheme, NESS fee of N21.46  million.

He pointed out that during the same period in 2022, 3006 trucks bearing 116,053.9 metric tons of cargo with FOB value of N6.59 billion with NESS fee of N32.98 million were recorded.

By Nasir Ahmadu Bello.

The Jigawa state governorship candidate of the Action democratic party ADP, Hon. Ibrahim Sulaiman Sabo, has said that the governorship election held in the state on 18 March 2023 was not free and fair.

Ibrahim while briefing Dailyreporters24’s correspondent in his office on Tuesday, stated that the votes transmitted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) where not the initial votes and most of the results were fake.

He added that there were some local governments where elections did not held in the state but INEC went ahead to transmit its own results in favour of the ruling party.

He alleged that APC bullied other parties by using its power to rig the election in the Jigawa state, which he filed a suit in the tribunal court against the party.

“I am appealing to the tribunal court to have a clear look into this issue in other to rectify the menace caused by the rulling All progressive Congress in the Jigawa state.

Ibrahim then urge the supporters of the Action democratic party in the state to remain calm and be law abiding citizens and then calls for justice to be done.

A coalition of stakeholders in the ruling All Progressives Congress APC known as the ‘APC Integrity Caucus’ has raised the alarm over what it called a desperate attempt by opposition parties to take over Kano and the entire North West Zone from the APC.

The caucus which has members drawn from the National Assembly and business community said the Northwest gave the highest votes to the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and therefore has to be compensated.

At a news conference Monday in Abuja, the caucus noted what it said was the incessant calls by members of the opposition parties, especially the New Nigeria People’s Party NNPP, on the APC leadership not to zone the Senate Presidency to the North West.

It said the call is part of a grand design to deny the zone of a powerful government position that could allow it dig in, expand membership and ultimately take over Kano and the entire zone in 2027.

The group’s Spokesperson, Hon. Musa Ahmed Jauro Dutse said the whole essence of “the opposition parties crying more than the bereaved on the zoning issue” is simply to mislead Tinubu and other leaders of the APC into overlooking the North West in the scheme of things.

He said; “We have uncovered their grand plots to engage in massive propaganda to de-market the North West Zone from the Senate Presidency race because of their desperate and selfish interest in taking over the zone- In the absence of a strong political office holder in the mould of the Senate President-That is why we are exposing them so that our leaders like the President-Elect will not be carried away by their antics.

“The North West gave the highest votes to our party in the Presidential election and that justice and fairness demands that the zone be compensated for the feat.

Instead, they are busy mischievously plotting against the APC in other to take over the zone in 2027.We must resist them, we must not allow them to succeed in their desperate plans.

The North West must not be pushed aside in the race, rather the zone should be compensated for being the highest voting block. The Zone needs to be supported to have the Senate President’s slot so it can be put in the best position to do more for APC in 2027 God willing”.

The group advised that since the South West has taken the Presidency and North East, the Vice-Presidency, it was only expedient to allow the North West take the Senate Presidency.

“The North West is the fulcrum of the Hausa/Fulani people of Nigeria. Whatever happens to the North West, has direct or indirect effect(s)on all the Hausa Fulani people of Nigeria.

So, if the Senate Presidency is zoned to the North West,it can be said to have been zoned to the entirety of the Hausa Fulani people of Nigeria”, the group stated.