South East

Anambra Guber: Supreme Court Decides Obiano’s Fate, Today

Published

10 years ago

September 22, 2014

The Supreme Court will
today deliver judgment on the appeals brought by Senator Chris Ngige of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Tony Nwoye of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the return of Governor Willie Obiano by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as winner of the November 16, 2013, the Anambra State governorship poll.
The apex court had last Tuesday dismissed the appeal brought by Chike Obidigbo asking it to declare him the state governor, having allegedly been nominated by the Maxi Okwu faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as candidate for the election.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a seven-man panel of Justices of the apex court presided over by Justice Mahmud Mohammed, the court dismissed the appeal, having been filed out of time in contravention of the practice direction.
According to Justice Mohammed “the motion filed on the 4th of September, wherein the applicant sought orders for an extension of time to appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal Enugu Division, delivered on the 25th and to deem the appellant’s brief of arguments as properly filed and served, because according to the counsel, the Supreme Court’s practice direction was merely addressed to the court and as such the court can exercise discretion”.
Chris Ngige, a serving APC senator and Tony Nwoye of the PDP are asking the Supreme Court to nullify Obiano’s election on the grounds that there was substantial non-compliance with the Constitution and Electoral Act in its conduct.
They are also contending that Obiano, who INEC declared winner of the election, engaged in multiple voters’ registration and lied on oath, which makes him illegible to contest as a candidate in the election.
PDP also brought a separate appeal to the Supreme Court calling for the cancellation of the election.
The Court of Appeal Enugu Division had earlier on July 26 affirmed the election of Obiano, dismissing the appeals challenging his election as “incompetent and lacking in merit.”
In unanimous judgments, the Appeal Court presided over by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, upheld the decision of the Anambra Election Petition Tribunal in Awka, which pronounced that Obiano was duly returned by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as winner of the November 16, 17 and 30 Governorship polls in Anambra State.
Other members of the five-man panel of the Court of Appeal were Justices, Eko Akeju, Ejembi Eko, Tijani Abubakar an M. Mustafa.
Dissatisfied with the judgment of the Appeal Court, the appellants who were the petitioners at the lower tribunal, headed to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court heard all the appeals last week and reserved judgment for tomorrow.
At the resumed Supreme Court hearing of the appeals, Counsel to Ngige and APC, Rotimi Akeredoku, SAN, who appeared with Emeka Ngige, SAN, and Ikechukwu Ezechukwu, SAN for Nwoye and the PDP had asked the court to nullify the elections on the grounds that the register of voters was tampered with after the 60 days before the elections as prescribed by the electoral act and that Governor Obiano was engaged in multiple registrations.
According to Akeredolu “issue one calls for an interpretation of the Electoral Act and its effect, we have held elections in this country in which ballot papers had no serial numbers and we allowed it to go, I commend the court to a lot of pronouncements especially as it has to do with an infraction of the Electoral Act, the electoral register as long as it is bad there is no need for you to prove non complying with the electoral act, this case is different from Akeredolu and Mimiko and Akeredolu and Oke; they are quite different and I want the court to distinguish them from this case, in that case there was the use of a register that had an injection of names.
“But in this case, there was the use of a register that was produced after the mandatory sixty days before the elections outside the mandatory period provided, they agreed that the voters’ register that was used in that election was not the one that was displayed, but the 1st and 2nd defendants said that they were engaged in the sanitizing and removal of the impurities three days before the election, and there was no Ebola at that time. People came, saw their names, they did not complain, but they came back and could not find their names in the register, even some of the candidates in the election could not find their names on the register.
He noted that “the law provides that the register must be done sixty days before the election, the Electoral Act did not give INEC the powers to conduct the elections arbitrarily, they are within a bound, the compilation of the voters’ register is guided by the Electoral Act. When there is an inconsistency in the application of the Electoral Act, there should be no need to substantiate anything.
“There was also the issue of multiple registration of the third respondent (Obiano); he, as a candidate, has three voters’ cards, and the law say you can only have one, we said that he is not qualified to contest in that election. We pray the court to allow the appeal and order a fresh election.
This is as Ahmed Raji, SAN, Ikpeazu, SAN and Patrick Ikwueto, SAN for the INEC, Governor Obiano and APGA respectively urged the court to dismiss the appeal, stressing that it is against concurrent findings of facts by the two lower courts, the trial tribunal and the Court of Appeal in Enugu.

Demolition of Arroma Roundabout, Awka, on the Enugu -Onitsha Expressway, recently. Photo: NAN

South East

Corpse Of Woman Found In Ebonyi Hotel Room

Published

5 years ago

December 17, 2018

The Tide

The police in Ebonyi State say they have discovered the body of a yet to be identified middle-aged woman in a hotel room in Abakaliki, the state capital. The spokesperson of the police in the state, Loveth Odah, stated this yesterday.
She said the body has deep cuts on the chest and neck and has been deposited in a mortuary. According to the spokesman, it was discovered at Crown Garden Hotel located along the ever-busy Afikpo road in the capital city.
Mrs Odah, who said that the victim was found in the pool of her own blood, said the suspect had been identified as one Uchenna Awoke.
She said the hotel manager, Emmanuel Eze, the supervisor, and other workers had been taken to the police station for questioning and accused the hotel management of negligence.
“The manager of the hotel, the supervisor and other staff of the hotel were taken to the station for questioning and I must confess to you that the whole thing is negligence on the part of the hotel management. How can a guest be murdered in a hotel room and days after, the management is not aware of the incident.”
“We will investigate the matter properly and I assure you, the perpetrator of the act must be arrested and prosecuted. All we are asking is for the members of the public to avail the police of useful information that will lead to the arrest of the suspect.”

South East

Senate Passes S’East Dev Commission Bill

Published

5 years ago

December 13, 2018

The Tide

The Senate yesterday passed the South East Development Commission (Establishment) Bill 2018.
The proposed commission aims at enhancing the infrastructural development of the South East zone, which is grappling with huge ecological challenges.
It also seeks to act as a catalyst for the development of the commercial potential of the zone.
The proposed legislation requires the concurrence of the House of Representatives to become a bill of the National Assembly, and the President’s assent to become a law.
Senators Stella Oduah (PDP-Anambra) and Samuel Anyanwu (PDP-Imo) jointly sponsored the bill read in the Senate on June 22, 2016.
Its passage in the Red Chamber followed the presentation of the report of the Committee on Establishment and Public Service by its former Chairman, Senator Emmanuel Paulker (PDP-Bayelsa), on the floor of the Senate.
The bill, after Paulker’s presentation, was considered clause by clause by the committee of the whole, and amendments made by the lawmakers were read for the third time and eventually passed.
In his remarks, presiding Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, commended his colleagues for a job well done.
In his words, “Every morning we pray that God should give us the grace to do only those things that will promote the peace and unity of this country.
“I believe that we have shown today that we are committed to the unity of this country, and it is this unity that will give us faith in this country.
“This faith will in turn help us to pursue peace and progress,” he said.
Briefing newsmen after plenary, members the South East caucus of the Senate, led by Sen. Enhinnaya Abaribe (PDP-Abia), thanked their colleagues and members of the committee for their efforts.
Abaribe, who spoke on behalf of the caucus, urged the President to sign the bill into law “as soon as we tidy it up and bring to him, in the interest of the unity and progress of Nigeria”.
“This will put to rest the long-drawn agitation in the South East, and the difficulties in the rehabilitation and reconciliation efforts that started at the end of the civil war.
“All things we see always will end up at the negotiating table, which is what we have done,” he said.
The lawmaker said he hoped the House of Representatives would give concurrence to the bill as it went in the Senate.
When established, the South East Development Commission would be the third zonal interventionist body in the country.

South East

2019: Oyedepo Predicts Peace In Nigeria

Published

5 years ago

December 10, 2018

The Tide

Bishop David Oyedepo, the Founder and Presideng Bishop, Living Faith Church Worldwide, on Saturday predicted that nothing would disturb the peace of Nigeria and its story would change for the better in the year 2019.
Oyedepo made the declaration at the just concluded annual prophetic gathering of the Winners’ family, christened the “Dominion”, in a satellite telecast of the church.
In the telecast monitored in Abuja, the cleric also declared that 2019 would be a year of “I have Dominion”.
“Nothing will tamper with the peace of Nigeria; the story will change for the better in the name of Jesus.
“Nigeria shall not see bloodshed, the Prince of Peace will continue to dominate in Nigeria, in Africa and Nigeria is declared blessed.
“Anywhere you step, accident is forbidden; death will not come near you and our nation.
“Anything that is of grace in my life, I freely release upon you today.
“God has opened the year 2019 to us, celebrate Him because its our year of “I have Dominion,” he said.
The Bishop added that the year 2019 would be a year of humbling testimonies for Nigeria and pace-setting testimonies.
He further declared that 2019 would be a colourful year for the nation.
According to the cleric, as long as Jesus has the final say on the issues of Nigeria, it will experience greatness.
Oyedepo said that there would be no more cause of alarm in any area of the nation and its citizens.
He advised Christians in Nigeria to delight themselves in the spirit of servant-hood, adding that the spirit of Christ is the spirit of servant-hood.
“The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of servant-hood. As you keep rising on the ladder of leadership, you must retain our spirit of servant-hood, constantly working to add value to others and be kingdom minded,” he said.
According to him, dedication is at the root of dominion, saying: “Sow yourself as a seed by being totally dedicated to God and His Kingdom’’.
He told his congregation that sacrificial giving guarantees the meeting of all their needs.
“When you engage in taking care of the well-being of others, God is also committed to your well-being,” he explained. The cleric admonished Christians would engage in meeting the needs of the needy, every barrier on their path of destiny would be crushed.
“Nobody tampers with your life, your career, your family and goes away with it because you are promoted to God’s kingdom.
“God will stand for your defence in the day of trouble. Every sacrificial giver has a defence around him in the day of trouble always have that in mind,” he said.
He reminded his congregation that the Church is not a building; the Church is a people and the Redeemed of the Lord.