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Court Gives Judgement On Delta APC Primary Suit, Dec 4
The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, yesterday, fixed December 4 to deliver judgement on a suit seeking to nullify the governorship primary election the All Progressive Congress, APC, conducted in Delta State.
The suit was lodged before the court by former Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Victor Ochei.
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba okayed the matter for judgement after all the parties adopted their final briefs of argument. Aside the APC, other Defendants in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1085/ 2018, were the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the declared winner of the primary poll, Chief Great Ogboru.
The Plaintiff had through his lawyer Mr Ahmed Rahi, SAN, prayed the court to declare that the APC gubernatorial primary election that held on September 30, was illegal and unlawful on the ground that delegates not known to law were used for the exercise.
He averred that the high court had in a judgement that was delivered by Justice Anwuri Chikere on June 19, authenticated a list of delegates of APC in Delta state. He alleged that the national leadership of the Party sidelined the said list during the primary election.
The former Speaker told the court that contrary to the judgement, the APC leadership, used unknown delegates for the primary poll.
Consequently, he urged the court to nullify the purported primary election for being unlawful, unjust and deliberately carried out in disregard of subsisting judicial directive.
The Plaintiff equally prayed the court for an order compelling the APC to immediately conduct a fresh primary election with the list of delegates endorsed in the consent judgement of the Federal High Court.
As well as to issue an order of perpetual injunction restraining INEC or its agents from accepting, recognising or utilising the name of Chief Ogboru who purportedly emerged as winner of the Delta State 2019 governorship primary election.
In his 40-paragraphed supporting affidavit, the Plaintiff told the court that he was denied fair participation in the primary election despite that he paid N22.5million for expression of interest and nomination forms.
He insisted that the court’s order was brazenly violated by the national leadership of the Party in the conduct of the primary poll election, saying unless the court intervened, the governorship election in Delta State would produce a product of fraud.
Meantime, both APC and Chief Ogboru, lodged preliminary objections to challenge the competence of the suit. In his objection, Chief Ogboru, through his lawyer, Chief Nelson Imoh, insisted that he was validly nominated by the APC to fly its gubernatorial flag in 2019.
Chief Ogboru told the court that the primary election that produced him, was duly monitored by INEC, adding that his party, APC, approved the list of delegates that participated in the primary.
According to him, “All the reliefs as contained in the PIaintiff/Respondent’s Originating Summons are reliefs not founded on law nor capable of sustaining the Originating Summons.
“Articles 7 & 20 of the All Progressive Congress (APC) constitution 2012 (as amended) was substantially and wholly complied with by the 3rd Defendant/Applicant, as well as 1st and 2nd Defendants in the conduct of the Governorship primaries of the 2nd Defendant that produced the 3rd Defendant as the flag bearer of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2019 Governorship Election in Delta State.
“The case of the Plaintiff/Respondent is brought in bad faith. There is no reasonable cause of action disclosed against the 3rd Defendant\Applicant in the Plaintiff’s Originating Summons.
“The PIaintiff/Respondent who participated fully in the said primaries of the 30th of September, 2018, of the 2nd Defendant, had delegates’ votes counted and assigned to him by the Delta State Governorship primaries Chairman assigned by the 2nd Defendant National Executive Council, cannot turn around to complain of non-compliance with the conduct of the said Governorship primaries in Delta State.
“Issues of disputed facts in contention are not maintainable by way of an Originating Summons. The case of the Plaintiff is speculative and an arrant abuse of the Process of this Honourable Court”, Chief Ogboru added.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
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RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.