Featured
Supreme Court Judgement: Join Hands With Me, Wike Tells Amaechi …Promises Inclusive Govt …As APC, Tonye Cole Lose Again …We’re Not Surprised At Outcome -Abe
The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has called on the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi to join hands with him to develop the state.
In a state broadcast in Government House, Port Harcourt, to mark the landmark Supreme Court Judgement striking out the appeals by Rivers APC, yesterday, Wike said that Rivers State stands to benefit more if all leaders are united.
He said, “Although the present politics of acrimony and bitterness may have strayed from the noble path of the past, I still believe that we shall be of better standing and working together for our state and our people.
“I, therefore, appeal to the APC and the Minister of Transportation to join hands with us to move our dear state forward. We cannot as leaders continue to remain divided and expect government to deliver on its responsibilities to our people. Let us from henceforth seek the common ground instead of allowing our differences to be exploited to retard our march to progress.
“I appeal to our people to eschew all acts of acrimony, criminality, unrest and violence throughout the state. I wish to recommit myself to continue to do all that is humanly possible to ensure the unity and peaceful co-existence of all our people irrespective of political affiliation”.
He directed the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to review all pending criminal cases linked to politics before the 2019 elections and make necessary recommendations to promote reconciliation.
He said, “I hereby direct the Honourable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to review all pending criminal proceedings filed against any person by the state and directly related to political activities prior to the 2019 general election, and make appropriate recommendations to me for necessary action to promote reconciliation among us”.
Wike pledged to run an inclusive government aimed at promoting the development of the state.
He said, “Today, I recommit myself to be the governor for all the people of Rivers State for the next four years. Accordingly, we shall form an all-inclusive government to advance the collective interest of all our people, irrespective of party, ethnic or religious affiliations.
“We have come a long way in the last four years, and accomplished a lot to be proud of. But there’s still a lot more to do to advance and realise the ultimate vision of our founding fathers for a truly united, secure, and prosperous state and we need the support of all our people to realise this bold vision.
“We salute the opposition for their courage to fight within the confines of the law to the end. Now that the legal battle is over, the task of building the state must take precedence over all other considerations”.
Wike expressed gratitude to God for the Supreme Court judgment, and assured Rivers people that with the judgement all legal tussles have come to a close with the people having nothing to fear.
He said, “Few hours ago, the Supreme Court of Nigeria struck out the consolidated appeals of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Tonye Cole for lacking in merits.
“With this decision, all legal issues regarding the fielding of candidates by the APC for the 2019 National Assembly, Governorship and State House of Assembly elections in Rivers State have finally and permanently been put to rest. What this further means is that the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidates in the 2019 National Assembly, Governorship and State House of Assembly elections is legally safe, secured and protected.
“I wish to assure you that there is nothing else to fear or be worried about, as there is nothing more the APC or any other person can do to deny us the victory you freely gave to the PDP and its candidates”.
He added, “Let me also express my deepest gratitude to the people of Rivers State for the opportunity to serve you as your governor for another four years. I am truly humbled by your continued trust and, I will not take this support for granted.
“For me, the collective interest of the people of Rivers State is the reason I am in politics. When you gave me the mandate about four years ago, I committed myself to be the governor for all the people of Rivers State and stayed through to that commitment”.
Earlier yesterday, the Supreme Court had struck out three appeals filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), Architect Tonye Patrick Cole and members of his faction of the party, against the judgment that excluded the APC from fielding candidates in the last elections in Rivers State.
A seven-man panel of the apex court, led by Justice Tanko Ibrahim Muhammad, held that the three appeals were defective, incompetent and could not be heard by the court.
The appeals are: SC/295/ 2019 filed by APC, with People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) listed among respondents; SC/266/2019 filed by APC, with Senator Magnus Abe and others as respondents and SC/267/2019 filed by Tonye Patrick Cole, with Senator Magnus Abe and others as respondents.
Muhammad, in the first ruling delivered on SC/295/2019, upheld that argument by PDP’s lawyer, Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), to the effect that the notice of appeal filed by the APC was defective.
The judge noted that rather than heading a portion of the notice of appeals “Reliefs sought from the Supreme Court,” it was wrongly headed “Reliefs sought from the Court of Appeal.”
He said the implication of that error was that the appellant did not seek any relief from the Supreme Court, and thereby contravened the court’s rules, a development that rendered the appeal incompetent.
The same errors were noticed in the other two appeals, which made the appellants’ lawyers, Jibrin Okutepa (SAN) and Tuduru Ede to withdraw both appeals, following which the court struck them out.
The Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, in a lead judgment, sustained the preliminary objection by PDP Counsel, Emmanuel Ukala (SAN).
The acting CJN said that, “The Preliminary Objection is meritorious, accordingly the appeal, is incompetent and is hereby dismissed”.
It would be recalled that Counsel to the PDP, Emmanuel Ukala, SAN, had urged the court to strike out the appeal or dismiss it in its entirety as the reliefs sought by the APC could only be granted at the Court of Appeal and not the Supreme Court.
Okala argued that the appeal by APC was filed outside of the time provided by law, maintaining that the Supreme Court takes seriously its rules on filing of notice of appeal, saying that the non-compliance to those rules renders the process incompetent.
Earlier, Counsel to the APC, J.S. Okutepa (SAN), had urged the Supreme Court to overrule its decision on earlier judgement delivered in the consolidated appeals, which held that the appeal before it was a pre-election matter.
He argued that the Supreme Court could set aside its decision, if it was taken contrary to constitutional provision.
Counsel to INEC, Don Umalor, who did not file any brief, said that INEC would like to remain neutral and non-partisan in the matter before the court, submitting that the commission would want the apex court to decision based on what was available to the court.
The Tide recalls that the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had on January 7, nullified the direct and indirect primaries conducted by the two factions of the APC in the state.
Justice Kolawole Omotosho, who presided over the case, also restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from presenting Tonye Cole and Magnus Abe as governorship candidates in the 2019 General Election.
Following the court order, INEC excluded the APC from the ballot.
The elections have been concluded with Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike duly re-elected.
Meanwhile, the factional leader of Rivers State APC, Senator Magnus Abe has stated that he was not surprised that the Supreme Court struck out his motion seeking to validate direct primaries held by his faction because the apex court had written him a letter before the election, explaining that it would hear the pre-election matter after the conclusion of 2019 elections.
Speaking during a Channels Television Programme, last Tuesday night, Abe said that the Supreme Court had premised its decision to hear the pre-election matter after the 2019 elections on a petition written by the Chibuike Amaechi-led faction of the Rivers State APC, which challenged the integrity of the panel hearing the matter at the time.
He said that the Supreme Court’s letter, which implied a judgment, said a new panel would be constituted after the elections had been concluded.
Abe said as a senior lawyer, he understood the implication of adjourning a pre-election matter to after the elections.
It would be recalled that the Supreme Court had repeatedly declared the primaries and congresses of Rivers State APC null and void on the premise of the judgment of Justice Chinwendu Nwogu.
It was on the premise of that judicial pronouncement by the apex court that the Independent National Electoral Commission removed APC from the ballot for 2019 General Election in Rivers State.
The APC accepted its fate and declared an alliance with the African Action Congress (AAC) during the elections.
Abe said, “Because of the delay in hearing the matter, the Supreme Court actually wrote a letter to us, a week before the election to say that the matter could not be heard because the other Rivers State APC faction had written a petition against the judges.
“Therefore, the Supreme Court had decided that the matter could only be heard after the elections, when a new panel had been constituted.
“For me, as a lawyer, I read that to mean a judgment of the court as far as the issue was concerned. This was clearly a pre-election matter. The effectiveness of the pronouncement would have affected the party going into the election when the court wrote that letter; I saw it as a decision on itself.
“When the suit was struck out, it didn’t come to me as a surprise. As far as we were concerned, the decision to strike out the suit was taken when a decision was taken not to hear the suit before the election”, Abe said.
Abe noted that the failure of Rivers APC to respect existing order of court at the time led to her misfortune during the 2019 elections.
The senator said, “I think that people have to have some basic understanding of what actually happened. As you will recollect, the NWC of APC had asked that the state should make a determination as to the kind of primaries they would use, whether direct or indirect.
“As there was an existing court order that nullified the new state executive for the party – so, the existing executive made a request for direct primaries to avoid the existing complications that were already evident at that time. That is the end of the road, legally nowhere else for us to go.
“It is really unfortunate; everybody in Rivers State knew that the APC crisis will only benefit Wike. Anybody who pretends that he did not know that the situation we had will benefit our opponent, is not being truthful.
“The beginning of this crisis was when members of our party bought forms from the party to participate in our congresses, and a decision was taken that they are no longer members of the party, that wasn’t what the Constitution of the party says”, he clarified.
Abe noted that no leader of Rivers APC can solely determine the fate of the party.
“This whole issue has been about trying to prove that certain people are irrelevant and certain people don’t matter; that some people are the party, and they can do without others. I want to say clearly that they cannot.
“The whole idea of only one person trying to deliver the APC in Rivers State without the participation of others and inclusion of others in the party is a mirage, and it will not work.
“We are not baby politicians, we knew after the 2015 elections, that there will be elections in 2019, and we had the same time as other political parties to put our house in order to take over Rivers State. But because of the attitude and the imperial nature of certain persons trying to prove that some people are irrelevant, we found ourselves where we are”, he said.
Speaking on the same programme, Counsel to Senator Magnus Abe, Barrister Henry Bello, said they were in court to urge the apex court to pronounce that the direct primaries were valid because the Supreme Court had already invalidated the indirect primaries conducted by the Amaechi faction.
Bello said, “We wanted the direct primary elections conducted in Rivers State which was not tainted by disobedience of valid and subsisting orders of court to be recognized by the Supreme Court in Umar v APC reported in 2018”.
Letters
Ban On Christians Fellowship In Universities
If the story making the rounds on two Nigerian universities being sued for allegation of their ban on Christian fellowship in the campus is anything to go by, then Nigeria is in for another trouble.
According to the story, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Katsina State branch, in conjunction with an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF International), has instituted an action against two universities in Katsina State for indefinitely banning Christian groups from holding fellowship meetings and worship on campuses.
The suit was said to have been filed against the two universities for violating the right to religious freedom by “indefinitely prohibiting” Christian groups from holding fellowship meetings and worship on campus.
The Christian legal advocacy group further alleged that one of the universities enforced the ban by locking all worship and fellowship centre on university grounds, preventing Christian students and groups from accessing the facilities and banning them from meeting for worship and fellowship elsewhere on campus while their Muslim counterparts at both universities have been permitted to hold worship and fellowship meetings in university-constructed worship and meeting spaces.
Recall that in 2017, there was a news report on the outlaw of any other religious or tribal association on campus besides the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria by the authorities of the Umar Musa Yar’Adua University, Katsina, Katsina State. A circular credited to the institution’s acting Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Sulaiman Kankara, which was later disowned by the university, contained the directive.
The last time I checked, Nigeria is a democratic, circular state where every individual is free to practise any religion of her choice. Section 38 of the Nigerian constitution provides: “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom (either alone or in community with others, and in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.”
It is therefore wrong for a public university to indulge in this discriminatory act. A university is supposed to be an intellectual environment where people should be allowed some level of freedom. There must be robust fellowship and inter-faith relationship. People must be able to relate with each other without any discrimination or stigmatisation.
Knowing how delicate issues on religion are in Nigeria, one hopes that the authorities of the institutions concerned should swiftly look into the report and retrace their steps. The court should be objective in deciding the case and give students of other religions some leverage of freedom. It must be stated that the judgment on this case should not be delayed to avoid any retaliation in other parts of the country.
We already have a lot of issues to deal with in the country. Adding a religious crisis to it could be disastrous. Any university established and funded by either the federal, state or local government, should have freedom of religion. Let there be no more trouble in the country, please.
Waheed Abiodun,
Victoria Street,
Port Harcourt Township.
The NIMC, NCC Partnership
Reports have it that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) disclosed that they have partnered to enhance seamless linkage of National Identification Number-SIM across the federation.
Both Commissions said that in recognising the significance of this initiative in enhancing security and improving service delivery, they were committed to improving processes and enhancing efficiency.
This is a welcome development. It has been worrisome why Nigerians should be made to go through the rigorous process of linking their National Identification Number (NIN) with their phone numbers every now and then. Some people who engage in online transactions have recorded some losses over the past few weeks as some internet providers barred their lines due to their inability to successfully do the linkage.
Two weeks ago, I went to a High Court for an official engagement and was shocked to see the number of people seeking to get court affidavits for the linkage of the NIN with the phone numbers so that their line will be unbarred.
It is therefore hoped that the NIMC, NCC partnership will remove all the bottlenecks surrounding the Nin, SIM linkage and make the process very seamless. It is also hoped that this will be the beginning of the process of proper identity management in the country and gradual collapse of all the various forms of identification – Drivers Licence, Voters Card, NIMC card. Bank cards etc into one identity card so that one would not have to be moving around with loads of identity cards.
Ebele Ubani,
Jabi, Abuja.
The Unwanted Strike
Just when the students of Nigeria public universities are rejoicing that there had been a no interruption in the universities’ academic calendar for sometiime, the news about the warning strike by the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, (SSANU), broke.
The Joint Action Committee of the two organisations had directed members to commence a seven day warning strike last week, following the federal government’s inability to pay their four months’ withheld salary.
I do not even understand why the government should allow labour unions to down tools before acting on their demands. Did President Bola Tinubu not direct that university workers that were on prolonged strike in 2022 and their salaries stopped by the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration after the invocation of “No Work, No Pay” policy, should be paid four months of the withheld salaries?
Have members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) not been paid in line with the president’s directive? Why were SSANU, NASU and unions concerned not paid? These bodies issued an ultimatum to the federal government. Why was there no effort to address their grievances within the window period?
It is said that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. So, the government, having paid ASUU, should also endeavour to settle SSANU and NASU so that there shall be no interruption in our academic calendar. We did no wrong by choosing public universities. Government, ASUU, SSANU, NASU and what have you should let us learn in peace and graduate at the record time like our colleagues in private universities, please.
IB Michael,
University of Port Harcourt,
Port Harcourt.
Letters
Obi Should Do More, Discordant Tunes On Minimum Wage, Akpabio’s Unguarded Comment
Obi Should Do More
The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Mr Peter Obi, has continued to voice out his opinion on the happenings in the country. On the budget padding scandal currently rocking the upper chamber of the National Assembly, he has told the Senate to provide Nigerians with some explanations on the matter.
He said the claims and counter-claims over the alleged N3 Trillion which was alleged by Senator Abdul Ningi to have been padded into the 2024 budget, requires proper explanation as to what Nigerians must need to know regarding management of the nation’s, insisting that the suspension of Senator Ningi for three months does not address the issue.
The Labour party chieftain had also expressed his concern over the hunger in the country a few days ago. He raised the alarm that Nigerians were spending all their money on food.
It is commendable of Obi to have stood with the masses at this critical time in the nation’s history and be critical of negative happenings in the country and bad government policies. However, Obi should do more than just criticising. It is said that “a tree cannot make a forest”. Therefore, Obi should galvanise all the law makers both on the national and state levels to tow the same line with him, which should be seen as the position of the Labour Party.
In 2023, there was a revolution in the country. People of all walks of life, of various religions and tribes trouped out in support of the labour party because they believed in Mr Peter Obi. People saw the Labour Party as a needed alternative to the two most populous political parties, PDP and APC. Based on Obi’s personality and popularity, some people who ordinarily would not have won councillorship positions in their communities were elected into state and national assemblies. Many of them won the elections for free, spending no shi shi.
Painfully, after assuming the exalted positions, many of them, especially those in the national assembly seem to have forgotten the masses. It is now business as usual. Among the seven senators and 36 House of Representative members of the Labour Party in the National Assembly, which one of them has moved a strong motion about the hardship currently being faced by the masses and how to address it? How many of them stood by Senator Ningi on the budget padding revelation? What out the exotic cars distributed to them, how many of them advised that they should go for less expensive cars and the excess money channelled into developmental projects? It has become a case of one not talking while on the dining table, right?
Obi should be able to organise his party to form a formidable opposition and a party that does things differently, a party that stands with the people. If the labour party elected political office holders carry on the way they have done since they came into office, they will keep de-marketing their party, forgetting that 2027 is just around the corner.
Ngozi Omeje,
Umuahia, Abia State.
Discordant Tunes On Minimum Wage
I have followed the discussion on the proposed new minimum wage with keen interest and I just hope the leadership of the organised labour will be firm enough to represent the workers and refuse to fall prey to the ploy to disunite them.
It is disheartening seeing workers come up with different amounts as the proposed minimum wage. While the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, demanded that South-West states should pay N794,000 the Trade Union Congress, TUC, asked for N447,000. Similarly, workers in the Federal Capital Territory demanded N709,000, while their counterparts in the North-West clamoured for N485,000.
This idea of singing in discordant tunes is not good for strong unionism. I recall my days as a civil servant in Ibadan, Oyo state. That was during the time of Adams Oshiomhole as the National President of the NLC. The labour union was a force to be reckoned with and whenever the workers barked, the government caught cold. The increase in workers’ wages was fought for as body. There was nothing like federal workers going to the left and the state workers going to the right. Of course then, in 2000, the TUC did not exist as a separate body. The entire workers spoke in unison.
Yes, the states did reserve the right to say whether they can pay the national minimum wage or not but the national body of the NLC was carried along in the negotiation. Please, the NLC and TUC should come together and present a common front in the new minimum wage quest and ensure that workers in the states also get a fair deal. If not, some of the greedy governors will continue to subject the workers to hardship.
Pa Micheal Adeniran,
Rumuogba Housing Estate, Port Harcourt.
Akpabio’s Unguarded Comment
“Today, he’s responding to a remark by the Governor that has nothing to do with him. The opposition is urging the Senate president to be mindful of his utterances. How can he turn the burial of late Access Bank CEO, Herbert Wigwe, wife and first son, such a sad moment, to a political attack?. It’s disappointing. That’s political recklessness taken too far. We, the opposition parties, won’t tolerate such utterances anymore if it continues.”
Above was the response of a member of the House of Representatives and Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, to the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, unguarded remark on Gov. Siminalayi Fubara’s comment during the burial of the late Access Holdings Plc GCEO, Herbert Wigwe, wife and first son last weekend.
It is hoped that Akpabio will heed to the advice and learn how to talk in public. Tracing his character as a public servant and political office holder in various capacities over the years, one would notice that the senate president lacks the act of public speaking and carriage.
Was it not recently that he announced that the clerk of the house had sent money to each of the senators’ personal account for their holiday enjoyment only to be called to other and he changed it to ”In order to allow you to enjoy your holiday, the senate president has sent prayers to your mailboxes to assist you to go on a safe journey and return.” What about the “honourable minister off your mic” shameful display.
Whoever wants to die seeking public/political office should go ahead but leave our dear governor alone.
Loveth Opusunju
Minima, Opobo, Rivers State.
Featured
Fubara Promises Rivers Support For Wigwe Varsity …Cautions Political Class On Power Tussle
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has promised the state government’s commitment to supporting Wigwe University.
Fubara disclosed this on Saturday after the funeral service of the late Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, Herbert Wigwe, in Isiokpo, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
Wigwe, alongside his wife, Doreen, and son, Chizzy, died in a helicopter crash in California near the Nevada border, United States of America.
Also involved in the crash was the Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Abimbola Ogunbanjo.
The governor said, “I want to say our brother has finished his work, though short. We, as a government, will do everything with the Wigwe Foundation to immortalise one thing.
“It is not the bank, the bank might have a new identity, a new boss to run it, other ventures will also have their names; but one thing that has his name is Wigwe University.
“We will do everything within our power to make sure the dream will continue to live just as he has planned it.”
Fubara questioned the mourners as to why they kept chasing worldly desires, stressing the significance of impacting lives rather than struggling for power.
“This one has to do with the political class, what is all these struggle all about? You want to kill, you want to bury, what is it all about?
“This is a man who was not a politician, he made his money through our investments, he had the world in his palm financially, he controlled even the political classes; but today, with all the power financially couldn’t control life. Is it not enough to ask ourselves why are we struggling? Why are we not making an impact on the lives of our people?” he queried.
Dignitaries present at the funeral service include the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; Chairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria , Sanusi Lamido; Governors Alex Otti (Abia) Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), and Babajide Sawwo-Olu (Lagos).
Other dignitaries are former governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Peter Obi (Anambra), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Bukola Saraki (Kwarra), and James Ibori (Delta), among others.
-
Politics3 days ago
LP Petitions SGF Over Alleged Office Vandalism By NLC
-
News3 days ago
Ban On Foreign Trips’ll Save Nigeria N5bn Quarterly -Tinubu
-
Sports1 day ago
Corruption: China Jails FA President For Life
-
Politics1 day ago
EFCC’s Eyes On You, Gov Alia Warns LG CTC Chairmen
-
Oil & Energy3 days ago
Innovation, Key To Sustainable Energy Dev – Stakeholder
-
Sports3 days ago
NWFL:Heartland Queens’ Winger Sure Of Victory Against Abia Angels
-
Breaking News3 days ago
RSG Faults Assembly On Assembly Service Commission Law
-
News1 day ago
NSCDC Uncovers Illegal Refineries In Rivers Forest