News

S’Court Rules On Ekiti Guber Poll, Zamfara APC Dispute, May 24 …Ekiti APC, PDP’s Rift Deepens

Published

7 years ago

May 17, 2019

The Supreme Court yesterday heard and fixed May 24 for judgement on the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate in Ekiti State, Kolapo Olusola-Eleka challenging the election of Governor Kayode Fayemi.
A five-man panel of the apex court which heard the appeal was led by the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad.
The appeal sought to overturn the concurrent judgments of the Ekiti State Election Petition Tribunal and the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal which had both upheld Fayemi’s election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.
The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared Fayemi and APC polled a total of 197,459 votes to defeated Olusola-Eleka and the PDP who placed second with 178,121 votes in the July 14, 2018 election.
Also, the Supreme Court yesterday fixed May 24 for judgment in the appeals relating to the dispute over the validity of the All Progressives Congress’ primary elections which produced the candidates fielded by the party in the last general elections.
The Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad led the five-man panel which heard the appeal yesterday.
There had been two conflicting judgments of the Federal High Court in Abuja and the High Court of Zamfara State on whether or not the party conducted valid primaries in the state.
The Abuja and Sokoto divisions of the Court of Appeal had also delivered conflicting judgments on the matter.
While the Governor Abdulaziz Yari faction which, with the backing of the national leadership of the party, produced the candidates fielded for the elections in the state, had maintained that the party conducted valid primaries in the state, the Senator Kabir Marafa faction claimed otherwise.
Meanwhile,the bourgeoning rift between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) took a worsening dimension, yesterday, as the Ekiti State Government has reverted appointments of over 2,000 workers by immediate governor, Peter Ayodele Fayose after the July, 2018, gubernatorial election.
The decision followed deliberations by the State Executive Council (SEC) on the report of the committee headed by the deputy governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, that reviewed irregular appointments made between 2014 and 2018.
The government said the recruitment exercise violated due process.
It was gathered that the affected 2, 000 workers comprises 600 teachers recruited into the Teaching Service Commission, 400 personnel employed into the State Universal Basic Education Board and 1,000 injected into the system through the Office of Establishment and Training, among others.
Briefing the journalists on the development in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, yesterday, the Commissioner for Information, Tourism and Values Orientation, Mr. Muyiwa Olumilua declared that the appointments were null and void because they were done hurriedly with ulterior motives and in bad faith.
The commissioner disclosed that the governor had directed the Head of Service, Mr Ayodeji Ajayi, to collate all available vacancies in the civil service, with a view to recruiting suitable and qualified Ekiti citizens into the public service, irrespective of religious and political affinities.
Olumilua, however, urged the affected workers to participate in the next recruitment exercise to be announced in due course.
“All appointments made after the Gubernatorial Election of July, 2018, violated due process, are hereby cancelled and declared null and void.
“And all affected workers are advised to participate in the next recruitment exercise to be announced in due course”, Olumilua said.
He added: “The officers reinstated into the Local Government Service Commission between October 16, 2014 and October 15, 2018 are to be reabsorbed by the relevant Personnel Board, and migrated to biometric payroll.
“All 272 officers employed by the Governor Fayose Administration, who are still on manual payroll, shall be considered for absorption into the civil service but on case-by-case basis. Absorption will be conditional on availability of vacancies.
“The 169 officers recruited in 2014 but had their appointments terminated by the Governor Fayose Administration, shall be considered for re-absorption by the Ekiti State House of Assembly Service Commission, But on a case-by-case basis. Re-absorption will be conditional on availability of vacancies in their previous offices of appointment.
“Officers dismissed between October 16, 2014 and October 15, 2018 in the Ministries of Justice, Works and Transport, Environment, SUBEB, Teaching Service Commission, Hospital Management Board should go to the Office of Establishment to ascertain their current status”, he said.
But in a swift reaction, Fayose’s Media Aide, Lere Olayinka described the development as “act of wickedness and extreme degree of political vendetta”.
Olayinka, in a statement, last Wednesday, explained: “Fayemi has only succeeded in writing his name in the history books of Ekiti as one who inflict pains and sorrow on the people.”
He added that; “Fayemi has only demonstrated the wickedness in his heart by sacking Ekiti sons and daughters who were duly employed by the state government.
“It will be on record that the PDP government of Ayodele Fayose gave jobs to over 2,000 unemployed youths in Ekiti while the APC government of Dr Kayode Fayemi sacked them.
“Also, whoever that applauds this show of wickedness will be reminded in future when actions of Fayemi will also be reviewed.
“As for those sons and daughters of Ekiti who have now become victims of Fayemi’s wickedness and political vendetta, they should place their hope in God and enforce their rights to seek redress in the court of law”, he said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Sola Adigun, appealed to government not to use the error and mistake of the past government to mete out punishment on innocent workers.
“This is not a fight, but a plea to the government to allow them to remain in the system. We are going to see Governor Fayemi and Head of Service Ayodeji Ajayi to please stop this recurrent issue of government sacking those employed by their predecessors,” he said.
But in a swift reaction, the Ekiti State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party National New Media Group (PDP-NNMG) has condemned in strong terms, the retrenchment of about 2,000 workers employed into teaching and civil services of the state during the immediate past Peter Ayodele Fayose’s administration.
The group described Governor John Kayode Fayemi’s action as one filled with vile, hate, wickedness and vendetta, adding that the governor must be reminded about the ephemeral nature of power and authority.
It said that it was only a matter of time before the governor’s alleged heinous actions are brought under review since nothing lasts forever.
The group said Ekiti State has never been so divided since its creation, stressing that the seed of discord being allegedly sowed among indigenes of the singular most homogeneous state in Nigeria by the governor be stopped forthwith.
It would be recalled that the Ayo Fayose administration recruited about 2,000 junior and senior workers to fill vacancies in the state government workforce in an exercise advertised long before the July 21 governorship election.
Fayemi, however, in a statement signed, yesterday, by his Chief Press Secretary, Laolu Oyebode, declared the exercise null and void, claiming that the recruitment was done to throw his government off balance.
In a statement released and made available to newsmen, yesterday, Ekiti State Coordinator of the PDP-NNMG, Bola Agboola said the retrenchment was one devilish act too many.
He said, “Governor Fayemi has for the umpteenth time proved his viciousness by pronouncing 2,000 breadwinners hapless and helpless!
“Fayemi is known for attempting to undermine and dwarf his predecessors’ achievements, you would recall this was the same way he scrapped University of Science and Technology, Ifaki which was the hallmark of Engr. Segun Oni’s administration.
“Fayemi would have demolished Fayose’s 1.3km flyover if he had had his way. Today, the Oja Oba that was about 95% completed before Fayose left office in 2018 has been abandoned. In 2010, Fayemi sent packing duly elected local government executive members and counsellors across the 16 LGA of the state, he repeated same in 2018 after rigging his way to the government house a second time.
“It is a known fact that Fayemi was behind the case instituted against Ekiti State Government under former governor Ayo Fayose by landowners in communities where an airport would have been constructed for the state, Fayemi through his aides castigated the construction of the proposed airport but today he’s setting machinery in motion to build one, that’s Fayemi’s kind of person.
“One would have thought that an electoral robber who does not enjoy the support of majority of the citizenry would thread softly with caution, same is not the case for our kinsman whose innate tendency for crass ungodliness, profanity and profligacy will not allow to lead a chorus where he is not wanted”.
Agboola further stated that “there is no gainsaying Dr. Kayode Fayemi represents the very worst of Ekiti people. He is full of hatred for the Ekiti people, very vindictive, callous and deadly. Or what offence did those 2,000 workers he sacked yesterday commit? Must he wait till they have spent 8 months wasting their money and precious time working without salary for the government before telling them to stop?
“Why didn’t he sack them before the presidential and National Assembly elections? Why didn’t he sack them before the state assembly election? Because he knew the hue and cry won’t allow his rigging the elections sail through without challenge? Fayemi is heartless!”
“Ekiti State chapter of the PDP-NNMG hereby call on the 2,000 workers not to despair but to be strong and of good courage as the Pharaoh they see today, they will see no more. We urge you to charge this rogue government of the day to court; the lawyers know what to do.
“Your sack is temporary, keep your letters of appointment in a very safe place, a responsible government is coming and your case shall be revisited, I assure you your employment will be revalidated as this is never the end of your world”, Agboola affirmed.
Also, the Supreme Court, yesterday, fixed May 24 to deliver judgment in two election appeals seeking to ascertain authentic candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Zamfara in the last general elections. Court Oyetola’s victory:
The Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, led other justices to fix the date after counsel to parties adopted their written addresses. Mahammad held that the short date became imperative as it was mandatory to resolve the issues before May 29 in order not to create constitutional crisis in the state.
The APC and Malam Sanusi Dan-Alhaji had instituted the case on the primary election conducted by the party for the nomination of candidates to participate in the last general election. Chief Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Counsel to Dan-Alhaji, while adopting his address, prayed the apex court to restore the February13 judgment of the Zamfara High Court which allowed APC to field candidates in the general election.
Fagbemi submitted that the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Sokoto Division, which disqualified APC from nominating candidate for the election on the grounds that the party did not conduct lawful primary should be set aside.
He further argued that the lower court erred in law, adding that the decision was a miscarriage of justice.
Fagbemi said the APC had shown proof that the party conducted a free and fair primary to elect the candidates that contested the governorship election, the National Assembly and the House of Assembly elections respectively.
However, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, Counsel to Sen. Kabiru Marafa and 142 others, urged the appellate court to dismiss the appeal and affirm the judgment of the Appeal Court. Ozekhome submitted that the judgment was a copious description of how the APC in Zamfara failed to conduct primary election in accordance with the Electoral Act, party guideline and the 1999 Constitution.
He said the process failed both legal and integrity tests, adding that the exercise was not conducted to produce candidates for the last general election as his clients were fenced out. Mr. Tanimu Inuwa, SAN, Counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) aligned himself with the argument canvassed by Ozekhome.
He further explained that the electoral body did not supervised any primary conducted by the party as mandated by law. Inuwa argued that the Court of Appeal in Sokoto was right to have stopped the APC from fielding candidates in the 2019 general election in Zamfara. Inuwa therefore, urged the appellate court to dismiss the appeal for lacking in merit.

News

Military Shake-Up: NAF Redeploys Senior Officers, Appoints New Commanders

Published

3 days ago

November 9, 2026

The Tide

The Nigerian Air Force has approved a major shake-up of its senior leadership, involving fresh appointments and postings across its operational commands, strategic institutions and Defence Headquarters.

The exercise, approved by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke, on November 7, 2026, is aimed at strengthening command effectiveness, enhancing institutional capacity and sustaining operational readiness.

In a statement yesterday, the Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, said the appointments covered Service Headquarters, operational commands, training institutions and other strategic establishments.

The statement partly read, “The NAF has approved a major strategic realignment of its senior leadership through a fresh round of postings and appointments designed to strengthen command effectiveness, enhance institutional capacity and sustain operational readiness in support of national security objectives.

“The exercise, approved by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, on 7 November 2026, takes effect from November 2026.

“The appointments span Service Headquarters, operational commands, Defence Headquarters, training institutions and other strategic establishments, reflecting a deliberate effort to align leadership competencies and professional experience with the Service’s evolving operational and institutional priorities.”

At the NAF Headquarters, Air Vice Marshal AK Ademuwagun was appointed Chief of Transformation and Innovation, while AVM IV Ajiboye became Superintendent of Standards and Evaluation.

Other appointments include AVM PN Amadi as Chief of Air Intelligence; AVM NN Ananaba as Chief of Operations; AVM AH Bakari as Air Provost Marshal; AVM EE Efiom as Chief of Training; and AVM AJ Laoye as Chief of Aircraft Engineering.

The Air Force also appointed AVM NI Ilo as Air Officer Commanding, Tactical Air Command; AVM BR Mamman as AOC, Mobility Command; AVM OS Ogunsina as AOC, Logistics Command; AVM MN Onyebashi as AOC, Special Operations Command; and AVM FCS Nwakara as AOC, Ground Training Command.

At the institutional level, AVM PB Philips was appointed Commandant of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, while AVM MC Ekwueme became Commandant of the Armed Forces Resettlement Centre.

Similarly, AVM AO Akinbunwa was appointed Commandant of the Air Force War College, while AVM OC Ubadike became Commandant of the Air Force Institute of Technology.

Other appointments include AVM AI Sambo as Commandant of the Nigerian Air Force College of Logistics and Management, and AVM M Yusuf as Deputy Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy.

At the Defence Headquarters, AVM UK Abdullahi was appointed Director of Defence Operations, while AVM EOE Ebiowe was posted to the Office of the National Security Adviser as Deputy Coordinator, National Intelligence.

Also, AVM DDG Pwajok was appointed Director of Technical Services at the Defence Intelligence Agency, while AVM I Sani became Deputy Chief of Defence Intelligence.

Other senior officers were posted to various directorates at the Defence Headquarters, including operations, military strategy, cyber operations, civil-military relations, search and rescue, special duties and joint warfare doctrine.

The appointments also affected the Defence Space Administration, where AVM AA Suleh was named Deputy Chief, while AVM OA Oyename and AVM SS Lazarus were appointed Directors of Earth Observation and Launch Vehicles and Space Operations, respectively.

Furthermore, AVM GI Jibia was appointed Deputy Force Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, while AVM JI Ukeh became Commander of the Nigerian Air Defence Corps.

The statement said the exercise was part of efforts to strengthen leadership renewal, institutional accountability and operational effectiveness across the service.

According to the CAS, the professional competence and wealth of experience of the newly appointed officers would advance his command philosophy and strengthen the Air Force’s capacity to deliver decisive airpower effects in support of joint operations and national security objectives.

“All affected officers are expected to assume their new appointments and complete the necessary handover and takeover formalities on or before November 13, 2026,” the statement concluded.

News

SERAP Demands Details Of FG’s N50,000 Relief Payments

Published

3 days ago

November 9, 2026

The Tide

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Federal Government to disclose details of the funding, implementation and administration of its N50,000 National Emergency Relief and Stabilisation Intervention.

The organisation asked the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Dr Bernard Doro, to provide information on beneficiary selection, payments, contracts with digital financial service providers and safeguards against political interference.

SERAP made the demand in a Freedom of Information request dated November 7, 2026, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare.

The request followed the ministry’s October 30 announcement of the NERSI programme, which is intended to provide N50,000 in financial assistance to vulnerable Nigerians.

SERAP said important questions remained unanswered about the programme’s total funding, geographical coverage, duration and the methodology for selecting beneficiaries from the National Social Register and verified national identity records.

It urged the minister to disclose budgetary allocations, funds released and expended, eligibility criteria, beneficiary verification processes and the geographical distribution of recipients.

The organisation also asked the ministry to clarify whether the N50,000 assistance was a one-off payment or a monthly intervention, noting that the ministry’s public statement described it as a monthly payment, while a subsequent frequently asked questions document did not clearly specify the frequency or duration.

In the request, SERAP said, “Nigerians have a right to know how public funds allocated to NERSI are being spent, who is receiving the assistance, how beneficiaries are selected and whether the programme is reaching those most in need.”

The organisation raised concerns about possible political interference in the programme, particularly ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“Publicly funded social assistance must be allocated strictly on the basis of genuine need and objective eligibility criteria. It must not be used to reward political supporters, secure partisan loyalty, finance political mobilisation or influence the electoral choices of vulnerable Nigerians, particularly ahead of the 2027 general elections,” it said.

SERAP further insisted that beneficiaries should not be required to attend political rallies, support candidates or display political materials as a condition for receiving the assistance.

“Beneficiaries must not be required or encouraged to attend political rallies, support political parties or candidates, display political materials or demonstrate political loyalty as a condition for receiving assistance. NERSI is a government programme funded with public resources, not a personal gift or political benefit from any office-holder or political party,” the organisation stated.

It also urged the minister to publicly invite the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to monitor the programme’s implementation and expenditure, investigate allegations of corruption and help ensure that funds reach intended beneficiaries.

SERAP expressed concern over reports that some Nigerians who received notifications of the N50,000 assistance had been unable to access or withdraw the funds, while others reportedly received messages indicating that they were ineligible.

“These reports raise questions about the accuracy of beneficiary verification, the reliability of payment arrangements and the effectiveness of mechanisms for resolving failed or disputed payments,” it said.

The organisation urged the ministry to investigate the complaints, publish its findings and ensure that all eligible beneficiaries received the assistance.

It also asked the government to disclose agreements with the digital financial service providers engaged to administer the payments, including ALAT, MoMo PSB, NairaGram, OPay and Moniepoint.

SERAP requested details of the providers’ roles, fees and performance, as well as information on how beneficiaries’ personal data would be protected.

“The use of the National Social Register and national identity records to identify beneficiaries must be governed by clear rules and appropriate data-protection safeguards. The Ministry should disclose how these records are being used and ensure that beneficiaries’ personal information is protected, while making anonymised and aggregated information available for public scrutiny,” it said.

The group further asked the ministry to publish anonymised information showing the number of beneficiaries and the amounts paid or scheduled for payment in each state and local government area.

It also sought records of any involvement of political actors in beneficiary selection, payments, access to beneficiary databases and the use of public resources to promote the programme.

To strengthen accountability, SERAP cited concerns raised by the Auditor-General of the Federation in the 2024 Annual Report regarding more than N78.8bn in public funds allegedly diverted or unaccounted for in the administration of social intervention and cash transfer programmes.

It also referred to concerns over N33.751bn in cash transfers made in 2023 for which relevant REMITA records and other supporting documents were reportedly not provided for audit.

“These findings underscore the importance of adequate financial controls, proper record-keeping, independent verification and effective oversight from the outset of the new intervention,” SERAP said.

The organisation said the information requested would enable Nigerians to assess whether the programme was reaching eligible beneficiaries and whether public funds were being properly accounted for.

It added, “Disclosure would also strengthen public confidence in social protection programmes and help ensure that resources intended for vulnerable Nigerians are used for their intended purposes.”

SERAP gave the minister seven days from receipt or publication of the letter to provide the requested information and take the proposed measures.

It warned that it would consider legal action to compel the ministry and other relevant authorities to fulfil their constitutional and statutory obligations if they failed to respond within the stipulated period.

News

Tinubu Didn’t Borrow ?120trn In Three Years, Presidency Replies Opposition

Published

3 days ago

November 9, 2026

The Tide

The Presidency has dismissed as misleading claims that President Bola Tinubu borrowed ?120 trillion in just three years while also removing the fuel subsidy.

In a statement posted on X yesterday, Special Assistant to the President on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, described the figures as the product of “Opposition’s propaganda machines.”

He said the claim that 16 past Nigerian leaders borrowed a combined ?46 trillion over 63 years, while Tinubu borrowed ?120 trillion in three years, does not reflect the full picture.

“Opposition’s propaganda machines claim that in 63 years, 16 past Nigerian leaders borrowed ?46 trillion combined, while President Tinubu borrowed ?120 trillion in just 3 years and still removed the fuel subsidy.

“But in reality, the ?46 trillion figure from late 2022 hid ?22.7 trillion in Central Bank ‘Ways and Means’ overdrafts that weren’t officially put on the books until May 2023,” Olusegun stated.

He added that earlier calculations converted foreign debt using an artificial exchange rate of ?448 to $1, when the street value was over ?700.

“When the exchange rate was unified in June 2023, the exact same dollar debt instantly looked ?13.4 trillion larger on paper overnight without a single new dollar being borrowed.”

In actual dollar terms, he said, Nigeria’s public debt rose from $113.4 billion in June 2023 to $120.9 billion by June 2026 — an increase of only $7.5 billion.

On the fuel subsidy, Olusegun noted that its removal had boosted monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee funds shared to states and local governments from ?656 billion in April 2023 to ?2.4 trillion by September 2026.

The claims being rebutted originated from a viral social media graphic that compared cumulative borrowing under previous administrations with the Tinubu government’s record and highlighted the subsidy removal.

Fact-checkers have described the graphic as misleading because the ?46 trillion figure represented outstanding debt at the end of 2022 rather than total borrowing by 16 leaders over 63 years, and because it did not adequately account for exchange-rate effects or the formal recognition of previously off-book obligations.

Nigeria’s total public debt stood at approximately ?87.38 trillion (about $113.4 billion) in June 2023, shortly after Tinubu took office.

By June 2026 it had risen to about ?166.79 trillion ($120.93 billion), according to Debt Management Office figures.

A large part of the naira increase stemmed from the 2023 naira float and the securitisation of Ways and Means advances inherited from the previous administration.

The latest rebuttal comes after Tinubu asked the Senate to approve the implementation of a $7.7bn external borrowing plan to part-finance the 2026 budget deficit.

The request, which translates to about N10.79tn at the budget exchange rate of N1,400 to the dollar, was conveyed in a letter read by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, during Wednesday’s plenary.

The request replaced an earlier approval for $20.52bn and €1.045bn borrowings that the President had asked the Senate and the House of Representatives for a week earlier.

However, opposition parties, including the Nigeria Democratic Congress, criticized the request, citing concerns about the country’s rising debt burden and its implications for future generations.