Politics
Kaduna Central: Nine PDP Witnesses To Testify
Chairman, National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, Justice A.H Suleiman, has fixed Saturday, May 25 to take more witnesses in the petition of Lawal Adamu, Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Kaduna Central Senatorial seat.
Justice Suleiman announced the adjournment after nine witnesses for the petitioners had testified before the Tribunal.
He said the tribunal would on that date also rule on the admissibility or otherwise of the signature specimen provided by Dahiru Umar, one of the nine witnesses that testified before it.
Counsel to the petitioners, Ustas Yunusa Usman (SAN), had applied that Umar’s Signature specimen be also admitted into evidence before the Tribunal.
Usman’s request came following Frank Ikpe, Counsel to the first respondent, Uba Sani, who had put the witness under cross extermination, but declined to tender his signature as evidence before the Tribunal as he did with others.
Ikpe had earlier tendered six other signature specimens taken from other witnesses and were admitted into evidence by the Tribunal.
Recall that Adamu had lost to Uba Sani, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and winner of the Kaduna Central Senate seat in the February 23 general election.
He had filed a petition at the Tribunal, challenging Uba Sani, the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) alleging massive rigging and ballot stuffing during the poll.
Justice Suleman, at the resumed sitting of the tribunal last Saturday, May 18, admitted nine witnesses out of 96 witnesses the Petitioners said they assembled to testify before the Tribunal.
The Petitioners had said the 96 witnesses would testify on how the election was rigged in the six local government areas that made up the Kaduna Central Senatorial district.
The nine witnesses so far taken said they all served as agents of the PDP during the February 23 senatorial election.
They alleged that some members of vigilante service and policemen at Magajin Gari Ward, Birnin Gwari Local Government Area snatched ballot papers from the INEC officials.
They said the security men also snatched seven INEC Card Readers, tumb printed and stuffed the ballot papers into five ballot boxes on the election day.
They, however, told the Tribunal that they had no idea that it was any of 1st, 2nd or 3rd respondents that assigned the security agents and the vigilante groups to stuff the ballot boxes.
Ninty-six witnesses of the Petitioners are expected to testify before the Tribunal within two weeks.
The Senate yesterday received the 2026-2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper from President Bola Tinubu, marking the formal launch of the 2026 federal budget cycle.
In a letter addressed to the upper chamber, Tinubu said the submission complies with statutory requirements and sets out the fiscal parameters that will guide the preparation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
He explained that the MTEF/FSP outlines the macroeconomic assumptions, revenue projections, and spending priorities that will shape Nigeria’s fiscal direction over the next three years.
The letter was read during plenary by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), who urged lawmakers to expedite consideration of the document.
“It is with pleasure that I forward the 2026 to 2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for the kind consideration and approval of the Senate.
“The 2026 to 2028 MTEF and FSP were approved during the Federal Executive Council meeting of December 3, 2025, and the 2026 budget of the Federal Government will be prepared based on the parameters and fiscal assumptions therein,” the President stated.
Last week, the Federal Executive Council approved the fiscal projections, pegging the oil benchmark price at $64.85 per barrel and adopting a budget exchange rate of ?1,512/$1 for 2026—figures expected to significantly shape revenue forecasts and expenditure planning.
After reading the President’s letter, Jibrin referred the document to the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), with a directive to submit its report by Wednesday, December 17.
The Senate adjourned shortly after to allow committees to commence scrutiny of the fiscal framework and continue the ongoing screening of ambassadorial nominees.
Tinubu’s communication to the Senate came less than 24 hours after he transmitted the same MTEF/FSP documents to the leadership of the House of Representatives.
The letter was read on the House floor by the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, who also urged timely legislative action as required by law.
The MTEF and FSP are statutory instruments mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act and serve as the blueprint for Nigeria’s annual budgets.
They outline the government’s fiscal stance, macroeconomic assumptions, revenue frameworks, projected deficits, and sectoral priorities over a three-year period.
The Tide reports that approval by the National Assembly is a prerequisite for the executive to present the Appropriation Bill for the next fiscal year.
In a statement on Saturday, the former Senate Leader stated that the allocation of nominees across states and geopolitical zones falls short of the constitutional requirement for fair representation in the composition of the Federal Government.
The ex-Senate Whip warned that allowing the list to pass could deepen ethnic suspicion at a time when the administration should be consolidating national unity.
He highlighted disparities in the spread of nominees, noting that while some states have three or four slots, others have none. He also cited the inclusion of Senator Adamu Garba Talba from Yobe, who reportedly died in July.
“The entire North-East states have seven nominees in the list. Further checks revealed that the South-West geo-political zone has 15 nominees, while North-West and South-East have 13 and 9, respectively.
“North-Central region has 10 nominees in the list of career and non-career ambassadorial nominee while South-South parades 12 nominees,” Senator Ndume said.
According to him, such imbalances could heighten tensions and undermine Section 14(3) of the Constitution.
“My sincere appeal to President Tinubu is to withdraw this list. At this critical juncture in his administration, he should avoid missteps that could undermine national unity and foster ethnic distrust.
“I know him to be a cosmopolitan leader who is at home with every segment and stakeholder in the country. He should withdraw that list and present a fresh set of nominees that will align with the spirit of the Constitution on the Federal Character Principle,” Senator Ndume added.
He accused the legislators of undermining the sanctity of the legislature and acting as instruments of destabilization.
“The members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have, by their actions since they assumed office, shown that they are political puppets and a clog in the wheels of democratic progress,” Comrade Ememobong stated, adding that “They will go down in history as enemies of democracy and those who made mockery of the legislature.”
“So the easiest way to describe their action is a defection from APC to APC,” he said.
Comrade Ememobong announced that the party would deploy constitutional provisions to reclaim its mandate from those who have “ignobly and surreptitiously” abandoned the platform on which they were elected.
“Consequently, the PDP will take legal steps to activate the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) to recover the mandate gained under the banner of our party which these people have now switched to another platform,” he said.
He urged party members in Rivers State to remain calm and steadfast.
“We urge all party members in Rivers State to remain faithful and resolute, as efforts are underway to rebuild the party along the path of inclusiveness, fairness and equity,” Comrade Ememobong assured.
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