News
Imo: PDP Seeks S’Court’s Reversal Of Verdict
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has knocked the panel of Supreme Court justices that delivered judgment in the Imo State governorship election.
The party asked for a review and reversal of the judgment and called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad to step down.
At a media conference, yesterday, addressed by the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, the party asked the six other justices that delivered judgment on the Imo case to recuse themselves from the remaining election petition cases pending before the apex court.
Other governorship election petition cases pending before the apex court and in which the PDP is involved, are those of Sokoto, Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Plateau and Kano states.
Describing the verdict in the Imo case as recipe for crisis, Secondus said the judgement was a miscarriage of justice and a coup against the PDP and the people of Imo State.
The party chairman said, “That the Supreme Court, as presently constituted under Justice Mohammed Tanko, has become heavily compromised; lost its credibility and is now annexed to execute ignoble agenda of the APC-led Federal Government against the Nigerian people.
“That the judgment of the Supreme Court voiding the lawful election of Hon. Emeka Ihedioha (who scored 276,404 votes) and awarding fictitious votes to declare Hope Uzodimma of the APC, who scored 96, 458 votes as governor of Imo State, is highly irrational, unfounded, a provocative product of executive manipulation and a recipe for crisis, which should not be allowed to stand.
“With the verdict, the Supreme Court executed a coup against the PDP and the people of Imo State as well as other Nigerians, and such must not be allowed to have a place in our democracy”.
Querying the validity of the judgment, the party pointed out that the 127,209 votes added to the votes of the APC candidate, Hope Uzodinma by the apex court could not be justified.
Secondus said the added votes to the APC candidate shot the total votes cast at the election above the number of accredited voters, as contained in the record of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to him, while the INEC figure of accredited voters stood at 823,743, the apex court, through its judgment, shot the number to 950,952, which the party said was in excess of accredited voters in the election.
The party also queried the allotment of the entire votes in the disputed 388 polling units, saying that going by INEC records, election did not take place in those polling units as a result of violence and other disruptive activities on Election Day.
“The so-called results from the 388 polling units were rightfully rejected, in line with several decisions of the Supreme Court, by the Tribunal and Court of Appeal as it was merely dumped on the tribunal in a Ghana Must Go bag, by a policeman who had no mandate of the police to testify at the tribunal.
“The tribunal did not even open the Ghana Must Go bags as there was no basis to do so. It is one of the great wonders of the world how the Supreme Court opened the bag, counted the results and added them to only the APC candidate.
“What is more perplexing is the fact that INEC produced a schedule of reasons why results were not produced from the 388 units.
“Indeed, election did not even take place in most of the units for one reason or another, like violence, etc, and so, no result could possibly be obtained from those units. The results were not merely rejected or cancelled by INEC.
“None of the candidates or their counsel, except perhaps APC, as we speak, are aware of the number of votes scored by each party from the 388 polling units. The Tribunal or Court of Appeal did not mention or ascribe any figure from the units to any party in their decisions.
“In fact, in the cross examination of the APC candidate, Sen. Hope Uzodinma, he could not read any figure from the ‘Oluwole’ results. He said that the figures were not clear. And so it beats our imagination where the Supreme Court conjured and manufactured the figures it used in declaring Uzodinma/APC as duly elected”, Secondus added.
The party raised questions as to the propriety of the apex court to formulate and allocate votes as election results where such votes were not certified by INEC as required by law.
Knocking the apex court further, Secondus said, “The fact is that, the Supreme Court, as presently constituted under Justice Tanko, has lost its credibility and no longer commands the respect and confidence of Nigerians.
“If the people no longer repose confidence in the Supreme Court, then our democracy, national cohesion and stability are at great risk.
“The constitution of the panel that heard the appeal itself was a product of drama. The panel was changed three times and any judge that showed signs of not agreeing to murder democracy, in this case, was promptly removed by the CJN.
The result had to be unanimous to satisfy the script of rationality.
“But can any judge who sat on that panel go home and sleep well? Can any judge who sat on that panel face his Creator and swear that impartial justice was done? We think not.
“We had intelligence before the verdict on the Imo governorship that the hierarchy of APC had decided that they must use the Supreme Court to capture the states won and controlled by the PDP such as Imo, Sokoto, Bauchi, Adamawa and Benue.
“Can the PDP rightly trust the impartiality and independence of the panel headed by Justice Tanko Mohammed, the CJN, to adjudicate on the remaining cases involving the PDP like Kano, Sokoto, Benue, Bauchi, Adamawa, Plateau and others?
“Is the same fate awaiting the governors of these states that are controlled by the PDP and other states like Kano where the PDP clearly won and was robbed?
“Should Justice Tanko Mohammed and his colleagues on the Imo Governorship Panel not recuse themselves from the remaining cases involving PDP?
“The PDP firmly holds that if the flawed judgment of the Supreme Court on Imo governorship election is allowed to stand, it would be a recipe for anarchy, chaos and constitutional crisis not only in Imo state but in the entire country.
“Our party has it in good authority that Justice Tanko and his panel are working on instruction from certain forces in the Presidency to use the Supreme Court to take over states lawfully won by the PDP and award them to the APC.
“The PDP, therefore, advises Justice Tanko not to allow himself to be used to push our nation to the path of anarchy and constitutional crisis as any further attempt to subvert justice in the pending petitions on Sokoto, Bauchi, Benue, Adamawa as well as Kano and Plateau states will be firmly and vehemently resisted.
“In other to avoid an imminent breakdown of law and order, the PDP demands that Justice Tanko Mohammed immediately steps down as CJN and chairman of the National Judicial Council as Nigerians have lost confidence in him and a Supreme Court under his leadership.
“Justice Tanko must not head the panel to determine the remaining election petitions before the Supreme Court”, the PDP added.
Rivers State Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Odu, has called for renewed commitment, transparency, and collaboration among stakeholders in the health sector in the State.
The deputy governor particularly urged synergy between the Rivers State Contributory Health Protection Programme (RIVCHPP) and the Primary Health Care Management Board towards improved healthcare delivery in the State.
?Prof. Odu made this call during the 2026 First Quarter Review Meeting of the Task Force on Primary Health Care at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Wednesday.
?She stressed the importance of honesty and urged all parties to be truthful and open in addressing challenges within the system.
?According to her, transparency remains critical to identifying and resolving underlying issues affecting healthcare delivery, noting that “if we are not truthful, we will not cure the disease, but merely cover it up.”
The deputy governor recounted a personal experience at a Primary Health Center where a patient, despite being duly registered under the RIVCIPP scheme with completed biometric capture, was still asked to make payment for services.
According to her, intervention by relevant authorities later confirmed the patient’s eligibility, exposing a communication gap between the scheme and healthcare providers.
Odu warned that such incidents could discourage community members from enrolling in the scheme, thereby undermining its objectives.
“When this happens, we are disenfranchising our people. The message that goes back to the community is that even when you register, you are still made to pay,” she stressed.
?While commending the leadership and staff of the Primary Health Care Management Board, Ministry of Health, Development Partners as well as other supporting units, for their efforts, ty deputy governor stressed that performance should not lead to complacency.
She urged stakeholders to continuously strive for improvement, raise standards, and leave lasting positive impacts within the system.
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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has announced the opening of examination slip printing for candidates registered for the 2026 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
JAMB made the announcement yesterday, urging candidates to visit its website to download their slips ahead of the examination.
“Examination Slip Printing is now available. The slip contains details of the venue, date and time of your examination and gives you access to the examination hall,” the board said.
Candidates are to visit jamb.gov.ng and click on “2026 Slip Printing” to print their slips.
The development comes after JAMB dismissed a viral press release falsely claiming the examination had been postponed.
The board described the notice as “malicious and fake” and urged candidates to disregard it.
The 2026 UTME is scheduled to hold from Thursday, April 16, to Saturday, April 25, 2026.
The examination follows a mock test conducted on Saturday, March 28, which recorded technical difficulties at some Computer-Based Test centres.
Of the 224,597 candidates who registered for the mock, 152,586 sat for the test across 989 CBT centres nationwide.
JAMB said over 20 centres were delisted for technical inadequacies.
The board also warned candidates against fraudsters on WhatsApp claiming to facilitate score inflation, describing such claims as “false and criminal”, and threatening cancellation of registration or withholding of results for any candidate found involved.
Over two million candidates, according to JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, registered for this year’s UTME.
News
RSU Unveils Five-Year Strategic Dev Plan …Calls For Collective Commitment To Institutional Excellence
In a decisive step towards redefining its future, the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, has formally unveiled its Third Five-Year (2026-2030) Strategic Development Plan.
The development plan is a comprehensive roadmap designed to strengthen the university’s position as a leading institution in Nigeria and beyond.
The unveiling took place during a high-level engagement with the Governing Council, Principal Officers and the university congregation, at the Convocation Arena, recently.
Delivering his remarks at the unveiling ceremony, the Pro-Chancellor of the university and Chairman of Council, Hon. Okey Wali, SAN, charged all members of the university community to align their activities with the strategic direction of the institution, emphasizing that the success of the plan depends on collective commitment.
He noted that the plan is not merely a document, but a working framework that requires discipline, accountability and unity of purpose.
According to the Pro-Chancellor, only through coordinated efforts from all stakeholders can the university fully realize its vision.
“I hereby invite the Visitor to the University, donor agencies, friends and well-wishers, and all stakeholders to support and fund the implementation of this strategic plan. We are confident that this plan will take RSU to greater heights in the comity of higher institutions,” he said.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, described the Strategic Development Plan as a document that would enhance the university’s corporate strengths, mitigate current weaknesses, leverage its corporate opportunities and address perceived existential threats.
“This Five-Year Strategic Plan sets out RSU’s goals, strategic objectives, expected outcomes and impact, including intervention strategies,” he said.
On his part, the Chairman of the Strategic Development Planning Committee, Prof. Emeritus Joseph A. Ajienka, noted that the 2026-2030 Strategic Development Plan represents a bold reaffirmation of the university’s founding ideals of excellence, creativity, innovation and inclusivity, aimed at positioning the institution to respond effectively to contemporary challenges in higher education.
Prof. Ajienka, who is also a member of the Governing Council, disclosed that the plan was developed through an extensive and inclusive consultative process, which he said reflects contributions from Faculties, Departments, Satellite Campuses and Administrative Units.
At its core, the plan seeks to advance the university’s vision of becoming a “unique and uncommon” institution that is structurally and philosophically oriented towards solving practical societal problems and ranking among the top ten universities in Nigeria.
The strategic framework identifies six key challenges confronting the university, including funding constraints, infrastructure deficits, limited research collaboration, and service delivery inefficiencies.
A statement by the university’s Acting Director, Corporate Affairs, Victor G. Banigo, further stated that the university has articulated four broad strategic goals supported by eight targeted objectives.
A central priority of the plan, according to him, is the strengthening of governance and administrative systems, alongside deliberate efforts to expand the university’s funding base. Others include enhanced alumni engagement, strategic partnerships and innovative fundraising initiatives aimed at ensuring long-term financial sustainability.
“Equally significant is the commitment to upgrading physical infrastructure across all campuses. Plans are underway to modernize lecture halls and laboratories, expand student accommodation, improve campus security and deploy advanced ICT systems to support teaching, learning and research.
“Recognizing that human capital is the backbone of institutional success, the university has placed strong emphasis on staff development, recruitment and productivity enhancement. Through targeted training programmes, mentorship initiatives and performance management systems, the plan aims to foster a highly skilled and motivated workforce.
“In addition, the university is poised to deepen its focus on research, innovation and entrepreneurship. By reviewing academic curricula, strengthening industry partnerships and establishing innovation incubation centers, Rivers State University seeks to translate research outputs into practical solutions that address societal needs and drive economic growth,” he said.
The PRO disclosed that the implementation of the strategic plan is projected at ?110 billion, reflecting the scale of transformation envisioned.
“While the university is committed to funding a significant portion internally, additional resources will be mobilized through government support, donor agencies, alumni contributions, and public-private partnerships.
“This multi-channel funding strategy aligns with the university’s broader goal of building a resilient and self-sustaining financial model capable of supporting long-term development,” he explained.
To ensure effective implementation, he said, “the plan incorporates a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation framework, complete with performance and impact indicators. A mid-term review is scheduled within the first two years to assess progress and make necessary adjustments.
“Furthermore, the establishment of a dedicated Strategic Planning Office will provide oversight, coordination and accountability in executing the plan across all units of the university.”
According to the statement, “As the university embarks on this transformative journey, the message from leadership is clear: the Strategic Development Plan is a collective mandate.
“For staff, students, alumni and stakeholders, it represents an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the growth and advancement of the institution. For the university, it is a pathway to consolidating its legacy while embracing innovation and global relevance.
“With a clear vision, defined priorities and a united community, Rivers State University stands poised to translate this strategic blueprint into measurable progress, advancing knowledge, empowering people and shaping the future of higher education in Nigeria.”
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