Politics

Imo Governorship: Agbaso Waits On The Doorsteps Of Justice

Published

17 years ago

November 30, 2009

Slowly and steadily, Martin Agbaso, the Imo State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) is inching his way to the state house after nearly three years of legal contention arising from the way and manner the 2007 governorship election in the state was mishandled to produce a pre-determined result. It is true that there was virtually nothing to write home about the entire farce that was passed as the 2007 election but the manner it was manipulated in Imo State to produce the present occupant of the state governorship stool stands out.

The contradictions in the decision to void the election of Martin Agbaso on the contentious ground that it was marred with violence while upholding a state assembly election cast in the one and same ballot had gone to show another version of the general atrophy that was visited on the Imo governorship election in 2007. This singular faux pas will certainly point the way to the fact that there was more selfish and ulterior consideration in the decision to nullify an election that had been concluded than the flimsy one proffered by the Maurice Iwu led INEC.

The last nail was driven into the attempt by INEC and the Ohakim government to ward off the Agbaso challenge by the Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously on September 29th that it was wrong for the two parties to attempt to prevent Agbaso from demanding justice in a glaring case that will go a long way to define the sanctity of the electoral system in Nigeria. The court was unequivocal that the arguments Ohakim and INEC have been proffering on why Agbaso should not press for the validation of his mandate are trite and meaningless and it saw the clear effort on the sides of the two parties to waste time and ensure that even when Agbaso gets justice, such will amount to a pyrrhic victory because Ohakim would have succeeded in illegally exercising his mandate. I believe it was such concern on the side of the legal team of Agbaso that made the Supreme Court to counsel Agbaso to exercise patience since his mandate will start counting from the day he is sworn in ifhe wins his case. This was made on the 23rd June 2009, when his counsels, apparently feeling uncomfortable with the more than five months adjournment of the case Ohakim instituted at the Supreme Court to question the jurisdiction of the Appeal Court to hear Agbaso’ s case, sought an accelerated hearing of the case.

With the dismissal of the Ohakim case by the Supreme Court and the ordering for an accelerated hearing at the Appeal Court, it is obvious to INEC and Ohakim that the game is at the finishing ends. There is no better way to show this than at the Appeal Court, at the resumed hearing when the counsels for both teams were reciting trite and mute issues that have become boring fairy tales, even to their own ears. The point is clear and concise. Could INEC graciously locate where it secured the power to cancel an election that had been concluded? It is that simple and clear! Pressed further, one would go to question how violence (some say, Iwu-induced tsunami) made a clean choice of one of the two ballot papers cast in the same ballot box. If we care to go further, could INEC locate these hair-raising cases of violence, where they occurred and who and who caused them? At least, these are parts of the processes of electoral conduct.

Truth is that INEC is peddling a cock-and-bull story to justify an obvious illegality. There was indeed an election in Imo State on April 14,2007. There was no significant case of violence in any part ofImo State. Martin Agbaso was the undisputed winner in the results collated in over 95 per cent of the state and was waiting to be declared winner. Somehow, Iwu felt that his fellow Mbano man should be the governor and made this plea to Obasanjo and he was granted his request. Pronto, an election that was almost concluded, was aborted in the same manner as the June 12 annulment-a case the late ChiefMKO Abiola aptly captured as aborting a baby that was already born. Iwu now reached to his kinsman, Ikedi Ohakim and a sham process that never took place in over 80 per cent of the state was organized. The results must have been concluded before the mockery of a process even started and with no poster, no campaign office and no supporters, Ikedi Ohakim became governor. He rewarded Iwu by making his brother the Secretary to Government, his daughter an Adviser and his in-law, a Special Assistant to Ohakim! Faced with the collapse of the weak and untenable argument of violence and the sparse reasoning that Agbaso forfeited his right ask for his mandate by allegedly contesting in the purported election of April 28 (apologies to the Court of Appeal), INEC and Ohakim are grasping on straws for survival. But it is clear that their survival in this case would be impugning the electoral process by granting INEC with powers the constitution never allows it. While the argument about violence has seemingly collapsed, the one of participating in what is obviously an illegal concoction on April 28 is hollower. The case that has progressed so far to the Appeal Court was instituted at an Abuja High Court on April 18, which not only predates the April 28 purported election but also Ohakim’ s wild fantasy that he would ever be governor and not the has-run, which clearly was his intent in joining the Imo governorship race.

There is this whistle acknowledgment among Ohakim’s men and INEC itself that Ohakim will not survive the present legal onslaught and is therefore, working for alternative options. Apart from allegedly ferrying some choreographed so-called Imo elders to Abuja to be President Yar’ Adua to intervene in the case and save him and practically adopting the Sultan of Sokoto as his father, in the hope the he would intervene in his favour, he is putting his eggs in several baskets. There is this speculation that INEC and Ohakim are hoping that the Appeal Court, in its expected judgment will force the issue to a stalemate. This they hope will obtain in the court ordering INEC to officially release the results of the April 14 election. There is this muted idea that if that is the case, INEC will manufacture a fresh result that will favour Ohakim who practically did not contest the April 18 election! A real wild card indeed! Questioning the validity of the results tendered by Agbaso on the grounds that they had not been officially declared by INEC does not remove anything from the validity of the results. The questioning is akin to the contention of the pro-June 12 annulment school that Abiola was not the winner of the June 12 election because the electoral body at that time didn’t get to officially announce them. Mere academic exercise that does not affect the validity of the results as collated up to the states and in the case of Agbaso, up to the local governments.

While one may not put anything behind the kind of thinking that brought the Ohakim mandate and has so far sustained it, one should point out that such an attempt will not only fall flat but will further expose the dubiety in INEe. Election results for the governorship are collated at the polling booths, wards, local governments and at the state levels. The results are merely formally declared at the state level and any candidate can simply get his results from all his agents in all the wards. The declaration sought from INEC is merely formal and contrary to their thinking, INEC is not the only institution that can have the results so it will not only be foolhardy to resort to such tactics if eventually the Appeal or Supreme Court orders INEC to release the results of the April 14 election. But we believe that the Appeal or Supreme Court can easily avoid this mischief by giving an explicit ruling based on the results which have made available at the court since the court started and which before now, have not been contradicted by either! NEC or Ohakim. This is after it had established that! NEC acted beyond its known powers by annulling an election that has been virtually concluded and merely awaiting its official endorsement.

As it is now, the thick pall of media hustlers in Ohakim’s payroll, hiding under various pseudonyms, are running amok in the media, trying to be judges in a case where their argument has virtually collapsed. They are repeating the old, tiring tunes that have been discarded at the courts and they want the Appeal Court to invest INEC with strange powers to call their whims into play in elections and announce results as they deem fit. All these are tailored towards ensuring that Ohakim survives a clearly impending rustication. One believes that the judges that sit at the Appeal Court are not fools that could be confused by paid media hirelings to approve an illegality that will certainly worsen the corruption-ridden electoral system we have in Nigeria today.

Everything points to the fact that Agbaso stands at the very doorsteps of victory and every eye is turned to the Appeal Court as Nigerians await its judgment on the lmo governorship election.

Nwahiri wrote in from Mushin, Lagos.

Stephen Nwahiri

Politics

Senate Defends Passage Of State Police Bill

Published

2 days ago

June 29, 2026

The Tide

The Senate has defended the passage of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (State Police) Bill, 2026, saying the proposed creation of state police is driven by national consensus and the country’s security needs rather than political considerations.

The Red Chamber passed the bill last Wednesday after more than two-thirds of senators voted in support.

In a statement issued yesterday by the Directorate of Media and Public Affairs, Office of the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele described the bill as “a child of necessity and not of political expediency as well as a product of national consensus and not of cynicism.”

The senate leader said the proposal to establish state police was a matter of urgent public importance that could not be delayed because of political interests, given the country’s security challenges.

He explained that the proposal did not originate recently but emerged from memoranda submitted to the Senate Ad-hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution.

According to him, the proposal underwent extensive consultations and rigorous scrutiny because of its sensitive nature.

Bamidele said the National Assembly consulted widely with the Executive, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures of Nigeria, the leadership of the Nigeria Police and other stakeholders before passing the bill.

He added that during the public hearings conducted across the six geopolitical zones in July 2025, participants overwhelmingly supported the creation of state police.

“At each level of our consultation, nearly all stakeholders embraced the State Police Bill in the light of stark realities we are facing today,” he said.

The Senate leader noted that recommendations from the Nigeria Police contributed to the bill, particularly on accountability and oversight mechanisms aimed at preventing abuse of state police by political actors.

According to him, the police’s support for the proposal underscores its national significance in tackling insecurity at the state and local levels.

Bamidele also said the bill received broad bipartisan backing in both chambers of the National Assembly.

“Even though the APC is the majority, there are members of opposition parties — PDP, ADC, NDC and Labour Party — that exercised their discretion in favour of the Bill, mainly in the national interest and not on parochial basis.

“In the Senate, for instance, 84 out of 109 members voted clause by clause in support of the Bill. This accounted for 77.06 per cent approval at the Senate alone,” he said.

He argued that national security should transcend political affiliations, saying political actors in other countries often set aside partisan interests to support initiatives that strengthen security.

Bamidele called on opposition parties to contribute constructive ideas that would promote peace and stability, adding that they have a responsibility to offer alternatives that would strengthen the country.

“Even when they disagree on some grounds, they are under obligations to provide credible and useful ideas that can make our nation better and greater. Unfortunately, they have not passed this critical test of opposition democracy,” he said.

News

Probe N6.3bn Constituency Funds Or Face Legal Action, SERAP Tells Akpabio, Abbas

Published

2 days ago

June 29, 2026

The Tide

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, to refer allegations of the diversion or non-accounting of over ?6.3 billion in constituency project funds to anti-corruption agencies for investigation and possible prosecution.

The group also urged the National Assembly leadership to ensure that anyone found culpable is prosecuted where sufficient admissible evidence exists, while all diverted or unaccounted public funds are recovered and paid into the treasury.

In a letter dated June 27, 2026, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP said the allegations were contained in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2022 Annual Report, published on September 9, 2025.

The organisation disclosed this in a statement signed and released by Oluwadare, yesterday.

SERAP also asked Akpabio and Abbas to disclose the identities of contractors and companies, including their shareholders and beneficial owners, that allegedly received constituency project funds but failed to execute the projects.

It gave the National Assembly seven days to act on its recommendations, warning that it would institute legal proceedings should the legislature fail to respond.

“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and the National Assembly to comply with our request in the public interest,” the letter stated.

It said, “The allegations involve several federal ministries, departments and agencies, including the Environmental Health Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON); the Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Volm; the Federal Polytechnic, Udana; the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP); and the National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS).

“The Auditor-General identified numerous cases of payments into private bank accounts, contracts awarded without due process, payments for contracts not executed or services not rendered, undocumented expenditures, inflated contracts, procurement irregularities and failures to account for public funds, recommending in each case that the funds be recovered and remitted to the treasury.

“According to the 2022 audited report, contained in pages 367 to 396, the Environmental Health Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON or Council) Abuja paid over ‘N22 million [N22,944,565.16] into the private account of some members of staff of the Council from the Constituency Projects Fund Account.

“There ‘was no evidence of the utilization of the funds and no explanations on the purpose for the payment of such amount into the individual accounts.”

SERAP added, “The Council (EHORECON) also in 2021 ‘awarded suspicious consultancy contracts of over N12 million [N12,030,818.29] for the development of Modern Abattoirs in Kebbi State and the supervision of 7 projects in Kebbi, Jigawa, and Headquarters Abuja.

“The money was to ‘produce bills of quantity, architectural design, structural design, mechanical design, and electrical designs for the contracts and supervision.’ But ‘the ‘items could not be found.’”

Altogether, SERAP said the Auditor-General’s 2022 report alleged EHORECON paid more than ?1.8 billion in constituency project funds through questionable transactions.

For the Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Vom, SERAP said the institution “in 2022 reportedly ‘paid over N279 million [N279,700,500.00] to 3 contractors to empower and train youths in selected vocational areas in Borgu and Kontagora, Niger State, train women and youths in entrepreneurship in Niger East Senatorial District and to train youths and women in agro production and self-reliance in Barki Ladi/Riyom Federal Constituency, Plateau State.

“But the money was paid to the contractors without any document.’”

Other irregularities involving the college include another ?279.7 million in mobilisation fees allegedly paid without documentation, and more than ?629.4 million paid to unqualified contractors for various constituency projects without evidence of due process, contract advertisements or details of the contractors.

SERAP further alleged that the Auditor-General’s report identified multiple financial irregularities involving the Federal Polytechnic, Ukana, Akwa Ibom State, including over ?407 million allegedly paid as mobilisation fees without supporting documents, more than ?399 million paid to unqualified contractors, contracts allegedly inflated by over ?192 million, over ?279 million paid for projects not fully executed, ?50 million allegedly paid for an unexecuted borehole project, and more than ?83 million disbursed without the required documentation or approvals.

It also alleged that NAPTIP reportedly irregularly awarded contracts worth over ?21.8 million, paid more than ?176.8 million for logistics and consultancy services without supporting documents, and disbursed over ?89.6 million and ?4.4 million for projects that were allegedly not executed.

The report also alleged that NILDS failed to submit audited financial statements for 2012 to 2022, did not remit over ?15 million in stamp duties, and spent ?1.6 million without authorisation from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.

SERAP said the report recommended the recovery of the affected funds and their remittance to the treasury.

It argued that corruption in constituency projects disproportionately affects poor and vulnerable Nigerians by diverting resources meant for public services and development.

It added that the National Assembly, in exercising its oversight responsibilities, should demonstrate leadership by ensuring accountability in the management of constituency project funds.

The organisation further argued that the allegations, if established, would amount to breaches of the Constitution, the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and the Public Procurement Act 2007, which require transparency, accountability and due process in the management of public resources.

Politics

Parties’ Deregistration: How Justice Lifu Overruled Appeal Court Justices

Published

2 weeks ago

June 17, 2026

The Tide

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday brushed aside the order of the Court of Appeal in Abuja which ordered him to stay proceedings in a suit that sought deregistration of the African Democratic Party (ADC), Accord Party and three others.
The Court of Appeal in a unanimous decision of a panel of three Justices had on May 22, 2026 directed the Federal High Court Judge not to proceed with the suit until an appeal pending before them and filed by Accord Party is resolved.
In a Certified True Copy Enrol Order of the Superior Court, Justices Mohammed Danjuma, Adebukola Banjoko and Oyejoju Oyewumi asked the lower Court Judge to stay proceedings until all issues on the appeal filed by the Accord Party were resolved
Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State had, through the Accord Party, applied to justice Lifu to join him as a defendant in the deregistration legal battle instituted by a group of former legislators.
The contention of the Osun State governor was that he had a stake in the Accord Party, being the platform he was seeking re-election in the August 15 gubernatorial poll in the state.
In his ruling, Justice Lifu on April 27 ruled against the Osun State governor, rejecting his request to be joined in the suit to defend his own position and interest.
Not satisfied with the Federal High Court decision, the Osun State governor, through his lawyer, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), moved to the Court of Appeal in Abuja where he challenged the Justice Lifu decision to refuse to allow him join the suit.
After listening to the argument canvassed, especially that he has interest to protect as Accord Party gubernatorial candidate for Osun State governorship election, the three Justices of the Court of Appeal, unanimously directed Justice Lifu to allow them look into the grievances of the governor.
In specific terms, the Court of Appeal Justices directed Justice Lifu not to proceed further with the matter and fixed October 27 to determine the interlocutory appeal of the appellant.
However, when the certified enroll order and notice of appeal were served on Justice Peter Lifu by Mr Adetunbi (SAN), the judge rejected it on the ground that it was a ploy to arrest his judgment in the matter.
Although the judge had adjourned his judgment delivery in the matter indefinitely, he finally made a dramatic turn around on Monday and proceeded to deliver the judgment that has now proscribed the five political parties.