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10th NASS: NNPP Senator-Elect, CSO Warn Tinubu Against Interference

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As the race to who occupies Presiding Offices in the 10th National Assembly hots up, President Bola Tinubu has been warned against playing into the hands of undemocratic external forces at play.
Kano South Senator-elect on the platform of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Abdulrahman Suleiman Kawu Sumaila, while briefing members of the Senate Press Corps (SPC) on Monday at the National Assembly complex, said the election of presiding officers in both chambers of the National Assembly is the business of 109 Senators-elect and 360 Members-elect in the House of Representatives, wondering why there should be external interference against international best practice.
“It is, therefore, clear that, the election of these Presiding Officers is purely an internal affair that concerns only members of the National Assembly and, therefore, they should be allowed to decide who among them would occupy the positions in order to avoid repetition of the past mistakes – we may all recall the incidences of the 7th and 8th National Assembly.
“In my view, external interference in the election of the next Presiding Officers of the National Assembly would not only violate the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and Standing Orders of both the Senate and House of Representatives, but would also cause a serious misunderstanding between the Legislative and Executive Arms of government.
“Available information reveals that some desperate politicians are planning to use undemocratic means to impose Lawmakers-elect of their choice to become Presiding Officers against the wishes of the majority. This move is undemocratic, unacceptable and dangerous to our democracy as well as the nation as a whole,” Sumaila stated.
The Kano South Senator-elect and former presidential aide on National Assembly Matters, however, boasted that Zamfara West Senator-elect, Abdul’aziz Abubakar Yari, will emerge the next Senate President.
Also, at a different world press conference in Abuja on Monday, a civil society organisation, Coalition of Good Governance Network (C2G-Network) raised the alarm over actions that may scuttle the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly slated for June 13, 2023.
The CSO, therefore, urged President Tinubu not to dance to the tunes of desperate politicians and lawmakers-elect, who may want their opponents to be harassed or intimidated out of the race to the 10th National Assembly presiding offices for their own undue advantage.
They urged Tinubu to issue the Proclamation Letter for the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly at the right time in order to avoid unnecessary delay for selfish political motive.
The convener, C2G-Network, Comrade Remi Adebayo, flanked by other members of the group, said: “We are confident that having himself emerged through a process enabled by the wishes and desires of majority of Nigerians, who freely exercised their franchise through the ballot, President Tinubu should not toy with despotic tendencies that will foist leaders on the Legislative Arm of government against the spirit and letter of principle of separations of powers as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“The President must resist antics and desperation from interested parties or so-called anointed candidates to subsequently heat up the polity by dancing to the tunes of people who want their opponents arrested, harassed or prevented from accessing the hallowed chambers of the National Assembly on Tuesday, June 13,
“The C2G-Network strongly align with lawful and democratic processes for the next Presiding Officers of the National Assembly to be elected, without resorting to intimidation or harassment of those seeking leadership positions or their supporters based on their democratic alignments or choices.
“This will better define our Nation’s robust legislative virtues, when eligible lawmakers are allowed to exercise their rights as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Standing Rules of both chambers.
“President Tinubu with his rich democratic record evident through his fight against military dictatorships and totalitarian leadership in the past, is expected to draw from the wealth of these virtues to guarantee that the 10th National Assembly is inaugurated amid peaceful, rancour-free, lawful atmosphere that does no harm to our democracy or diminish the President’s democratic stature in the eye of the public.”

 

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Sokoto Guber: PDP Loses At Tribunal

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The Sokoto Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has affirmed the election of Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto as the duly elected governor of the state.
The three-man panel led by Justice Haruna Msheila in its ruling dismissed the petition of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and its candidate, Saidu Umar challenging the victory of the APC and its candidate, Ahmad Aliyu in the March governorship election.
In a unanimous judgment, the Tribunal Chairman, Justice Haruna Mshelia, said the Petitioners were unable to prove the six grounds formulated in the petition.
He said the grounds bordered on alleged ineligibility for Aliyu and Gobir to contest, falsification of certificates, variation of names, election frauds and non-compliance with electoral guidelines.
Msheila said the petitioners were unable to prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt as required by law, saying 70 per cent of exhibits were out of context because they relate to State Assembly elections conducted on the same dates.
According to him, to prove forgery two different documents of persons needed to be presented while the variation of names issues was a settled Supreme Court provision.
He said three subpoena witnesses were not tenable as they were not makers of the documents from the alleged primary school while the other 28 polling units agents testified could not identify themselves along with their roles.
The Tribunal Chairman said the alleged 138 polling units frauds were not adduced to indicate substantial non-compliance of the elections marred the election outcome.
Mshelia added that the tribunal dismissed all the preliminary objections on competency to institute the case by the respondents as the petitioners duly linked the grounds in the petition.
He dismissed the petition for lack of merit and failure to prove the allegations by the petitioner.

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Tribunal Upholds Kefas’ Election As Taraba Governor

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The Taraba State governorship election petition tribunal sitting in Jalingo, yesterday, upheld the election of Agbu Kefas of the Peoples Democratic Party,(PDP) as the governor of the state.
The three-man panel headed by Justice G.A Sunmonu dismissed the petition jointly filed by the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP, and its governorship candidate in the March 18, 2023 election, Professor Yahaya Sani, on the grounds of lack of sufficient evidence.
NNPP, and its gubernatorial candidate, had earlier filed a petition before the tribunal seeking the cancellation of the election which they alleged was characterised by irregularities.
Another relief sought by the NNPP and its guber candidate was for the tribunal to order a fresh election in the state.
The party also alleged non-compliance with the electoral Act 2022, as a major reason for its demand for the cancellation of the election.
The party, which also alleged that the incumbent governor of the state was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes cast, earlier urged the tribunal to nullify the certificate of return issued to the governor by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Delivering judgment, the panel unanimously ruled that the petition filed by both NNPP and its gubernatorial candidate lacked merit.
The three-man panel, collectively dismissed the petition, stating that the petitioners failed to justify the relief they sought.
Elated by the judgment, the Deputy Governor, Aminu Alkali, called on the NNPP and other opposition political parties in the state to join hands with the incumbent governor to move the state forward.
Also overwhelmed by the judgment, the counsels to the PDP, applauded the panel for the judgment.
Though the counsel of the NNPP could not be reached at the time of filing this report, a chieftain of the party who spoke with The Tide source, said he was hopeful that the party will appeal the judgment.

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Nigeria@63: Lawmaker Urges Patience, Says Tinubu Won’t Disappoint Nigerians

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The lawmaker representing Okitipupa/Irele Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Jimi Odimayo has called on Nigerians to exercise patience with the administration of President Bola Tinubu, assuring that salvation was near.
Odimayo who gave this assurance in a statement issued through his Director of Media and Publicity, Mr Kayode Fasua, noted the apparent hardship in the land, and drew a comparison in the allegory of labour-room pains and the subsequent joy in strapping a newborn baby.
Odimayo said “We all must reflect on how we got to this sorry pass as a nation, counting from the year of our independence in 1960 till date: how democracy was aborted for many years through military interventions and how we are again back on track trying to improve on our democratic skills.
“However, in spite of various hiccups ranging from maladministration to corruption and other unpatriotic practices, we should renew hope, especially now that a good leader with verifiable antecedent in the person of President Bola Tinubu is in the driver’s seat.
“Ours can be assessed in the allegory of labour room pains that must be experienced during childbearing, before the mother beams with smiles at successful delivery; and that is what obtains now in the attempt by President Tinubu to right many wrongs and put Nigeria on the path to political and socio-economic greatness,”
While urging Nigerians to exercise patience and team up with all arms of government to achieve desired results, the lawmaker also called on political officeholders to tighten their belts and bend to work as justification to the electorate’s mandate.
According to him, the ballot box is the nemesis for all political leaders who failed in their vow to deliver the dividends of democracy.
“The last general elections held up many lessons for the political class, that unlike in the past, the level of voters’ awareness has risen stunningly in geometric proportions, as the people are mostly no longer for vote-buying and rigging, but are determined to scrutinise the qualities of candidates seeking their votes,” he stressed.
Odimayo similarly assured the people of his Okitipupa/Irele constituency and the entire Ondo State citizenry that he had designed various empowerment programmes and had stepped up various social infrastructural development lobbies, all of which will start manifesting soon.

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