APC deserves to rule Lagos again –Ambode

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, has said that the party has made remarkable achievements that qualified it to rule Lagos again.

Ambode spoke on Wednesday during a courtesy visit to the Chief Henry Ajomale-led executive council of the APC at the party secretariat in Ikeja.

He said the party had demonstrated openness and internal democracy that was worthy of emulation by other political parties in Nigeria.

He said, “It is a clear message that not only can other parties learn from us, but that the APC deserves to retain our dear state Lagos and take over the federal structure in 2015. No one can be in doubt any longer that as our members converge on Lagos today for our national convention, the same spirit of openness, fairness and camaraderie will prevail in choosing our presidential candidate.

Ambode commended Ajomale for the success of the primaries, noting that the exercise was done credibly in the state.

He said, “I congratulate and express my gratitude to the leadership of our party in Lagos for the successes recorded so far in the primary conducted by the party in Lagos State. The rancour-free, open and transparent manner in which the primaries to the State House of Assembly, National Assembly and for the governorship slots were conducted, in the full glare of the media and various observers, made the All progressives Party to be a party worthy of emulation.

“Unlike elsewhere where parallel elections are being held by different factions; where the aspirants are constrained to wear bullet-proof vests and casualties being recorded, the APC primaries under your watch have recorded no violence whatsoever. Not a single candidate has threatened to leave the party on account of the conduct of the primaries. Instead, aspirants are congratulating winners with a promise to ensure victory for the party at the February 2015 elections.

“APC in Lagos State has demonstrated strength, popularity and acceptability as the preferred choice of the people. We have done this through the huge number of delegates that voted at our primary last Thursday. Our competitor could only muster a fraction of our delegates, even at that, their figures could barely add up.

“In line with its progressive orientation, our party has shown to the world its sterling qualities; that ours is a unified, non-acrimonious, and accountable party. We have also shown that internal democracy can thrive and be well communicated to the whole nation. This is what your leadership has achieved. This is what has been clearly communicated and which is being applauded even by critics.”   

PUNCH.

Political risks shake global markets

Political risks are big threats not only to the Nigerian stock market, but to other markets across the world, a report has showed.

Beyond the falling crude oil prices and the devaluation of the naira, the Nigerian equities market has had a poor year with the Nigerian Stock Exchange All-Share Index year-to-date return currently 22.08 per cent negative.

Analysts had predicted earlier in the year that considering that the build up to general elections would affect the market negatively.

In September, the Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Oscar Onyema, had said the country’s equities market would see stronger movements after the general elections.

“We anticipate that once the elections are out of the way and we have a better clarity on the security and health situation, you should see a more definite movement in the market,” he said.

According to a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation, the big risks to markets and the global economy right now are political risks, or decisions by governments that spook investors.

One event that had spooked investors this year, according to market operators, was the sudden removal of Lamido Sanusi as the Central Bank Governor. Another was the regulatory headwinds that led to a drop in the profits of Deposit Money Banks.

In China, on Tuesday, the BBC report noted that the price of shares on the Shangai stock market dropped by more than five per cent “seemingly prompted by a new restriction on how investors can borrow – which raised anxieties about the sustainability of the country’s debt-financed growth.”

Synagogue: TB Joshua loses bid to stop coroner’s inquest

TB Joshua

The coroner probing the September 12 Synagogue building collapse, Magistrate O.A. Komolafe, has dismissed an application seeking a temporary suspension of the inquest.

Komolafe, while dismissing the application on Wednesday, described it as an abuse of court processes.

The Founder of the Synagogue Church of All Nations, Prophet Temitope Joshua, filed the application asking Komolafe to put on hold further inquisition into the cause of death of the victims of the collapsed building.

No fewer than 116 persons lost their lives while several others sustained varying degrees of injuries in the tragic incident.

Joshua’s application for stay of proceedings, dated November 11, 2014, came on the heels of an application he had filed before a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja.

In the said application before Justice Lateefat Okunnu, Joshua asked for a judicial review of the coroner’s proceedings, which began on October 13.

Falana, LEDAP ask Nigerians to demand for security

Mr. Femi Falana

LAGOS-based lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), and a civil society group, Legal Defence and Accountability Project, have asked Nigerians to continue to demand for adequate security of lives and property in the country.

They made the call on Wednesday in separate statements to mark this year’s celebration of the international human rights day, an annual event which holds internationally on December 10.

LEDAP in a statement by its National Co-ordinator, Mr. Chino Obiagwu, decried the inability of government to rescue the over 200 Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram since April 14, 2014.

The statement read, “LEDAP is deeply concerned that the issue of the abduction of the Chibok girls and other abductions remains a mirage. Worthy of note is the incessant bombings and the spate of kidnappings across the entire polity, which till date; no ascertainable action has been effected by the Government.

“LEDAP in line with this year’s theme ‘Human Rights 365’ supports the fundamental proposition in the Universal Declaration that each one of us, everywhere, at all times, is entitled to a full range of human rights; that every day is a Human Rights Day and that human rights belong equally to each one of us and bind us together.

“LEDAP reiterates that the Federal Government owns Nigerians a duty to ensure that there is a free and fair election in the upcoming election. The vote of its citizens must count.

“The government is reminded of its commitment to ensuring that Nigeria as a country stands in agreement with the United Nations to ensure that the rights of the citizens are protected and in occurrence of any infringement, the perpetrators are brought to justice.”

Falana on his part, said ordinary Nigerians had been deprived the enjoyment of fundamental rights guaranteed them by the constitution.

He said, “The police and other security agencies have been regularly indicted for subjecting suspects to torture and other forms of indignity. Many innocent persons have been extra-judicially murdered. Detention without trial is a common phenomenon.

Bangladesh oil spill ‘threatens rare dolphins’

Bangladesh officials warned Thursday that an oil spill from a crashed tanker is threatening endangered dolphins and other wildlife in the massive Sundarbans mangrove region, branding the leak an ecological “catastrophe”.

The tanker carrying an estimated 350,000 litres (75,000 gallons) of oil collided on Tuesday with another vessel and partly sank in the Sundarbans’ Shela river, home to rare Irrawaddy and Ganges dolphins.

Although officials are unsure how much oil has spilled, they warned the slick has spread to another river as well as a network of canals in the vast Sundarbans delta.

“The oil spill has spread over a 60 kilometre-long (37 mile) area in the Shela and Passur rivers,” Amir Hossain, chief forest official of the Sundarbans, told AFP.

“It’s a catastrophe for the delicate ecology of the Sundarbans. The oil spill has already blackened the shoreline, threatening trees, plankton, vast populations of small fishes and dolphins,” Hossain said.

“The symptoms of environmental damage will be visible soon as the water quality has already been damaged,” he added.

Authorities have launched a small-scale clean-up, but warned they lack the hardware and experience for a major effort. Navy boats and government officials were en route to salvage the tanker.

“We’ve not started any major clean-up efforts yet. In fact, the forest department doesn’t have the technology to deal with this kind of disaster,” said Hossain.

Bangladesh’s state-run petroleum corporation was using buoys to restrict the slick, while local fishermen have been ordered to use nets to try to stop the oil entering small canals.

Spread over 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 square miles), the Sundarbans is a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site and home to hundreds of Bengal tigers. The delta comprises a network of rivers and canals straddling Bangladesh and India.

The accident occurred inside one of three sanctuaries set up for the dolphins, said Rubayat Mansur, Bangladesh head of the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society.

The three areas were declared dolphin sanctuaries in 2011 after studies found they are home to some 6,000 of the animals. Fishermen are banned from making catches there, but tankers and other boats are allowed to pass through.

Speaking to AFP from the accident site, Mansur labelled the spill a “national disaster” and accused authorities of not doing enough to contain the damage.

“There are no coordinated efforts to tackle the disaster. The air has become toxic and we got news from fishermen they’ve seen dead fishes. Crabs which make up the largest single group in the forest are facing the biggest threat,” he said.

“And if crabs are hit, the dolphins and tigers will be affected. Dolphins will find it very difficult to breathe this foul air,” he added.

Buhari, Atiku, others battle for APC presidential ticket

Atiku and Buhari

The race for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress climaxed early Thursday morning with none of the five aspirants heeding entreaties by the national leadership of the party to have a consensus candidate.

Findings showed that several meetings by the leadership of the party failed to yield a consensus candidate as each aspirant expressed readiness to go the whole hog.

It was reliably gathered that an attempt by the party’s leaders to get the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, to step down was turned down.

The arrival of the aspirants- Maj. Gen. Mahuammadu Buhari, Rochas Okorocha, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Atiku Abubakar, and Sam Ndah Isaiah – elicited cheers from their delegates.

A former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu; ex-Interim National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, governors Rotimi Amaech (Rivers), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Abiola Ajimobi(Oyo), Babatunde Fashola(Lagos), Ibikunle Amosun(Ogun), Ahmed Abdulfatah (Kwara), Rauf Aregbesola(Osun), Kashim Shettima(Borno), Umar Al-Makura, Aliu Wamako, Ibrahim Geidam were all seated at the VIP section of the stadium when the aspirants started arriving,

Court orders police, DSS to seize Obasanjo’s book

Olusegun Obasanjo

A Federal Capital Territory High Court judge, Justice Valentine Ashi, on Wednesday ordered security agents, including the police and operatives of the Department of State Service, to confiscate the latest book of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, My Watch.

The judge of the FCT Wuse Zone II court said the publication of the book, which was presented to the public on Tuesday in Lagos, contravened the order of the court restraining the publication.

Justice Ashi also gave Obasanjo 21 days within which to explain why he should not be punished for flouting the court order.

He ordered that the enrolled orders of the court be served on all media houses in the country and be equally served on the defendant by publication in two national daily newspapers.

The judge held, “I hold the defendant not only in contempt of the court, but to show cause why he should not be punished for contempt and ordered to undo what he has wrongly done.

“The defendant, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, shall be given 21 days, from the day this order is served on him, to show cause, via affidavit, why he should not be punished for contempt committed by publishing and distributing for sale to the public, the book, My Watch, in plain disregard of the pendency of substantive suit and the order of this court made on December 5, 2014 restraining him from doing so.

“The defendant, whether by himself, agents, servants, privies or whatever name called, is hereby restrained from further publication or offering for sale or distribution, in any way or manner, the book called My Watch or the like of the visual or written materials which contains a re-publication or statement extracted from the letter referred to by the plaintiff.”

Outraged Nigerians want power-drunk policeman, DPO punished

Ejeh; Grace

There has been widespread outrage at the action of a policeman, Dada Ogunsanya, who allegedly brutalised a photographer, Ejeh Smith and his wife, Grace, in the Lekki area of Lagos State.

Among those that called for the sanction of the officer was a human rights lawyer, Femi Falana and a constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay, who also stated that the Ikoyi Divisional Police Officer, Aisha Haruna, deserved harsher punishment for abetting the brutality.

The PUNCH online readers were unanimous in their condemnation of the act, with some calling for the sacking of the officer and the demotion of the DPO.

Our correspondent had reported on Wednesday that Ejeh and Grace were going home in a taxi when Ogunsanya and six other police officers patrolling the area flagged down their cab at the Lekki Roundabout.

The policeman was said to have asked the cab driver, Ndubuisi Iheaka, to open his boot for a routine check.

He allegedly asked the couple to alight the cab when they asked him to stop flashing his torch on them since the vehicle’s inner lights were on.

In the argument that ensued, our correspondent was told that the police officer hit Ejeh in the eye with the butt of his rifle and punched his wife in the face.

He also allegedly stepped on Grace’s stomach and dragged her on the floor until a stranger passing by intervened and insisted that the policemen call their boss to the scene.

After the Ikoyi DPO, Mrs. Haruna, arrived at the scene, she allegedly supported the officers and gave Grace’s phone to an inspector who deleted all her recordings of the incident.

She also allegedly said she would have locked up the duo in the cell but for their injuries.

The couple was said to have been treated at the Falomo Police Hospital, where they foot their medical bills.

The human rights lawyer, Falana, described the incident as unfortunate.

In a telephone interview with our correspondent, he said, “It is the height of infringement on their fundamental human rights to dignity. The policeman involved has to be shamed and prosecuted because he exposed them to mental, psychological and physical torture. The policeman certainly does not deserve to be in uniform.

“The DPO’s action subjected them to further torture. She has no power under the law to collect the phone and remove any information therein. Her case is worse than even the policeman she was trying to shield. She is paid to superintend the policemen under her. For colluding with the police officer, she also deserved the full weight of the law on her.”

Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said his chamber was prepared to take up the case for the family without any charge.

Sagay said the police officer was “an out-of-control animal, a brute and a killer.”

“The couple should sue the police for the enforcement of their fundamental rights. They will recover very high damages for the injury they suffered and an apology from the Inspector General of Police.

“The police officer is a danger to the public and should not be in the police force,” he added.

Our correspondent on Wednesday observed that the report, as of 5.45pm, had been read for more than 28,000 times and had received about 232 likes on the online portal of The PUNCH Newspapers.

The comments had also risen to over 250 with about 110 of them demanding punishment for the cop and the DPO.

A PUNCH reader, Hastel Idowu, said, “The only difference between our policemen and touts is the arms they are authorised to carry. They require training prior to being certified to carry out police duties and carry arms. When you go elsewhere, you will see the difference.”

Another reader, James Oke, urged the couple to see the brutality as a blessing in disguise.

He added, “Sue the police officer that assaulted you and join the DPO as co-defendant. Do not join the IG as that will make it more difficult to get a landslide victory. Ask for damages and compensation to the tune of N100m.”

Another reader, Femi Pedro, while reacting to a call for the demotion of the DPO, said, “Demoted? You mean incarcerated for a minimum of 10 years to serve as a deterrent to other bad leaders in the field of enforcement of the law? Maybe, then maybe, we will start to see changes in our law enforcement officers’ attitude and demeanor. We are citizens and not animals to be cowed.”

An anonymous reader asked the police authorities to investigate the case and give justice to the couple.

Another reader, Mota Gur, said, “The masses should find a common platform to protest atrocious acts like this by organising rallies and mass protests. Don’t let it die down because the police have soiled the image of this country enough.”

Yemi O. said, “Double betrayal. The police that should protect become the source of danger; the DPO in whom they then put their trust then rubber-stamped the act of wickedness. Let us see how far this rot goes. Will the press, the courts and government officials also sell out?” 

 PUNCH.

I’m not Obasanjo’s concubine –Ezekwesili

Ezekwesili

A former Vice-President of the World Bank, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, on Wednesday denied having any amorous relationship with former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Ezekwesili’s denial followed the widespread circulation of a photograph showing her in a very warm embrace with Obasanjo.

In the trending photo, the former President is seen holding Ezekwesili from behind and giving her a peck on the cheek.

The controversial picture was taken on Tuesday during the public presentation of Obasanjo’s three-part autobiography entitled, ‘My Watch’.

Many online commentators expressed displeasure with Ezekwesili and Obasanjo for behaving in such a manner in public.

They accused the former minister of education, who once served in Obasanjo’s cabinet, of being indecorous as a married woman and passing a wrong message to young girls who look up to her as a role model.

A group known as ‘Hope for Nigeria’ stated that it was taken aback by the decision of the two public figures to behave themselves that way in public.

“This is Dr. Oby Ezekwesili the #BringBackOurGirls crusader with former President Obasanjo at his book launch.

“Was it that Ezekwesili forgot that she was in a public place and a married woman? She threw caution to the wind. Anyway, we saw her sticking out her finger in excitement, while the ‘Chemistry’ lasted.

Oil price fall hits US energy stocks

United States stocks opened lower on Wednesday, with energy shares seeing some of the biggest falls as the oil price slid to a fresh five-year low, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported.

The price of Brent crude fell to $65.24 a barrel – its lowest since September 2009 – before recovering slightly.

The Dow Jones dropped 67.40 points to 17,733.80. Among oil stocks, Chevron fell 1.9 per cent and Exxon Mobil slid 1.5 per cent.

The S&P 500 index dropped 5.92 points to 2,053.90, while the Nasdaq was 14.30 points lower at 4,752.17.

Shares in Yum Brands fell nearly five per cent to $71.54 after the KFC owner cut its annual profit forecast for the year, due to slower sales in China.

Yum said its full-year profit growth would be a “mid-single-digit” percentage, down from the 10% it forecast in October. Earlier in the year, the firm had predicted growth of at least 20 per cent.

Costco shares rose 1.9 per cent after its quarterly profits beat expectations. Net income for the quarter to 23 November increased to $496m, up from $425m a year earlier.

US stocks had started the week on a negative note as the price of oil continued its sharp falls.

On Monday, the BBC reported that the price of Brent crude fell below $63 per barrel for the first time since July 2009 as weak demand and oversupply continue to put a damper on prices.

The Dow Jones fell 106.31 points to 17,852.48 and the S&P 500 dropped 15.06 points to 2,060.31.

The Nasdaq index shed 40.06 points to close at 4,740.69.

Concerns about the health of the global economy continued to weigh on investors.

Punch

Bank charges discouraging use of ATMs –NISER

The Nigeria Institute of Social and Economic Research on Tuesday called on the Central Bank of Nigeria to discourage all unnecessary charges by Deposit Money Banks for the use of Automated Teller Machines and Point of Sales Terminal.

The Director-General of the institute, Prof Olufemi Taiwo, stated this while unveiling the findings of a study conducted on the effects of cashless banking policy on the performance of informal business in Nigeria

Speaking in Abuja at the third annual NISER National policy dialogue on social and economic development, Taiwo said apart from the cashless policy, the study also appraised the level of disaster risk preparedness in Nigeria and the response of manufacturing sector to government policies.

On cashless policy, he said while the adoption of the policy had improved employment level, sales volume, profit level and cost of production of informal business enterprises in Nigeria, network connectivity had become a major challenge to the success of the policy.

To enjoy the benefit of the policy, he said there was a need for the central bank to work with the telecommunication industry and the private sector investors to remove this impediment.   

PUNCH.

France makes new effort to encourage hiring

Creating jobs in France is proving harder than expected.

The embattled Socialist-led government is making its second push this year to energize the labor market in Europe’s second-largest economy, after a top economic official called the previous plan “a failure.”

According to the Associated Press, although President Francois Hollande has made cutting unemployment the cornerstone of his tenure, the jobs market is in fact getting worse.

Unemployment climbed to 10.4 per cent in the third quarter despite a package of payroll tax cuts for businesses earlier this year that was meant to encourage hiring.

Economy Minister, Emmanuel Macron, presented Wednesday a new bundle of policies that aim mainly to free up France’s notoriously inflexible labor rules and regulations

“Macron’s Law,” as the bill has been dubbed, has sharply divided Hollande’s own Socialist Party but drawn praise from France’s powerful business lobby, Medef.

“Everybody must accept to change what doesn’t work, what penalizes hiring and economic activity”, Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, told a press conference.

“This bill is a proof that our country is able to change without giving up on its social model.”

One of the most controversial measures aims at relaxing rules on stores’ Sunday and evening opening hours, especially in tourist areas.

Former labor minister and emblematic Socialist figure Martine Aubry said she will fight the measure.

Sunday “is a precious time that must be devoted to family and friends, volunteer organisations, culture and sport,” she wrote in a column published in Le Monde.

Other measures include removing some restrictions on new bus lines to increase competition with national rail operator SNCF; and opening up regulated professions such as notaries and auctioneers to greater competition.

The bill also calls for reforming France’s complex system of labor relations boards and from five to ¤6bn worth of sales from the French state’s ¤76bn ($94bn) holdings of corporate assets.

The French parliament will only begin debating the bill next month, but it’s already sparked controversy.

Thousands of opponents were demonstrating in Paris Wednesday.

Macron is a former investment banker who Hollande brought in to government in August.

Macron has been quickly thrust onto the front lines of France’s effort to create jobs — and save Hollande’s.

Owning up to his failure to meet a pledge to start cutting unemployment by 2013, Hollande said last month that if he still hasn’t succeeded in the next two years, he won’t run for re-election in 2017.

The European Union, which has put France under surveillance along with a number of other countries for exceeding agreed limits to its deficit, forecasts France’s unemployment rate will remain above 10 per cent at least until 2016.

Hollande has blamed a lack of economic growth for unemployment’s continued rise.

The economy is only forecast to grow 0.4 per cent this year and one per cent in 2015.

Macron himself said the government’s last big effort to relaunch the economy, the so-called Responsibility Pact, was a failure.

The pact announced in January aims to ease payroll taxes by up to ¤40bn ($50bn) by 2017.

In exchange, companies were expected to hire.

Business owners, however, argue the reforms don’t go far enough to reduce labor costs, and earlier this month thousands of business owners protested in the streets of Paris and Toulouse against taxes and regulations.

Punch

Why Gov. Ngilari, other Adamawa party leaders back out

Bala Ngilari.

Barely 24 hours to the Peoples Democratic Party’s national convention in Abuja, the Adamawa state chapter of the party has announced its decision to boycott the event if President Goodluck Jonathan fails to cancel the state governorship primary held in Abuja.
A former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Nuhu Ribadu, won the governorship primary which held Monday.

The members of the Adamawa chapter, including six of the seven state governorship aspirants, during a press briefing at the party secretariat in Yola on Tuesday, condemned the outcome of the election, and what they said was the role of the National Working Committee of the party in the internal squabbles in the state.
The party leaders said they have resolved to boycott the party’s national convention on Wednesday.
“We therefore resolve to abstain from the National convention of the party scheduled for tomorrow,” said Joel Madaki, the suspended state chairman of the party.

The spokesperson of the group, Andrew Sawa, said, “The PDP stakeholders and all aspirants of all cadres express our displeasure with the way and manner our great party is being deliberately thrown into confusion by the national secretariat in collaboration with a few from the state.”

Mr. Sawa accused the national chapter of “flagrant and open abuse of the rule of law” for conducting the state governorship primary in Abuja on Monday.

Mr. Sawa noted that the party’s guidelines and the Electoral Act stated clearly that “should there be any change of election venue, there must be a notice of not less than seven days and more to that effect and all elections should be held in the various constituencies”.

He said in this case, there was no prior communication either from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, or the party.

“We therefore call on President Goodluck Jonathan, who is the national leader of our great party to cancel the kangaroo primaries held by the NWC in Abuja or leave us with no option but to follow the view of the entire people of the party and the state,” he said.
Six of the aspirants were in attendance at the briefing: Ahamed Moddibo, Markus Gundiri, Aliyu Kama, Abubakar Girie, Grace Bent and Awal Tukur.

The state governor, Bala Ngillari, was represented at the meeting by his campaign director, Abubakar Girei.
They all condemned the action of the National Working Committee of the party and urged Mr. Jonathan to look into the issue before it disintegrates the party in Adamawa and Nigeria.

Mr. Madaki said party members regrets the way and manner the party thrown into confusion, “with the flagrant and open abuse of the rule and law with impunity with regard to party primaries and is a thing of serious concern that is heading to the complete eradication of the party in the minds of our grassroots supporters.”

Mr. Ngillari’s representative, Mr. Girei, said “it is our unanimous resolution to distance, condemn and reject it in its entirety, and that in protest to that we will not be part of any illegality that is happening within our party.”

PDPLagosPrimaries: Obanikoro challenges citizenship suit

Obanikoro

Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, who lost in the just concluded governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, challenged the suit asking a Lagos High Court in Ikeja to stop him from contesting in any election in the future, including the recent primary.

Obanikoro filed a preliminary objection to the suit filed by some members of his party, PDP, against his aspiration before the court presided by Justice Kazeem Alogba.

Applicants in the suit include Micheal Babatunde Ogun, Suleiman Olayinka Saheed and Wasiu Adeniyi Odusan.

Joined as defendants alongside Senator Obanikoro are Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the PDP.

In his application, Obanikoro through his counsel, Gbenga Ojo, asked the court for an order striking out or dismissing the originating summons which he described as an abuse of court process.

He also asked for an order of the court striking out or dismissing the originating summons, saying it does not disclose reasonable cause of action and for any other the court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.

Obanikoro based his objection on four grounds and prayed the court to determine the matter based on the grounds of his preliminary objection to the suit.

Ojo told the court that all the documents relied upon by the applicants are “either uncertified public document or documents printed from internet without authentication of the source or certification.”

The application objecting to the suit also described “the entire case as speculative and abuse of the process of the court”.

At the resumed hearing of the matter, counsel to the applicants, Wahab Shittu said they were prepared to move the originating summon since the matter was already slated for hearing.

But Ojo told the court that there was no need to proceed into the matter since his client has lost the governorship primary election of the PDP in Lagos.

At this stage, Justice Alogba referred Obanikoro’s counsel to the relief sought by the applicants in their originating summons.

The trial judge, Justice Alogba after taking the submission of all counsels, adjourned the matter to January 14, 2015 for hearing of the originating summon.

Justice Alogba ordered all parties to file all applications before the adjourned date warning “I would not tolerate any further request for adjournment in view of the nature of the case”.

OyoPDPPrimary: ‘a mockery of justice’ – says Makinde

Seyi Makinde

A governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has said that the party’s governorship primary that produced former Senate Leader, Teslim Folarin, in Ibadan on Monday, was against the party’s guidelines and that it was an attempt to circumvent a court ruling. Makinde also warned that the party risked not producing candidates for the 2015 elections if the leaders refused to do what is right.

A Federal High Court in Abuja last Friday gave a ruling which said only delegates presented by three of the five members of the Aliyu Idi-Hong ad hoc ward congress panel should be used by the party for its primary elections in Oyo State.

Reacting to the primary on Tuesday in Ibadan, Makinde, who stayed away from the exercise, said the primary was a breach of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended and the party’s electoral guidelines, stressing that his non-participation was because he could not be part of lawlessness.

He said, “I did not participate in the election simply because there is a court judgement which was unequivocal on who and who should be the participants in the PDP primary. PDP electoral guideline said, ‘For the purposes of nominating the party’s candidates, the party shall elect three ad-hoc ward delegates’. The court had already told us who the delegates are but if the leadership of the party decided to circumvent the court judgement by using statutory delegates only for the primary election, it is a breach of PDP electoral guidelines and consequently, it is a breach of Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

Adeleke, Adeyeye, Omoworare emerge APC senatorial candidates

Osun State chapter of the All Progreessives Congress (APC), on Tuesday evening, concluded its primary elections into the Senate, House of Representatives and House of Assembly, with the emergence of candidates for the party ahead the 2015 general election.

Adeleke

In a press statement signed by the APC’s director of publicity, research and strategy in Osun State, Mr Kunle Oyatomi, former governor of the state, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, clinched the party’s ticket for Osun West senatorial district.

The incumbent senator, representing Osun Central senatorial district, Professor Sola Adeyeye, secured the party’s ticket for a return to the upper chamber, while his counterpart in Osun East, Senator Babajide Omoworare, also won the primaries.

According to the release, “in the House of Representatives category, Honourable Lasun Yusuf, emerged in Orolu/Ifelodun Federal Constituency, while in Ifelodun/Boripe, Honourable Yinka Ajayi won. In Ila/Ifedayo/Boluwaduro Federal Constituency, Honourable Fakeye Femi won, just as Mr Akintayo Amusu emrged the winner in Boripe Federal Constituency”.

“For Irewole/Ayedaade/Isokan, Ayo omidiran emerged the winner, while Ajibola Famurewa won in Atakumosa East and West/Ilesa East and West.

In Obokun/Oriade, Nathaniel Agunbiade emerged as the candidate of the APC.

Southern Kaduna PDP Votes Out "Pastor" Senator Esther Nenadi Usman

Dissatisfied with the performance of their senator, delegates of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in troubled Southern Kaduna region in Kaduna this evening voted out Senator Nenadi Esther Usman.

A top member of National Working Committee in Abuja who was monitoring the primaries election held in Kafanchan, Kaduna state confirmed to SaharaReporters.

   

Senator Esther Nenadi Usman

He said the defeat came to them as a shock despite the backing received by the senator within the party at both national and state levels.

The senator, the source said is on her way to Abuja after conceding defeat to a barely known local politician, Danjuma Tela La’ah. The incumbent senator was said to have spent huge amount of money to induce delegates, but the majority of the delegates insisted on voting her out because she failed to represent their interests at the Nigerian senate. Mrs. Usman despite her well documented poor performance at the Senate uses religion to bamboozle the people. In September she spend millions in an ordination ceremony as a pastor. 

SaharaReporters.

Upsets, Parallel Elections Rock PDP NASS Primaries Nationwide

Dramatic upsets and a gale of parallel elections rocked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries held yesterday to elect candidates to contest for countrywide senatorial seats in the 2015 elections.

Parallel primaries were held in different locations in Anambra, Bayelsa, Ebonyi and Enugu states.

Also, Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN) and Uche Chukwumerije, both three-term senators, led the pack of high profile incumbents that lost out in the primaries. In another, Aloysius Akpan Etok lost his bid to return to the Senate after his dramatic last minute withdrawal to pave the way for Akwa Ibom State governor Godswill Akpabio. Another senator losing out is Nenadi Usman who also lost her seat to represent Kaduna South in the Senate.

However, it was a sweeter tale for other Senate bigwigs: Senate President David Mark, his deputy Ike Ekweremmadu and deputy Senate Leader Abdul Ningi all won their respective primaries.

As expected, all PDP governors eyeing Senate seats won at yesterday’s primaries. They are: Gabriel Suswam (Benue), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Theodore Orji (Abia) and Jonah Jang (Plateau).

Recall that the governors of Delta and Enugu states, Emmanuel Uduaghan and Sullivan Chime, dropped their bids to come to the Senate in 2015.



ENUGU

The deputy Senate president Ike Ekweremadu yesterday emerged the PDP candidate for Enugu West senatorial district for the 2015 election.

He was returned unopposed after polling a total of 294 out of the 299 votes cast by the accredited delegates.

Ekweremadu became PDP’s sole aspirant after the state governor, Sullivan Chime, withdrew from the race. In his acceptance speech, the deputy Senate president dedicated the victory to Governor Chime, describing his victory as an act of God.

Meanwhile, three parallel primaries were yesterday held in Enugu East senatorial district.

While Gilbert Nnaji, the senator currently representing Enugu East, emerged victorious in the primary conducted at Nkwo Nike in Enugu East local government area, the former chief of staff, Enugu Government House, Mrs Ifeoma Nwobodo, emerged victorious in the primary election held at Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium.

Former minister of information Mr Frank Nweke jnr emerged victorious in another primary conducted at a different location in the state.

The result of the primary held to elect the senatorial candidate in Enugu North was still being awaited at press time yesterday.



BAYELSA

In President Goodluck Jonathan’s home state, Bayelsa, drama played out with parallel PDP Senate primaries taking place.

The chairman, Senate Committee on Oil and Gas, Downstream Sector, Senator Emmanuel Paulker, and former director-general, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Mr Ben Murray Bruce, emerged PDP flag bearers for Bayelsa Central and Bayelsa East senatorial districts in the 2015 general election.

Senator Heneiken Lokpobiri and Dr Foster Oguola emerged in separate primaries at the Bayelsa West senatorial district.

Ekweremadu wins, others emerge in Enugu PDP parallel primaries

The crisis in the Enugu State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party worsened on Sunday as several senatorial candidates emerged in parallel primaries in the state.

Three separate primaries in the Enugu East Senatorial Zone saw the emergence of three senatorial candidates, namely the incumbent Senator, Senator Gil Nnaji, former Chief of Staff to Governor Sullivan Chime, Mrs. Ifeoma Nwobodo; and a former Minister of Information, Mr. Frank Nweke Jnr.

The primary election, which produced Nwobodo, held amid tight security at the Rangers International Stadium, Enugu, while the primaries that were won by Nnaji and Nweke Jnr. took place at Nkwo Nike and Ozalla, respectively.

There were also unconfirmed reports that another aspirant, the chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Nwabueze Okoye, emerged from another primary in the senatorial zone.

A similar scenario played out in Enugu North Senatorial Zone, where parallel primaries were contested by aspirants including the former Commissioner for Transport, Chuka Utazi, who is said to enjoy Chime’s backing, and a former national chairman of the PDP, Chief Okwesilieze Nwodo.

Although, results from the primaries in the zone were being awaited, it was gathered that Utazi won the primary he participated in, while Nwodo is expected to win the other exercise.

Ekweremadu duly picked up the party’s ticket for the Enugu West Senatorial Zone after emerging unopposed following Chime’s withdrawal from the race.

Even though, he was the sole candidate, voting still took place, with Ekweremadu receiving 294 vote out of the 299 delegates accredited for the exercise.

The votes of the five remaining delegates were declared invalid as a result of irregularities.

Bad blood generated from the battle between Chime and Ekweremadu over the ticket for the Enugu West Senatorial Zone was threatening to destroy the PDP in Enugu State until Chime surprisingly withdrew at the last minute.
 

Interestingly, Ekweremadu surprised everybody by dedicating his victory to Chime.
 

The deputy Senate President said the governor made sacrifices for peace to return to the PDP in Enugu State.
 

“I want to dedicate this victory to Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State; he equally made personal sacrifices to pave the way for the peace we have today,” Ekweremadu said.

Obanikoro not a saleable candidate —Ogunlewe

Former Minister of Works, Adeseye Ogunlewe

A former Minister of Works, Mr. Adeseye Ogunlewe, says a former Minister of State for Defence, Mr. Musiliu Obanikoro, cannot emerge as the Lagos State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party because he (Obanikoro) is too controversial.

He, therefore, urged delegates to vote for the person that could deliver Lagos to the PDP.

Ogunlewe said this during an interview with our correspondent on Sunday.

Ogunlewe, who is supporting one of the party’s governorship aspirants, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, ahead of the primary which is set to hold on Monday (today), said Obanikoro was too controversial and the people of Lagos would only vote for someone with a clear track record.

He said, “In 2015, people will not vote for party but the candidate. That is our fear in the PDP. Perception is very important in politics. We must do what is expedient, what people will be happy about. Party will play a very little role in who will win the election.

“It is the candidate that will be able to convince the people and they must be able to appreciate the candidate. The time is too short and the aspirant will not have time to be answering questions about allegations.

“Questions like what happened in City Hall. What happened to the pilgrimage funds, what is your date of birth? Is it 1960 or 1954? Where is your school certificate? What is your proper name, is it Obanikoro or Onikoro? All those things we don’t have time to be answering them anymore and this was what we did in 2007 that took so much of our energy because Obanikoro is from the stable of the Alliance of Democracy.