Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been declared the winner of the Kogi Central Senatorial election held in February.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Abubakar Ohere of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the election but her PDP opponent headed for the court.

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The Kogi State Election Petitions Tribunal haf declared her winner and invalidated the victory of Ohere.

The Tribunal Chairman, Justice K. A. Orjiako, delivered the unanimous judgment of the three-man panel, revealing that Sen. Ohere’s results were inflated in nine polling units in the Ajaokuta Local Government Area.

He added that INEC reduced Natasha’s results in those areas and omitted the results of three other polling units meant for Natasha in the same LGA.

Following the necessary corrections, the court declared Natasha as the winner of the election with 54,074 votes, surpassing Ohere, who garnered 51,291 votes.

Ohere had rejected the verdict of the tribunal and filed an appeal, but he lost out as the appellate court declared the PDP candidate the authentic winner.

Erstwhile Secretary General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo worldwide, Professor Ben Nwabueze, SAN, is dead.

Born in 1931, in Atani, Anambra State, Prof Nwabueze before his death was a Constitutional lawyer.

Nwabueze died on Sunday evening in his home.

Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has postponed judgment on the appeal filed by Daniel Onjeh, the 2023 All Progressives Congress, APC Senatorial candidate for Benue South, challenging the election of Senator Abba Moro of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The court had earlier fixed Monday (today) for the delivery of the judgment.

The three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, comprising Justices A. O. Otisi; O. Obaseki, and A. M. Lamido, announced the postponement to the legal counsels of the parties involved in the case on Sunday via an official communication.

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The Appeal Court heard Onjeh’s appeal on October 16, following which all the Briefs of Argument were adopted and the matter was reserved for judgment.

Comrade Onjeh is asking the Court of Appeal to set aside the verdict of the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, which earlier upheld the victory of Senator Moro in the February 25 polls.

Not satisfied with the tribunal ruling, the APC candidate had asked the appeal court to declare him the winner of the election, insisting that Senator Moro was not qualified to contest the election, having allegedly presented a forged birth certificate to INEC.

Onjeh is equally challenging the outcome of the election on the grounds of noncompliance with the Electoral Act 2022 (As Amended), among other irregularities.

The National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta, Ogun State has affirmed the Speaker of State House Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo, as duly elected member representing Ifo Constituency 1.

The three-member panel in a unanimous decision on Monday dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the March 18 election, Yusuf Ogundele.

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The candidate of the PDP had asked the tribunal to declare him winner in the state assembly constituency, arguing that the Speaker was not duly elected by the majority votes.

The opponent alleged that APC’s Oluomo was not duly elected by the majority of the valid vote cast and that the election was not in compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

The Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Samuel Ayiwulu, in a lead judgement held that the petitioners failed to bring eyewitnesses to court to prove the case of alleged non accreditation, improper accreditation, over-voting, inflation of votes and improper accounting of electoral materials used during the elections.

Ayiwulu and two other members of the panel held that the two witnesses brought to tribunal by the PDP were not competent and lacked probative value on the matter.

The panel held that the witnesses were neither an eyewitness from the poling units nor experts in electoral matter who could have given credence to the petition.

The tribunal therefore dismissed the petition for lacking in merit and affirmed the declaration of Oluomo of APC as the validly elected lawmaker representing Ifo 1 Constituency in Ogun State.

The election in Ifo Constituency I was inconclusive on March 18, but a rerun took place on April 15, after which Oluomo was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Presidency, on Monday, advised former Vice-President and Peoples Democratic Party’s Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to end what it called “his unprofitable bid” and steer clear of “any venture that will further pollute the political atmosphere and national harmony.”

The reaction followed Atiku’s remarks at a press conference in Abuja where he picked holes in the Supreme Court’s verdict of October 26, which upheld President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s electoral victory. ⁣
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement, said he went into the February 2023 elections “with a fragmented and tattered umbrella.” ⁣

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“We want to advise Atiku that after over three decades of elusive bid for the Presidency of Nigeria, he must now end his unprofitable bid and go away from any venture that will further pollute the political atmosphere and national harmony,” he advised.

In the statement titled ‘Time for Atiku Abubakar to finally go away and end his ambition to be President’, Onanuga said “Atiku lost because he went into a major election with a fragmented and tattered umbrella that could not hold together. ⁣

⁣“There was no way Atiku and PDP could have won the election with the party platform under which he contested broken into four parts.” ⁣

⁣He also expressed his dismay at his reaction to the court verdict, saying “We were wrong to expect that Atiku at 77 would play the statesman and sportsman and accept, with equanimity, the verdict of the highest court and the people of Nigeria.”

The presidential spokesman pointed out his criticism against national institutions, especially after the Supreme Court verdict, stating that he “unashamedly constituted himself into a demagogue and anarchist.”⁣

⁣The presidency wondered how the Wazirin Adamawa could have envisaged any possible pathway to victory with Mr. Peter Obi’s Labour Party, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s NNPP and PDP G-5 Governors who took away possible PDP votes, “while the APC went into the election as a strong, viable and unified entity.”⁣

He said⁣ the All Progressives Congress (APC) with President Tinubu as its candidate “went into the election as a strong, viable and unified entity.”⁣

⁣He also cited Atiku’s controversial ties to Nigeria’s past political challenges, quoting, “For instance, Atiku claimed he worked along with others to end military rule in Nigeria when he was known to be in bed with the same junta.” ⁣

⁣The statement also accentuated allegations of corruption against Atiku, mentioning that “The US Congress lists Atiku’s money laundering as one of the very rare cases of corruption at the highest level of governance in the world.”⁣

Amid tension and escalation of a political crisis in Rivers State, Daniel Bwala, a spokesman for Atiku Abubakar’s 2023 presidential Campaign Organisation, has asked Governor Siminalayi Fubara, to use the full weight of his executive power to run his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, out of the town.

The rift between Governor Fubara and Wike who is currently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has created tension and reached a crescendo in Rivers State with the plot by members of the State House of Assembly to impeach the governor.

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The tension degenerated on Sunday night with the fire outbreak at the State House of Assembly.

The fire incident has been described by some people in government as an arson attack by the Majority Leader of the House, Edison Ehie, to prevent the impeachment of the governor.

This led to the removal of Edie as the Majority Leader of the Assembly on Monday morning, as he was blamed for causing the fire incident.

Governor Fubara while addressing his supporters in Port Harcourt on Monday on the plans by the state Assembly to impeach him, said that he did not commit any offence to warrant impeachment. He warned that any attempt to remove him through impeachment that is not justified will be resisted.

Reacting to the crisis in Rivers State on his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Bwala said that the person voted as the executive governor and Chief Security Officer of the state is Governor Fubara. Bwala called on President Bola Tinubu to sack the FCT minister, Wike before he ruined his (Tinubu) government’s image both locally and internationally.

Bwala wrote, “Sim Fubara should use the full weight of his executive powers to run Wike out of town. Our democracy does not recognize authorianism (authoritarianism).

“The person voted as the executive Governor and Chief security officer of Rivers State is Fubara. @officialABAT is urged to be extremely careful with Wike before Wike ruins his government’s image both locally and internationally. PBAT should sack Wike without delay.”

Former Majority leader, Rivers State House of assembly, Edison Ehie has emerged as the new Speaker of the assembly.

Governor Siminalayi Fubara in his official twitter handle on Monday afternoon, congratulated the speaker.

Detail shortly….

Presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party in Nigeria’s 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has accused the supreme court of legalising forgery, illegality, identity yheft, and perjury.

The former Vice President said this at a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.

He insisted that Bola Tinubu, was not qualified to contest the February 2023 presidential poll.

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“Someone asked me, what would I do if I lost my election petition appeal at the Supreme Court. In response, I said that as long as Nigeria wins, the struggle would have been worthwhile.

“By that, I meant that the bigger loss will not be mine but Nigeria’s if the Supreme Court legitimises illegality, including forgery, identity theft, and perjury as it has done.

“If the Supreme Court, the highest court of the land, implies that crime is good and should be rewarded, then Nigeria is lost. I am sure that history will vindicate me.”

Atiku said when people lose confidence in the electoral process, democracy is on life support.

The PDP’s candidate also said he will not leave the political arena despite the Supreme Court verdict.

“As for me and my party, this phase of work is done. However, I am not going to go away, if you think I am going to go away, forget about it,

“For as long as I breathe, I will continue to struggle with other Nigerians to deepen our democracy. I will continue to work for the return of political and economical restructuring that the country needs,” he added.

On Thursday, the Justice John Okoro-led panel of the apex court threw out all the appeals by Atiku and Obi for lacking merit. The panel thereafter upheld electoral victory of Tinubu.

The Governorship/House of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Enugu on Monday affirmed the declaration and return of Hon. Osita Eze of the Labour Party as member representing Oji River State Constituency in the hallowed chamber.

Daily Gazette recall that the election was initially declared inconclusive after the March 18 poll because one polling unit was cancelled as a result of over voting.

Hon. Osita Eze 

Later, rerun election was held in that polling unit; Central school Oji-River which had 2,489 registered voters.

Labour Party’s candidate, Chief Osita Eze, won the supplementary election with 108 votes and with over 300 votes outstanding (during the March 18 election) ahead of other contestants.

Eze was declared winner of the election by INEC after he defeated his closest rival, Mr. Jeff Mba of the Peoples Democratic party, PDP.

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Mbah who was not satisfied with the outcome of the polls went to court challenging the victory of the lawmaker on the ground that he was not elected by majority of lawful votes cast.

He also alleged that the election was marred by violence, gross irregularities and voter suppression.

PDP and her candidate, Jeff Mbah, prayed the tribunal to void the return made by INEC and grant the reliefs sought in their petition by declaring him the rightful winner of the election.

Delivering her judgment on Monday, the three man honourable justices in a unanimous judgment, dismissed the petition for being vague, frivolous, lacking in merit, nebulous and academic exercise.

The tribunal noted that the petitioners were not able to prove the allegations contained in their petition beyond reasonable doubt, coupled with the fact that the witnesses and exhibits presented were not tangible enough to contradict the electoral body’s decision.

In an interview with Daily Gazette shortly after the judgment, Hon. Osita Eze who could not hide his joy over the outcome, thanked the judges for standing by the truth and assured the people of Oji River State Constituency of a robust, quality and accountable representation.