Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang of Plateau state yesterday said the Court of Appeal was unfair to him in nullifying his election.

Mutfwang, who stated this while presenting to the Supreme Court the eight points he presented to the Court of Appeal to prove the validity of his election, of which only one was determined, also said he was not given fair hearing by the Appellate Court

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He said the dismissal of the seven issues he raised by the Court of Appeal was against the directive of the Supreme Court that intermediate courts should pronounce on all issues placed before it

He pleaded with the Supreme Court to declare him as the validly elected governor of Plateau State.

Mutfwang, who made the submission in his brief at the Supreme Court by eight-man team of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, led by Kanu Agabi, said “the law is settled that wherever there is a wrong, there must be a remedy.”

The hearing of his brief by the Supreme Court comes up on Tuesday.

He said: “Eight issues were distilled and placed before the court below for determination. Unfortunately, only one issue (of jurisdiction) was determined by the court below leaving untouched seven issues.

“This court has stated in quite a number of cases that intermediate courts should pronounce on all issues placed before it. It should not restrict it to one or more issues which its opinion may dispose of the matter.

“This is to give the apex court the benefit of their views in the matter should there be need to consider other issues not determined by the intermediate court.

Mutfwang insisted that since he was not given fair hearing the Supreme Court should dismiss the judgment of the Court of Appeal which invalidated his election.

He added: “It is our further submission that having denied fair hearing to the Appellant, with respect to the Notice of Preliminary Objection as well as a Motion to strike out the incompetent Grounds of Appeal, the decision of the lower Court to dismiss same is, with all due respect manifestly flawed.”

Retired Justice Muhammad Dattijo’s official quarters at the Supreme Court were reportedly burgled during the Christmas holidays in December 2023.

The quarters for Supreme Court justices are in Maitama in Abuja.

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Sources said the home was stripped bare as the burglars “took everything from the house”.

“The burglary took place at the quarters for Supreme Court justices in Maitama. It occurred over the Christmas holidays and Dattijo was travelling out of the country at the time,” one of the sources said.

Dattijo, who retired from the Supreme Court on October 27, 2023, knocked his colleagues on his way out.

He described the apex court as rotten and characterised by filth.

He lamented that the apex court had been pervaded by bribery and perversion of justice, adding that it was dangerous for two out of the six geopolitical zones of the country to be excluded from the bench of the Supreme Court hearing appeals on the presidential election.

Lamenting that the appointments of judicial officers have been political, selfish and sectional interests, he said, “It is asserted that the process of appointment to judicial positions is deliberately conducted to give undue advantage to the children, spouses and mistresses of serving and retired judges and managers of judicial offices.

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“At the Court of Appeal, it is asserted, presiding justices are now being appointed out of turn. And there is the further issue of the unpredictable nature of recent decisions of the courts as well.

“A number of respected senior members of the bar inter alia, citing Ahmed Lawan, the former President of the Senate and Imo governorship appeals, claim that decisions of even the apex court have become unpredictable.

“It is difficult to understand how and where, by these decisions, the judicial pendulum swings. It was not so before, they contended.

“In some quarters, the view is strongly held that filth and intrigues characterise the institution these days. Judges are said to be comfortable in companies they never would have kept in the past. It is being insinuated that some judicial officers even campaign for politicians. It cannot be more damnifying.”

According to him, some years ago, “appointment to the bench was strictly on merit. Sound knowledge of the law, integrity, honour and hard work distinguished those who were elevated”.

He continued, “Lobbying was unheard of. I never lobbied, not at any stage of my career, to secure any appointment or elevation. As much as possible, the most qualified men and women were appointed. That can no longer be said about appointments to the bench

“The judiciary must be uniquely above board. Appointments should not be polluted by political, selfish and sectional interests. The place of merit, it must be urged, cannot be overemphasised.

“Public perceptions of the judiciary have over the years become witheringly scornful and monstrously critical,” he lamented and called for urgent reform in the judiciary to correct the alleged anomalies.”

“As we enter into the New Year, many do the usual: “thank God for keeping me alive, for my healthy children, for the house I built”.

Personally, I have a lot to be grateful for this year. I survived a ghastly motor accident on the 14th of April 2023, after being rigged out of the Senatorial elections I overwhelmingly won. Gratefully the courts bided me justice on the 31st of October 2023.

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Indeed, 2023 was quite a remarkable year but we can’t help but think about the suffering lot and those who died only to assume that God loves them less.

Two recent unfortunate incidents come to mind, the Tudun Biri Kaduna drone strike of the 3rd December 2023 where 88 innocent people were killed by an erroneous military air attack. Shouldn’t have happened at all. Then the Black Christmas for residents of Bokkos and Barkin communities in Plateau where over 150 people were killed by terrorists. The image of the crying baby strapped on her dead mother’s back still haunts!!!

Today, millions of Nigerians live in the despair of poverty and joblessness amidst the high cost of living. Quality basic education is a luxury and our women are still held hostage for want of settling maternity bills in poorly fit healthcare facilities. The roads… oh the roads are death traps and playgrounds for bandits and kidnappers.

“You are a Senator, fix these problems” I sense many say.

Yes, I can… and so can you… as well as the President. We can fix the problems ourselves and rebuild the Nigeria of our dreams.

How about starting off 2024 by making a resolution for accountability?

On grounds of negligence, we can call for the sack and prosecution of the Army commandant who ordered the Tudun Biri air strike.

We can call for the sack of the Plateau State Director of DSS and Commissioner of Police for gross incompetence over the killings in Plateau.

Fellow Nigerians, you are mostly young, smart, and intuitive; there lies your power… let 2024 be a time you show yourself changing narratives in well-defined civil spaces. I, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan will walk with you!

Let 2024 be a year you unleash your potential.

Nigeria’s music industry wasn’t established by the government but by ordinary citizens webbing an ecosystem responsive enough to own their space in the world. Afrobeats thrives!!!

Who says you can’t do same with Science and Technology what you did to the music industry? Who says you can’t revolutionise alternative medicine in the wake of the pharmaceutical giant’s departure from Nigeria? In the past two weeks, I watched the NAFDAC DG and Sen. Aminu Abbas, Chairman Committee on Science and Technology make strong cases to support startups and clinic research in furtherance of alternative medicine.

The next big pharma could be Nigerian!!!

Let our specialised TechHubs be your playground. Station F of France, STING of Stockholm,Botswana Innovation Hub… brace up innovators!!!

Nigerian youths, let 2024 be a year you take charge of your government.

Question the numerous MoUs and contracts entered by foreign investors and the Federal/State governments. That’s how unqualified Shell companies are uncovered and we can avoid another SolGas, GINL Ajaokuta steel & Delta steel mishap.

Critique our bilateral agreements and treaties. Some are meaningless, obsolete, and sovereign traps. Help Nigeria escape from neocolonialism!!!

Demand monthly question-and-answer sessions with your president. Share your developmental ideas and public opinions. He is your president till 2027 so you might as well begin to make the best use of him for you!!!

Remember Nigeria is ours to fix.

Remember the dead of yesterday could be us tomorrow.

Remember politicians’ promises are only as real as you make them by demanding accountability and recalling the unperforming amongst us.

In 2024, intentionally critique the budget … follow the money… monitor the contracts.

Know that every single kobo borrowed to fund the budget is a debt on all of us including the unborn children. So treat governance seriously. Your democratic rights don’t end at the polls… it starts there. Be involved, we shall work with you!!!

So as we thank God for making us see this New Year, let the lives of those who died not be in vain.

As we give thanks for the health of our children, remember the children in the kidnappers’ dens.

While we thank God for the new houses we moved into or built, remember those rendered homeless by the flood and insurgencies.

Be concerned and emphatic about the situations in other states and regions because as we are all bound in poverty and insurgencies ; we shall also be bound in the successes of our innovators and industrialists.

Finally, please learn to apply the Law of Attraction internationally to your daily life because you are your own self programmer. I did this from childhood long before I knew the philosophy existed and it worked. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho are good books to read free on the net.

Unambiguous determination sets in motion series of events that would work in your favor. I’d love to practice this with you all.

So let’s leave the fears and tears of 2023 and intentionally seek a prosperous 2024.

Happy New Year resilient Nigerians
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan
Kogi Central

Senator Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia state has appealed to Nigerians to give President Bola Tinubu’s administration more time to fix the economy.

Uzor-Kalu, a former chief whip of the Senate, acknowledged that Nigerians were going economic hardship.

The senator spoke on Tuesday in Koli-Edda in Afikpo South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State when he visited the chairperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi State, Stanley Okoro-Emegha.

Mr Kalu, a former Abia State governor, said Mr Tinubu was working hard to reposition the country’s economy and restore its lost glory, adding that Nigerians should give the president time.

“The APC government is cutting the cloth into pieces. Before you sew a cloth you will first cut it into pieces; so, Tinubu is busy cutting the cloth into pieces.

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“So, give us another three years or two years; people are suffering. We understand that, give us more two years for the cloth we want to sew to be sewn very well,” Mr Kalu said.

The senator spoke on why the National Assembly added billions of naira to the 2024 budget.

“We said that we are going to do a census and Nigeria has put several billions of naira in planning for the national census in 2023, and if we did not vote money for the conduct of the exercise, Nigeria will be losing about N289 billion,” he said.

The senator urged Nigerian youths to be agents of positive change, by shunning social vices and any act that is capable of breaching the peace and security of the country.
(NAN)

A pro Peoples Democratic Party group, PDP Forever Initiative, has asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to allow thorough investigation of the minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Betta Edu over the controversial missing funds.

The call became necessary following the suspension of the National Co-ordinator /Chief Executive Officer of the National Social Investment Agency (NSIPA), Ms Halima Shehu, by President Tinubu.

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The group also faulted the suspension of Ms Halima Shehu without any investigation into the matter, urging the President to reverse the suspension.

The NSIPA National Coordinator was reportedly suspended on Tuesday over alleged missing funds.

Addressing a press conference Wednesday in Abuja, President of the PDP group, Comrade Obande Gideon Obande, called on “President Tinubu to quickly intervene and address Nigerians if truly there is a missing funds and how the funds got missing. Investigation will reveal the real culprits who is stealing or trying to steal public funds.”

According to Obande, It is wrong for Mr President to approve the suspension of Ms Hailma Shehu and immediately replaced her with a yoruba man instead of the most senior civil servant in her agency which is from the North.

“It is also very undeserving that Mr President would approve a suspension of his appointee without investigation or setting up investigative panel to unravel the allegations that must have led to the suspension.

“However, information at our disposal revealed that the Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation may have question to answer as Ms Halima had worked with her for three years when she was the APC National Woman Leader and possibly influenced her appointment at NSIPA. What must have gone wrong?”

The group also accused the the Humanitarian minister of allegedly “attempting to cover up some misdoings in government.

“As opposition coalition, we raised alarm toward the end of 2023 that the Honourable Minister Betta Edu may have connived with some highly placed persons to undermine the Tinubu’s administration of Renewed Hope Agenda which was evident in the manner ficticious names were been enrolled in the National social register and sub-change Nigerians who are to be the direct Beneficiary of the social investment program.

“Today, the Honourable Minister is enjoying her holiday while the National Co-ordinator and CEO of NSIPA is being sacrificed. If the government is sincere, the Honourable Minister should have been suspended alongside the National Co-ordinator and CEO of NSIPA to pave way for effective investigation.

“Because we are aware that there have been direct dealings of the Minister with the coordinators instead of reporting to the National Coordinator/Chief Executive Officer of NSIPA, they report directly to the Minister, thereby neglecting the people of Nigeria.

“Let it be on record, that once government is formed, it is the responsibility of all Nigerians irrespective of political affiliations, it is of our interest as Nigerians to set the record straight especially now that the federal government is derailing.

“We are aware that the Federal Government is not ready to address some critical issues raised by Nigerians like the ongoing debate on the Bogus 28. trillion Naira 2024 budget and it’s realization, the expansion of the National Social Register which the Minister of Humanitarian is handling unilaterally without due process and the availability of the unapplication form to deserving Nigerians.”

New Chief of staff to Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, Edison Ehie has withdrawn his contempt proceedings suit against 25 of the 27 defected lawmakers.

Last December, Ehie, a close ally of the governor, declared the seats of 27 lawmakers vacant over their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

However, two of the lawmakers later returned to the PDP. Ehie led the group of five lawmakers loyal to the governor.

Fubara on the other hand has been engaged in a fierce political battle with his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, the FCT minister.

Earlier, Ehie filed contempt proceedings at the Rivers state high court in Port Harcourt against 25 of them in which he challenged their sittings and legislative activities.

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In an interesting turn of events, Ehie resigned his position in the House of Assembly following the peace deal reached between Governor Fubara and Wike.

Now Mr Ehie is discontinuing and withdrawing his suit against the 25 lawmakers.

When the matter came up for hearing of applications pending before the court today, counsel to the Claimant, Mac-Barango Esq informed the court about a Notice of Discontinuance filed by his clients. He applied that the court should give effect to the said Notice.

This request wasn’t challenged by the defendant’s counsel and as such was struck out by the judge.

The Department of State Services, DSS, on Thursday released Mr. Ebubechukwu Patrick Okafor, a serving corps member who was arrested by the Service alongside his father, Mr. Ugulu O. Ugulu, PDP LG chairmanship aspirant in Enugu State.

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Enugu popular lawyer, Chief AOU Onyema had in a lettter dated January 2, 2024, addressed to the Enugu state director of DSS, prayed the Service to release the detained father and son pending the outcome of their investigation.

In a telephone interview with Daily Gazette, the clients’ lawyer, Chief AOU Onyema said Mr. Ebubechukwu Patrick Okafor has been released.

Barr. Onyema said Mr. Ugulu received a phone call on December 20, 2023 from the DSS inviting him to their office the following day, which he honoured.

As at the time of filing this report, reason for the arrest is not yet known.

However, Barr. Onyema raised concerns about the potential political motivation behind the arrest, given Mr. Ugulu’s involvement in the upcoming Enugu State LGA Chairmanship Election.

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He further called for a timely review of the application he submitted, hoping for a swift resolution of whatever issues that may have warranted the arrest and detention.

“Latest update is that the son has been released this evening, remaining his father” Onyema concluded.