Two factions exist in one of Nigeria’s top opposition parties, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

A camp with allegiance to Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, presidential candidate of the party in the 2023 general elections, and another clique loyal to the Board of Trustees (BoT) are battling to take over control of the party While one of the factions announced the expulsion of Kwankwaso on Tuesday, September 5, Kwankwaso’s camp swiftly quashed their sanction.

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Johnson, an ally of Rabiu Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) on Tuesday, frowned at reports of the expulsion of the former Kano state governor by a faction of the party.

Johnson, who is the national auditor of the NNPP, said Major Agbo’s faction which sacked Kwankwaso, lacks the capacity to dismiss the former governor.

“Major Agbo’s faction cannot speak for NNPP. Expelwho? These people are no longer our people. They are out of the party and cannot speak on behalf of the party. Let them form their own party or go to court. It is as simple as that. There are so many important things to worry about in this country. ”

“How can they expel Kwankwaso? Someone whose relationship with the National Working Committee is intact here at the national headquarters in Abuja? We will soon be having a press conference to address this matter.”

Over the last few months, the NNPP has been facing a lingering conflict, with accusations and counter-accusations by party chieftains.

Senator Kwankwaso’s expulsion was announced by the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party. It was gathered that Kwankwaso’s expulsion became necessary after he refused to appear before the party’s Disciplinary Committee.

The National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Lagos state on Monday affirmed the declaration and return of the candidate of the Labour Party who is representing Oshodi/Isolo Constituency II at the federal House of Representatives, Prince Okey-Joe Onuakalusi.

The three-member tribunal headed by Justice Abass Abdullah while delivery judgment held that the Petitioners, Ganiyu Johnson of the All Progressives Congress lack the legal right to meddle into the conduct of a political party where he is neither a member nor an aspirant.

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The Court however dismissed the APC’s petition for lacking in merit and described it as mere academic exercise.

“The Petitioners have no locus to meddle into the affair of another political party” the court declared.

Reacting to the rulling, member representing, Oshodi/Isolo federal constituency, Prince

Okey-Joe Onuakalusi described the judgment as a landmark verdict not just for democracy, but also for the rule of law.

He assured his constituents of a robust representation anchored on the will of the people.

A human rights and pro-democracy group, Take It Back Movement (TIB) has vowed to do everything lawful to resist Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS) from subverting the right of Nigerians to protest in the country.

The group said this on Monday morning while reacting to the DSS’s statement that it had uncovered plans by some unnamed people to organise violent protests in the country over the country’s socio-economic challenges.

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DSS had in a statement released by its Public Relations Officer, Peter Afunanya, on Monday, said it had uncovered a sinister plan to cause a crisis in the country.

The DSS said intelligence reports indicate that the plotters include certain politicians who are desperately mobilising unsuspecting student leaders, ethnic-based associations, youths and disgruntled groups for the planned action. The DSS warns “those desirous of subverting national security to retrace their steps”. “This is more so that it will not hesitate to legally come against persons and groups behind the devious plans,” it added. However, the TIB said that Nigerians have a constitutional right to protest and that the right is not subject to review or sentiments of the DSS. “The right of Nigerians to protest is constitutionally guaranteed, and not subject to reviews or sentiments of the State Security Service @OfficialDSSNG. “Attempt to subvert this right will be resisted, and challenged with all lawful means within our disposal,” the group said on its X handle.

“The right of Nigerians to protest is constitutionally guaranteed, and not subject to reviews or sentiments of the State Security Service”

“@OfficialDSSNG. Attempt to subvert this right will be resisted, and challenged with all lawful means within our disposal.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has claimed that the petition of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP and its governorship candidate, Prof. Sani Yahaya over the outcome of the last governorship election in Taraba state was not well founded.

Counsel to INEC, Emeka Okoro, who spoke Monday in Jalingo after the sitting of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, said the petitioners did not provide enough evidence to prove the case of irregularity during the poll and should be dismissed.

According to him, “one of the main issues in contention in this case is that the documents that the petitioners are relying upon is what is known in law as documentary hearsay.

“The law requires that if you are relying on a document, the maker of the document is supposed to be called as a witness because only the maker of the document knows the circumstances that led to the making of the document.

“And if there are questions that the litigating parties have he is the only one that can answer it.

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“Lawyers to the various parties adopted their written addresses and adumbrated as to why, on the part of the respondents, the petition should be dismissed and the petitioners have adopted and adumbrated as to why the petition should succeed.

“And the position of INEC is that the petitioners did not do enough to challenge the presumption of irregularity that the petition enjoys.

“In addition, the petitioners substantially abandoned their petition, like what they are asking the tribunal to grant, is their alternative reliefs.

” In other words, they have expressly abandoned the main reliefs they are claiming. That one on its own shows that the petition is not well founded”.

Counsel to NNPP, Ibrahim Isiaku who also spoke, said their petition was enough to prove their case.

According to him, the contentious issues as expressly stated in their petition include “non accreditation of voters in so many polling units, more votes than those accredited in some polling units and altered results.

“All these things are before the court and the effect of this is that the election in those polling units ought to be cancelled.

“But above all, what we try to bring out to the tribunal is that at the conclusion of the election, during collation, INEC’s returning officer signed a letter to the national headquarters stating that there was pressure on them to declare the result.”

The Lagos State House of Assembly will on Tuesday, begin screening of the second batch of 18 commissioner-nominees sent by Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the state on Monday.

The Speaker, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, made this known at plenary.

Obasa urged the screening committee led by Mr Fatai Mojeed to ensure a thorough screening process of the new nominees and report to the house on Thursday.

The speaker said the 18 commissioner-nominees were Dr Afolabi Tajudeen, Mr Oluwaseun Osiyemi, Prof. Akin Abayomi, Mr Olalere Odusote, Dr Oluwarotimi Fashola, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medem, Mr Akinyemi Ajigbotafe and Mr Samuel Egube.

Obasa said others were Mr Tolani Akibu, Mrs Bolaji Dada, Mrs Barakat Bakare, Mr Olugbenga Omotoso, Mr Mosopefolu George, Mr Yekini Agbaje, Dr Olumide Oluyinka, Mr Abayomi Oluyomi, Dr Iyabode Ayoola and Mr Sola Giwa.

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Prior to the speaker’s comment, the Clerk of the House, Mr Olalekan Onafeko, read a letter from the governor listing the names presented.

Onafeko said Sanwo-Olu said some of the names were represented while new names were added.

The clerk said the letter thanked the speaker and members of the House for their diligence and commitment in relation to the recent screening and confirmation of 22 nominees.

“Your rigorous assessment of these nominees in adherence to your constitutional obligations demonstrates your dedication to ensuring a competent and effective council.

“After careful consideration of the 17 names that were rejected, I have decided to represent a list of nominees which includes a balanced selection of previously presented and new individuals.

“This list represents a broad political spectrum and diverse backgrounds reflective of the rich diversity of our lovely state,” the clerk quoted Sanwo-Olu as saying.

The clerk quoted the governor as saying that he was confident that the new nominees would bring fresh ideas that would help the growth and progress of the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the assembly on Wednesday, rejected 17 commissioner nominees, including the former commissioner for health, Prof. Akin Abayomi and former commissioner for information, Mr Gbenga Omotosho.

The lawmakers, however, confirmed 22 other commissioner nominees of the governor.

The exercise, which was done through a voice vote, was a sequel to the screening of the nominees at the Assembly’s Committee of the Whole at plenary.

The Edo state National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Benin, has upheld the declaration of Sen Adams Oshiomhole, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the Edo North Senatorial district election during the February 25 presidential and National Assembly election.

The tribunal also upheld the declaration of Hon. Ihonvbere Onozuanvbo Julius of APC as the winner of Owan Federal Constituency election.

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The Independent National Electoral Commissioner (INEC) during the February 25 general election declared Sen. Oshiomhole and Hon. Ihonvbere was the winner of the election and dissatisfied with the result, the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, former Sen. Francis Alimikhena and Jimoh Ijiegbai, respectively, approached the tribunal alleging irregularities and called for a rerun.

Delivering judgement in the petition filed by Sen. Alimikhena, Justice (Prof) Alero E. Akeredolu, who read the three-man tribunal ruling, dismissed the petition for lacking in merit, Justice Akeredolu said the tribunal had carefully perused all exhibits along with written addresses and that the petitioner’s decision to call only one witness was fatal to their case.

Also in the petition filed by Jimoh Ijiegbai, the tribunal chairman, Justice O. A. Chijioke, dismissed the petition for lacking merit.

He held that the petitioners could not prove that there was over voting as it didn’t meet the requirements of the law in doing so.

Reacting, the state APC secretary Mr. Lawrence Okha, described the judgement as a victory for democracy.

On his part, counsel to the petitioner, Rasak Isenalume, said the tribunal came to the conclusion that the petition has no merit and dismissed the case and gave reasons.

“We would brief our client and there is a step further, if it becomes necessary and we have instruction we would explore the other option. So, that is the position.”

By Ken Eluma Asogwa,

In my March 4th, 2023 opinion article on the Enugu Guber election, I was very categorical in stating that Peter Mbah would not be governor of Enugu State.

First, I was firm in my conviction that he would lose the election to Hon. Chijioke Edeoga of the Labour Party. I hinged my reason on the soaring image of Edeoga which at the time already commanded statewide appeal. I was right because Edeoga eventually won, though some centrifugal forces congregated in Abuja and conspired amongst themselves to delay the victory.

Second, I also argued that in the unlikely event that Mbah won, he would not be governor of Enugu State because he submitted a forged NYSC Discharge Certificate to INEC. It is this latter position that the present discourse will centre on.

Hear me again !
Peter Mbah will be sacked by the Enugu Tribunal. And even if he survives the Tribunal’s hammer, the Supreme Court will definitely axe him.
Reason? He parades a forged NYSC Discharge Certificate !
This thing is as clear as broad daylight.

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To be clear, I am not oblivious to the concerns and discontents people have about the Nigerian judiciary. I must concede that those reservations are not unfounded. I reckon with the fears of people who saw a certain Ahmed Lawan become a candidate of a political party in an election primary he did not participate in. I also would not close my eyes to the injustice that ensured that someone who came a distant 4th in a governorship election was thereafter catapulted to number one by the court. Need I talk about how Akpabio became a senator in 2023 and eventually rose to become the Senate President?

All the above instances happened under the watch and with the active complicity of the Supreme Court. It’s the combined effects of the above factors that have made some naysayers conclude that it’s not yet Uhuru for Edeoga and the Enugu Labour Party. While I acknowledge the reality of the above apprehensions, the good news is that Peter Mbah’s case will be treated differently for a number of reasons.

One, Nigeria is presently torn between allowing Peter Mbah to remain as a governor and sustaining the NYSC Scheme. One must give way for the other to remain in place. Unfortunately for Mbah, his case has one leg of it that threatens the existence of an institution of the Nigerian State, the NYSC. The NYSC has proven beyond a reasonable doubt in the Enugu Tribunal that the certificate Mbah parades were not issued by them. So, Mbah’s continued stay in office is an affront to the Constitution, the grundnorm of our laws. He has become a moral burden on the Nigerian State and I am certain the judiciary will offload him.

Two, Peter Mbah’s defeat at the poll was so overwhelming that the persons who helped him in Owo and Ugbawka to produce the wonder votes could not cover their tracks well. They left lots and lots of evidence in their trail that cannot be wished away by the judiciary. Edeoga’s team was able to piece these pieces of evidence together and made a very sound presentation at the Tribunal.

Three, like the Biblical Saul, the people who conspired to foist Peter Mbah on Enugu people, at some point in the course of the hearing at the Tribunal, decided to clean out their closets. Unlike Hope Uzodinma’s case wherein INEC’s submissions helped Gov. Uzodinma, INEC’s testimony at the Enugu Tribunal appeared like the confessions of a Born Again Christian who suddenly decided to confess his sins after an encounter with Christ. INEC, the chief culprit in the Enugu electoral heist, literally became a hostile witness to Mbah at the Tribunal. While I may be reluctant in x-raying the reasons for their sudden volte-face, what is however important is that INEC largely agreed with the submissions of the Labour Party at the Tribunal.

Fourth, the political permutations and power play at the centre, most of which involve the powers that be at the highest level of governance in Nigeria, would consume Peter Mbah. Without prejudice to the exclusive powers of the judiciary to determine Mbah’s fate, I know for a fact that the ongoing discussions amongst those who control the levers of power are seriously weighing against Mbah.

Five, in Oyetola vs. Adeleke, the Supreme Court recently held that it’s only the issuing authority of a certificate that has the sole authority, to the exclusion of any other authority or entity, to validate or repudiate the certificate issued by that authority. Peter Mbah and his coterie of lawyers knew this and that was why they did everything to stop NYSC from coming to testify at the Enugu Tribunal.

Unfortunately for Mbah, the NYSC was able to dismantle all the legal bottlenecks put in their way of appearing at the Tribunal. It was when it dawned on Mbah that NYSC was coming to testify that he ran to the DSS in search of elusive cover. Unfortunately for him, the DSS’ evidence is too watery to be given any probative value by the Tribunal.

While I would refrain from going into the conversation around the authenticity of the DSS agent who testified at the Tribunal, especially against the background of the allegation that the so-called agent answered a name that is not contained in the Secret Service’s staff directory, one thing that is certain is that the Supreme Court will not overrule its recent judgement on Osun election in the Enugu case.

Therefore, as Peter Mbah begins to wind down his short-lived administration, my advice for him is to curtail the number of queries that might be coming his way when the immunity cloak falls off. Already, there are reports of mindless looting and plundering of Enugu State resources in a bid to recover electoral expenses before the hammer falls. Mbah should remember that he would be answering to a case of certificate forgery when the immunity evaporates and cannot afford to have EFCC come after him in addition to the forgery case.

Asogwa, a lawyer and foreign relations expert, is the CEO of Afri Forecasts and can be reached via k.e.asogwa@afriforecasts.com