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Presidential Tribunal Begins Hearing of Atiku’s Petition Against Buhari, INEC

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5 years ago

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The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja has fixed today (Wednesday) to commence pre-hearing session on four petitions that are seeking to invalidate President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election. Buhari and Atiku.

The petitioners are separately challenging the declaration of President Buhari as the legitimate winner of the February 23 presidential election. Vanguard learned that the tribunal has already issued pre-hearing notice on all the parties.

Basically, the session affords the tribunal the opportunity to meet the parties with a view to setting up modalities to be adopted in the actual hearing of substantive issues in dispute. Meantime, aside the petition marked CA/PEPC/002/2019, which was entered against Buhari by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Atiku, on March 18, the second petition marked CA/ PEPC/001/2019, was by the presidential candidate of the Hope Democratic Party, HDP, Chief Ambrose Owuru who secured a total of 1,663 in the election.

While the third petition, CA/PEPC/004/2019, was lodged by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Movement, PDM, Pastor Aminchi Habu, who is seeking a fresh election on the basis that his party’s logo was not included in the ballot paper.

The last petition with suit No. CA/PEPC/003/2019, was filed by the Coalition For Change, C4C and its presidential candidate, Geff Chizee Ojinka, who are contending that Buhari’s re-election was vitiated by substantial non-compliance with mandatory statutory provisions.

The petitioners maintained that the irregularity substantially affected the election, “such that the 1st Respondent was not entitled to be returned as the Winner of the Presidential election”. Remarkably, unlike in all the other petitions where only Buhari, the APC and INEC were cited as Respondents, the C4C, which garnered a total of 2,391 votes at the presidential poll, cited the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, as the 2nd Respondent in its case.

It will be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had on February 27, declared that Buhari garnered a total of 15,191,847 votes to defeat his closest rival, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the opposition PDP, who it said polled a total of 11,262,978 votes.

However, Atiku had almost immediately the result was announced, vowed to upturn it in court. Specifically, in their joint petition, Atiku and his party, insisted that data they secured from INEC’s server, revealed that they clearly defeated President Buhari with over 1.6million votes. The petitioners alleged that INEC had at various stages of the presidential election, unlawful allocated votes to President Buhari, saying they would adduce oral and documentary evidence to show that result of the election as announced by the electoral body, did not represent the lawful valid votes cast Atiku alleged that in some states, INEC, deducted lawful votes that accrued to him, in its bid to ensure that Buhari was returned back to office.

The petitioners said they would call evidence of statisticians, forensic examiners and finger-print experts at the hearing of the petition to establish that the scores credited to Buhari were not the product of actual votes validly cast at the polling units.

“The Petitioners plead and shall rely on electronic video recordings, newspaper reports, photographs and photographic images of several infractions of the electoral process by the Respondents”, they added.

More so, in one of the five grounds of the petition, Atiku and the PDP maintained that Buhari was not qualified to run for the office of the President, contending that he does not possess the constitutional minimum qualification of a school certificate. The petitioners serialised results that were recorded from each state of the federation in order to prove that the alleged fraudulent allocation of votes to Buhari and the APC, took place at the polling units, the ward collating centres, local government collating centres and the State collating centres.

They argued that proper collation and summation of the presidential election results would show that contrary to what INEC declared, Atiku, garnered a total of 18,356,732 votes, ahead of Buhari who they said got a total of 16,741,430 votes.

“The Petitioners state that Smart Card Readers deployed by the 1st Respondent, in addition to accreditation, equally transmitted electronically the results of voting from polling units directly to the server of the 1st Respondent.

“The Presiding Officers of the 1st Respondent directly inputted the results from the polling units at the end of voting and transmitted directly to the server, in addition to manually taking the Form EC8As to the Wards for collation.

“The 1st Respondent is hereby given notice to produce the records of results from each polling unit uploaded and transmitted electronically by officials of the 1st Respondent through smart card readers to the 1st Respondent’s Servers.

“The Petitioners plead and rely on the 1st Respondent’s Manual Technologies 2019, and notice is hereby given to the 1st Respondent to produce same at the trial. The 1st Respondent’s agents at the polling units used the Smart Card Reader for electronic collation and transmission of results.

“The Petitioners plead and shall rely on and play at the trial, the video demonstration by the 1st Respondent of the deployment of Smart Card Reader for authentication of accreditation and for transmission of data. Wherefore, the Petitioners pray jointly and severally against the Respondents as follows: “That it may be determined that the 2nd Respondent (Buhari) was not duly elected by a majority of lawful votes cast in the said election and therefore the declaration and return of the 2nd Respondent by the 1st Respondent as the President of Nigeria is unlawful, undue, null, void and of no effect.

“That it may be determined that the 1st Petitioner (Atiku) was duly and validly elected and ought to be returned as President of Nigeria, having polled the highest number of lawful votes cast at the election to the office of the President of Nigeria held on 23rd February 2019 and having satisfied the constitutional requirements for the said election. “An order directing the 1st Respondent to issue Certificate of Return to the 1st Petitioner as the duly elected President of Nigeria.

“That it may be determined that the 2nd Respondent was at the time of the election not qualified to contest the said election. “That it may be determined that the 2nd Respondent submitted to the Commission affidavit containing false information of a fundamental nature in aid of his qualification for the said election”. In the alternative, the petitioners prayed the tribunal to nullify the February 23 presidential election and order a fresh poll.

However, in a swift reaction, both Buhari and the APC, filed preliminary objections to challenge the competence of the petitions, even as they challenged Atiku’s locus-standi to even participate in the Presidential poll. In his objection, Buhari described Atiku as a serial loser, boasting that he had always defeated him in every electoral contest that both of them took part in.

President Buhari insisted that electorates always chose him ahead of Atiku in both inter-party or intra-party contests, using the 2014 presidential primaries the All Progressives Congress, APC, as an instance.

“In particular, at the primary election conducted by the 3rd respondent (APC) in 2014, to pick its presidential candidate for the 2015 election, the 1st petitioner and respondent, amongst others, were the candidates; and while the respondent polled 3,430 votes, 1st petitioner came a distant third with 954 votes”. Besides, President Buhari, queried the powers of the tribunal to nullify his election victory at the poll, contending that the joint petition Atiku and the PDP entered against him was incompetent as it was based on conjectures.

Insisting that reliefs the petitioners are seeking from the tribunal were “vague, nebulous and lacking in specificity”, argued that most of the issues and grounds of the petition were not only “mutually exclusive”, but also outside the jurisdiction of the tribunal.

He contended that by virtue of section 31(5) and (6) of the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended, only the Federal High Court or High Court of a State has jurisdiction to adjudicate on some the issues, among which included the allegation that he was bereft of the requisite educational qualification. Buhari told the tribunal that contrary to Atiku’s allegation that he submitted false academic qualifications in the Form CF001 he used to secure clearance from the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, he said he was at the time of the election, “eminently qualified to contest the election, having not only the minimum qualification of reading up to secondary school level, but rose to the peak of his career as a General in the Nigerian Army with cognate experience and training.

Buhari said he has more educational qualification than Atiku. Likewise, his party, the APC, in its own objection, branded Atiku an alien, alleging that he is not a Nigerian by birth and therefore was not qualified to contest the February 23 presidential poll. APC told the tribunal that the PDP candidate is a Cameroonian.

According to APC, Atiku, was born on November 25, 1946 in Jada, Adamawa, in Northern Cameroon and is therefore a citizen of Cameroon and not a Nigerian by birth. It told the tribunal that prior to 1919, Cameroon was being administered by Germany, adding that following the defeat of Germany in World War 1, which ended in 1918, Cameroon, became part of a League of Nations mandate territory which consisted of French Cameroon and British Cameroon in 1919. APC noted that in 1961, a plebiscite was held in British Cameroon to determine whether the people preferred to stay in Cameroon or align with Nigeria. It stressed that while Northern Cameroon preferred a union with Nigeria, the Southern Cameroon chose alignment with the mother country, saying it was as a result of the plebiscite that Northern Cameroon, which included Adamawa, became part of Nigeria. The ruling party argued that contrary to Atiku’s claims in his petition, he had no right to be voted for as a candidate in the election to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria held on February 23, 2019.

Buhari, APC, out to cover corruption, incompetence- PDP It averred that by reason of Atiku’s ineligibility to contest the election, all votes credited to him and the PDP in the February 23 election ought to be deemed as wasted votes. APC contended that most of the claims contained in Atiku’s petition have become statute barred, arguing that the Tribunal was therefore bereft of the jurisdiction to entertain it.

However, in a further response he filed before the tribunal, Atiku, rebuked the APC, describing the allegation that he is a Cameroonian as puerile, face saving, vexatious, absolutely and completely unfounded.

Atiku maintained that he is a full blooded Nigerian, even as he urged the tribunal to ignore what he termed as “extraneous facts, contradictory, diversionary, evasive, speculative and vague assertions”, by both the APC and President Buhari. Atiku told the tribunal that contrary to APC’s allegation that he is an alien, he said he is a Nigerian by birth and a Fulani by tribe, adding that his parents were from Jigawa and Sokoto states. INEC replacing servers nationwide, PDP alleges

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BIG STORY

Dangote Cement Okpella Commits To Development, Social Support For Host Communities

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39 mins ago

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July 8, 2024

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  • signs epochal Development Agreement with Okpella Communities

 

Management of Dangote Cement, Okpella has signed a development and social support agreement with its Okpella Edo state host communities in demonstration of its commitment to the development and overall well-being of host communities and their people, as a responsible corporate entity.

The signing of the Community Development Agreement (CDA) came just as the Edo state and the federal government commended the company for its proactiveness in planning for the growth of its host communities as a sure means of promoting peaceful co-habitation.

The Okpella Plant Director, Dangote Cement Plc, Mr. Mohammed Ismaeel, at the CDA signing ceremony said the cement company has fully complied with the provisions of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 and that of the Minerals and Mining Regulation 2011 of the federal republic of Nigeria.

Signing the agreement on behalf of the company at Okpella, Mr. Ismaeel said the ceremony was very significant in that it aimed at promoting harmonious and mutual benefits between the cement company and its host communities.

“Today’s occasion is not only a demonstration of our compliance to these regulatory provisions as a responsible corporate organization but it also a demonstration of our commitment to the development and overall wellbeing of our host communities.

“For us as a company, we believe in the mantra, good neighbourliness is good business, hence we are doing everything possible to maintain harmonious relationship with all the communities where we operate”, Ismaeel added.

He added that the occasion marks the beginning of concrete infrastructural development and social supports in the areas of education, improved access to health care, economic empowerment programmes targeted at the youths, women and the farming population, improved access to potable water, support to improve electrification and power supply among other things.

The Plant Director pointed out that the CDA also provides for scholarship grants for students in secondary and tertiary institutions to promote excellence in educational pursuits of indigent students from Dangote Cement, Okpella host communities.

He added that the CDA document clearly states the consultative framework for engagements, grievance management and obligations of both the Plant and the host communities for mutual growth and development stressing that, it is clearly a path to define relationships, commitments, obligations and expectations with potential to address immediate concerns and future social issues that may arise in the course of the relationship between the company and its host communities.

Ishmaeel then requested the host communities to keep their end of the bargain by supporting and collaborating with the company so as to foster all round development. “Be assured that we are always ready to listen, dialogue and resolve all concerns”, he noted.

Speaking on the occasion, the Edo State Commissioner for Mines and Energy, Hon. Donatus Ojiefoh, who represented the State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, praised the company’s management for taking the path of peace with its host communities pledging by so doing, that the state governor will always support any investors who wants to invest in the state.

He assured the people of the communities that more investors are willing to come and invest in the state but that the people most be willing to cooperate and provide the enabling environment for them to operate.

Ojiefoh admitted that it is imperative for students to study the mineral resources that are abound in their communities in order to be able to appreciate them.

In her own remark, the host Etsako East Local Government Chairman, Mrs. Benedicta Atu, commended the company for signing the agreement despite the odds and the delay occasioned by some factors saying it was good that the signing took place at the time.

She called on the companies operating within the local government to urgently help with the payment of the monumentization of the boundary between Okpella and Kogi State.

Speaking for the host communities, High Chief Afiabor Peter, Secretary, Ukhomunyio Council of Village Heads, Afokpella thanked the Dangote’s Cement for the signing of the CDA, saying that it was a welcome development as it will benefit all the parties involved.

He expressed confidence that all that are contained in the agreement were thorough reflections of the wish and aspirations of the host communities and promised that the host communities would be up and doing to fulfil their own side of the bargain.

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S&P Global Tours Dangote Refinery, Says It Can Solve Nigeria’s Forex Problems; Catalyse Economic Development

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53 mins ago

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July 8, 2024

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  • As Dangote reassures on the commencement of petrol production this July

 

International financial analytics corporation, S&P Global, has described the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) Dangote Oil Refinery and Petrochemicals company as capable of resolving Nigeria’s foreign exchange (forex) issue and its huge pressure on the local Naira currency, while also catalysing the country’s economic development.

S&P Global, headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, disclosed this during an onsite visit to the Dangote Refinery at Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos as part of its sovereign credit ratings assessment of Nigeria. The team from the international rating agency were accompanied by officials from the Federal Ministry of Finance.

S&P noted that the largest single-train refinery complex in the world would bolster Nigeria’s oil sector and, more importantly, also have a positive impact on its growing economy.

Director and Lead Analyst, Sovereign and International Public Finance Ratings, S&P Global Ratings, Ravi Bhatia, who led the delegation to Lagos, said Dangote refinery would transform Nigeria into a net exporter of petroleum products. He added that this transformation is expected to boost revenue generation and alleviate the current pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

“It is a very impressive facility, able to process 650,000 barrels a day, when in full capacity. It is the largest single-train refinery complex in the world. It came out quite quickly. Nigeria is a big exporter of crude but has issues with importing refined fuels. So, there is a gap in the market where crude can be refined in Nigeria, save money that way, and potentially save some foreign exchange. This will be positive for the economy in the medium term. It looks positive from our assessment,” Bhatia said after an over four-hour tour of the facility.

Also, in a chat with the media, Vice President of Oil and Gas at Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Devakumar Edwin, who led the team during the tour of the facility, reiterated that by harnessing Africa’s abundant crude oil resources to produce refined products locally, the company aims to catalyse a virtuous cycle of industrial development, job creation, and economic prosperity. He also revealed that, as earlier promised, the company will start the production of premium motor spirit (PMS), this month (July).

Noting that products from the $20 billion facility are of high quality and meet international standards, Edwin said it can meet 100 per cent of Nigeria’s demand for petrol, diesel, kerosene, and aviation Jet, with surpluses available for export.

The S&P team commended the President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, for integrating advanced technologies and quality control measures, including a state-of-the-art Central Control Unit ensuring smooth automation of operations.

Other members of the team of the international rating agency include the Associate Director, Sovereign Ratings, Maxmillian McGraw; Director, Corporate Ratings, Omegu Collocott; Senior Analyst, Bank Ratings, Charlotte Masvongo, and Director, Financial Services, Samira Mensah.

Currently operating at 350,000 barrels per day capacity, Edwin said the refinery is slated to scale up to at least 500,000 barrels per day capacity by July/August, commencing the refining of petrol and ultra-low sulphur diesel.

He noted that the refinery, designed to process a wide range of crudes including various African and Middle Eastern crudes, as well as US Light Oil, conforms to Euro V specifications. In addition, it is designed to comply with US EPA, European Union (EU) emission norms, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) emission/effluent norms, and the African Refiners and Distribution Association (ARDA) standards.

While noting that most refineries were built by foreign companies, he said it is a thing of pride that a Nigerian company designed and built the world’s largest single-train refinery complex while acting directly as its own Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor. The refinery also incorporates a self-sufficient marine facility capable of handling the world’s largest vessels.

“The refinery can produce the best quality products in the world, Euro V grade. It is one of the energy-efficient refineries and it is highly environmentally friendly. It is sophisticated with a high level of automation. The largest single train refinery in the world is 100 per cent designed, engineered, and constructed by a Nigerian company as EPC contractor,” he said.

Nigeria, one of the world’s leading oil-producing countries, exports all its crude oil for refining and subsequently imports refined products due to a lack of operational refineries. It is estimated that Nigeria imports at least 50 million litres of petrol per day to meet domestic demand.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its Foreign Trade Statistics for the Fourth Quarter of 2023, Nigeria spent approximately N12 trillion on the importation of petroleum products in 2023, including premium motor spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol. This figure marks an 18.68% increase compared to the N10 trillion spent on fuel imports in 2022.

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Wema Bank Commemorates International Day Of Cooperatives In Collaboration With Lagos State Government

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2 hours ago

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July 8, 2024

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  • Reiterates Commitment to Empowering Cooperative Societies for Optimal Productivity through CoopHub.

 

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s foremost innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank ALAT, has reiterated its commitment to empowering cooperative societies for optimal productivity through its digital solution for cooperatives, CoopHub, at the Lagos State Government Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment International Day of Cooperatives 2024 Event held on Saturday, 6th July 2024.

International Day of Cooperatives is a global celebration commemorated annually on the first Saturday of July, to recognise the significant impact of cooperative societies in promoting sustainable economic growth and their role in building a more sustainable future. Themed “Cooperatives: Building a Better Future For All”, the 2024 International Day of Cooperatives commemorated by the Lagos State Government in collaboration with Wema Bank, convened key players in the cooperative ecosystem towards proffering solutions to prevalent challenges faced by cooperatives in Nigeria and creating a more sustainable future for all, through the cooperative industry. CoopHub, Wema Bank’s digital solution for cooperative societies stood out as a key solution to not only overcoming the challenges impeding the growth of cooperative societies but also boosting economic growth and creating a better future for all.

CoopHub is a digital solution launched by Wema Bank to empower cooperative societies with the resources, opportunities and support they need to operate seamlessly, achieve maximum productivity and meet the needs of members in the most efficient way. Simultaneously eradicating the struggles of manual recordkeeping, poor access to loans, inefficient communication and planning, tedious processes and insecurity of funds and data, CoopHub refines the cooperative experience by facilitating secure financial transactions, 100% transparency within cooperative societies, easily accessible and trackable records for both members and leaders, efficient member management for leaders and real-time reporting for informed decision making, all from the comfort of their phones and gadgets, ensuring that cooperative societies can achieve their goals easily and remain productive. This revolutionary solution has proven itself a gamechanger for the Nigerian Cooperative Industry and potentially, will serve as the launchpad of the industry on the global scale.

Recapitulating the role of cooperative societies as an essential avenue for economic growth, Wema Bank’s Divisional Head of Retail and SME, Ayodele Olojede, emphasised the need for intentional, impactful and sustainable efforts towards the advancement of the Nigerian Cooperative Industry. “Cooperative Societies represent a very significant platform for socio-economic development and for us at Wema Bank, we stand proudly as the cooperative-centric bank that is committed to providing the resources and tailored solutions that these cooperatives need to thrive and remain successful. CoopHub is the perfect embodiment of this commitment, and we are thrilled that more cooperatives are discovering this solution and coming on board to optimise their operations and maximise the opportunities provided for their growth. The achievement of a sustainable and ideal future for cooperative societies not only requires that we adapt to the increasingly digital world we exist in, but also drive more inclusivity for the youth to also key in. CoopHub succinctly unites both pillars in one and as the digital solution pioneered by Nigeria’s most resilient and innovative bank, you can trust that the future we are enabling for cooperative societies is one that is built to last”.

“As the Bank that is committed to creating and promoting viable opportunities for women, in celebration of International Day of Cooperatives, we are supporting every woman present here at the Lagos State Government Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment International Day of Cooperatives 2024 Event, with a free healthcare plan through our women-focused proposition, SARA by Wema. We remain unwavering in our lifelong mission of empowering lives through innovation and are committed to proliferating our positive impact across every key vertical that is instrumental to the success of the people and the growth of the Nigerian economy. We take this unique celebration as an opportunity to further reiterate our commitment to empowering cooperative societies for optimal productivity through CoopHub. She concluded.

Since its launch in May 2024, CoopHub, the first of its kind in the Nigerian financial services industry, has onboarded over 1,000 cooperative societies, helping them optimise their operations and secure the resources and support they need to thrive with maximum efficiency. With its unique, simplified and tailored configuration, CoopHub stands as the future of Nigerian cooperative societies.

Cooperative Societies that are interested in getting started on CoopHub, are encouraged to visit https://coophub.alat.ng and get onboarded in minutes.

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