Tribunal upholds Yahaya Bello’s election

The Kogi Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed the petition of Mr. Musa Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the election of Governor Yahaya Bello of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Wada was challenging the election of Bello in the Nov. 16, 2019 governorship election in Kogi.

Wada, in his petition, alleged that the election was marred with violence and other irregularities including corrupt practices.

Delivering the majority judgment, Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Kashim Kaigama, dismissed Wada’s petition on the grounds that it was lacking in merit.

The tribunal held that the evidence of some of the witnesses was contradictory and amounted to documentary hearsay.

The tribunal further awarded a cost of N500,000 to be paid by each petitioner to each of the respondents.

However, a member of the tribunal, Justice Ohimai Ovbiagele, disagreed with the judgment.

In his dissenting judgment, Ovbiagele held that Bello was not the duly elected governor of Kogi.

“I hereby nullify the election of the Bello and make an order that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conduct fresh elections within three months from today.

Paying Governors, Speakers pension is illegal, anti-people – Uzodimma

The Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma has accented to a Bill repealing the law that created pension allowances and gratuities to former Governors, Deputy Governors, Speakers and Deputy Speakers.

Speaking after accenting to the Bill at Sam Mbakwe the Exco Chambers, Government House, Owerri on Friday, the Governor noted that the law has become necessary because the it runs contrary to the 1999 constitution as amended, which stipulates that a pensioner must have worked for at least 10years and must be up to 45 years of age.

Governor Uzodimma noted: “Apart from the inconsistency of such a law to the provisions of the grundnorm, which is the Constitution of 1999 (as amended), this has led for a very long time a precedence that does not encourage diligence and prudence in service delivery.’’

"It is noteworthy that I am supposed to benefit from this law when I leave office as governor. Yet I called for its repeal. This should leave no one in doubt that I am acting in the best interest of our state and our people. I believe that those of us who have had the privilege of occupying exalted positions must be human enough to resist the temptation of feeding fat from the lean resources of the state at the expense of the people. We must know when to say enough is enough “

He regretted a situation where some of the beneficiaries of such payments equally get huge amount of money as salaries and allowances in other positions they occupied such as seating Senators or Members of the House of Representatives.

While thanking the Imo State House of Assembly for rising to the occasion and embracing totally the desire of government to strengthen the internally generated revenue base of the State, Governor Uzodimma assured of his commitment and desire to grow an economy that will stand the test of time.

Addressing newsmen at the end of the exercise, the Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Chiji Collins informed that they presented two Bills for the Governor’s accent: the Bill on Imo State University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and Bill on the repeal of Pensions and Gratuity.

Collins said that the Bill on Pensions and Gratuity has long been repealed in many States of the Federation when it was discovered to run contrary to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

The Bill on Imo State University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, the Speaker explained, is to ensure that the University is moved to where it belongs: the Imo State College of Agriculture Umuagwo where the National Universities Commission (NUC) visited for accreditation and not Aboh Mbaise as people are clamouring.

Present at the signing of the Bill to repeal the Law on Pensions, Allowances and Gratuities include the Deputy Governor of Imo State, Prof. Placid Njoku; the Deputy Speaker of Imo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Amara Iwuanyanwu; the Majority Leader, Uche Ogbuagu and other members of Imo State House of Assembly, as well as some members of the State expanded Executive Council.

Nigerian States’ Legislature, Judiciary now independent as Buhari signs Financial Autonomy Order

      

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday signed into law Executive Order No. 10 of 2020 for the implementation of Financial Autonomy of State Legislature and State Judiciary Order, 2020.

 

Umar Gwandu, Special Assistant on Media to Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, made this known in a statement.

The development means that Nigerian States’ Legislature and Judiciary Arms no longer have to wait for Governors for funds.

 

Gwandu recalled that a Presidential Implementation Committee was constituted to fashion out strategies and modalities for the implementation of financial autonomy for the State Legislature and State Judiciary in compliance with section 121(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as Amended); taking into considerations all other applicable laws, instruments, conventions and regulations, which provides for financial autonomy at the state tier of government.

Gwandu said the implementation of financial autonomy of the State Legislature and State Judiciary will strengthen the institutions at the State tier of Government.

He noted that it will also make them more independent and accountable in line with the tenets of democracy as enshrined by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended).

 

The statement added that President Buhari signed the Executive Order number 10 into law based on the power vested in him as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under Section 5 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended), which extends to the execution and maintenance of the Constitution, laws made by the National Assembly (including but not limited to Section 121(3) of the 1999 Constitution(as Amended), which guarantee financial autonomy of the State Legislature and State Judiciary.

According to the order: “The Accountant-General of the Federation shall by this Order and such any other Orders, Regulations or

Guidelines as may be issued by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, authorise the deduction from source in the course of Federation Accounts Allocation from the money allocated to any State of the Federation that fails to release allocation meant for the State Legislature and State Judiciary in line with the financial autonomy guaranteed by Section 121(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as Amended)”.

 

Gwandu further stated that based on the new Executive Order and in line with section 121(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended), all States of the Federation shall include the allocations of the two Arms of Government in their Appropriation Laws.

Article 6 (1) provides that “notwithstanding the provisions of this Executive Order, in the first three years of its implementation, there shall be special extraordinary capital allocations for the Judiciary to undertake capital development of State Judiciary Complexes, High Court Complexes, Sharia Court of Appeal, Customary Court of Appeal and Court Complexes of other Courts befitting the status of a Courts.

COVID-19: Nigeria records 245 new cases, total now 7,261

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced 245 new confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country.

This brings the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country to 7,261, Tribune Online reports.

The NCDC made this known via its Twitter handle and website on Friday. it also said that 131 of the new infections were recorded in Lagos.

“245 new cases of #COVID19; 131-Lagos 16-Jigawa 13-Ogun 12-Borno 9-Kaduna 9-Oyo 9-Rivers 9-Ebonyi 8-Kano 7-Kwara 5-Katsina 3-Akwa Ibom 3-Sokoto 2-Bauchi 2-Yobe 1-Anambra 1-Gombe 1-Niger 1-Ondo 1-Plateau 1-FCT 1-Bayelsa.”

BREAKING: No moon sighted, fasting continues tomorrow – NSCIA

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs has announced that the Ramadan fast would continue on Saturday .

The National Moonsighting Committee of the NSCIA said no moon was sighted in the country on Friday.

It said the Ramadan fast would reach 30 this year as against preparations earlier made by Muslim faithful to celebrate Eid- el- Fitri tomorrow (Saturday ).

While announcing the outcome of its moon searching on Friday, it tweeted , “ There was no positive sighting report of the Shawwal crescent in Nigeria, tomorrow is 30 th Ramadan . An official statement from the Sultanate will be released shortly.”

Details later.

NECO gets new Registrar

    

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Prof. Godswill Obioma as the new Registrar and  Chief Executive Officer of the National Examinations Council, NECO.

The appointment letter dated 15th May 2020 with Reference No: FME/PS/396/C1/1/134 and signed by the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, stated that the appointment which is for an initial tenure of five years takes effect from 14th May 2020.

In a statement signed by the Head of Information and Public Relations Division, Azeez Sani, the Registrar officially took over the affairs of the Council from the former Acting Registrar, Mallam Abubakar Gana on Friday, 22nd May 2020 at the Council’s headquarters in Minna.

The new NECO Registrar is a Professor of Education Measurement and Evaluation and was a former Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council.

Until his appointment as Registrar/CE of NECO, Prof. Obioma was the Ebonyi State Resident Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission.