Headline

Throwback Thursday: Gani Fawehinmi’s Speech on Rejection of National Award in 2008

Published

8 years ago

June 7, 2018

Eric

Press Statement on the published National Honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) on me:

My Reaction

At the weekend, notably on Friday, 12th December, 2008, it was published in most of the newspapers in Nigeria that the Federal Government of Nigeria has honoured me with the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).

I have had time after the publication to think deeply whether to accept or reject the honour.

I thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Umam Musa Yar’Adua. I thank the Federal Government Nigeria and I am very grateful to the Council of State which approved the honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) given to me by the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

I wish to express my gratitude to numerous Nigerians who through telephone calls, mobile text messages and some by personal visits, congratulated me on the award of the honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).

This is the first government in Nigeria to honour me with the national award. Obviously, this government must have considered my activities in the last fortythree years before deciding to give the national award of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR). From my own standpoint and perception, my struggles and crusades include:

The abolition of poverty from the face of our country.
The unqualified need to preserve, defend and protect the fundamental human rights.
The governance of our country through democratic processes.
The subjection of everybody and everything to and under the Rule of Law.
The right of the people to free and qualitative education at all levels.
The right of the people to free and qualitative health services and facilities.
The strengthening of our economy through sound development of infrastructures including power generation (electricity), good roads, good and modern rail system across the length and breadth of Nigeria, good water way transportation system.
The overall duties of all Nigerians and governments (local, states and federal) to make Nigeria a corruption free country by fighting corruption with all our might and mind.

In the course of my struggles over the decades for the above ideals, I have been subjected by various governments to all traumatic travails and persecutions including:

(a) Series of detentions in several prisons across Nigeria notably Ikoyi Prison (three times), Kaduna Prison, Gombe Prison, Gashua Prison, Kuje Prison (two times), Bauchi Prison, etc, etc.

(b) Twenty three (23) police detentions between 1969 and 1998 at Police Headquarters, Kaduna, Jos Police Station, llorin Police Station, Police Headquarters, Lagos C.I.D., Alagbon, Lagos, InterCentre Detention Outpost, Lagos, Ikoyi Police Station, Panti Police Station, Lagos, Police Station, Wuse, Abuja, Police Station, Ikeja, Police Headquarters, Abuja, etc, etc.

(d) My Chambers (Gani Fawehinmi Chambers) at Anthony Village, Lagos was attacked by security men under various governments sixteen times, culminating in the attack on Friday, 26lh August, 1994 when security men under General Sani Abacha regime at 4 am turned my Chambers into a pool of blood.

(e) Thousands of copies of my books notably on the murder of Dele Giwa were forcibly removed and seized by security agents under General Ibrahim Babangida regime and despite court orders to return my books, the military government at that time refused to obey the court orders.

(f) My International Passport was seized more than fifteen times between 1966 and 1998.

(g) 1 was charged to court eighteen times for politically motivated criminal offences including treason and I was jailed once and became Prisoner J60 before my imprisonment was terminated by the Court of Appeal.

Today, I am seventy years and eight months old and 1 am struck down by lung cancer for which I have been receiving medical treatment outside my country because my country Nigeria has one of the poorest medical services in the world but one of the richest countries in the world in terms of oil revenue.

My decision to either accept or reject the national honour of the award of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) will depend on how far the Nigerian nation through Nigerian governments tried to achieve any of the eight goals 1 set out below.

The Abolition of poverty from the face of our country.

Nobody can contest or dispute the fact that poverty in Nigeria today is more pervasive, humiliating, dehumanizing than fortythree years ago despite our ] mounting and skyrocketing billions upon billions of 1 dollars of revenue from oil and gas exploration. In I this respect, the nation has failed to use the resources j to abolish poverty. This is an indictment against all Governments in Nigeria including the present. government that awarded the honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) to me.

The unqualified need to preserve, defend and protect the fundamental human rights.

In the last fortythree years, all governments, military and civilian have been guilty of abuses of the fundamental rights of the Nigerian people.

The present government that awarded this honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) to me has been guilty of abuses of human rights. For example, the closure of Channels Television Stations in Lagos and Abuja on Tuesday, 16th September, 2008. The man who helped to catapult this regime into office, General Olusegun Obasanjo committed some of the worst abuses of human rights as a civilian leader between 1999 and 2007 namely: he sent troops to murder 2,999 innocent Nigerians in Odi, Bayelsa State of Nigeria in November 1999. He also shutdown African Independent Television (AIT) on Sunday, 23Kl October, 2005 and Bayelsa Radio Station on Wednesday, 30th November, 2005. Some of the most atrocious human rights abuses were also committed by the military regimes.

The governance of our country through democratic processes.

Democracy is the best form of governance. However, Nigerians have never been allowed to usher in a truly democratic government with their ballots. Rigging has been the order of the day in every election in this country. We have never had a truly elected leader with the ballots of the people. Several thousands have died at every election. Only recently in Jos, Plateau State, more than 500 Nigerians were killed including three (3) National Youths Service Corps graduates, one of whom was a lawyer. In this country most election results have ended up in the law courts. The 2007 General Elections of which the present government that awarded me Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) emerged were characterized by blood letting, rigging and all forms of malpractices at all levels including the elections of some of the Governors who are members of the National Council of State that approved my Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) were not known or elected by the electorate as they were imposed by the court. For example, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State.

The subjection of everybody and everything to and under the Rule of Law.

The most fundamental Rule of Law can be found in the Constitutions of Nigeria, the current one being that of 1999. All the relevant sections of the Constitution that will promote the wellbeing and welfare of the people of Nigeria have been ignored and dispensed with since the making of that Constitution in 1999 and they are still being ignored by the present regime. I refer to one of them i.e. section 16, which provides in subsections 1 (a), (b) and 2(d) as follows:

“16(1) The Stale shall, within the context of the ideals and objectives for which provisions are made in this Constitution

(a) Harness the resources of the nation and promote national prosperity and an efficient, a dynamic and selfreliant economy;

(b) Control the national economy in such manner as to secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity;

(2) The State shall direct its policy towards ensuring

(d) that suitable and adequate shelter, suitable and adequate food, reasonable national minimum living wage, old age care and pensions, and unemployment, sick benefits and welfare of the disabled are provided for all citizens. ”

Take for example, the National Minimum Wage in Nigeria today is N5,500.00 (Five thousand, Five hundred Naira) monthly which is N183 per day. This cannot buy a bottle of palm oil and no national minimum wage in “Nigeria today can buy one tuber of yam.

The leaders of the country in the Executive and the Legislature are swimming in splendor of wealth while the masses are wallowing in and agonizing in abject poverty. Today, the judicial workers in the country are on strike because of poor wages which are not living wages as enjoined by section 16 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

The right of the people to free and qualitative education at all levels.

The standard of education in our country is at its lowest ebb. The infrastructures for the promotion of education are the worst ever. Teachers, lecturers, professors many at times use ‘okada’ as a form of transport. Today, of the first 500 educational universities in the world, Nigeria is not included. In most educational institutions, text books are not available; students depend on handouts.

The right of people to free and qualitative health services and facilities.

All universities teaching hospitals in Nigeria lack modern health facilities. All General Hospitals across the country lack modern health facilities. Modern diagnostic equipment cannot be found in most parts of Nigeria. It’s difficult to treat a patient without knowing what is wrong with him or her. Hardly a month passes without a Nigerian going abroad for proper medical treatment not because we do not have qualified medical personnel but because those that chose to remain in Nigeria among them work virtually with their bare hands. I am a living victim of the failure of medical services in Nigeria and yet I am an awardee of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).

The strengthening of our economy through sound development of infrastructures.

Without doubt, all our infrastructures are decadent and: no effort has been made by this regime to improve on the infrastructures. Under this regime, power generation is next to zero and everyday the country is thrown into darkness. The manufacturers and domestic users of power are at the mercy of generating sets. Waterway transportation has not been harnessed. Our railway system has not appreciably improved from what the British left behind on 1st October, 1960.

Corruption

Corruption is one single, fundamental factor that has retarded the progress of the nation and its socioeconomic development. The issue of corruption is fundamental in the governance of any nation. It affects the economy in its entirety. No country can effectively and properly develop if corruption holds sway as all aspects of human existence will be negatively affected where government encourages corruption.

It is generally agreed, nationally and internationally, that Mallam Nuhu Ribadu did a lot to retard the inhibitive progress of corruption. 419 crimes were on the decline. Gross misuse of public funds by public officers was on the downward trend. Looting at the top became minimized. As Nigerians were breathing a sigh of relief, the government of Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua threw Mallam Nuhu Ribadu out of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The removal of Nuhu Ribadu as Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman happened at a time Nigerians were saying ‘the fear of EFCC is the beginning of wisdom’ as far as corruption was concerned.

I went to court to challenge Nuhu Ribadu’s illegal removal from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). I thought Yar’Adua’s government would allow the court to do its work. But alas, Nuhu Ribadu was sent to National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru for a oneyear course. While undergoing the oneyear course in Kuru, on 5th August, 2008, the Federal Government of Nigeria presided over President Umaru Yar’Adua demoted Nuhu Ribadu from the rank of Assistant InspectorGeneral of Police to Deputy Commissioner of Police. Mallam Nuhu Ribadu rightly approached a court of law by instituting an action to challenge the obnoxious demotion. Whilst the suit was pending, security agents physically removed him from the ceremony on 22ndd November 2008 where he was to be awarded his certificate for success at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru.

Today, the architect of the unprecedented anticorruption war, unprecedented in the annals of Nigeria since 1914, is now literally roaming the streets of Nigeria without official car, without official status, without any form of security, and yet he is still being subjected to hounding, haunting and all forms of dehumanizing vilification by the Federal Government. His only ‘offence” is that he used the instrumentality of a public institution, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate, arrest, charge, and in some cases, to convict through the law courts some public officers in various corridors of power throughout the length and breadth of Nigeria people who were otherwise called the untouchables.

By the performance of his duties, Nigeria and Nigerians gained integrity, honour and recovery of their looted wealth. But Nuhu Ribadu did not make any personal gain. He only waged a war against corruption, graft, stealing, money laundering, etc, etc, in the corridors of power. In return, the regime of President Umar Yar’ Adua decided to wage unrelenting war against antigraft war.

Instead of the Federal Government to publicly acknowledge the unprecedented good Ribadu has done to the psyche of “Nigerians by awarding him the greatest National Honour, the Government has decided to continuously prosecute this young man. It was therefore the greatest embarrassment for me, when at the weekend, it was announced that I was one of those 275 Nigerians honoured with National Honours and in my case the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).

Yes, 1 have done my best for this country in various fields and 1 still want to continue to do my best. But we live in a situation where the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 provides in section 15(5) that: “The State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power” and a young man emerged to do what the Constitution enjoins and he is being persecuted for carrying out the provisions of the Constitution. Yet, the President swore to observe, preserve and defend the same Constitution. I find it extremely difficult to accept that President Yar’ Adua’s government has the honour to dispense honour. In the light of the above, I cannot accept the “honour’ of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR). Whether now or in the life beyond, how can I wake up in the morning and look at the insignia of honour bestowed on me under a government that persecutes anticorruption efforts, particularly those of Nuhu Ribadu?

At the time the Nigerian Bar Association wrote the letter 10 my office that my name would be forwarded for national honour while I was in London receiving medical treatment for lung cancer, the Government of President Yar’Adua had not begun in earnest the war against anticorruption war and the harrowing persecution of Nuhu Ribadu had not reached its crescendo. I do not blame the Nigeria Bar Association for sending my name at the time it did for national honour.

However, events from August 2008 to this day are so bizarre, unbelievably barbaric in their intensity, in terms of persecuting those fighting against corruption and the singling out of Nuhu Ribadu for persecution, all for giving honour and dignity to this country and for recovering for our treasury, billions of Naira and other forms of wealth looted by public officers.

A government that covertly and overtly encourages corruption has no honour in its arsenal of power to dispense honour. Consequently, I reject the dishonour of officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) termed ‘honour’ given to me by the Federal Government.

The Plight of the masses of our people

Nobody can dispute the fact that since this regime came to power the plight of the masses has worsened as I have shown in items 1 7 above. But I wish to reiterate that in all ramifications of human existence, the masses have found themselves in the doldrum of pain occasioned by gross misgovemance of the country.

Furthermore, since the President came to power on 29th May, 2007, the masses of our country have been groaning in unprecedented poverty as a result of lack of direction. The directionlessness of the Federal Government has been characterized by the following, amongst others: collapsed infrastructure, total paralysis of the health sector at all levels, constant nationwide power failure and the attendant negative effects on all sectors of the economy; pervasive unemployment, thereby generating increased armed robbery cutting across all ages of our people; debilitating homelessness; retrogressive educational programmes and policies, which have made no Nigerian university to be ranked within the first 500 universities in the world, and no effort is being made by the regime to improve on the humiliating situation.

Put simply, the Federal Government is a total failure, worsened by lack of direction and leadership. Is this the atmosphere for the award of national honours? Certainly Not!

Clarion call to the suffering masses

Unite and fight for your legitimate Right to the abolition of poverty. Why should you continue to suffer while your leaders and their families continue to enjoy the best at your expense? In addition to my rejection of the honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) on the grounds of Federal Government’s conscious war against anticorruption war, the decadent socioeconomic situation does not engender the well being of ordinary people and there is no hope in sight. In view of the foregoing, I reject the award of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR).

CHIEF GANI FAWEHINMI, LL.D. SAN

Monday, December 15, 2008

Headline

Parties’ Deregistration: ADC, Not NDC, is the Target

Published

1 day ago

June 29, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

As the 2027 presidential election draws closer, intrigues, manipulations and maneuvers have continued to be the order of the day as political parties engage in one gimmick or another to outdo and undo one another.

While some are playing politics of numbers and conviction, others are engaging tendencies that tend to question the status quo and established principles under which genuine democracy is formed. As a matter of fact, fingers have been pointed at the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal government as the brain behind all machinations that have attempted to derail multi-party democracy, and institute a one-party state, which is alien to the Nigerian democratic roots. This is as a result of the constant imbroglio that has consistently engulf almost all the major political parties in the country.

Fresh facts have however, emerged to prove that every act of frustration thrown at the opposition has been indirectly aimed at the main opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

According to reliable sources, the recent deregistration of parties, especially the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), was actually targeted at the ADC.

Recall that the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on June, 26, set aside its earlier judgement directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party. A ruling that put a question mark on the eligibility of the party presenting candidates in the forthcoming 2027 elections

The presiding judge, Isah Dashen, held that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter.

The court upheld the application filed by a certain organization, the Peace Movement Party (PMP), ruling that the party was a necessary party to the suit.

According to the judge, the earlier judgement was constitutionally defective as it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties.

He declared that such an omission rendered the entire process null and void.

Mr Dashen further ruled that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 10, 2025 judgement, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

He also observed that certain material facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings, which justified the decision to set aside the judgment.

Consequently, the court ordered that the substantive suit should begin afresh, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PMP and the NDC as parties to the case.

According to NAN’s reports, the applicant’s lawyer, Chikezie Ekeocha, told journalists that the PMP approached the court after discovering that NDC’s registration was based on a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.

According to Mr Ekeocha, the court agreed that the applicant’s rights had been affected and consequently vacated the earlier judgement.

“The court has ordered all parties to return to the position they occupied before the judgment of 10 December 2025, and directed the claimants to join all necessary parties to ensure the issues in dispute are effectually and completely determined,” he said.

He explained that the implication of the ruling is that every action taken by INEC in compliance with the now-vacated judgment stands reversed.

“The recognition of the NDC, the issuance of its certificate of registration, its inclusion in INEC’s records, and any appearance on ballot papers arising from that judgement must be withdrawn pending the final determination of the substantive suit,” Mr Ekeocha stated.

He, however, clarified that the substantive case remains before the court and has not been decided.

“The matter has not been concluded. The court merely set aside its previous judgment and directed that the party whose interests were affected be joined so that all sides can be heard before a fresh decision is reached.”

Mr Ekeocha also dismissed suggestions that the court merely ordered parties to maintain the status quo, insisting that the ruling specifically directed a restoration of the position that existed before the 10 December 2025 judgement.

The ruling effectively returns the dispute over the registration of the NDC to the Federal High Court for a fresh hearing, with all relevant parties expected to participate before a new determination is made.

It would also be recalled that a few weeks earlier, the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the deregistration of five political parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The others are Action People’s Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Accord Party.

However, on June 16, the Court of Appeal in Abuja halted the enforcement of the judgement, ruling that it violated its earlier ruling staying proceedings before the Federal High Court.

While INEC awaits the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment to deregister the NDC, the NDC has reacted, rejecting the judgment as travesty of justice.

Lending credence to the notion that the President Tinubu-led administration is basically targeting the establishment of the ADC as a party, and the candidature of its presidential flagbearer, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is also the presidential candidate of the ADC, has stated categorically that there are plots to prevent the party from participating in the 2027 general election.

Atiku’s position is stated in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu on Monday, notifying the public that he had received credible information suggesting that political and legal manoeuvres were being deployed against the ADC, stressing that the persecution that has been thrown towards the NDC was a clear distraction as the main target is the ADC.

Atiku alleged that anti-democratic elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were working to ensure that the ADC is excluded from the ballot.

“We are fully aware of their plots. While they seek to sow confusion within the opposition, we know their real target is the ADC because it represents the most credible alternative,” he said.

Atiku called on Nigerians to reject any attempt to determine which opposition parties participate in the election.

“We therefore call on all Nigerians — not just ADC members and supporters — to rise in defense of democracy and reject any attempt by the ruling party to cherry-pick which opposition parties are permitted to participate in the next general election,” he said.

“Our message to the APC and the hooded men plotting in dark chambers is simple: you may conspire, but you will not succeed.

“If the APC is truly confident in its popularity, why is it so terrified of the ADC?”

He said he hoped the information available to him would not materialise but argued that recent political developments made such concerns difficult to dismiss.

“The pattern has become all too familiar. First, institutions that ought to be neutral are drawn into partisan contests,” he said.

“Then, frivolous litigations suddenly gain unusual momentum. Administrative powers are selectively deployed.

“Political pressure is mounted behind closed doors. Before long, democracy itself becomes the casualty.”

Atiku alleged that the ruling party has focused more on weakening the opposition than addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.

“The obsession with silencing the opposition has become so consuming that governance itself has taken a back seat,” he said.

“At a time when Nigerians are battling hunger, inflation, unemployment, insecurity, and collapsing purchasing power, those entrusted with public office appear preoccupied with political survival rather than national survival.”

Nigerians recall that ever since the official rejuvenation of the ADC in June/July of 2025, where the duo of Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the party’s chairman and secretary respectively, the party has not known moments of peaceful coexistence as litigations from corners unknown have sprang up in a bid to destabilize the party and deprive it of the opportunity of featuring on the ballot paper come 2027.

ADC, as a child of circumstance emerged from the rumbles of the litigation-ridden former main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where two factions have consistently remelained at loggerheads over leadership. While the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who is working assiduously to ensure the reelection of Bola Tinubu, leads one faction, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who became a defacto head, leads the other faction. In all, PDP appeared to have no direction, forcing many of its members to jump ship, thereby birthing the ADC, and to a large extent, the NDC, which is presenting Peter Obi as the presidential candidate, with former Kano governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as his running mate.

Sources also informed The Boss that the hasty reading and passage of the Electoral Act 2026 by the Godswill Akpabio-led National Assembly, with many great areas left unattended to, were also part of the grand design to deprive the ADC the constitutional rights of presenting candidates for the 2027 elections.

But both the ADC and the NDC has vowed that they would follow every process to ensure that the crackdown on opposition parties by the Tinubu administration comes to an abrupt end.

But beyond the intrigues, Nigerians are gearing up to participate fully in the forthcoming election with cross sections of the population either hailing Tinubu for his policies or knocking him for the untold hardship in the land.

Headline

South Africa Nothing Without Africa – MTN Boss, Mcebisi Jonas

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, has condemned the ongoing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa, describing it as a symptom of State failure being cynically exploited by politicians with no interest in genuine solutions.

The speech is seen as one of the most substantive interventions by a senior business figure into xenophobic crisis currently plaguing South Africa.

Delivered during the funeral service of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant, Thokozani Damasane, Jonas’ words have sparked a wave of discussion across South African civil society.

“I was thinking, what is home to Damasane?” he said. “Because I understand, and I understood very early in life, that home is where humanity is. Home is about humanness. It is about the good of humanity and striving for the good of humanity.”

Thokozani Damasane was born and educated in Zimbabwe before relocating to South Africa during the post-apartheid transition period. Jonas described him as arriving “as an outcast” into a country still finding its post-liberation footing – and choosing, nonetheless, to commit himself entirely to its struggles and its people.

“He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us,” Jonas said.

“In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans is reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected.”

Speaking further, Jonas blamed the state for the failure being witnessed, emphasising that if foreigners leave South Africa today, the country’s problems will still persist.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” he told the congregation.

“Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected.

“The problem is the failure of the state. The State doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce
law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?”

Jonas argued that this failure created fertile ground for political manipulation. “When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”

Jonas recounted a conversation he had witnessed between Damasane and a young man who had challenged the right of foreigners to be in South Africa. Damasane’s response, Jonas said, had stayed with him ever since.

“Damasane said to this guy: Just wait fifteen or twenty years. You will also want to leave your country.”

Jonas told mourners those words now carry a weight Damasane may not have anticipated. “As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation – those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears.”

South Africa is nothing without Africa

Jonas closed with a call for what he described as a return to “national consciousness” – one rooted in continental solidarity and economic interdependence rather than ethnic exclusion.

“We are a nation embedded in Africa,” he said. “And without Africa, our growth as a country – economically – our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa.”

He also reframed the question of legacy and identity for Damasane’s children, who were present. “Sometimes this thing called meritocracy is measured in wealth. No. It is values, it is principles, it is integrity. And your father had all of that.”

“We cannot judge people by their origin,” he told mourners. “We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”

Headline

NDC Rejects Court Ruling on Party’s Registration, Heads to Appeal Court

Published

4 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Friday, vowed to challenge the judgment nullifying its registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that it would exercise its constitutional right of appeal.

Reacting to the ruling on Thursday, the party’s spokesman, Osa Director, said the NDC was still awaiting the certified copy of the judgment before making a comprehensive statement on the court’s decision.

He, however, confirmed that the party had resolved to head to the appellate court.

“We are still waiting to obtain a copy of the judgment. After reading the comprehensive judgment, we will make a detailed statement,” he said.

The spokesman added: “For now, what is certain is that we will exercise our right of appeal.”

Insisting that the party would challenge the ruling, he said: “It is our constitutional right to appeal, and we intend to exercise that right.”

When asked specifically whether the NDC would appeal the judgment voiding its registration, the spokesman replied: “Yes, the party will appeal the case.”

The party’s reaction came shortly after a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, in a judgement that nullified its registration by INEC, a development that could have significant implications for the NDC’s participation in the country’s political process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The NDC, however, maintained that it would refrain from making further comments on the substance of the judgment until it had studied the full text of the court’s decision.

The party’s planned appeal is expected to set the stage for a fresh legal battle over its status and continued existence as a registered political party.