Headline

Osun:Judgement Day for Oyetola and Adeleke

Published

7 years ago

March 22, 2019

Editor

The Osun State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja will today deliver judgment on the petition seeking to nullify the election of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Already there is tension in the camp of both parties who have started arriving Abuja with their supporters for the judgment.

The Justice Ibrahim Sirajo led three-man panel tribunal had on March 7, reserved judgment on the petition after all the parties in the matter adopted their final briefs of argument.

The election petition was lodged before the tribunal by the People’s Democratic Party(PDP), and its governorship candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke.

Justice Sirajo had informed all the parties that a date for the judgment

would be communicated to them.

Adeleke and his political platform, the PDP had through their team of lawyers led by Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), urged the tribunal to declare that Governor Oyetola was not the valid winner of neither the substantive election that was conducted on September 22, 2018, nor the re-run election that took place on September 27, 2018.

The petitioners had alleged that the re-run poll was marred by manifest irregularities, even as they urged the court to nullify Oyetola’s election and declare Adeleke as the rightful winner of the governorship election.

They submitted before the tribunal

that the election was characterised by massive rigging, vote buying and other forms of malpractices, claiming that PDP scored the majority of the lawful votes in the election.

On his part, Adeleke claimed that the total votes he garnered on September 22 were 245,698 while the 1st Respondent scored 245,345.

“That the 1st applicant was the winner of the election and ought to have been so declared by the 3rd Respondent (INEC). That the 3rd Respondent declared the election inconclusive hence a rerun was conducted on the 27th day of September 2018.

“That the rerun election was marred by electoral violence, vote-buying, stuffing of ballot papers, multiple thumb-printing and voting and allocation of votes by the 3rd Respondent.

He further told the tribunal that the total actual and valid votes cast on the 22nd and 27th days of September 2018 respectively the elections were won by the applicants.

“That the 3rd Respondent wrongfully declared and returned the 1st Respondent as being duly elected and winner of the governorship election, Osun State held on 22nd day of September 2018 and the rerun election held on 27th day of September 2018 respectively.

They further added that “the 1st and 2nd applicants are dissatisfied with the said result of the election as announced by the returning officer of the governorship election, Osun State.”

It was the arguments of the petitioners that INEC ought to have declared Adeleke as the winner of the election, saying there was no need for the subsequent supplementary election.

“The 1st petitioner having satisfied the provisions of Section 179(2) of the Constitution, ought to have been declared duly elected.

“Aside non-compliance and irregularities that we have identified, the 1st petitioner clearly won the election based on overall votes,” Ikpeazu argued.

He told the tribunal that Adeleke merely participated in the supplementary election in view of Section 285(13) of the Constitution that stipulated that nobody should be declared elected except the person participated in all stages of the election. PDP and Adeleke said they tendered certified copies of mutilated and altered result sheets the INEC relied upon to declare Oyetola as the winner of the election. The petitioners insisted that having tendered the documents, the onus was on INEC to call witnesses to justify those errors and mutilations, by presenting any other result sheet it used. More so, they argued that INEC acted beyond its powers when it declared that the initial poll that took place on September 22, was inconclusive.

“A returning officer cannot act beyond Section 69 and INEC cannot act outside the provision of Section 179 of the Electoral Act.

“In this case, INEC on its own constituted an election petition tribunal and began to juxtapose and cancel election results,” Ikpeazu added.

He, therefore, urged the tribunal to allow the appeal and grant all the reliefs sought by the petitioners.

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Governor Oyetola and the APC, who were cited as respondents in the matter, urged the tribunal to dismiss the appeal on the premise that the petitioners failed to prove that the election was not free, fair and credible.

The respondents were represented by Mr. Lasco Pwahomdi, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, and Chief Akin Olujimi, SAN, respectively.

INEC urged the tribunal to hold that the petitioners failed to establish the petition as required by law, saying it should be dismissed with substantial cost.

However, Governor Oyetola asked the tribunal to dismiss the petition for being unmeritorious and lacking incompetence.

Lead counsel to the governor, Chief Olanipekun, alleged that the petitioners had in their written address, not only admitted that they were complicit in the alleged electoral malpractices but also presented a different case from what was contained in their pleadings and reliefs they sought before the tribunal.

“They admitted that they were involved in illegality and prayed the tribunal to quash even some of their own votes. It is a settled law that a self-confessed petitioner who has in writing admitted to infringing the law, cannot be asked to be returned as winner of the election.

“They want your Lordships to nullify the Certificate of Return issued to the 2nd Respondent, the question is, where is that certificate? Are my lords magicians to nullify what is not before them? Our answer is no! The certificate is with us. We have cited several authorities in support of our position.”

Olanipekun drew the attention of the tribunal to Wednesday’s decision of the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal in the case of Atiku Abubakar Vs INEC& two others, stressing that the ruling explained the extent to which a tribunal could go in line with Section 151 of the Electoral Act.

Headline

Israeli Ambassador Accuses Iran of Spreading Terror, Sponsoring Extremist Activities in Nigeria

Published

13 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Eric

Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, has accused Iran of sponsoring extremist activities in Nigeria and other parts of the world, alleging that Tehran supports groups aimed at destabilising countries while pursuing its hostility against Israel.

Freeman made the remarks on Friday while speaking during an interview on The Morning Show on Arise News.

The envoy claimed that Iran is the only country within the United Nations that openly expresses a desire to destroy another sovereign state, referring to repeated threats against Israel.

According to him, the Iranian government has, over several decades, supported militant groups and terror organisations around the world in pursuit of that objective.

Freeman alleged that Iran has backed groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, adding that Tehran was also behind the October 7 attack carried out by Hamas against Israel.

He further claimed that Iranian activities aimed at spreading instability have been observed across several regions, including Europe, Australia, and parts of Africa.

Speaking specifically about Nigeria, the Israeli ambassador alleged that the Islamic Movement of Nigeria receives backing from the Iranian government.

According to Freeman, statements of support from Iran’s leadership, including posts by Ali Khamenei on social media, have openly indicated such ties.

He said: “The issue here is about Iran. Iran is the only country in the world, in the United Nations, who expressly desires to wipe another country off the face of the earth. Iran has stated its very policy is to destroy Israel. Is to wipe Israel off the map is to make sure they kill every single person and no regime, no country that has an express desire to destroy Israel, and it’s not only an expressed desire.

“We’ve seen over 47 years, they’ve taken all the actions they can in order for that to happen. We’ve seen them sponsor terror organizations. They were behind October the seventh massacre of Hamas. We’ve seen them sponsoring Hezbollah. We’ve seen them acting in Europe. We’ve seen them acting in Australia. We’ve seen them acting in Nigeria.

“We’ve seen these people acting all across the world in order to spread disturbance for them to try and carry out their aim of destroying Israel, and Israel will not allow another country to have nuclear weapons when they’ve expressly stated they want those weapons to destroy Israel”.

“I think that it is well documented. We know that there are certain movements, for example, the Islamic movement of Nigeria is sponsored and is backed by the Iranian regime. This is not me saying this, we’ve seen that documented by the Iranian regime.

The Supreme Leader posted on X his support and his backing there. So that’s very open. And there are other areas as well that Iran is working for, destabilizing, not only Nigeria, but all of West Africa.”

Headline

Why Nigerians Must Reject INEC’s Revised Timetable – ADC

Published

6 days ago

February 28, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), during the week, released a fresh elections timetable, with major amendments to accommodate the just passed and signed Electoral Act 2026 by the National Assembly and President Bola Tinubu respectively.

Following the repeal of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the enactment of the Electoral Act, 2026, which introduced adjustments to statutory timelines governing pre-election and electoral activities, the Commission has reviewed and realigned the Schedule to ensure full compliance with the new legal framework.

Accordingly, the Commission has resolved as follows:

Presidential and National Assembly Elections will now hold on Saturday, 16th January 2027 as against the earlier stated February 20, 2027
Governorship and State Houses of Assembly Elections will now hold on Saturday, 6th February 2027 as against the former date of March 6, 2027

Also in accordance with the approved Schedule of Activities, the electoral bidy noted in the revised timetable that:

Conduct of Party Primaries, including resolution of disputes arising from primaries, will commence on 23rd April 2026 and end on 30th May 2026.

Presidential and National Assembly campaigns will commence on 19th August 2026.

Governorship and State Houses of Assembly campaigns will commence on 9th September 2026.

As provided by law, campaigns shall end 24 hours before Election Day. Political parties are strongly advised to adhere strictly to these timelines. The Commission will enforce compliance with the law.

But in a swift reaction, the opposition coalition, African Democratic Congress (ADC), rejected the revised 2026–2027 general election timetable, describing it as a politically biased schedule designed to favour the re-election agenda of President Bola Tinubu, and calling on all Nigerians to speak up enmasse to reject the revised timetable.

The ADC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, on Friday argued that the new deadlines and compliance requirements under the Electoral Act 2026 create near-impossible hurdles for opposition parties seeking to field candidates.

On February 13, INEC initially scheduled the 2027 Presidential and National Assembly elections for February 20, 2027, while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections were fixed for March 6, 2027.

The timetable, however, faced objections from some Muslim stakeholders who noted that the dates coincided with the 2027 Ramadan period.

Following the concerns, the National Assembly amended Clause 28 of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, reducing the required election notice period from 360 to 300 days, allowing INEC to adjust the election dates.

Subsequently, INEC released a revised schedule on Thursday, signed by its Chairman, Joash Amupitan, moving the Presidential and National Assembly elections to January 16, 2027, and the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections to February 6, 2027.

Reacting, the ADC said the requirement that political parties submit a comprehensive digital membership register by April 2, 2026, effectively bars opposition parties from participating.

The party stated: “The African Democratic Congress rejects the updated 2026–2027 electoral timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission. What has been presented as a routine administrative schedule of the upcoming general elections is, in fact, a political instrument carefully structured to narrow democratic space and strengthen the incumbent administration ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“According to the timetable, party primaries are to be conducted between April 23 and May 30, 2026, just 55 to 92 days from today. However, more significant is that, pursuant to Section 77(4) of the Electoral Act 2026, political parties are required to submit their digital membership registers to INEC not later than April 2, 2026.

“That is only about 34 days away. Section 77(7) further provides that any party that fails to submit its membership register within the stipulated time shall not be eligible to field a candidate. These are not routine administrative rules but are deliberately constructed barriers designed to exclude the opposition from participating in the election.”

The party further noted that Section 77(2) of the Electoral Act 2026 requires the digital register of members to contain name, sex, date of birth, address, state, local government, ward, polling unit, National Identification Number (NIN) and photograph in both hard and soft copies, while Section 77(6) prohibits the use of any pre-existing register that does not contain the specified information. It warned that failure to meet these requirements would lead to disqualification.

The ADC questioned the fairness of the digital membership requirement, noting that the ruling All Progressives Congress began its registration process in February 2025, long before the requirement became mandatory.

“It is not a product of foresight but insider advantage. They knew what was coming. They therefore had one full year to carry out an exercise that other political parties are expected to complete in one month, during which they must collect, process, collate and transmit large volumes of digital data to INEC under the threat of exclusion. This is practically impossible.

“Democratic competition is based on a level playing field that does not give any contestant an undue advantage. A system where one party exploits incumbency to gain a one-year head start on a requirement that other parties only became aware of when it was nearly too late is a rigged system.”

The ADC said it has joined other opposition parties in rejecting the Electoral Act 2026, adding that the INEC timetable is equally rejected as it appears designed to serve what it described as a self-succession agenda.

“Let it be clear that ADC will not take any action that appears to confer legitimacy on a fraudulent system. We are reviewing our options and will make our position known in the coming days,” the party said.

The party also called on civil society organisations, democratic stakeholders and Nigerians to scrutinise the timetable and demand fairness, stressing that democracy cannot survive when electoral rules are structured to produce predetermined outcomes.

The party has consistently accused the Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) of scheming to silence the opposition as the 2027 General Elections draw closer, citing his manipulation of state governors and Assembly members from jumping ship, and settling with the ruling party.

Presently, the president’s party has a total of 31 out of 36 states governors, more than majority of the national and states Houses of Assembly.

A frontline publisher and chieftain of the ADC, Chief Dele Momodu, has warned that Tinubu is gradually transforming into full-blown dictatorship, stressing that his second term in office would turn state governors into ‘total slaves’.

Headline

Second Term for Tinubu Will Turn Governors into Total Slaves, Dele Momodu Warns

Published

7 days ago

February 28, 2026

Eric

Chairman, Ovation Media Group, and former presidential aspirant, Aare Dele Momodu, has expressed strong concern over what he described as growing political support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu among state governors across the country.

Speaking during an interview on News Central TV, Momodu said he was shocked by the level of backing the president is reportedly receiving, warning that Nigeria’s democracy could face serious risks if the current political trend continues.

The media entrepreneur cautioned that allowing Tinubu to secure a second term in 2027 could, in his view, lead to excessive concentration of power. He particularly criticized what he described as a growing wave of opposition figures aligning with the ruling All Progressives Congress> (APC).

Momodu referenced reports of opposition governors, including Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, allegedly moving closer to the ruling party, describing the development as politically troubling.

According to him, some governors are allegedly competing to demonstrate loyalty to the president ahead of future elections.

“The governors are fighting to ensure Tinubu wins a second term, fighting to be the biggest thug for him. If a man in his first term can capture the bodies and souls of Nigerians this way, imagine what he would do with a second term. It will be a full-blown dictatorship, and the governors will regret it as they become total slaves to him,” Momodu said.

He concluded by urging Nigerians to remain vigilant and actively protect democratic institutions, warning that unchecked consolidation of political power could threaten the nation’s democracy and future stability.

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