Headline

Certificate Scandal: Petitioner Withdraws Case Against Abdulrasaq

Published

7 years ago

May 23, 2019

Editor

A member of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Adekunle Abraham challenging the veracity of the secondary school certificate of Kwara State Governor-elect Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has withdrawn from the case.

Mr. Abraham in a suit at the Kwara State High Court is seeking to disqualify Abdulrazaq from the office of Kwara State governor.

In a notice of discontinuance in Suit No. KWS/73/2019 Abraham said “I hereby wholly discontinue the case against the defendant.”

The application is dated May 21, 2019 and filed May 22, 2019.

The petitioner did not state any reason for the sudden decision to terminate the case.

However, it was gathered that his decision was predicated on the filing of the official confirmation of AbdulRazaq’s WAEC certificate in the respondent’s proof of evidence.

The confirmation was sent by the examination body through the legal team that had earlier applied for same.

“Not only this, the Governor-elect’s legal team has also filed a number of depositions that proved Abraham’s claim that WAEC doesn’t issue certificate with initials to be false,” a source said.

“The depositions contain a number of certificates with initials and within the years the Governor-elect left secondary school,” the source added.

In view of Abraham’s application, the court is likely to strike out the case at the next adjournment date in June.

Meanwhile, the governorship petition tribunal sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State capital, has fixed June 13 and 14 for the commencement of trial in the PDP’s petition challenging the declaration of Abdulrazaq as Governor.

The PDP claimed the Governor-elect does not have the secondary school leaving certificate, which is the legal prerequisite for anyone running for the office of Governor — a claim AbdulRazaq insisted is false.

Chairman of the three-person panel Bassey Effiong announced the date after listening to counsel to the parties in the case at the continuation of the pre-hearing session on Thursday.

He said the trial will hold at 10a.m. on every hearing date.

Effiong said the petitioners will have four days (June 13,14 and July 9 and 10) to call their witnesses who would then be cross-examined by the respondents.

The first respondent, the INEC, will have two days (July 11 and 12) to present its defense. AbdulRazaq, who is the second respondent, will present his defense between July 16, 17 and 18; while the third respondent, which is the APC, will present its defense between July 23, 24 and 25.

Effing also said the report of the pre-hearing conference will be available after Monday May 27.

The matter has been adjourned till Monday May 27 for the adoption of various motions already filed by all the parties.

Headline

Defence Gulps Lion Share As Tinubu Presents N58.47trn 2026 Budget to NASS

Published

6 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Eric

President Bola Tinubu has presented a budget of N58.47 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year to a joint session of the National Assembly, with capital recurrent (non‑debt) expenditure standing at N15.25 trillion.

Tinubu presented the budget on Friday, pegging the capital expenditure at N26.08 trillion and putting the crude oil benchmark at US$64.85 per barrel.

He said the expected total revenue is N34.33 trillion, projected total expenditure: N58.18 trillion, including N15.52 trillion for debt servicing. The budget is N23.85 trillion, representing 4.28% of GDP.

The budget was anchored on a crude oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day, and an exchange rate of N1,400 to the US Dollar for the 2026 fiscal year.

In terms of sectoral allocation, defence and security took the lion’s share with N 5.41 trillion, followed by infrastructure at N3.56 trillion.

Headline

Mike Adenuga, Emmanuel Macron Hold High-Powered Meeting in Paris

Published

2 days ago

December 18, 2025

Eric

Accomplished billionaire businessman and Commander of the French Légion d’Honneur, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., GCON, CdrLH, has held a private meeting with the French President, Emmanuel Macron.

The two powerful citizens of the world held the meeting on Wednesday at the historic Élysée Palace in Paris.

The high-level engagement underscores the longstanding relationship between Dr. Adenuga and the French Republic, as well as his continued relevance in global business and diplomatic circles.

A respected industrialist and philanthropist, Adenuga has been widely acknowledged for his contributions to economic development, telecommunications, energy, and humanitarian causes across Africa and beyond.

The meeting adds to Dr. Adenuga’s growing profile as a bridge between African enterprise and international leadership.

Headline

Free at Last: Burkina Faso Releases 11 Nigerian Soldiers, Aircraft

Published

2 days ago

December 18, 2025

Eric

Burkina Faso has released Nigerian soldiers who were detained after their aircraft made a forced landing in the Sahelian country earlier this month, Nigerian officials said.

The release followed a diplomatic intervention by President Bola Tinubu, who dispatched a high-level delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, to meet Burkina Faso’s Military Leader, Ibrahim Traoré, on Wednesday.

In a statement, Alkasim Abdulkadir, Tuggar’s spokesperson, said both sides resolved the matter amicably and secured the release of the Nigerian Air Force pilots and crew.

The soldiers had been held for nearly two weeks after the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) described the aircraft’s landing as an “unfriendly act” carried out in defiance of international law.

The Nigerian Air Force, however, said the crew encountered a technical issue that required a precautionary landing in Bobo-Dioulasso, the nearest available airfield. It said the landing complied with standard safety procedures and international aviation protocols.