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Just In: Court Voids Uche Nwosu’s Governorship Candidature

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The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to remove the name of Uche Nwosu as a governorship candidate in the last election held in Imo State.

Justice Inyang Ekwo voided Nwosu’s candidacy on the grounds of double nomination by two political parties, the All Progressives Congress and the Action Alliance,  in violation of section 37 of the Electoral Act.

This came as Nwosu, a son-in-law to the immediate-past governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, is currently pursuing an election petition at the state’s Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, as the candidate of Action Alliance, challenging the victory of the Peoples Democratic Party and its candidate, Emeka Ihedioha, in the March 11, 2019 poll.

In his judgment on Monday, Justice Ekwo upheld the the case of the plaintiffs, the Action People’s Party and its Deputy National Chairman, Mr. Uche Nnadi, to the effect that Nwosu’s governorship candidature was null and void on the grounds of multiplicity of nominations as the governorship candidate of both the APC and AA.

Justice Ekwo declared that the nomination of Nwosu by AA as a governorship candidate “is invalid, null and void, having been made at the pendency of similar nomination of the 2nd defendant (Nwosu) by the All Progressives Congress for the same position”.

The judge noted that Nwosu affirmed to be the APC’s governorship candidate in his statement on oath sworn before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.

The judge similarly declared that Nwosu “has not been validly nominated by the 3rd defendant (AA) as its governorship candidate for the Imo State governorship election having been made at the pendency of the order of Justice Valentine Ashi of the Abuja High Court recognising the 2nd defendant as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the Imo State 2019 governorship election.”

He noted that Nwosu participated in the APC’s primary held on October 6, 2018 and was subsequently nominated as the party’s governorship candidate.

While laying claim to the APC’s governorship ticket, amidst stiff opposition from members of the party, he was said to have on October 9, 2018, obtained an order of Justice Valentine Ashi (now deceased) of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, recognising him as the valid candidate of the party.

In the midst of this, Nwosu was also offered the ticket of the AA.

Delivering judgment on the plaintiffs’ case on Monday, Justice Ekwo said, “There is no controversy that, on October 6, 2018, the 2nd defendant (Nwosu) had himself nominated as the governorship candidate of the APC.

“Furthermore, there is no controversy that, to secure his nomination by the APC, the 2nd defendant on October 9, 2019, obtained an order of the High Court of the Federal High Court which subsists having not been set aside.”

Justice Ekwo held that Nwosu, through his lawyers, failed to offer any valid rebuttal to the plaintiffs’ evidence that he was nominated by both the APC and the AA, while INEC filed no papers in the case.

The judge ruled, “It is illegal in the eyes of the law. No one is allowed to benefit from an illegal act.

“The 2nd defendant allowed himself to be nominated by the APC and the 3rd defendant (AA).”

He, therefore, said,  “It is hereby declared that the nomination of the 2nd defendant by the All Progressives Congress and Action Alliance, the 3rd defendant, is invalid, null and void and constitute a violation of section 37 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

“An order of this honourable court is hereby made directing the 1st defendant (INEC) to remove the name of the 2nd defendant (Nwosu) as the governorship of the 3rd defendant (AA) in the 2019 Imo State governorship election for multiple nomination in violation of the provision of section 37 of the Electoral Act 2018 (as amended).

“An order of this honourable court is hereby made restraining the 1st defendant (INEC) from recognising the 2nd defendant (Nwosu) as the governorship of the 3rd defendant (AA) and/or any other political party for the 2019 Imo State governorship election

“An order of this honourable court is hereby made restraining the 1st defendant (INEC) from giving value to any act done in pursuance of the 2nd defendant purported candidature of the 3rd defendant (AA) and/or any other political party in the 2019 Imo State governorship election.”

The judge earlier dismissed Nwosu’s preliminary objection and picked holes in the defence he and the AA separately filed against the substantive suit.

Dismissing the preliminary objection, Justice Ekwo ruled that the provision section 285(9) of the Constitution which stipulates that a pre-election case must be filed within 14 days of the occurrence of the event being complained of, was not applicable to the case.

The plaintiffs, APP and Nnadi, filed their suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/235/2019 on February 27, 2019.

But Justice Ekwo held that the intention of section 285(9) of the Constitution cited by Nwosu’s legal team was not to make the court “to gloss over all acts prohibited by the Electoral Act”.

He added, “It will mean that section 285(9) of the Constitution is capable, by effect, of allowing a void, illegal or prohibited act to stand and the person behind the act to benefit from the act that is void ab initio.

“It must be said that an illegal or prohibited act does not become legal by virtue of being time-barred,” the judge added.

He also ruled that the suit was not an abuse of court processes since it was filed to seek an interpretation of the provision of the Electoral Act.

He also held that by virtue of the provision of section 37 of the Electoral Act, the plaintiffs, despite that they did not participate in the election, possessed the locus standi (legal right) to file their suit.

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British-Nigerian, 14, Killed in Knife Attack in UK

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UK police named a 14-year-old boy killed in a sword attack in London this week as Daniel Anjorin, as officers released more details about how the violent rampage unfolded.

Anjorin, a British-Nigerian pupil attended Bancroft’s private school in Woodford Green – also attended by Nottingham attack victim Grace O’Malley-Kumar.

He died on Tuesday morning as he walked to school in Hainault, in the east of Britain’s capital, when he was attacked by a man wielding what appeared to be a Samurai-type sword.

Police tasered and arrested the suspect, a 36-year-old man who remains in custody on suspicion of murder. He has not been named and was not previously known to police.

The independent school attended by Anjorin said in a statement Wednesday that they had been left in “profound shock and sorrow” at the pupil’s death.

“He was a true scholar, demonstrating commendable dedication to his academic pursuits. His positive nature and gentle character will leave a lasting impact on us,” Bancroft’s, in Woodford Green, near Hainault, said.

London’s Metropolitan Police force said Tuesday’s horror unfolded just before 7:00 am (0600 GMT) when the accused crashed a van into a house fence, hitting a 33-year-old man before stabbing him in the neck.

A 35-year-old man was then attacked inside a nearby property, causing lacerations to his arm, before Anjorin was killed.

Police arrived on the scene 12 minutes after the first emergency call and attempted to neutralise the suspect with incapacitant spray and a Taser gun but these had little effect.

The suspect seriously injured two police officers, both of whom required surgery on Tuesday and remain in hospital.

One, a woman, suffered severe injuries to her arm and nearly lost a hand, the Met said.

The man fled again as terrified witnesses took cover in houses before police used a Taser to overpower him, detaining him 22 minutes after the initial call.

Police have said the attack was not terror-related.

It came amid a rise in stabbings in the United Kingdom and shortly before voters decide whether to re-elect London mayor Sadiq Khan for a record third term in local elections Thursday.

Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has criticised the opposition Labour Party’s Khan for his record on crime.

Anjorin’s death is the second recent tragedy to hit Bancroft’s, after a former pupil, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, was killed in Nottingham last year as she tried to save her friend from a knife attacker.

Valdo Calocane was sentenced to indefinite detention in a psychiatric hospital for stabbing to death 19-year-old O’Malley-Kumar, fellow student Barnaby Webber and 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates.

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Adebogun Commends Tinubu over Rehabilitation of Ikorodu-Imota-Itoikin-Epe Road

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Renowned educationist, and Proprietor/Chief Executive Officer, Caleb Group of Schools, Dr. Oladega Adebogun, has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for speedy and comprehensive rehabilitation of the Ikorodu-Imota-Itoikin-Epe Road, which formerly ranked as one of the worst in Nigeria, and had been albatross to past administrations.

A statement signed by the Director, Public Relations, Caleb University, Imota, Mr. Abimbola Olulesi, and made available to this medium, noted that Adebogun gave his commendation during an interactive session with the media, affirming that President Tinubu, by his singular action, has renewed the hope of residents, motorists and commuters, who had lost hope that the road will ever be repaired, considering its total deplorable state.

He recollected that the Ikorodu-Imota-Itoikin-Epe road, before the rehabilitation, ranked among the worst roads not just in Lagos State but across the country.

“The road usually gets abandoned during the rainy season, and had posed a recurring nightmare to motorists and commuters along the Ikorodu through Imota to Itoikin axis, and as far as Epe. It was a particularly harrowing experience for road users during vacation and festive periods,” Adebogun said.

The Proprietor joyfully noted that it was a huge sigh of relief for residents when the rehabilitation was completed in March this year, reducing Ikorodu to Epe travel time from about two hours to less than thirty minutes.

He added that the rehabilitation of the road is a positive pointer and attestation to the fact that many more development projects promised by the people-oriented, focused and egalitarian government of President Tinubu would be completed and delivered.

Adebogun also commended the Honourable Minister of Works, His Excellency, Dr. Dave Umahi, the Executive Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Senator Adetokunbo Abiru for the various roles they played in the actualization of the rehabilitation of Ikorodu-Imota road.

He recalled that Governor Sanwo-Olu had personally visited to access the deplorable condition of the road early this year while Senator Abiru had moved a motion in 2021 on the floor of the Nigerian Senate on, “The Urgent Need for the Rehabilitation of the the Ikorodu-Sagamu and Ikorodu-Itoikin-Epe Roads to further bridge the Infrastructure Gap and Enhance Economic Growth in Nigeria”.

Senator Abiru also has to his credit many laudable achievements which earned him the appellation of “Doing Good Senator” such as: The Senator Abiru Innovation Lab(SAIL), which is “the first of its kind innovation hub” in Lagos East Senatorial District which he set up for young people and entrepreneurs; N300 Million Naira Constituency Intervention Revolving Loan, Health facilities and construction of blocks of classrooms he facilitated across the district, provision of grant to 1,250 market women, award of bursary to 600 higher institution students and monthly support for over 2500 vulnerable constituents. Others include provision of many transformers across Lagos East Senatorial District, building of Epe Sports Complex as well as sponsorship of many legislation and motions of national significance.

Adebogun also remarked that, in less than one year of assuming office, President Tinubu had performed beyond expectation and deserves the goodwill and support of all Nigerians to actualise all aspects of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

He further paid tributes to President Tinubu for the promise announced by the Honourable Minister of Works, Dr. Dave Umahi, that the dualization of the Ikorodu-Imota-Itoikin-Epe Road would commence in earnest as the second phase of the road repair project.

He therefore appealed to all well-meaning Nigerians to put aside mundane differences and join hands with the government for the full realization of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

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No Such Deals Exist, Maersk Debunks $600m Investment Agreement with Nigeria

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A report from Lloyd’s List has debunked the statement of the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government that Maersk has concluded and signed an agreement for a $600 million into the port sector.

The paper’s report reads:

A $600m investment into Nigeria’s port sector from Maersk, announced personally by the West African state’s president Bola Tinubu on Sunday, appears to be less solid than the government initially claimed.

Despite a presidential statement from Tinubu detailing how he had secured the purported investment during a World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh over the weekend, Maersk officials have confirmed that no such agreement is in place and no deals have been signed.

The Nigerian government statement detailed how A.P Moller-Maersk chairman Robert Maersk Uggla had discussed the investment with president Tinubu on the sidelines of a meeting discussing energy development and growth. The statement even included a direct quote attributed to Uggla saying: “We believe in Nigeria, and we will invest $600 million in existing facilities and make the ports accommodating for bigger ships”.

But according to Maersk, that deal does not exist.

Company officials said while Uggla did meet the president, no such deal had been signed.

“Maersk has been present in Nigeria for 35 years and, as a global provider of logistics services, we remain committed to develop opportunities for growth to people, the port sector and businesses locally,” the company said in a statement to Lloyd’s List.

“Therefore, it is natural to have an ongoing dialogue with the administration. However, we are not able to comment on any investment talks.”

Maersk is due to report first-quarter results on Thursday, meaning that management are in a regulatory quiet period limiting what they can say publicly about the company’s activities.

Nigeria has promised to revamp its ports, including in the commercial capital Lagos, to ease congestion.

Tinubu’s statement explained that his government would support the modernisation and automation of its ports to improve trade, reduce corruption and boost efficiency. He claimed that the purported Maersk investment would “complement the administration’s ongoing $1bn investment in seaport reconstruction across the eastern and western seaports of Nigeria”.

“A bet on Nigeria is a winning bet. It is also a bet that rewards beyond what is obtainable elsewhere,” he said. “We need to encourage more opportunities for revenue expansion and minimise trans-shipments from larger ships to smaller ships.”

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