News

Oyetola Congratulates Adeleke on Supreme Court Victory

Published

5 months ago

May 10, 2023

Eric

The former Governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola, has accepted Tuesday’s ruling of the Supreme Court which upheld the election of Senator Ademola Adeleke as governor of the State.

Oyetola, through a statement he personally signed, said although the verdict of the Apex Court was against the wish of his party members and supporters, he accepted it in the interest of peace and development of the state.

The former governor urged members of his political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), his supporters and those who voted him during the July 16, 2022 governorship election, to accept the judgment as the will of God and move on.

“We strongly believe we presented a good case before the Supreme Court, but the Court thought otherwise and has given its verdict. While the outcome is against our wish and that of our party members and supporters, we are all bound to accept it as law-abiding citizens.

“To our members and supporters across the State, I urge you all to accept the verdict of the Court and move on. The present situation is a win-win for us. It’s both a loss and victory rolled into one. While we lost Osun technically, we gained Nigeria,” he said.

Oyetola, who asked the APC members and supporters not to feel sad and depressed over the decision of the Court, encouraged them to brace up for the tasks ahead of the party. He also appreciated the leadership of the party in the state and at the national level for their commitment and support throughout the period of the legal tussle.

“I remain committed to the growth and development of Osun. I will therefore continue to work with well-meaning citizens of Osun, associations and institutions to facilitate development to our dear State. Similarly, I urge all citizens of Osun to continue to exhibit the Omoluabi ethos and uphold the dreams of our forebears for the State, irrespective of party affiliations.

“To the Osun Governor, Senator Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke, I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your victory at the Supreme Court. While I pray for your tenure to be prosperous for our people and the State, I urge you to focus on delivery of good governance.

“Politics aside, time has come to let you know that the interest of the masses must be most paramount without any restriction or discrimination whether based on political persuasion, creed or religion. Whatever personal differences we have must give way to the advancement of our great State. The security of Osun people must be guaranteed regardless of their religious and political affiliations. I pray for peace and progress in your tenure,” Oyetola added.

News

Mohbad: Sam Larry Now in Our Custody, Police Confirm

Published

2 hours ago

September 29, 2023

Eric

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested controversial Lagos socialite, Balogun Eletu, aka Sam Larry, over an ongoing investigation into the circumstances leading to the death of the singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad.

The Lagos State Police Command Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the development to The Punch in a late Thursday night telephone interview.

“Yes, Balogun Eletu aka Sam Larry is now in our custody. He is currently assisting with the ongoing investigation,” Hundeyin said.

The police had earlier invited Sam Larry and singer, Azeez Fashola aka Naira Marley, for questioning over Mohbad’s demise.

The police, last week, also confirmed that pathologists had concluded the autopsy conducted on Mohbad, while they await the result.

He said, “Autopsy has been concluded. Awaiting results.” This development followed the exhumation of Mohbad by a combined team of the Nigeria Police Force and health officials.

The police had also arrested the nurse who reportedly injected the deceased singer before his demise on Tuesday, September 12.

The Punch

News

Kaduna: Tribunal Affirms Sani’s Election, Dismisses PDP’s Petition

Published

16 hours ago

September 28, 2023

Eric

The Kaduna State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Kaduna has dismissed petition brought by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the 2023 election, Isah Ashiru, against the victory of Governor Uba Sani of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

However, in a dissenting judgment of two against one, delivered on Thursday, a three-member panel headed by Justice Victor Oviawie dismissed the petition on the ground that the pre-hearing notice was filed out of time, and therefore deemed to be abandoned.

The tribunal chairman and another member held that the appeal brought by PDP and Ashiru against the dismissal of their petition at the preliminary stage by the first and second defendants was not meritorious because the filing of the pre-hearing notice was abandoned and out of time, and therefore had dealt the entire petition a fatal blow.

The tribunal, however, noted that if the petition had not been dismissed for lack of merit, it would have ordered a supplementary election in 22 polling units within 90 days in the substantive judgment.

Senator Sani, during the election polled a total of 730,001 votes to defeat his closest rival, Ashiru of the PDP, who scored 719, 196 votes.

The Labour Party (LP) candidate, Jonathan Asake, came third with 58,283 votes, while Suleiman Hunkuyi of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) scored 21,405 votes.

While the Labour Party and NNPP accepted the outcome of the election, the PDP and its candidate rejected the results, alleging that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the wrong candidate winner of the election.

Besides, the PDP and Ashiru alleged that there were massive irregularities and manipulation of results in favour of Governor Ubah in some local governments by INEC. According to them, the APC candidate did not score the highest number of valid votes cast in the election and ought not to have been returned winner of the election by INEC.

In June 2023, PDP and Ashiru, however, filed a petition at the election petition tribunal to challenge the election of Governor Uba.

At the last sitting of the court on September 3rd, all parties presented their final written addresses before the tribunal, with APC’s legal team led by a former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Bayo Ojo (SAN), arguing that the petitioners had helped in proving he won the election free and fair, pointing in particular to the admission of a star witness for the petitioner, Bonett Gwazah, a senior system analyst in the VR/ICT department of INEC in Kaduna State.

News

NiMET Alerts FCT, Edo, 23 States of 48-Hour Downpour

Published

24 hours ago

September 28, 2023

Eric

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency has notified the residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Edo, Kwara, and 22 other states of 48-hour downpour beginning on Thursday.

The bulletin reads: “Moderate to heavy rainfall is expected within the forecast period (Thursday 28th and Friday 29th, September 2023) over parts of Katsina, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Plateau, Borno, Adamawa, Taraba, Kaduna, Niger, Nasarawa, Kogi, Enugu, Edo, Delta, and Bayelsa.

Other States are: “Abia, Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ebonyi, Kwara, Benue State and the Federal Capital Territory.”

The agency said other parts of the country will experience light to moderate rainfall.

On the likely impact of the rains, NiMet warned: “The expected moderate to heavy rainfall is expected to cause some flash flooding over their areas of occurrence.

“Strong winds should accompany the rains with the strongest winds expected over parts of Adamawa, Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Yobe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, and Kebbi State.”

The agency cautioned residents against driving through surface runoff waters, as they have strong undercurrents.

It identified slippery road surfaces and reduced visibility as other hazards that may be triggered by the downpour.

The Punch