News
Following Saturday’s incident where a local guard of the Kaduna International Airport was gunned down, Azman Airline, one of the carriers operating to the airport, has suspended its operation.
The airline confirmed this in a notice posted on its Twitter handle.
Daily Trust learnt that the airline stopped the operation on Monday, leaving many passengers stranded at the airport due to limited flight connectivity in and out of Kaduna.
The airline said the suspension of operation to the airport was to re-evaluate security at the airport.
It said, “The Management of Azman Air will like to inform the general public that we will be halting our operations into Kaduna Airport for a few days.
“We understand the security situation around the airport has been handled and normalcy has been restored accordingly, but it is imperative for the Management to re-evaluate its operational procedures into the Airport to ensure maximum safety of Equipment, Staff and Passengers are fully guaranteed.
“The bedrock of our operations is Safety and we will continue to explore every option to aid its delivery to the highest standard. Thanks for your usual cooperation.”
A Lagos-bound flight was delayed after gunmen and security operatives exchanged fire around the airport on Saturday.
Federal government has directed all ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to close by 1pm on Tuesday (today) ahead of the second-leg clash between the Super Eagles and Black Stars of Ghana.
In a circular on Monday, Ngozi Onwudiwe, the service welfare officer, also called for the mobilisation of support for the Nigerian senior national team.
Onwudiwe added that all permanent secretaries should ensure the content of the circular is achieved as desired.
“As you are aware, the Super Eagles of Nigeria will be meeting the Black Stars of Ghana in continuation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier playoff (return leg),” the circular read.
“There is a need to mobilize support for the Nigerian Team. Consequently, I am directed to inform you that all offices will be closed at 1.00 on Tuesday, 29th March, 2022.
“Permanent Secretaries are requested to give the circular wide publicity to achieve the desired effect on result.”
Nigeria is billed to face Ghana for the return leg of their World Cup playoff at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja at 6 pm.
The first leg finished goalless at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi on Friday.
The winner of the tie will earn one of the five tickets for African representatives at the World Cup billed for Qatar later this year.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and former President Olusegun Obasanjo have declared that African countries are currently going through a perilous storm following political instability and military incursion in politics in some parts of the continent.
They spoke at the opening session of a two-day high-level dialogue, organised by the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA), with the theme, “West Africa: Rising to the challenges of consolidating Democratic Governance”, held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.
The two-day programme, which was also attended by former President Goodluck Jonathan, former Vice President of The Gambia, Fatoumata Tambajanb, former President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma and Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, among others, deliberated on how to strengthen democracy in West Africa.
In his keynote address, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo bemoaned military incursion into democratic regimes of some African countries.
“This is a moment of peril for democracy in our region because we are navigating a perfect storm of adverse circumstances, a world economy that is reeling from recessional shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, price and supply disruption from the war in Ukraine, the emergency of armed non-state actors, poor challenges associated with catering for the youngest populations in the world”, Osinbajo said.
He called on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU) and other African organisations to rise up to the challenge and do more in ensuring political and economic stability of West Africa and Africa at large.
Osinbajo said, “We must not allow our continent to become as it was in the cold war era. A fetter of proxy wars and great power conflict, we know from experience that this would result in the recession of democratic values in Africa.
“The militarisation of civil society whether by local military regimes or rival foreign military-industrial complexes can only set us back by several decades.
“Our commitment to democratization must be predicated on the aspiration of our people and not from the whims of foreign powers.
“The recent spate of military coups across our continent and attempts at military coups not only portends the risk of a damaging democratic recession, but it also takes us back to the circles of extra-constitutional disruptions that plagued us decades ago.
“Since 2017, there has been 12 military coups in Africa and half of them occurred since 2020. Two months ago, the democratically elected government of Burkina Faso was overthrown while only in February there was an attempted coup in Genuine Bissau which was thankfully repealed.
“This much is clear, we know that we cannot secure the Africa that we want by turning back the hands of the democratic clock. We have walked these thorny roads before, we have many decades’ worth of bitter experience and impeachable lessons in our history, a clear lesson of our history is that despotism cannot guarantee the security and prosperity of our people.
“No matter how dire our circumstances may be, we now have concrete proof that resorting to extra-constitutional regimes is not the way forward.”
Obasanjo, who is the Chairman of CoDA, in his welcome address, condemned the military takeover of democratically elected governments in some African countries, stressing that democracy in West Africa and indeed Africa requires urgent attention.
He lamented that coup d’etat, election fraud and political violence and instability have crippled the growth of Africa.
Obasanjo insisted that power-grabbing and governance through the gun will not help African nor procure democracy through judiciary, stressing that the continent needs “a peaceful democracy that has respect for the will of the people and the future of our nations.”
The Nigeria’s former President said the only way the African continent can develop is through peaceful democratic transition of governments.
He said, “In recent years, we have witnessed a return of coup d’etat, election fraud and political violence resulting in instability and threatening the developmental gains we have made in the last couple of decades.
“I feel very sad and it gives me great concern when I see the democratic system we have painfully built collapsing. And I believe there must be a solution because the problem is human and all human problems can be solved by human beings.
“That is why the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa (CoDA) under my Chairmanship and the OOPL have brought all of us together today to discuss pertinent issues affecting governance in West Africa, including the challenges and then to seek the way forward.
“Achieving this may not be easy but it is a must if we want our nation to make progress, it must entail responsible management of diversity which makes everyone feel a sense of belonging and be a significant part of the whole.
“Peaceful coexistence has been a hallmark of Africans even before the emergence of the colonial era and we cannot accept anything less in this modern age.
“We need stable environment to grow our economies and ensure that countries develop in a sustainable way. Such all-inclusive democratic environment will fast track development of our economy and will strengthen our security and promote general progress.”
A total of 116.46 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, valued at N18.88bn was stolen in 2021, data from different reports obtained from Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited showed.
Figures contained in various NNPC reports on Product Pipeline Performance for PMS showed that from January 2021 till December last year, huge volumes of petrol imported into Nigeria by the national oil company did not get to their targeted destinations.
The products were lost through four pipeline segments including Atlas Cove-Mosimi and Atlas Cove-Idimu-Satellite, Mosimi-Ibadan, Ibadan-Ilorin and Port Harcourt-Aba.
For January 2021, a total of 6.371 million litres of petrol was lost through three pipeline segment, excluding that of Port Harcourt-Aba, as there was no pumping operation on the line in January.
The ex-depot price of petrol, according to the sole importer of the commodity, NNPC, was N143.17/litre. This implies that the worth of petrol stolen in January 2021 was N943.92m.
In February, March and April 2021, the oil firm lost 5.317 million litres, 5.722 million litres and 7.366 million litres of petrol, valued at N787.88m, N855.28m and N1.09bn respectively.
In May, June and July 2021, NNPC lost 14.157 million litres, 10.585 million litres and 9.329 million litres of petrol respectively.
The values were N2.1bn, N1.57bn and N1.38bn for May, June and July respectively.
The losses continued in August, as 8.583 million litres of PMS valued at N1.27bn was stolen; September, 13.92 million litres worth N2.06bn was diverted; and in October, 14.075 million litres valued at N3.31bn was lost.
In November and December 2021, the volumes of stolen petrol were 5.953 million litres and 15.085 million litres, respectively.
The NNPC put the value of petrol lost in November at N1.283bn, while that of December was worth N2.24bn.
A summation of the total volumes of PMS stolen during the 12-month period showed that the oil firm lost 116.46 million litres of petrol valued at N18.88bn.
NNPC has been the sole importer of petrol into Nigeria for about four years running. Other marketers of the commodity stopped importing petrol due to the hassles in obtaining foreign exchange for its import.
Also, the inability of the Federal Government to deregulate PMS has made marketers shun its imports, leaving NNPC to continue in the provision of petrol.
Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), says attacks on herders are having a negative impact on the livestock industry.
The association’s position was contained in a communique signed by Hussein Bosso and Baba Ngelzarma, national president and secretary of MACBAN, respectively, following a meeting in Abuja.
According to NAN, the meeting deliberated on security challenges facing herders across the country.
“The meeting also expressed serious concerns about the continuous displacement of thousands of pastoralists’ families as a result of cattle rustling, banditry, kidnapping and the activities of outlawed groups,” the communique reads.
“They attack, maim, or kill pastoralists without any just cause. If this continues, it might soon bankrupt the livestock industry as a whole.”
The NEC also directed state chapters to conduct town hall meetings, involving community leaders and other critical stakeholders to address issues affecting pastoralists.
“State chapters were also directed to address factors affecting the well-being of pastoralists and invoke the culture of ‘Pulaku’ against any family that harbours or aids criminality,” the communique reads.
“The association expressed its appreciation for the support it had received, as well as the concern of the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, on the plight of pastoralists.
“MACBAN assures the Sultan that the association will do whatever it takes to restore dignity, culture of Fulani people and address issues affecting pastoralists with all the seriousness it deserves.”
MACBAN also appealed to the Sultan to organise a national conference involving critical stakeholders “with the view to addressing issues of insecurity, economic empowerment and the negative profiling of pastoralists in the social and mainstream media”.
...residents now live in fear
There was pandemonium again on Sunday as residents of Adigbe, Oluwo and Panseke areas of Abeokuta continue to run helter skelter around 8:00 pm due to unconfirmed information that a crisis had erupted in Panseke.
Shops were seen being locked, while hawkers, commuters and motorists on the panseke road were seen running.
Despite police patrol moving around intermittently, the fear of reprisal attack had been on since the killing of a popular area boy, known as Tommy around Oluwo on Thursday night, when he was murdered in cold blood around Panseke, causing tension among residents.
A daily post report revealed that no fewer than seven persons have been killed in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, as cultists had been on rampage in the past one week where members of the Aiye and Eiye confraternities have been engaging one another in a supremacy battle.
"The killing of Tommy, who was described as a leader of the Eiye cult group, might be in retaliation for the murder of a member of the Aiye group", it was said.
"Investigations revealed that seven persons have been eliminated recently in various places in the state capital".
"Before Tommy was attacked on Thursday, six others had been killed by suspected rival cultists", a source informed.
The source listed some of those killed so far to include “Scatter, School Boy, Alakanni, Tommy, Azeez, Olaosebikan and Babajide.”
They were reportedly killed at different locations like Asero, Kugba, Ikereku, Panseke, Adigbe, Oke Ijeun and Isale Abetu, all in Abeokuta.
“The killings have been going on since last week. Why many didn’t hear about them was because immediately they killed those guys, their relatives carried their corpses without informing the police.
“Everything got to its climax when Tommy was killed because he was a well-known person. Many didn’t believe he was killed not until they saw his picture. The police should continue to restore peace,” a source said on Sunday.
Another source claimed, her dad could not come home as she had to call him to sleep out to avoid the skirmishes going on in Panseke and Iyana-Oloke.
According to her, "we have called our people not to come home, immediately those living around Panseke informed us of the crisis going on in the area".
Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, has confirmed that there were killings in the state within the last one week, saying some people have been nabbed.
Oyeyemi added that the police will now go after the landlords who harbour cultists in their houses within the state, adding that the Commissioner of Police has ordered that such landlords would be charged to court alongside the criminals.
Oyeyemi said, “We have launched a very serious operation on them. We are clamping down very seriously on them.
“About 18 suspects have been arrested during the last encounter we had with them and we are not going to rest until we get the last person of these hoodlums. We cannot be watching anyone making life difficult for the members of the public.
“The Commissioner of police has put on red alert, all area commanders and all tactical team commanders that they should go out and take the battle to the doorsteps of these hoodlums. We must fish them out one after the other.”
Meanwhile, Governor Dapo Abiodun has vowed to deal decisively with anybody fomenting trouble in Ogun.
The Governor said his administration would not allow anybody to disrupt the peace being enjoyed by residents of the state, advising parents to warn their children
No fewer than four commercial motorcyclists and residents of the Omi Adio area of Ibadan, the Oyo State’s capital who were said to be chasing some fleeing armed robbers have been reportedly shot dead.
Punch correspondent gathered that the incident happened on Friday after the hoodlums who raided some Point of Sales (PoS shops) were fleeing from the area.
The armed robbers were said to have invaded the Ladeowo area of Omi Adio which is at the outskirts of Ibadan on motorcycles.
They were said to have arrived in the area at around 7:00 pm. and moved from one shop to another in search of PoS machines who they successfully robbed.
The hoodlums were said to have raided five PoS shops before some residents raised the alarm which forced the robbers to abandon the operation and fled the area
As they fled, residents and okada riders were reported to have pursued them and when they saw that the angry crowd was closing in on them, they were said to have opened fire on them and killed four persons.
Two residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity told journalists on Sunday that the robbers did not kill any of the PoS agents but those shot dead were some of the people who were chasing them as they fled the area.
They claimed that they called the police from the nearby police station but said no response came until the armed robbers left the area.
One of them said, “Armed robbers came to our area on Friday and robbed PoS shops. They moved from shop to shop in search of PoS agents and the operation was successful.
“They had attacked five shops and some residents summoned courage and raised the alarm. The robbers fled on seeing this and some of the residents and commercial motorcyclists pursued them.
“They opened fire on those pursuing them and four of them were killed in the process.The police did not arrive until Saturday morning.”
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Adewale Osifeso, when contacted said the police were already investigating the case.
He said, “Investigations are ongoing. Updates would be provided accordingly.”
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has declared his intention to contest the 2023 presidential election, daily post reports.
Wike, who made this known when he visited Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom at the Government House in Makurdi on Sunday, said he is the best man to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said, “To remove APC from power, I’m the person who can tell them enough is enough. We must take this power and I’m ready to take it for PDP.
“God is with us that’s why APC keeps failing every day.”
He, therefore, urged stakeholders to give him their mandates and not to sell their votes, assuring that he has the capacity to, “face this evil government.”
He promised that if elected, security would be his topmost priority and also queried those founding fathers who ran away from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and still want to be recognised.
Wike stressed that he takes issues of the party personal because he has nowhere to run to.
He said, “by the time you ran away, you sold your share as a founding father so you can no longer retain your position of founding fathers.
“I stood for this party. I work for this party since 1998. I have nowhere to run to and that’s why anything that happens to this party I take personally. I have never relented.”
Newly affirmed National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu has mocked the opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP who he said tried to destabilize weekend’s national convention of the APC.
Adamu in his acceptance speech Sunday afternoon at the Eagle Square, venue of the Convention, said the PDP mismanaged the country for 16 years.
It will be recalled that, Adamu was a founding member of the PDP as far back as 1998 and served as governor of Nasarawa State on the platform of the opposition party and also clinched his senatorial position as a member of the PDP in 2011.
At the end of his two-term governorship, Adamu became secretary, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP and only defected from the PDP in 2013 having joined the then “New PDP” who left with some chieftains of the then ruling party to join the newly formed APC.
At the event in Sunday, Adamu also congratulated “the great party men and women who also aspired to occupy these national offices of our great party”.
“They did not succeed this time but in God’s time, many of them will yet realize their ambitions to serve our party and country in many other positions of responsibility. As politicians we are not strangers to gains, losses and disappointments with the outcome of every political contest.
“Let us show maturity and good sportsmanship and accept the outcome of this Convention with grace. Our party needs all hands on the steering wheel so that together we can steer the ship of state through the inclement weather of our divisive national politics to the promised land. I thank all of them very much for their spirit of sportsmanship and we will continue to count on their cooperation as loyal party members and patriots”, he stated.
“As we conclude this very successful convention of our great party, I know that our opponents in PDP and other opposition parties are now sulking, wearing long faces of sadness, bewilderment and dismay.
“They had been hoping and praying to make a fortune out of our misfortunes. They were also hoping and praying to capitalize on assumed failures of our party to reap political benefits”, Adamu said.
He noted that for almost seven years now, APC Administrations at the Federal, state and local levels have been battling night and day in order to enhance the livelihood of Nigerians through various policies, programmes and projects.
“We need to renew our faith in our party and its leadership at all levels in order to herald a new dawn. We need to commit to the resolution of our crisis within the confines of our party constitution. We must resist the temptation to blow every minor personal disagreement into a major party crisis. It is time for us to do things differently. When we quarrel, we open our flanks to our rival political parties that are only too eager to exploit them for their own benefit”, he stated.
Gunmen killed one person during an airport attack in the northern Nigerian state of Kaduna on Saturday afternoon, three sources working at the airport said, the latest in a series of attacks by gunmen in the north of the country.
A ground crew and two airport officials said armed men entered the airport premises through a perimeter fence from a nearby forest and started shooting sporadically to scare workers, Reuters report.
"They opened fire on the NAMA (Nigerian Airspace Management Agency) security staff, killing him instantly and tried to invade the runway to prevent (an) aircraft from taking off," said the ground crew, who declined to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the press.
The two airport officials said armed security managed to repel the gunmen, preventing them from gaining access to the main airport complex.
A police spokesperson for Kaduna state did not respond to calls or text messages seeking comment.
Gunmen have spread terror across Nigeria's northwest, where they have attacked and killed villagers and security officials and kidnapped hundreds of school children and villagers for ransom.
More...
Carcass of Alpha Jet which went missing almost one year ago has been found in Sambisa Forest, Borno State according to a Daily Trust report.
The Nigerian Army which disclosed this in a brief statement on Saturday said troops of Operation Desert Sanity uncovered the wreckage.
The aircraft (NAF 475), which had two crew members on board, had gone off the radar on March 31, 2021.
The statement read, “Troops of Operation Desert Sanity on clearance patrol in Sambisa Forest, Borno State, have uncovered the wreckage of crashed Alpha Jet aircraft (NAF475) that went off the radar with two crew members on 31 March 2021. Further exploitation (is) ongoing.”
All Progressives Congress (APC) has selected its consensus candidates for national and zonal offices of the party.
The list, which was signed by governors of the party, came as delegates gathered in Abuja for the ongoing party’s national convention.
Aside from the office of the zonal legal adviser (south-south), a total of 54 consensus candidates were approved.
According to the party’s ‘Endorsement List’, Abdullahi Adamu, senator representing Nasarawa west, was selected for the position of national chairman of the party.
Other consensus candidates are listed as follows:
Abubakar Kyari (senator from Borno) as deputy national chairman (north)
Emma Eneukwu (Enugu) as deputy national chairman (south)
lyiola Omisore (Osun) as national secretary
Fetus Fuanter (Plateau) as deputy national secretary
Muhazu Bawa Rijau (Niger) as national vice-chairman (north-central)
Mustapha Salihu (Adamawa) national vice-chairman (north-east)
Salihu Lukman (Kaduna) as national vice-chairman (north-west)
Ijeomah Arodiogbu (Imo) as national vice-chairman (south-east)
Victor Giadom (Rivers) as national vice-chairman (south-south)
D.I. Kekemeke (Ondo) as national vice-chairman (south-west)
Ahmed El-Marzuk (Katsina) as national legal adviser
Uguru Mathew Ofoke (Ebonyi) as national treasurer
Bashir Usman Gumel (Jigawa) as national financial secretary
Suleiman M. Argungun (Kebbi) as national organising secretary
Betta Edu (Cross River) national women leader
F.N. Nwosu (Abia) as national welfare secretary
Felix Morka (Delta) as national publicity secretary
Abubakar Maikafi, senator from Bauchi, as national auditor
Abdulahi Dayo Israel (Lagos) as national youth leader
Tolu Bankole (Ogun) as special (persons with disability (PWD) leader
Ibrahim Salawu (Kwara) as deputy national legal adviser
Omorede Osifo (Edo) as deputy national treasurer
Hamma-Adama Ali Kumo (Gombe) as deputy national financial secretary
Nze Chidi Duru (Anambra) as deputy national organising secretary
Yakubu Murtala Ajaka (Kogi) as deputy national publicity secretary
Christoper Akpan (Akwa Ibom) as deputy national welfare secretary
Olufemi Egbedeyi (Oyo) as deputy national auditor
Zainab Abubakar Ibrahim (Taraba) as deputy national women leader
Jamaluddeen Kabir (Zamfara) as deputy national youth leader
Oluwatoyin Opawuye (Kwara) as national ex-officio (north-central).
Sirajo Dahuwa (Bauchi) as national ex-officio (north-east)
Allyu Ahmed Yako (Kano) as national ex-officio (north-west)
Agunwa Anekwe (Anambra) as national ex-officio (south-east)
Diriwari Akedewei (Bayelsa) as national ex-officio (south-south)
Bunmi Oriniowo (Ekiti) as national ex-officio (south-west)
Yakubu Mohammed Adamu (FCT) as zonal secretary (north-central)
Mohammed Wali Shettima (Yobe) as zonal secretary (north-east)
Bello Goronyo (Sokoto) as zonal secretary (north-west)
Azobu Innocent Itapa (Ebonyi) as zonal secretary (south-east)
Ita Udosen (Akwa Ibom) as zonal secretary (south-south)
Vincent Bewaji (Ekiti state) as zonal secretary (south-west)
Hadiza Aliyu (Kogi) as zonal legal adviser (north-central)
Dauda Chakpo (Taraba) as zonal legal adviser (north-east)
Bashir Usaini Dutse (Jigawa) as zonal legal adviser (north-west)
Mayor Ogbona Earnest (Ebonyi) as zonal legal adviser (south-east).
Isma’il Kolawole Majoro (Oyo) as zonal legal adviser (south-west),
Ahmed Attah (Kogi) as zonal organising secretary (north-central),
Abubakar Adamu Musa (Taraba) as zonal organising secretary (north-east)
Salisu Uba (Zamfara) as zonal organising secretary (north-west)
Dozie Ikedife (Anambra) as zonal organising secretary (south-east)
Blessing Agbome (Edo) as zonal organising secretary (south-south)
Lateef Ibirogba (Lagos) as zonal organising secretary (south-west)
John Okoho (Benue) as zonal publicity secretary (north-central).
..president Buhari arrives convention ground
Six persons vying for the position of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, have stepped down from the contest according to a Punch report.
The six former candidates have backed Senator Abdullahi Adamu, the candidate of President, Muhammadu Buhari as their consensus candidate.
This was contained in a letter sent to the Chairman of the APC Election Sub-Committee on Friday, signed by Senator George Akume, who was also among those vying for the position.
President Muhammadu Buhari arrived the convention ground around 8.23 pm, while formal activities commenced.
In the meantime, there was chaos at the entrance of Eagle Square, Abuja, on Saturday as security agents fired several rounds of teargas at delegates as well as officials finding their way into the venue of 2022 All Progressives Congress national convention.
Despite the over 1000 security agents deployed to ensure decorum at the venue, it was observed that the entrance of Eagle Square was disorganised.
Several security agents were seen wielding whips, teargas canisters and stun guns.
Amidst the tussle, some individuals reportedly lost their valuables such as mobile phones and cameras.
According to the schedule of events released on Thursday by the Chairman of the Media and Publicity Sub-Committee for the APC 2022 National Convention, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State, accredited national delegates, Caretaker Committee members and Chairman, APC State Governors, lawmakers, the President and Vice President would arrive between 10:00 am until 03:30 pm, when the Convention begins proper.
APC unveils Adamu as consensus National chair
Meanwhile, the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, last night, unveiled Senator Abdullahi Adamu as its consensus candidate for the national chairman of the party according to vanguard.
Speaking on behalf of the party at the national convention holding at Eagles Square in Abuja, the Senate Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi (APC Kebbi North) said that Adamu’s emergence was the decision of every stakeholder in the party.
He said: “We have allowed one of our members for the position of the national chairman of our party through consensus, Senator Adamu Abdullahi. He’s a 3 term Senator and we wish him the best”.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has approached a federal high court in Abuja to seek the invalidation of the outcome of the All Progressives Congress (APC) national convention as reported by the Cable.
This suit is coming less than a day to the ruling party’s convention scheduled for Saturday.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CR/389/2022, the PDP is equally praying the court to restrain the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising or having any business whatsoever with the APC as a registered political party.
INEC, APC, registered trustees of APC, APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) and national chairman of the CECPC are cited as defendants in the matter.
PDP is praying the court to determine “whether upon a consideration of section 223(2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as altered, the leadership of the 2nd defendant (APC) can be made up of only 13 members as presently constituted by the 4th defendant and forwarded/registered with the 1st Defendant, and if answered in the negative, whether the 2nd defendant has any valid leadership, properly so called, forwarded/registered with the 1st Defendant in compliance with section 222(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as altered) and whether any act done by the said leadership is valid and founded in law.
“If the answer to the 2nd and 3rd legs of the issue in paragraph 1 above is further in the negative, whether the 2nd defendant is not liable to be de-registered as a political party pursuant to sections 222 (a), 223 (2) (b) and 225 (a) of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria (as altered)”.
Upon determination of the legal questions, the opposition party is seeking “a declaration that by the express provisions of section 223 (2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria (as altered), the leadership of the 2nd defendant cannot be made up of only 13 members as presently constituted by the 4th defendant and forwarded/registered with the 1st defendant.
“A declaration that the 2nd defendant has no valid leadership, properly so called, forwarded/registered with the 1st defendant in compliance with section 222(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria (as altered).
“A declaration that all the prior actions and subsequent actions undertaken by the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th defendants are null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
“A declaration that the 2nd defendant is liable to be de-registered by the 1st defendant as a political party pursuant to section 222 (a), 223 (2) (b) and 225A of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as altered.
“An order de-registering the 2nd defendant as a political party having failed to meet the requirements of section 222(a), 223 (2) (b) and 225 of the 1999 Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, as altered.
“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the 1st defendant, either by itself or through its officers, employers, assigns, privies or agents from recognizing, communicating with, dealing with or having any business whatsoever with the 2nd Defendant as a registered political party.”
A date is yet to be fixed for the hearing of the suit.