News
Atiku Declares Intention to seek Redress at Supreme Court, Says PEPT Judgement Bereft of Substantial Justice
By Eric Elezuo
Former Vice President of Nigeria and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25, 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has announced his intention further seek the nullification of the election of Bola Tinubu as president at the Supreme Court following the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday.
Atiku made his intention known during a world press conference he held in Abuja, where he said the judgment was bereft of substantial justice, noting that “electoral process in Nigeria should be devoid of untidy manipulations and that the outcome of every election should be a perfect reflection of the wishes of the electorate.”
In attendance where top members of the party, representatives of the international community and the general public.
Read the detailed statement below:
Good afternoon, Gentlemen of the Press.
I am here today to give my official reaction to the judgment delivered yesterday by the Presidential Election Petition Court on the 2023 presidential election.
As you already know, I approached the court following the declaration by INEC that the APC and its candidate are the winners of the February 25, Presidential Election.
My decision to go to court is anchored in my belief that the court is the sanctuary of justice. The journey of my political career, as you know, holds so much to the courage and fearless decisions of our judiciary.
Indeed, I am no stranger to legal battles, and I can say that I have a fair idea of how the court system works. All through my career as a politician, I have been a fighter, and I must say that I have found the judiciary as a worthy pillar to rest on in the pursuit of justice.
The last presidential election in our country and the way it was managed by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, leaves behind unenviable precedents, which I believe the courts have a duty to redress. Our gains in ensuring transparent elections through the deployment of technology was heavily compromised by INEC in the way it managed the last presidential election, and I am afraid that the judgement of the court as rendered by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal yesterday, failed to restore confidence in our dreams of free and fair elections devoid of human manipulations.
Like I did say at the beginning of this legal battle when I instructed my lawyers to file my petition challenging the outcome of the presidential election, my ultimate goal in this pursuit is to ensure that democracy is further strengthened through the principles and processes of fair hearing.
Gentlemen of the press, I take great pains to tell you that the decision of the court of first instance on this matter utterly falls far short of that expectation. I am therefore here to tell you that, though the judgment of the court yesterday is respected, it is a judgment that I refuse to accept. I refuse to accept the judgment because I believe that it is bereft of substantial justice. However, the disappointment in the verdict of the court can never destroy my confidence in the judiciary.
Consequently, I have asked my lawyers to activate my constitutionally guaranteed rights of appeal to the higher court, which, in the instance, is the Supreme Court. It is my conviction that the electoral process in Nigeria should be devoid of untidy manipulations and that the outcome of every election should be a perfect reflection of the wishes of the electorate. I believe that such is the only way through which our democracy can have a manifest expression of its true meaning. Whether I prevail in this quest or not, the record of my effort in ensuring an order of credible elections in Nigeria shall remain for the future generations to evaluate.
On this note, I urge all my supporters to remain steadfast. I urge them to take solace in an immortal lesson I learned from my leader and mentor, the late Shehu Yar’Adua, that losing a battle is less important than losing the war. We might have lost a battle yesterday, but the war is well ahead of us. And I believe that with our hopes in God, we shall win the war of restoring confidence in our electoral system.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen of the Press, I thank you for your attention.
The Zone 2 Command Headquarters under the leadership of AIG Adegoke M. Fayoade, has held a lecture on measuring gender-related killings of women and girls (femicides), with a view to presenting recommendations for data systems improvement, advocacy and Action.
The lecture, which was held at the MD Abubakar Conference Hall, Zone 2 Command Headquarters, Onikan, Lagos, was was presided over by AIG Fayoade with senior personnel in attendance.
The presentation, according to a statement by the Zone’s Public Relations Officer, SP Ayuba Ummah, and made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), was an awareness and training programme, which aims at closing the statistical gap and establish a framework for measuring femicides within the Nigeria Police Force and relevant stakeholders to enhance policy making in ending this brutal manifestation of Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) as well as provide a comparable data for global reference.
During the lecture, the Force Pathologist, ACP (Dr.) Samuel Keshinro, spoke on “Measuring Gender-related Killing of Women and Girls (femicides) in Lagos State to Present Recommendations for Data Systems Improvements, Advocacy and Action” focusing on the importance of data collection to assess the burden of femicide according to the framework of the International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes (ICCS). The ICCS is a classification of criminal offences developed by the UN based on internationally agreed concepts, definitions and principles to enhance the consistency and international comparability of crime statistics and improve analytical capabilities at both the national and international levels.
At the presentation, Dr Keshinro cited the Spotlight Initiative (the United Nations high-impact initiative to end violence against women and girls) on VAWG stating that one in three women experience sexual, physical, and psychological abuse including victims of trafficking, or violent social norms. The pervasiveness of VAWG which is a subset of GBV that specifically targets females are perpetrated by intimate partners i.e. Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) which includes husbands, boyfriend, ex-husband and ex-boyfriends causing sexual, physical, and psychological harm to the female gender. The extreme form of VAWG that causes death is called FEMICIDE defined by the UN as the intentional killing of a woman or a girl with a gender-related motivation.
Dear Destiny Friends,
The best helping hand you will ever find is at the end of your own arm – John Mason
One of the best forms of love, if not the best, is self-love. The ultimate truth is that apart from the creator, nobody can love you more than you can love yourself.
As human beings, sometimes, we depend on other people’s love to feel loved. Some people even desire social media and online love just to be accepted into the society. No doubt, everyone loves attention and approval.
Everyone loves to be accepted, appreciated, and recognized, but some of us are not ready to do the needful to attract the desired attention. The simple truth about life is that nobody can give you attention, neither will anyone give you recognition if you have not given them a reason to do so. So, one needs to help themselves before other people can help them.
Helping yourself is the best thing that can happen to you. When you help yourself, the joy hits differently. Helping yourself is not limited to adding value to your life. Did you know that self-care is a lifestyle, and it is one of the ways to help your life. Some of the ways self-care can help your life are engaging in regular exercise, eating healthy, avoiding drugs and alcohol, and sleeping well. Self-help also involves taking care of your mental, emotional, physical, environment, recreational, financial, social, physical, and spiritual needs.
Did you know that practicing simple self-care activities can help one achieve greater mental clarity, and gain a better understanding of their feelings?
Helping oneself is okay so long as it doesn’t involve unlawful actions or breach of peace. It’s sad to see people engage in illegality just to get what they want.
Those that depend on fellow human beings for help might be disappointed. Even though they may not have the intention to fail you, life sometimes, happens. They too might be going through personal challenges. Always leave a space in your heart to forgive or overlook when supposed friends, mentors, family members, mentors and benefactors don’t come through for you.
The sad reality of life is that, most times, we like to receive from resourceful persons, but we don’t seem to ask who will give to them. Do you think manna will fall from heaven for them? No. They must find creative ways to make ends meet. One of my mentors once stated, ‘you can work alone, but you can’t eat alone’.
What you don’t know is that these resourceful people were able to help themselves. That’s why they were able to get assistance from established institutions and resourceful people. Some of them might have had a business plans which they pitched to a team of panelists. Some developed programmes, sowed seeds, traveled far and wide and made mistakes while searching for the right path. These are some ways of helping oneself.
I have always stated, we all go through a secret frustration which nobody knows. For a fact, it is easier for people to assist you when you have added adequate value to your life. When you do, people won’t see you as a liability, rather, they will see you as a resource being.
In my journey towards life, I have realized that when you have a mentor or leader you respect, your ability to do the work will enable them to put the icing on the cake. I vividly remember when I published my first book, I had to reach out to Dr. Chief Dele Momodu to write the Foreword to my book. He was kind enough to accept my request. Imagine, if I had not written the book, the opportunity wouldn’t have arisen.
Now, you see that I was able to help myself before help came through. Isn’t it true that heaven helps those who help themselves.
In contemporary times, sometimes, we hope and rely on family members, friends, mentors, associates, mentees, benefactors and more, to help our craft just because we feel and think they are in a better position to assist us, depending on their position or status, but the reality is that sometimes we ask people things that are beyond them and when they refuse to assist, we feel offended.
One of my mentors, Dr. Yomi Garnett, rightly stated as follows, “So your aunt won’t help you financially. Your well-connected uncle won’t give you an introductory note to his minister-friend. Refuse to despise or resent them. Forgive them. Make excuses for them, such as they have enough challenges of their own. Then promptly take responsibility for your own life and your own success by asking God to show you His way.”
I can relate to Dr. Garnett’s statement because, in the past, I have tried to reach some people, some I shared my programmes for consideration, while others came via introduction. In most of these engagements, I couldn’t get what I wanted either because I didn’t come prepared, or was yet to develop the required capacity and competence to execute the task. However, when I developed expertise, they came for me, and in some cases, I was highly recommended. This is the reality of life; people generally love ripe fruits as opposed to unripe fruits which don’t taste nice.
During my formative years, I depended on people to the extent I feel entitled for their support because I felt they were rich, wealthy, and highly connected. I didn’t realize life doesn’t work that way. It was much later in life I realized that it will be easier for them to share their network and net worth with me when I have helped myself. As a matter of fact, that has become my fate because I have had opportunities to relate and work closely with some of my benefactors.
Today, I charge you to make an intentional effort to help yourself. Give your life a meaning. Stop complaining and start to take action to change the course of your life. You are not alone in this struggle; we are all in it together. Remember, nobody can write your story more than you and if you don’t talk about yourself, nobody will talk about you.
In conclusion, endeavor to help yourself so others can help you.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design Your and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
By Eric Elezuo
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has said that its novel Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE) is set to commence on Friday, October 25, with a termination date of Friday December 20, 2024. It also noted that the deadline for the registration of the examination has been extended till October 29, 2024.
The information was contained a press statement signed by the Acting Head, Public Affairs Department, Moyosola Adesina, on behalf of the Head, National Office.
The statement noted that “the examination will adopt the hybrid mode of delivering the examination, which implies that, the objective or multiple-choice questions would be rendered on-screen and candidates would be required to give their responses on the screen, while the essay and practical questions will be rendered on-screen, likewise, but candidates would have to give their responses using the answer booklets provided.”
Read the statement in full:
CONDUCT OF COMPUTER-BASED WEST AFRICAN SENIOR SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION (CB-WASSCE) FOR PRIVATE CANDIDATES, 2024-SECOND SERIES: FINAL EXTENSION OF REGISTRATION DEADLINE
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Nigeria, wishes to announce to candidates, stakeholders, and the general public that it is set to conduct the novel Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB- WASSCE) for Private Candidates, 2024– Second Series from Friday, October 25 to Friday, December 20, 2024.
The examination will adopt the hybrid mode of delivering the examination, which implies that, the objective or multiple-choice questions would be rendered on-screen and candidates would be required to give their responses on the screen, while the essay and practical questions will be rendered on-screen, likewise, but candidates would have to give their responses using the answer booklets provided. Meanwhile, the examination diet has provided an option for candidates who may wish to use Paper and Pen mode, for the whole examination papers.
On this note, the Council wishes to inform all intending candidates that the registration period has been extended to Tuesday, October 29, 2024. Similarly, the “Walk-in-Candidate” opportunity (for candidates who register 24 hours before the particular paper of their choice is due to be taken) will be open at the end of the registration. Final timetable for the examination is available for download on the WAEC Nigeria website (https://www.waecnigeria.org) .
All intending, as well as registered, candidates are advised to take advantage of the numerous learning resources provided by the Council. These include signing up on the WAEC e-Study platform (via https://estudy.ng), purchasing the WAEC Past Questions and Answers’ books, and joining other candidates (on https:// www.waeckonnect.com ) to interact, on the WAECKonnect platform.
WAEC wishes all candidates for the examination success. The Council will always seek ways of delivering on its mandate by deploying technological innovations to make its services easily accessible to all stakeholders.
Issued by Public Affairs Department.
