Headlines
Ganduje, Lalong, Tambuwal Win at tribunal, PDP to Appeal Verdict
The Kano State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal yesterday upheld the election of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje after dismissing the appeal filed by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP’s) candidate, Abba Kabiru Yusuf for lack of merit.
Speaking with Journalists after the judgement, PDP Chairman, Rabiu Suleiman Bichi, confirmed that PDP would appeal the tribunal’s resolution, insisting that it would exhaust all legal means to redeem its victory.
Bichi, who cautioned party supporters to remain calm and law abiding pending the final determination of the suit at the upper courts, stressed that the tribunal’s ruling could be faulted.
In his ruling that lasted four hours, the presiding judge, Justice Mohammad Halima Shamaki maintained that Abba and PDP’s petition did not lead credible evidence in the case.
Mohammad said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC’s) decision to conduct the March 23, 2019 supplementary election was not a unilateral action, but a collective endorsement of all party agents including the PDP.
The tribunal disclosed that INEC complied with all known rules and regulations, electoral act and constitutional provision to declare the March 9 poll inclusive and organised a rerun election.
However, a former President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Muhammad Garba has urged Abba and his supporters to accept the ruling in good faith.
Besides, the Plateau State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Jos dismissed the petition brought before it by PDP gubernatorial candidate, General Jeremiah Timbut Useni challenging the election of Governor Simon Bako Lalong of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Having reviewed the arguments and final written addresses of all the parties and those of their witnesses, the tribunal held that the petitioners failed to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt.
No fewer than 71 witnesses called by the petitioners to prove over-voting, non-compliance with the Electoral Act and election malpractices among others, failed to prove their assertions, saying the allegation of over-voting was like a pack of cards, which has no basis in law.
The three–man panel headed by Justice Halimat Saleeman added that the evidence of the witnesses collapsed ab initio and should be discountenanced.
Meanwhile, the Sokoto State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, has dismissed the petition filed against the election of Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.
The three-man panel in a unanimous decision upheld Tambuwal’s election as Governor of Sokoto State in a sitting that lasted over eight hours.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Abbas Abdullahi, it held that the petitioners failed to prove allegations of over-voting, electoral frauds and partial non-compliance.
The APC and its governorship candidate, Ahmed Aliyu, had taken Tambuwal, PDP and INEC to the tribunal, challenging INEC’s return of Tambuwal as winner of the March 9 election and March 23 re-run poll.
The Guardian
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), on Thursday, published a list of 9, 532 alleged land title debtors in Abuja, giving them a two-week ultimatum to settle their outstanding bills.
The list, which includes prominent individuals and government agencies, was published on November 26, with defaulters expected to pay for their certificate of occupancy (C-of- O) within the stipulated timeframe.
Among those listed as defaulters is former Head of State, Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB), who owes N152 million for a plot of land in Asokoro, a highbrow area in the nation’s capital. IBB, who ruled Nigeria from 1985 to 1993, is not the only high-profile individual on the list.
Other notable defaulters include Samuel Ortom, former governor of Benue, who owes N950,000 for a plot of land in Bazango, and Aminu Tambuwal, senator representing Sokoto south, who owes N18 million for a plot of land in Carraway Dallas.
The FCTA has threatened to revoke the land titles of defaulters who fail to settle their bills within the stipulated timeframe. The administration has urged defaulters to settle their bills by e-payment to the “FCT department of land administration” account.
In addition to individual defaulters, some federal agencies, including the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the navy, and police, were also named as defaulters.
The Lagos governor’s lodge in Asokoro, the Kaduna state government, and ‘State House Abuja’ were also listed as land title debtors.
This development is not the first time the FCTA has taken steps to recover outstanding debts from landowners. In June this year, the administration set up a committee to recover over N29 billion owed by property owners.
The committee has since identified 430 individuals and organisations as defaulters, with plans to prosecute them.
The FCTA has also partnered with anti-graft agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to check the activities of land grabbers in the territory.
The Senate has granted approval to the ₦1.77 trillion ($2.2b) loan request of President Bola Tinubu after a voice vote in favor of the request.
The Senate presided by Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, approved the loan after the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts chaired by Senator Wammako Magatarkada (APC, Sokoto North) presented the report of the committee.
The request which was submitted by the President on Tuesday is part of a fresh external borrowing plan to partially finance the N9.7 trillion budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year.
Tinubu had on Tuesday written to the National Assembly, seeking approval of a fresh N1.767 trillion, the equivalent of $2.209 billion as a new external borrowing plan in the 2024 Appropriation Act.
The fresh loan is expected to stretch the amount spent on debt servicing by the Federal Government. The Central Bank of Nigeria recently said that it cost the Federal Government $3.58 billion to service foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024.
The CBN report on international payment statistics showed that the amount represents a 39.77 per cent increase from the $2.56bn spent during the same period in 2023.
According to the report, while the highest monthly debt servicing payment in 2024 occurred in May, amounting to $854.37m, the highest monthly expenditure in 2023 was $641.70m, recorded in July.
The trend in foreign debt servicing by the CBN highlights the rising cost of debt obligations by Nigeria.
Further breakdown of international debt figures showed that in January 2024, debt servicing costs surged by 398.89 per cent, rising to $560.52m from $112.35m in January 2023. February, however, saw a slight decline of 1.84 per cent, with payments reducing from $288.54m in 2023 to $283.22m in 2024.
March recorded a 31.04 per cent drop in payments, falling to $276.17m from $400.47m in the same period last year. April saw a significant rise of 131.77 per cent, with $215.20m paid in 2024 compared to $92.85m in 2023.
The highest debt servicing payment occurred in May 2024, when $854.37m was spent, reflecting a 286.52 per cent increase compared to $221.05m in May 2023. June, on the other hand, saw a 6.51 per cent decline, with $50.82m paid in 2024, down from $54.36m in 2023.
July 2024 recorded a 15.48 per cent reduction, with payments dropping to $542.50m from $641.70m in July 2023. In August, there was another decline of 9.69 per cent, as $279.95m was paid compared to $309.96m in 2023. However, September 2024 saw a 17.49 per cent increase, with payments rising to $515.81m from $439.06m in the same month last year.
Given rising exchange rates, the data raises concerns about the growing pressure of Nigeria’s foreign debt obligations.
Channels TV
Self acclaimed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa, has been arrested by law enforcement in Finland.
The BBC reports that Ekpa was subsequently sent to prison by the district court of Päijät-Häme for “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media”.
Ekpa was said to have committed the crime in 2021 in Lahti municipality.
The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also arrested four other men over alleged terrorist offences.
A citizen of Finland and Nigeria, Ekpa has described himself as leader of the separatist IPOB group since Nnamdi Kanu’s incarceration.
Finnish police say Ekpa’s activities and social media rhetoric may have fanned the flames of violence in the south-east of Nigeria.
“He carries out these activities from his social media channels, for example,” said Otto Hiltunen, detective chief inspector of the NBI.
In February 2023, Ekpa was arrested by police at his residence in Lahti but was released after hours of questioning.
Using his social media channels, Ekpa had directed Igbos not to participate in Nigeria’s 2023 general election.
In September 2021, the Biafra agitator and secessionist denounced Nigeria and vowed to return the medal he won for the country at the 2003 African Junior Athletics Championships.
