Headlines
PEPT Announces September 16 for Judgment
The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal (PEPT) may have finally fixed Saturday, September 16 as date for the much-awaited judgement on the petitions challenging the pronouncement of Bola Tinubu as winner of the February 25 presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
This is coming four weeks after the Tribunal reserved judgement.
A source disclosed to TheNiche early Monday morning that the five-member tribunal which sat at the Court of Appeal complex in Abuja from May 8 to August 1, has set September 16 as the judgment date.
Incidentally, that date is the deadline for the tribunal to deliver its judgment.
The Justice Haruna Simon Tsamani-led tribunal is expected to deliver judgement on the three petitions lodged by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP) and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) together with their presidential candidates, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Mr. Peter Obi and the Delta-born Princess Chichi Ojei respectively.
The defendants in the cases are Tinubu, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The Tribunal is yet to make an official statement after it reserved judgement.
But the announcement is bound to ratchet up the tension in the country as all eyes remain fixed on the judiciary.
On August 17, a diaspora group, The Diaspora Action for Democracy in Africa (DADA), cautioned the PEPT not to deliver judgement that will set the country ablaze.
The group said, “The Judiciary is the only institution that has all it takes to save this country from the threat of implosion. All eyes have been on the judiciary because of Nigeria’s respect for the rule of law. It does not mean that the members of the Presidential Election Tribunal are in a better position in this case to tell Nigerians the person who won the presidential election.
“Nigerians do not wait for any court to tell them the winner of any election. It is the electorate that should tell the court so because they know more than the court whom they voted to be their President. But since it is the prerogative of the court to ensure that truth and justice prevail each time they are disputed, to make room for peace and harmony, the court has been given enough evidence to prove the real winner of the 2023 presidential election.
“Arising from our discussions with a wide array of Nigerians is the fear that the judiciary needs to be cautious because if their verdict fails to satisfy the requirements of justice, it may detonate the youth’s simmering anger and set the country ablaze.”
The Niche
Headlines
Abiola Cannot Be Recognised As Former President; He Was Never Sworn-in – Gen Ishola Williams
By Eric Elezuo
One of the prime actors of the June 12, 1993 incidents, General Ishola Williams, has said that much as Chief MKO Abiola wrong was created having won the election, and denied victory, he cannot be recognized as a former President of Nigeria.
Gen Williams made his revelation while speaking as a guest on Channels television socio-political programme, Inside Source.
He maintained that only those who were sworn in that recognised as former presidents, and Abiola was never sworn in.
“Abiola cannot be recognised as former president because he was never sworn in.
The General, who said that he resigned from the army as a result of the wholesome reception given to General Sani Abacha, when he overthrew Chief Ernest Shonekan-led Interim National Government, contrary to expectation, also picked flaws in the narratives given by former Military President Ibrahim Babangida, in his recently launched book, A Journey In Service.
Williams rose in the army to become the Commandant of Army Signals, Commander of Training and Doctrine (TRADOC) and Chief of Defence Training and Planning, from where he resigned.
Headlines
Breaking: Supreme Court Recognises Martin Amaewhule As Rivers Assembly Speaker, Orders CBN to Stop Releasing Funds to State
By Eric Elezuo
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has in its ruling on Friday recognised Hon Martins Amaewhule as the authentic speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, mandating him to urgently resume sitting with elected members of the assembly.
The apex court also ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to stop releasing to the Rivers State government until a proper assembly is constituted.
Details soon…
Tension escalated at the Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday as impeached Speaker Mudashiru Obasa made a dramatic return to reclaim his position.
Accompanied by heavily armed men, Obasa stormed the Assembly complex in a bold move that has thrown the State’s legislature into turmoil.
In a stunning turn of events, security details assigned to the substantive Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mojisola Meranda, were abruptly withdrawn on Thursday morning, clearing the path for Obasa’s controversial comeback.
Sources revealed that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) ordered the withdrawal of all security operatives attached to Meranda, leaving her exposed in the midst of an intensifying power struggle.
The Speaker’s Special Adviser on Information, Mr. Victor Ganzallo, expressed concern over the security vacuum created by the withdrawal of personnel.
“In the early hours of Thursday, we woke up to the startling news that all security details assigned to Madam Speaker, Mojisola Meranda, had been withdrawn.
This includes the police and DSS officers, leaving her exposed to threats amid the ongoing speakership crisis,” Ganzallo stated.
He further called on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, as the State’s Chief Security Officer, to intervene urgently to prevent a complete breakdown of law and order within the Assembly.
“The withdrawal of security personnel has left the Assembly naked and vulnerable at a critical time. Urgent action is needed to restore order,” he pleaded.
With the speakership battle taking a dramatic new turn, political watchers are keenly observing how the crisis will unfold in the coming days.
