Metro

Nigeria’s Supreme Court begins hearing of appeals against Tinubu’s victory

Published

7 months ago

October 23, 2023

The Nigerian Supreme Court will today, Monday, October 23 begin hearing of appeals filed by three opposition parties seeking to nullify the electoral victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election.

The appeals were filed by the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), as well as the Allied Peoples Movement (APM).

The Supreme Court had last week Thursday put the three parties on notice on the date it would begin hearing on the appeals filed by the opposition parties that were dissatisfied with the ruling at the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) and the verdict of the Appeal Court.

The contending parties, which faulted the verdicts, had filed motions at the Supreme Court on different grounds, all seeking to nullify Tinubu’s victory.

On his part, Atiku and the PDP are seeking the court’s permission to tender fresh evidence on Tinubu’s academic records which he obtained from the Chicago State University (CSU), which he claims showed that the documents the president submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prior to the election were forged.

Atiku had also accused the PEPC of reaching a decision based on “gross misconstruction and misrepresentation of provisions of both the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and the Electoral Act, 2022.”

Atiku further argued that some of the “presiding officers that personally handled the BVAS machines at different polling units on the election day, had in their testimony before the PEPC, confirmed the non-transmission of results of the presidential election electronically from the BVAS machines, whereas results of the National Assembly election that held simultaneously, were electronically transmitted without difficulty.”

On his part, Obi had argued that the PEPC panel erred in law and thereby reached a wrong conclusion when it dismissed his petition.

He had accused the PEPC of wrongly evaluating the proof of evidence he tendered before it, arguing that it had “occassioned a grave miscarriage of justice” when it held that he did not specify polling units where irregularities occured during the election.

Obi faulted the PEPC for dismissing his case on the grounds that they did not specify the figures of votes or scores that were allegedly suppressed or inflated in favour of President Tinubu and the APC.

The APM’s appeal which is also seeking to nullify the election of Tinubu, was based on the APC fielding of Vice President Kashim Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate when he was not validly nominated by the party.

According to the APM, Tinubu had nominated a placeholder in the person of Ibrahim Masari, but he was not replaced within the 14 days stipulated by Section 33 of the Electoral Act.

APM had also argued that going by sections 131 and 142 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the issues were “inextricably linked and neither can be confined as a pre-election matter, as these qualifications are condition precedents to being elected to the office of President.”

The party is, therefore, asking the Supreme Court to nullify and void all votes scored by APC in the presidential election, as well as directing INEC to return the second-highest score at the election as the winner of the presidential contest.

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Metro

Nigeria: President Tinubu unveils 21 major initiatives

Published

3 hours ago

May 15, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has unveiled 21 major policy initiatives of his administration after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting he presided over on Tuesday.

According to the President’s Adviser on Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, some of tie listed initiatives include a 48-hour visa policy, cancelling of airport toll payment exemption for very important persons and a ban on sand dredging 10 kilometres from all federal bridges throughout the country among others.

Onanuga who posted the resolutions of the FEC on his official X handle, said the marathon meeting which started on Monday, was concluded on Tuesday, describing it as unprecedented in the history of the council.

“After exhaustive deliberations, the council approved several policies and projects that would further boost the economy, facilitate investments and promote the ease of doing business in the country,” the presidential aide said.

Also briefing State House correspondents after the FEC meeting at Aso Rock Villa, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the government was reviewing its visa regime to enable persons who wish to invest in Nigeria to obtain a visa within 48 hours, adding that the move was aimed at encouraging investors and tourists.

According to him, the visa policy review is necessary to foster ease of doing business on Nigerian soil.

“The Federal Executive Council has noted that our visa processes are becoming cumbersome and this is not encouraging investors to come in easily because, as the President has indicated, the ease of doing business is also tied to the ease of visa application,” Idris said.

“Therefore, the FEC has set up a committee to look at our visa processes to reduce the cumbersome nature of these visa processes, meaning that those investors or tourists who want to come into Nigeria will find it a lot easier to go into this country provided they follow all the laid down processes.

“This includes the e-visa platform, which has already been discussed. The Federal Government is also mulling the idea of every visa application being processed within the next 48 hours.”

“Nigeria’s e-visa process is part of a broader effort to streamline and modernise the country’s visa system, as outlined in the Nigeria Visa Policy (NVP) 2020.

“The e-visa system allows visiting non-Nigerians to apply online. Applicants must complete an electronic application form, upload necessary documents, and pay the required fees.

“Such e-visas available include the Short Visit Visa for business, which allows for a maximum stay of 90 days, and various investor visas that cater to different scales of investment from small to ultra-large enterprises.

Metro

Chipata youth calls for stronger media protections amid concerns over media independence

Published

23 hours ago

May 14, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Alepha Banda, a programmes officer at the Youth Development Foundation (YDF), says Zambia’s existing laws do not adequately safeguard journalists, thereby impeding media freedoms and their ability to report objectively.

Banda also argued that journalists’ lack of economic stability makes them susceptible to manipulation.

In an interview with Zambia Monitor in the Eastern Province, Banda stated the need for the government to develop policies aimed at protecting private media entities and journalists.

“The government should formulate a policy that will protect the private media and journalists,” he said.

Moreover, Banda pointed out that although individuals theoretically possess the freedom to express themselves, this liberty was frequently curtailed by factors such as fear and threats emanating from certain members of the political class.

“Individuals in positions of power have a tendency to interfere with the media, as evidenced by numerous incidents where media outlets have been stormed by individuals affiliated with certain political factions,” he said.

Nevertheless, he noted that there had been instances where the government respected media freedoms.

“At least we have seen some tolerance in some instances, where the government has not taken action that hinders media freedom,” he stated.

Additionally, Banda mentioned that the marginalised were often overlooked both in new media platforms and traditional mainstream media outlets.

“The marginalised are often neglected across television, radio, and newspapers,” he said.

This story is sponsored content from Zambia Monitor’s Project Aliyense.