Metro

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

Published

1 year 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

65% of Nigerian households lack money for healthy food—Survey

Published

6 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A survey conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that around 65% of Nigerian households, which is about two-thirds of the population, lack the financial means to eat healthy food.

According to the survey by the agency, the decline is a reflection of the multidimensional poverty in the country and the impact of continuous reduction in the purchasing power of Nigerians due to rising prices of goods and services.

And as a result, two-thirds of households in the country lack money to eat healthy, nutritious food, the NBS said.

Titled “Nigeria General Household Survey – Panel (GHS-Panel) Wave 5 (2023/2024),” the survey examined demographics, education, and health trends in Nigeria, comparing data from Wave 4 (2018/19) and Wave 5 (2023/24).

On food insecurity, the survey stated:

“Approximately two out of three households indicated being unable to eat healthy, nutritious or preferred foods because of lack of money in the last 30 days.

“Similarly, 63.8 per cent of households ate only a few kinds of food due to lack of money, 62.4 percent were worried about not having enough food to eat, and 60.5 percent ate less than they thought they should.”

It added that between Waves 4 and 5, the proportion of households that reported being worried about not having enough food to eat because of lack of money increased significantly, from 36.9 percent to 62.4 percent.

On access to energy, the survey revealed said:

“82.2 percent of urban households have electricity, compared to 40.4 per cent in rural areas. Nigerian households face an average of 6.7 power blackouts weekly.

“Cooking typically involves traditional three-stone stoves (65.0 percent), primarily using wood as fuel (70.2 per cent), but with use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) rising significantly.

“Many households lack toilet facilities and rely on tube wells or boreholes for drinking water. Waste disposal is mostly informal, with 45.6 percent of households using bushes or streets,” it added.

Metro

Zambia: APP leader lampoons PF over pledge to reverse forfeited properties

Published

23 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Leader of one of Zambia’s opposition parties, Advocates for People’s Prosperity (APP), Mwenye Musenge, has criticised the Patriotic Front (PF) over its promise to reverse forfeited properties if the party won the 2026 presidential election.

Musenge, who was reacting to a statement credited to the PF Member of Parliament (MP) for Lukashya Province, George Chisanga, described the PF’s promise as a betrayal, saying the declaration had exposed the party’s disregard for accountability and justice.

The APP leader, who spoke to Zambia Monitor in a telephone interview from Kitwe, expressed shock that Chisanga, a former Law Association of Zambia president, would endorse what he termed a “regressive agenda,” accusing the PF of prioritising the protection of corrupt individuals over the welfare of citizens.

“This declaration reveals the PF’s true intentions, returning to power not to serve Zambians, but to shield their corrupt network and restore stolen assets,” Musenge said.

He alleged that former President Edgar Lungu’s consistent calls to protect his family, who he claimed cannot explain their amassed wealth, further demonstrate the party’s self-serving mission.

Musenge further described the PF as “a political carcass animated by greed and nostalgia for its days of unchecked looting,” and accused its leaders of leaving Zambia impoverished while enriching themselves.

“Allowing them near power again would be akin to handing a butcher’s knife to a thief already drenched in the blood of the nation’s resources.

“The PF represents everything wrong with Zambian politics—a relic of the past clinging to survival through recycled lies and corrupt agendas,” he added.

Musenge went on to call for the party to be permanently eradicated, saying it had no vision, morality, or credibility to serve Zambians.