#State Houses of Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal

[wushigod]

The Governor of Kano State, Abba Yusuf, has nominated a son of his political godfather and former governor of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso, for appointment as a commissioner.Mr Yusuf presented the name of Mustapha Kwankwaso and three others to the state’s House of Assembly on Tuesday for consideration as members of his cabinet.A former commissioner for Land and Physical Planning, Adamu Aliyu, who was sacked last September for issuing a death threat to judges of the state’s governorship electoral petition tribunal, is among the nominees. The assembly’s spokesperson, Kamaluddeen Shawai, confirmed that the lawmakers received four names for screening and confirmation for the appointment. Until his appointment, Mr Kwankwaso ran Key Special Academy, a private school owned by his father, located in Gwarinpa, Abuja.The other nominees are Usman Karaye and Abduljabbar Garko.PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Aliyu issued the death threat during a protest and prayer session organised by the state government for a favourable outcome for the party at the election tribunal.Mr Aliyu also promised to unleash mayhem on residents of the state, one worse than what residents of neighbouring Kaduna and Zamfara were going through.He said if the tribunal judges ruled against the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in the petition, they may pay with their lives.“I am sending this message to the tribunal judges, any judge that allows himself to be used and collect bribes and pass judgment that is not right, we want to tell him he must choose between his life and the bribe money he collected.“We are promising you (our supporters), we are receiving your complaints, the votes you cast on his excellency (Governor Yusuf) will not go in vain unless we lose our lives or the Kano State will fall.“Another message for the leaders. You have seen the conflict (banditry) in Zamfara, Kaduna, and Katsina, I swear because of this governorship seat, everyone will die. The conflict that will start in Kano will be more deadly than the ones in those states and Borno,” Mr Aliyu said before he was relieved of his appointment.

[hardynwa]

Appeal Court nullifies Rep Member Ugonna Ozuruigbo's election

Imo House of Representatives member Hon. Ugonna Ozuruigbo (OZB), of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lost his seat according latest appeal court judgment. Hon. Uzuruigbo who represents Nkwerre, Njaba, Nwangele, Isu Federal Constituency in Imo State, had thw Appeal Court overturn his victory in favour of Barr. Harrison Nwadike, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, in the last general election. Ugonna Uzuruigbo a former member of Imo House of Assembly was previously declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The appeal court judgement will be a major setback for the House of Reps member who previously triumphed at the election petition tribunal. His victory at the election faced several huddles before he was finally declared winner by INEC. The Appeal Court judgement will be another one for him to face. This legal decision brings an end to the prolonged legal battle surrounding the representation of the Nkwerre, Njaba, Nwangele, Isu Federal Constituency. Ozuruigbo, who secured the seat in 2019 and was poised for a second term, saw his hopes dashed by the Appeal Court’s verdict. Notably associated with the political family of former governor Rochas Okorocha, Ozuruigbo had previously defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP ahead of the 2023 General Elections, securing the party’s ticket. However, his refusal to align with Gov. Hope Uzodinma’s leadership within the APC and his subsequent defection marked a contentious period leading up to the legal proceedings. The court’s decision now establishes Barr. Harrison Nwadike as the official winner of the election. Read the full article

[crimechannels]

By • Olalekan Fagbade JUST IN; Appeal Court removes Speaker, orders rerun in some Polling units The Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Hon. Yusuf Dahiru Liman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been sacked by the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja. Liman was a member representing Makera Constituency in Kaduna South Local Government Area. The Court also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of Return given to the speaker and conduct fresh elections in 5 polling units. Hon. Solomon Katuka of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had filed a petition before the tribunal challenging the election of the Speaker, Hon. Yusuf Dahiru Liman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) representing Makera Constituency in the Kaduna State House of Assembly. Katuka said that there were gross irregularities regarding the election of the Speaker and insisted that he won the election. The Tribunal had in September, nullified the election of the Speaker and ordered a rerun in 42 polling units in 5 Wards. However; the Speaker, the APC and INEC appealed against the judgment of the tribunal and Solomon Katuka of the PDP filed a cross-appeal seeking an outright declaration. The three-member panel led by Justice I. O Adejumo, Justice A. O Oyetula, and Justice P. A Obiora in a unanimous decision quashed the decision of the tribunal ordering a rerun in 42 polling units. The Appeal Court granted the prayers of the PDP candidate, Hon. Solomon Katuka, and ordered a rerun in 5 polling units in the constituency.

[toogalaxyflower]

Bende federal constituency: AA fumes over conflicting judgment in Abia Elections Petition 1

Bende federal constituency: AA fumes over conflicting judgment in Abia Elections Petition 1     By: Femi Mustapha         The Action Alliance has expressed dismay over the National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal in Abia State’s dismissal of the case instituted by the Action Alliance (AA) against INEC and APC, challenging the election of Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker of the House of…

[truetellsnigeria1]

Tribunal Sacks Labour Party House Of Reps Member In Lagos State

The election victory of the member representing Ojo Federal Constituency of Lagos State, Seyi Sowunmi has been nullified by the National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal. Sowunmi won his election on the platform of the Labour Party (LP), Naija News reports. However, Honourable Lanre Ogunyemi who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the election, challenged the Labour…

[qualitytvng]

BREAKING: INEC GIVES REASONS FOR POSTPONING GOVERNORSHIP AND STATE HOUSES OF ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS TO 18TH MARCH 2023

The Independent National Electoral Commission has postponed the Governorship and State Assembly elections slated to hold 11th of March to the 18th of March 2023. This postponement followed the ruling by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (EPT) on the reconfiguration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) used for the Presidential election held on 25th February 2023. A statement…

[annafricatv]

Tribunal Upholds Tinubu's Election Victory As Lagos Senator

Tribunal Upholds Tinubu’s Election Victory As Lagos Senator

In Lagos State, the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Ikeja has affirmed the election of Senator Oluremi Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Lagos Central senatorial constituency.

The three-man tribunal led by Justice Kunaza Hamidu in delivering judgment, held that the petition filed by Chief Adesunbo Onitiri of the Peoples…

[jiokcareers]

POLITICS NEWS: Tribunal sacks PDP Rep in Plateau

POLITICS NEWS: Tribunal sacks PDP Rep in Plateau

Publish date: 2022-09-02 17:26:47 | Author: James Abraham | Source: punchng.com The National and States Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Jos, Plateau State, on Friday, nullified the election of Musa Aggah, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party representing the Bassa/Jos-North Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. The tribunal held that Aggah was not validly…

[sayflexxyblog]

Zamfara : Tribunal upholds PDP's victory in Bakura by-election, awards cost against APC

Zamfara : Tribunal upholds PDP’s victory in Bakura by-election, awards cost against APC

The election petition tribunal sitting in Kaduna State has dismissed the petition filed by the All Progressive Congress (APC) and its candidate challenging the victory of the PDP in the December 5th and 9th House of Assembly by-election for Bakura Constituency in Zamfara State. DAILY POST reports that the 3-man panel of the tribunal, led by Justice Raliat Adebiyi gave the unanimous judgement in…

[hardynwa]

Things you need to know this Thursday morning

1. The Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, declaring the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the March 18 election. Yusuf, who contested on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), was declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). 2. The Bauchi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed the petition filed by the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its governorship candidate, Sadique Abubakar. The tribunal affirmed the victory of Governor Bala Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. 3. Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf has appealed to residents to maintain peace while vowing to use all legal means to reclaim his mandate. Addressing the media a few minutes before midnight, Gov Yusuf said the tribunal judgment that sacked him was error-ridden and that he is optimistic that the errors would be corrected at the appellate court. 4. Dangote Group President, Aliko Dangote rose yesterday to defend the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on the purported denial of crude oil supply to his 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) capacity refinery by the national oil company. In a brief response to the claim, Dangote said the Mele Kyari-led NNPCL is ready and willing to feed the refinery with crude oil in a few weeks’ time to enable the commencement of refining operations at the facility. 5. Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday debunked rumour of an alleged attack on its National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, in Ibadan. The party described purveyors of the fake news as fifth columnists spreading unfounded rumour of attacks and harassment on Ganduje. 6. The Delta State Police Command has confirmed the death of four suspected kidnappers who had engaged operatives in a fierce exchange of gun battle within the Jesse axis in Ethiope West Local Government Area of the State. In a statement on Wednesday, the Public Relations Officer of the command, DSP Bright Edafe, said operatives were on a joint patrol on September 18, along Jesse-Igueleba road in Edo State, when they encountered a gang of bandits. 7. Unlike those before it, Nigeria’s 63rd Independence Day observance will not feature a ceremony at the Eagle Square, Abuja, but will be held “low-key,” the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, said Wednesday. He said October 1 would be “a time for reflections…to think very deeply as a people and the journey forward.”⁣ 8. A U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, on Tuesday, ordered the Chicago State University (CST) to release the academic records of President Bola Tinubu. This is following a request made by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar. 9. The Ondo State House of Assembly has launched impeachment proceedings against the deputy governor of the State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa. The initiation of the impeachment process reportedly took place on Wednesday during an emergency plenary session convened by the House. 10. A man, identified simply as James, narrowly escaped being lynched on Wednesday for allegedly stealing another man’s manhood in Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT. It was gathered that a similar incident occurred last week when a bus driver was arrested in Abaji Area Council for “stealing a manhood” after he was said to have shook hands with the “victim”. Read the full article

[crimechannels]

By • Olalekan Fagbade Stop dancing n3k*d in the market — Appeal Court slams INEC The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, has blasted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for being partisan. In its ruling on Friday, the appellate court said that the electoral body has continued to “dance naked in the market,” even though it was meant to assume a neutral stand in election litigations. It noted that it was embarrassing that the Commission could appear before it to act in favour of a party in an election dispute, by disowning documents that it not only issued, but also duly certified. “The INEC as an institution should be reminded of its role in an election; to be an unbiased umpire between parties. “It should stop behaving irresponsibly, having in mind that its duty to conduct election has a direct bearing on peace and well-being of the country. “The role of INEC in election dispute should be limited to the tendering of all the documents used in an election and explaining what they were used for and how they were obtained. “INEC should stop dancing naked in the market, pretending that no one is seeing its nakedness and its dancing steps,” the court stated while delivering judgement in a Bauchi State House of Assembly election appeal. The lead judgement of a three-member panel of the court was delivered by Justice K. I. Amadi. The panel, in its unanimous decision, nullified the election of the Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman, who was earlier declared the winner of Ningi Central Constituency in the state, by INEC. The court held that evidence before it established that the election was inconclusive. Aside from voiding the Certificate of Return that was issued to Suleiman who contested on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the appellate court directed INEC to conduct a supplementary poll in 10 polling units in the state, within 90 days. The court further awarded a cost of N500, 000 against INEC. The judgement followed an appeal that was brought before the court by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the election, Khalid Abdulmalik-Ningi. INEC had declared that Suleiman of the PDP polled a total of 16, 866 votes to defeat his closest rival, Abdulmalik-Ningi of the APC, who scored 15, 065 votes in the election that held on March 18. However, dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, the APC candidate lodged a petition before the State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal. The petitioner, among other things, alleged that results of the election were cancelled due to over-voting or corrupt practices. Even though INEC which was a Respondent in the matter, denied the claim that there was over-voting, it however failed to produce any witness before the tribunal which eventually dismissed the petition. While faulting the decision of tribunal, the appellate court noted that the Appellant brought nine witnesses that testified in respect of the various polling units and also tendered certified copies of INEC documents to support his case. It held that going by Section 137 of the Electoral Act 2022, the certified INEC documents were enough to sustain the allegation that the election was not conducted in compliance with provisions of the law. The court wondered why INEC denied that results of the election were cancelled in some polling units, when its officials established the same fact in Forms EC 40G that they signed and submitted to it. It held that the tribunal was statutorily empowered to accord probative value to the INEC documents which it said disclosed all information required to prove the alleged non compliance.

[dozenhost]

Lagos East: Tribunal strikes out APM’s petition against Senator Abiru

Lagos East: Tribunal strikes out APM’s petition against Senator Abiru

The National Assembly and State House of Assembly Election Tribunal sitting in Ikeja, Tuesday struck out a petition by the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM) challenging the December 5, 2020 election victory of Senator Adetokunbo Abiru. The three-man panel made the order after granting an application by the APM and its candidate Olusola Taiwo Moses Babatope to withdraw their petition. The panel is…

[toogalaxyflower]

Osun Election: Tribunal Okays Action Alliance Petitions, Approves Change of Counsel

Osun Election: Tribunal Okays Action Alliance Petitions, Approves Change of Counsel   By: Femi Mustapha   The Osun State Elections Petition Tribunal sitting in Osogbo, the state capital, has ruled that the Action Alliance (AA) should proceed with its petition against the state House of Assembly election held in the state. The tribunal also declared that the party has the right to change its…

[canada4news]

Tribunal Sacks APC Lawmaker, Declares PDP Winner In Kwara Rerun Poll The Kwara State House of Assembly Rerun Election Petition Tribunal has sacked Adam Rufai, candidate of the All Progressives Congress, in the by-election for Patigi Constituency.

[ericfruits]

India’s new citizenship law outrages Muslims

Dec 12th 2019

NEW DELHI

WHEN AMIT SHAH, India’s home minister, proposed his bill in parliament on December 9th, he framed it as an act of mercy. Henceforth, he promised, people who have fled persecution in neighbouring countries and taken refuge in India would be granted quicker access to citizenship. His Citizenship (Amendment) Bill would right the historic wrong of India’s Partition in 1947, when—as he disingenuously put it—the rival Congress party had agreed to split the country along religious lines.

The bill passed handily in the Lok Sabha or lower house of parliament, where Mr Shah’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds absolute sway. But India did not greet his tweaks to citizenship rules with joy. In the northeastern states of Assam and Tripura, violent protests prompted curfews, suspension of internet and train services and deployment of army units. Hundreds of prominent intellectuals signed an angry petition, while in parliament’s upper house speaker after speaker rose to lambast the bill, calling it an attack on India’s constitution, or on its national soul, that would make the country like Nazi Germany or, worse, Pakistan. When the bill did pass into law on December 11th, it was by only a 21-vote majority in the 245-seat house.

For most of the participants, the cause of all this passion was not the few words that Mr Shah has added to India’s 1955 citizenship law. It was the ones he left out. The new law applies solely to immigrants from three countries, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. And while it specifically accepts adherents of six religions, it does not include Muslims.

That is problematic for several reasons. By injecting religious credentials into considerations of citizenship, it subtly challenges the secularism enshrined in India’s constitution. Opponents of the BJP see this as a deliberate tactic towards the Hindu-nationalist goal of redefining India as a Hindu state, reducing the 200m-strong, 14-centuries-old Muslim community to a tenuous and dependent status. By rejecting proposed amendments that would have widened the bill’s scope to include people of all religions, from more neighbouring countries, Mr Shah made clear that the intention is indeed to make India a refuge principally for Hindus (the other religions mentioned in the law together make up just 5% of India’s population), even as it rejects Rohingyas from Myanmar, Uighurs from China or members of the Ahmadi sect that is branded heretical in Pakistan.

In parliament, Mr Shah vigorously denied that his bill was discriminatory. On the campaign trail, however, he has sounded a different tune. Speaking this month in Jharkhand, a rural state where voting for the local assembly is under way, he ridiculed the concerns expressed by the Congress party’s leader, Rahul Gandhi. “Rahul baba says don’t expel them [Muslim migrants],” he sneered. “What are they, your chachere bhai, your cousins? I assure you that before the national election in 2024 I will throw them all out.”

Like the changes to the citizenship law, this promise has formed part of the BJP’s election manifesto since Mr Shah’s boss, Narendra Modi, became India’s prime minister in 2014. Before illegal immigrants are expelled, however, they must first be identified. One Indian state, Assam, has over the past four years undertaken just such an exercise. Responding to decades of agitation by native Assamese, who fear being swamped by Bengali-speaking intruders, the state forced its 33m residents to produce documents establishing their long-term residency in India.

Completed in August, this National Citizens Register excluded some 1.9m inhabitants as “non-Indians”, who must submit to special tribunals to appeal against their status. To the chagrin of Hindu chauvinists, it turned out that two-thirds of these ostensible illegals were in fact Hindus; the claim that millions of Bangladeshi Muslim migrants had “invaded” Assam proved to be a myth.

Despite this shortcoming, and despite the fact that compiling Assam’s list proved costly and time-consuming for the government—not to mention a bureaucratic, legal and logistical nightmare for citizens—Mr Shah wants to extend the project nationwide. Assuming a cost proportional to what Assam has spent, this would require at least $7bn. That does not include the expense of building detention centres such as Assam’s growing archipelago of prison camps, to house thousands of people judged stateless and stripped of rights.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act may save some of this money. Since the new law fast-tracks the route to Indian citizenship for everyone else, it is primarily Muslims who are left to be sorted by the National Citizens Register. Word of this danger is already spreading. Mosque sermons are warning the faithful to gather as many official documents as they can to serve up to Mr Shah’s expected bloodhounds.

If, that is, the count goes ahead. Constitutional lawyers believe that inserting a faith criterion for citizenship contradicts as many as three articles of the country’s eloquently secular constitution. The Indian Union Muslim League has already appealed against the law to the Supreme Court. Many lawyers also contend that forcing people to produce documentary evidence of their right to be called citizens tramples on the principle of presumption of innocence.

It could be, too, that popular resistance fails to die down. Secular activists, as well as Muslims, talk of refusing en masse to comply with any demand to present citizenship documents. In Assam and other states of India’s remote, ethnically complex and historically violence-prone north-east, the citizenship rules are unpopular because native Assamese-speakers and numerous tribal groups harbour a deep fear of being outnumbered in their own state by other Indians of any religion. To assuage such worries, Mr Shah exempted much of the region from the new rules, even granting one state, Manipur, an archaic status, dating from the time of the Raj, that obliges visitors from other parts of India to obtain permits to visit.

Ironically, this sort of exclusionary arrangement is precisely what Mr Modi proclaimed he was ending, when in August his government stripped India’s only Muslim-majority state, Jammu and Kashmir, of its semi-autonomous status. Four months later the restive Kashmir Valley, the most populous part of the erstwhile state, remains locked under an internet ban, with its political leaders under arrest.

In parliament, Mr Shah described the situation in Kashmir in glowing terms as peaceful and normal. Perhaps he failed to notice that by turning citizenship into a matter of which religion you happen to be born into, his government has undermined India’s strongest claim to legitimate rule over the disputed territory: that at the time of Partition its people preferred India’s broad secular democracy to the constricting Muslim uniformity of Kashmir’s other claimant, Pakistan.■

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline "India’s new citizenship law outrages Muslims"

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[hardynwa]

10 things you need to know this Tuesday morning

Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers: 1. The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, issued a directive instructing commercial banks on Monday to refrain from utilizing their foreign exchange revaluation gains for dividends and operational expenditures. The new directive was conveyed in a letter dated September 11, 2023, signed by the Director, Banking Division Department, Haruna Mustafa, and it is expected to be implemented immediately. 2. The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Jos, Plateau State, has declared Minister of Labour and Employment, Simon Lalong winner of the Plateau South senatorial district. The tribunal nullified the election of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Napoleon Bali over invalid nomination. 3. President Bola Tinubu and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in Abu Dhabi, on Monday finalised an agreement that resulted in the lifting of the visa ban placed on Nigerian travellers. Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, disclosed this in a statement. 4. Three House of Representatives members, Ibe Okwara Osonwa, Emeka Nnamani and Munachim Alozie, all of the Labour Party (LP), have been sacked by the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Umuahia, Abia State. They were removed on Monday after the tribunal deliberated on the arguments presented by the petitioners. 5. Another boat accident in Adamawa State has claimed 11 lives. This would be the third deadly boat accident in eight days. A resident, Mallam Adamu, who narrated the latest incident in Kwatan, Fufore LGA, said it occurred Monday afternoon, with 11 bodies removed from the water. 6. Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike has told staff members of the FCT Administration that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has confidence in him to manage the affairs of the nation’s capital well. He warned contractors handling the rehabilitation of 135 roads and civil engineering services against contract variations. 7. Seven persons, mainly young people, were feared killed, on Monday, following continued boundary dispute between Ijiegu-Yache community of Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State and Mbaaka community of Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue State. It was gathered that 10 people have been killed in all since the clash started on Sunday. 8. A security man, Samuel Adeniyi was remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre on Monday for allegedly smashing the head of his girlfriend, Morolake Sunday, with a sledgehammer in the Lekki Phase 1 area of Lagos State. Magistrate Patrick Nwaka of the Yaba Magistrate’s Court ordered that the 33-year-old be remanded after he (Adeniyi) was brought to court on one count of murder. 9. Gunmen suspected to be bandits have attacked Kulben community in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State and killed 10 persons. A resident of Kulben village, Moses Fwan, confirmed the attack on Monday. Fwan said the bandits, who stormed the community on Sunday at about 10 pm, also left several houses belonging to the villagers destroyed before they fled the community. 10. A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has convicted and sentenced a former Special Adviser to Dan Abia, erstwhile Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, George Turnah, and two others to six years imprisonment for obtaining money under false pretence. Read the full article