Members of the Nigerian House of Representatives have donated 705 million naira, amounting to 50% of their basic salaries from July 2024 to December 2024, to support President Bola Tinubu’s initiative to assist vulnerable Nigerians.

The Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, made this known during the breaking of Ramadan fast with the President and the Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa on Monday.

According to him, this was to show Nigerians that members of the House of Representatives also felt the hardship and understood what they were going through.

Gatekeeper reported that following reports of an impending nationwide mass protest by youths, to express displeasure about the hardship in the country, reflected in the high cost of living, food scarcity, unemployment and so on, members of the House of Representatives agreed to donate 50 per cent of their salaries for a period of six months.

They said the donation was to assist the Tinubu administration in addressing the economic situation in the country.

The resolution of the House was sequel to a motion of urgent importance for “An appeal to the proponents of the proposed nationwide protest, to maintain peace, eschew violence and open windows for meaningful engagements with the governments at all levels in order to address their issues.”

The motion was sponsored by the member representing Ifo/Ewekoro Federal Constituency, Ogun State, Ibrahim Isiaka, during plenary.

Speaking at the Presidential Villa on Monday, Abbas announced that the money was ready to be handed over to the Presidency.

“The House decided on our own that we need to do something symbolic to show our concern to the entire people of Nigeria that the predicament they were in, we also felt it.

“And because of that, we took a resolution that from July 2024 to December 2024 will sacrifice 50% of our basic salaries so I will now set that money aside and contribute and donate to you, so that you can also use it to look at the targeted areas in Nigeria where we have vulnerable people who I need of food, shelter, accommodation, clothing and what have you.

“We leave it to you to decide on where and where you want to intervene. But it is a symbolic contribution from the house to show you, as well as show the whole entire nation, that the passage of that particular period was being felt by each and every one of us.

“Your Excellency, I’m happy to inform you that the House contributed the sum of 705 million naira, being the 50% of our monthly salary for the for a period of six months,” he said.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Joe Igbokwe claims that President Bola Tinubu has mounted “his men everywhere” to ensure his re-election in 2027.

In a post on his official Facebook page on Monday, Igbokwe insisted that opposition figures nursing presidential ambition will be defeated by Tinubu.

According to him, Tinubu started planning for his re-election even before he assumed office as Nigerian President.

The post reads, “The truth is that those who want to challenge PBAT in 2027 are not as smart as he is.

“Before he even stepped into Aso Villa he had started planning for 2027. His challengers may not know that the Apamaku had already planted his men everywhere.”

This is coming as opposition figures accused the president of planting crisis in all political parties opposing his government.

According to a former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, the leadership crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Labour Party, LP, were all orchestrated by the ruling party to suppress the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday held that the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice lacked requisite power and authority to initiate, maintain and prosecute offences under the Electoral Act, 2022.

Justice Inyang Ekwo made the declaration while delivering judgement in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1038/23 instituted by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 governorship election in Ogun State, Oladipupo Adebutu and nine others with the AGF/Minister of Justice as the sole defendant.

The plaintiffs had, in their Originating Summons prayed the court to stop the office of the AGF from prosecuting them over an allegation of vote-buying levelled against them by Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun, and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

They prayed the court to hold that the AGF cannot initiate, commence and continue the prosecution of electoral offences under the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022, in view of sections 153, 158, 160 and Paragraph 15, Part 1, 3rd Schedule of the Constitution.

They asked the court to determine whether the prosecution of electoral offences under the Electoral Act, 2022 is not the exclusive reserve of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in line with Section 145(2) of the Electoral Act and sections 153, 158, 160 and Paragraph 15, Part 1, 3rd Schedule of the Constitution.

Justice Ekwo, in his judgement, agreed with the plaintiffs that it is only INEC that can initiate and maintain criminal proceedings for offences under the Electoral Act, 2022.

The judge further held that the initiation, commencement and prosecution of electoral offences under the Electoral Act, 2022, by the Office of the AGF and Minister of Justice is a violation of sections 153, 158, 160 and Paragraph 15, Part 1, 3rd Schedule of the Constitution and sections 144 and 145(2) of the Electoral Act and the Independence of INEC

Justice Ekwo said the act of the defendant by exercising the power to prosecute the plaintiffs in a manner not in accordance with the law is ultra vires, adding,
“The power of the AGF to take over any proceedings can be challenged if the exercise of the power is not in accordance with the law.”

The court however did no grant some of the prayers of the plaintiffs, saying that will amount to tampering with decisions of courts of coordinate jurisdiction but held that the plaintiff (Adebutu) has established his case according to the law and is entitled to justice.

The plaintiffs in their suit, prayed the court to determine whether since the facts which formed the fulcrum of charge No. AB/10c/2023 are also the facts which formed the defence and response/allegations of Dapo Abiodun and the APC at the Ogun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, the filing of the charge is not subjudice and an abuse of court processes capable of overreacting the Tribunal.

“Whether the initiation of criminal prosecution against the plaintiffs, who are PDP members by the AGF, who is a member of the APC in respect of the dispute which emanated from the March 18, 2023 governorship election in Ogun state is not an abuse of power, illegal, invalid and void.”

The plaintiffs also prayed the court to declare that it is out of the power of the AGF to arraign, maintain and continue their prosecution for alleged electoral offences before the Ogun State High Court in charge No. AB/10c/2023 as well as an order of perpetual injunction restraining the AGF from arraigning and continuing their prosecution for alleged offences created under the Electoral Act in charge between the Federal Republic of Nigeria verses Oladipupo Adebutu and others before the High Court of Ogun State.

An affidavit in support of plaintiffs’ originating summons averred that Dapo Abiodun and the APC, through the Ogun State APC chairman, Yemi Sanusi, wrote a frivolous and baseless petition to the AGF, accusing the first plaintiff (Oladipupo Adebutu) of vote buying during the governorship election, calling for his investigation which was after he (Adebutu ) has filed his election petition before the Tribunal.

The AGF, through the Director of Public Prosecution, wrote to the police asking them to investigate the petition of Yemi Sanusi, which culminated in the police inviting the first plaintiff to report at their office on May 2, 2023.

The affidavit averred that the AGF used an interim report of an investigation which has not been completed to file a charge against the plaintiffs and arraigned them before the Ogun State High Court, Abeokuta Division.

The affidavit said the charge is alleging the offence of vote buying against the plaintiffs during the state governorship election, when they were never arrested, and neither did INEC write to the police to investigate any vote buying allegation against the first plaintiff.