News
Tribunal Under Pressure To Dismiss Atiku’s Petition
President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, Monday urged the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, to strike out the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, challenging his victory in the February 23 presidential election.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had declared Buhari winner of the Presidential poll.
Atiku and his party had, in their petition which has INEC, Buhari and the APC as first to third Respondents, asked the Tribunal to nullify Buhari’s election on the ground of alleged malpractices and gross violation of Electoral Act 2010, as amended.
When the Tribunal resumed hearing in the matter Monday, Counsel to the Electoral body, Yunus Ustaz Usman asked the Tribunal to dismiss the petition challenging Buhari’s declaration as winner of the said election on the ground that it failed to comply with paragraph 18 (1) first schedule of the Electoral Act.
In his second application, INEC’s Lawyer asked the Tribunal to strike out some parts of the petition and at the end of the day, the entire petition.
He also asked the five-member panel of the Tribunal to strike out Atiku and PDP’s petition for failure to join the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osibanjo, in the suit.
In his own submission, Counsel to President Buhari, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN prayed for the dismissal of the entire petition filed by Atiku and his party.
He also prayed for the striking out of the reply filed by the Petitioner to the reply of the Respondents’ application.
Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, representing the APC, in his submission, told the Tribunal that he has three applications praying for the striking out of the entire petition or striking out of some paragraphs of the petition.
However, Counsel to PDP, Levy Uzoukwu SAN, told the court that it has five pending applications. One of which was challenging preliminary objection to the Respondents’ applications praying to strike out the substantive matter.
The Tribunal, now headed by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, of the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, after hearing the submissions of Counsels in the matter, adjourned to tomorrow to hear all the pending applications from both the APC and PDP.
Former lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani, has described the planned increase in electricity and telecom tariffs as unconscionable.
The statement comes after the telecoms regulator last week approved the increase in mobile tariffs.
The federal government also recently said that plans were ongoing to increase electricity tariffs “over the next few months.”
However, Sani, who said the government’s plan is unreasonable, insisted that it should be halted.
The ex-lawmaker also expressed his support for the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over the scheduled protest against the government’s proposal, calling it a welcome development.
“The planned increase in electricity tariffs in the midst of poor power supply and the proposal to increase telecom tariffs is unconscionable and should be halted. The scheduled labour union protest is a welcome development,” he posted on X.
The United States President, Donald Trump, has revealed his decision to cut off all future funding to South Africa, citing poor treatment of “certain classes of people.”
Trump made this known on Sunday in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform.
According to Trump, South Africa was seizing land and mistreating some citizens without concern for the violations of their rights.
“South Africa is confiscating land and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY.
“I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!” Trump wrote.
Reports suggest that the American leader may be defending White South Africans, some of whom have alleged that the South African policy is unfair to them.
There are indications that the federal government will on Monday meet with the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, to stop the planned Tuesday nationwide protest against the 50 percent telecommunications tariff hike.
A reliable source familiar with the matter, who preferred anonymity, disclosed this on Monday morning, noting that the meeting between the NLC leadership and the federal government is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Monday.
The source said the meeting was a “dialogue on matters of national interest as it affects Nigerian workers.”
According to the source, it will be an inter-ministerial meeting with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), purposely to resolve issues raised by the NLC concerning the federal government’s approved upward adjustment to telecommunications tariffs, which the NLC, its allies, and others are vehemently opposing.
This comes as the NLC is already mobilizing workers for a mass protest tomorrow (February 4) against the 50 percent tariff hike approval.
On Thursday last week, in a letter to affiliate unions and state councils, NLC General Secretary Emma Ugboaja urged them to mobilize other Nigerians to send a serious message to the government.
The planned protest follows the 50 percent telecom tariff approval by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on January 20, 2025.
The approval had sparked widespread rejection among telecom subscribers.
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