Politics

And The Campaign of Blackmail and Calumny Against INEC Continues

Published

11 months ago

September 13, 2023

And The Campaign of Blackmail and Calumny Against INEC Continues

INEC– Following the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal judgement of 6th September 2023 which affirmed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) was duly and validly elected in a ruling that was detailed, diligent, logical, intellectual and based on the provisions of the law as stipulated, after dissecting all the points raised by the petitioners and counter arguments of the respondents, the losers and their supporters have now changed gear again in their campaign of blackmail and calumny to INEC.

Immediately after the conduct of the successful and credible 2023 presidential elections and before the declaration of the results and the winner by the electoral umpire, the two major losing candidates having seen the handwriting on the wall, jointly addressed a world press conference where they both called for the cancellation of the election on the grounds that the election was characterized by fraud and malpractice.

And The Campaign of Blackmail and Calumny Against INEC Continues

But surprisingly, in a 360% turn around, both the 2nd and 3rd placed losers candidates again changed the music as they went their different ways, but this time, both the 2nd and 3rd placed losers claimed differently that they won the election and called on INEC to declare each of them separately as the winner.

This new twists to the claims of the 2nd and 3rd placed losers can best be described as the theatre of the absurd because if you both claim that an election was rigged and should be cancelled, how can you in the same breadth turnaround and claim victory in the same election that you both claimed was flawed? How dishonourable and criminal can one be in trying to claim ownership of the proceeds of a flawed process?

Having failed in their shenanigans, both losing parties and candidates approached the presidential election petition tribunal which is statutorily established by law to adjudicate on grievances arising from the election, petitioning their complaints which was the right thing to do instead of their naked dance of shame.

As expected, the labour party and it’s candidate continued to cry all over the public space that their mandate was stolen at the presidential election and that they were going to retrieve it at the presidential election petition tribunal based on a new found ground of the winner not scoring 25% in Abuja which is mandatory according to their own law and not the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

To actualize their plots in tandem with their campaign methods of abuse, curse, bully, intimidate and threaten violence on political opponents and supporters, the labour party and it’s supporters changed the object of their campaign of blackmail and calumny from INEC to the judiciary like never witnessed before our political history.

After listening to all the parties in the presidential election petition tribunal proceedings, the parties were directed to file and adopt their final written addresses, consequent upon which counsels were told that they would be notified of judgement day.

Thus 6th September 2023 was scheduled as judgement day. On the judgement day, Nigerians and the rest of the world watched for over 13 hours how the honourable Justices of the Presidential election petition tribunal painstakingly dissected the issues and ruled on points of law that all the petitioners grounds for petitioning the tribunal over the conduct of the 2023 presidential election was vague, unspecific, nebulous, generic and lack merit.

The tribunal even highlighted the fraud of the petitioners in subpoening “experts” who were exposed during cross examination as card carrying members of the petitioners party and were intended to mislead the panel. In the landmark courageous, thorough and law based ruling, the judges dismissed 10 out of the 13 witnesses testimonies of the labour party, the peoples democratic party witnesses also suffered similar fate for being biased, unworthy and unreliable witnesses.

A known and shameful exposure of the fraudulent claims of the petitioners especially the labour party by the tribunal was that, the labour party in challenging the victory of the duly and validly declared winner, claimed to have deployed 133, 000 party polling agents to polling stations nationwide on election day, but in order to be clever by half, it deliberately refused to produce not even one of it’s party polling agent or a polling station result sheet form EC8A to buttress it’s allegations because it knew that doing so, will damage it’s case beyond repair.

Sadly, the losing parties, candidates and their supporters have now changed gear again even when they have rejected the PEPT judgement and stated that they were going to the supreme court for redress, by making INEC the scapegoat for their misadventures at the polls and in the PEPT.

They are now on a fresh round of campaign of blackmail and calumny against INEC, that it was it’s failure to transmit the results electronically that resulted in their electoral loss at the polls and the tribunal even when the judgement of the court vindicated INEC of complying substantially with the provisions of the law. Yet this was the same LP and PDP that refused or failed to produce just one results sheet form EC8A of just one polling station from its 133, 000 party agents deployed to polling stations nationwide on election day to buttress it’s lies, falsehood and misinformation of electoral manipulation against INEC.

As they continue in this rigmarole of campaign of blackmail and calumny against INEC for their electoral and judicial waterloo, let it be stated emphatically that every anti democratic elements trying to imperil our democracy by whatever means, are on an exercise in futility.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Thank you.

Yours Sincerely,

Nelson Ekujumi,

[email protected]

Politics

15th Hijrah: Muslim Clerics Task Nigerians On Good Morals

Published

9 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Sahara Weekly

15th Hijrah: Muslim Clerics Task Nigerians On Good Morals

– as Speaker charges religious leaders on impactful messages

Nigerians, irrespective of religious affiliations, must begin to embrace good morals and practise honesty, two guest lecturers at the 15th Annual Hijrah Lecture of the Lagos State House of Assembly, have urged.

This is as the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, also charged Nigeria’s religious leaders to teach messages with greater positive impacts on citizens.

Sheikh Sulaiman Onikijipa Al-miskinubilahi, general overseer of Al-Amani Islamic Organisation, and Sheikh Ridwanullah Jamiu, Chief Imam of the Central Mosque, Lekki Phase 1, said moral conducts and honesty would help create a decent society.

Speaking at the event with the theme: ‘The Increasing Wave Of Moral Decadence In The Society’, which held at the Assembly complex on Friday, the guest lecturers condemned the spate of moral decadence in the society.

Dr. Jamiu told guests that there was need to enforce laws against anti-decent practices like homosexuality, gambling, adultery and corruption.

According to him, Allah blesses those who are kind, just and are morally upright.

“People should run away from three things: indecency, aggression and wickedness. For a society to progress and develop, it must move away from what Allah kicks against.

“Justice means giving people their rights. As a boss, you have duties to your employees. Treat others the way you expect to be treated. Allah commands kindness and generosity,” he said while urging parents to be role models to their children.

On his part, Sheikh Onikijipa lamented what he described as a growing level of corruption in the society.

“At this stage of our existence, we all know that almost everyone is corrupt,” he said while urging leaders to be more transparent.

The cleric further stressed that leaders must be determined to end moral decadence in the society, adding: “See the way the government stopped the abuse of naira with necessary legislation. The same should be done for other forms of moral decadence in the society.

“There is no religion if we don’t have morals. If you observe all the five pillars of the Islam and you are morally corrupt, then you are deceiving yourself.

“If you pray regularly and you don’t have morals, then it is a waste of time. Indecent dressing should be condemned in all places,” he said.

While noting that Nigeria is challenged at the moment, Onikijipa appealed to citizens to be patient with the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

He urged religious leaders and citizens in the country to dedicate a day for fasting and prayer instead of embarking on a protest, which has a tendency to escalate into destruction of properties.

In his remarks, Speaker Obasa said everyone has roles to play in achieving an upright society.

Obasa, who said that Hijrah is meant to celebrate the clerics, added: “You would be proud of the group you belong to when people feel your impact. We should ensure that we change our immediate environment and make things better in our time.

“We must all join hands to make our society better so that we can all have a morally upright place. It is not enough to make laws, people must exhibit good qualities.”

Eromosele Ebhomele
Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

Politics

Planned Protest: Tinubu, Sultan, Ooni, NSA, IGP In Emergency Meeting

Published

1 day ago

July 25, 2024

Sahara Weekly

Planned Protest: Tinubu, Sultan, Ooni, NSA, IGP In Emergency Meeting

The protest against economic hardship, which is gaining traction on social media, has been scheduled to be held across all states in August.

As the planned ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest slated for August draws close, President Bola Tinubu on Thursday entered an emergency closed-door meeting with top traditional rulers, security top brass in his government and governors of his party, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The high-delegation meeting was held at the State House in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

The APC governors were led to the meeting by the Chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma.

Some first-class traditional rulers were spotted at the meeting with the President. They include the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi; the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Saad Abubakar III; and other traditional leaders across the country.

The meeting was also attended by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; as well as ministers and other members of the President’s cabinet.

A delegation of Islamic scholars (Ulamas) later joined the high-powered meeting with the President.

Last-Minute Efforts
Tinubu, former Lagos governor, who was sworn in as President in May 2023, has appealed to displeased youths to shelve the planned ‘EndBadGovernance’ protest slated for next month.

As part of moves to placate aggrieved citizens, the President sent a bill to raise the minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000 to the National Assembly this week. Both chambers of the legislature speedily passed the bill on Tuesday, awaiting the President’s assent.

On Thursday, the military authorities warned that unscrupulous elements plan to hijack the protest and use it to stage anarchy like what was recently witnessed in East African country Kenya.
The police had also warned against bloody demonstrations come next month just as Uzodimma surmised that the protest could be hijacked and turn violent like the EndSARS nationwide protest against police brutality back in October 2020.

The protest against economic hardship, which is gaining traction on social media, has been scheduled to be held across all states of the Federation as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in August. The organisers of the protest have been faceless.

Prices of food and basic commodities have gone through the roof in the last months, as Nigerians battle one of the country’s worst inflation rates and economic crises sparked by the government’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of forex windows.

Politics

Tinubu mourns Iwuanyanwu

Published

1 day ago

July 25, 2024

Sahara Weekly

Tinubu mourns Iwuanyanwu

President Bola Tinubu has extended his condolences to the family of the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, who passed away on Thursday.

Tinubu’s condolence message is conveyed in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, titled ‘President Tinubu mourns Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu.’

The family confirmed his demise on Thursday evening in a statement that partly read, “The Iwuanyanwu family of Umuohii Atta, in Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State, announces the demise of our patriarch, Chief Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Iwuanyanwu-Ahaejiagamba Ndigbo.

“Chief Iwuanyanwu died on Thursday, July 25, 2024, after a brief illness. He was aged 82.”

He was an accomplished businessman and notable politician.

Ngelale said, “President Tinubu condoles with the Imo State Government, the friends and associates of the deceased, and Ndi Igbo over this irreparable loss.

“The President affirms that Chief Iwuanyanwu will always be remembered for his remarkable legacy.”

Tinubu, therefore, prayed for the repose of the soul of the departed elder statesman and comfort for his family