Ladi Adebutu, the candidate for governorship in Ogun State on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has responded to the allegations of vote-buying made against him by the Federal Government by saying that he does not accept them.

It was reported that the office of the Attorney General of the Federation had initiated legal action against Adebutu and nine other individuals for the allegations of vote buying and money laundering that occurred during the 2023 elections.

Wednesday, the Media Director of Adebutu’s campaign organization, Afolabi Orekoya, released a statement in which Adebutu claimed that he had neither been invited by the police nor served any court document related to the suit. Adebutu’s statement was made public.

He referred to the lawsuit as an abuse of the court process and a plot by the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, and the All Progressives Congress to divert the Tribunal’s attention away from the work that it is supposed to be doing.

Adebutu also disproved the rumour that he fled the country to avoid being arrested by the police by stating that he left the country on April 25 for his routine medical check-up after the election. This was in response to the rumour that he fled the country to avoid being arrested by the police.

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The following is an excerpt from the statement: “We are just seeing it also in the media and I will just want to make some points clear, Oladipupo Adebutu has not been served with any court document as regards any charges except for the media trial that we are seeing all around to mislead the public and the Tribunal. “The media trial that we are seeing all around to mislead the public and the Tribunal.”

“They (APC and Abiodun) are only trying to distract people and distract the judiciary from giving proper attention to the merit of the petition that is before them,” Abiodun said of the APC and Abiodun. They ought to give the Tribunal the opportunity to do its work, as this constitutes an abuse of the judicial system. If they do so, at the end of the day, we will be able to determine whether or not vote buying was actually carried out.

During the governorship election on March 18, Adebutu has accused the Police Force of covering up an investigation into allegations of vote buying and electoral violence made against Abiodun and the APC.

The PDP candidate also accused Abiodun and the APC of using N3 billion of state funds to induce voters and thugs to disrupt elections in several parts of the state. This accusation was made in reference to Abiodun.

Adebutu further asserted that Abiodun and APC are attempting to obstruct justice by intimidating and harassing him, and that they are using the police to do so.

The following is an excerpt from the statement that was included: “We have petitioned the Nigerian Police for the past six weeks, but we are surprised why the police have not opened up an investigation into our petition against Abiodun and the APC on the votes bought by them.”

It has been reported virtually everywhere in the media that Governor Dapo Abiodun bribed voters with money from taxpayers. Because of this, they are covering up all of the shenanigans, and they have prevented the police from doing their job.

“We are calling on the state’s Inspector General of Police to please, in the interest of the good people of Ogun State, allow this petition to see the light of day. They should not cover it up, and they should not suppress it.

“We are aware of all the steps that the Governor has been taking in order to prevent all of these investigations from being conducted.

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“We are appealing to the IGP to expeditiously allow a thorough investigation into how Dapo Abiodun used approximately N3 billion of taxpayer money to buy votes in Ogun State with the assistance of One Card limited,” said the organisation.

On Tuesday, members of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) sent a letter to Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, requesting that the country adopt the Republican Constitution once again.

The Republican Constitution from 1963 is a document that ensures genuine federalism and guarantees the harmonious coexistence of the various levels of government in the country.

The letter that was signed by NADECO’s spokesman, Ayo Opadokun, read as follows: “Nigeria remains a country not a nation till date because the military had without Nigerians democratic approval truncated, illegally suspended, abrogated and replaced our negotiated independent constitution and replaced it with Unitary Constitution till date,” the letter read.

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“NADECO is more than convinced that a return to the Independence/Republican Constitution will restore a responsive and responsible government at the minimum as we grapple with the business of reconstructing our country, which has been successively overran/damaged for the narrow personal interests of politicians in military uniform since January 15, 1966. This is something that NADECO is more than convinced will happen.”

“All of the numerous political, legal, and structural aberrations that the various military dictators capriciously imposed on Nigeria can then be strategically corrected over the course of time,” says one author.

“NADECO is gratified that one of its most prominent Leaders who in fact contributed significantly to the titanic democratic struggle and campaign that the organization had to embark upon on behalf of Nigerians to restore democracy to Nigeria has by divine destiny become the elected President of the country of our birth,” they stated in the letter that was signed by Ayo Opadokun. They went on to say that they were “gratified” that the letter was signed by Ayo Opadokun.

“We would like to remind you of the most important demand of our common and just struggle, which was centred on the imperative necessity of returning Nigeria to federal constitutional governance, upon which we secured our independence. We would like to remind you of this demand as we would like to remind you of the most important demand of our common and just struggle.

“Nigeria is still considered a country rather than a nation to this day because the military, without the approval of the Nigerian people through democratic processes, truncated, illegally suspended, abrogated, and replaced our negotiated, independent constitution with a unitary constitution. This action has not been reversed to this day.”

The deceptively choreographed 1979 and 1999 Constitutions of Nigeria, both of which preserved all of the grave damages that successive military governments have forcibly imposed upon Nigeria, remain the bane of Nigeria’s backwardness, stunted growth, and unacceptable level of poverty.

“NADECO is more than convinced that a return to the Independence/Republican Constitution will restore the responsive and responsible government, at the very least, as we grapple with the business of reconstructing our country, which has been successively overrunning/damaged for the narrow personal interests of politicians in military uniform since January 15, 1966. NADECO is more than convinced that a return to the Independence/Republican Constitution will restore a responsive and responsible government, at the very least. After that, all of the numerous political, legal, and structural aberrations that were capriciously imposed on Nigeria by a variety of military dictators can be methodically corrected over the course of time.

“Mr. President, you were a part of the Patriots who suffered deprivations, dehumanization, and hounding along with us as we spoke the truth to the powers that forced themselves on us. During that time, you were one of the Patriots who endured these things.

“Fortunately, your own party established the Governor El-Rufai Committee, which recommended that the APC government should immediately fulfill its promise to return Nigeria to federal constitutional governance as described in your manifesto. The committee’s recommendation was accepted by the APC government.” The only thing that we ask of you is to put your good name on the line and pledge to uphold the commitment that your political party made prior to being elected into office.

“NADECO, on behalf of the silent majority of Nigerians, expects you to make Nigeria respond to her manifest destiny of providing leadership to the black race, which is looking up towards us to take our rightful place in the global diplomatic leadership in order to demonstrate that black civilization is as consequential and important as the others for the growth and advancement of humanity. NADECO expects you to make Nigeria respond to her manifest destiny of providing leadership to the black race in order for us to take our rightful place in the global diplomatic leadership.

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“We pray that the good Lord will grant you robust health, empathy, and divine wisdom to providing unprecedented productive and impactful leadership which will in quick time enhance the standard and quality of lives of our people who have endured unbelievable economic deprivation, neglect, and poverty in a country like Nigeria with the abundant human and material endowment and resources.”

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the Labour Party (LP), has stated that his support for the removal of the subsidy that is paid on petroleum products is genuine, but that his support comes with the condition that the people should be able to see the condition for themselves.

Obi, who was ambushed by judicial correspondents as he attended his ongoing election petition at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) sitting at the Court of Appeal headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, stated that his support for the removal of subsidies dates back to the time of Goodluck Jonathan, during which he served as a member of the Presidential Economic Management Team. Obi was attending his election petition at the time of the ambush.

Words from him: “If you have followed me very well right from the time that I was a member of Jonathan’s economic management team, I have consistently maintained that subsidy should be removed because I view it as organized crime.

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“People were just stealing the country’s resources, and I showed empirically in my statistical analysis that we are not consuming the amount of fuel that they claim we consume,” the speaker said. “We are not consuming the amount of fuel that they claim we consume.”

The former governor of Anambra State differentiated his idea of the removal of subsidies from what is happening in the country at this time by saying that they are linking him to the two options that are available to a person who is suffering from a toothache.

If you go to a dentist to have a tooth extracted because it is causing you pain, he will, according to what he said, “apply a local anesthetic to numb the area around the tooth so you do not feel any pain.” You won’t experience the same level of pain as you would if you pulled the tooth out forcefully because the process is different.

Because I don’t want to put myself through the discomfort of having the tooth forcibly extracted, I’m going to go along with the method recommended by the dentist and support the removal of the tooth.

“Remember that even when Jonathan wanted to get rid of it, they came up with a variety of policies like Sure-P and others to help relieve the pressure.”

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“If you read my manifesto, you will see how I intended to get rid of the subsidy in a clear and concise manner. I will run the government alongside the people and demonstrate to them, using statistics and real-world examples, what we are obtaining and how we are putting it to use.

“The issue in Nigeria is that when people say, ‘Let’s go suffer, let’s go sacrifice,’ they don’t see the results of their own suffering and sacrifice,” he explained. “This is the root of the problem.”

The Labour Party’s (LP) candidate for president in the most recent presidential election, Peter Obi, on Wednesday submitted the final, collated presidential election results that were used to declare Tinubu the election’s winner in a new attempt to support his request for the annulment of the election of President Bola Tinubu.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), President Bola Tinubu, Kashim Shetima, and the All Progressives Congress (APC), who are the four respondents in the petition, did not object to the final results being accepted by the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC).

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The four respondents did not object to declaring the crucial documents to have been read in open court, in addition to not objecting to the final presidential election results reported in form EC8DA.

The documents and a number of exhibits were submitted by Obi and the Labour Party LP through their attorney, Professor Paul Ananaba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, in order to support the petition contesting Tinubu’s election.

Surprisingly, the respondents accepted tendering the final result without raising any objections, even though they vehemently objected to the admission of collated election results from the ward, local government, and state levels.

The forms EC8D used by the electoral body, which contained the collated results for the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), were also offered and admitted as exhibits at the proceedings on Wednesday.

Obi, who was physically present in the courtroom to observe proceedings, continued to fight at the PEPC hearing on his petition against Tinubu and shifted his focus from ward-collated election results to local government election results and state-collated results before submitting the final result as exhibits in support of his petition.

Form EC8C, which was used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the presidential election on February 25, contains the results that have been compiled at the local government levels.

The 13 states include Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Ebonyi, Edo, Lagos, Niger, and Ondo where the ward collated results were submitted and admitted as exhibits.

Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Ekiti, and Delta make up the remaining states.

Obi submitted compiled results for eight local government areas in Bayelsa, twenty-three in Benue, eighteen in Cross River, ten in Ebonyi, eighteen in Edo, twenty in Lagos, and twenty-five in Niger State.

18 are in Ondo, 33 are in Oyo, 23 are in Rivers, 23 are in Sokoto, 16 are in Ekiti, and 25 are in Delta, among others.

Even though INEC, Tinubu, Kashim Shetima, and the All Progressives Congress (APC), who are respondents in the petition, expressed their objections to the admission of the collated results as exhibits in favour of Obi and the Labour Party, Presiding Justice of the Court Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani accepted them as evidence.

The petition hearing will continue on June 8 according to court chairman Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani.

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Later, in a statement to reporters, Obi’s attorney, Professor Paul Ananaba, declared that his clients can now begin calling witnesses to testify in support of the petition.

According to the law professor, the witnesses will testify through the documents that have been admitted one at a time to show the court the locations of electoral fraud during the presidential election on February 25.

The support base of Tajudeen Abbas and Benjamin Kalu, the anointed candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, for the positions of Speaker and Deputy Speaker, has been swelled with the endorsements and support of 106 out of 141 members-elect from the North-West and North-Central geo-political zones of the country. This comes just a few days before the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly.

While 32 of the 51 newly-elected representatives from the North-Central region and 72 of the 92 newly-elected lawmakers from the North-West zone gave their support to Abbas and Kalu, respectively.

The declaration of support took place during meetings that were held separately on Wednesday in Abuja by the members-elect for the North-West and the North-Central. These meetings involved all of the states on a zonal basis.

It is anticipated that those for the South-South and North-East zones will take place this coming Wednesday evening. On the other hand, those for the South-East and South-West zones will take place on Thursday.

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Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, Communication Adviser to the Tajudeen-Ben Kalu Group, TBK, and lawmaker-elect for Ideato North/South Federal Constituency of Imo State, briefed journalists on the progress that has been made so far. He described the successes that have been recorded so far as a victory for the ongoing quest to build a stable, strong, united, harmonious, and all-inclusive parliament that will deliver on life-changing people’s

According to him, the massive support from all zones as well as ethnic and religious divides was clear evidence of members’ commitment to seeing Nigeria move forward. It was also an indication of a significant buy-in into the message that Abbas and Kalu were trying to convey, which was one of unity and competence rooted in inclusiveness and teamwork.

Ugochinyere cited the legislative competence and capacity of Abbas and Kalu, as well as their unceasing outreach to and door-to-door engagement with members-elect, as one of the reasons for the widespread acceptance.

He stated that the commitment of Abbas and Kalu to a people’s 10th National Assembly leadership was not in doubt, as shown by the readiness of the duo to carry every member along in the quest to deliver on the agenda for a people’s parliament, which will help in realising the Renewed Hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He said that the commitment of Abbas and Kalu to a people’s 10th National Assembly leadership was not in doubt.

According to him, Speaker Abbas and Deputy Speaker Kalu’s team spirit and unity are the first of their kind in the race for leadership, with a Speaker and Deputy Speaker running together with a clear agenda for the members and the country. Abbas and Kalu are vying for the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives.

As a result, he urged other candidates to set aside their ambitions and lend their support to the duo in order to ensure that the 10th National Assembly is focused on serving the people.

He expressed optimism that Abbas and Kalu’s commitment will help deliver the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu and also ensure a working and independent parliament, which endeared them to the lawmakers-elect, who agree that the 10th NASS needs competent leadership with team spirit, unity, and inclusivity, all of which the duo represents. He expressed optimism that Abbas and Kalu’s commitment will help deliver the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu and also ensure a working and independent parliament.

“After Abbas and Kalu presented their roadmap to the newly elected lawmakers from the two regions, the newly elected lawmakers rose in their various zonal engagements with Abbas and Kalu and decided to vote for the pair in a landslide. They praised the legislative competence of Abbas and Kalu, which led to them moving over 100 bills that have already been signed into law, and they said that the 10th National Assembly could not miss such men with an iroko-style legislative capacity that was rooted in teamwork, inclusiveness, and humility.

“They appreciated Abbas and Kalu’s unrelenting engagement with lawmakers with opposing views that they reached out to, and extending hands of fellowship is something that is commendable in its own right. As a result of the avalanche of endorsements that have been coming in from all directions, the odds are in their favour when it comes to winning the election on June 13th.

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“At this time, 106 out of 141 lawmakers-elect from the North West and North Central zones have declared their support at the ongoing zonal caucuses meeting by Abass and Kalu. This breaks down as follows: 72 out of 92 lawmakers-elect from the North West zone, and 32 out of 51 lawmakers from the North Central zone.

“In the coming days, we are optimistic that more members-elect will declare their support for the duo,” he stated. “[T]here is a lot of work to be done.”