The Supreme court has dismissed an appeal filed by Ahmed Aliyu challenging the election of Aminu Tambuwal as Governor of Sokoto State.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, the apex court dismissed the appeal on the ground that the appellant failed to prove his allegation of non-compliance with the electoral act and issues of over-voting.
Details shortly…
The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Abdullahi Ganduje as the Governor of Kano state.
Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Abba Kabir Yusuf, filed an appeal at the apex court to dispute the March 23 supplementary election held in some electoral wards in Kano State.
A seven-man panel of justices of the apex court led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, after listening to arguments by the counsels representing the appellant and the respondents in the suit, fixed today to decide the fate of the appeal.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, the apex court dismissed the appeal filed by Abba Yusuf challenging the election of Governor Ganduje for lacking in merit.
The court held that the appellant failed to prove any case of irregularity in the main election held on March 9 and the supplementary election on March 23, 2019.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the March 9 election in Kano State inconclusive, which led to the supplementary election held on March 23.
Following the meeting of the world heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua with President Muhammadu Buhari during a meeting with Nigerians in London, some Nigerians have taken to their social media handles with mixed reactions.
Anthony Joshua had prostrated to President Buhari after presenting his titles to the Nigerian leader, a typical gesture to show respect for elders in Yoruba culture.
The world heavyweight champion defeated Mexican star Andy Ruiz in Saudi Arabia on December 7, to reclaim his heavyweight’s belts in style.
A presidential aide Bashir Ahmed had tweeted first photos of the event:
RESPECT; @anthonyfjoshua, the world heavyweight champion greeting President @MBuhari after a meeting of Nigerians in Diaspora put together by @nidcom_gov. pic.twitter.com/y5IHJ6F4f1
— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) January 18, 2020
The World Champ @anthonyfjoshua pic.twitter.com/PtjiPOp9cz
— Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) January 18, 2020
The move had angered some Nigerians who obviously could not distinguish sentiments from reality with the following tweets:
How can Anthony Joshua get an opportunity to end Nigeria's problem, Baba go dey prostrate for Buhari
Oluwa Wetin dey prostrate like this? ?? https://t.co/K6iTfzN97J
— Kene_is_Manuel #Igbomade (@kene_manuel) January 18, 2020
I just hope Anthony Joshua @anthonyfjoshua will not lose this belt in his next fight because we know how it usually end when you have a contact with @MBuhari pic.twitter.com/uza6lhSc9B
— Towolawi Jamiu (@jharmo) January 19, 2020
But most of the negative tweets were met with commensurable replies in the comment threads with some arguing that it is only normal for a youth to show some respect to his elders which is the practice in Africa.
Kole Omololu, the National Organising Secretary of Afenifere, was arrested and detained at a police station on Friday after he allegedly obstructed the convoy of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
In a message sent he shortly after his arrest, which was circulated on social media, Omololu stated that the incident happened in the Ikoyi area of Lagos, adding that he was arrested by a police officer in the Vice President’s entourage.
“I have just been arrested by ACP Oludotun Odubona on the entourage of the VP Osinbajo, claiming (that) I did not park well for the convoy, in front of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Ikoyi.
“Currently, I am in detention at Onikan Police Station, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos,” the message read.
Omololu later on Friday night confirmed that he had been released by the police.
He described the arrest as “an act of overzealousness”, adding that the police officer nearly slapped him.
“It is just an act of overzealousness. I have been released. No condition was attached to my release. Senior aides of the vice president, including the ADC and Chief Security Officer, have called me.
“He accused me of struggling with the convoy, which was not the case. I was only trying to move away. He came to meet me where I parked, raining curses on me.
“He nearly slapped me. Despite all my explanations that I am an elderly man, he insisted that I was arrested and taken to the police station. I told him that I respect the VP and I won’t obstruct his convoy. He only embarrassed his boss. I know his boss will never do that,” Omololu told the Punch.
Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, confirmed the occurrence in a post on Twitter.
He, however, stated that the Afenifere leader had been released from the police station.
A traffic incident occurred few hours ago when the VP'S convoy in Ikoyi, Lagos encountered a vehicle driving too close to VP's convoy. After several cautions and the driver did not yield, the police officials on duty had to stop the car and interviewed the driver to ascertain…
— Laolu Akande (@akandeoj) January 17, 2020
“A traffic incident occurred few hours ago when the VP’S convoy in Ikoyi, Lagos encountered a vehicle driving too close to VP’s convoy. After several cautions and the driver did not yield, the police officials on duty had to stop the car and interviewed the driver to ascertain his intentions.
“The driver has since been released by the Police,” Akande tweeted.
The evening before, the 20-year-old right-back put pen to paper on a new five-and-a-half-year contract, just four months after Lampard had handed him his Chelsea debut. James has played another 17 games since then and has recently been the first choice in his position.
‘I rate him very highly,’ praised Lampard. ‘I knew him as a youth player in the Academy here. I saw him on loan last year when he did fantastically well at Wigan. I tried to get him to Derby [on loan] but he could not come in the mid-season, but I admired him a lot. Then to work with him I feel the same and even more so.
‘He has got his foot into the first team here and I think there is a lot more to come from Reece James,’ added the head coach.
‘He is a really talented player and he wants to learn, he wants to improve, he wants to train and do the right things and he has that talent. So it is great for the club that he has signed for so long.’
James himself, in an interview he gave to The 5th Stand app after signing his contract, spoke about returning to Chelsea in the summer with Lampard installed as the man in charge.
‘I think everyone was thinking that it couldn’t be much better,’ said the young player. ‘Frank Lampard is a Chelsea legend and if everyone wanted someone to be manager they would pick him.
‘Working under him, he helps all of us and everyone looks up to him.’
Rapper Eminem once again dropped a surprise album, releasing of “Music to Be Murdered By” on Friday.
The follow-up to 2018’s “Kamikaze” — also released without warning — was announced on Twitter just after midnight.
The Detroit rapper also released a new music video for one of the 20 tracks on the album, “Darkness,” which depicts a shooting at a concert. The lyrics and storyline of the video specifically allude to the 2017 mass shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas that left 58 people dead, making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. It closes with audio and video footage of news broadcasts from other recent mass shooting around the U.S. and an appeal to register to vote.
“When will this end? When enough people care,” reads the text at the end of the video. “Register to vote at vote.gov. Make your voice heard and help change gun laws in America.”
A link to the music video on Eminem’s website encourages viewers to contact or visit several gun violence prevention organizations, including Everytown for Gun Safety and Sandy Hook Promise.
The cover art features blood spatter and a bearded Eminem holding both a hatchet and a gun to his head, the latter in apparent homage to Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 album of the same name, Pitchfork noted. “Music to Be Murdered By” is Eminem’s 11th studio album, according to his website.
Among many collaborators, the album features Ed Sheeran, Skylar Grey, Anderson .Paak and Juice WRLD, the 21-year-old rapper who died in December.
An uncompleted three-storey building, on Friday, collapsed around the Ago Palace way in Lagos State.
The Director-General, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Oluwafemi Oke-Osanyintolu, who confirmed the incident said a yet-to-be identify man had been trapped under the rubble, adding that a rescue operation was ongoing.
By Bukola Olasanmi
President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja Friday for London to participate in the inaugural UK-Africa Investment Summit holding on Monday, January 20, 2020.
Hosted by the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, the event, according to the organisers, is expected to bring together African leaders, international business chief executives and heads of international organisations “to create new partnerships that will deliver more investments and jobs” to the benefit of people and businesses in African countries and the United Kingdom.
Apart from highlighting new perspectives on UK-Africa Partnership for Prosperity, issues of Sustainable Finance and Infrastructure; Trade and Investment; Future African Growth Sectors and Clean Energy and Climate, are expected to dominate presentations and discussions during the Summit.
With the expected take-off of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in mid-2020, the London investment summit will provide Nigeria with the opportunity to project itself as a leading investment destination for new industries.
In addition, the summit will deepen Nigeria-United Kingdom investment ties post-Brexit given that Africa currently represents just two per cent of British trade activity, with Nigeria accounting for only 10 per cent of that total.
The Nigerian delegation to the investment meeting will further showcase what the Federal Government has done through policies and legislations to improve the investment and business climate in the country.
While in the United Kingdom, President Buhari will hold a meeting with the Head of the Commonwealth, Prince Charles in Glasgow, Scotland.
The President and his delegation will also have bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Johnson as well as heads of multilateral organisations.
President Buhari will be accompanied to the Summit by Governors Yahaya Bello, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya and Okezie Ikpeazu of Kogi, Gombe and Abia States respectively.
Also on the presidential entourage are the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj-Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd); and the Director General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ahmed Rufai Abubakar .
President Buhari is expected back in Abuja next Thursday.
Nations around Africa’s Sahel region have been called upon to synergize and build military cooperation in other to defeat the emerging threats of terrorism and extremism in the region.
This was the call when the Egypt’s Ambassador to Nigeria Assem Hanafi Elseify paid a courtesy call on the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai at the Army Headquarters in Abuja.
Ambassador Elseify said the need for a robust military cooperation and assistance between Nigeria and Egypt has become more critical than ever before.
“We need to strengthen relations between our countries’ military in other to render our own assistance in the spirit of partnership… we need to agree on diverse areas of cooperation in the fight against terrorism and extremism” he said.
In his remarks, the Chief of Army staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai noted that Nigeria and Egypt have a long standing diplomatic and military relations while enjoying reciprocal training and as well as educational partnership.
Buratai acknowledged that the two African powers have a lot to learn mutually as nations combatting extremist ideologies and terrorism.
Egypt alongside Nigeria are both members of the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD).
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the European signatories to a 2015 nuclear deal — France, Britain and Germany — chose to bow to American bullying and sell out the “remnants” of the multilateral agreement only to appease the US and avoid its sanctions.
Zarif made the remarks in a tweet on Thursday after The Washington Post reported that the administration of US President Donald Trump had threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on European automobile imports if the trio — known as EU3 or E3 — refused to formally accuse Iran of violating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The report was published shortly after the European trio said in a joint statement on Tuesday that they had triggered the JCPOA’s dispute mechanism, which amounts to a formal accusation that Tehran had broken the terms of the deal.
The European measure could lead to the restoration of anti-Iran UN sanctions, which had been lifted by the JCPOA.
The top Iranian diplomat attached to his tweet a screen shot of the Washington Post report’s title, saying the report confirmed the E3’s “appeasement” to Trump.
Appeasement confirmed.
E3 sold out remnants of #JCPOA to avoid new Trump tariffs.
It won't work my friends. You only whet his appetite. Remember your high school bully?
If you want to sell your integrity, go ahead. But DO NOT assume high moral/legal ground.
YOU DON'T HAVE IT. pic.twitter.com/tePZhN2E4X
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 16, 2020
“E3 sold out remnants of #JCPOA to avoid new Trump tariffs. It won’t work my friends. You only whet his appetite, Remember your high school bully?” Zarif said. “If you want to sell your integrity, go ahead. But DO NOT assume high moral/legal ground. YOU DON’T HAVE IT.”
Zarif had likewise criticized the European parties to the JCPOA for surrendering to the US bullying on Wednesday, saying, “It’s sad that biggest economy has allowed itself to be bullied into violating own obligations. JCPOA’s future depends on E3, not Iran.”
E3's response to US attack on JCPOA has been to cut trade/investment in Iran while embargoing our oil.
Told #Raisina2020 it's sad that biggest economy has allowed itself to be bullied into violating own obligations. JCPOA's future depends on E3, not Iran.https://t.co/Ixx3lU6jnY
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) January 15, 2020
Also addressing Raisina Dialogue 2020 in the Indian capital, New Delhi, Zarif emphasized that it was Iran that first triggered the JCPOA’s dispute mechanism on May 10, 2018, two days after the US withdrawal from the accord.
The JCPOA was signed between Iran and six world states — namely the US, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China — in 2015. It was also ratified in the form of a UN Security Council resolution.
However, Washington’s exit and subsequent re-imposition of sanctions against Tehran left the future of the historic deal in limbo.
Tehran remained fully compliant with the JCPOA for an entire year, waiting for the co-signatories to fulfill their end of the bargain by offsetting the impacts of Washington’s bans on the Iranian economy.
As the European parties failed to do so, Tehran moved in May 2019 to suspend its JCPOA commitments in 60-day stages under Articles 26 and 36 of the deal covering Tehran’s legal rights.
Iran took its fifth and final commitment reduction step earlier this month.