Politics

Nasarawa guber: Abdullahi Sule wins at Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Governor Sule Abdullahi of Nasarawa State with the dismissal of the petition instituted against his election by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its governorship candidate, Emmanuel David Ombugadu.

The court upheld the Governor’s election on the ground that the allegations made against it were not established.

Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, in a lead and unanimous judgment, said the petition of PDP and Ombugadu could not be attached with any probative value.

The apex court dismissed the allegations of unlawful calculations of votes by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on the reason that the allegations could not stand the credibility examination.

INEC had declared Sule the winner of the governorship election on the grounds that he polled a total of 347,209 votes to defeat his closest opponent David Emmanuel Ombugadu who secured 283,016 votes.

The Appeal Court had, on November 23 2023, reversed the sack of Sule by the State Election Petitions Tribunal in its judgment delivered on October 2.

The appellate court held that the Tribunal, headed by Ezekiel Ajayi, acted in grave error in using witness statements on oath, not front-loaded as required by law to arrive at the unjust conclusion of nullifying the election of the governor.

The Court held that no petition can lawfully be amended outside the 21 days allowed by law as wrongly done by the Tribunal.

Also, the Court had dismissed the over-voting issues used to annul the election, adding that the allegations were not established.

Politics

Reps member, Ikenga Ugochinyere expelled from PDP for anti-party activities

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expelled the House of Representatives member from Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency of Imo State and Spokesman of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere.

PDP expelled Ugochinyere over gross indiscipline, insubordination, and anti-party activities.

His expulsion was contained in a letter from the Ideato LGA chapter of PDP, dated December 5, 2024, and signed by the LGA Chairman, Hon. ThankGod Okeke, and the Secretary, Onyebuchi Umeh.

The letter was addressed to the state chairman of the party.

The expulsion followed the report of the party’s disciplinary committee, dated November 27, 2024, which investigated misconduct charges against Ugochinyere in line with Section 57 (1-4) of the PDP constitution 2017, as amended.

The lawmaker had been suspended at his Umuopia/Umukegwu ward on October 14, 2024, after failing to honor an invitation to appear before the ward Executive Committee on October 5, 2024, to answer allegations of disciplinary offenses, and ignoring reminders and further invitations sent to him on October 7, 2024.

The letter partly read: “Upon receipt of the report, the LGA Executive Committee of Ideato North met on December 5, 2024, and unanimously adopted the report of the disciplinary committee.

“In light of this, Hon. Imo Ugochinyere Ikeagwonu is hereby expelled from the party (PDP) with immediate effect, and he ceases to be a member of the Peoples Democratic Party in Umuopia/Umukegwu ward of Ideato North LGA.”

PDP found Ugochinyere guilty of deliberate failure to attend meetings and participate in activities of the party for a long time, in breach of Section 58 (1)(e) of the PDP constitution 2017, as amended.

He was said to have engaged in unauthorized publicity of disputes within the party, which contravenes Section 58(1)(i) of the party’s constitution. Additionally, he formed parallel executive and organs of the party in his ward, at the LGA, and at the national levels, which also breaches the party’s constitution.

The lawmaker was found guilty of consistently making derogatory and provocative public statements against the party and some of its national leaders, an action that brought the party to public ridicule

Politics

Labour Party plans ‘hall of shame’ for reacts to defection of four Reps are ingrate, plans hall of shame

Labour Party (LP) has announced plans to take legal action against five of its lawmakers in the House of Representatives who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The party is also planning a hall of shame for the defectors.

The defected lawmakers include Tochukwu Okere (Imo), Donatus Matthew (Kaduna), Bassey Akiba (Cross River), Esosa Iyawe (Edo), and Daulyop Fom (Plateau).

Their decision to leave the party was officially disclosed during plenary.

The Labour Party expressed disappointment, stating that the defections were unjustified.

The party referenced the 1999 Constitution, which requires a valid reason, such as internal division, for a lawmaker to switch parties without losing their seat.

The party said these lawmakers abandoned their mandate and betrayed the trust of voters who supported them under the Labour Party platform.

According to the party, these lawmakers benefited from its support during the 2023 general elections, where the Labour Party achieved historic victories.

Many of these candidates, the party claimed, were ordinary citizens who gained political opportunities through LP’s grassroots-focused policies.

Despite the party’s assistance during their campaigns and legal battles, the defectors have allegedly failed to contribute back to the party.

The Labour Party has instructed its legal team to pursue the retrieval of the defectors’ mandates and will also ask the Speaker of the House to declare their seats vacant.

Furthermore, the party plans to create a “Hall of Shame” to document cases of defections it considers a betrayal of public trust.

The party urged Nigerians to hold such politicians accountable in future elections, describing their actions as a disregard for democratic values and loyalty to voters.

Politics

Four Labour Party’s federal lawmakers defect to APC

A major defection wave has rocked the Labour Party caucus in the House of Representatives, as four members have defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The four LP candidates that defected on the floor of the House on Thursday are from four states: Kaduna, Imo, Edo and Cross River.

Speaker Abbas Tajudeen announced the defection on the floor of the House.

The lawmakers are Chinedu Okere (Owerri Municipal/Owerri North/Owerri West Constituency), Mathew Donatus (Kaura Federal Constituency of Kaduna), Akiba Bassey (Calabar Municipal/Odukpani Constituency) and Esosa Iyawe (Oredo Federal Constituency of Edo).