The former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba, has said that all petitions with the electoral tribunal should be resolved before the inauguration and swearing-in of a new president in Nigeria.

Agbakoba said this while speaking on Arise TV today April 5.

According to him, most of the political arguments going on in Nigeria will be solved when the petitions before the tribunal are heard and sorted out accordingly.

He further stated that it will be better if these issues are sorted out before the 29th of May, as it may cause more political arguments in the country if a president is sworn-in when there are unsolved petitions before the tribunal.

“In order to balance out justice, could we please get these petitions, if they can be resolved before that date?” as he urged the Electoral Tribunal to complete the process as soon as possible.

I can understand Peter Obi’s concern and Datti Mohammed’s outburst if Mr. Tinubu is being sworn in at Eagle’s Square and the petition is hanging in the court of appeal. Where we strike the balance is to give our best possible shots to finish the petitions,” he said.

Agbakoba opined that resolving of the petitions before the Inauguration day will take away the questions of the legitimacy of the president who will be sworn-in.

The former NBA president said that the policy that gave electoral candidates 180 days to file a petition was too long.

“The fact that the constitution prescribes a time limit doesn’t mean that time limit must actually run.” he said

The Akwa Ibom House of Assembly has ratified a bill for a law to amend the Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation (AKICORP) Law 2012.

This was sequel to the reports presented before the House at plenary on Tuesday by KufreAbasi Edidem (PDP-Itu), and chairman of the House Committee on Industry, Commerce and Tourism.

Mr Edidem, in his report, said the amendment of the 2012 AKICORP Law would update the scope of the legal and institutional framework of the corporation in line with global best practices.

“The amendment will strengthen the corporate governance structure of AKICORP to meet the present and future corporate demands. It will entrench the governance structure of Ibom Airlines Limited to safeguard the investment against undue political interference and instil confidence in investors to invest in the state,” he said.

The parliament also ratified the report of the House Committee on Appropriation and Finance on Akwa Ibom State Bonds, Notes and Other Securities Bill 2022.

Uduak Odudoh (PDP -Ikot Abasi/Eastern Obolo) and chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation and Finance presented the report at plenary.

After deliberation and consideration of the bills at the Committee of the Whole, the House subsequently passed the same into law with April 4, 2023, as their commencement date.

Also at plenary, a bill for a law to provide for a map for the state and other matters connected therewith, sponsored by David Lawrence (PDP-Eket), was read the first time and committed to a joint committee on lands, housing, boundary and local government for further legislative actions.

Similarly, at plenary, a bill for a law to establish Akwa Ibom State Rural Access Roads Agency (Establishment) and Funds 2022 was read the second time and committed to the Committee on Rural Development for further legislative actions.

Meanwhile, the House has adjourned plenary to reconvene on April 11.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) says it received over 450 human rights-related cases from the February 25 and March 18 elections in which 88 people died.

The human rights adviser to the NHRC’s executive secretary, Hilary Ogbonna, announced this Monday at a media briefing.

The NHRC inaugurated the Mobilising Voters for Election (MOVE) on October 17, 2022. MOVE is a multifaceted and multi-dimensional programme and human rights-based campaign that seeks to facilitate access and promote the electorate’s participation in the 2023 elections.

MOVE’s broad goal is to promote access, participation, credibility and accountability in the 2023 elections in Nigeria.

The NHRC said it set up a National Hate Speech Register in October 2022, recording 22 hate speech cases, with investigations launched on committed before, during and after the elections.The commission revealed that 88 people died during the elections.

“The emerging external threats and fear existing are insecurity and violence across the country. There are hate speech and incitement from politicians and their supporters. New threats are the attack on media organisations and intimidation of the judiciary,” stated the NHRC.

The commission added;

“Possible impacts are loss of faith and integrity in the judicial process. Incitement leads to renewed violence and ethnic violence.”

NHRC boss, Tony Ojukwu, said;

“You have been with us through the process, and it is important that we brief you on how far we have gone. We thank the media and our partners, (the) UN resident coordinator, Ford Foundation and Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP).

It is important, whatever happens, that we should remain law-abiding. This is the only way we can develop as human beings.”

Ifeoma Kalu, wife of a former governor of Abia state and the chief whip of the senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, is dead, Peoples Gazette can confirm.

Her death was announced by Mr Kalu via his verified Facebook page on Monday afternoon as he asked people to remember the bereaved family in their prayers.

However, the cause of death was not disclosed by the senator representing Abia North Senatorial District, who has publicly expressed his desire to become the next senate president of the nation.

She was aged 61.

A memorial service to honour the late Mrs Ifeoma Kalu is scheduled to take place in the United States of America.

“With a heavy heart and pain, we announce the passing on to eternal glory of Mrs Ifeoma Ada Kalu aged 61 years,” he said.

“She was a woman of virtue who was committed to the service of God and humanity. A memorial service in her honour is scheduled to be held in the United States of America (USA).

“Please remember her and loved ones in prayers at this difficult period. May her gentle soul rest in perfect peace. Amen.”

Violence erupted at the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC on Monday, April 3, after members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state clashed in Port Harcourt, the state capital over the inspection of electoral materials.

According to Channels TV, chaos broke out when the APC Governorship Candidate in the March 18 poll, Tonye Cole, and members of his party arrived at the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the state for the inspection of materials used in the last election in the state.

The APC members were forced to turn back by members of the PDP who were already on ground at the INEC office before their arrival.

The situation caused pandemonium as the PDP members demanded the joint inspection of election results and the Certified True Copies of result sheets for the just-concluded 2023 general elections.

The PDP protesters had blocked both the waterlines and GRA areas of Aba road, the two major access points to the INEC head office. No car was able to drive through that stretch of Aba road from the ground lanes, while those on the GRA flyover were trapped as there was no exit route.

The PDP protest was led by the Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Edison Ehie who was re-elected in the March 18 election and Samuel Nwanosike, the Chairman of the Ikwerre Local Government Area.

Though the party won the governorship and State Assembly elections, the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly who jointly led the protest, demanded that INEC grant the party a joint inspection of the materials used in conducting the March 18 elections.

The protesters believed that their demand would introduce the level of transparency needed to forestall unnecessary litigations and arguments.

Apart from the demand for joint inspection of materials, some inscriptions on the placards displayed during the protest also request INEC to make available the Certified True Copies of results.

The Minister of Water Resources, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu, has urged the international community to fully support Nigeria’s quest to save Lake Chad from extinction and revive its potential.

Mr Adamu, who made the call in an interview with journalists in New York, said it was important to lend his voice to President Muhammadu Buhari’s call to revive Lake Chad.Mr Adamu was in New York to attend the just-concluded 2023 UN Water Conference.

“If you recall from the beginning of this administration, President Buhari has made this call in several fora, especially at all the engagements during Conference of Parties (COP) on Climate Change and his interactions with world leaders.

“It is a consistent call because you know the problem we have in the Northeast, problem of Boko Haram. It has been clearly linked to the lack of opportunities and abject poverty around the Lake Chad that was caused by the shrinking of the Lake. It sank as low as 10 per cent of its storage capacity 50 years ago,” he said.

The minister said the shrinking of the Lake had impacted negatively on the source of livelihood of the people leaving in the area, adding that more than 40 million people were affected.Mr Adamu said that all the opportunities for finishing, farming, irrigation, grazing were all lost, and the lack of opportunities had caused poverty in that area, giving room for breeding ground for Boko Haram fighters.

“From the security perspective, it’s very important to make this call and from economic development perspective, loss of jobs and poverty. Also, there is climate change issue and desertification,’’ he said.

The minister added that Nigeria had recently ratified the instrument of Accession to the UN Water Convention and had submitted it at the conference.Mr Adamu said Nigeria, under the leadership of President Buhari, had acceded to the Water Convention as an instrument to strengthen the existing transboundary commitments under the Niger Basin Authority and the Lake Chad Basin Commission.

Nigeria shares at least one transboundary water body with each of its neighbouring states.The Lake Chad Basin is the largest inland drainage area in Africa and covers an area of 2,434,000 km2, equal to eight per cent of the total area of the African continent.

The basin extends through Algeria, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria, Central Africa Republic, Chad, and Sudan. In Nigeria, the basin drains about 20 per cent of the country.

Nigeria is also home to about 80 per cent of the 100 million people residing in the basin of the River Niger, which crosses Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Chad before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean through the Gulf of Guinea.

President Buhari ratified the Accession to the Convention in December 2022 and Nigeria also ratified the Amendment to Articles 25 and 26 of Nov. 23, 2003.

Dr Mustapha Bello, an Islamic cleric and educationist, says Nigerians should stop congratulating the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, but rather set agenda for him.

Mr Bello, a lecturer, Department of Religions and Peace Studies, Lagos State University (LASU), made the remarks at the 9th Ramadan Lecture of Anwar-Ul Islam College, Agege, Old Students’ Association (ACAOSA), on Saturday in Lagos.

The Guest Speaker delivered a lecture titled: “Islamic Perspective of a Good Governance: Any Lesson for Nigeria?”

Mr Bello described the topic as apt and imperative because of the concern every discerning Nigerian now had about the state of affairs in the nation.

According to him, the nation will by May 29, experience 24 years of uninterrupted democratic rule being led by the PDP and APC, but the question is whether Nigerians have enjoyed good governance or not.

He said Nigerians could not be said to have enjoyed good governance in the light of prevailing socio-economic challenges they were faced with.

“Good governance is the responsibility of all Nigerians. Those who have been elected, we congratulate them but Nigerians should put them on their toes.

“We must set agenda for them, we must tell them what we want in terms of education, infrastructure, environment, health and others. We should not leave them, we should advise them.

“It is not enough for us to be congratulating them. Sen Bola Tinubu has emerged President-elect, and he will be inaugurated, we must set agenda for him.

“Stop doing congratulatory messages now, let us set agenda on education, environment, public morality.

“Look around, there is so much indiscipline in the society. We must also pray for them,” he said.

The cleric said that the President-elect, his deputy and all elected public office holders should be commended if they do well and criticised if they misbehave, for the nation to get good governance.Mr Bello said that when there is good governance, there would be peace, prosperity, plenty for everybody and less insecurity.

“The President-elect and Vice President-elect have enormous responsibility to unite our minds together. We are so divided as a people by religion, ethnicity and social classes.

“The first task before them is to find a way of assuaging our feelings and unite us; It is when we have a common objective with our mind united that we can move forward,” Bello said.

He said that good governance according to United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC), relates to the political, institutional processes and outcomes that are necessary to achieve the goals of development.Mr Bello said the UNHRC identified transparency, responsibility, accountability, participation, and responsiveness as key attributes of good governance.

“Good governance in a layman language is the provisions of abundance of goodness by a government to its citizens which is the fundamental objective of the state as entrenched in the Nigerian constitution.

“Good governance is the major determinant of how stable, prosperous and peaceful a society or a country is.

“In essence, wherever you find poverty, crisis and they are on the rise, the only reason for the absence of prosperity is the absence of good governance.

“Virtually, all parametres used in measuring good governance as it relates to Nigeria is negative,” he said.

The Kano State Governor-elect, Abba Yusuf, has warned all subsisting and prospective lenders to the current Kano State Government against granting fresh loans.

The advisory is contained in a statement issued on Friday in Kano by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor-elect, Sanusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa.

It warned that from March 18 to May 29, no lender, domestic or international, should grant any loan facility to the incumbent Kano State Government without the expressed consent of the incoming administration.

“Any such loan facility approved and issued to the Kano State Government between the date of election and the date of swearing-in without the explicit knowledge and consent of the incoming administration will not be honoured by the new administration.

“All subsisting lenders to the Kano State Government shall take notice that all terms and conditions for all existing loan facilities shall be renegotiated by the new administration guided by the utilisation audit/review of each loan facility,“ the statement said.