Connect with us

News

PDP intensifies onslaught against Otti at Abia tribunal *Presents details of rigging

Published

on

Three witnesses from Umuahia Local Government, on Friday, laboured to convince the Abia State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, on how agents working for Alex Otti and the Labour Party (LP), used the Independent National Electoral Commission to undermine the electoral process during the March 18 governorship election in the state.

At the continuation of the hearing of the matter brought before it by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Okey Ahiwe challenging the declaration of Alex Otti of Labour Party (LP), as winner of the March 18 2023 governorship election in Abia State, the witnesses, marked as PW18, PW19 and PW20, all from Umuahia South LGA, insisted that final result did not reflect the actual voting in the area.

Relying on their written depositions, they stressed that INEC officials deliberately bypassed the use of BVAS for accreditation in a number of polling units to aid their irregularities against the PDP and that voters suffered both intimidation and violence by agents of Labour Party in Umuahia South LGA.

Maintaining that there were disparities between the results obtained from the polling units and what was announced by INEC, they adopted same as their evidence before the Tribunal, they claimed that the votes were heavily suppressed.

In a bid to establish that there were massive irregularities in the results declared by INEC in Eleven (11) Local Government Areas of the state namely Aba North, Aba South, Arochukwu, Bende, Ikwuano, Isuikwuato, Obingwa, Ohafia, Osisioma, Umuahia North, Umuahia South and Umunneochi, the Petitioner’s lead Counsel, Paul Ananaba (SAN), sought the leave of the Tribunal to tender INEC’s Certified True Copy of Voter’s Register for the 11 LGAS, after the application for the motion was granted.

The Petitioners also made known their intention to tender the Certified True Copy of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) Report and the Certified True Copy of the Certificate of Compliance with Section 84 of Evidence Act 2011 by INEC in respect of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for the March 18 2023 governorship election in Abia State.

Although lawyers to the Otti objected to the admissibility of the documents they opted to state their reasons in their written addresses, with the tribunal granting parties leave to meet on Saturday, August 12, 2023, by 11 am to reconcile marking of the Petitioner’s evidence, before adjourning to the 17th and 18th of August, 2023 for continuation of hearing.

News

BREAKING: Mother of all strikes! D-Day, October 3! *Stockpile food, essentials – NLC, TUC   

Published

on

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Tuesday, announced midnight Tuesday, October 3 as the date for the commencement of total strike by their workers to get the Federal Government accede to their demands to end the current sufferings of their members and Nigerians at large.

The two labour centres representing the organised labour in Nigeria, which arrived at the decision after they had met separately at their local levels directed their affiliates to mobilise for protests from October 3, saying they took the decisions were approved at the meeting of the joint National Executive Council of the two unions on Tuesday, September 26, in Abuja.

Joe Ajaero, President of the NLC, speaking on behalf of his group, while urging Nigerians to stock their homes ahead the total strike, bemoaned the situation where the government had ignored the demands of the workers, saying it “substantially failed to meet its demands after the removal of fuel subsidy,” added that adding that the grace period given by the two labour centres had expired.

The organised labour, is demanding wage awards for public workers and a new minimum wage, apart from the removal of tax exemptions and allowances to public sector workers, provision of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, the release of modalities for the N70billion for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and immediate reversal of all anti-poor policies of the Federal Government.

The union, which on September 5th and 6th, the NLC embarked on a two-day warning strike which led to the partial crippling of economic activities in some states and gave the government a 21-day ultimatum to meet its demands, is also demanding a stop to the increase in public school fees, the release of the eight months withheld salaries of university teachers and workers as well as the increase in Value Added Tax (VAT).

Continue Reading

News

BREAKING: Total strike looms! *NLC, TUC, finally meet, agree on action

Published

on

The Federal Government, may have finally lost the move to stop the impending strike by organised labour, or at least mitigate it by dividing its membership, following a meeting of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), hitherto in disagreement over the issue.

In fact, the two bodies representing the junior and senior workers in Nigeria are reportedly meeting currently to announce a statewide indefinite strike, a move coming about three weeks after the NLC held a warning strike on Tuesday, September 5, and Wednesday 6, 2023, without the TUC, which it explained was to call attention of the FG to the painful suffering of Nigerians, particularly workers.

However, indications, suggests that having agreed to come to an understanding in the interest of the working masses of Nigeria, both camps, having also met separately in their different local organs, decided to hold a joint press conference at 3 p.m. on Tuesday to announce an indefinite nationwide strike in response to the FG’s failure to address the suffering and other socioeconomic hardships caused by the removal of subsidies on Premium Motor, PMS, commonly known as petrol.

Continue Reading

News

Tinubu will shock Atiku and his gang – APC *Why meeting with Biden didn’t hold

Published

on

Having met with Joe Biden, at a parley of the G20 group in India, it was unnecessary for President Bola Tinubu to hold another session with his US counterpart at the recent United Nation General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, the All Progressives Congress (APC), explained on Monday.

Felix Morka, spokesman of the party, in a statement, also explain other issues in a quick riposte to the attacks of Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who claimed that the POTUS avoided Tinubu at UNGA because he did not want to be associated with the putrid stains trailing his Nigerian counterpart.

Morka, National Publicity Secretary of the party, also dismissed Atiku’s claims through his spokesman, Phrank Shaibu that fuel subsidy, which the Tinubu administration said it has jettisoned having dismissed it as a drain on the nation’s resources, had returned through the backdoor, saying the payment of the mark up in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), in August, was to ensure stability.

Hear him: ”Shaibu’s claim that fuel subsidy is back is not correct. The government’s intervention to ensure some measure of price stability and predictability does not amount to the return of the ruinous fuel subsidy of the recent past.

“Lifting the Visa ban on Nigerians by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities should ordinarily make any well-meaning Nigerian happy. Diplomatic rapprochement between Nigeria and UAE authorities is ongoing and details of outcomes will soon be made public.

“The matter of the proposed meeting with United States of America President Joe Biden does not even require elaboration. Having met with President Tinubu on the sidelines of the G-20 Nations summit in India, another meeting with President Biden during the United Nation’s General Assembly (UNGA) had become unnecessary and was not even on President Tinubu’s schedule, contrary to preliminary indications on the matter.

“Nigeria is facing pressing challenges that require focused efforts and undivided attention. Issues such as economic recovery, security of lives and property, infrastructure development, and social welfare demand continuous, sustained and innovative efforts.

“President Tinubu is committed to ensuring an inclusive, honest, transparent and accountable governance system. We encourage citizens to actively participate in democratic processes, ventilate their views, and contribute constructively to national conversations. As the discerning people that we are, we remain confident that Nigerians will continue to differentiate between genuine, constructive and development-oriented criticisms and those driven by self-interest, mercenary considerations and disruptive political agenda.

“While we urge Nigerians to ignore purveyors of fake news and other inanities, it is obvious that Shaibu and his likes will stop at nothing in their desperation to distort facts and give oxygen to their politically knocked-out principal. But that can only worsen his infamy in the light of the President’s determined commitment and strides to improving the social and economic conditions for all Nigerians.

“The PDP and all its agents of misinformation should know by now that no amount of sleazy propaganda, muckraking, lies, half-truths, misrepresentations, misinformation or disinformation will confer the presidency of Nigeria on their candidate.

“Nigerians have freely chosen our party, the APC, and President Bola Tinubu, to continue to steer the ship of state. And the President is making good his campaign promises to deliver purposeful leadership to remake Nigeria, open the economy to rewarding investments, promote inclusive growth, create jobs, secure lives and property and renew hope for a vibrant future.”

Continue Reading

Trending