Afternoon’s Headlines: We’ve Been Unable To Serve Petitions On Tinubu—Atiku, Obi; Tambuwal Loss Commissioner

The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, sitting in Abuja, on Friday, ordered that the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, should be served with copies of petitions seeking to nullify his election, through substituted means.

Source: Vanguard News

The court, in a ruling by a three-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, directed that the petitions should be served on Tinubu, through his political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC. It equally ordered service of the petitions on the Vice-President-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima as well as on Mr. Ibrahim Masari who was initially nominated as Tinubu’s running mate for the presidential election that was held on February 25.

The ruling of the court followed three separate ex-parte applications that were brought before the court by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, his counterpart in the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and the Allied Peoples Movement, APM. Atiku and Obi had accused the President-elect, Tinubu, of deliberately avoiding the service of their petitions on him. They told the court that several attempts they made to effect service of the petitions on Tinubu, proved abortive.

Tambuwal loses Commissioner

The death has occurred of a Sokoto philanthropist and member of the Sokoto State Executive Council and Commissioner for Religious Affairs Alhaji Usman Suleiman (Ɗanmadamin Isa).

Source: Vanguard News

Aged 72 years, the late Danmadamin Isa died in the late hours of today at Usumanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital after a brief illness. Until his death, the late Usman Suleiman Isa was a former State PDP Chairman, a former commissioner for Works and Transport, a former Commissioner for Rural Development as well as Commissioner for Religious Affairs, the office he occupied until his death.

He was also before his death, the Chairman, Chief Executive of USDANIS Nigeria Limited, USDANIS Petroleum Resources limited, and Aminci Bureau De – Change. He was a very hardworking and devoted Muslim which earn him the attention of Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal to deploy him to the state Ministry for Religious Affairs as Commissioner in charge of the Ministry.

Plateau APC gov candidate vows to challenge the result

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the Plateau State governorship election, Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda, has said he will challenge the March 18 poll result declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Source: Punch Newspapers

INEC on Monday declared the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, M.r Caleb Mutfwang, as the winner of the election. But Yilwatda, in a statement by his campaign council spokesperson, Shittu Bamaiyi, said he would not allow the collective aspirations and interests of the people of Plateau to be subverted.

The governorship candidate stated that he would be the last person to allow the people of Plateau to be short-changed in any way by enemies of the state. The News Agency of Nigeria quoted him as saying, “I am ready to go the whole hog legally, in protecting and promoting the collective will and interest of the state. “Having gone into partnership and agreement with the people to chart a new course for the state, it is unacceptable to allow the so-called result of the governorship election to stand.

Suspension: No regret backing APC in Ebonyi, says Anyim

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, has berated the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party for his suspension from the party. He also said he had no regret in supporting the All Progressives Congress to win the governorship election in his home state of Ebonyi.

Source: Punch Newspapers

Anyim, who contested the party’s presidential ticket in 2022, said the leadership should rather hide their faces in shame for leading the party to defeat in the presidential and other elections. He also said the failure of the party to give the suspended members a fair hearing before taking such action had made it a nullity.

The former President of the Senate was suspended by the NWC of the PDP on Thursday over alleged anti-party activities. But in a statement, on Friday, he noted that the NWC should busy itself with how to move the party forward, rather than further dividing it.