NLC’s planned shutdown of the country illegal, FG insists

The Federal Government has told the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, that its plan to shut down the country on Wednesday, August 2, under the guise of industrial action is illegal.  The NLC had threatened to embark on nationwide protest from August 2 following the failure to reach an agreement with the government on the recent increase in the pump price of petrol.  The Federal Government had instituted a case at the National Industrial Court, Abuja, seeking to stop the NLC from embarking on the strike action.  The court had also made an order stopping the NLC from going ahead with the strike pending the hearing and determination of the suit.  But despite the court order, labour unions have insisted on the mass protest.  The Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Mrs Beatrice Jedy-Agba, in a letter to the NLC, through their lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, said parties before the court are supposed to maintain the status quo, to respect the pendency of the matter.  In the letter with reference number MJ/CIV/ABJ/316/23 and dated July 31, 2023, the solicitor-general said, “Parties are expected to maintain the status quo even in the absence of a restraining order. However, there was no threat of contempt of court in the clarification provided by this Ministry. Undoubtedly, drawing the attention of NLC and the public to the pendency of the order cannot be equated with threats.  “The issue of peaceful protests and police permit are also not in contention, however, you may wish to be guided by the contents of the Communique issued by the National Executive Council of NLC at the end of its meeting of 27th July 2023. The decision or projected cause of action by NLC is directed principally in furtherance of issues connected with a hike in fuel price and consequential matters of palliatives and workers’ welfare. We assert that it is grossly inappropriate to lead the public protest in respect of issues relating to or connected with the fuel price increases, which are currently before the court!  “From the Communique, it is apparent that the current move by NLC goes beyond peaceful protest by issuing a seven-day ultimatum for government to meet the demands and also embark on a nationwide action to compel the government to reverse alleged anti-worker policies.  “Furthermore, uncontroverted media reports have established that NLC is not planning a peaceful protest but intends to ground the government by endangering public peace, instilling fear in the masses, and precipitating a further crisis. To buttress the above, the Assistant General Secretary of NLC, stated thus: ‘Nigerians should be prepared. That’s what we are saying. Being prepared means you have to stock food in your house and be economical with your movement at this particular point in time so as to avoid being stranded…’ “ “In the same vein, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum & Natural Gas Workers and National Union of Electricity Employees confirmed that they were working towards grounding the supply of fuel and the national electricity grid. The Ag. General Secretary of NUEE stated thus: ‘The NUEE is an affiliate of the NLC and I’ve told you that we will join the strike action. The issue is that if there’s a deadlock between labour and the government; that means that the mass protest is still going on, and definitely electricity workers, as an affiliate of the NLC, will partake in the mass protest. So, all workers in the power sector will join the mass protest on Wednesday, August 2, 2023. It is binding on every staff member to join the strike action. So, if it results in a blackout, the only option is for the government to listen to us if it wants power to return.”  “We reiterate that the interim order clearly restrained NLC from embarking on industrial action of any nature. It is common knowledge that a strike is only a form of industrial action. NLC has expressed the intention to embark on a nationwide action to force the government (employer) to agree to its demands. Furthermore, the participation of workers in the protest will result in restriction, or imitation on, or a delay in the performance of work. The foregoing, inclusive of the purported peaceful protest (in view of its intended aims or purposes), undoubtedly amounts to industrial action.  “It is incumbent on your law firm to sensitize the labour unions that peaceful protests are no justification for disrupting or shutting down essential services, which is tantamount to a strike action.”

Presidential Tribunal: Atiku, Obi, Tinubu to present final addresses

The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) in Abuja is nearing the conclusion of its proceedings, with Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) set to adopt their final written addresses on Tuesday. These addresses precede the judgment date for all petitions related to the February 25 presidential election, including the challenge against President Bola Tinubu’s victory. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election, with 8,794,726 votes, defeating Atiku Abubakar who secured 6,984,520 votes and Mr. Obi with 6,101,533 votes. Disputing the results, both Atiku and Obi filed separate petitions, claiming victory and challenging Tinubu’s eligibility to run for the presidency. The petitioners seek to have the court declare that President Tinubu did not obtain the majority of lawful votes and to withdraw his Certificate of Return. They are also calling for a fresh presidential election, excluding Tinubu, whom they contend was ineligible to participate in the first place. Obi presented 13 witnesses and various documentary exhibits, while Atiku produced 27 witnesses and additional evidence before the court. INEC and President Tinubu each had one witness in their defense, and the APC did not produce any witnesses. The Respondents, including INEC, President Tinubu, and APC, have all submitted written addresses urging the court to dismiss the petitions for lack of merit. They argue that the petitioners failed to prove their allegations beyond reasonable doubt, as required by the law. Atiku’s joint petition with the PDP (marked: CA/PEPC/05/2023) asserts that Tinubu’s declaration as the winner of the presidential election was invalid due to non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022, and contends that he was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes. The proceedings continue as the nation awaits the judgment that will determine the outcome of the closely contested presidential election.

Subsidy Removal/FX Reforms: Harder times await Nigerians, PwC predicts

A new report by Pricewaterhouse Coopers Nigeria (PwC) says there are likely to be more difficulties for Nigerians due to the removal of fuel subsidy and floating of the foreign exchange market by the federal government. In its Nigeria Economic Outlook report for August 2023, the professional services conglomerate stated that Nigeria’s business environment would be tough as a result of higher costs of operation and lower revenue as the impact of fuel subsidy removal and floating of the forex market takes a toll on consumer spending. “Consumer spending may be adversely impacted by the elevated inflation rate (food 25.3% and core inflation 20.3% rates) and fuel price (140% increase after subsidy removal), the report said. “Business revenues may decline in the short-term mainly due to direct impact input costs and reduction in disposable incomes. “Rise in energy, food, transportation, and import costs may dampen consumer spending on non-discretionary items.” The report further stated that it impacts other sectors of the economy as transportation costs are expected to rise just as the floating of the naira will drive up the costs of imported raw materials. “Finance costs [are] to increase due to exchange rate losses from higher interest payments incurred on exposure to foreign currency denominated loans,” the report said. “These losses are on account of the currency devaluation.” PwC noted that although the increases may have a negative impact, they could provide incentives to corporates to explore local sourcing or backward integration in the medium term. The report said that economic reforms, including FX market liberalization, have the potential to attract foreign investments and drive capital inflows in the long term. “However, in the short run, investors may take a cautious “wait-and-see” stance, possibly due to the lack of additional reforms aimed at bolstering business and economic fundamentals” adding that “an increase in inflation could lead to a reduction in real yields or returns on investments.”

Subsidy Removal Palliative: Publish names of expected beneficiaries, centre urges FG

The Ugwumba Leadership Centre for Africa has urged the Federal Government to publish the names of expected beneficiaries of the subsidy removal palliatives before disbursing funds. Mr Uche Nwosu, the President of the centre, made the call during a virtual news conference on Tuesday in Abuja. Nwosu said that there was the need for the government to publish the names of the expected beneficiaries of the palliatives before the disbursements for transparency and accountability. “There are a lot of things that will not be acceptable by majority of Nigerians as it was during the COVID-19 palliatives disbursements. “What the president needs to do now is to form a committee made up of people that have integrity and that are ready to serve. “The committee members should be from the Nigeria Labour Congress, farmers association, traders and market women associations, students and traditional and religious leaders. “The committee will be responsible for identification and compilation of beneficiaries from all wards and local government areas. ”The names of the beneficiaries must be published before the disbursements and not after. This will members of the society and the immediate communities the opportunity to confirm the names on the list before the disbursements to curb funds diversions and fraud,” he said. He also urged the federal government not to rely on the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development. Nwosu further urged the federal government to also partner with Non-governmental Organisations, Civil Societies groups for technical advice and monitoring of the entire process to ensure a transparent and accountable. He advised the government to make plans and intensify efforts to introduce other long-term palliatives to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal. Nwosu also urged Nigerians not to politicise every government effort towards the citizenry but to be patient and cooperate with the government to ensure a people-centric government. The Senate on July 13 at plenary approved the request of President Bola Tinubu for a N500 billion palliative to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal. Consequently, the upper chamber approved the sum after amending the 2022 supplementary Appropriation Act to accommodate N500 billion for the provision of palliatives for Nigerians, following the fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government. Accordingly, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, during the plenary session, read the letter on the floor of the apex legislative Assembly and thereafter amended its rules to consider and approved the request the same day. President had clarified in the letter, that the request became imperative, to enable the government to provide palliatives for Nigerians to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy. The letter read, “I write to request for the amendment of the 2022 supplementary appropriation act. The request became necessary among other things, to source funds to provide necessary palliatives to mitigate the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy on Nigerians. “Thus, the sum of N500 billion only has been extracted from the 2022 supplementary appropriation act of N819 billion, 536 million, 937 thousand 803 naira only for the provisions of palliatives for Nigerians to cushion the effects of subsidy removal”, Tinubu said. Tinubu implored the Senate to give his request “expeditious” consideration and approval to enable his administration to provide palliatives for Nigerians. President said the request was to scale up the national social safety net programme. He assured that the federal government will transfer the sum of N8,000 monthly to 12 million poor and low-income households for six months. He said the money would be transferred directly to identified beneficiaries’ accounts. 

Set Nigeria on prosperity path, Adesina tasks Tinubu

*Say Nigeria has no reason to be poor African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, has urged President Bola Tinubu to wake up to his responsibilities and set the country on the path of prosperity. In his keynote address at the Business Day Chief Executive Officers (CEO) Forum on Thursday in Lagos, the AfDB President noted that until Nigeria wakes up from its slumber, the country will continue to stagnate economically. According to his address titled: “The Day the Lion Roared! Making Nigeria a Global Industrial and Economic Giant”, the AfDB helmsman said the country had no reason to be a poor country.   ”’The day that Nigeria wakes up and becomes a lion king, everything will change for its people; and everything will change for all of Africa. ”Nigeria should never be a poor country; and Nigerians are tired of being poor. “For now, Nigeria is developing too slowly and well below its potential. The challenge is for the lion to roar. Then we will have the making of an economic giant. “The key for that is for Nigeria to have an Industrial Revolution,” he said. Adesina said the share of manufacturing in the GDP of Nigeria had hovered around seven percent in the past decades. According to him, the nation has not been able to extricate itself from the comatose of its industrial manufacturing sector to unleash the fullness of its potential. “The performance of the manufacturing sector in the past five years has been poor. Between 2015-2017 the sector declined by -1.5per cent, -4.3per cent and -0.2per cent. ”This is in sharp contrast to the dynamic and rapid performance of manufacturing in Asian countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, India, and China. The manufacturing sector of Nigeria represents only three per cent of the total revenue from exports, but accounts for 50 per cent of imports in the country. “Instead of being forward-looking in expanding the share of the manufactured goods in its total export revenue, Nigeria focuses on the model of import substitution,” Adesina said. Adesina said further that the country has a manufacturing sector that cannot develop to compete globally, but limits itself to “survival mode” and not a “global manufacturing growth mode”. He said a well-developed and policy-enabled manufacturing sector, with export orientation will spur greater innovation, industrial policy for export market development, and structural transformation of the economy. He said rather than being consumed with conserving foreign exchange, the focus should shift to expanding foreign exchange through greater export value diversification. African countries, including Nigeria,  he said have had policies, templates, and programs for industrialization and expanding industrial manufacturing for decades, but there is a huge gap between policy ideas and actions.

INEC closes defence in Atiku’s petition with one witness

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) called one witness that testified in the petition filed by the candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, challenging the outcome of the 2023 presidential election. At the resumed proceeding on Monday, INEC tendered four documentary exhibits in evidence, which include a letter dated July 6, 2022, which the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, wrote to notify it of his decision to withdraw as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the Borno Central Senatorial election. Led in evidence by INEC’s lead counsel, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, the witness, Mr. Lawrence Bayode, who is a Deputy Director of ICT at the Commission, tendered the letter and its accompanying certification, which was admitted in evidence and marked as Exhibits RA-1 and RA-2. Under cross-examination by counsel to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Olanipekun, SAN, the witness, insisted that the presidential election held on February 25, was “free, fair, credible and conducted in substantial compliance with the Electoral Act.” The witness also told counsel to APC, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the witness said that the technical glitch that was experienced on Election Day did not affect the actual scores of all the presidential candidates, which he said remained intact. He further told the court that the results of the presidential election were not electronically collated, saying it was done manually. “INEC does not have an electronic collation system,” he insisted, adding that INEC had few days to the presidential poll, and announced that electronic transmission of results of the election would not be feasible. However, while being cross-examined by counsel to the Petitioners, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, the witness, told the court that the European Union, EU, Observation Mission was accredited by INEC to monitor the 2023 general elections. On if he was aware that the EU has released its final report on the election, the witness, said: “Yes I am aware, but I have not seen it.” When he was shown a certified copy of the EU’s report and asked to read from a portion of it, the Respondents raised objections. Though they opposed the admissibility of the report as part of the proof of evidence in the case, Justice Haruna Tsammani-led’s five-member panel of the court admitted it in evidence as Exhibit RA-6. The witness, read a paragraph in the report where the EU stated that 2023 was not “a transparent and inclusive election” as promised by the INEC. He also read a portion of the report that stated that “only 31% of results uploaded in I-REV was formally or mathematically correct.” However, he maintained that technological innovations that INEC introduced into the electoral process were to guarantee transparency and integrity of the results. Also, the lead counsel to Tinubu, informed the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, its readiness to open his defence to petitions seeking to nullify his client’s election, on Tuesday. Tribunal admits EU final report, faulting Tinubu’s election. The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) Monday, admitted as exhibit, the final report of the European Union Election Observer Mission, which faulted the conduct and outcome of the 2023 presidential election that produced President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and others. The report tendered by the former Vice President and Presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar was admitted as exhibit in spite of vehement objections by President Bola Tinubu, All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In the report, the EU election observer mission claimed that the presidential election did not show credibility, fairness, and transparency in the ways and manners it was conducted by INEC. The report tendered through INEC’s sole witness and Director of Information Technology (IT), Dr. Lawrence Bayode said only 31 percent of the presidential election result was uploaded into INEC’s result viewing portal. Before the admission of the report, Atiku through his lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche SAN had applied that cross-examination of the INEC’S witness must be kick-started by Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress APC in view of their common interests against Atiku’s petition. The application was however bluntly opposed by Tinubu and APC through their lead counsel, Wole Olanipekun SAN, and Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi SAN respectfully. However, the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led panel admitted it as evidence.

No plans to increase petrol price to N700/litre – IPMAN

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has said they have no intention of further increasing the pump price of petrol. According to the Chairman of IPMAN Southwest Zone, Alhaji Dele Tajudeen, Nigerians should disregard reports making the rounds that the Association plans to increase the price of petrol to N700 per litre. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had on May 29, told Nigerians that the era of subsidy was gone. Speaking Friday in Ibadan, Tajudeen urged Nigerians to disregard the reports and stop engaging in panic buying insisting that there is no plan to increase the price above the price it is being sold at the moment.   “Even in the PIA, it has been clearly stated that the subsidy must be removed, so, I want to commend him for removing the subsidy and I want to say that we are in total support totally. This is because the subsidy was a scam.” He said the slight increase in pump price was because of the transportation cost and that Nigerians should be at rest as the commodity will not be out of reach for the masses. “I want to disabuse the mind of the people that they should not panic about it, there is no cause for alarm, we are in control and there is nothing like that. “So, people should be rest assured that there is no way they can buy petrol more than the price it is being sold now. “If we look at the price from NNPC retail limited, which is an integral part of NNPC limited, they have more advantages than independent marketers and major marketers. ”So, it was the retail price that they announced they had never given a specific price to the independent marketers. “However, I have read what somebody put into the paper, it is just speculation, it is not a reality. Nothing like that I want to assure the masses. “There is no way the price can go to N700 as we speak, because even if the FX is N700 or N800 that has not nothing to take the price of petroleum from N500 to N700,” Tajudeen said. He noted that the product had been deregulated, hence the differential in prices was due to transportation as it is related to location. ”If you are moving products within Lagos the price may not be more than N300,000 but if you are moving up to Ibadan or there about it could be as much as N500,000. ”And if you are going to Ilorin, it could be as high as N700,000 that would account for the difference in prices. “I want to say with all sense of authority that as of today within Lagos metropolis nobody should sell more than N515 to N520 per litre. ”Though NNPC has given us the price, the reality of it is that what we buy from the market; because NNPC limited is not the only source for our product, we get it from private depots. “So, whatever we buy is what we put on our own margin and sell. ”But as of today, the highest you can get anywhere should be around N550; Lagos N510 per litre; Ogun State between N500 and N520,” Tajudeen said.

Tribunal: Fireworks resume July 3 as Atiku and Obi seek to dethrone Tinubu

The 2023 Presidential Elections may have come and gone, but the legal fireworks fanned by Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi continue to fiercely burn. Suffice it to say that it has been a topsy-turvy three weeks at the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) as the aggrieved parties battled to drive home their case challenging the declaration of Ahmed Bola Tinubu as the winner of the said election. On May 8th, the presidential election petition kicked off with five petitions from different political parties which were later consolidated. In the buildup of the full-blown hearing of the petitions, there was mild drama as two aggrieved parties Action Alliance (AA) and the Action Peoples Party (APP) withdrew their petitions, during the pre-hearing sessions of the petitions. However, Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Alliance Peoples Movement (APM) continued with the quest to upturn the outcome of the presidential election.   The petitioners were given three weeks to prove their case, after the pre-election reports were delivered on 23rd May 2023, as time allocated for hearing, calling of witnesses and cross-examinations were stated for easy conduct of proceedings. On July 23rd, Mr Obi and LP closed their case after calling 13 witnesses as against the 50 witnesses registered in their pre-hearing schedule, amongst which they tendered documents, and the total number of registered voters and Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) collected in 32 states in the lead up to the presidential polls to aid their case. All their witnesses who were party agents and INEC officials, submitted that accreditation of voters was seamless, but transmission of Presidential election results was difficult, adding that they were made to sign the forms EC8As under duress. According to the witnesses, all the Labour Party agents totalled 133,000 as against the 176,974 polling units across the country, and they insisted that Peter Obi should be declared winner because he had the most results which were not uploaded as promised by INEC. Peter Obi and the Labour Party also tendered a report through a subpoenaed witness, Claretta Ogar, who is a cloud engineer and architect and an employee of Amazon Web Services Incorporated, USA. According to the Star witness, the Amazon Web server that provided cloud services for INEC’s digital backbone for the presidential election did not experience any glitch that could have affected the e-transmission of results on February 25, 2023. The report specifically provides details on the health status of the Amazon Web server that provided cloud services for INEC’s digital backbone for the presidential election. The document, totaling six copies were admitted by the court amid objections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Kashim Shettima and the All Progressive Congress (APC). Also, two subpoenaed witnesses of the Labour Party and Peter Obi, contradicted each other on the powers and responsibilities of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, as related to the February 25, 2023 general elections. Chebuike Ngwoke, a digital cyber-security expert, commissioned to do a cyber-security and risk analysis of the election by the Labour Party, told the court that the International System for Standardization, ISO Certification, is expected to be issued by the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA and to the Independent National Electoral Commission in line with the 2007 Act that established it.  However, another subpoenaed witness of Obi, Emmanuel Edet, a legal officer from NITDA contradicted the position that there was no provision in the NITDA Act that gave the agency that role when he was crossed examined by Wole Olanipekun, SAN, Counsel to Tinubu. On the part of Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), they had on the 21st of March filed their petitions challenging the emergence of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25 elections. Closing their case on Friday 23rd June, called a total of 27 witnesses as against 100 submitted in the pre-hearing schedule to prove their case, amongst other documents tendered. However, speaking to reporters, lead counsel to the Petitioners, Chief Chris Uche SAN, said that the documents tendered took the place of the remaining 73 witnesses. Some of the notable witnesses called were three Presiding Officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) who told the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) that the refusal of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to transmit the presidential election results on Election Day frustrated their jobs. The Officers, who were testifying on subpoena, admitted that the results of the Senate and the House of Representatives were transmitted unhindered and that the problems of technical glitches arose at the point of transmitting only the presidential poll results. The three witnesses are Janet Nuhu Turaki, Christopher Bulus Ardo and Victoria Sani who served as INEC’S Presiding Officers at Yobe, Bauchi and Katsina States, respectfully. Also among the testifiers was Hitler Uwala, who is a forensic Analyst and he tendered 7 volumes of reports based on the 110 BVAS machines inspected.  Under the evidence in chief, Uwala told the court that the results contained in the 110 BVAS machines he inspected were deleted. However, while under cross-examination by the INEC counsel, he admitted that he was not in Abuja when the elections were conducted and that nothing was wrong with the BVAS machine when he inspected them. He added that he didn’t interview any of the election presiding officers and does not know if anything was wrong with the BVAs machine on Election Day. INEC further told the court that the 110 BVAS machines inspected in the Federal Capital Territory constitute only 3.5% out of the 3163 devices allocated to Abuja and less than 0.06% of the total number of BVAS deployed across Nigeria. To verify the witness’ claims on deleting of results, INEC’s lawyer brought four BVAS devices for the witness to inspect but he refused saying it was professionally wrong to do that as the figures might have been tampered with. Uwala added that he can’t identify the BVAs machine given to him as

Broadcaster, Ijeoma Osamor testifies before Presidential Tribunal

A broadcast Journalist with DAAR Communications PLC, Ms. Ijeoma Osamor, on Friday testified in the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) holding in Abuja. Osamor, who anchors a programme in the Africa Independent Television (AIT) “Democracy Today” was subpoenaed as ‘the 7th witness (PW7) for Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP). Obi and LP are petitioners in the petition marked CA/PEPC/03/2023 challenging the election which brought President Bola Tinubu into power Respondents are Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) president Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima and the All Progressives Congress (APC). Osamor when being cross-examined by APC counsel, Abiodun Owonikoko, SAN, said INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said the results of the Feb. 25 presidential election would be transmitted live. One of the grounds raised by the petitioners in support of their prayers to invalidate the return of the president, Bola Tinubu was that Yakubu reneged on his promise to upload the results sent to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System to the INEC Results Viewing portal in real-time. However, video evidence tendered before the PEPC by the petitioners bordered around clips showing the INEC chairman at different times assuring Nigerians of the use of technology in the presidential election. The court, again admitted in evidence another flash drive and played it in the open court a clip of Mahmoud delivering a speech emphasizing the deployment of BVAS and IReV for the elections. When asked by Owonikoko if she was aware that a few days before the election, Yakubu in a press statement said the results will no longer be uploaded in real-time. She her news organisation is focused on live coverage of events and programmes. Owonikoko also raised the issue and cited a publication by The Tribune on Feb. 23 that election results would no longer be transmitted in real-time. Osamor said the Tribune publication could have been based on an interview with the reporter. The Tribune on Feb 23 published a story with the headline ‘We won’t transmit raw figures of election results’, INEC chairman. According to Tribune, Yakubu said that at a meeting with the leaders of the international election observers who visited him at the commission. However, the reporter insisted that while covering the beat, she was present during the said period at all press briefings and at the collation centre, particularly on the said day. She said that Yakubu did not make such a statement. Meanwhile, the five-member panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani adjourned until Monday for the cross-examination of the witness and further hearing of the petition.

Tribunal: Atiku tenders statisticians’ reports against Tinubu

The Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) on Wednesday admitted as exhibits, three sets of reports prepared by a group of Statisticians on the electoral forms used during the last presidential election. Atiku’s Subpoened witness, PW21, a renowned Statistician, Samuel Oduntan made these reports available during his evidence-in-chief led by counsel to Atiku, Eyitayo Jegede SAN. Inspite of objections by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress APC against the testimony of the witness, the Presiding Justice of the Court, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani admitted the three reports as exhibits. At Wednesday’s proceedings, former NBA President, Abubakar Mahmud SAN, Wole Olanipekun SAN and Lateef Fagbemi SAN conducted the case of INEC, Tinubu and APC respectfully. Besides opposing the admission of the documents, the three respondents also kicked against the bid to consider the reports as being read in the open court. Meanwhile, Justice Tsammani has fixed June 15 for further hearing of the petition especially the cross examination of the witness