Peter Obi leads LP rally for LG election in Edo

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, on Monday in Benin, led a mega rally for the party ahead of the September 2 Local Government Area election in Edo State. Addressing the teeming party members who trooped out for the event, Obi described the local government area system as “where development, particularly of the grassroots is domiciled. “Local government is the nearest to the people and it is supposed to be the root for ensuring development for the people. “The three most critical areas of development are health, education and poverty eradication and they are responsibilities of the local government. “So, for the system to work, for a country to develop well, it is the local government as everything that has to do with development is domiciled in the local government. “That is why it is critical to our development and sustainability. As a governor, I was prevented by litigations from conducting local government election for over six years. “So, we are here today to support our candidates in the forthcoming local government election in Edo. We will support them with everything,” he said. Obi, however, tasked voters in the state to vote en mass for candidates of the party in the election, assuring them that in doing so, their future would be protected. Speaking earlier, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Mr Julius Abure, commended Governor Godwin Obaseki for putting modalities in place for the conduct of the election but warned, however, that the election must be free and fair. “We have the best candidates that can man the local government system in Nigeria, hence, the need for the people to vote for all our candidates in the coming local government election,” Abure said. Also speaking, Mr Olumide Akpata, governorship aspirant for the 2024 election in Edo,  urged the electorate not  to entertain fear but to go out and vote all LP candidates in the election. Akpata, immediate past President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) said the candidates were persons of impeccable character, who could deliver on the programmes of the LP. 

INEC dramatically ends defence against Obi, LP with one witness 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday dramatically terminated its own defence in Peter Obi’s petition against them, after calling one witness and tendering four documents. INEC had through its counsel Abubakar Mahmoud SAN, suddenly announced the closure of its defense, calling one witness against the three registered with the Presidential Election Petition Court at the pre-hearing section. In his evidence-in-chief, the witness, Dr Lawrence Bayode, admitted that INEC suffered glitches during the presidential election but maintained that the glitches did not in any way affect the conduct of the election, collation of results, and declaration of final results. On the allegations of blurred result sheets on INEC’S portal, the Deputy Director of Information and Communication said that clear result sheets can still be obtained on request by those in need of them. Sequel to INEC’s closing of its defence, Tinubu’s lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, told the Court that his client is fully ready to kick-start his defence against Mr. Peter Obi and the Labour Party on July 5. Olanipekun maintained that Tinubu is ready with his witnesses and documents to justify his victory in the presidential election. Meanwhile, further hearing in the petition has been shifted to July 5 by the Court.

Tribunal: US Immigration lawyer testifies against Lagos Dep Gov Hamzat

A United States Immigration lawyer, Mrs. Olubusayo Fasidi, on Thursday, said that Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat to the took oath of allegiance in the U.S. to renounce Nigerian citizenship. Fasidi, a Nigerian, testified before Lagos State Election Petition Tribunal. She was led in evidence by Dr Olumide Ayeni (SAN), counsel to the petitioner, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party. The witness told the tribunal that Hamzat, the third respondent in the petition, also applied for naturalisation as contained in Forms 8CFR/337 and N400. Ayeni tendered the documents to the three-man tribunal but counsel to all the respondents objected, saying that the reason for their objection would be included in their final written addresses. During cross-examination by counsel to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr Eric Ogiegor, the witness said that an individual could enjoy dual citizenship. She, however, said that she was not aware of the provision of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution that dealt with dual citizenship. She said that she was subpoenaed before the tribunal to explain U.S. law and not Nigeria’s Constitution. Mr. Bode Olanipekun (SAN), counsel to Hamzat and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, asked the witness to disclose the jurisdiction and date Hamzat applied for naturalisation but she said she would not, because the information was protected by the Privacy Act of 1974. The All Progressives Congress (APC) counsel, Mr Norris Quakers, asked the witness if she was aware that Hamzat disclosed his American citizenship. The witness replied in the affirmative, and Quakers thereafter argued that the witness addressed issues of law and not those of facts. The tribunal led by Justice Arum Ashom, while admitting all the documents in evidence, ordered counsel to the respondents to include their objections in their final written addresses. The other members of the tribunal are Justice Mikail Abdullahi and Justice l.P. Braimoh. The tribunal adjourned the case until June 26 for continuation of hearing. Earlier, Ayeni presented result sheet from polling units in nine local government areas of the state to establish differences in some areas, against what is recorded on INEC’s Form EC 40A. Counsel to INEC, Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat and APC objected to the admissibility of the Form EC 40A, reserving reasons until their final written addresses.

Lamidi Apapa’s LP faction causes pandemonium in court

There was palpable tension on Wednesday at the Court of Appeal premises, venue of the Presidential Election Petition Court as two factions of the Labour Party clashed. NIGERIA ANCHOR had reported earlier how both factions engaged in a war of words over who was the authentic Labour Party (LP) representative in court. Trouble started when Lamidi Apapa, factional chairman of the party, walked into the court premises alongside some of his supporters. Apapa, who is locked in a battle with Julius Abure, suspended chairman of the party, had arrived the court for the case of a petition that Peter Obi, Presidential Candidate of the party, filed against the victory of President-elect Bola Tinubu. He made an attempt to sit where Labour Party officials were and a shouting match ensued. “Who are you?” a party official asked Apapa, who fired back saying, “You don’t know me? Look at the way you are talking, who are you too?” As the argument continued, Apapa raised his voice, saying, “Get up, you can not sit down here!” Secretary of the Presidential election court, Josephine Ekperobe, quickly moved in to ensue normalcy. Later when the Labour Party matter was called, Obi and the party’s Women Leader, Dudu Manoga, introduced themselves on the record of the court. But when Apapa stood up to introduce himself as the National Chairman, the presiding justice of the court, Justice Haruna Tsammani, requested him to stop the introduction as the court would not recognise the ‘National Chairman’ on record. Abure, who sat next to Obi, did not, however, attempt to introduce himself. Apapa had earlier vowed to take control of the party and to withdraw the petition and motions before the court ahead of the sitting following the ruling of an FCT High Court sustaining Abure’s suspension. The LP has since appealed the ruling. During Wednesday’s sitting, the LP’s lawyers, the lawyers to Bola Tinubu, the APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are expected to show the extent of their harmonisation of non-contentious issues and motions to be relied upon during the main hearing. Shortly after the proceedings, as journalists were about to conduct an interview with the factional Chairman of the Labour Party, Lamidi Apapa, they were met with stiff resistance from loyalists of Julius Abure, another factional leader of LP. The faction loyal to Abure shouted and dragged Apapa up and down, shouting “You must not talk, you are an impostor, thief, thief, thief…”. It took the intervention security operatives to contain the pandemonium as they battled to liberate Apapa from the irate Abure loyalists. At the time of this report, Apapa had been taken into protective custody by the police. Signs of trouble started when Apapa wanted to announce his appearance in court after the LP National Women Leader, Mrs. Dudu Maluga had announced her name. However, when the Chairman of the PEPC, Justice Haruna Tsammani noticed the faction in the courtroom, he refused to record their appearance again.