Akeredolu Remains Ondo State Governor, Says Tinubu

In a bid to restore calm and political stability in Ondo State, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has intervened in the ongoing crisis between Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and Deputy Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, announcing Akeredolu’s continuation as Governor.  The decision came after a high-level meeting with Ondo State stakeholders at the Presidential Villa at the weekend. A statement released by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, clarified the President’s stance, dismissing speculations about the invocation of the doctrine of necessity to appoint Aiyedatiwa as the acting governor.  The Presidency emphasized that Akeredolu retains his position as the state’s Governor, reaffirming Aiyedatiwa’s role as the Deputy Governor. Following extensive negotiations involving the President, representatives of both factions, federal and state lawmakers, and APC officials in Ondo State, Tinubu urged all parties to prioritize peace, fostering commitments toward reconciliation. As a result of these deliberations, Governor Akeredolu will continue as the Chief Executive of Ondo State, maintaining the current administration’s stability.  The announcement also ensures the uninterrupted functions of the State Executive Council, while preserving the leadership of the State’s House of Assembly and the APC Chapter in Ondo State.

Joseph Boakai Officially Declared Liberia’s New President

Joseph Boakai, the former Vice President of Liberia and Unity Party candidate, has been officially declared the winner of the 2023 presidential election. The announcement was made by Davidetta Lansannah, chairperson of Liberia’s National Election Commission (NEC) on Monday evening. After counting 100 percent of the votes from the country’s 5,890 polling places, Mr. Boakai secured 814,481 votes out of the available 1,625,684, surpassing incumbent President George Weah of the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change, who received 793,914 votes. Mr. Boakai’s vote share represented 50.64 percent of the total votes cast, while Mr. Weah received 49.36 percent. The first round of voting on October 10 did not produce a clear winner among the 20 presidential candidates, leading to a runoff between Weah and Boakai, the top two contenders. Unlike the first round, where a winner needed over 50 percent of the votes, a simple majority sufficed in the second round. Weah graciously accepted defeat and congratulated President-elect Boakai, urging his supporters to do the same when about 99 percent of the votes were counted. Foreign leaders, including Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, extended congratulations to Mr. Boakai, commending the statesmanship displayed by both candidates. The United States Government also praised Mr. Weah for peacefully accepting the outcome of the closely contested election, emphasizing the need for national unity and healing post-election divisions. The victory of Joseph Boakai as Liberia’s new president signifies a historic moment, fostering hopes for unity and progress in the nation’s governance and development.

Plateau South: PDP Loses Senatorial Seat To APC 

The Appeal Court has nullified the participation of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its Senatorial candidate in the February 25, National Assembly Election, Napoleon Binkap Bali, for Plateau South Senatorial District on ground of refusal to carry out lawful order of Court. In a judgment delivered by Justice Elfaida Oluwayemisi Williams-Dawodu declared as unlawful and wasted votes cast for PDP in the election and declared the former Governor of the State, Simon Bako Lalong as the Senator for the Plateau South Senatorial District. Lalong who stood for the election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had come second in the February Senatorial election. Justice Williams-Dawodu held that the PDP and its Senatorial candidate have no legal ground to participate in the election having failed to obey the judgment of a Plateau High Court that the party should conduct lawful elections for the purpose of having officers for Wards, Local Governments and State Council. The Plateau High Court had in 2022 ordered PDP to conduct elections for selection of officers for Wards, Local Governments and the State Chapter of the party which was not complied with. The Court of Appeal said that disobedience and disregard to clear lawful order of Court was fatal because PDP hurriedly put an illegal Caretaker Committee in place in utter confrontation to the Court judgment. Specifically, the Appellate Court held that PDP did not sponsor any candidate for the Plateau South Senatorial District because it was not qualified to stand for any election as at February 25, 2023. “As at February 25, PDP was on a faulty background at nomination of candidate for any election. It has no legal foundation upon which it’s candidate nomination can stand. “A positive order of Court must be complied with unless such order is voided and set aside by a higher Court.  “In the instant case, the lawful existing and subsisting Court order was that PDP should conduct elections in line with provisions of the law to have officers at Wards, Local Governments and State Council but the party for reasons best known to it, opted to go against the order. “I cannot but agreed totally with judgment of the Plateau National Assembly Election Tribunal which in its judgment of September 11, 2023 nullified the participation of PDP in the February 25 National Assembly Election”. The Court of Appeal subsequently upheld the declaration of Simon Lalong as the lawful Senator for Plateau South Senatorial District having scored second highest votes at the election. Other Justices of the Court of Appeal who agreed with the judgment are Mohammed Mustapha and Okon Abang. Simon Lalong, the immediate past Governor of Plateau State is currently the Minister of Labour in the President Bola Tinubu’s administration.