Tag: World

 

The staff of Nigeria’s electoral body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), have passed a vote of no confidence on the chairman of the commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu.

 

The staff in a statement issued on Tuesday, called on relevant authorities such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate INEC’s financial records. They accused Yakubu of turning the commission into a rotten egg.

 

The workers also accused Yakubu of turning himself into a god at INEC, saying staff members cannot approach him for any grievance.

 

“He sees staff as slaves, if you talk, you get victimised. The system in INEC is rotten due to the leadership style of Prof. Yakubu Mahmood,” the statement said.

 

The statement is titled “We the entire staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission wishes to express our ‘disappointment and pass a vote of no confidence’ in Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, Hon. Chairman, INEC over the neglect of staff welfare matters.”

 

Reeling out the alleged sins of Yakubu, the workers described him as “despotic”, adding that he had continued to deceive staff members with empty promises.

 

The statement reads, “He (Yakubu) has refused to implement the Review Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) that was approved by the former President Mohammad Buhari with effect from September 2022.

 

“He has also refused to implement 40% Peculiar Allowance to staff on CONPSS that was approved by the former President Muhammadu Buhari with effect from January 2023, claiming that there is no money. Now Federal government has approved 35% for all federal workers to cushion the effect of subsidy removal, INEC staff will not get because of Prof. Yakubu Mahmood way of administration. He will say there is no money.

 

“His promise to increase Electoral Hazard Allowance at a meeting held with staff in November 2022 has not seen the light of the day. He has turned a big liar.

 

“Medical staff are yet to be paid their National Minimum Wage that was approved in 2019 by former President Mohammad Buhari despite yearly appropriation in the budget.

 

“He has also turned the Commission into a one man show, no Commissioner can approach him. He does not allow staff to aired their grievances as there is no any medium or mechanism to address them.”

 

The workers further claimed: “There is serious financial misappropriation by Prof Yakubu Mahmood as he concentrates mainly on contracts that will benefit him. Relevant authorities such as EFCC and ICPC can visit the INEC financial record for confirmation.

 

“Prof. Yakubu Mahmood is the first person to get a second term in office, but he is abusing the privilege given to him as staff cannot longer wait for his tenure expiration which is supposed to be November 2025. Many staff have died due to neglect of staff welfare matters.”

 

Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, the Chief Press Secretary to the commission’s chairman promised to send their reaction to the allegations and later pleaded for more time, saying they were in the middle of a workshop and he needed to pin his boss down. However, at the time of filing this report, 48 hours later, he had yet to react to the allegations.

Visiting British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday pledged British support for Israel amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, Mr Sunak said he stands with Israel as a “friend” and hopes Israel will “win the war.”

For his part, Mr Netanyahu said Israel needed “continual support” for “a long war.”

The British prime minister also met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, during which he urged humanitarian aid to Gaza while stressing support for Israel.

“Palestinians are victims of what Hamas has done. It’s important that we continue to provide humanitarian access,” he said.

Mr Sunak’s visit to Israel follows trips made by U.S. President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and several other Western leaders earlier this week.

The latest round of violence between Israel and Hamas, which rules Gaza, began on October 7 when Hamas launched a rare surprise attack on southern Israel close to the border with Gaza.

Israel retaliated with airstrikes and a blockade that cut off water, electricity, fuel and other supplies to Gaza.

The conflict has killed more than 4,000 people on both sides.

(Xinhua/NAN)

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, has warned resident doctors in Abuja against threatening to embark on strike.

 

Wike said he would not pay FCT medical doctors who embark on strike, and if they force the issue, he would take them to court.

He also told the resident doctors that he would save more money when they embark on industrial action.

“Make your recommendations, and we will see the ones we can do and those we can’t do. Don’t threaten me with a strike because I don’t like it. When you go on strike, I save money; even if you come back, I won’t pay; we will determine it in court.

 

“It’s not about promises but the reality on ground, I don’t believe in theory,” Wike said.

 

In recent times, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, have been on-and-off industrial actions due to the Federal Government’s failure to meet its demands.

The doctors’ demands among many others include the immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), tangible steps on the “upward review” of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), and payment of all salary arrears owed its members since 2015.

The doctors also want the immediate massive recruitment of clinical staff in the hospitals and the abolishment of the bureaucratic limitations to the immediate replacement of doctors and nurses who have stopped working or traveled abroad.
 

 

 

 

 

The former Vice President, Abubakar Atiku, has urged the Supreme Court of Nigeria to reject technicality and grant his application for leave to tender fresh and additional evidence to support his claim that President Bola Tinubu submitted a forged document to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to contest the presidential election.

 

Atiku, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25 presidential election reminded the apex court that the duty of the court to ensure substantial justice is important.

 

He described the matter as huge as it would decide if the candidate for the highest office in the land presented a forged certificate or not.

 

This was stated in Atiku’s reply on point of law to Tinubu’s objection to the grant of leave to the former President to present fresh evidence regarding his alleged forgery of the Chicago State University certificate before the apex court.

 

Atiku lost to Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election as declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on March 1.

 

Atiku and the PDP subsequently filed a petition at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, seeking the nullification of Tinubu’s election over alleged irregularities, amongst other arguments.

 

However, on September 6, the five-member panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani dismissed Atiku and the PDP’s petition, describing it as unmeritorious.

 

Atiku later filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, asking it to overturn the judgement of the tribunal.

 

The former Vice President also filed fresh evidence alleging that Tinubu forged the Chicago State University certificate submitted to the electoral body ahead of the presidential election.

 

However, Tinubu’s team of 17 lawyers comprising 10 Senior Advocates of Nigeria, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) argued that Atiku’s appeal lacks merit.

 

Tinubu asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal filed by Atiku for abuse of court process.

 

The lawyers explained that he had only sought to reliefs targeted at the president without canvassing issues that would benefit them in their final written address.

 

Tinubu accused Atiku of “cooking up allegations” of discrepancies against him.

 

He said, “It was at this point that they rolled out their drums of cooked up allegations of discrepancies in the 2nd Respondent’s academic qualifications, dual nationality and sundry bemusing allegations from the backdoor.”

 

But Atiku faulted Tinubu’s submission, insisting that issues of merit ought not to be determined or pronounced upon at the interlocutory stage.

 

He said, “The Supreme Court, as the Apex Court and indeed the Policy Court, has intervened time and again to do substantial justice in such matters of great constitutional importance, as it did in the case of Ameachi vs INEC (2008) 5 NWLR (Pt. 1080) 227 and Obi vs. INEC (2007) 11 NWLR (Pt. 1046) 565. The Supreme Court applied the principle of ubi jus ibi remedium to ensure that substantial justice is done in such novel scenarios.”

 

Atiku said the apex court’s refusal “to grant the leave as the respondents have argued, will amount to undue technicality”.

 

He said, “The need to rebuff, eschew and reject technicality and the duty of Court to ensure substantial justice is very germane in this matter, given the gravity of the constitutional issue involved in deciding whether a candidate for the highest office in the land, the office of President of the Country, presented a forged certificate or not.

 

“In urging the Honourable Court to overrule the objections of the Respondents, we can do no better than to commend to your noble Lordships the insightful words of the Supreme Court in Assah & Others V. Kara & Others (2014) LPELR-24212(SC), per Rhodes-Vivour, JSC as follows.

 

“Law is blind. It has no eyes. It cannot see. That explains why a statue of a woman with her eyes covered can be found in front of some High Courts. On the contrary, justice is not blind. It has many eyes, it sees, and sees very well.

 

“The aim of Courts is to do substantial justice between the parties and any technicality that rears its ugly head to defeat the cause of justice will be rebuffed by the Court.”

 

He also said, “That the case is not whether 2nd Respondent attended Chicago State University but whether he presented a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

 

“That at the trial, a National Youth Service Corps certificate with serial number 173807 presented by the 2nd Respondent to the 1st Respondent was equally tendered by the Appellants/Applicants at the trial as “Exhibit PBD 1A” with the name Tinubu Bola Adekunle, which is annexed herewith as Exhibit J.”

 

 

The federal government has pledged to strengthen bilateral relationships with the European Union (EU).

The minister of budget and economic planning, Sen. Atiku Bagudu, said this at the EU-Nigeria strategic dialogue meeting in Abuja on Thursday.

Mr Bagudu expressed his enthusiasm that the dialogue happened at the take-off of the current administration in the country, for proper articulation and consolidation of priorities in their partnership.

“The current challenges in our sub-regions and the world at large are at the same time fraught with opportunities to make a difference on humanity if we all come to dialogue with honesty of purpose.

“Now, more than ever, a more coordinated response is necessary to assist us in adapting to proven systems for sustainable development and effective integration of our economy into the global system,” he said.

Mr Bagudu said within the framework of the Nigerian National Development Plan (NDP) 2021 – 2025 and the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, was the commitment to focus investments to propel Nigeria to lasting security, sustainable stability and shared prosperity.

He said that the focused investments were expected to harness the potential of Nigerians for productivity, economic growth and development.

“Being our closest continental neighbour with advanced political systems, economic prosperity, it is in our mutual interest for Europe to support our efforts in harnessing demographic dividends.

“In this vein, the array of topics for discussion today is expected to highlight opportunities and initiatives for knowledge transfers, and technical assistance, especially in the digital sector for elaboration of legal frameworks.

“Investments for expansion of local capacities and jobs creation.

“Collaboration on environment, climate change, circular economy, climate-smart agriculture and biodiversity including options in harnessing the abundant gas reserves in our country, better management of migration flows and fiscal sustainability,” Mr Bagudu said.

The minister added that the meeting would also discuss curtailing terrorism, banditry, oil theft, illegal fishery, and piracy, among other security issues in the North/Lake Chad, the Niger Delta and the Gulf of Guinea (GoG).

Mr Bagudu said the dialogue would also look into addressing the challenges to food security and the global humanitarian issues arising from the Russian-Ukraine crisis and the Middle East; among others.

The EU commissioner of international partnership, Juffa Urpilainen, reinstated their support for the country.

She stated that the EU had been actively participating in the country’s development and that they had the best interests of the country at heart.

(NAN)