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You Can’t Disqualify Me, Emefiele Says As He Takes INEC To Court, Hires Ozekhome

By
Alex Enemanna
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0

Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has filed a suit before a Federal High Court in Abuja over the alleged plan to disqualify him from the 2023 presidential primaries slated for the end of this month.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has given political parties a deadline of June 3 to submit their candidates for the 2023 elections.

Some groups purchased the expression of interest and nomination forms of the ruling All Progressives Congress ((APC) for Emefiele on Friday.

This had triggered outrage as many called on the CBN governor to step down.

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, who described Emefiele’s interest in the 2023 Presidency as “a joke taken too far”, had asked President Muhammadu Buhari to fire him if he refused to step down.

Lawyers and critics had argued that Emefiele was unfit to run going by Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act.

The section states that no political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.

But in documents seen by Daily Trust, Emefiele, through his lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, argued that he is more or less a civil servant and by provision of the constitution, he is expected to resign a month before the February 25, 2023, presidential election.

He also contended that a Federal High Court in Umuahia, Abia State, had nullified that section of the Electoral Act.

INEC and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) were joined in the suit.

On Saturday, Emefiele declined the presidential forms bought for him, saying he would use his resources to purchase them if he is interested in the race.

Speaking further on the 2023 Presidency, Emefiele said God would decide for him “in the next few days”.

We Must Take Nigeria Back From Men Of Yesterday — Saraki, Says Buhari’s Govt Lacks Direction

By
Alex Enemanna
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0

Former Senate President and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has said that its now time Nigerians should take back their country from men of yesterday who do not mean well for them.

He alleged that the Buhari administration lacked direction and energy to address the barrage of problems facing the nation.

Saraki who spoke to PDP delegates on Sunday in Kaduna ahead of the presidential primaries of the party, said while he was Senate president, he had several times turned down unending requests from the presidency to heap “unnecessary debts” on Nigerians.

He promised to end insecurity if given his party’s presidential ticket, saying children of this country can no longer go to school freely, while farmers were even scared of going to farm because of the worsening state of insecurity in the country.

The president of the 8th Senate lambasted APC for “causing so much hardship on Nigerians.”

He promised to revive the Nigerian economy, build infrastructure and reset the country on the path of growth and development.

The medical practitioner turned politician and former Governor of kwara State, lamented over the lack of direction and absence of energy by the present administration to address myriads of problems facing the nation.

“I assure you as a Medical Doctor with energy who solves problems after diagnosing the root cause of problems, I will face head-on with great determination the problems of this country.”

“I will create enabling environment where our teeming youth will be supported to excel in the fields of their choice.”

“Nigeria has never been divided like the way we are witnessing today on religious and ethnic ground, I will do my best to make sure that I reunite the good people of this country.”

” I was born after Nigerian independence and understand our post independence challenges which have been compounded by this ruling Party.”

” It is time we take back our dear nation from these men of yesterday who do not mean well for us and generations yet unborn, ” he said.

Saraki also visited Senator Ahmed Mohammed Makarfi, a former 2 term Governor of Kaduna State where he sought for support and cooperation in his quest to be the next President of Nigeria.

 

Russia Called On West For Honest Dialogue But All In Vain, Says Putin

By
ABN Editor 2
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Russian President Vladimir Putin

Russia was calling on the West for an honest dialogue but all in vain because NATO countries did not want to hear it, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the Victory Parade on Moscow’s Red Square on Monday.

“Russia has always called for creating a system of equal and indivisible security, a system that is vitally needed for the entire international community,” the Russian leader stressed.

“In December last year, we proposed concluding an agreement on security guarantees and Russia called on the West for an honest dialogue, for a search for reasonable compromise solutions and respect for the interests of each other. All in vain! NATO countries did not want to hear us,” Putin said.

This stance maintained by Western countries meant that “they actually had quite different plans,” the Russian leader stressed. “And we saw that,” he said.

“Choose Me” – Amaechi Asks APC Delegates NOT To Waste Their Votes

By
Munachi
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0

A presidential hopeful on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Rotimi Amaechi has stated that choosing him as the party’s flagbearer will not be a waste of votes.

This was stated on Sunday by Amaechi while addressing delegates in Edo state.

He urged the delegates to be focused on voting for a credible aspirant like him to fly the party’s flag.

“Politicians will come to ask for your votes, but please, as south-south people, as politicians, as good people of Nigeria, don’t waste your votes,” he said.

“The problem with politicians is you. The elites have shown you that they are here to chop money and you allow them. They will bring money here and say you should vote for them, and nobody will care to ask ‘What was he before now?’ ‘What is his performance?’ ‘The economy they want to come and manage, how have they performed?’

“The electability of a candidate is essential for you. If not, the APC will lose the election. For now, I think I’m the most electable. I’m tried, tested, and trusted.

“If they ask me, I have huge evidence, — model primary schools, secondary schools, primary healthcare centres, hospitals, roads, 750 megawatts of power in Rivers state, children were sent overseas to study, 13,200 teachers were employed, and other achievements as governor.

As minister of transportation, I finished the Kaduna-Abuja rail, and Lagos-Ibadan is running. For those of you who say, ‘what has he done in the south-south?’ There’s a Warri-Itakpe rail line; only two communities are in Kogi, and the rest are in Edo and Delta states.

“We have started the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail, and we will start the Lagos-Calabar rail. So, when they say ‘he has not done anything in the south-south, are they saying Delta and Edo are not part of the Niger Delta?

“I have evidence of what my contributions are to APC and to Nigeria. I can account for the period I have been in office. So, if they bring money, take it, but let us rise, vote right and defend our votes.”

On his part, Ewuare II, the Oba of Benin, commended the minister on the rail projects but urged him to improve security on railways.

On Amaechi’s ambition, the monarch described the throne as “non-partisan, adding that “we endeavour to follow our ancestors’ directives to guide and pray”.

 

 

Moscow To Maintain Contacts With UN On Humanitarian Issues In Ukraine – Deputy Minister

By
ABN Editor 2
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0

The Russian side will maintain contacts with the UN on humanitarian problems in Ukraine, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin said on Monday.

“Our contacts continue,” he said, adding that “joint work on evacuation and humanitarian aid issues” was under way.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres visited Moscow on April 26 and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss humanitarian issues in Ukraine.

2023: Why PDP May Not Have Candidates In Abia — Former SSG

By
ABN TV EDITOR
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2023: Why PDP May Not Have Candidates In Abia — Former SSG

2023: Why PDP May Not Have Candidates In Abia — Former SSG

As the controversy over the conduct of the three-man delegate congress in Abia State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is yet to be resolved, PDP stakeholder and former Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Dr Eme Okoro, has warned that the party might not field candidates for the 2023 elections.

According to the elder statesman, Abia PDP might suffer a similar fate as Rivers and Zamfara States in the 2019 elections if the controversy was not quickly resolved.

He accused the state leadership of the party of unilaterally compiling the three-man delegate list without conducting any election.

The former SSG, therefore, sought the quick intervention of the national leadership of the party to save the party from looming crisis and imminent danger.

The petition dated May 3, 2022, and sighted by Vanguard in Abia read in part: “I write this petition as a stakeholder and as an elder statesman who has made it a point of duty not to sit down and watch few individuals who do not have the interest of our great party at heart destroy same because of personal and selfish interests. 

“I bring this petition to you in view of the imminent and looming calamity that may befall our great party in Abia State as a result of the actions of the Abia State Chapter of the party in seeking to disregard our party’s laid down guidelines for the conduct of primary elections. 

“The Abia State leadership of the party in total disregard of the said guidelines is seeking to impose and compile the list of the 3-man Ad-hoc delegates who are to participate in the primary election for the House of Assembly, National Assembly, and Gubernatorial candidates in preparation for the 2023 general elections.

“To make matters worse, devoted and registered members of our party who indicated interest to stand election for the Three (3) Ad-hoc Delegates in their different wards have been denied opportunity of doing same as the Abia State Leadership led by Allwell Okere Asiforo has concluded arrangements not to hold the election for the said Three (3) Ad-hoc Delegates and has unilaterally compiled the names they desire in place of the Three (3) Ad-hoc Delegates and this has led to several litigations pending in different courts.  

“This action of the Abia State leadership if not checked and the state leadership called to order is likely to cause great harm and misfortune to our party in the 2023 General Election as can be seen in what happened in Rivers, Zamfara, and some other states of the federation.”

The former SSG told Vanguard that other elders of the party including the former Senate President and Secretary of PDP Board of Trustees, BoT, Senator Adolphus Wabara; and former Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC,  Onyema Ugochukwu, have also written similar petitions.

The delegate congress in Abia which is yet to hold has triggered protests and counter-protests as aggrieved party members have continued to besiege the party secretariat demanding clarifications.

The protesters who accused Okere-led leadership of compromise called for his sack.

While Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu in a viral video hailed the successful conduct of the exercise in his Ward, the state party Secretary, Mr. David Iro, sharply disagreed with the Governor, insisting that the exercise has not been conducted.

He also said that members of the panel sent by the national secretariat of the party were yet to be formally introduced to the State leadership.

Russian People Will Never Give Up Love For Country, Traditional Values – Putin

By
ABN Editor 2
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0
Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during a Victory Day military parade marking the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, in Moscow's Red Square.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin speaks during a Victory Day military parade marking the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, in Moscow’s Red Square.

Unlike the West, the Russian people will never give up their love for the country, faith and traditional values, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a Victory Day parade on Moscow’s Red Square on Monday.

“We will never give up our love for the country, faith, traditional values, ancestral customs and respect for all peoples and cultures. As for the West, it seems to be determined to cancel these millennia-old values,” he noted.

“This moral degradation paved the way for cynical falsifications of the history of World War II, attempts to incite Russophobia, glorify traitors, mock the memory of their victims and wipe out the bravery of those who fought and suffered for the Victory,” the head of state stressed.

Putin pointed out that the United States, particularly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, “started talking about its exceptionalism, which is humiliating not only for the entire world but also for its satellites who have to pretend that they don’t notice anything and obediently accept it all,” the Russian president emphasized.

EU Should Consider Using Russian Foreign Exchange Reserves To Rebuild Ukraine – Josep Borrell

By
ABN Editor 2
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New EU Sanctions Against Russia To Be Both Personal And Sectoral - Josep Borrel
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell

The European Union should consider using billions of dollars’ worth of Russian foreign exchange reserves to rebuild Ukraine after the war, the bloc’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said in an interview with the Financial Times (FT) Monday. 

“I would be very much in favor because it is full of logic,” Borrell said when asked by the FT whether frozen Russian reserves could help finance Ukraine’s reconstruction effort once the war ends.

“We have the money in our pockets, and someone has to explain to me why it is good for the Afghan money and not good for the Russian money,” he continued, referring to the United States’ decision to use $7 billion in frozen assets from Afghanistan’s central bank to provide humanitarian aid inside the country and compensate victims of terrorism after the Taliban seized power.

Western countries have frozen roughly $315 billion worth of Russia’s foreign exchange reserves in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

Since then, EU officials have been debating whether the sanctioned assets could somehow be deployed to reconstruct Ukraine when the war finally ends, however no concrete policy proposals have been tabled.

Some context: In April, Russia’s Central Bank threatened to take legal action against the US and EU in an attempt to try and unfreeze its gold and foreign reserves. However, it is unclear when or in what jurisdiction a legal challenge could be made.

Putin tries to defend Ukraine invasion in Victory Day speech

By
ABN Editor 2
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0
A screen shows Russian President Vladimir Putin giving a speech as servicemen line up on Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow.
A screen shows Russian President Vladimir Putin giving a speech as servicemen line up on Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow.

In a speech marking Russia’s Victory Day on Monday, President Vladimir Putin sought to link his country’s struggle against Nazi Germany in World War Two with his invasion of Ukraine and baselessly claimed the West had given him no choice.

Putin said the intervention in Ukraine was necessary as the West was creating “threats next to our borders” and “preparing for the invasion of our land.” 

He also said the West didn’t want to hear Russia’s proposals for dialogue.

“NATO countries did not want to hear us,” Putin said, adding that that means “they had very different plans and we could see that.”

“Russia gave a preemptive rebuff to aggression — it was a forced and sovereign decision,” he said.

Putin told troops that “today you are defending what your grandfathers and great-grandfathers fought for.”

He also addressed the soldiers of Donbas” who “together with Russian soldiers” are fighting for the “motherland.” Donbas, a sprawling heartland region that blankets much of eastern Ukraine, has been the front line of Ukraine’s conflict with Russia since 2014.

Fighting has intensified in the region in recent weeks as Putin refocused his war strategy following stiff resistance from Ukrainian forces.

“I address the servicemen of Donbas,” Putin said in the speech. “You are fighting for the motherland, for its future, so that lessons of World War Two are not forgotten,” he said, adding, “there is no place in history for the punitive divisions of Nazis.”

“We bow our heads in the memory of our comrades in arms who died in the just struggle for Russia,” he said.

After those remarks, a moment of silence followed.

Police Arrest APC Reps Aspirant For Alleged Forgery, Perjury In Benue

By
Munachi
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0

Police Arrest APC Reps Aspirant For Alleged Forgery, Perjury In Benue

Engr. Sunday Oche, a House of Representatives candidate for the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), has been detained by the Nigeria Police for allegedly committing forgery and perjury.

Engr. Oche, who is running for the Federal Constituency of Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo in Benue State, was arrested in the early hours of Sunday at the Double K resort in Otukpo and promptly whisked away to Abuja, where he was kept at the Force headquarters till the night.

According to reports, Oche’s arrest was based on a petition filed at Zone 7 Police Headquarters in Abuja and addressed to the Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) in charge of the Zone on April 19, 2022, by one Mr. Michael Unogwu, the APC candidate for House of Representatives in the 2019 general elections.

Findings revealed that Engr. Oche allegedly forged the signature of Mr. Unogwu on his private letterhead paper, causing a letter to be transmitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2018, as a purported letter of withdrawal from the National Assembly race, shortly after his (Unogwu) emergence as the candidate of the APC.

The petition, which was submitted by Attorneys to Mr. Unogwu, F.S. Jimba & Co, reads in part: “after the submission of the name of our client as its candidate for the election by the APC, Mr. Oche Sunday Oche came up with a criminal design to unlawfully replace our client as APC candidate for the election. In this quest, Mr. Oche Sunday Oche criminally procured INEC form CF 004A(i) being notice of withdrawal of candidate, filled it with our client’s information, unlawfully obtained our client’s passport photograph and affixed to the said form, and then forged our client’s signature on the said document.

“In addition to the above, Mr. Oche Sunday Oche placed his passport photograph on the said INEC Form CF 004A(i) as the candidate to replace our client as a candidate.

“Furthermore, Mr. Oche Sunday Oche also forged a letter of withdrawal dated 15th November 2018 and addressed to the National Chairman of APC, purportedly withdrawing our client’s candidature from the General Election. As a result of the above, the name of Mr. Oche Sunday Oche was then forwarded to INEC as the candidate of APC for the election”.

The petitioners annexed the purported letter of withdrawal; INEC Form CF 004A(i) and letter of mandate from the party asking INEC to substitute the name of Mr. Unogwu for that of Engr. Oche.

Also annexed was the letter signed by the Secretary to the Commission (INEC), Rose Oriaran Anthony in December 2018, informing the party of the anomalies associated with the purported letter of withdrawal, and the reply signed by the APC National Chairman, informing INEC that the letter of withdrawal was actually forged.

“After thorough investigation, the party has come to the conclusion that the purported letter of withdrawal was indeed forged, hence nullifying his purported withdrawal”, the letter signed by the APC national Chairman reads in part.

Also sighted by our reporter as an annexure, was a copy of the affidavit deposed to by Engr. Oche, alluding that the information provided in the purported letter of withdrawal and the INEC Form CF 004A(i) were true, thereby committing perjury.

It was also gathered that when the Zone 7 Police headquarters failed to act swiftly by arresting Engr. Oche, the Complainant, Mr. Unogwu, through his lawyers, approached the Court with a Direct Criminal Complaint against the defendant, to seek his immediate prosecution for forgery, perjury, and attempt to use a forged document to commit a crime.

The Chief Magistrate Court, Bwari, subsequently ordered his arrest, investigation, and arraignment.

He was, however, released on bail by the police around 8 pm Sunday night.

Comrade Austin Agada, the Benue State Chairman of APC, also confirmed the development to our reporter via telephone conversation Sunday night.

Meanwhile, a pressure group, National Liberty and Justice Movement reacted to the release of Engr. Oche by the Nigeria Police, describing it as unfortunate.

Comrade Wisdom Adeleye, the national secretary of the group, who spoke in Abuja Sunday night, warned the law enforcement agency against being suppressed by the pressure from politicians in the area.

“We are very much aware of this case and we shall join the suit. Our lawyers have been briefed and they shall apply to join the suit as we await the arraignment of Mr. Sunday Oche.

“The same way we monitored the case of Hon. Gololo in Bauchi, we shall be actively involved in this, to ensure justice is served. The Police should not allow pressure from any powerful politician to suppress them. The entire world is watching”, Adeleye said.

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