Supreme Court Gives Reasons For Upholding Taraba Governorship Election

The Supreme Court on Monday gave reasons why it upheld the election of Mr Darius Ishaku as the duly elected governor of Taraba State.

Justice Bode Rhodes-Vivour who dismissed the petition of Mrs Aishat Alhassan of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on February 11, 2016 said she lacked the locus standi to complain about the primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that produced Mr Ishaku as its governorship candidate since she did not participate in the said primaries.

The apex court further holds that all the issues raised by Mrs Alhassan in her petition have been settled by the court as no person is allowed by law to call for the cancellation of an election he/she did not participate in.

Lawyer to Governor Darius Ishaku applauded the reasons given by the court‎, while counsel to the APC candidate said the reasons will further expand the frontiers of electoral law in Nigeria.

The Supreme Court had earlier dismissed the appeal filed by Alhassan without giving reasons.

The Apex Court upheld the Appellate Court’s verdict which had earlier dismissed the petition on the grounds that the APC and its governorship candidate cannot question the nomination of Governor Darius Ishaku as the candidate of the PDP.

President Buhari Leaves For Saudi Arabia For Week Long Working Visit (Photo)

President Buhari and Minister of FCT Muhammed

President Muhammadu Buhari has departed Abuja for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the first leg of his two nation tour.

The president was seen at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at about 12 noon those present to see him off include the Minister of FCT Mohammed Musa Bello and other senior government officials.

While in Riyadh, President Buhari is expected to hold bilateral talks on Tuesday with King Salman Bin Abdelaziz Al Saud and senior officials of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The discussions will centre on efforts by Nigeria and other member countries of OPEC to achieve greater stability in the price of crude oil exports.

The President, accompanied by the Minister of state for petroleum Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu is also scheduled to meet and invite leading Saudi businessmen to assist his administration’s efforts at revamping the nation’s economy through mining,Agriculture,Power Supply,infrastructural development and Transportation.

Alert!! NNPC Disclaims Purported Recruitment Exercise

NNPC Logo

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has called on members of the public to be wary of fraudsters sending letters to unsuspecting individuals inviting them for “the second process of recruitment” billed to hold on 29th February, 2016, as it is currently not recruiting.

In a statement made available to journalists, the corporation explained that the scam invitation letters which direct recipients to pay the sum of N21,500.00 into a certain account number with Zenith Bank purportedly for “onshore & offshore/training kits/materials” should be discountenanced as they were not sent by the corporation, warning that “anyone who entertains such invitations or deals with peddlers of such invitations does so at his or her own risk”.

It urged anyone contacted for the purpose of the purported recruitment by the corporation to report such persons to relevant law enforcement agencies.

Ajimobi pledges to restructure BCOS, allays fear of witch-hunt

Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State says a major restructuring of the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS) is imminent for better service delivery.

This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Yomi Layinka, the Special Adviser to the governor on Communications and Strategy, made available to newsmen on Sunday in Ibadan.

It said that the governor, during an unscheduled visit to the station in Ibadan, told the management that the worn-out analogue broadcast equipment at the station would soon be replaced with state-of-the-art digital facilities.

Ajimobi, according to the statement, called for attitudinal change and paradigm shift among the workers, saying it was the only way his vision for the transformation of the BCOS could be realised.

"The governor assured that no worker would be sacked, but made it clear that each worker would be moved to his or her area of core competence within the public service," the statement said.

Ajimobi, according to the statement, challenged the management and staff of the BCOS to redouble their efforts toward the performance of their primary role of educating, informing, entertaining the public.

It said the governor commended the workers for their support for his administration since 2011, urging them not to rest on their oars, realising the challenges ahead.

"I am here to promote the effectiveness, proficiency and efficiency of workers, irrespective of the political party you have sympathy for.

"I am a manager and I know there is need for attitudinal, structural and policy changes here.

“In style, attitude and paradigm, there is need for change, because if you keep doing the same thing the same way, you will keep getting the same result," the statement quoted him as saying.

According to the statement, the governor said that the era of workers sauntering about is gone and there is no more room for playing politics and gossiping during official hours.

The statement said Ajimobi told the workers that his mission was not to witch-hunt anyone, but to encourage them to be more dedicated and committed to their duties.

With NAN

Secret anti-Trump donor revealed

US presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks following his victory in the South Carolina primary on February 20, 2016 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. (AFP photo)

The main donor of a super-PAC designed to destroy Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s campaign has been exposed after spending $4 million on attack ads against the candidate.

Called “Our Principles PAC,” the organization is mostly funded by Marlene Ricketts, the matriarch of the Ricketts family that owns the Chicago Cubs baseball team.

Ricketts has so far contributed $3 million to the super-PAC which is being run by former Mitt Romney adviser Katie Packer.

Our Principles PAC has spent more than $4 million running attack ads against the GOP front-runner in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, which hosted the first presidential primaries and caucuses.

Packer said in late January that the organization will get its messages before nearly every Republican voter in the states.

Despite the significant spending, however, the real estate mogul has had strong performances, winning by a large lead in South Carolina and New Hampshire and finishing Iowa at the second place.

According to the Federal Election Commission, almost all the money used by the only serious anti-Trump group to date came from Ricketts, whose identity was first reported by The New York Times.

The family had previously given $5 million to a super-PAC supporting the failed presidential bid of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

Ricketts are yet to fully endorse another presidential candidate, but clearly they like both Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, as in June last year, Marlene Ricketts donated $10,000 to super-PACs supporting Rubio and Cruz.

Besides a token $250 donation, the only other wealthy donor to the anti-Trump organization in January was Illinois businessman Richard Uihlein, who paid only $7,500.

Interestingly, Uihlein had also given $2.5 million to Walker's super-PAC, but after the Wisconsin governor quit the race he endorsed Cruz, contributing $1 million to a pro-Cruz super-PAC.