A suit challenging the candidacy of Bola Tinubu as the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress has been dismissed by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja. A rights advocate and APC stalwart, Ngozika Ihuoma, had dragged Tinubu and the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to court on June 9 for allegedly violating extant electoral laws few days after the former Lagos State Governor won the APC presidential primary. In the suit marked FHC/ ABJ/CS/854/2022, the two presidential candidates were sued alongside their parties, Independent National Electoral Commission and the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation. Ihuoma sought for six reliefs, which included INEC barring Tinubu from contesting the 2023 presidential election. In defense of the suit, the law office of Babatunde Ogala (SAN) & Co on behalf of the APC filed a counter affidavit in opposition to the originating summons and a notice of preliminary objection. The case was however dismissed by the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday. Justice Fadima Muritala described the plaintiff as a “meddlesome interloper having no locus standi to institute the suit.” He, therefore, dismissed the case for being speculative after APC’s counsel, Julius Ishola Esq, from Babatunde Ogala had urged the court to dismiss it with heavy cost for wasting judicial time. It was the fourth case to be dismissed by the court in recent times. This was further confirmed in a statement issued by the Director of Media and Publicity for the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga, hours after the ruling. Onanuga disclosed that the counter affidavit challenged Ihuoma’s locus standi and grounds for the action. He said, “The counter affidavit also punctured Ihuoma’s case as academic, theoretical and an abuse of court process. The court on Monday upheld the defense counsel’s objections and struck out the case. “In the last couple of weeks, the courts have dismissed several cases brought against Asiwaju Tinubu by opposition elements, including Action Alliance, for being frivolous, lacking in merit and abuse of court processes.”

  The Ward-to-Ward campaign train of the Peoples Democratic Party in Delta North Senatorial District on Tuesday was prevented by angry youths of Oko Community who said the politicians only make fake political promises. The youths in their numbers prevented especially the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, from entering the community over failure to address community challenges as a lawmaker over the years. It took the effort of the senatorial candidate, Ned Nwoko, after hours to calm the nerves of unrepentant youths. The youths who reluctantly listened to Nwoko lamented the difficulties the community had faced over the years. Speaking on behalf of the group, the youth leader said the community is tired of fake promises from politicians. “Since 1999, PDP had been coming here to campaign but after elections they never remember Oko community. No road, no electricity among others social amenities. “We have been voting for this PDP in all elections but nothing to show for it. Elumelu had been coming and making fake promises. “And he is coming again to deceive us for fourth time, that’s our anger and we don’t want such promises again,” the youth leader said. The youths however, compelled Elumelu and others to go to the community shrine for an oath that they will address the community’s plight, especially the roads, if elected. Meanwhile, Nwoko assured the community that roads from Oko to Ndokwa East all the way through Isoko to Warri would be done. Nwoko also promised to address the flooding menace that had been ravaging the community on yearly basis.

  One of Britain’s biggest trade unions on Wednesday warned that travellers face severe disruption after its members working in passport control at airports voted to strike over Christmas. The general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, Mark Serwotka, said Border Force guards would walk out on eight days from December 23 to 31. Other PCS members working in other government departments, including the Highways Agency and the Department for Work and Pensions, have already announced walkouts over pay and conditions. Serwotka said workers were struggling to cope with the soaring cost of living, caused by double-digit inflation and sky-high energy prices on the back of the war in Ukraine. “The government can stop these strikes tomorrow if it puts money on the table,” he said, telling a London news conference the walkout would have “severe” effects. PCS members were “desperate” and a proposed two percent pay increase was not enough, he added, promising to escalate action in the new year unless the deadlock was broken. The strikes are part of a spiralling number, including railway workers and nurses to ambulance drivers and teachers. They will involve Border Force staff, employed by the Home Office to check passports, on December 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30 and 31. The PCS members set to take part work at Britain’s busiest airports — London Heathrow and London Gatwick — as well as Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester and Glasgow. The seaport of Newhaven, in southeast England, will also be affected. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hit out earlier Wednesday at “unreasonable” union leaders and warned of “new tough laws” to protect the lives and livelihoods of the British public. He did not elaborate but appeared to be referring to proposals first put forward in 2019 for a minimum level of service during strikes. Sunak’s spokesman later said work on the plan was taking place “at speed”. “We will consider all ways of curbing further action including legislation,” he told reporters.

  Despite the recent intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to clear part of the trapped funds belonging to foreign airlines, the funds have increased to $550m. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) revealed this Tuesday, saying the fund is about half of the $1.1bn blocked funds in Africa and the Middle East. IATA Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, Mr Kamil Ala Wadhi disclosed this when he paid a courtesy visit to the House of Representatives Committee Chairman on Aviation, Rep. Nnolim Nnaji. A statement from Nnaji’s office quoted him as appealing to IATA to prevail on its member airlines to show understanding as the various organs of government were making efforts to ensure that their ticket proceeds were duly remitted. Daily Trust reports that the CBN about three months ago intervened by releasing half of the trapped fund at a time it was about $450m. However, most of the airlines claimed they did not get the part payment and as a result, Emirates Airlines suspended flights to Nigeria while other airlines are threatening to follow suit. The committee chairman reminded his guests that the prevailing situation was in consonance with the global economic meltdown assuring him that the federal government through the CBN had put in place a mechanism for the liquidation of the blocked funds.

  The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said the current restricted power situation in parts of Abuja was as a result of truck loaded with gravel that lost control and crashed into the company’s 132 Kilo Volt (KV) transmission tower No 20, Mrs Ndidi Mbah, TCN’S General Manager, Public Affairs made this known in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday. Mbah said that the incident occurred at about 2.55pm Tuesday and brought down the tower. She said that the tower supply’s bulk electricity to the 100 Mega Volt Ampere (MVA) part of the Katampe Substation and 2x60MVA Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) Central Area Substation. ”Consequent upon the incident, there is restricted power outage in Maitama, Wuse, Central Area, and some parts of Garki,” she said.   According to her, the company is working assiduously to put in place a bypass from the Katampe Substation to the GIS substation in the Central Area to restore power supply to the area and environs ”Attempts are being made by TCN engineers to remove the conductors presently lying on the road to ensure ease of movement around the area. ”Presently, TCN’S engineers are at the site of the incident and are already assessing the level of damage and attempting to put in place remedial installation in the form of a temporary by-pass to restore electricity supply to the affected areas, ”she said.       Mbah also said that after the restoration of power to the tower, TCN would commence the dismantling and reconstruction of a new transmission tower to replace the damaged one. ‘TCN assures that its engineering lines crew are making every effort to restore power supply and notes that supply will be restored as soon as possible, ”she said. (NAN)

  The police in Germany have arrested 25 individuals across the country over an alleged plot to overthrow the government. The suspects were alleged to be members of the Reichsbürger (Citizens of the Reich) movement. The Reichsbürger is a far-right movement that does not believe in the legitimacy of the modern German state. According to the BBC, reports from Germany suggest that the far-right group was planning to attack the Reichstag, the parliament building, and seize power. Heinrich X111, a 71-year-old man, is alleged to have been at the heart of the movement’s alleged plot to overthrow the government. Marco Buschmann, Germany’s justice minister, posted on Twitter saying the federal prosecutor-general is investigating a suspected terrorist network with ties to the Reichsbürger movement. Buschmann said there is suspicion that the movement is planning an armed attack on constitutional bodies. “Democracy is well defended: Since this morning, a major anti-terror operation has been taking place,” the minister said. “The Federal Public Prosecutor is investigating a suspected terrorist network from the Reich citizen milieu. There is a suspicion that an armed attack on constitutional bodies was planned.”