The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC has declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu as the duly elected president of Nigeria in the February 25 poll. A panel of appellate court judges resolved petitions submitted by Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), calling for the annulment of Mr Tinubu’s victory. The tribunal, led by Haruna Tsammani, delivered the judgement Wednesday evening in a courthouse packed with political stalwarts, including cabinet officials Vice President Kashim Shettima, Festus Keyamo, Femi Gbajabiamila and opposition governors like Bala Mohammed of Bauchi. Security across the Nigerian capital Abuja was fortified ahead of the decision at the Court of Appeal Headquarters in the city centre. Mr Shettima, whose nomination was challenged as invalid by the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), was excited after the court said he was validly nominated, celebrating alongside Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, who chairs the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Mr Tinubu was absent in court on an official trip to a summit in India, as were petitioners Messrs Obi and Atiku, whose whereabouts were not immediately clear. Some of the allegations raised involved over-voting, compulsory 25 per cent in the FCT, invalid nomination of Mr Shettima as Mr Tinubu’s running mate, perjury charges on the account of Mr Tinubu’s false claim under oath that he did not obtain a foreign citizenship, and so on. The judges said they could not find evidence of gross ballot rigging and non-compliance with electoral guidelines. They also expunged all evidence against Mr Tinubu on the invalid nomination of his running mate and his perjury to the electoral commission, saying they were not appropriately filed. Petitioners are expected to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court to review the tribunal’s judgement for a final verdict.

  The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) has attributed the current power outage in parts of its franchise to the ongoing two-day warning strike led by organised labour, particularly the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). Mr. Emeka Ezeh, the Head of Corporate Communications at EEDC, stated this in a statement released in Enugu. EEDC stated that this strike has resulted in the shutdown of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) stations responsible for supplying power to its Injection Substations in certain areas of the South-East. Ezeh verified that the affected TCN stations include New Haven, Ohiya, and Egbu Transmission Stations. This situation has impacted the supply of electricity to customers in EEDC’s Ogui, Abakpa, Umuahia, Owerri, New Owerri, Orlu, and Mbaise districts, all of which are dependent on the affected TCN stations. EEDC assured that it would closely monitor the situation and provide timely updates regarding its operations and customer service during this challenging period. The company also expressed its understanding of the inconveniences faced by its valued customers and requested their patience and understanding.

  The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal, on Wednesday, said the Electoral Act 2022 does not contain a mandatory provision for the electronic transmission of election results. The five-member panel, headed by Justice Haruna Tsammani, emphasised that the sole technological requirement mandated for use by the Independent National Electoral Commission during elections is the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System. Regarding allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act, INEC Regulations and Guidelines, Justice Tsammani added that there is no indication in the regulations that BVAS must electronically transmit polling unit results. There is no provision for the electronic transmission of election results in the Electoral Act 2022. It is at best optional,” he said. Details later…

  The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal has declared that the Federal Capital Territory does not hold a higher status than other states in the country. Justice Haruna Tsammani, the lead judge of the five-man panel declared this during the tribunal’s sitting on Wednesday in Abuja. According to him, Section 134 (1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) stipulates that a presidential candidate must attain or score a majority of votes cast in a presidential election, where two or more candidates are involved, and at least 25% in two-thirds of the 36 States and FCT to meet the constitutional requirement to be declared as duly elected as President of Nigeria.

  The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, said the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, failed to prove that President Tinubu was convicted of drug-related charges in the United States of America. The five-man panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani ruled that no record of criminal arrest or conviction was established against Tinubu by the petitioners He said, “The petitioners failed to show evidence that the president was detained or convicted for any particular offence as alleged by the petitioners.” The justice clarified that the fine imposed on Tinubu by a United States court was over a civil forfeiture proceeding. This is even as the court held that both Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettma were qualified to have contested the last presidential election. Tsammani, while delivering judgment on the petition by Obi and LP, held that the fine imposed by the US court did not qualify as a fine for fraud or dishonesty provided in Section 137(1)(d) of the Constitution. Details later…

  The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal has affirmed the Independent National Electoral Commission’s discretion to determine the mode of election result transmission for the presidential election held on February 25, 2023. The five-member panel, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani, referred to Sections 52 and 65 of the Electoral Act 2022, which granted INEC the freedom to prescribe the method of transmitting election results during the poll. The Tribunal dismissed the petition filed by the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, which sought to annul the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress based on the alleged “failure” of INEC’s Results Viewing Portal to electronically upload election results in real-time. Details later…

  The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal, on Wednesday, rejected the European Union Election Observers Mission report on the 25 February presidential election tendered by Peter Obi and the Labour Party. The court said it rejected the report on the grounds that it was not tendered by an official of the body, which is the author and has custody of the document. The court also rejected the 18,088 blurred results sheets tendered by the petitioners on the grounds that they are not tied to any of the polling units to which the results referred to, and which the petitioners failed to specify in their petition. The PUNCH reports that the actual copy of the report was earlier tendered by Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party while prosecuting their petition before the tribunal.

  The Kogi State Election Petitions Tribunal has declared Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan of the Peoples Democratic Party as the winner of the Kogi Central Senatorial election held in February. It also invalidated the victory of Senator Abubakar Ohere of the All Progressives Congress. The Tribunal Chairman, Justice K. A. Orjiako, delivered the unanimous judgment of the three-man panel, revealing that Sen. Ohere’s results were inflated in nine polling units in the Ajaokuta Local Government Area. He added that the Independent National Electoral Commission reduced Natasha’s results in those areas and omitted the results of three other polling units meant for Natasha in the same LGA. Following the necessary corrections, the court declared Natasha as the winner of the election with 54,074 votes, surpassing Ohere, who garnered 51,291 votes. Details later…

  At the end of the three day Africa Climate Summit held at Nairobi Kenya, Africa attracted the sum of $23 billion as funding for its climate adaptation and resilience efforts. Making this known at the close of the summit, Kenya President William Ruto, said the fund is a collective effort from various stakeholders, including governments, the private sector, multilateral, banks and philanthropists. He said some of the good highlights “include a transformative partnership investing $16 million over two years in expanding grid access in rural Burundi”. “A $4.5 billion commitment from the UAE to boost renewable energy, substantial contribution from the European nations and significant investments from the private sector,” he said.

  Central African regional bloc, Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), has announced the suspension of Gabon’s membership. This came after General Oligui Nguema was sworn in as transitional president on Monday, consolidating his grip on power. Nguema led a coup last week that ousted Ali Bongo, who was declared winner of a controversial third term as president. President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who presided over the gathering of Central African leaders, expressed concerns about Gabon’s impact on regional peace, security and stability. Mbasogo, now 81 years old, has been at the helm of Equatorial Guinea since 1979. Much like Ali Bongo’s family in Gabon, the Obiang Nguema family has faced allegations of massive embezzlement of state resources and harsh repression of political opposition. Meanwhile, Zambia’s President, Hakainde Hichilema, warned potential coup plotters not to threaten the southern African nation’s democratic rule and stability. “To colleagues that think we are timid by being kind and that they can break the laws and entertain thoughts of illegal takeover of government, including undemocratic coup d’état, we are coming for you,” he said. In a related development, the Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, faulted recent incidences of military intervention in West and Central African countries, stressing that the military has no role to play in governance. Gbadebo, a retired military officer, said this while reacting to the coup in Niger Republic and Gabon, during an interactive session with newsmen, as part of activities marking his 80th birthday celebration, scheduled to start on Friday, September 8, 2023.