● For Team Tinubu, the Thrill of Victory
Nigeria’s presidential election tribunal ruled on Wednesday against a landmark election challenge against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by aggrieved parties.
Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, was declared the winner of the bitterly disputed election in February.
Tinubu’s supporters are agog with excitement whereas the opposition camps are crying foul.
On Sept. 6, the five-member panel of the tribunal picked holes in all petitions by the opposition seeking to overturn President Tinubu’s election.
“Some of the arguments are infantile and nauseating,” groused Dr Obiora Anichebe, who teaches philosophy at the University of Nigeria, in a WhatsApp message to TruthNigeria. “Anybody who is gloating about this blatant injustice must realize that it is a temporary gain,” Anichebe texted.
Cornelius Ojelabi, chairman of the Lagos State chapter of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), in a terse post on X, said, “We are quite satisfied with the judgement of the court. Congratulations, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.”
● For Obidients, the Agony of Defeat
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and a lesser-known political party, Allied Peoples Movement (APM) asked the court to overturn the presidential election, alleging irregularities.
The tribunal, nonetheless, dismissed all petitions, citing lack of merit. “Having found the three petitions to be devoid of merit, the petitions are hereby dismissed,” Justice Haruna Tsammani, the chairperson of the five-member panel ruled after a marathon hearing at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
Obiora Ifoh, LP’s national publicity secretary, said that the party’s decision is premised on the fact that “justice was not served and it did not reflect the law and the desire of the people.” Likewise, Debo Ologunagba, a spokesperson of the PDP, said that the judgement is “against reason, against the facts and evidence presented in court, against the relevant electoral laws, guidelines and regulations as well as the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”
Meanwhile, election challenges 5,000 miles away in Arizona, in the Southwest of the United States, may give resolve to some Labour Party die-hards. Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake who lost her election battle in November 2022 tweeted on Sept. 6: “HUGE: Court Rules Maricopa County VIOLATED Arizona Signature Verification Law.”
Lake added: “Following this ruling, I have the utmost confidence that we will win our lawsuit to review the early ballot signatures later this month.” https://twitter.com/highway_30/status/1699859147032867088?s=43&t=vtbFypzKM3eHSEOXZw362A
Myriad supporters of Labour Party candidate Peter Obi have expressed to TruthNigeria reporters their admiration for former President Donald Trump, who continues to challenge the result of the US election of 2020 and for his ardent supporters, including Kari Lake, who has continued her pursuit to have the Arizona gubernatorial election to be overturned.
● Labour Unions Declare Victory After Strike
The Nigerian Labour Congress, the top labour union in Africa’s most populous country, has directed all workers under it and affiliate unions to resume work today after a two-day warning strike to force the Nigerian government to negotiate a pay raise. The Labour group blamed Abuja for brutal removal of the fuel subsidies, and spiraling inflation linked to the crash of the Nigerian currency, the Naira, against the USD. The strike paralyzed the economy, caused loss of electric power and the closure of banks.
● Nigeria’s Rema Wins ‘African Artist of the Year’ Award in Atlanta
Nigerian male singer Rema won the ‘African Artist of the Year’ Headies award at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. on Sunday (Sept. 3), Headies Awards celebrate Pan-African and Afrobeats talent.
Rema was pitted against heavyweights such as Black Sherif from Ghana, Moroccan artist Marwa Loud, Diamond Platnumz from Tanzania and his Nigerian colleague, Burna Boy.
Apart from the ‘African Artist of the Year’ award, the 23-year-old also won the ‘Best Male Artist’ and ‘Digital Artist of the Year’ awards.
In addition, American singer Selena Gomez, who teamed up with Rema on the remix of the global hit ‘Calm Down’, won the ‘International Artist of the Year’, while Director K, who directed the music video for the ‘Calm Down’ remix, won the award for the ‘Best Music Video’.
● Police Arrest Suspected Killers of Missing Female Student
Police in Ado-Ekiti, the capital city of Ekiti State in Southwest Nigeria, are holding 10 suspects over the murder of Ms. Atanda Modupe Deborah, a 200-level nursing student of government-owned tertiary institution Federal University, Oye-Ekiti.
The police raid came after the school’s public relations officer, Foluso Ogunmodede announced Sept. 7 that the body of Deborah’s had been found after the student was declared missing on September 5.
According to multiple reports, Deborah’s body was found with her eyes missing – suggesting a case of kidnapping-murder for ritual-related motives. For decades Nigerian criminal gangs have murdered randomly selected victims for the purpose of removing body parts for use in magical rituals. A statement by the police said her body was found in a shallow grave at a distance of 30 meters from the Department of Nursing’s lecture hall. The school authorities have vacated students from the campus to assist the investigation.
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Ezinwanne Onwuka, an independent writer in Abuja, covers politics, culture and entertainment for TruthNigeria. She tweets on @OnwukaEzinwanne.
