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Ekiti election litmus test for APC ahead 2019: Odigie-Oyegun
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nan reports that oyegun had earlier on arrival made a stop-over at the party secretariat where he flagged-off the new membership registration exercise2 the national chairman of the all progressives congress apc chief john odigie oyegun on monday declared that the forthcoming july 14 2018 ekiti governorship election is a litmus test for the party ahead of the general election in 20192 oyegun made the remark in ado-ekiti during the kick-off of fresh membership registration drive of the apc in ekiti2 according to him the party will deploy every available resources to win the election and promised all the 33 apc governorship aspirants that the party would conduct a free fair and credible primary in the state2 he debunked the possibility of delegates list padding and other fraudulent practices that could vitiate the outcome of the may 5 primary2 he also assured that the national secretariat of the party did not have any favourite among the aspirants as being insinuated2 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that the state chairman of apc chief jide awe reportedly in hiding over an alleged murder case made a surprise appearance at the event2 nan reports that the ekiti state government had been after awe over his alleged complicity in the murder of juliana adewunmi and ayo jeje who were killed in erinjiyan ekiti on may 30 2014 during the administration of dr kayode fayemi2 oyegun hinted that the delegates list to conduct the primary had been compiled and would be made available to aspirants with good financial standing for verification2 we will work hard to ensure that ekiti returns to the progressives fold after the july 14 election2 though we are in power at the centre that doesnt mean we should not work hard2 president muhammadu buhari as you know will not rig or compromise or subvert the will of the electorate so we must work hard to deserve the victory that will come to us he said2 he said the party must therefore work very hard to win the state2 oyegun was received by party chieftains including the minister of mines and steel development dr kayode fayemi the deputy national chairman south chief segun oni and members of the state working committee2 other aspirants at the event included sen. gbenga aluko sen. ayo arise wole oluyede wole oluleye capt. sunday adebomi bimbo daramola dr mojisola yaya-kolade victor kolade mr kola alabi mr diran adesua dr bayo oriire and femi bamisile2 others like mr opeyemi bamidele sen. babafemi ojudu and mr.bamidele faparusi sent representatives2 we have got your demands and we are giving you assurances that there will be no imposition and that the primary shall be free fair and credible2 to all the aspirants you must not campaign as if there wont be tomorrow. dont campaign in a way that breeds enmity. i learnt that you are above 30 but the large number shouldnt be a source of problem2 let me say this clearly anybody who wants to fly the flag of our party must maintain decorum. we shall be fair to you as much as possible because there cant be peace when justice is denied2 we must not also have bad losers you must work with whomever the electors pick as their candidate during the primary2 all aspirants must ensure that there is no division before and after the primary. we are also barring members of swc from joining the bandwagon of campaign for any of the aspirants because this can cause further division he stated2 oyegun said the choice of ekiti to flag off the programme was strategic saying this conveyed a vivid and strong message of love for the people of the state especially with regards to the july poll2 i am happy with apc in ekiti with the level of mobilisation from our aspirants. you have shown that you are desirous to join the progressives fold. we didnt choose ekiti for the flag off of this programme by accident2 we have decided that this election is one that we will particularly work hard and leave no stone unturned because to us it is a must-win election he said2 -
Court stops NASS from overriding Buhari on Electoral Act
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ogbozor said they were served barely 48 hours and insisted that the matter cannot proceed1 the federal high court in abuja has ordered the national assembly to stopfurther action or proceeding on the electoral act amendment bill which president muhammadu buhari rejected1 the ruling is a sequel to an oral application made in a suit filed by the accord party against the national assembly the attorney general of the federation and the independent national electoral commission inec1 in the ruling the court ordered the parties to maintain status quo ante bellum1 all the parties are ordered to stay every proceeding pending the determination of the motion on notice filed by the accord party1 the accord party had approached the court with a motion seeking an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the national assembly from taking any further action or actions on the bill titled electoral act amendment bill 2018 particularly to convene to pass the said bill into law by two-thirds majority of its two chambers pending the final determination of the substantive originating summon1 counsel to the national assembly mr. chinelo ogbozor had resisted attempts made by counsel to the accord party mr. wole olanipekun to move his motion on notice seeking a restraining order against the national assembly on the grounds that the application was not ripe and pending the service of hearing notice on the agf1 the restraining order was issued on wednesday by justice ahmed mohammed of the high court1 in view of ogbozors opposition olanipekun urged the court for ogbozor to make an undertaking that the national assembly would not take any action on the subject matter but she refused1 though the court noted that the motion on notice was not ripe for hearing it however took notice of the oral application made by olanipekun brought in line with section 585 of constitution1 justice mohammed stated that the court is not granting the prayer contained on the motion paper but is making the preservative order to safeguard the integrity and sanctity of court1 consequently the court directed parties to maintain status quo ante bellum at least to the next adjournment1 the matter has been adjourned to march 20 for the hearing of the motion on notice filed by the plaintiff1 the accord party is seeking among other reliefs a declaration that the legislative powers vested in the national assembly by the constitution do not empower or imbue it with the right liberty or authority to pass or purport to pass any bill into law which attempts to interfere with or undermine the independence of the 3rd defendant as guaranteed by the content spirit and tenor of the constitution1 -
Olisa Metuh begs court again over treatment abroad
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mr. olisa metuh on a wheelchair stormed the federal high court sitting in abuja asking to be granted permission to travel abroad for medical treatment1 previous attempts to get the permission of the court to travel abroad for treatment was rebuffed1 at the resumed trial on wednesday the embattled former national publicity secretary of the people democratic party pdp informed the court through his counsel mr. emeka etiaba that his health was fast failing1 he said his health was failing due to spinal cord compression which requires a corrective surgery at a hospital in london1 the prosecutor mr. sylvanus tahir opposed the application on the ground that metuh had filed similar applications in the past which was not granted1 he added that the present application seeking permission to travel abroad did not provide sufficient materials before the court to enable the court grant his request1 the trial judge justice okon abang after listening to both counsels adjourned the case to march 15 2018. for the continuation of trial1 metuh is standing trial for alleged money laundering being part of the funds linked with former national security adviser colonel sambo dasuki rtd1 the economic and financial crimes commission efcc is prosecuting metuh and his company destra investments limited on a seven-count charge bordering on fraud and money laundering1 the alleged offences involved the sums of n400 million which the defendants allegedly received from the office of the national security adviser in 20141 -
Mossack Fonseca Panama Papers law firm shuts down
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mossack fonseca the law firm at the heart of the panama papers global tax evasion scandal that brought down two world leaders announced wednesday it would shut down operations citing negative press and what it called unwarranted action by authorities1 reputational deterioration the media campaign the financial consequences and irregular actions by some panamanian authorities have caused irreparable damage resulting in the total ceasing of public operations at the end of this month mossack fonseca said in a statement1 but it added a smaller group would continue working to address requests from authorities and other public and private groups1 last august co-founder jurgen mossack acknowledged the firm had closed most of its offices abroad after its damaged credibility caused business to flounder1 april 3 2016 marked the beginning of the panama papers scandal a leak of 11.5 million files from mossack fonsecas digital archive that revealed how wealthy and influential figures across the world had created offshore businesses to safeguard assets1 the information was obtained by german newspaper sueddeutsche zeitung who shared it with the international consortium of investigative journalists. it was released as a searchable database with revelations continuing to be unearthed to this day1 icelandic prime minister sigmundur david gunnlaugsson was forced to resign after it was revealed his family had offshore accounts while former pakistani prime minister nawaz sharif was disqualified for life from office after being implicated in the documents1 other figures implicated included former british premier david cameron football star lionel messi argentinas president mauricio macri spanish filmmaker pedro almodovar to name but a few1 at least 150 investigations were opened in 79 countries to examine possible tax evasion and money laundering according to the us-based center for public integrity1 -
US students march against powerful NRA, gun violence
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people are sick and tired of gun violence and the time is now for all of us together to stand up to the nra1 us students walked out of classrooms on wednesday to stage the largest grassroots protest against gun violence seen in years demanding action one month to the day after a deadly shooting rampage at a florida high school1 hundreds of teenagers from washington area schools gathered outside the white house holding up signs reading books not bullets and protect people not guns before marching on the us capitol1 we want to show congress and politicians we are not standing by we are not silent anymore said 17-year-old brenna levitan who was at the protest with her mother1 parkland is going to be the last school shooting1 students in dozens of other cities in all 50 states staged similar demonstrations and observed a moment of silence to honour the 14 students and three adult staff killed a month ago at marjory stoneman douglas high school in parkland florida1 in washington several hours after the protests broke up us lawmakers took their first significant step to address school gun violence since the parkland shooting1 the house of representatives voted 407-10 to fund violence prevention measures at schools including boosting security mental health screening and creating anonymous reporting systems so students can report threats1 but congress has yet to tackle the more controversial aspects of gun control demanded in the wake of the parkland shooting1 these include expanded background checks for gun sales a ban on assault weapons and raising the minimum age for some firearms purchases1 dressed in the schools maroon colors students at stoneman douglas visited memorials to their slain classmates and hugged and cried1 at a high school in cherry hill new jersey students marched to the football field and assembled in a heart formation to pay tribute to the victims1 in los angeles and other cities teenagers spelled out the protest slogan enough by lying down on the ground on sports fields1 in washington students were joined by democratic members of congress at the capitol1 speakers denounced the national rifle association nra the powerful us gun lobby and demanded that congress enact tougher laws on gun ownership1 you the young people of this country are leading the nation senator bernie sanders told the crowd1 the protest was staged from east to west fromwashington to los angeles1 in new york students many of whom wore orange the color of gun control walked out from more than 50 schools1 we want change and am i next they chanted1 press secretary for new york mayor bill de blasio eric phillips said just over 100000 students took part from the citys schools1 the national school walkout was intended to last for 17 minutes one for each victim1 but tens of thousands of students around the country decided to skip school entirely and protest instead1 at the white house 17-year-old farah parmah who goes to thomas wootton high school in rockville maryland said president donald trumps controversial proposal to arm and train teachers is just a bad bad idea1 gun violence has taken way too many lives this year said parmah who is 171 there should be no guns in schools1 white house spokesman raj shah said trump shares the students concerns about school safety1 meanwhile hillary clinton praised the students wednesday evening calling them an inspiration to millions of americans who know commonsense gun reform is long overdue1 the nationwide protest was held one month to the day after nikolas cruz a troubled 19-year-old former student at stoneman douglas unleashed a hail of gunfire on his one-time classmates1 cruz dressed in a red prison jumpsuit appeared in court in fort lauderdale on wednesday and a judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf1 his lawyers had said he would plead guilty in exchange for guarantees that he would not face execution but prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty1 the united states sees more than 30000 gun-related deaths annually and stoneman douglas students have spearheaded a national gun control campaign helping to force through a new law on age limits for gun purchasers in florida1 the us public supports tougher gun laws according to polls but there is little backing for meaningful reforms in the republican-controlled congress1
