As the National Assembly and state assemblies tribunals sitting in all the 36 states of the federation deliver more verdicts emanating from election petitions, no fewer than four senators and seven members of the House of Representatives have had their victories at the February 25, 2023 polls upturned.

And with more judgements likely to be delivered in the coming days, there could be more upsets that could see some lawmakers losing their seats unless they are able to reverse the judgements in the Court of Appeal.

Some prominent senators have however escaped the hammer of the tribunal judges including Ali Ndume, Ned Nwoko, Dave Umahi (now minister of works), all of the ruling All Progressives Congress and Aniekan Bassey of the People’s Democratic Party.

In Benue, the National and State Assemblies election petition tribunal sitting in Makurdi on Friday nullified the election of the senator representing Benue North East senatorial district, Emmanuel Udende of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and declared Gabriel Suswam of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the election.

The tribunal also directed the Independent National Electoral commision INEC to issue a new certificate of return to Gabriel Suswam as the winner of the the February 25th senatorial election.

The three man panel of judges presided over by Justice Ory Zik-Ikeorha while delivering judgment in a peition filed by the first petitioner, Gabriel Suswam, held that Suswam has proved allegations of over voting during the election beyond reasonable doubt.

According to Justice Zik- Ikeorha, the initial declaration by the INEC, Udende of APC polled 135,573 votes to defeat Gabriel Suswam of the PDP got 112,231 votes which with a difference of 23,322 votes.

She said, “the petitioner was able to established over voting in five local Government council areas of Vandeikya, Kwande, Ukum, Katsina-Ala and Ushongo in which Udende was allocated 51, 895 votes while Suswam had 21,229 votes.

After the deduction, Gabriel Suswam of the PDP scored 90,590 valid votes while Udende of the APC was left with 82,699 votes which is a difference of 7,920 votes and was declared the winner by the tribunal.

Justice Catherine Ogunsanya, presiding over the National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal in Asaba, Delta State, had on Thursday delivered a significant verdict affirming Senator Ned Nwoko as the winner of the 2023 Delta North senatorial election.

Senator Nwoko was the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 Delta North senatorial election.

He was declared elected by majority votes in the election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The petitions challenging Nwoko’s victory were separately filed by Him Peter Nwaoboshi, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), and Kennedy Kanma, the candidate of Labour Party (LP).

Both parties argued that the electoral process that brought Nwoko to victory was flawed.

Nwaoboshi contended that the election was invalid by reason of non-compliance with the provision of the Electoral Act 2022, with emphasis on improper accreditation of voters in polling units across the nine local government areas that made up the senatorial district.

Similarly, Kanma of Labour Party, argued that Nwoko of PDP was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election.

But in their separate responses, counsels to the respondents, Nwoko, PDP and INEC urged the tribunal to dismiss the case of the petitioner for lack of substance.

Delivering the unanimous judgement the tribunal, after a thorough examination of the evidence presented against Prince Ned Nwoko, the three-member tribunal, led by Justice Catherine Ogunsanya, ruled in favor of the defendant, Ned Nwoko.

The tribunal held that the petitioner failed woefully to prove his case, against the election of Senator Nwoko as he could not  tender before the tribunal any relevant document to prove a case of non compliance as contained in the petition.

The Senator representing Kogi East in the National Assembly, Jibrin Isah Echocho, who was earlier sacked, has expressed dissatisfaction with the judgement of the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Lokoja, which ordered for a supplementary election in 94 polling units with over 59,730 votes.

The tribunal chairman, Justice K.A. Orjiako, who delivered the judgement on the petition brought before it by Dr Victor Adoji, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), agreed with the prayers of Adoji.

Adoji, had through his counsel, Mr Johnson Usman (SAN), challenged the return of Jibrin Isah on the ground that elections were cancelled in some polling units where the PVCs collected were more than the margin of his (Echocho’s) win.

Also, in Kogi, the state tribunal had declared Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan of the opposition PDP as the winner of the February 25, 2023 senatorial election.

Justice K. A. Orjiako led the three-man panel in declaring that the results that gave victory to Abubakar Ohere were inflated in nine polling units of Ajaokuta Local Government Area (LGA).

The judges also said that votes of Natasha was reduced in the areas by the INEC in a number of polling units in the same LGA.

The judges thereafter declared Akpoti as the winner of the poll having polled 54,074 against Ohere (APC) who polled 51,291.

In Delta, the now sacked senator representing Delta South in the National Assembly, Joel-Onowakpo Thomas has expressed dissatisfaction with the tribunal judgment that ordered for a supplementary election in Warri South local government area.

While he has received the certified true copy of the judgement, the senator said there is sufficient grounds for appeal, which he is confident, will give him victory. He also has no plans to appeal but will instead let voters decide.

Meanwhile, Hon. Fred Agbedi, the PDP candidate for Sagbama/Ekeremor federal constituency in the February 25, 2023 House of Representatives in the general election, says he is ready for a supplementary election as ordered by the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Bayelsa.

The election tribunal had in Yenagoa on Thursday, nullified the Sagbama/Ekeremor federal constituency election contested by Michael Bless Olomu of the APC and Fred Agbedi of the PDP.

In its ruling, the tribunal ordered INEC to withdraw the certificate given to Agbedi and conduct a fresh election in 21 Polling Units in Sagbama local government area and 6 Polling Units in Wards 12 in Ekeremor local government area as 26,000 registered voters unlawfully excluded from the election.

Responding, Agbedi said, “For me as the party’s flag bearer, I am ready for the supplementary election, there is no appeal. That’s my personal decision. They said it is 26,000 votes, so we will go and harvest it.

“The court has given a judgement that in 90 days, go and conduct a supplementary election based on the 26,000 votes that are remaining. If you are a contestant, you prepare yourself to go for the contest.

“To all my supporters, I want all of them to remain calm, the PDP family should remain calm. We are ready to go for the election and victory is always sure”, he said.

Also, in Delta State the tribunal recently sacked a member of the House of Representatives, Ngozi Okolie representing Aniocha/Oshimili federal constituency on the platform of the Labour Party (LP).

Okolie defeated Ndudi Elumelu during the 25 February National Assembly elections.

Elumelu, in a petition against the results claimed Okolie’s nomination did not meet requirements of the relevant laws on the election.

This is just as the member representing Isiukwuato Umunneochi federal constituency of Abia State in the House of Representatives, Amobi Ogah has rejected the tribunal judgement which ordered his sack.

Sitting in Umuahia, the the tribunal on Wednesday nullified the election of Ogah of the Labour Party declaring Nkeiruka Onyejeocha of the APC as winner of the National Assembly election.

And in Enugu, the election tribunal nullified the election of the Labour Party’s candidate, Professor Sunday Nnamchi as a member of the House of Representatives for the Enugu East/Isi-Uzo Federal Constituency.

The petition was filed PDP candidate, Prince Cornelius Nnaji, who succeeded in getting the three-man panel of judges led by A. M. Abubakar to declare him the duly elected lawmaker of the election.

Nnaji had challenged the declaration of Nnamchi by INEC as the winner of the election because the respondent was not duly sponsored and qualified to contest under the Labour Party platform.

On August 24, the election of Seyi Sowunmi, also of the Labour Party, as the House of Representatives member for Ojo Federal Constituency in Lagos State was annulled by the election petition tribunal.

The three-man panel led by Justice Abdullahi Ozegya declared the candidate of the APC, Lanre Ogunyemi, as the duly elected candidate of the election conducted on February 25, 2023.

Ogunyemi, a two-term state lawmaker and former secretary of the APC in Lagos, had challenged the declaration of Sowunmi by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the election on the grounds that the respondent was not duly sponsored and qualified to contest the election under the candidacy of Labour Party for Ojo Federal Constituency.

And in one of the earliest verdicts delivered on the 2023 general elections, The National and State House of Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal in Kano, had a few weeks ago nullified the election victory of Muktar Umar Yerima, of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) as the House of Representatives member for Tarauni Federal Constituency.

Led by Justice I.P. Chima, the three-man panel reversed  Yerima’s victory over forgery of his primary school certificate, which had been submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Justice I.P. Chima, while delivering the tribunal’s decision, stated, “After a thorough examination of the evidence presented before us, it has been established beyond reasonable doubt that Muktar Umar Yerima submitted a forged primary school certificate to the INEC. This act disqualifies him from holding the position he was elected to.”

The petitioner in the case, Hafizu Kawu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), had challenged Yerima’s eligibility and presented evidence proving the forgery allegations.

The tribunal found in favour of Kawu, highlighting a compelling case of alleged forgery against Yerima. As a result, the tribunal determined that the NNPP had no legitimate candidate in the election and declared all the votes cast for Yerima as “wasted votes”.

[Leadership]

Diplomats, staff face eviction from homes, chancery, resort to borrowing

Missions should get allocation in foreign currencies, says ex-envoy

The Nigerian foreign missions are currently facing a financial crisis following the delay in the release of their capital and overhead votes by the Federal Government.

Saturday PUNCH learnt that the overhead vote for the second half of 2023 which should have been paid since June was still pending, putting the missions in a dire strait. 

Our correspondent reliably gathered that the diplomats and Foreign Service officers at the 109 Diplomatic Missions, which include 97 Embassies and 12 Consulates all over the world, are worried about the implication of the cash crunch on the operation of the missions and staff well-being.

Sources, who spoke to our correspondent on Friday, disclosed that many missions may not be able to meet their financial obligations to their staff members and local contractors in the coming weeks if the situation remains unchanged.

It was learnt that various financial obligations, including electricity, water, and sanitation bills, were already piling up.

Worried embassy staff members serving in Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world are reportedly sending distress messages to their colleagues at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.

A source said, “Overhead allocation to missions that ought to have been used for settling various utility bills, chancery rent, staff accommodation, electricity, sanitation, and water bills have not been paid by the Federal Government.

“The vote meant for the second half of the year ought to have been paid since June. Many missions have sent dispatches to the ministry but there was no response.”

This newspaper had reported the poor allocation to the diplomatic missions and the widespread complaints about the shortfall in budgetary votes which had severely hindered their operations.

 Early this year, our correspondent learnt that the MFA released $270,000 for personnel overhead to a mission in Asia for January to June.

However, Saturday PUNCH learnt that only $164,000 instead of $270, 000 was remitted to the mission for the second half of the year, representing a shortfall of 41 per cent.

Though the foreign affairs ministry did not give reasons for the shortfall, there were suggestions that the government must have based the remittance on the current exchange rate pegged at about N900 per dollar.

“The truth remains that Nigerian Missions are not properly funded but even the gross inadequate funds provided in the 2023 Budget is now affected by the new exchange rate policy of floating the naira introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria,” an official noted.

Explaining how the new forex rate had affected the remittance to the embassies, a diplomat said, “Missions that received $590, 000 and $383, 000 personnel allocation for the first half of the year were given $353,000 and $252,000, respectively, as personnel vote for the second half of the year.

“With the prevailing situation, most embassies may not be able to pay salaries and entitlements for officers, locally recruited staff members, and contractors or meet other financial obligations such as payment of rent and school fees for children, electricity, water, telephone, and security bills if the government continues to withhold the overhead and capital allocations.

“The implication is that if nothing is urgently done to salvage the situation, staff members of the embassies and consulates abroad would suffer financial embarrassment which would be inimical to the image of our country.”

Due to the inadequate overhead vote, most missions, it was gathered, usually divert the personnel vote to take care of staff accommodation and tuition for their children and wards.

A Foreign Service officer revealed that the FG had yet to pay the capital vote to his mission, noting that this had put the staff in a tight situation as they faced eviction from their landlords.

He explained that while some missions deal directly with the landlords, his mission preferred giving the money to the staff to pay their landlords.

Narrating his predicament on the phone, the FSO who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation said, “Staff accommodation rent and their children’s tuition were meant to be paid from the overhead vote but this has not been done because the government has failed to release the money.

“Some of us had to borrow money from friends and families in Nigeria so that our landlords would not evict us. We pay rent monthly, so we had to deposit 12 cheques to cover one year and the banks would credit the landlord monthly.

“But if you don’t have money in your account, the bank may report you to their regulatory agency because it is a criminal offence to issue a cheque without cash backing. Many of our staff members have been evicted for not paying their rent. It happened in Budapest, Hungary, in 2021 when some Nigerian staff members were evicted from their apartments for failing to pay their rent.

“There are cases where diplomats borrow money to settle school fees and rents to avoid eviction. Some borrow from their friends in Nigeria and also from the Nigerian community or the local churches they attend in their country of service.

“Some officials have returned to Nigeria, yet they have not been paid their rent. In some situations, the embassies pay directly to the landlords, and some landlords may evict the embassy staff for not paying. In most cases, people use their salaries to pay for accommodation to avoid any embarrassing action from their landlords.”

Continuing, he added, “Most embassy buildings are still in dilapidated conditions because of poor funding by the Federal Government. The overhead meant for July to September is yet to be released. The over $150,000 personnel allocation recently released to our diplomatic mission can’t cover expenses from now to October unless the government quickly responds.

“And now that ambassadors have been recalled, they may feast on the available funds. Some may want to use the money to celebrate their last Independence Day in office.”

An official complained that the government has also not been paying the relocation allowance to officials newly posted to foreign missions from the MFA headquarters.

“The relocation fund meant for newly posted staff called ‘first 28 days allowance’ has not been paid. Most chanceries which were rented risked eviction if the rents were not paid,” he cautioned.

In November 2020, when the Chairman, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in the 9th Assembly, Yusuf Yakubu, lamented the maltreatment of Nigerians abroad, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, blamed it on the poor funding of the foreign missions.

Onyeama said the small budgetary allocations were affecting their effectiveness in responding to the expansive structure of diplomatic services.

In the 2023 Budget, the ministry and the missions were allocated N98.11bn for their operations.

Of the total amount, N62.30bn was for personnel cost, N31.12bn for overhead cost, and N4.68bn for capital expenditure.

In 2022, the personnel cost for the ministry and the mission was N49.22bn with 98 per cent releases made to the ministry.

The sum of N23.01bn was for the overhead of which 58 per cent of the ministry’s component had been released and the mission had received 100 per cent.

Also, 50 per cent of the N7.61bn earmarked for capital expenditures had been received by the ministry and the missions.

The MFA in 2021 earmarked N65.1bn for foreign missions, which was 78 per cent of the ministry’s N83.4bn budget.

In the preceding year, about N62bn was initially earmarked in the ministry’s N75.4bn budget for 2020 but the vote was revised downwards to N60.2bn due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2019, the foreign missions’ allocation was N4.1bn out of the country’s proposed budget of N8.9trn, and in 2018, the foreign missions’ allocation was N11.3bn as the ministry proposed N83.3bn, a 13 per cent cut. At the time, the country’s budget proposal stood at N8.6trn.

Due to insufficient funds, the Federal Government announced it was shutting down its embassies in Sri Lanka, the Czech Republic, and the Republic of Serbia while another one was downsized.

When Saturday PUNCH contacted the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb Yusuf Tuggar, on the matter, his Special Adviser on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir, reached out and asked our correspondent to get across to him during the week.

“The Minister of Foreign Affairs sent me your message regarding this inquiry. You can reach me during the week for feedback on this,” Abdulkadir wrote in a message sent to our correspondent.

Also, the Permanent Secretary, Amb Adamu Lamuwa, and the spokesperson for the ministry, Francisca Omayuli, did not respond to phone calls and messages seeking their comment on the financial challenges facing the missions.

But a retired diplomat, Mr Rashid Akinkuolie, advised the government to denominate the missions’ budgetary allocation in dollars instead of naira, noting that this was the only way to resolve the issue.

[Punch]

Describing the financial crisis at the missions as a perennial issue, Akinkuolie said many officials and diplomats were often owed backlogs of salaries and other entitlements.

He said, “It is a perennial issue, it is not something that is just happening today. The problem is that their vote is converted to dollars, euros, pounds, and other foreign currencies and this causes devaluation and a lot of issues. Sometimes, they can’t pay salaries in two, or three months, they can’t pay utility bills, local workers and meet other responsibilities.

“The only way to address the issue is to pay them in foreign currency. The solution is that the vote should be denominated in dollars but where you use naira, you face problems. The salaries are fixed, and the cost of running the mission is fixed, so, the allocation to the mission shouldn’t be denominated in naira.

“The cost of running the headquarters should be in naira while the cost of running the missions should be in dollars so that the value would not come down.”

Meanwhile, speaking on Arise News TV recently, a former Minister of External Affairs, Prof Bolaji Akinyemi, also noted that Nigerian embassies were badly financed.

Speaking against the backdrop of the BRICS Summit in South Africa and the need for Nigeria to strengthen its foreign policy and engagements, he stated, “South Africa has got two of the superpowers (China and Russia) on its side. Now, they intend to use that to checkmate Nigeria. This is the time we are saying that we should close down embassies. Our embassies are badly financed.

“There are good people in that ministry (of Foreign Affairs) and there are good ambassadors, who are prepared to do their best, but you cannot clap with one hand; you cannot perform your functions when you are not properly financed. South Africa continues to open embassies, continues to provide food but we are the ones who continue to be our enemy.”

Manchester United’s Antony has been accused of assault by two more women who made the allegations in Brazilian media.

Ingrid Lana, 33, claims that the United winger shoved her head against a wall when she refused to have sex with him during a visit to his house in England last year. Rayssa de Freitas, a law student, is claimed to have approached police in São Paulo in May of last year, saying she had been physically assaulted by Antony in his car after leaving a nightclub.

The claims comes at the end of a week in which Antony was dropped from the Brazil squad over ongoing investigations into allegations of assault brought by the player’s former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin.

Lana is to give a full interview to Brazilian TV show Domingo Espetacular this weekend over an incident that allegedly took place last year. “He tried to have a relationship with me and I didn’t want to. He pushed me against the wall, and I hit my head”, she told the programme, according to excerpts posted on its website. “My purpose was just business. Arriving there, at his invitation, I realised that he had ulterior motives. I have never been anyone’s lover.”

Meanwhile, the Brazilian newspaper, Extra, has reported that De Freitas filed a complaint to police on 20 May 2022 claiming she had been physically assaulted by Antony and a woman.

According to Extra, which posts what it claims are copies of the police report, De Freitas claims she left a São Paulo nightclub with the pair in Antony’s car. A row then followed and De Freitas claims she was attacked first by the woman and then Antony, who was driving the car. De Freitas then reportedly escaped the vehicle at a traffic light.

Antony has yet to comment on the new allegations and has not been charged with any offence. He has dismissed the claims relating to Cavallin as “false allegations” and wrote on Instagram: “I can calmly state that the accusations are false and that the evidence already produced and the other evidence that will be produced demonstrate that I am innocent of the accusations made. My relationship with Gabriela was tumultuous, with verbal insults from both sides, but I never committed any physical aggression.”

United have not commented on the new allegations but earlier this week said of the Cavallin claims: “Manchester United acknowledges the allegations made against Antony and notes that the police are conducting enquiries. Pending further information, the club will be making no further comments.

“As a club we are taking this matter seriously, with consideration of the impact of these allegations and subsequent reporting will have on survivors of abuse.”

United have also described as “categorically false” reports in the Brazilian media that they sought to conceal an attack on Cavallin by arranging to have her treated by a club doctor rather than visiting a hospital.

The club confirmed that a member of staff arranged for a private doctor to visit Cavallin at Antony’s request, but denied that she was treated by any of the club’s medical staff. It is understood player welfare officials commonly arrange for private doctors to visit family members of playing staff if requested.

[uk.sports]

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk will miss his side's next Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers after being suspended for an extra game following his reaction to being sent off against Newcastle United last month.

The Dutch defender was also fined 100,000 pounds after admitting he acted in an improper manner, the Football Association said in a statement.

Van Dijk was sent off for fouling Alexander Isak during the first half and appeared to remonstrate with referee John Brooks before walking off the pitch.

"The defender admitted that he acted in an improper manner and used abusive and insulting words towards a match official after being sent off in the 29th minute, and the sanctions were subsequently imposed by an independent regulatory commission," said an FA statement.

He was automatically suspended for Liverpool's win against Aston Villa on Sept. 3.