The Lumine News

Category: Opinion

  • The Macabre Dance In Rivers State Reached A Crescendo BY OKOI OBONO-OBLA

    The Macabre Dance In Rivers State Reached A Crescendo BY OKOI OBONO-OBLA

    The macabre dance in Rivers State reached a Crescendo:

    It seems to me that the political crisis in the Rivers State branch of the Peoples Democratic Party between Governor Simi Fubara and former Governor, Honourable Nyesom Wike,has smothered, and the consequent eruption will possibly led to collapse of the executive and legislative branches of the Rivers State government.

    Already, the polarization between in the PDP has fragmented and factionalized the Rivers State House of Assembly into two antagonistic camps.

    27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly belonged to Nyesome Wike’s camp and two days ago in a darinh and deft politcal manoeuvring defected from the PDP and joined the APC.

    The Pro-Simi Fubara’s camp in the Rivers State House of Assembly is made up of only 4 members.

    On 13 December 2023, the purportedly to be a vacant.
    The seats of the 27 members that defected from PDP to APC were declared vacant by the four members Pro-Sim Fubara.

    However,pundits wondered how four members could take such a weighty decision when membership of the Rivers State House of Assembly is 31.

    The constitution says that the quorum of a State of Assembly is one-third of its membership.

    Therefore ,one-third of 31 members of the Rivers State House of Asssembly are 11 members.

    On 14 December 2023, the four members of the Pro-Sim Fubara’s camp purportedly convened and passed the budget for 2023/2024 financial year.

    The budget is a law.
    When a budget is passed
    It is otherwise known as the Appropriation.

    Section 121 (1) of the Constitution makes it mandatory for the Governor to cause to be prepared and laid before the House of Assembly at any time before the commencement of each financial year estimates of the revenues and expenditure of the State for the next following financial year.

    Therefore, the pertinent question is:
    Is it constitutional for only four members of a State House of Assembly to pass a law?
    Can a budget passed by 4 out of 31 members Rivers State House of Assembly (Appropriation law) survive a constitutional scrutiny for the passage of a bill into law as laid down by section 100 (1)& (2) of the Constitution?

    I certainly have my doubt.
    The affliction that has befallen the Rivers State has spread to the executive branch of government.

    On 14 December 2023, typically, of the scene in a movie, almost one-third of the members of the Rivers State Executive Council resigned their membership.

    It seemed to me that those who resigned from the Rivers Executive Council belonged to the Nyesom Wike’s group.

    Undoubtedly, there is a political cum constitutional crisis in Rivers State.
    This is the truth of the matter.
    It will take a sustained legal intervention to entangle and wriggle out of all the legal conundrums and labyrinths that crisis has caused.

    What has happened in Rivers State is reminiscing what happened in the old Western Region of Nigeria in 1962 when a crisis in the Action Group Party was the governing party triggered a constitutional crisis and politcal conflagration that led the Federal government to declare a state of emergency in the Western Region.

    The chicken has come home to roost!!
    Is history repeating itself?

    @ Okoi Obono-Obla

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Okoi Obono-Obla and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

  • The Cameroon-Ambazzonian War, And The Regional Impact On Mass Displacement And Insecurity In Nigeria, And The Call For Urgent Government Actions BY RICHARD INOYO

    The Cameroon-Ambazzonian War, And The Regional Impact On Mass Displacement And Insecurity In Nigeria, And The Call For Urgent Government Actions BY RICHARD INOYO

    The Cameroon-Ambazzonian War, And The Regional Impact On Mass Displacement And Insecurity In Nigeria, And The Call For Urgent Government Actions

    By Richard Inoyo
    December 12, 2023 | 09:36AM

    Understanding the conflict:

    The Cameroon-Ambazonian War also called the Anglophone Crisis by some writers, and the Ambazonia War or the Cameroonian Civil War by others have been ongoing for over 6years now.

    Chronically, it is an ongoing armed conflict between Cameroon Armed Forces and Ambazonian separatist rebel groups, part of the long-standing Anglophone-Francophone problem in Cameroon.

    Following the suppression of 2016–17 protests by Cameroonian authorities, separatists in the Anglophone regions (formerly collectively known as the Southern Cameroons) launched a guerrilla campaign and later proclaimed independence. Within two months, the government of Cameroon declared war on the separatists and sent its army into the Anglophone regions.

    Starting as a low-scale insurgency, the conflict spread to most parts of the Anglophone regions within a year. By the summer of 2019, the Cameroonian government took control of major cities and parts of the countryside, while the Ambazonian nationalists held parts of the countryside and regularly appeared in the major cities.

    Although, separatists have occasionally carried out raids into the neighboring Francophone regions of Littoral and West. Thousands of people have been killed in the war, and more than half a million have been forced to flee their homes.

    It is a public knowledge that Cameroonian government was supported by the Buhari administration in Nigeria, while at least one Ambazonian group is allied to Biafran separatists.

    Sadly, talks mediated by Switzerland in 2019 ultimately failed, and the Ambazonian leadership crisis has long complicated any diplomatic process.

    Separatist leaders who were extradited from Nigeria in 2018 were in 2019 handed life sentences by a military tribunal. Facing mounting international pressure for a global ceasefire, in July 2020, Cameroon began negotiating with these imprisoned leaders. The talks were held between Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe and other imprisoned leaders and representatives of the Cameroonian government. The talks outlined a series of conditions for the Cameroonian government to accept that Ayuk Tabe said would create an “enabling environment” for substantial negotiations to occur.

    These talks ultimately failed, and fighting has long continued and the impacts are now affecting neighboring State like Cross River State in Nigeria. Three Local Government Areas (Boki, Obanliku and Etung) in Nigeria have been on the receiving end of the spilling conflict especially as regards the destructions of villages, kidnapping and mass displacement of Nigerian citizens living in those Local Government Areas due to the actions of Ambazonian separatists who are now turning these local government areas to their attack launching Garrison and as revenue points to raise money for their war efforts.

    For instance, Obanliku, a Local Government Area in Cross River State (famous for its mountains), that is 207 miles from Calabar and 293 miles from Abuja has suffered heavily from the actions of Ambazonian separatist fighters who have long invaded their communities and turned same to military bases while terrorizing, killing, kidnapping the people and setting their villages ablaze. Pregnant women, children, elderly citizens, the disabled, the sick and injured have suffered unprecedentedly from the invasion and destruction of a community like Belegete in Obanliku by Ambazonian separatist fighters.

    The visible absence of the Nigerian Military to protect these communities is further endangering the besieged Local Government Areas, with tens of hundreds displaced from their ancestral homes and some people killed. We are yet to see the Cross River State House of Assembly even prioritizing or deliberating on these matters nor any Senator or House of Representatives Members interceding for the security and humanitarian actions a community like Belegete needs urgently. This is so sad as the people suffer ethnic cleansing and mass exodus in the hands of the occupying Ambazonian separatist fighters.

    Citizens’ Solution Network is calling on the Nigerian Government and the Cross River State Government to provide urgent security and humanitarian relief materials to Obanliku as several communities suffer from mass displacement and their decoupling from their farms and means of livelihoods. Children, Pregnant Women, Elderly Citizens and those injured need urgent medical support and humanitarian assistance because they desperately need it along with security of their communities so that they can return back. We don’t need to wait for hundreds to be slaughtered before the Nigerian government and its representing officials live up to the oath of protecting our people.

    We call on the Nigerian President_ Mr. Bola Admed Tinubu, and The Governor of Cross River State, Senator. Prince Bassey Otu to act and bring the needed assistance and security the people in Obanliku need urgently. We ask all Nigerians to do what they can to support humanitarian and medical efforts in ways they can.

    Thanks

    Signed

    Richard F Inoyo,
    Country Director,
    Citizens’ Solution Network

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Richard Inoyo and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

     

  • Why The Next Governor Of Kano State is Dr Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna BY OKOI OBONO-OBLA 

    Why The Next Governor Of Kano State is Dr Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna BY OKOI OBONO-OBLA 

     

    I always advised social media denizens or even people who don’t know the mechanics and intricacies of the law not to comment on it. issues concerning judgments of courts or law or election tribunals.

    But the age of techno apologies to Wole Soyinka has made it possible for everybody to become a lawyer and attempt to interpret judgments of courts even without reading them to digest the reasoning of the judges; to evaluate how they assess the evidence adduced by both parties during trial.

    After evaluating the evidence he put it into the mythical scale of justice he holds in his right to weight, and you see which side the scale tilts.

    After that, the judge will apply the law to those facts before he delivers his judgment.

    When you read the judgment of the tribunal and that of the court of Appeal and grasp it well you will see the predilection of politicians to be so desperate for power that most times they disregard rules, regulations and the law with recklessly abandoning all decency, all in a frenzied bid to grab power by all means.

    Then when they reach the cul de sac they expect judges to close their eyes to their murder of the law and proceed to use sentiments to wriggle them out.

    But judges are blind to public opinion sentiment and emotional outbursts of the social media mobbers.

    Governor Kabir Yusuf was a member of the PDP and a governorship aspirant in the party. Kano State.

    When it dawned on him that he would not grab the party ticket he recklessly and quickly made a volte-face and hurriedly joined the NNPP and grabbed its ticket.
    He didn’t know that APC political intelligence was scooping him to gather hard evidence against him.

    By the time Governor Yusuf was purportedly given a ticket by NNPP; the period prescribed by the Electoral Act for political parties to submit the list of their candidates to INEC had closed.

    What is the implication of all this?

    Simple; at the time Governor Kabir Yusuf purportedly joined NNPP and filed his nomination under its platform, he was not a member of the party.

    Membership in a political party is a must for anybody who wants to be a governor of a State and is indeed a fundamental constitutional requirement he must fulfil.

    Section 177 (1)(c) of the constitution makes it obligatory for someone to be a member of a political party that wants to sponsor his election.

    This is the provision of the constitution that Governor Kabir Yusuf NNPP brazenly and with ignominy breached which the Court of Appeal found against him.

    Governor Yusuf and NNPP had a bad case.
    Even at the Tribunal, they called one witness. This witness strangely told the Tribunal that it should use all the documents rendered by INEC to decide the case!!

    The documents tendered by INEC demonstrated that the results sheets were not stamped and signed by presiding officers at more than 16,000 polling stations.

    That will amount to a sheer waste of precious judicial time to appeal this judgment to the Supreme Court.

    The Supreme Court is an appellate court and ordinarily would not substitute its findings with those of the trial court and intermediate appellate court save in rare cases.

    The Supreme Court will not disregard the findings made by a trial court that hears the case, or observe the demeanour of the witnesses during cross-examination save in exceptional circumstances.

    I have not seen any exceptional. circumstances that will cause the Supreme Court to do otherwise in the case of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf & NNPP versus INEC & APC!
    Governor Kabir Yusuf and NNPP should just throw in the towel, period.

    @ Okoi Obono-Obla

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Okoi Obono-Obla and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

  • Save Our Souls: University of Calabar’s Unjust Tuition Hike Sparks Outcry BY OGAR EMMANUEL OKO

    Save Our Souls: University of Calabar’s Unjust Tuition Hike Sparks Outcry BY OGAR EMMANUEL OKO

    Save Our Souls: University of Calabar’s Unjust Tuition Hike Sparks Outcry

    In a shocking and frightening development that has echoed across the academic community, the University of Calabar’s administration, amidst a series of unfavorable policy changes, has opted to increase tuition fees by a staggering 200 percent. This surge has not only sparked widespread public criticism but has also placed the education of financially disadvantaged students in peril, leaving them grappling with the stark possibility of discontinuing their studies due to the astronomical fee hike.

    Education is a fundamental right, and the astronomical increment in tuition fees undermines the university’s commitment to providing accessible and affordable education. The management’s decision appears to disregard the socioeconomic realities faced by many students and their families in this biting ‘tinubuic’ economy.

    Students are protesting. Parents and guardians are alarmed. Concerned Nigerians are worried and disturbed. The protests at the university’s gate by concerned students are a poignant expression of the frustration and despair caused by this unilateral decision. It is a call for justice and fairness, a plea for the right to education without undue financial burden.

    It is imperative for the university’s management to reconsider this ill-timed decision in the interest of maintaining peace and order on the campus. The occupation of the university’s gate by protesting students serves as a stark reminder of the potential consequences of such a drastic and unpopular policy. The risk of escalating tensions leading to lawlessness is a road no educational institution should tread.

    This is not merely a matter of policy; it is a matter of social responsibility. The university has a duty to nurture an environment where learning flourishes, unencumbered by financial distress. A rollback of the tuition fees to their previous status is not just a demand for fairness; it is a plea for the preservation of the very essence of education.
    Undoubtedly, there is consensus that the Federal Government inadequately funds the university. Consequently, many inefficient and unscrupulous administrations resort to disproportionately raising tuition fees as a relentless and arbitrary strategy to alleviate the financial strain on the institution, employing draconian and unsympathetic measures to enforce these increases.

    In conclusion, we at the RABBIT PUNCH implore the University of Calabar’s management to heed the voices of the students and the broader community. Revert to the previous tuition fees to ensure that education remains a beacon of hope rather than a privilege reserved for a select few. The potential consequences of disregarding this call for justice are far-reaching, and it is in the best interest of all parties involved to find a solution that prioritizes the welfare of the students and upholds the principles of accessible education for all. If this humble solicitation is waved with the sleight, we shall be compelled to explore other measures under the precinct of the law to make this plea more louder and clearer.

    Comr. Ogar Emmanuel Oko
    RABBIT PUNCH

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Ogar Emmanuel Oko and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

  • Consider This Before You Hate… BY AGBA JALINGO 

    Consider This Before You Hate… BY AGBA JALINGO 

    Consider This Before You Hate…

    Hate is in part what keeps us going when our lives have been put on hold. Every time there are severe disruptions in our lives, the stronger the hate we have for everything around us. Hate avails a major form of catharsis for releasing, and providing relief from such repressed emotions.

    Hate is also an intense repulsion for something or someone, which falsely inflates the ego and makes one feel very superior and self-righteous against the thing or person who is hated. It makes the one hating, feels better, or so it seems.

    It is very important not to equally forget that hate is a very potent and mind consuming emotion. It is a mental poison that can contaminate your mind, rot your nervous system and depress your soul.

    If you suddenly set eyes on a thing or person you hate, the sudden surge of adrenalin into your entire system persists until that thing or person gets out of sight and mind. That sudden surge takes a huge adverse toll on your nervous and circulatory systems and even the brain.

    When you hate, you must also be strong enough to let people hate you back. Because the emotion and energy you give out is what you get in return. The aura of a hate-filled person attracts exactly what that person emits into his or her own magnetic field.

    So to balance this equation, we should accept that it is more liberating to let go of hateful emotions by deliberately practicing empathy. We may need to also reevaluate the circumstances that may have led us to hate that thing or person and work on overcoming the same. We should as well, reflect on what is our abiding fate if other things or persons keep hateful emotions against us. These will guide us back to the path of purposely reconciliation with ourselves.

    Yours sincerely,
    Citizen Agba Jalingo.

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Agba Jalingo and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

  • War On The Poor: Nigerian Political Leaders Firing Series Of Shots BY RICHARD INOYO 

    War On The Poor: Nigerian Political Leaders Firing Series Of Shots BY RICHARD INOYO 

    War On The Poor: Nigerian Political Leaders Firing Series of Shots

    By Richard Inoyo.
    4th December, 2023 | 1:40pm

    According to a recent statistics published by _United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)_ , “1 in 3 children across Nigeria are out of school children”. The revelation further showed that, “10.2 million of these out of school children exist at the primary level and 8.1 million at the junior secondary school (JSS) level1. Whereas, 12.4 million children never attended school and 5.9 million left school early.”

    The bulk of that last statistics left the Universities, Monotechnic and Polytechnics, and this is largely due to the socioeconomic condition in the country.

    What this means is that, Nigeria’s out of school children now account for 15% of the global population of all out of school children worldwide. What a feat on negative scale for a nation! That notwithstanding, the Federal Government through its yes-ma and yes-sir proxies are rolling out new policy to further worsen the Out of School Children Statistics of the Nation.

    Some months ago, University of Lagos rolled out new school fee hike that crossed into and above N100,000 per academic session, and when the students protested against the school fee hike, they were attacked by poor policemen, who were directed and dispersed to break the protest without any question at the front gate of UNILAG. Many of the armless students were shot at with teargas cannisters, arrested and locked up by the Lagos Police Force sent in by the School Authority under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Education.

    Just two days ago, the leadership of University of Calabar led by its Vice Chancellor, Mrs. Florence Obi joined the shameless community of leaders who once attended education when it was fairly affordable, but now turned around to ensure that university education becomes needlessly expensive and far more exorbitant for the poor to send their wards and children to tertiary education. As it stands today, the new school hike introduced by the Management of University of Calabar means that, parents and guardians have to raise between N110,000 and N155,000 to have their wards and children attend the university in the next session and that will be the fee from henceforth. Imagine family with three children in the university.

    There is no where on earth any sane leadership can rationalize this new attack on poor people and the calculated erosion of access to national education for Nigerian family. One is foist to ask, what is the essence of leadership, or national governance? Is it to make life miserable for the poor and rob them to feed the opulent appetite of miscreants in power?

    As absurd as this indefensible affront on access to education would sound, the university called it fee adjustment, how ridiculous can it get? Lest we forget in Finland and Cuba education is free up to Master’s Degree Level. You don’t pay a dime.

    At _Citizens’ Solution Network_ we know the snake behind this hike in school fee, it is the Federal Government led by Bola Tinubu, a president that took the first shot at poor Nigerians when he pronounced policy on the day of his inauguration that saw the rise in the cost of PMS to over N591 per liter and the concomitant astronomical rise in the prices of things nationwide. We know that he is behind this latest school hike with his fraudulent and empty call for student loans. And his belief and confident is that the Nigerian police, army, airforce, navy and their sister arm-bearing organisations in care of public firearms and ammunition will open life fire on poor students and Nigerians if they decide to resist the school fee hike through picketing and protest.

    My question therefore is this: “Is it what the Military and Paramilitary have been reduced to, to defend all affront against Nigerian citizens and to defend even the worst of evil policies against poor people struggling to even send their children to school amidst the excruciating economic pains that are all man-made?

    Activist communities like Citizens’ Solution Network and _Citizens’ Assembly_ have taken the path of civility and not arm struggle, by using civil means to call on all levels of government and all public institution leadership to bring to an end the unholy war they have clandestinely declared on poor Nigerians which is now in the open that is bleeding the country’s poor via man-made orchestrated inflation and hikes, which is seen to be causing needless hardship and unnecessary pains.

    It will be unfortunate if calls from civil organisations like mine isn’t heeded, because the alternative might see the emergence of a new generation of youths ready to die and willing to risk their lives invading military cantonment and armament centres to pick up public firearms and confront the judicial, legislative and executive mismanagement of the expectations citizens have.

    Now is the time to reverse this school fee hike, least the country build the groundwork for unprecedented development of unexpected reactions. A word is enough for the wise, we are all aware that the military and paramilitary combined will not be able to defeat the Nigerian people if things get out of hand. The country does not need to push its youthful citizens outside the education community to join new arm struggle based on socioeconomic freedom from the current political mismanagement of our resources, time and expectations. The suffering, the hikes, the pains are all man-made and can be reversed. Reverse it.

    Signed

    Richard Inoyo,
    Country Director,
    Citizens’ Solution Network

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Richard Inoyo and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

     

  • Helping Someone In Private And Ridiculing Them In The Public Is Not Just Wrong, It’s Inhumane BY IWASAM IGBONG

    Helping Someone In Private And Ridiculing Them In The Public Is Not Just Wrong, It’s Inhumane BY IWASAM IGBONG

    Helping someone in private and then ridiculing them in public is not just morally wrong, it’s inhumane. It goes against the fundamental principles of empathy, kindness, and treating others as we would like to be treated.

    When we extend a helping hand to someone in private, it reflects a compassionate and caring nature. However, turning around to mock or ridicule that person in public is a betrayal of trust and a stark contradiction to the values we should uphold as human beings.

    Treating others as we treat ourselves is a golden rule that transcends cultures and religions. It’s about understanding the shared human experience and recognizing that everyone deserves dignity and respect. When we help others, regardless of how small the gesture may be, we contribute to creating a more compassionate and supportive community.

    The benefits of being present to help others, even in modest ways, are numerous. It builds a sense of unity and fosters a culture of kindness. Small acts of kindness can have a ripple effect, inspiring others to pay it forward and creating a positive environment for everyone.

    Moreover, being kind without seeking publicity or recognition reflects genuine intentions. It’s about helping because it’s the right thing to do, not because it enhances one’s public image. This authenticity in kindness builds trust and fosters meaningful connections with those we help.

    On the flip side, if someone chooses not to offer assistance, that’s understandable. Not everyone can or wants to help in every situation. However, it becomes problematic when a person ridicules someone seeking help. Making someone feel less human or unworthy because of their circumstances is not just unkind; it’s a display of arrogance and a lack of empathy.

    Each person’s journey is unique, and circumstances can change for anyone. Nobody should be ridiculed for seeking help, as it takes courage to reach out. Instead of judgment, let’s foster a culture where people feel comfortable asking for assistance without fear of ridicule. Empathy and kindness create a society where everyone, regardless of their situation, feels valued and respected.

    Shalom

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, IWASAM IGBONG and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

     

  • Judge Others, Please Do… BY AGBA JALINGO 

    Judge Others, Please Do… BY AGBA JALINGO 

     

    I choose that headline deliberately because of one of the most quoted scriptures that I feel is also being manipulated and deliberately used to perpetuate hocus-pocus.

    It has become an alibi for impunity and a leeway for rascality, to promptly quote, Matthew 7:37 when folks don’t want their adverse doings to be scrutinized. But that scripture has two parts. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

    From my own understanding of that scripture, the only reason you shouldn’t judge others, is if you don’t want to be judged too or if your own acts are stinking or if you know your own actions can’t stand the test. And realistically, whether you judge or not, we will all be judged anyway.

    There is nowhere in the Bible where it is stated that judging others is bad. None. The emphasis is on “so that you will also not be judged.” The fear of being judged ourselves is what has made that scripture handy. In fact, Apostle Paul says in, 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 that: “It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.” New Living Translation (NLT).

    And in John’s Gospel, Chapter 7:24, it is written, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” Judging others was still not condemned. The condition for judging others here is that it must go beyond appearance to “good judgement.” The command did not forbid anyone from judging others. So I will wait for anyone to show me where the Bible condemns judging others. That a cliche has become popular or hackneyed, doesn’t make it always true.

    Open your mouth and judge who needs to be judged based on good judgement. Most people in the world are generally scared of being called to account, so everything that fits into that nonchalance is taken as a given. Don’t conform!

    Yours sincerely,
    Citizen Agba Jalingo.

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Agba Jalingo and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.

  • PDP’s Electoral Debacle In Plateau State: A Case Of Violent Non-fit Injuria BY OKOI OBONO-OBLA

    PDP’s Electoral Debacle In Plateau State: A Case Of Violent Non-fit Injuria BY OKOI OBONO-OBLA

     

    It is funny that Nigerian political parties don’t learn from precedents that the courts have laid down; on how they should manage and administer their affairs with decorum orderliness and in
    accordance with the dictates of the rule of law and due process.

    Why would the PDP brazenly disobey a court order issued by the High Court restraining a Caretaker Committee (which the court has declared illegal) from conducting primaries to nominate its candidates for the general election?

    The law is that a court order must be obeyed no matter how you feel about it.

    A court order stands till it is set aside by the court that issued or or an appellate court.

    The law also says that if a party disobeys a court order the court should shut its door against that party.

    The Consequences of the Refusal or Failure or Neglect of the PDP to obey a Court order that its Caretaker Committee should not conduct Primaries to nominate its candidates is what is responsible for the debacle that played out in Plateau State.

    You would recall that in 2019 the same scenario was enacted in Zamfara State when APC lost all its elected positions because the Party broke into two irreconcilable factions namely Abdul Aziz Yari and Senator Kabiru Marafa Factions.

    These two factions presented two lists of candidates to INEC and INEC became confused and consequently refused to accept the list from these two facts.

    The Abdul Aziz Yari faction had held its primary election.

    Subsequently, it was presented to the National Headquarters of APC a list of candidates elected from the primaries conducted but was refused.

    The Abdul Aziz faction forwarded the list to INEC which accepted it but refused to process it.

    INEC then used the sledgehammer on APC and banned APC from fielding a list of the names of its candidates for failure to comply with the deadlines stipulated by the Electoral Act.

    What ensued was the filing of different lawsuits by the two irrevocable factions of Zamfara State in different courts in a fight to finish posturing.

    The Abdul Aziz Yari faction filed an action at the Zamfara High Court challenging the decision of INEC to refuse the list of candidates submitted and the banning of the Party from participating in the general election.

    On the other, Senator Kabiru Marafa’s faction approached the Federal High Court to challenge the validity of the primaries conducted by the Abdul Aziz Yari faction.

    On 29 January 2019, the Zamfara High Court and the Federal High Court delivered their judgments.

    The Federal High Court held that the APC did not conduct a valid primary election.

    It ordered INEC not to accept the list of names submitted by INEC for the 2019 general elections.

    On the other hand, the Zamfara State High Court held that the primaries conducted by the Abdul Aziz Yari faction were valid and ordered INEC to accept the list of names submitted by it to enable it to participate in the 2019 general elections.

    Both parties filed appeal and counter-appeal concerning the two judgments delivered by the Federal High Court and Zamfara High Court respectively.

    On 21 February 2029, the Court of Appeal Abuja delivered its judgment and ordered INEC to accept the list of candidates presented by Abdul Aziz Yari’s faction.
    INEC complied with the Order issued by the Court of Appeal Abuja and allowed APC to participate in the general elections.

    This led to the emergence of Idris as the APC governorship candidate to face Bello Mutawalle of the PDP.

    Senator Kabiru Marafa’s faction of APC continued with its case at the Court of Appeal Sokoto.

    On 19 March 2019, the Court of Appeal Sokoto delivered its judgment nullifying the primaries conducted by Abdul Aziz Yari’s faction of APC.

    It also declared that all the election results won by candidates produced by the Abdul Aziz Yari faction in the 2019 general elections were invalid.

    The APC national headquarters in a panicky move filed an appeal in the Supreme Court seeking recognition of the judgment of the Zamfara State High Court in favour of the Abdul Aziz Yari faction.

    The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and held that the Primaries conducted by the APC Zamfara State were void.

    The Supreme Court further held the primaries conducted by the Abdul Aziz faction of APC Zamfara State were held in violation of the APC Constitution, the Electoral Act and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

    The Supreme Court held that all the votes cast by the electorate in Zamfara State for the Governorship, National and State Assemblies were wasted votes.

    The Supreme Court ordered that all the candidates presented by the Party that took second position in the general elections and met the required constitutional spread should be declared the winner.

    Consequently, INEC declared PDP candidates as the winner of the general election in Zamafara State and proceeded to issue certificates of recognition to them.

    This is how APC lost Xamfara State in the 2019 general elections.

    One would have thought the ugly and sad experience suffered by APC in 2019 would guide PDP when the confusion and lawlessness engulfed its Plateau State chapter in 2023.
    In this case who is to take the blame?
    Volenti non-fit injuria(to a willing person, it is not wrong).
    @ Okoi Obono-Obla

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Okoi Obono-Obla and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent 

  • Ibom Air Indefinite Suspension Of Flights To Calabar: Cross River Dealing With A Dangerously Envious Neighbour BY INYALI PETER 

    Ibom Air Indefinite Suspension Of Flights To Calabar: Cross River Dealing With A Dangerously Envious Neighbour BY INYALI PETER 

     

    About two months ago, I wrote about my suspicion that the trending issue of male genital organ disappearance that was trending in Calabar, capital city of Cross River State was a hoax and a demarketing strategy targeted at Carnival Calabar and indeed, Cross River State tourism at large.

    That no allegation was ever proven scientifically or police investigation, and couple with the fact that the noise about the issue reduced and gradually faded away after a few of us came out to question the authenticity of the issue has somewhat given credence to the suspicion that there was more to the issue than meets the eye.

    Away from the genital organ disappearance, in what looks like another strategy to fight the resurgence of Carnival Calabar and tourism under Gov. Bassey Otu’s administration, the Akwa Ibom State owned airline, Ibom Air, has shockingly suspended operation in Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar indefinitely for “operational reason”.

    Whatever the “operational reason ” may be, that the airline consider this period, barely nine days to the commencement of the Carnival Calabar, a 31-day non-stop international festival to shutdown operation to Calabar can not be a mere coincidence. This is the period that Cross River expects and, indeed, receives the highest number of visitors and tourists.

    Recall that Akwa Ibom State had copied Cross River and have introduced their own one month long festival, too, every December.

    Possibly, the Akwa Ibom State government was unimpressed with the decision of Governor Otu’s government to reintroduce the one month long festival. Under the immediate past administration, it was reduced to just a few days, and this allowed the Akwa Ibom owned to thrive.

    In what appears as an economic battle against its sister state, Ibom Air may have suspended its operation to discourage tourists from visiting Cross River for the events. It’s an open secret that the major roads to Cross River are in terrible condition, and to use the waterways, you must pass through Akwa Ibom. The only competitor the airline has, Airpeace is as unreliable as anything.

    Since the launch of Ibom Air, Calabar has been one of the biggest markets for the airline. Because of the unreliability of Airpeace, Ibom Air management, from the beginning decided to extort passengers coming to and fro Cross River by hiking the fare by almost 40% even when the distances between Uyo and Calabar from all its routes in the country are the same. Until the suspension, Ibom Air fare to Calabar was the most expensive across all its routes in Nigeria.

    Not satisfied with the extortion, they have now done the worst by suspending operation to Calabar possibly to push traffic to Akwa Ibom in this festive period.

    The truth is that, no matter what anyone would say or how much the Carnival Calabar had rettogressed in the past few years, the brand is still the biggest in Nigeria. With the vigour and commitment the current administration has shown towards reviving and making it better, Akwa Ibom State is obviously not happy because it sees the established brand as the biggest competitor to its upcoming brand.

    The Cross River State government must rise to this challenge by quickly negotiating with any reliable airline to start flying Calabar immediately even if it means that in the next one month, the government will pay for the differentials for empty seats, if there would be any.

    Also, the managers of the state owned aircraft should be mandated to commence flying Calabar even if it means that they would suspend any agreement regarding what they’re to remit to the state within this period.

    Finally, after this period, the state should ensure its airline and others are flying the Calabar routes consistently to break Ibom Air’s semi-monopoly.

    Akwa Ibom State and its institutions have not been fair to Cross River State. The state generally has not acted like a good neighbour and child. Even during the #EndSARS protest, it was alleged that the destruction of key infrastructures in Calabar was carried out by arsonists from our “neighbouring state”.

    While I encourage Cross River and its indigenes to continue to practice what the scripture says in Mathew 5:43-44 and Leviticus 18-19, the state must also be wary of the dangerous envy by its neighbours as captured in 1Peter 5:8.

    Inyali Peter, Ph.D

    Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Inyali Peter, and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.