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The governorship
aspirant of the Action Congress of Nigeria in Kwara State, Dele
Belgore, has alleged a plot by the PDP-led state government to arrest
some of his supporters.

In a statement
issued by the media aide to the politician, Rafiu Ajakaiye, he said the
plot is to “get the police to keep key ACN leaders out of circulation
ahead of the next elections.”

Meanwhile, Mr.
Belgore has urged the residents of the state to fast and pray on
Thursdays preceding the remaining elections, calling for the aversion
of violence and rigging plans.

Mr. Belgore, in a
media broadcast, said that “If Kwarans can do this for Nigeria and the
state, the election will be peaceful and the will of the voters shall
be ensured.”

The support group
of the party aspirant campaign, called MDB Support Group, through its
chairman, Saliu Ajibola Ajia, said in a statemen that the special
adviser on security to the state governor, Bukola Saraki, has written a
letter calling on the police to round up ACN leaders, especially those
from Asa, where the PDP alleges plan to also rig in the coming
elections.

“We are aware of
the grand design to railroad the police to arrest and detain our men in
Asa, whom the PDP fears could stand in the way of any rigging tactics
in the coming elections. For the avoidance of doubt, on April 4, 2011,
yesterday, the new SA Security to Governor Bukola, Usman Abdulkareem,
wrote the Commissioner of Police in Kwara State demanding that he
invites the following ACN chieftains for questioning.

“They are: Rahimi
Gidado of Adangba area; Hanafi Omo-Owo of Oloje; Memudu Turawa of Ile
Lanigan, Ipate Oloje; Jimoh Salami of Eyenkorin; Alhaji Issa Kewu
Repete of Alore Area; Obalowu Toyin of Oloje; Olaitan Oladimeji, also
of Oloje area; Wahab Yusuf Tode of Ode Alausa Area; and Bashir Gidado
of Adangba Area.

“We urge the police
and indeed all security agencies not to be wiling tools in the hands of
the PDP because that would not augur well for our democracy and
collective drive to change Nigeria for good,” Mr. Ajia said in the
statement.

Mr. Ajia also
warned the PDP to stop what he called the harassment and intimidation
of the party’s governorship flag bearer by spreading unsubstantiated
rumours against him and his team.

He alleged that PDP
wants to use the claims that the party is introducing violence into
Kwara politics through the peaceful protests it introduced last Monday.

When contacted on
the allegation, Dabo Ezekiel, the police spokesperson in the state,
said that he was not responding to whatever it was that they are doing,
claiming that they could say whatever they liked.

When he was asked
whether the police had anything against the party’s protest and
possibly want to take any issue on it, he said, “ours is just to
provide the security, that is all that I can tell you.”

The chief press secretary to the governor, Ma’mud Adebimpe, however, in an interview denounced any plan against the party.

The Court of Appeal
in Ibadan, on Wednesday, fixed April 19 for its ruling on an
application filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in a case that
will determine who is the governorship candidate of the party in the
state.

A former Minister
of Power and Steel, Wole Oyelese, Yekinni Adeojo, and a former deputy
governor of the state, Hazeem Gbolarunmi along with 38 others, had
challenged the selection of the state governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala and
others as candidates of the party in the ongoing general election.

They based their
objection on the allegation that the candidates were not properly
selected and so should not be allowed to fly the flags of the party
during the election.

The plaintiffs
prayed the court to restrain the party from presenting the names of the
candidates to the electoral body and also sought the order of court to
restrain the body from receiving the names.

Justice Jonathan
Shakarho of the Federal High Court granted the order, but later vacated
it. The vacation has also being challenged at the appeal court.

Now at the appellate court, the PDP filed an application, seeking a relief of the court to amend the records of the lower court.

Lateef Fagbemi,
lead counsel to the party, told the court on Wednesday that the record
provided by the lower court on what transpired during the proceedings
was incomplete, adding that the appeal could not be based on important
omission in the record.

Time for reckoning

He made reference
to an affidavit deposed to by Humphrey Orlu, the Director of Litigation
of the lower court, on behalf of Mr Shakharo where he said the judge
only recorded the arguments he considered relevant to the case while
the case lasted.

Mr Fagbemi faulted
the decision of the judge to consider his application for discharge of
the interim injunction relevant but not to add it in his record.

Consequently, he sought the relief of the court to use his own record to complement to the one provided by the lower court.

The governor’s lead
counsel, Richard Akinjide, aligned with Mr Fagbemi’s submission and
asked the court to grant the application.

In his submission,
however, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, lead counsel to the aggrieved PDP
members, said Mr Fagbemi was no longer a party to the appeal since his
notice of discontinuance had been filed and allowed in the lower court.

He noted that it is
not possible to have all things that transpired in court recorded by a
judge, saying the court was right to record only the relevant
submissions.

“The judge does not
also have to record argument or submission of a counsel that is no
longer a party to the case by virtue of Order 50, Rule 2,” he said.

Mr. Akeredolu said the supplementary record provided by Mr, Fagbemi could not be taken to mean a true record of the court.

The presiding justices – Stanley Alagoa, Sidi Bage and Joseph Ikyegh – adjourned till Tuesday to give their ruling.

Ahead of Saturday’s
presidential election, six presidential candidates on Wednesday
withdrew from the race and threw their weight behind President Goodluck
Jonathan, who is the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

The candidates who
stepped down for Mr Jonathan are Peter Nwagu of the African Democratic
Congress (ADC), Godwill Nnaji of the Better Nigeria progressive Party
(BNPP), Solomon Akpona of the Nigerian Mandate Progressive Party (NMDP)
and Batos Nwadike of the Peoples Mandate Party (PMP).

The others are
Lawson Igboanugo of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and the
candidate of the United National Party for Development (UNPD) who was
represented by his running mate, Galadima Samari.

At a joint news
conference at Legacy House, the campaign headquarters of Mr Jonathan in
Abuja, the six candidates said they were stepping down for the PDP
presidential flag bearer because he represents the vision of a strong
and united nation.

They also commended
Mr Jonathan for delivering on his promise to give Nigerians transparent
and credible polls as witnessed in last Saturday’s parliamentary
election, adding that they were sacrificing their ambitions for the
interest of the country, which they said is bigger than any individual.

Winning opinion poll

The announcement came as an SMS opinion poll put Mr Jonathan ahead of other candidates.

In the poll,
conducted by HALA Global Services Nigeria Limited, in collaboration
with N&D, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), FRCN, and Radio1, has
Mr Jonathan receiving the endorsement of 78 percent of Nigerians who
sent in messages. Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive
Change (CPC), Nuhu Ribadu of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and
Ibrahim Shekarau of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) shared the
remaining 22% among themselves.

The general manager
and head of marketing of HALA Global Services Nigeria Limited, Usman
Ahmed, said in Abuja that poll was conducted from 15th March, 2011 to
12th April, 2011.

Mr Ahmed, who did
not give the breakdown of the percentages, urged Nigerians who want to
know the facts and figures recorded in the SMS Opinion Poll to visit
the website: www.nextpresidentng.com.

No odd man

The presidential
candidates said they were impressed that Mr Jonathan has so far avoided
using abusive and inciting language all through the electioneering
campaign.

According to Mr
Igboanugo, Mr Jonathan is an embodiment of great ideas and “the
consequences of all he has been doing in the past month have been
marvellous for the unity of Nigerian.” He added that he is “keeping his
ambition in the cooler until Jonathan completes his tenure.” In his
withdrawal declaration, Mr Nwadike said he heeded the call of his
people that initially asked him to run for the presidency and that of
“Ohaneze Ndigbo” that every bonafide Igbo person should support the
presidential ambition of Jonathan.

“I cannot afford to
be an odd man out.” Mr Samari, who spoke on behalf of his principal,
called on northerners to jettison regional and divisive politics which
he alleged some candidates have been propagating and advised them to
cast their votes for the Jonathan/Sambo ticket on Saturday.

The chairman of the
Inter Party Relations Committee of the Presidential Campaign council of
the PDP, Ebenezer Babatope denied insinuations that the presidential
aspirants were induced with the sum of N5million each to withdraw from
the race.

Mr Babatope
insisted that the PDP has always tried to maintain close ties with
other political parties through an all inclusive government of national
unity, adding that the ruling party will continue to collaborate with
other parties and their candidates.

Group of 45

Meanwhile, 45 registered political parties, on Wednesday, endorsed Mr Jonathan.

Announcing their
decision at a joint press conference, the coalition of the political
parties led by the National Chairman of the Advanced Congress of
Democrats (ACD), Yusuf Yakubu, said their decision was based on their
“faith in President Jonathan and belief that he is the most capable of
all the candidates in the field.”

They said their
faith in the PDP candidate was strengthened by the conduct of the
National Assembly election, which they claim was free and fair.

“We salute President Jonathan for keeping his promise to ensure
free and credible elections in Nigeria, for creating the enabling
environment and providing all necessary support to INEC,” Mr Yakubu
said. “The tremendous success achieved last Saturday convinces us that
President Jonathan is the man to lead Nigeria to the promised land.”

The governor of
Ogun State, Gbenga Daniel, yesterday said he is retiring from public
service after the expiration of his term on May 29, 2011.

Mr. Daniel said he will join the Ogun State Chapter of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners immediately he leaves office.

“I am going to
become a pensioner effective from May 29 when our tenure expires,” the
governor said during his administration’s valedictory meeting with
pensioners held at June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta.

Mr Daniel, who
bagged the award of the ‘Pensioners Friendly Governor’ at the event,
said he had not found the past eight years as governor of the state an
easy job.

He, however, said he is satisfied his government did not make life difficult for pensioners.

“By the special
grace of God, till I handover May 29, whatever will make you happy I
will do. You have served the state, what left is for the state to serve
you, and since my assumption I paid pension regularly,’ Mr Daniel said.

The governor
pledged a new bus to pensioners’ union and assured members that he will
not leave any unpaid debt of pensioners when he leaves office next
month.

“I have said it, I
will not go leaving debt behind,” he said. “I want you elders to pray
for me to accomplish this. It is not easy to rule for eight years
without violence. I didn’t lie to you for eight years, so there is no
reason lying to you while leaving office.”

The Secretary of
the pensioners’ union, Bola Lawal, appealed to the governor to offset
the gratuity payments owed pensioners since October last year.

“It is on record
that you approved land for our secretariat, but I want to use this
opportunity to tell you that the last time gratuity paid was last year
September, so we appeal to you on this,’ Mr Lawal said.

With less than two
weeks until the state House of Assembly elections, a Federal High Court
in Benin yesterday ruled that the Edo State chapter of the Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN) illegally substituted the name of Kabiru
Adjoto, who won the party primaries for Akoko-Edo I on January 12,
2011, with that of the runner-up, Anslem Agbabi.

Mr Adjoto, who is
currently representing the constituency in the Edo Assembly, filed a
lawsuit challenging the party’s action, and INEC’s decision to accept
the name substitution. In his ruling, the presiding judge, Adamu Hobon,
said that the party violated the amended Electoral Act, and that his
judgment was based on his consideration of the lawmaker’s allegations,
contained in a 24-paragraph affidavit and written addresses on merit.

The judge added
that, in line with the relevant sections of the 2011 Electoral
Amendment Act, the ACN in Edo duly organised indirect party primaries
to elect candidates who would contest the 2011 general elections in all
of the senatorial, House of Representatives and State Assembly seats in
the state, on January 12 2011.

For the Akoko-Edo
constituency I state assembly seat, the judge affirmed that Mr Adjoto
was declared the winner, having scored the highest number of votes
cast. Consequently, his name, among others, was forwarded to the INEC
in a letter dated and signed on January 13, 2011 by Osaro Idah, the Edo
ACN State Secretary, the receipt of which was acknowledged on January
15, 2011 by the electoral umpire.

No just cause

Mr Hobon observed
that after the ACN informed INEC of Mr Adjoto’s candidacy, the only
approved rationale for substituting his name for another would be if he
died or wrote to withdraw his candidacy from the said election.

With neither of
these conditions met, Mr Hobon ruled that Mr Adjoto remains the valid
candidate of the ACN for the Akoko-Edo constituency I for the State
Assembly seat, and any contrary decision on the part of the ACN or INEC
is a violation of the Electoral Act. Further justifying his ruling, the
judge said that Mr Agbabi and INEC filed their counter affidavits and
written addresses against Mr Adjoto lawsuit too late and without the
leave of the court.

According to the
judge, Mr Agbabi filed counter affidavits and written addresses 11 days
too late, the ACN in Edo did same eight days too late while the INEC
filed 4 days late. None of the parties asked the court for an extension
of time. This action, he said, violated order 13 section 35, subsection
15 of the rules of court.

Reacting to the
ruling, counsel to the petitioner, Nosagie Peter Osifo, said that the
judgment of the court is “illuminating, as it corrects an apparent case
of injustice” against his client.

Mr Agbabi’s counsel, Emmanuel Usoh, said they will appeal the ruling once they receive copies of the judgment from the court.

An Oyo State High
Court will today, give verdict on the suit filed by 11 retired judges
of the state high court against the state government over its refusal
to pay their gratuity severances.

The judge, Muktar
Ladi Abimbola fixed the date after counsels to parties in the matter
adopted their briefs in court on Wednesday.

The claimants
comprise of three Chief Judges, two acting Chief Judges and six other
retired judges, who served in the state’s judiciary before retirement.

They accused the
governor, Adebayo Alao Akala and the state Attorney-General, also
joined in the suit, of consciously denying them the right to their
lawful entitlements in contravention of provisions of the 1999
constitution, Certain Political Public and Judicial Office Holder
(Salaries and Allowances) Act 2002 and the amended Act 2008.

They wanted the
court to determine whether the state has the right to withhold their
pay after working for it before retiring meritoriously.

At its sitting last
week Tuesday, the court adjourned till yesterday for definite hearing
to allow counsel to the litigants respond to fresh processes that arose.

But the
government’s lawyer, Abdulahi Olawale, a principal legal officer in the
state ministry of justice, almost swayed the sitting as he sought
another adjournment to allow the state government find out from Abuja,
if it indeed, is its responsibility to pay the retired judges.

The government, in
a counter-affidavit to an application from the retired judicial
officers, posited that it is not the responsibility of the state
government to pay.

That was also the
line of argument of Mr Olawale on Wednesday when he rose to adopt its
defence to the applications from the claimants.

Reacting to the
many evidences of payment from some sister states in the country and
the correspondences from the National Judicial Council (NJC) directing
that retired justices from states high courts receive their severance
pay from the respective states where they served, the government’s
counsel said the law was not really specific on the matter.

The claimants
attached the documents to their applications to reinforce their
argument and establish the extent they have gone to guide the state
government appropriately.

Lasun Sanusi
(SAN), who represented the retired judges, however, did not see any
sense in the government’s arguments, liking it to a scenario where a
man is directing someone who works for him to go and get the pay from
his father.

Sue the federal government

He was reacting to
the argument that since the law permits Revenue Mobilisation And Fiscal
Allocation Commission to remove salaries and allowances of serving
judicial officers from source before their employers get their
allocations, the government expects that such will be applicable to the
severance gratuities.

The state
government also contended that the claimants sued the wrong persons by
dragging the governor and the state Attorney-General before the court
over the matter.

It said they
should have sued the NJC and the state Chief Judge instead, as
according to the lawyer, it is the NJC that directed the payment and
the directives were addressed to heads of courts across the federation.

Besides, the government wants the court to decline jurisdiction over the matter.

Responding, Mr.
Sanusi said the government had all the evidence to make it admit
liability to pay the money but chose to ignore the available facts.

He described the
government’s objections to the claimants’ submission as frivolous,
misconceived, unreasonable, unmeritorious and absurd, asking the court
to set it aside and allow the applicants’ processes to stand.

The judge will be giving his judgement today (Thursday).

Life in Cote
d’Ivoire’s main city Abidjan was slowly returning to a normality of
sorts this Wednesday, despite continued violence in some neighbourhoods
two days after the capture of former leader Laurent Gbagbo.

A Reuters
journalist said some petrol stations had reopened, communal taxis were
running and people cautiously ventured out in the streets after
Gbagbo’s arrest on Monday ended a bloody power struggle with
presidential rival Alassane Ouattara.

Running water and
electricity that was cut off due to 10 days of fierce fighting for
control of the city have been restored to most neighbourhoods,
residents said.

“Life is gradually
returning to normal, shops have reopened as well as pharmacies,” said
Mariam Kone in the southern district of Koumassi.“At night though,
there is still shooting by those who have weapons. They are not happy
at all that Gbagbo’s gone.”

Gbagbo’s capture by
Ouattara’s fighters, aided by French forces in the former colony, drew
a line under a four-month political standoff that descended into
all-out conflict, with thousands killed, more than a million uprooted
and the economy of the once shining star of the West African region in
tatters. The arrest left Ouattara, the internationally recognised
winner of last November’s presidential election, as the sole leader in
the world’s largest cocoa grower, although analysts say it may not be
enough to stop the violence and heal deep wounds.

In a boost to his
legitimacy, Gbagbo’s former army chiefs pledged allegiance to Ouattara
at an official ceremony on Tuesday where words like “forgiveness” and
“reconciliation” were repeated frequently.

Philippe Mangou,
Gbagbo’s former army chief of staff, called on all soldiers to report
to their bases on Wednesday morning and start serving under the
Republican Forces of Ivory Coast — the name of Ouattara’s army.

The EU, France and
the World Bank pledged financial aid to restore stability, rebuild a
shattered economy and repair badly damaged infrastructure. U.S.
President Barack Obama called Ouattara to offer his support.

Gunfire

Some parts of Abidjan however were still unsafe. In the pro-Gbagbo neighbourhood of Yopougon, gunfire was heard on Wednesday.

“There is still a
lot of sub-machine gun fire and we don’t know who is doing the
shooting,” said resident Stella Gogo. “There are a few cars circulating
and people are walking in the streets. Markets are open but foodstuff
is very expensive.”

Another resident,
Justin Behan, said: “The youth militias still have weapons. We hear
shooting every day, so we are too frghtened to go out.”

Abidjan’s port was
still shut down, as were banks and the Western Union money transfer
service, with many residents reporting an acute shortage of cash to buy
food. The United Nations and the European Union urged Ouattara to form
a national unity government to put country back on track and heal
divisions, which have been exacerbated by ethnic and religious tensions.

After his capture,
Gbagbo was taken to Ouattara’s Golf Hotel headquarters in Abidjan but
his whereabouts on Wednesday were unclear. A U.N. spokesman said on
Tuesday that he was still at the hotel, retracting an earlier statement
that he had been moved to a secure location out of Abidjan. Foreign
journalists at the Golf Hotel, however, said Gbagbo was no longer
there, quoting hotel security staff.

Ouattara has called
on Ivoriens to refrain from reprisals and violence, calling for “a new
era of hope”. However, Amnesty International said on Tuesday that
despite Ouattara’s call, people perceived as being Gbagbo supporters
were at risk of violent reprisals.

“Today in Abidjan, armed men, some wearing military uniforms, have
been conducting house-to-house searches in neighbourhoods where real or
perceived supporters of Laurent Gbagbo are living,” the rights
organisation said.

Political parties have begun compiling evidence of rigging for use in courts following last Saturday’s parliamentary election.

At a meeting of the National Executive Councils of
the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Congress for Progressive
Change (CPC), held in Abuja yesterday, the parties examined evidence so
far gathered from the irregularities in the elections. Most of the
documents and video material came from the northern part of the
country. One of such evidence, allegedly obtained from a polling unit
in a secondary school in Kebbi State, was the abandoned stub of used
voting sheets which was supposed to be returned to the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC). “It was all thumb printed for the
PDP by minors,” said a source who was at the meeting. “You could see
how tiny their prints are.” NEXT has reported cases of minors voting in
such northern states like Kaduna and Katsina. In River State, where the
ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) swept the polls, the ACN chairman
in the state, Uche Okwukwu said: “There were no results sheets in many
areas of the state such as Khana, Degema, Gokana, Tai, Oyigbo,
Obio/Akpor, Opobo/Nkoro, Onelga, and Andoni.” Although Muhammadu
Buhari, the presidential candidate of the CPC, has repeatedly said that
he will not go to court if he loses election, the other candidates of
the party are under no such compulsion. Otonye Briggs, who is the CPC
governorship candidate in River State, said his party was denied
opportunity to fully participate in the elections and would therefore
be seeking redress in court. Mohammed Dele Belgore, the Kwara State
governorship candidate of ACN, who led a protest rally rejecting the
results of last week’s election in the state, had vowed that: “We will
restore this mandate through the legal means.”

Angry youth in Niger yesterday started a riot following the death of 18 people in a gory motor accident.

The rioters were
furious that the grains trailer, which was unmoved since breaking down
along the Abuja/ Kaduna expressway over 10 days ago, was allowed to
remain there until an 18-seater bus, bound to Kaduna from Lagos, ran
into it yesterday morning, killing all the people on board.

According to
eyewitnesses, the youth chased off police and federal road safety corps
officials and burnt down the Corp’s office in Sabon Wuse, Niger State.
A police patrol vehicle was also burnt in the fracas.

The accident
occurred at around 3 a.m opposite the Government Girls Secondary School
Tafa, Sabon Wuse, and no one could be rescued when the bus caught fire.

The Police Public
Relations Officer in the state, Richard Adamu Oguche said, “The police
ran to the scene but because the fire was too much, my men could do
nothing.”

Mob action

By the time
officers of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) came around to
remove the bus from under the trailer, a mob had gathered. The youth
began to insult the road marshals who initially responded in kind until
the matter turned violent and the officials had to run from the scene.

The mob gave chase
and when a police patrol team also tried to intervene, the youth
reportedly attacked the policemen who abandoned their vehicle and
hightailed it out of there. The vehicle was burnt down as was the FRSC
office.

Traffic along the
Abuja–Kaduna road was stopped for the best part of two hours as the
mob took over the highway. The police had to send in reinforcement to
quell the riots before travellers could finally pass.

The incident caused an Internet scare after several messages were
broadcast to many Nigerians warning them of a riot along the road.

At least one person
was confirmed dead and another left in a coma when students of Ibadan
City Academy, Eleta and Community Grammar School, Kudeti, both in
Ibadan, engaged in a free-for-all yesterday.

The fracas left
several people, including a school gateman injured, while eight
vehicles in the premises of Community Grammar School and seven others
at Yejide Girls Grammar School were damaged.

NEXT gathered that
the fight had started since Monday when some students of Ibadan City
Academy unleashed violence on Community Grammar School, Kudeti,
injuring some students in the process.

As a result, a
female student from the Community Grammar School reportedly invited the
hoodlums from Popo area for a reprisal attack.

The hoodlums were said to have arrived at the school around 11.30am, demanding to see the school principal.

A report confirmed
that the crisis was arrested by the police who came to the scene upon
invitation and apprehended three of the miscreants that followed the
students to the school and took them to Sanyo police station.

In the course of
interrogation, the police were said to have discovered a list from one
of the hoodlums where names of students marked down for attack were
scribbled.

The arrest and
interrogation were, however, said to have ignited a fresh crisis
yesterday. Students of Ibadan City Academy, in company of a number of
hoodlums from Popoyemoja, again swooped on the school students who were
just finishing their Biology practical examination.

Lucky school principals

The miscreants were
mobilized in a convoy of motorbikes and caught both teachers and
students of the school unawares. According to an eyewitness, they threw
stones and used dangerous weapons to attack students, teachers and
other staff of the school.

Besides beating one
of the gatemen silly, five vehicles belonging to the school principal
and teachers were vandalised during the clash and some others
vandalized.

As at yesterday,
police had arrested seven people, including two female students
believed to be girlfriends to the hoodlums. Residents of the area also
suffered some loss as their properties worth several millions of naira
were damaged.

Only the prompt
intervention of police team saved the duo of Messrs Gbadebo Akinlolu
and Olagoke (principals of the two schools in the premises) from being
burnt to death by the hoodlums, who set their offices ablaze with
disused tyres.

One of the miscreants was equally stabbed in the armpit and belly
and was said to have bled to death in a drainage near the scene of the
fight and his corpse was later picked up by the police.