Good morning Nigeria, welcome to the Editor roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Tuesday, 24th October 2023.
1. Supreme Court Adjourns PDP, LP Appeals Challenging Tinubu’s Victory
The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the appeals challenging the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the February 25 election.
Naija News recalls that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the election, but Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alongside Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP) rejected the result and headed for the court.
The duo challenged the election result alongside the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) candidate, but the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal struck out their appeals.
Unsatisfied with the PEPT judgement, the three political parties filed appeals at the Supreme Court, which heard the matter on Monday.
However, APM on Monday announced the withdrawal of its appeal during the proceedings at the apex court while PDP and LP continued with their cases.
Following the withdrawal, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal for lack of merit.
In dismissing the appeal, members of the Supreme Court panel noted that it was a frivolous case because the apex court, in an earlier case of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) v. INEC and others, resolved the issue that Shettima was properly nominated.
The 7-member panel led by Justice John Okoro however adjourned the matter of the PDP and LP after the arguments of lawyers of the respective parties.
The judgment date would be communicated to the parties involved.
2. Tinubu Announces New Date To Commence Payment Of Student Loan Scheme
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced that the Student Loan Scheme payment will commence in January 2024.
Naija News reports that Tinubu gave the assurance on Monday while speaking at the 29th edition of the annual Nigerian Economic Summit, anchored by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
He also reiterated that his administration will end industrial actions in the nation’s academic environment.
Speaking on plans to stabilise the economy, with the collaboration of all stakeholders, especially the private sector, Tinubu stressed the need to immediately initiate a sustainable credit scheme, which he said would aid an effective anti-corruption campaign.
3. Nigeria Wins $11bn P&ID Case In UK Court
Justice Robin Knowles of the Commercial Courts of England and Wales has ruled in favour of Nigeria and quashed the enforcement of the $11 billion arbitration award in favour of Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) Ltd.
The judge, in a ruling delivered by email on Monday, upheld Nigeria’s prayer on the ground that the ill-fated gas processing contract was obtained by fraud.
Recall that P&ID had entered into an agreement with Nigeria in 2010 to build a gas processing plant in Calabar, Cross River state, but the company said the deal collapsed because the Nigerian government did not fulfil its end of the bargain.
Claiming Nigeria breached the terms of the contract, P&ID took a legal recourse and secured an arbitral award against the country.
4. Supreme Court Receives Conflicting Letters From Chicago Varsity On Tinubu’s Certificate
The Supreme Court, on Monday, stated that there are conflicting letters from the Chicago State University (CSU) on the certificate of President Bola Tinubu.
Naija News reports that the Chairman of the seven-member panel of the apex court, Justice John Okoro, stated this during the hearing of the application of the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, filed against the victory of President Bola Tinubu.
Justice Okoro said one of the letters is authenticating the President’s certificate and another discrediting it.
The lead justice of the panel, therefore, said criminal matters have to be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
5. President Tinubu Vows To Clear All Forex Backlog
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared that his administration will clear the foreign exchange contracts backlog, which is discouraging investors’ confidence in the country.
Naija News reports that the Nigerian leader made the declaration on Monday while speaking at the ongoing Nigeria Economic Summit #NES29 in Abuja.
Tinubu also assured that Nigeria will honour all future Foreign exchange contracts.
“All foreign exchange future contracts will be honoured by this government. I assure you we have a line of sight to the foreign exchange we need to refloat this economy. And we will get it,” Tinubu said.
6. Supreme Court Dismisses Adeyemi’s Appeal Against Ododo, Orders Payment Of N2 Million
The Supreme Court, on Monday, dismissed the appeal by Senator Smart Adeyemi against the judgment of the lower courts, on the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election in Kogi State.
Adeyemi had filed a suit at the Federal High Court seeking to nullify the primary election of the APC which produced Usman Ododo as the party’s candidate for the forthcoming Kogi governorship election.
Adeyemi’s case was, however, dismissed by both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal for lacking in merit. The Senator then filed an appeal before the apex court.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Monday by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the court held that the appeal lacked merit, having failed to challenge the concurrent findings of both the High and Appeal courts or demonstrate that the same were perverse.
The apex court also held that the two issues raised in the appellant’s brief were unreasonable, vexatious, not triable, and against the provisions of Sections 132 and 133(1) of the Evidence Act 2011.
The apex court, therefore, ordered that the sum of N1m be paid to the first and third respondents in the matter.
7. Tinubu Files Motion To Stop FBI, IRS From Releasing Confidential Files
President Bola Tinubu has filed a motion to stop the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other federal agencies from releasing documents relating to him.
Recall that the FBI had said it was planning to release confidential documents relating to President Tinubu in their databases before the end of October to Aaron Greenspan, the proprietor of PlainSite, a website that pushes anti-corruption and transparency in public service.
One of Tinubu’s lawyers in the United States, Bryan A. Carey filed the motion dated Monday, October 23, 2023, to stop the two federal agencies from releasing some confidential information to the public.
Tinubu’s lawyer informed the court that the defendants, the FBI and IRS, didn’t have his interests in mind because the documents requested by the plaintiff, Greenspan, included the President’s private documents, some of which are protected by the law.
Specifically, Tinubu pleaded that he would be “adversely affected” should the U.S. Court for the Northern District of Columbia in Washington D.C. deny his motion to intervene in the matter.
8. Lagos Govt Shut Down Alaba Market, Others
The Lagos State government has shut down the Alaba International Market over poor waste disposal, failure to pay waste bills, and gross environmental sanitation offences.
The Commissioner for Environment, Tokunbo Wahab via his official X formerly Twitter account on Monday, made this known.
According to the commissioner, the sealing of the popular market in Lagos was supervised by the operatives of the Nigerian police in the state.
According to him, the sealing of the foremost electronics products market was as a result of their inability to comply with the state’s government laws on proper waste disposal and other environmental practices.
9. Tinubu Reacts As Nigeria Wins $11 Billion P&ID Case
President Bola Tinubu has applauded the court ruling, which awarded a landmark victory to the Federal Government of Nigeria over Process & Industrial Development (P&ID) Limited.
Naija News reported that Judge Robin Knowles of the Business and Property Court in London ruled in favour of Nigeria and quashed the enforcement of the $11 billion arbitration award in favour of P&ID.
Following the landmark ruling, President Tinubu, in a statement on Monday by his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, commended the UK Court for prioritizing the merits of the case above all other considerations.
He said the ruling has proved conclusively that nation-states will no longer be held hostage by economic conspiracies between private firms and solitarily corrupt officials.
President Tinubu added that today’s victory is not for Nigeria alone, but a victory for the long-exploited African continent and for the developing world at large.
10. It Is No Longer Business As Usual, Do Something Before Nigeria Dies – Pat Utomi To Tinubu, NASS
Renowned professor of political economy, Pat Utomi has called on the political class to change its approach in maneuvering the economy or the country would die.
Utomi lamented that Nigeria is facing unprecedented inflation amid a decline in the naira to the dollar.
Speaking in an interview on Arise TV on Monday, the elder statesman asserted that the situation is no longer business as usual and the national assembly must take proactive measures to save the nation from further decline.
Speaking further, he insisted that the country must cut costs, as no one will ever take Nigeria seriously with our ‘behaviour’.
