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EDO GUBER: Tribunal Affirms the Election of Okphebholo

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‎‎The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja has affirmed the election of Monday Okphebholo of the All Progressives Congress APC as governor of Edo State.‎‎

A three-member panel headed by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, against the outcome of the September 21, 2024 governorship election. ‎‎

In its judgment, the panel says Asue Ighodalo and the PDP failed to call competent witnesses to prove the allegations of non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

‎‎In the lead judgment read by Justice Wilfred Kpochi, the Tribunal said non-compliance must be proven convincingly.

The Tribunal says the failure of the petitioners to call polling unit officers, presiding officers or even voters during the election proved fatal to their petition. ‎‎

The Tribunal says most of the 19 witnesses called by the PDP merely gave hearsay evidence during the proceedings. ‎‎Justice Kpochi faulted what he termed as PDP’s realiance of Section 137 of the Electoral Act to dump documents on the Tribunal.

The Tribunal says it’s not for it to scrutinize documents tendered by the petitioners.

‎‎The Tribunal further says the BVAS machines tendered by the petitioners remain dormant, as it’s not the duty of the Tribunal to access the data in the machines.

‎‎In the unanimous decision, the Tribunal thereby restated that to prove overvoting as alleged by Ighodalo and the PDP there’s the need to tender the voters register, BVAS machines and polling unit results or Forms EC8A.‎‎

Following this, the Tribunal dismissed the petition of Asue Ighodalo of the PDP for lacking in merit.

‎‎INEC had declared that Okpebholo of the APC secured 291,667 votes to defeat Ighodalo who got 247,655 votes. PDP are challenging the results from 765 polling units of the 4,519 units in Edo State.‎‎

The PDP candidate faulted the outcome of the election on grounds non-compliance with the Electoral Act and the failure of Monday Okphebholo to secure majority of the lawful votes cast.

Putting that in context, the PDP governorship candidate alleged improper computation of votes by INEC, non serialization of electoral materials and overvoting. ‎

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Politics

Again, Desmond Elliot begs political mentor,Gbajabiamila , “I’m sorry, Daddy”

The latest apology is not the first time Elliot has publicly sought forgiveness from Gbajabiamila over the political disagreement.

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“I’m sorry. I have no excuse; I have nothing other than to say I’m deeply sorry. I’m deeply sorry, sir. And in our culture, we prostrate. Don’t be angry, Daddy.”

The above statement was made by

Lagos State lawmaker and actor, Desmond Elliot, during a meeting with Femi Gbajabiamila, and other party chieftains in Lagos, where he went on his knees and prostrated before the Chief of Staff (CoS) to President Bola Tinubu
. In a video shared by Lagos Junction on X on Sunday, Elliot begged for forgiveness and reconciliation following his actions during the last All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election.

The lawmaker representing Surulere Constituency I in the Lagos State House of Assembly also reaffirmed his loyalty to the APC leadership and appealed for an end to any disagreement between him and Gbajabiamila.

The latest apology is not the first time Elliot has publicly sought forgiveness from Gbajabiamila over the political disagreement.

During an earlier appearance on TVC’s Your View, Elliot acknowledged that he may have offended his political mentor through his political engagements, while maintaining that any misunderstanding between them was not deliberate.

“I’m not saying, oh, yes, media will come out, oh yes, Desmond begs again. Yes, because he’s my egbon. And I grew up learning everything I knew in politics through him,” he said.

He added, “To err is human, to forgive is divine. So I’m sorry, my daddy, if I’ve offended you in any way.”

The dispute occurred amid the political tensions surrounding the Lagos State House of Assembly leadership crisis, during which Gbajabiamila said he faced difficulties at the Presidency over allegations concerning Elliot’s political activities.

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I will concede defeat if 2027 election is credible — Obi

However, Obi maintained that he won the 2023 presidential election, saying those who conducted the poll knew what happened.

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The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has declared that he will concede defeat in the 2027 presidential election if the poll is free, fair and credible.

Obi stated this in an interview aired on Arise TV on Thursday, saying he would respect the will of Nigerians if they chose another candidate.

“If the election is free, fair and credible, I will because it’s an election. It’s the people that would say who they want to serve, and I will respect the will of the people; that’s democracy,” he said.

However, Obi maintained that he won the 2023 presidential election, saying those who conducted the poll knew what happened.

“I did, and I will maintain that as long as I live that I won the 2023 election. Those who conducted it know the records; they know why there was a glitch and what happened,” he said.

Fielding question on what about “turn-by-turn” presidency, Obi said elections should not be determined by tribe or religion.

“Election should not be driven by tribe or religion. Today, in terms of qualification, I’m qualified to be president of Nigeria. I have the competence; I have been all over the world studying what it takes to be president of a country, and I know what I can do to turn around this country in the right direction.”

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Trump promises $5,000 ‘dividend’ to U.S. citizens if Republicans win midterms

It is estimated that the total proposed “Trump dividend” payout would cost more than $1 trillion — raising questions about how such an expense would be funded and its impact on fiscal strain facing the Federal budget.

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U.S. President Donald Trump has promised every adult American citizen a $5,000 “dividend” if the Republicans are victorious at the upcoming midterm elections.

Americans will vote in the midterms in early November, with the Democrats currently projected to win control of the House of Representatives.

Such a result would likely create barriers to Trump’s legislative agenda and send a signal about public opinion on the president’s policy mix throughout his second presidential term.

“Here is my promise: if the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them… because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000,” he told a crowd at the GOP’s midterm convention in Dallas.

“I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot,” he added.

It is estimated that the total proposed “Trump dividend” payout would cost more than $1 trillion — raising questions about how such an expense would be funded and its impact on fiscal strain facing the Federal budget.

The potential payout compares to the $1.27 trillion the U.S.

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