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Enugu People Couldn’t Have Possibly Voted for You, Oriental Lawyers for Justice Replies New Governor
The leading non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Enugu State, Oriental Lawyers for Justice, has responded to claims by the newly sworn-in state governor, Peter Mbah, that Enugu people voted for the Labour Party in four of the five rounds of votes in the 2023 general election but cast their lot with him and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the gubernatorial one held on March 18.
“There is nothing positively special about you and there is no way our people could have elected to pitch tent with the PDP after 24 years of state capture by the party”, the lawyers declared in a statement today in Enugu signed by its chairman, JohnBosco Aninwede, and the secretary, Mrs Ifeoma Ejike.
The Labour Party won seven out of the eight House of Representatives seats and two out of the three senatorial seats in the National Assembly election conducted on February 25 and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, got 88.7% of the 456,424 votes in the presidential election held the same day.
The party won 14 out of the 24 House of Assembly seats election on March 18 while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) controversially declared PDP’s Mbah the winner of the governorship contest held the same time.
Stated the Oriental Lawyers for Justice: “The last time you were in the news before you joined the governorship race was when the President Goodluck Jonathan’s government accused your Pinnacle Oil and Gas Company Ltd of deep involvement in the oil subsidy scam, with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) leading the charge.
“The Enugu people were not surprised because you had earlier been slapped with 31 offences by the EFCC following your role as the Chief of Staff and later the Commissioner for Finance under the Dr Chimaraoke Nnamani government from 2002 to 2007.
“You had a running battle with the EFCC for a whole 10 months which ended when Dr Nnamani reached a plea bargain deal with the anti-graft body, but not before several properties, the Cosmo FM station and the Rainbow Net Communications firm, among others worth billions of naira, were forfeited to the Federal Government because they were proceeds of crime”.
Stating that Mbah’s reputation as someone with a history of running battles with the EFCC could not have endeared him to Enugu voters, the NGO asserted that Mbah committed political suicide by relying on two former unpopular governors to deliver him in the governorship.
“Neither Dr Nnamani, who ran for the Enugu East senatorial zone”, said the Oriental Lawyers for Justice, “nor The Rt Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who ran for the Enugu North senatorial seat, could deliver themselves in the 2023 general election, and yet you depended on them entirely.
“Ugwuanyi, the serving governor, was defeated by Barrister Okey Ezeah of the Labour Party right in his polling booth, his polling unit, and in his hometown of Orba as well as in his Udenu Local Government Area, losing finally by 46,948 to 104,492 votes”.
As regards erstwhile Governor Nnamani, who is now an outgoing senator, the lawyers recalled how little-known Kelvin Ugwu defeated him by as many as 69,136 to 48,701 votes in the Enugu East senatorial race on March 18 after the assassination of Sir Kelvin’s elder brother, Barrister Oyibo Chukwu who was the original Labour Party candidate, on February 22, three days before the earlier scheduled senatorial election.
“It is certain that Senator Nnamani would have been defeated with a much larger number of votes if Chief Oyibo Chukwu, a former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) chairman, had not been brutally murdered and had remained the LP’s candidate”, said the lawyers.
“After 24 years of Enugu State capture by the PDP, the Enugu people voted overwhelmingly for change, and so cast their lot with the Labour Party in the presidential, Senatorial, House of Representatives, House of Assembly and, of course, governorship elections.
“Mbah and the PDP must respect the people’s will”.
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President Tinubu returns to Lagos ahead of APC primaries tomorrow (Video)
Tinubu’s aircraft touched down at about 7:12 p.m. at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.
• President Tinubu chats with African business leaders during the African CEO Forum in Nairobi, Kenya.
President Bola Tinubu on Friday arrived in Lagos after a three-nation visit to France, Kenya and Rwanda.
Tinubu’s aircraft touched down at about 7:12 p.m. at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja.
A statement issued by his special adviser on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said that the president was received by Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Deputy Governor, Femi Hamzat; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa; and other government officials.
President Tinubu, while in France, met with global investors, emphasising transparency and fiscal discipline and explaining the rationale for the swift implementation of the bold economic reforms his administration has instituted.
Watch Video below:
News
Anxiety as chemical pollution affects 6 Ogun schools, 90 students
Triggers Widespread Panic One Month After Similar Incident
More than 90 students across several secondary schools in Ijebu-Ode were hospitalised on Friday after a suspected chemical odour permeated the town, sparking panic among parents and residents.
Ohibaba.com learned that the pollution was caused by gas leak along the Agoro/Okunowa Road axis of Ijebu-Ode; the situation is now under control by the state environmental monitoring agency, and poses no further danger.
The incident occurred barely one month after a similar chemical odour episode at Our Lady of Apostles Girls School left several students hospitalised.
Eyewitnesses reported that a strange smell spread rapidly across parts of the ancient town, prompting parents and guardians to rush to schools to evacuate their children. Emergency responders moved over a thousand students from affected schools to the State Hospital, Ijebu-Ode, for medical attention.
Medical personnel at the hospital said many of the affected students complained of abdominal pain and related symptoms. Residents in surrounding communities and adjoining streets were also reportedly impacted by the unusual odour.
Affected schools include Our Lady of Apostles School, Anglican Girls Grammar School, Ijebu-Ode Grammar School, Sambadola Private School, Adeola Odutola Secondary School, and St. Anthony School, Esure, in Ijebu Mushin.
As of the time of reporting, no senior government officials had arrived at the State Hospital, where anxious parents and residents gathered in large numbers.
Ogun State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, urged parents to remain calm, assuring them that medical personnel were attending to the students. He added that environmental officials from both federal and state agencies had been mobilised to investigate the situation.
The General Manager of the Ogun State Environmental Protection Agency (OGEPA), Hon. Kehinde Bello, disclosed that an air quality monitoring device installed at Ijebu-Ode Grammar School recorded elevated methane gas concentrations, with peak readings of about 13,500 ppm in surrounding areas.
Bello explained that the device was deployed under the state government’s environmental surveillance programme for early detection of abnormal air quality. He noted that while the methane level remains below the lower explosive limit, it is environmentally significant and requires urgent investigation.
The Ogun State Government has since activated a multi-agency team comprising environmental regulators, emergency responders, and technical air quality experts to assess the situation.
Bello advised residents to stay calm, continue normal activities, and avoid open flames or ignition sources in areas where unusual gas odours are noticed. He urged anyone experiencing symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, nausea, or respiratory discomfort to seek immediate medical attention at nearby health facilities.
The government assured the public of its commitment to protecting lives and public health, promising further updates as investigations progress.
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JUST IN: Dangote files new lawsuit against FGN over fuel import licences
The new filing asks the Federal High Court in Lagos to set aside import permits issued or renewed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), arguing they breach an earlier order to maintain the status quo.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has filed a new lawsuit against Nigeria’s attorney general in a bid to overturn fuel import licences issued to marketers and the NNPC state oil firm.
Reuters reported that the new filing asks the Federal High Court in Lagos to set aside import permits issued or renewed by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), arguing they breach an earlier order to maintain the status quo.
The case signals renewed tensions almost a year after Dangote withdrew an earlier lawsuit challenging similar licences.
That case sought to nullify import permits issued to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company and several traders.
NMDPRA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Regulators and marketers have previously argued imports are needed to ensure adequate supply and prevent shortages.
Dangote said in the filing that the licences issued this month undermine its operations and contravene the law, which it argues allows imports only when domestic supply falls short.
Dangote ended the earlier lawsuit in July 2025 without explanation, leaving unresolved questions over competition and supply in one of Africa’s largest fuel markets.
Nigeria has long relied on petrol imports due to underperforming state refineries. Dangote’s $20 billion facility, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, was billed to end that dependence, but imports have continued to cover supply gaps as the refinery ramps up output.
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