INEC, APC, Bola Tinubu Footdrag Over Atiku's Request For Live Proceedings

On Tuesday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) appeared before the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja to respond to the Peoples Democratic Party’s motion for “an order directing the Court’s Registry and the parties on modalities for admission of media practitioners and their equipment into the courtroom.”

Chris Uche SAN, the PDP’s counsel, informed the court that he filed his pre-hearing information sheet on April 27 and has adopted the replies contained therein.

However, he requested an urgent ruling on his motion for live transmission dated May 5, saying that he had served all respondents but had yet to receive their reply.

“We urge the court to permit the televising of the proceedings, especially at this critical moment in the nation,” Mr Uche pleaded.

However, INEC’s lawyer, Abubakar Mahmoud SAN, responded in open court to Mr Uche, stating he would only answer after speaking with his client.

“We will, of course, be needing time to respond, we were served yesterday, we need to take instructions from our client and respond appropriately,” he said.

Chief Tomi Aliyu SAN, who represented Bola Tinubu, said he was planning to answer the case in accordance with the court’s guidelines.

Aside from that, he requested the court to dismiss or strike down the PDP’s plea.

Lateef Fagbemi SAN, who represented the APC, verified receipt of the PDP’s motion for live transmission.

“My immediate response is that you will hear from us within the time allowed by the rules of court,” Mr Fagbemi said.

However, Mr Uche urged the court that in the spirit of collaboration already agreed upon by the parties, the respondents should serve any motions they have on him immediately in order to save time.

Mr Uche stressed that if the pre-hearing process was to be shortened, the respondents must react to his petition soon.

However, Mr Fagbemi stated that he will not be forced to violate court rules in order to answer to procedures served on him within the time limit.

“Nothing can be done outside the rules,” Mr Fagbemi said in response to Mr Uche.

As a result, the five-member panel led by Justice Haruna Tsammani deferred the case until May 11 (2 p.m.) for further pre-hearing.

He urged counsels to prioritise the matters they want to be resolved at this point.

The judge ruled that the PDP’s demand for live streaming of hearings will be considered with all other applications.

https://gazettengr.com/tinubu-apc-inec-foot-drag-on-atikus-request-for-live-broadcast-of-tribunal-proceedings/

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Lionel Messi Heads To Saudi Arabia Next Season In ' A Huge Deal'

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi will play in Saudi Arabia next season under a "huge" deal, a source close to the negotiations told AFP on Tuesday.

"Messi is a done deal. He will play in Saudi Arabia next season," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity and without naming the club.

"The contract is exceptional. It's huge. We are just finalising some small details," added the source, who is not authorised to speak to media.

Asked about the comments, Messi's current club Paris Saint-Germain simply noted he remains under contract until June 30.

A separate PSG source said: "If the club had wanted to renew his contract, it would have been done earlier."

The 35-year-old World Cup winner was suspended by Qatari-owned PSG last week for an unauthorised trip to Saudi, where he is a tourism ambassador.

Messi's expected arrival in the oil-rich kingdom follows in the footsteps of his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr in a massive deal in January.

Ronaldo's agreement to June 2025 is said to total more than 400 million euros ($439million), making him the world's highest paid athlete according to Forbes.

Both deals are being bankrolled by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), one of the world's biggest sovereign wealth funds with more than $620 billion in assets, the source said.

"The negotiations didn't take as much time as the ones with Ronaldo. As we now know the recipe to contract world-class players," said the source.

"It's Saudi Arabia that brought him not a specific club. The Money comes from one place -- PIF."

Ronaldo's arrival has not had the impact Al Nassr would have hoped for on the pitch.

They have lost top spot in the Saudi Pro League table and are out of the running in the King's Cup and Super Cup.

French coach Rudi Garcia departed in April.

- PSG protesters -

Messi, who turns 36 in June, has had two lacklustre seasons in Paris after a glorious era at Barcelona where he won four Champions League and 10 La Liga titles, and is still worshipped by the fans.

The record seven-time world player of the year, joining a mouth-watering attack featuring Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, scored just 11 goals in his first season as he helped PSG to a routine Ligue 1 title.

But PSG have got no closer to a coveted maiden Champions League victory, bowing out twice in the last 16 even with the illustrious Argentine in the line-up.

Frustrations boiled over last week when black-clad PSG protesters let off flares and sang hostile chants targeting the underperforming Messi, Neymar and Italian midfielder Marco Verratti.

The angry scenes contrasted with Messi's career-crowning moment in December, when he led Argentina to a breathless World Cup final victory over Mbappe and France in Doha to fill the biggest gap in his resume.

Qatar's emir draped him in a traditional bisht robe at the trophy ceremony, a reminder of the fossil-fuel riches pouring into football and Messi's bank account via PSG.

However, Messi is also a highly paid tourism ambassador for Qatar's neighbours and sometime rivals Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter that is attempting to diversify its largely single-stream economy.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/messis-move-saudi-done-deal-095609047.html

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Soyinka: I didn't Meet Peter Obi For Reconciliation, Rather He Apologised

I Never Met Peter Obi For Reconciliation, Rather He Apologised Several Times For The Misconduct Of His Followers —Soyinka

Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka, on Monday, noted that the visit of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, to his residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State, was not for “reconciliation” but an apology visit for the misconduct of his (Peter Obi’s) followers.

Soyinka in a statement obtained by SaharaReporters titled, “A visitation and the Allure of 'Reconciliation'” said Obi’s meeting with him was where “discussions were frank and creative.”

Earlier, the LP candidate had also confirmed meeting with the Nobel Laureate. He was silent on the issues discussed, but rather said the visit was "intended to erase the needless misconceptions about the relationship between the great icon and the OBIdient family."

Soyinka, in his release on Monday, clarified the visit, noting that it was to offer an apology.

He said, “Before it gains traction and embarks on a life of its own, I wish to state clearly that the word “Reconciliation”, inserted into some reports of Peter Obi’s visit to me yesterday, Sunday, May 7. is a most inappropriate, and diversionary invocation. Let me clarify: I know the entity known as Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party. I can relate to him. I know and can relate to the Labour Party on whose platform he contested elections.

”There are simply no issues to reconcile between those two entities and myself. However, I do not know, and I am unable to relate to something known as the “Obidient” or “Obidient Family”. Thus, albeit in a different vein, any notion of Reconciliation, or even relations – positive, negative or indifferent - with such a spectral emanation is simply grasping at empty air.

“During that meeting, attended by two other individuals only, the word “Reconciliation” was never bruited, neither in itself nor in any other form. It simply did not arise. By contrast, there were expressions of “burden of leadership” “responsibility”, “apology”, “pleading”, “formal dissociation from the untenable”,,,.all the way to the “tragic ascendancy of ethnic cleavage”, especially under such ironic, untenable circumstances. Discussions were frank, and creative. The notion of Reconciliation was clearly N/A – None Applicable. It was never raised.

“The following should be understood, but never underestimated. What remains ineradicable from that weekend of orgiastic rave in the social media was the opening up of the dark, putrid recesses in the national psyche that we like to pretend do not exist. It invited – into minds seeking a grasp on reality - gruesome variations on images from Dante’s Purgatorio. A fathomless pit was exposed, at the bottom of which one glimpsed a throng of the damned, writhing in competitive lust for the largest of the gangrenous ladles in a diabolical broth. To peek over the edge of that pit for a prolonged spell was to turn giddy, with a risk of falling into the tureen of inhuman pus. To attempt to navigate one’s way, however gingerly, along a mat spread across the infernal abyss, is an invitation to moral suicide.

“For the serious minded, I call attention to essays I have offered on the theme of Reconciliation based on Truth, and the ethical imperative of Restitution. There will be further elaborations forthcoming in DEMOCRACY PRIMER III – Bookcraft’s INTERVENTION series, now brought forward for publication on June 12, the watershed extorted from the current regime as the nation’s Democracy Day,

“If, from here on, I now comply with entreaties from several valued, genuinely concerned directions, and ignore new provocations, however vile, it is only because I also approve of Mohammed Ali’s strategy of Rope-a-Dope, where blind menace is left flailing hopelessly at the disdainful manifest of Truth.” 

https://saharareporters.com/2023/05/08/i-never-met-peter-obi-reconciliation-rather-he-apologised-several-times-misconduct-his

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Declare Your Spouse, Children’s Assets, CSO Tells Tinubu, Others

A civil society organisation, Fixing The Future, has demanded that the President-elect, Bola Tinubu; Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, incoming governors and other public officials should declare their assets ahead of their inauguration on May 29.

The group noted that spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 of the public officials are also mandated by the Code of Conduct Bureau Act to declare their assets.

The FTF said the Assets Declaration Compliance Survey it conducted revealed that “about 94 per cent of public officials in Nigeria do not comply with the provisions of Section 15 (1) (c) of the CCB and Code of Conduct Tribunal Acts on full disclosure of assets and liabilities.”

The Executive Director of the FTF, Stanley Ekpa, at a press conference in Abuja, on Monday, emphasised that politicians should ensure full compliance with the provisions of the extant laws on assets declaration.

Ekpa said, “We want to draw the attention of public officials to the fact that the law requires all public officials, their spouses, and their unmarried children under the age of 21 to declare their assets and liabilities, in the asset declaration forms as prescribed by the Code of Conduct Bureau.

“The cost of corruption is staggering. of the approximately $13tn that governments spend on public projects across Africa, more than 45 per cent is lost to contract corruption. Data from the African Union shows that Nigeria loses over $7bn to corruption annually. At the continental level, it is estimated at $140bn, a figure that is equivalent to the GDP of all but five countries in Africa.

“PwC projects that corruption in Nigeria could cost up to 37 per cent of GDP by 2030 if it is not curtailed. As we all know, corruption drains public finances, affects efficiency in governance and lowers standard of living.

“To curtail corruption in public service in Nigeria, public officials must observe and obey the provisions of the extant law on full disclosure of their assets and liabilities before and during their tenure in office. They should also declare the assets of their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 as prescribed by the Code of Conduct Bureau Act.”

Ekpa said beyond the press conference, the group would also hold a national symposium on Asset Declaration and Declared Asset Verification, in partnership with all relevant stakeholders.

Source: https://punchng.com/Declare-your-spouse-childrens-assets-CSO-tells-Tinubu-others

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Ooni Asks Atiku, Obi Supporters To Embrace Tinubu's Government.

Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife, has urged all Nigerians, irrespective of party affiliations, to support the government of Bola Tinubu, the president-elect.

The monarch addressed supporters of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), while speaking in Lagos.

He was hosting a delegation sent by William Ruto, the president of Kenya, at his Lagos residence.

Present at the event were Francis Koskie, Kenya’s chief of staff; Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Group; Harry Ebohen, CEO of Propetrol; Dapo Abiodun, Governor of Ogun state; and Kunmi Demuren, a fintech executive.

The delegation met with Tinubu for a discussion on how Africa can unite to pursue collective development.

Ooni said it would be best for all Nigerians to be invested in the country’s path forward with Tinubu, regardless of political affiliations.

He said putting Nigeria on the right path to greatness should be a collective effort as the election has come and gone.

“As the presidential inauguration approaches, I beseech you all, young and old, Obidients and Atikulates, hopeful and weary, amiable and passionate, to lay down your arms,” Ooni said.

“There is no reason to waste time looking back; all we have is today and the future. Now is the time to embrace our diversity and uniqueness.

“We may differ in opinions and approaches to achieving a better Nigeria, but we all want a nation we can be proud of. Let us come together to support the vision of Asiwaju Gbogbo Ile Oodua.”

After meeting with the delegation, Tinubu said he was ready to partner with other business leaders in his quest to transform Nigeria’s economy.

He said one of his priorities has been to transition Nigeria from a consuming economy to producing one.

https://www.thecable.ng/no-reason-to-waste-time-ooni-asks-atiku-obi-supporters-to-embrace-tinubus-govt/amp

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Prof. Chris Imumolen: An Excellent Choice For Education Minister - Henry Okoduwa

A public affairs analyst, Henry Okoduwa, has described the presidential candidate of Accord Party, Professor Christopher Imumolen, as a square peg in a square hole that adequately fits the description of who a worthy member of the incoming Administration cabinet in the garb of an education minister should be. 

Okoduwa who asserted that when the matter is about education, Imumolen has been tried and tested, said that there is no time that a man like the President Elect, Bola Tinubu needs to succeed more than now. Adding that he needs capable hands, not necessarily from his political party, to achieve this success.

He described the failure of leadership of Nigeria as lack of will to recruit and groom an elite corps of leaders with the sound knowledge, commitment, passion and patriotism to function in various key sectors of the economy.

Okoduwa, in an article written on Sunday, May 7, stressed that the result, to a large extent, is why the country continues to wallow in the miry clay of underdevelopment with millions of it's citizens living under the poverty line.

He said; "What has essentially been termed as a failure of leadership by the country's so-called power brokers has been a lack of will to recruit and groom an elite corps of leaders with the sound knowledge, commitment, passion and patriotism to function in various key sectors of the economy in such a manner as to deliver to Nigerians good governance and the concomitant benefits derivable therefrom.

"'Square pegs in round holes', is a hackneyed expression generally used to describe persons who lack the requisite competence and experience to operate in certain high profile roles, but end up being foisted on the polity for reasons more self-serving than altruistic.

"This has gone on for like forever. Long years of a skewed pattern -- which elevates political party affiliation, loyalty and patronage far above ability and cognate experience -- has conspired to ruin the chances of a nation seeking to maximise all of it's God-given endowments in human, material and natural resources.

"The result, to a large extent, is what we see now as the country continues to wallow in the miry clay of underdevelopment with millions of it's citizens living under the poverty line.

"However, a country blessed with individuals with high intelligent quotient spread across various fields of human endeavour can not be expected to grope in the dark tunnels of indirection for too long once there is a deliberate effort to reverse the trend.  

"It has been argued that de-emphasising on the practise of 'compensation', which only gifts party loyalists juicy political offices or appointments will open up the space for a more virile selection process that will, in turn, be beneficial to the country's overall development in the long run.

"Proponents of this idea believe that looking beyond the confines of a ruling party to choose candidates for certain positions will not only enhance service delivery that would rub off on the quality of lives, it will advance the country's democracy.

"Also, broadening the scope of picking political appontees has the potential to unite the country faster and quench the current inferno of agitations for self determination and actualisation by the various ethnic nationalities calling for a breakup of the country.

"For instance, an APGA member who gets nominated into the cabinet of an elected APC or PDP government either at state or federal level sends the message that merit, more than party reward is the uppermost consideration. It needs not be emphasised the huge difference it will make in rekindling hope in the minds of a people divided along tribal and religious lines, and denied good governance for too long.

Okoduwa explained that inauguration of Tinubu on May 29, 2023 is an opportunity to revisit the issue of picking a cabinet made up of men and women with the vibrancy and cerebral capacity to deliver on the job for the benefit of the people.

"The inauguration of a new president in Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 29, 2023 is an opportunity to revisit the issue of picking a cabinet made up of men and women with the vibrancy and cerebral capacity to deliver on the job for the benefit of the people.

"Tinubu is coming at a time the country desperately needs healing from a myriad of mostly self-inflicted problems from insecurity to incessant power outages; from a plummeting Naira to a haemorraging economy; from a compromised public service to key sectors of the economy suffering from insufficient funding and general decay, and soon on.

"There is no time that a man like Tinubu needs to succeed more than now. And he needs capable hands, not necessarily from his political party, to achieve this success.

"A man like Professor Christopher Imumolen, for instance, is one square peg in a square hole that adequately fits the description of who a worthy member of his cabinet in the garb of an education minister should be. When the matter is about education, Imumolen is tried and tested. He thrives in imparting knowledge.

"He has distinguished himself in the area of providing the enabling environment for knowledge acquisition, just as he keeps equipping Nigerians with the tools and financial wherewithal to excel in their educational pursuits.

"Through years of being an active participant in the industry, Imumolen understands the inner workings of the country's educational system.

"He can bring his vast knowledge of the sector to bear in reforming and transforming it to the level it ought to be, by vigorously driving policies that would enhance quality in the delivery of primary, post-primary and tertiary education to Nigerians.

"A Chris Imumolen as minister is an endorsement for a drastic revolution in the country's educational system which needs a re-invigoration and a new direction.

"While he campaigned as the Accord party's presidential candidate in last February's general elections, Imumolen provided a rare glimpse into his policy direction in the event he became president.

"His points about opening up investment in the sector to stimulate competition and drive down the cost of higher education, break the stranglehold of lecturers on the country's university system, vigorously pursue the enactment of legislations that encouraged the setting up of more digital universities that de-emphasised classroom leaning in favour of distance learning, increase the current budget on education, launch a training and re-training mechanism for teachers and lecturers to bring them up to date with the changing global trends in the business, as well as overhaul the now obsolete school curriculum were not only convincing, but showcased him as a man who knew the challenges of the industry.

"What better man then than Christopher Imumolen to bring on? A professor and distinguished academic with two Ph.d degrees in two separate disciplines, with an indepth knowledge of the complexities of university education, being an owner of three universities himself?

"What better man than Imumolen to oversee the country's migration from the current 'analogue' system of education to the digital where the curriculum, environment and learning tools are configured to suit the latest trends of leaning globally?

"What better man than Imumolen to use his experience as a consummate entrepreneur to drive investments into the sector to make it more value driven and result-oriented?

"What better man than Imumolen to help the incoming government of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu accomplish his vision for education that he set out in his manifesto from the beginning?

"Professor Christopher Imumolen is young, qualified, technologically savvy, patriotic and passionate enough to get the job done if he he is called upon to do so.

"A man who can spend his personal funds to bankroll over 500,000 students on scholarships across the country, establish and run schools of different cadres, thereby contributing to his country's development through education will, no doubt, be an asset to Tinubu and his administration.

"Ultimately, Nigeria will be the winner!" He added.

https://independent.ng/analyst-says-accord-partys-imumolen-should-be-tinubus-education-minister/

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Lionel Messi Wins Laureus World Sportsman Of The Year Award

Messi, who finally realised his World Cup dream in Qatar, also accepted the team of the year award on behalf of Argentina, who beat France on penalties in last year’s epic final.

The 35-year-old accepted the accolades at a ceremony in Paris just hours after it was confirmed that he had returned to Paris Saint-Germain following a club suspension.

The Argentine has become the only footballer in history to ever win the award twice. He is also the only football player to ever win it


He said: “This is a special honour, particularly as the Laureus World Sports Awards are in Paris this year, the city that has welcomed my family since we came here in 2021. I want to thank all my teammates, not only from the national team but also at PSG — I have achieved none of this alone and I am grateful to be able to share everything with them.”

These were the nominees:

- Steph Curry (USA) Basketball

- Mondo Duplantis (Sweden) Athletics

- Kylian Mbappe (France) Football

- Lionel Messi (Argentina) Football

- Rafael Nadal (Spain) Tennis

- Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Motor Racing

https://www.google.com/amp/s/theathletic.com/4499256/2023/05/08/lionel-messi-laureus-awards/%3famp=1

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