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Court Didn’t Declare Amaewhule, 26 Others As PDP Members – Attorney-General
The Rivers State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dagogo Israel Iboroma, clarified that a Port Harcourt High Court did not declare Martin Amaewhule and 26 others as members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or the Rivers State House of Assembly (RSHA).
“There is misleading news circulating that Amaewhule and others are members of the PDP and the House of Assembly.
This information is meant to deceive the public,” Iboroma stated in a press release in Port Harcourt.
Iboroma urged the public to disregard such news, emphasizing that it is false and without legal basis.
“As the 3rd defendant in Suit No. DHC/20/CS/2024, I can confirm that the court did not seek to declare the seats of Martin Amaewhule and 26 others vacant,” he said. “The suit was struck out for lack of locus standi and jurisdiction, as well as for being an abuse of the court process.”
Amaewhule and the others defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress on December 11, 2023, and this was stated in affidavit evidence in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/1681/CS/2023 before the Federal High Court, Abuja.
“By Section 272(3) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, only the Federal High Court can determine whether Amaewhule and the others are still members of the PDP and the RSHA,” Iboroma explained.
He also noted that there is an existing interlocutory injunction restraining Amaewhule and his colleagues from presenting themselves as lawmakers in Rivers State until the substantive suit is determined.
“The public should disregard the misinformation that Amaewhule and 26 others have been declared as members of the PDP and the RSHA,” he concluded.
General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, has assured that all security challenges facing the nation will be effectively addressed by the year’s end.
This statement was made during the launch of attack drones and the demonstration of locally produced bombs, developed by a homegrown technology firm.
The event was attended by security specialists and senior government officials, as General Musa showcased the indigenous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to the audience.
Accompanied by Ajao Adewale, the Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of Police, and Caleb Mutfwang, the Governor of Plateau State, General Musa emphasized the ongoing bureaucratic obstacles in acquiring military equipment from abroad.
Governor Mutfwang stressed the urgency for decisive measures against insecurity, calling on leaders to prevent any entity within the nation from possessing military capabilities.
The operational features of the UAVs were also demonstrated, with General Musa expressing satisfaction with this advancement, labeling it a pivotal step in combating insecurity in the country.
The Supreme Court has set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja recognising Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP).
In a unanimous judgment on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to have pronounced Abure National Chairman of the LP having earlier found that the substance of the case was about the party’s leadership.
It held that issue of leadership was internal affair of a party over which courts lacked jurisdiction.
The court allowed the appeal filed by Senator Ester Nenadi Usman and one other and held that it was meritorious.
It proceeded to dismiss the cross-appeal filed by the Abure faction of the LP got being unmeritorious.
Details shortly…
Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, special adviser on political matters to Vice-President Kashim Shettima, has resigned from his position, According to Daily Trust.
The newspaper quoted sources as saying that the former spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) resigned two weeks ago.
President Bola Tinubu appointed Baba-Ahmed as special adviser on political matters to Shettima in September 2023.
Baba-Ahmed is the elder sibling of Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election.
Baba-Ahmed served as chief of staff to Bukola Saraki, former senate president, from 2017-2019.
CONFRONTATION WITH MATAWALLE OVER NEF
In April 2024, Bello Matawalle, minister of state for defence, described the NEF as a “political paperweight” after the group stated that the north made a mistake voting Tinubu in 2023.
In his reaction to Matawalle’s remarks, Baba-Ahmed said it would have served the Tinubu administration better if Matawalle had listed his achievements as minister — and the achievements of the other northern appointees — instead of attacking NEF.
“Scathing criticism of NEF by a junior minister of defence, Matawalle, is ill-advised. He could have done a better job for this admin if he identified contributions of especially northern ministers and other appointees like me to improving security and reducing poverty in the North,” Baba-Ahmed said.
In a riposte, the minister said any appointee must defend and promote the administration they work for.
“Dr. Baba-Ahmed’s relationship and affinity with Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) is well-known,” Matawalle said.
“The fact now is that he is an appointee of the administration as Special Adviser and it is incumbent on him to work for the success of the government he is part of, protect and defend the government against unjust and vicious attacks from those who hide under ethnic and other primordial interests to heat up the polity for myopic reasons.
“It is pertinent to state that every appointee of President Tinubu including Dr. Baba-Ahmed owes the government a copious duty to promote, elucidate and advance the good works and commendable efforts of the government across all sectors.”
He added that northern appointees must defend the government or take their exit.
Matawalle is a native of Zamfara while Baba-Ahmed hails from Kaduna.