Presidential Bid-The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele Accuses The National Electoral Commission, INEC, Of Plot To Disqualify Him

The governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, of a plot to disqualify him from contesting in the bid for the Presidency of Nigeria.

Emefiele, approached the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, he filed a suit through his team of lawyers, led by Mike Ozekhome, SAN.

He explained to the court that both INEC and the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, are “making frantic efforts” to ensure that he does not participate in the presidential primaries he said has been scheduled for May 30 and June 1.

Consequently, he prayed the court to order INEC and the AGF to maintain status quo ante bellum (allow things to remain the way they are) and not compel him to resign from his position as CBN Governor, until 30 days to the general elections.

He urged the court to, in the interim, restrain the two defendants from taking any step that could push him out of office, pending the determination of the suit.

"My lord, by Wednesday, May 11, 2022, the timeline for collecting the form for expression of interest will expire.

The timeline for the congresses and conventions of the political parties for the presidential election, which he is interested in, comes up on the 30th of May.

“This motion, is therefore, seeking that the court should grant an order for maintenance of status quo.

"Let my lord not allow anybody to do anything,” Ozekhome pleaded while moving Emefiele’s ex-parte application that was supported with an affidavit of urgency.

Adducing reasons he would not resign as CBN governor, Emefiele, contended that not being a political appointee, he was not caught up by section 84 (12) of the new Electoral Act, since he is a public servant.

The plaintiff further drew the attention of the court to a subsisting judgement of the Federal High Court in Umuahia, which he said voided section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

He prayed the court to invoke section 318 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and bar the defendents from asking him to vacate his office, until 30 days to the presidential election.

Meanwhile, in a bench ruling yesterday, Justice Ahmed Mohammed rejected Emefiele’s ex-parte application, and directed him to go and put the two defendants on notice and also serve them with all the relevant processes in the matter.

Justice Mohammed ordered the defendants to appear before him on May 12 and show cause why the plaintiff’s prayers should not be granted.

Source: The Vanguard

Comments

NEWSBREAKING: Nigerian Government Lifts Twitter Ban

Twitter. On Wednesday, Mr. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the head of the Nigerian team negotiating with Twitter has said that the social media giant Twitter has agreed to pay “applicable tax” and establish a legal entity in Nigeria in the first quarter of 2022. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi is the director-general of the National Information Technology Development Agency, said this in a statement while announcing the lifting of the more than six-month-long suspension of the social media platform in the country. “Twitter has agreed to act with a respectful acknowledgement of Nigerian laws and the national culture and history on which such legislation has been built and work with the FGN and the broader industry to develop a Code of Conduct in line with global best practices, applicable in almost all developed countries,” Abdullahi said. Twitter was suspended in Nigeria in June 2021, a few days after the platform deleted a remark from Buhari’s account. The led to an outcry over freedom of expr...

In A Random Attack, A Woman Is Lit On Fire On A Toronto bus; Man Apprehended, Police Say

Dundas, Kipling Centre. A woman lays in the hospital with critical injuries, she was set ablaze on a Toronto bus in what police say was a "random" attack. The woman in her 20's was attacked by a 35-year-old man. The woman remains in hospital with life-altering injuries, most of which are second and third-degree burns, media relations officer Toronto police Const. Alex Li told reporters outside Kipling station, where the incident took place. The suspect has been arrested with charges pending, police say. Toronto police were called to the Kipling Avenue and Dundas Street West area around 12:30 p.m. for reports of a woman being assaulted. Police say a man poured a liquid substance on the woman and ignited it, causing a fire. The woman was rushed to Sunnybrook Hospital. There's no word on her current condition. It's unknown what motivated the attack, but Li says there was some sort of interaction between the man and woman before it happened. Police continue to invest...

Everyday People

About two years ago, one Nigerian government official whom I know visited the United Kingdom. Trees Beautifully Grown In Nigeria It was that peak period of covid crisis, where many countries had various Covid containment regulations to help reduce the spread. On the day he was to return to Nigeria, I was one of those who escorted him to the Airport. When we got to the Airport, we realised that he was supposed to have a Covid test done, and the result uploaded to Nigerian Govt Portal. Also, he was meant to have a day three test in Nigeria booked and have the printed copy of the confirmation of the booking with him as a condition to fly with British Airways to Nigeria. We arrived at the Airport about 3hrs before his flight departure. This white lady, who was a supervisor with British Airways approached us and requested to see his day three bo...

Welcome To Echo Blog

Search This Blog