Politics

We were saints compared to today’s level of corruption — IBB

Published

2 years ago

January 17, 2022

Disturbed by alleged corruption in present day Nigeria,former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd) has said that compared to what was going on now, they were saints during his military regime.

Babangida spoke in an interview with Trust TV monitored by journalists on Sunday .

He said, “I gave an example I sacked a governor because of misappropriating N300,000. Now there are people we read in the papers, thank God there are papers to read and social media and so on; people who steal N2billion, N3billion and nobody is saying they are corrupt only us because we are military that is all. I still maintain that we are saints if you compare somebody who is accused of stealing N3 billion compare him against somebody with N300,000 then I think we are saints.”

On why the battle against corruption was so difficult, he said “I sold an idea but because it came from me, nobody likes it, nobody will like to hear it: Identify areas of corruption and attack them from the source. I read in one of the newspapers where a judge was complaining that they are not well remunerated by the public and that is a sure source of corruption.”

“Wherever you have a system where you have a lot of control there will be corruption. So what we try to do, we got government not to be involved in things like production; anything to do with I have to come to you and you will always think you are doing me a favour, so maybe I should reciprocate it, that is the sort of thing.”

“And that is why we introduced freeing the economy; you don’t need a license to be graded Grade A your groundnut or cocoa or cotton or whatever it is; you don’t need to go to Central Bank or to go to banks to get foreign exchange.”

“There are Bureau de Change, they set it up in market areas, where you can easily go and get it; so the sources of corruption has to be identified and attacked,” he said.

The Minna born General recalled that his economic policy of liberalization and government stepping back from the economy; were emulated by Yar’Adua and Obasanjo.

He said they did and the current regime i was also doing it even though in a different name.

” But it is all the same concept,” he said.

Vanguard

Politics

Kaduna Governorship Election Declared Inconclusive

Published

1 day ago

September 28, 2023

Yinka Rahman

Tribunal Declares Kaduna Governorship Election Inconclusive

The Kaduna Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has declared the governorship election in the state held on March, 18 as inconclusive.

In a split decision of a ratio of 2:1, the tribunal declared the election inconclusive and directed that a supplementary election should be held by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) within 90 days. INEC is to conduct election in 7 wards in 4 Local Government Areas.

LAGOS READY TO DRIVE YOUR PASSION, SANWO-OLU TELLS YOUNG CEOS IN TECH SPACE

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is challenging the election of Uba Sani as the Governor of Kaduna State on the grounds of alleged irregularities and electoral fraud, saying that its Candidate (Isa Mohammed Ashiru) won the election.

During the hearing of the petition, the PDP and Ashiru called 24 witnesses and presented claims and documents to prove their case.

More details later

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Politics

Lagos Governorship Elections: Rhodes-Vivour Takes Next Step After Tribunal Verdict

Published

2 days ago

September 27, 2023

Yinka Rahman

Lagos Governorship Elections: Rhodes-Vivour Takes Next Step After Tribunal Verdict

The governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour has announced his intention to appeal the verdict of the Lagos Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal.

Rhodes-Vivour stated this in a press release on Tuesday while sharing his stance on the judgement.

He insisted that the essence of democracy not only lies in one’s ability to vote but also the capacity to defend the votes.

The essence of democracy lies not only in our ability to vote but also in our capacity to defend the integrity of that vote.

“Consequently, our laws allow Governorship candidates to challenge the decisions of the electoral tribunals at the Court of Appeal, and up to the Supreme Court. In light of this, my lawyers have been instructed to appeal this judgment, as we remain confident of getting substantial justice at the appellate courts,” he said.

While urging his supporters and Lagosians in general to remain calm, peaceful, and law-abiding, Rhodes-Vivour expressed the hope of getting substantial justice at the appellate courts.

“In these trying times, your unwavering support means the world to us, we must remain united, vigilant, and hopeful.

The ultimate victory may take time to come our way, but it is, we strongly believe inevitable as we have come to understand that the wheels or justice may sometimes grind slowly but it definitely grinds to a sure end,” the LP candidate added.

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Politics

I’ll continue to fight – Atiku breaks silence on tribunal judgement

Published

3 weeks ago

September 5, 2023

Yinka Rahman

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election, Atiku Abubakar, has vehemently rejected the verdict of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT).

We recall that PEPT on Wednesday struck out the petition filed by Atiku and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi, challenging the victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25 election.

The tribunal held that the petitions by the candidates and their parties lacked merit, upholding the election of Tinubu.

The judgement was delivered by the chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, assisted by other members of the panel, namely justices Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf, Stephen Adah, Moses Ugo, and Abba Mohammed.

Reacting, Atiku, in a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, rejected the verdict, saying the battle to upturn Tinubu’s victory continues.

The former Vice President, who called himself a fighter, said he had instructed his legal team to file an appeal at the Supreme Court.

He said:

“I am here today to give my official reaction to the judgement delivered yesterday by the Presidential Election Petition Court on the 2023 presidential elections.

“As you already know, I approached the court following the declaration by the INEC that the APC and its candidate are the winners of the February 25 elections. My decision to go to court was anchored in my belief that the court is the sanctuary of justice.

“Indeed, I am no stranger to legal battles. I can say that I have a fair idea of how the court system works. All through my career as a politician, I have been a fighter, and I will continue to fight.

“Our aim of conducting credible elections in the country was compromised by INEC through the way it managed the presidential election.

“I am afraid that the judgement of the PEPT yesterday failed to restore confidence in our dream of free and fair elections devoid of human manipulation.

“I am here to tell you that though the judgement of the court yesterday is respected, it is a judgement that I refused to accept.

“I refuse to accept it because I believe it is devoid of substantial justice. I have asked my lawyers to constitutionally activate the guaranteed right to appeal in the higher court.”