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Tag: Ben Ayade

  • Sen. Jarigbe floors former Gov. Ayade at tribunal

    Sen. Jarigbe floors former Gov. Ayade at tribunal

    Sen. Jarigbe Jarigbe of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), representing Cross River Northern Senatorial District in the National Assembly, has defeated former Gov Ben Ayade of the All Progressives Congress (APC), at the Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Calabar.

    Giving the judgement on Saturday, a three man tribunal of justices, headed by Justice Mohammed Sambo, in a unanimous decision upheld Sen. Jarigbe’s election.

    Delivering judgement, Sambo noted that the assertions of irregularities presented to the tribunal by the petitioner were not backed by documentary evidences.

    It would be recalled that Ayade had in suit number EPT/CR/SEN/02/2023, approached the court to nullify the Feb. 25, 2023, senatorial election for “being riddled with malpractices and not complying with the electoral act.”The former governor also disputed results from about 377 polling units in the election.

    However, in the over four-hour judgement, the tribunal dismissed the petition, stating that there was no sufficient evidence to invalidate the election.

    Speaking to journalists after the judgement, Counsel to Sen. Jarigbe, Mba Ukweni, SAN, said the judgement was a confirmation of the will of the people in the northern senatorial district of Cross River.

    According to him, “the petitioner was rejected at the pole and there was no reason to come to the tribunal to act contrary to what the people had decided.

    “The tribunal is not meant to upset the will of the people. It is to affirm what the people had decided in the field and that was exactly what happened today,” he said.

  • Ayade’s case against Senator Jarigbe needs no opposition to fail – Ukweni, SAN

    Ayade’s case against Senator Jarigbe needs no opposition to fail – Ukweni, SAN

    Wevole Ezin, Calabar

    Counsel to the first respondent Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe in the matter instituted by former governor of Cross River State Ben Ayade, in the Senatorial Elections Petition Tribunal seating in Calabar, Mba Ukweni, SAN, says the matter against Jarigbe’s election requires no opposition to fail.

    Mba Ukweni, stated this while presenting his final address to the tribunal, headed by Justice M. A. Sambo, in Calabar.

    Adumberation his arguments, Mr Ukweni told the tribunal that the grounds of the petition and the relief sought lacked merit upon presentation.

    The council contended that it was contradictory for the former governor, Ben Ayade to have won the elections and seeking its nullification at the same time.

    He further contended that seeking to be returned winner of the election and at the same time praying the tribunal to annull the election was bizarre and strange.

    The Senior Advocate told the tribunal that the petitioners called thirty-four witnesses and complained of results in 420 poling units, noting that even if the respondent calls no witness, the case of the petitioners fails on its own and should be struck out for lack of merit.

    He maintained that the evidence by the witnesses contradicts their written statements on oath and cannot stand.

    He further held that “The written statement on oath of the witnesses contained complaints of corrupt practices, violence, vote buying, inducement of voters and that these are serious criminal allegations and there is no single report from any security agency before the court”.

    In his presentation, counsel to INEC, Habib Lawal told the tribunal to dismiss the petition in it’s entirety.

    He held that before an election is invalidated, it must be on the basis of substantial non compliance.

    He said in this case there is evidence that there are 874 polling units in Cross River North Senatorial District and the petitioners disputes results in 367 of them and called only 36 polling units agents which is of terrible insignificance.

    He also told the tribunal that the commission did not withhold the BIVAS machine and never in the pleadings of the petitioners’ did they list the BIVAS machine as one of the evidence to be relied upon.

    On his part, counsel to the PDP Ruben egwuaba told the court that all the witnesses called by the petitioners pleaded the presidential election results and not the Senatorial elections result and this makes their case Sui Generis.

    He held that a party cannot plead a document and then during trial bring another document.

    He prayed the tribunal to dismiss the petition on all grounds the petition was predicated with substantial costs.

    On his part, Counsel to the petitioners, Professor Mike Ozekhome SAN prayed the tribunal to uphold their petition and also tongue lash INEC for committing serial acts of illegalities and seeking to take benefit and advantage from it.

    He said the same INEC that gave them form EC8A is the same party arguing it should have been EC81 and that they used presidential instead of Senatorial form.

    After to the listening to the arguments from both sides, the tribunal adjourned the matter, announcing that a date will be communicated to the parties for further consideration.

  • Cross River Governor, Ayade loses senatorial election

    Cross River Governor, Ayade loses senatorial election

    Cross River State Governor, Ben Ayade has lost his bid to make it to the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly.

    Ayade was defeated by the incumbent Senator representing the Northern Senatorial District of the state in the National Assembly, Sen Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe.

    Senator Jarigbe who contested under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, polled 76,145 to defeat governor Ben Ayade of the All Progressives Congress who polled 56, 595 votes in the exercise.

    Declaring Sen. Jarigbe winner of the exercise in the early hours of Monday, the returning officer, Dr. Emmanuel Emanghe who spoke on behalf of Independent National Electoral Commission INEC thanked stakeholders for their peaceful conduct

    Emanghe also lauded all security agents for giving the needed security support which invariably led to successful and credible elections.

  • Ayade has ‘deceived’ our people enough, should restitute-PDP guber candidate, Sandy Onor

    Ayade has ‘deceived’ our people enough, should restitute-PDP guber candidate, Sandy Onor

    Wevole Ezin

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Cross River State, Prof Sandy Onor has accused the governor Ben Ayade’s led government of deceit, and disjointed governance in the State, calling for restitution.

    Sandy, who spoke at a press conference held in Calabar on Friday, also rejected the eleventh hour recruitment into the state public service by the governor; describing it as a voodoo exercise.

    He noted with regret how the people had suffered untold hardship under the present APC administration in the state, and are eagerly awaiting for a purposeful and peoples oriented leadership to take charge.

    According to Sandy, “Rather than chase shadows, Ayade should take deliberate efforts to restitute for his sins against the people of Cross River State for about eight years now. He still has a few more months to do this. I urge him to get into his closet and do some self-examination before the end of his disastrous tenure.”

    While reiterating his commitment towards creating sustainable employment opportunities for Cross Riverians if elected as the next governor, he lampooned governor Ayade’s hasty and deceitful recruitment into the state public service.

    He alleged that the exercise was political rather than altruistic; intended to sway unsuspecting members of the public towards supporting his failed party in the forthcoming general elections in the state.

    “The outgoing government has deceived our people enough. We have, for instance, spoken many times against moves by the governor to embark on last minute programmes and projects including the plan to conduct a recruitment exercise into the state public service in the twilight of this administration. At best, this is a voodoo exercise meant to curry favour from unsuspecting members of the public”, he said.

    On the forthcoming elections in the state, he urged both INEC and the security agencies to allow IPAC certify the authenticity of the BIVAS.

    “We therefore call on INEC and the security agencies to allow IPAC certify the authenticity of their pronouncement on the BIVAS. This is critically important because confidence building is critical in election management, prior to, during and after the elections,” Onor added.

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  • Darkness reigns as poor lighting mars Calabar Carnival

    Darkness reigns as poor lighting mars Calabar Carnival

    Fun seekers who trooped out in their thousands to witness this year’s Calabar carnival have bemoaned the inability of the government to light up the city, especially the possession routes of the carnival.

    Some of the fun seekers spoke in separate interviews in Calabar on Wednesday at day six of the annual carnival.

    The respondents noted that the non-functional street lights on the routes robbed the carnival which started on a high note during the day of the shine it deserved.

    The 12km routes from Eleven Eleven Roundabout on the highway to Effio-Ette junction along Marian Road and down to the endpoint at the stadium.

    They noted that the government should have done better by ensuring the functionality of the street lights long before the carnival period.

    A respondent, Mr Pascal Bajie, an entrepreneur based in Calabar regretted that the 2022 edition of the carnival which last took place in 2019 lacked the usual glamour.

    He pointed out that before now the street lights that had only functioned occasionally for years, should have been fixed for the purpose of the carnival.

    According to him, I am actually disappointed in the government who are the organisers of the carnival, this amounts to a waste of time.

    “There is no fun because we can’t even record the procession this night because of non-functional street lights.”

    Similarly, Theresa Ogwu, who resides in Calabar said many of the fun seekers who came from outside the state would be greatly disappointed with this outcome.

    “The night activity was expected to be highly entertaining and fun to watch should there have been functional street lights.

    “You can see how poor the illumination is on the carnival routes. It wasn’t like this in previous editions and the government ought to know better.

    In previous editions, the street lights are usually turned on even before 6 pm but its 7:30 pm now and the lights are not on,” she told NAN.

    On his part, Mr Andy Akin, a visitor to the town, who also bemoaned the absence of street lights, said an international event like this that saw participants from no fewer than 14 countries should have better be organised.

    It would be recalled that the annual carnival which started during the administration of Donald Duke, has not been held for the past two years.

    The carnival was suspended in 2022 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic while no reason was given for the carnival not holding in 2021.

    Efforts were still being made to put some facilities in place for the 2022 edition of the carnival which was hurriedly put up.

    The 2022 edition of the carnival on Tuesday suffered a tragic event when eight persons died and 29 were injured when a vehicle lost control and rammed into a crowd of onlookers during the day fifth day of the carnival.

  • Gov Ayade expresses sadness over Calabar carnival incident

    Gov Ayade expresses sadness over Calabar carnival incident

    Cross River State Governor, Prof Ben Ayade has expressed sadness over the ugly incident where an errant motorist ploughed into a crowd that thronged the Carnival route to watch the bikers parade.

    A statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Chief Press Secretary, Barrister Christian Ita said Governor Ayade is devasted by the incident and has directed security agencies to apprehend the motorist who is on the run.

    While sympathising with the victims of the accident and their families, the governor, according to the statement, ordered an immediate investigation to unravel how the motorist was able to get through security barricades to have access to the routes which were closed to the public.

    Ita said the Governor directed the immediate discontinuation of the Bikers parade in honour of the victims of the accident.

    Governor Ayade while promising to ensure the culprit is arrested and brought to book, however, sued for calm.

  • BREAKING: Calabar carnival turns ‘bloody’; 7 dead, many injured

    BREAKING: Calabar carnival turns ‘bloody’; 7 dead, many injured

    Seven (7) persons have been confirmed dead and twenty-nine (29) others sustained various degrees of injuries in an incident that occurred during the annual Calabar Carnival on Tuesday.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Cross River State has confirmed the ‘bloody’ incident.

    The Sector Commander of the Corps, Maikano Hassan confirmed the number of casualties.

    Hassan said that the incident occurred in front of the Jumat Mosque in Bogobiri in the capital city of Cross River during the Bikers Carnival activity of the carnival.

    He listed the number of injured to include 21 male adults, three women, two male children and three female children.

    The FRSC boss said that the injured were rushed to Naval hospital and the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) for medical attention.

    He said that the remains of the dead had been deposited in the two hospitals in Calabar.

    According to him, the incident occurred when a Toyota Camry car lost control and rammed into a crowd of onlookers during the carnival.

    The incident abruptly brought the day five activity to an end, where the state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade was already seated with other dignitaries.

    It would be recalled that the annual carnival which started during the administration of Donald Duke, has not been held for the past two years.

    The carnival was suspended in 2020 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic while no reason was given for the carnival not holding in 2021.

    Efforts were still being made to put some facilities in place for the 2022 edition of the carnival which was hurriedly put up.

    Meanwhile, Gov Ayade has condoled with families of those who lost their lives and promised to bring to book the driver of the vehicle that caused the accident.

  • Why El-Rufai, Ayade, others spoke for me at Chatham House – Tinubu

    Why El-Rufai, Ayade, others spoke for me at Chatham House – Tinubu

    Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai and his Cross River State counterpart, Ben Ayade answered questions on behalf of Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 elections, at Chatham House, London, on Monday.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Tinubu also delegated Dele Alake, Adviser, Media, Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council and a former Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State, Wale Edun to respond to questions on his behalf.

    Others, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; former Ekiti Governor, Kayode Fayemi; APC National Women’s Leader, Dr Betta Edu; also answered questions.

    According to the former Lagos Governor, he adopted the delegation method “to show team-ship”. Tinubu spoke at the Chatham House lecture titled: ‘Nigeria’s 2023 elections: In conversation with Bola Ahmed Tinubu’, monitored by The Nation.

    At the lecture, Tinubu, after his opening remarks, assigned Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai to speak on how his government if elected would address insecurity while Alake responded to a question on oil theft that recently rocked Nigeria.

    Tinubu said: “Let me demonstrate here one of those philosophies and doctrines that I believe firmly in, it is team-ship, unbreakable team. To demonstrate that, I’ll assign it to my team.”

    On education, Tinubu promised to provide student loans and reform the Almajiri educational system practiced in northern Nigeria.

    El-Rufai who answered questions on security, stated that banditry, terrorism, separatism, and oil theft require a new approach including increasing the number of security operatives.

    “The numbers must change and the Bola Tinubu administration already has a blueprint which is embedded in our action plan to address this. We will scale up the numbers of the armed forces. We’ll ramp up not only the numbers but the training and the equipment,” the Kaduna governor said.

    Alake, on his part, answered the question on how Tinubu plans to lift Nigerians out of poverty if elected and also curb oil theft in six months. “The key to his policy for increasing economic growth is to enable the private sector to make the investment that will increase productivity, grow the economy, create jobs, and reduce poverty,” he said.

    Also, Gbajabiamila responded to the question on the strategies of Tinubu on defence, the APC national women’s leader answered the question on healthcare delivery, and how to convert brain drain into gain gain for the country amongst others.

  • 2023 General elections: Court declares Prof Ben Ayade as APC’s rightful Senatorial candidate to Cross River North

    2023 General elections: Court declares Prof Ben Ayade as APC’s rightful Senatorial candidate to Cross River North

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has declared Cross River State Governor, Prof Ben Ayade, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) rightful Senatorial candidate to the Cross River North Senatorial District in the 2023 General elections.

    The trial judge, Justice Nkeonye Evelyn Maha, dismissed Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1232/2022, instituted by Cecilia Omonya Adams, who had claimed to be the rightful Senatorial candidate.

    Ayade had through his counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, argued that MRS CECILIA OMONYA ADAMS who had participated in the May 28 primaries of the APC, but did not participate in the APC primaries of 14th July, 2022, for the Cross River North Senatorial District towards the 2023 General Elections, has no locus standi to approach the court to challenge the candidacy of Governor Ben Ayade who was duly nominated by his APC party during the July 14, 2022 primaries.

    The Plaintiff had through an Originating Summons filed on 26th July, 2022, approached the Federal High Court, Abuja, praying amongst others, for “AN ORDER directing the INEC to recognize, accept and publish her name as the candidate of the APC for the Cross River North Senatorial District.

    She had also asked, in the ALTERNATIVE, for “AN ORDER directing the APC to conduct another primaries where only those who had bought forms to contest the primaries of 28th May, 2022, will participate; or that the Plaintiff be confirmed and returned as the candidate of the APC for the said election.

    Also joined as Co-defendants with Ayade in the suit challenging the APC primaries were the APC, INEC and Martin Orin, who had earlier won the May 28 Senatorial primaries, but had resigned to enable a fresh primaries be conducted by INEC. It was from this fresh primaries that Ayade emerged as the sole contestant and winner on 14th July, 2022.

    Justice Maha in her judgment delivered Wednesday, 30th November, 2022, while dismissing the Suit, agreed with the submissions of Chief Ozekhome, SAN, that MRS ADAMS lacked the locus standi to have instituted the suit against Governor Ayade having not participated in the APC primaries of 14th July, 2022, from which Governor Ayade duly emerged as the APC candidate for the Cross River North Senatorial District.

    The court held that Mrs ADAMS failed to establish or prove that Ayade was not properly nominated by his party; or that any of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the Electoral Act, INEC Guidelines, or the Constitution of APC, had in any way been breached by the APC or Ayade in his emergence as the APC Senatorial candidate.

    Justice Maha further declined to accept the argument of the plaintiff that the fresh primaries thus held were re-run elections, rather than by-elections.

    The court also held that even on the issue of “place holder” which the plaintiff harped on, the Electoral Act was silent on it as it has no provision pertaining to place holder.

    The court equally held that there was ample documentary evidence of the conduct of valid primaries in which Ayade who was the duly nominated candidate of the APC, solely participated and won, without evidence of the plaintiff participating in them.

    There was equally documentary evidence that the APC duly notified INEC of the primaries conducted on the 14th of July, 2022; and that the requirement of giving notice as contemplated under the Electoral Act is not to notify the plaintiff (Cecilia), but INEC.

    Ayade who had earlier in the year won his defection case from PDP to APC against the PDP before Justice Taiwo Obayomi Taiwo in a suit also argued by Ozekhome now has his coast cleared as the APC Senatorial candidate for the 2023 Cross River North Senatorial District.

  • Gov. Ayade’s aide recounts embarrassing moment with his wife

    Gov. Ayade’s aide recounts embarrassing moment with his wife

    The special assistant to governor Ben Ayade, of Cross River state, on Strategic Communication, Andrea Ekeng Inyang, has recounted an embarrassing moment with his wife.

    According to Inyang, he abandoned his wife when some gunmen shot sporadically into the air while they were returning from church, four years ago.

    Inyang disclosed this on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

    He wrote;  “4 years ago, my wife and I were returning from church in the evening around Atamunum,”

    Next we saw a Toyota Corolla pull up infront of us and 3 guys jumped out of the car and fired shots into the air.

    Omo, I forget marriage oh. I run go burst person veranda enter first before I come remember say I waka with my wife. She even ran and took cover elsewhere.

    After the boys had finished their operations, I felt very embarrassed coming out to face her.

    A whole SA to Governor, a stand well comrade and a respected stakeholder in the community, running like an antelope.

    So before you come here to say you can’t run and leave your spouse, make sure you’re used to the sound of guns.