The Hope Democratic Party (HDP) has asked the Supreme Court to
stop the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari slated for
tomorrow May 29 in Abuja.
In a notice of appeal filed before the apex court, the party
which participated in the February 23 presidential election, urged
the court to stop the president-elect from presenting himself for
swearing in, pending the final determination of the petitions
challenging the validity of his election
A similar application by the party was dismissed by the
Presidential Election Petition Tribunal for lacking in merit. But
HDP in its appeal faulted the decision of the tribunal in its
ruling delivered on May 22, on the grounds of lack of merit.
In the appeal filed on its behalf by Yusuf Ibrahim, HDP prayed
for an order of the apex court directing the Senate President or
the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) to take over the rein of power
pending the time all issues arising from the last election would be
fully resolved.
It also prayed for another order setting aside the ruling of
justice, Joseph Ikyegh which on May 22, refused to stop the
inauguration of Buhari.
In the notice of appeal, filed on May 24, the HDP claimed that
the tribunal erred in law in striking out its motion without giving
cognizance to relevant laws cited.
Specifically, the party claimed that the tribunal failed to
apply the extant provision of Section 25 of the Electoral Act 2010
mandatorily suspending and return of the questions on the election
of February 23, 2019, presidential election until the validity of
the said election was determined by the tribunal
“The court is under an unwavering duty to obey and apply the
expressed constitutional prohibitive and injunctive provision of
Section 1(2) of 1999 Constitutional to safeguard and uphold the
sanctity of the constitution above any individual, or group
interest under any guise.”
However, the notice of appeal might have suffered a setback as
the registry of the tribunal has refused to transmit the notice of
appeal to the Supreme Court.
The registry said the notice will not be transmitted to the apex
court until the party makes a deposit of N1m (N1M) for assessment
of the record of proceedings and transmitting same to the Supreme
Court as required by law.
But in a press statement, the HDP accused the tribunal of
arbitraries and attempt to truncate its appeal.
The press statement signed by Sani Usman, its national Publicity
Secretary read in part: “It has come to our notice that our
party/petitioner’s notice of appeal to the Supreme Court duly
lodged and assessed by the tribunal registry has since Friday
25/05/2019, after due payment of the filing fees, has been withheld
by the tribunal registry, demanding just this Monday a deposit of
N1million before any other step would be taken to issue date of
settlement of records to ascertain the volume of documents to be
transmitted to the Supreme Court in the interlocutory appeal
arising from the said court ruling of 22/05/2019.
“This development appears arbitrary and unfortunate at this
stage of our democratic experiment. It is like putting the cart
before the horse and clear attempt to deny the
petitioners/appellant their constitutional right of appeal on a
subject deserving and towards improving our laws. We hope that our
relief seeking an order of the Supreme Court that either the Senate
President or the Chief Justice of Nigeria preside over or hold the
rein of government until the appeal is determined in accordance
with the law as no vacuum is allowed in the government of a nation
after May 29, 2019.”
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Dapsy: The Benevolent Investigative
Journalist
By Yushau A. Shuaib
He walked in casually, sat calmly and was received warmly by the
audience. With cheerful demeanour, he cracked jokes, threw banters
and shared pleasantries with guests and participants who thronged
around him like bees in their nest.
It was on June 10, 2013, at 1.55pm when I was about to deliver a
paper at a Media Seminar organized by the Netherland Embassy in
Abuja. The participants were reporters, editors, and spokespersons
of critical institutions.
I watched as the man politely declined offers of a seat in the
front row and sat at the extreme end of the hall.
Since I hardly acknowledge the presence of dignitaries during my
presentation, when time is crucial, I didn’t bother to ask for the
identity of the new guest that was so loved in the hall.
While making the presentation, I noticed that he was very
attentive and kept on nodding in agreement and encouraging gesture
to my points.
During the question and answer session, he stood up and
commended the presentation. Surprisingly, other participants
including General Chris Olukolade, the then Director Defense
Information and Frank Mba, the Police Spokesperson whom I was
meeting for the first time made similar comments.
It was my first public lecture after I was forcefully retired
from the public service by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The man walked up to me. He congratulated me for the paper and
introduced himself thus: “My name is Dapo Olorunyomi, I report for
Premium Times.”
I was not only shocked but felt embarrassed that I could not
recognize the face of the Publisher of the Premium Times that had
been publishing my articles, including the controversial piece that
put me in trouble with the then Finance Minister, Dr, Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala.
Though that day was the first time we were meeting, I had known
Dapo who is popularly called Dapsy as a thoroughbred investigative
and fearless journalist who was born in the ancient city of Kano on
November 8, 1957. I learned that he schooled in Zaria, Ilorin and
Ile-Ife for his primary school, secondary education, university
degree, and postgraduate programmes respectively, before obtaining
other certificates from the University of Oxford and the American
University.
A multi-award award-winning investigative journalist, Dapsy has
always been at the forefront of mainstreaming the practice of
investigative journalism in Nigeria towards exposing corruption,
regulatory failures, and human rights abuses.
His contribution to national development was felt during his
anti-corruption advocacy and public awareness campaign when he
served as Chief of Staff and Policy Director of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“We are sorry about your plight and predicament with the Finance
Minister after the publication of your article in Premium Times,”
Dapsy interrupted my thought as we shook hands.
“Pleasure meeting for the first time today sir. I have no regret
about my publications and thanks for publishing some of them,” I
responded.
“We are ready to defend you and provide our platforms for your
aspirations,” he added.
From that day, I became a regular contributor to the Premium
Times. In fact, one of my articles on the Media-Security
Relationship after the Seminar prompted the Office of the National
Security Adviser (ONSA) to invite me for a chat.
The chat with Colonel Sambo Dasuki, the National Security
Adviser, become a turning point in my life. Not only did Dapsy’s
Premium Times provide their platform for all the interventions and
PR stuff on national security, other media too were quite
generous.
Meanwhile, the encouragements on my first public lecture after
my retirement from the public service opened a floodgate of
subsequent presentations on Media Engagement, Social Media and
Crisis Management.
On a personal level, not only does he develop an interest in my
progress, but he also ensures my son who is a Mass Communication
graduate did an internship under his tutelage. He provides moral
and kind supports to the young man and other budding journalists
and writers in Nigeria towards promoting professional excellence in
journalism.
I am a Public Relations Practitioner rather than a journalist. I
have since realized that not only in a lottery, an effective media
coverage through strategic public relations can catapult a PR
person to an instant star due to the benevolence of a journalist
and the media fairness.
In a nutshell, Dapo Olorunyomi is a very humble and reliable
soul, who would go out of his way to extend kindness to others,
especially those in need of protection and such benevolence.
Yushau A. Shuaib, Author of “An Encounter with the
Spymaster” and Winner of Africa and International Public Relations
Awards contributes this essay in the book “Testimony to Courage-
Essays in Honour of Dapo Olorunyomi” which was launched on May 27,
2019