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Making Atiku My Vice-President was A Mistake – Obasanjo

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2023 Elections'll Make Or Break Nigeria - Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has disclosed that he made two mistakes which included the choice of his ‘number two’ ahead of the 1999 presidential election.

Obasanjo said on Saturday that the second mistake was his refusal to accept an asylum when he was told that the late Head of State, Sani Abacha, wanted to arrest him, the action, he said, could have led to his death .

Obasanjo became democratically elected President in 1999 while the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, was his vice president.

Obasanjo, who did not mention Atiku in his statement, said it was a mistake he made in good faith, but was saved by God

The former president spoke on his life and achievements both as a military Head of State and as a civilian President.

Obasanjo stated this while answering questions posed by students from selected secondary schools that participated in the finals of the National Exhibition and Awards organised by Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship.

The event, held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State, featured presentations and exhibitions of some products made by students of the participating schools.

The former president, while interacting with the students during a question and answer session, said he had many mistakes, which he could describe as genuine mistakes in his life but God made him to overcome.

READ ALSO: Obasanjo Seeks State Police To Check Insecurity

He said, “One of the mistakes I made was picking my number two when I wanted to become the President. But because it was a genuine mistake, God saved me.

“The second one was when Abacha wanted to arrest me. When he wanted to arrest me, I was told by the American ambassador that they would arrest me and that America had asked that I should be given an asylum. I said ‘No’. It could have been a mistake because I could have lost my life.

“I will say there are many things that could have been a mistake but God saved me from them all.”

While speaking on opportunities for the youths to take over the mantle of leadership in the country, Obasanjo said youths can never come into power, if the current trend continues.

He said with the “Not Too Young to Run campaign, and you can see that those that are contesting now are between 70 and 80 years old, how can the youths run?”

He added, “Another thing inhibiting youth from running is the amount of money involved in going into politics. I hope that things should not continue like this.

“I was 39 years old when I became the Military Head of State. Twenty years later, I came back as civilian president, but those there now do not want to allow the youths. If things continue like this, I do not know how you can come in.”

The former president also tutored the students that they should imbibe religious tolerance.

He advised them not to see their own religion as superior to that of another person.

Obasanjo said, “I have no right to say what another man belief in is inferior to mine. If God had wanted all of us to be of the same religion, he would have made it so, and since He did not make it so, no person should attempt to make it so.

“Young people should learn at a very early stage in life that if there are five religions in the world, that is how God wants it to be. If there are ten, that is how God wants it. All religions originate from the same source.

“If you are a Muslim and you did not live the way God wants you to live, you cannot enter Aljannah. If you are a Christian and you did not live the way God wants you to live, the same thing, you will not enter paradise.

“If this is the basis of religion, it is doing the right thing for the benefits of mankind, you don’t have to condemn any person because of what he believes.

“I do not believe that any religion is superior to mine and I don’t believe that mine is superior to another person’s beliefs. I will not allow any person to cast aspersions on my religion and will not do same for another person. Practise your religion the way God wants you to do it and don’t condemn another person.”

Welcoming participant at the event, the Chairman of SAGE Nigeria, Agwu Amogu, said the programme was to celebrate the creative energies and commitments of teen entrepreneurs who see the challenges in the communities as their responsibilities.

READ ALSO: Only Dishonest Nigerians Say Everything’s Well With Nigeria – Obasanjo

He said, “SAGE is an acronym for Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship. It is an international programme initiated at the California State University Chico USA in 2002 and currently operational in over 32 countries across all the continents of the world.

“It offers secondary school-age young people a hands-on learning process on how to create wealth, help others and their communities.”

Amigu said since the introduction of the programme in Nigeria in 2006, it has shown that it is a potent strategy and model for educational reform, youth re-orientation, job creation and poverty alleviation and multi-cultural integration

According to him, Nigeria urgently needs a new paradigm for education.

“The new paradigm must provide students with a chance to learn while solving community problems and immediately applying what they have learnt in the classroom by actually doing something great.

“We now live in a world where any country can compete effectively with others based on the creative imagination of its human capital. There is no better place to stoke the fire of imagination than in the young people. And that is where SAGE comes in.

“SAGE is about creating value. Students are encouraged to create something of value in their communities by applying what they learn in the classroom and testing it in the ultimate laboratory – the free market,” he said.

READ ALSO: Governing Nigeria Requires Touch Of Madness – Obasanjo

Amogu added, “We firmly believe that Nigeria can be a world leader in providing potent human capital to the rest of the world; setting a benchmark for other countries to follow.

“Having won the SAGE World Competition 8 times in the last 12 years, I have no doubt in my mind that Nigerian young people are some of the most energetic and enterprising in the world and they can quicken our rise to a global super power status.”

The SAGE chairman said winners of this year’s competition would represent Nigeria in the SAGE World Competition holding in Netherlands in August, 2022.

 

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BREAKING: Alex Otti Of Labour Party Emerges Abia Governor-elect

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Alex Otti

Alex Otti of the Labour Party has emerged the winner of Abia State governorship election.

This followed the eventual declaration, on Wednesday, of the results of the controversial Obingwa Local Government Area results.

With the conclusion of the collation of the outstanding results of the election, the Peoples Democratic Party scored 9,962 votes while the Labour Party, 3,776 votes in the LGA.

Consequently, the LP has won in 10 LGAs, the PDP in six LGAs, and the Young Peoples Party in one LGA.

The governorship candidate of the Labour Party in Abia State, Chief Alex Otti, was, consequently declared the winner of the 2023 governorship election in Abia State.

Otti polled a total of 175,466 to defeat his closest rival and candidate of the PDP who scored 88,526.

The Returning Officer, Prof. Nnenna Oti, declared the LP candidate the winner at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Umuahia, the state capital, Wednesday afternoon after completing the suspended collation of results.

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CAN, Churches Defeat Govt Over CAMA Act

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Emefiele Sick, Can't Meet With Reps - CBN
President Buhari

It was victory for the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and churches under it as a Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, stopped the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) from suspending or appointing their trustees.

Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a judgment, held that the provisions of Sections 17 (1), 839 (1) and (7) (a), 842 (1) and (2), 851 and 854 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020 and Regulations 28, 29 and 30 of the Companies Regulations (CR), 2021 were not applicable to CAN and the churches, including mosques, as a religious body.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Registered Trustees of CAN, in the originating summons marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/84/2022 field by Joe Gadzama, SAN, had sued the CAC and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment as 1st and 2nd defendants respectively.

The plaintiff, in the suit, had posed five questions for determination.

CAN had asked the court to determine that whether Section 839, Subsections (1), (7) (a) and (10) of the CAMA, 2020 and regulations 28 – 30 of the CR, 2021 are inconsistent with Sections 4 (8), 6 (6) (b) and 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) which guarantees the its right to freedom of association and the right to seek redress in court, among others.

It, therefore, sought 13 reliefs which include a declaration that Section 839 (1), (7) (a) and (10) of the CAMA and Sections 28 – 30 of the CR are inconsistent with |Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution, and thus unconstitutional, null and void.

“An order striking down Sections 839(1), (7) (a) and (10), 842(1) and (2), 843, 851 and 854 of the CAMA for being unconstitutional.

“A declaration that Section 17(2) (a) and (d) of the CAMA demand an impossible and impracticable action; thus, void and for being impracticable and unknown to Law.”

CAN also prayed for an order of perpetual injunction restraining and barring the defendants from taking any step to give effect to the provisions of Sections 17(2) (a) and (d), 839(1), 842(1) and (2), 842(1) and (2), 842, 843, 851 and 854 of the CAMA against it as mentioned in Article 4 of its constitution, to prevent further contravention of the provisions of Sections 4(8), 6(6)(b), 251(1)(e) and 251(3) of the 1999 Constitution.

It argued if CAC was allowed to suspend its trustees and appoint interim managers to manage its affairs, it would be usurping its powers under the constitution and the powers of the standing committee and the plenary session which would not be in line with the constitution.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Ekwo said that the CAC did not controvert the averment of CAN that it was constituted by the churches.

“It is settled law that averments without contradicting evidence or averments are deemed admitted.

“There is a need at this point to define what a church is in order to see how applicable the provisions of the CAMA 2020 can be applicable to it,” he said.

Citing a previous case, the judge said “a church in its true definition is the body of Christ. One person cannot constitute the body of Christ; it connotes a congregation, an assembly of people. An individual cannot own a church. A church property must be the collective responsibility of all the members.”

He said the summary of the above was that “the church is an ecclesiastical being.

“Each church is characterised by its distinct dogma or creed and same for each congregation and denomination that constitute the church.

“It is on this ground that it is impossible for one church to be administered by another church and the church being what it is for the soul of man, the doctrinal distinctness and difference must be respected by the authorities within and without.

“This being so, it is then impracticable for the church or a denomination thereof to be administered by secular arrangement such as interim manager or managers stated in

Section 839 of the CAMA 2020 or any other arrangement put in place by the CAMA which does not take into account the doctrinal composition of the church.

“It is also my opinion that to suspend the trustees and appoint an interim manager or managers to manage the affairs of the church will conflict with the sacerdotal order of its divine administration and desecrate same.”

Justice Ekwo, who observed that the Minister of Trade (2nd defendant) neither filed any application nor represented in court despite being served by the plaintiff, held that the effect of the failure of a defendant to file pleadings is that the assertions of the claimant stands unchallenged and are deemed admitted and established.

According to him, therefore, the case of the plaintiff succeeds on the merit.

The judge, consequently, made a seven declarations, which include a declaration that Section 839 (1), (7) (a) and (10) of the CAMA 2020 and Regulations 28, 29 and 30 of the CR , 2021 are not applicable to religious organisation as CAN and the churches as they violated the right to worship guaranteed by Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

He also made an order of perpetual Injunction, “restraining the defendants from taking any step to give effect to or implementing and/or continuing with any act to implement the provisions of Sections 839 (1), 842 (1) and (2), 842, 843, 851 and 854 of the CAMA 2020.

Justice Ekwo, however, did not make the generic order striking down the sections of the CAMA 2020 as prayed by the plaintiff.

He said such an order would affect other bodies and organisations registered under Part F of the Act.

“These provisions are applicable in respect of the administration, supervision and regulation of other bodies like company, limited liability partnership, business name or incorporated trustee registered for other purposes stated in Section 823 (1) of the CAMA 2020.

“The court is also unable to strike down the provision of Section 17 (2) (a) and (d) of the CAMA 2020 which provides for mandatory pre-action notice to the 1st defendant, as prayed, as the practicability of compliance with such provision depends on the circumstance of each case thereby affected,” he said.

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BREAKING:Confusion As INEC Rejects Irregular Votes In Abia, Enugu Governorship Election Results

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INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu

There is confusion over the governorship election results of Enugu and Abia States as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rejected some votes it considered irregular.

The Labour Party agents and governorship candidate in Enugu State opposed results collation of Nkanu East council, claiming that the votes were padded.

This was as political thugs reportedly disrupted collation of results in Obingwa council area of Abia State.

These have led to the suspension of the exercise by the electoral umpire on Sunday in the two states.

An INEC official said that the commission had rejected the allegedly padded results after a careful review of the exercise on Tuesday, and wanted the right things to be done.

“For Abia State, INEC ordered that the results should be announced based on the accredited voters,” the source said.

On Enugu’s case, the commission according to the source has similarly ordered the review of the results of the Enugu State Governorship Election of last Saturday.

The collation was suspended following controversy over the alleged padding of results from Nkanu East Council, which returned over 30,000 votes in favour of Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Mr Peter Mbah, while only about 7,000 voters were accredited in the area by the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

The suspension of the announcement of results of Abia and Enugu gubernatorial elections had heightened tension in the two states.

The supporters of PDP’s Mbah have been calling on INEC to announce the results that had been collated and declare their candidate the winner, saying those who opposed the result should go to court.

In Abia, Dr Alex Otti of the Labour Party had won a total of 10 out of the 16 Local Government Area results so far declared by INEC, while his counterpart in Enugu, Hon Chijioke Edeoga, has won nine local governments and is currently in the lead in the state.

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