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Edeoga’s petition against me hopeless throw it out – Peter Mbah urges Tribunal
The Enugu State governor, Barr. Peter Mbah, has urged the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu to dismiss the petition filed against him by the Labour Party and its governorship candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, saying the petition was hopeless, weak, lack substance and an abuse and waste of court time.
Mbah, in his final written address, demonstrated that Edeoga’s petition was ill-fated to be dismissed from the beginning since the petitioners could not provide any shred of evidence in support of the grounds of their petition.
Edeoga had approached the tribunal in April to challenge the March 18 gubernatorial election that brought the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate to power on the grounds of alleged NYSC certificate forgery and election rigging.
However, during trial at the tribunal, the petitioners had failed to prove that the 3rd respondent, Mbah, forged and presented the alleged discharge certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
While urging the court to dismiss the petition before it, Mbah said what Edeoga had succeeded in doing was to waste the resources and time of the court in a voyage doomed to fail as he had neither been able to demonstrate forgery nor rigging against him.
In his final written address, the governor acknowledged the right of the petitioners as citizens to approach the court, but said they ought to have known that they could not procure justice through emotion, sentiment and hearsay evidence.
Quoting a plethora of decisions of the supreme court, Mbah said during the cross examinations, all the witnesses called by Edeoga and the Labour Party only tendered hearsay evidence which is generally inadmissible in law.
He took his time to make mockery of all the hearsay evidence presented to the court by the petitioners, pointing out the major inconsistencies, lapses and conjectures of the petitioners’ witnesses which make the petition dead of arrival.
Recall that some of the witnesses subpoenaed by Edeoga and Labour Party had testified against them at the tribunal affirming that there was neither over voting, BVAS bypass, computational errors of the election figures nor evidence of certificate forgery as against the claims of the petitioners.
For instance, the Enugu State Labour Party Chairman, Barr. Casmir Agbo, who testified for Edeoga, had during cross examination, affirmed that Mbah was qualified to contest the election as NYSC certificate was not a prerequisite for the office of the governor in line with the provisions of section 177 of the constitution.
Agbo further told the tribunal that the governor is a lawyer, who had his Law degree from London, an evidence that Mbah was qualified and would have no reason to submit a forged NYSC discharge certificate not intended by the constitution as a requirement.
Edeoga had also called the NYSC Director of Certification, Ibrahim Muhammad, who only told the tribunal that Mbah was duly mobilised and remobilized for the scheme but could not confirm that the NYSC issued his certificate.
The NYSC Director had failed to tender any document in support that it did not issue Mbah’s discharge certificate or any other certificate it had prepared for the 3rd respondent.
However, in a swift response, the INEC official called by the petitioners informed the tribunal, under cross examination, that the certificate was sent to the NYSC for certification as a public document emanating from the scheme, and that the NYSC duly affirmed its ownership by its certification.
Calling his witness, Mbah had the Nigeria secret police, State Security Service (SSS) testified on its covert investigation indicting the NYSC and its officials of compromise, shaddy job and witch-hunt.
The SSS Deputy Director, Mr. Yahaya Isa Mohammed, who informed the tribunal, under cross examination by the petitioners’ lawyers, that he was in court with the knowledge and approval of the Director General in honour of the subpoena issued by it, said its investigation revealed that Mbah served and was issued with the NYSC discharge certificate in his possession by the scheme.
On the issue of over voting and rigging, Edeoga and Labour Party admitted that most of the witnesses they called were not party accredited agents but insisted they were their members who were informed by those at polling units what happened during the election.
Senior lawyers who have been keenly monitoring the proceedings predicted that Edeoga’s petition is doomed to suffer dismissal from the tribunal up to the supreme court for lack of merit and dearth of evidence except justice is subverted overnight through corrupt means.
“See, I respect the lead counsel of the petitioners, Chief Awomolo SAN, and I would not want to pre-empt the decision of the tribunal as a senior lawyer. However, I have gone through the petition, reply, and final written addresses of the parties. With due respect, the matter will be dismissed for lack of evidence. It shouldn’t have found its way to the tribunal in the first place. It’s an abuse of the court process. Anything short of the above would mean that corruption has been incentivized,” a Lagos based senior lawyer and human rights activist said.
Details have emerged on how the Anambra State government got involved with the fake federal agency domiciled in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF.
The agency was said to be planning to organize a Made in Nigeria fair in the state after the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Mrs Chiamaka Nnake, was made the focal person for Anambra State.
However, following the discovery by the ICPC that the agency is fake, the Anambra SSG lamented that the agency tricked the state government into hosting its maiden Made in Nigeria fair in Anambra in December.
In a statement titled, ‘CLARIFICATION ON THE “MADE-IN-NIGERIA AGENCY AND MY ROLE AS STATE FOCAL PERSON, Nnake said: “I wish to clarify the circumstances surrounding the trending news concerning the purported “Made-in-Nigeria Agency,” in which my photograph has been displayed and I have been identified as one of the state coordinators.
“In January 2026, the Governor received a letter from the Made-in-Nigeria Office, said to be under the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, requesting the nomination of a State Focal Person. In response, the Governor, in February 2026, nominated me as the State Focal Person for Anambra State.
“Following the nominations, Focal Persons from the 36 states have been in a WhatsApp group engaging on issues relating to the activities of the office.
“More recently, the same office wrote to the State requesting that Anambra host the South East Made-in-Nigeria Fair. The request was approved, and an inaugural meeting was held about two weeks ago, with the National Coordinator in attendance.
“Since then, the State Committee has been working on preparations for the Fair, which is scheduled to take place from 2nd – 5th December 2026.
“Beyond these official interactions and engagements, I have no knowledge of, involvement in, or connection with any other activities, claims, or developments attributed to the said office.
“I therefore wish to make it clear that anything beyond the above-mentioned official interactions is entirely outside my knowledge and involvement”.
Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has reacted to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation’s refusal to publicly release certain records relating to President Bola Tinubu, arguing that citing “danger to lives” cannot justify withholding potentially disclosable information from public scrutiny.
The FBI had filed a motion seeking permission to submit ex parte and in camera declarations explaining why it withheld some investigative records concerning allegations of drug trafficking involving Tinubu.
In an application dated August 20, the agency told the US District Court for the District of Columbia that it could not publicly disclose all the reasons for withholding certain records, hence its request to make the declarations privately before the court.
Reacting in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku questioned the FBI’s justification for secrecy, arguing that Nigerians were already bearing the consequences of the government’s economic policies.
“The FBI says disclosure could endanger lives. Which lives? Nigerians are already dying,” he said.
Atiku linked the hardship to the removal of fuel subsidy, arguing that the policy had triggered increases in transportation costs, food prices and production expenses while putting pressure on jobs and household incomes.
“Fuel affects transportation. Transportation affects food prices. Energy affects production. Production affects jobs. All of them determine whether an ordinary Nigerian family can survive until the end of the month,” he said.
The former Vice President also reiterated his pledge to reverse the fuel subsidy removal if elected, describing his proposed approach as one that would be accountable and protected against abuse.
On the FBI records, Atiku said he was not demanding the release of sensitive information that could compromise investigations, including the identities of undercover agents, confidential sources or investigative techniques.
“Protect your agents. Protect your sources. Protect legitimate investigative methods. Redact whatever American law genuinely requires you to redact. But do not stretch those protections until they become a bulletproof vest for Tinubu,” he said.
Atiku described his position as a democratic appeal rather than an attempt to interfere in Nigeria’s internal affairs, insisting that Nigerians had a right to know the background and character of the person leading the country. (Saturday Tribune)
Four members of the same family have reportedly died after consuming amala in Ihima, Okehi Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The family’s dog was also reported to have died after consuming the same food.
Following the incident, the Kogi State Government has ordered an immediate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, saying the Governor of Kogi State, Ahmed Ododo, had directed the Commissioner for Health to commence a comprehensive investigation into the incident.
“The Chief Servant is deeply concerned by this tragic incident and has directed the Commissioner for Health to immediately investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths, with particular attention to the possibility of food poisoning or food contamination.
“The investigation must establish the facts and determine whether the food consumed by the deceased was contaminated or whether any other medical or environmental factor contributed to the deaths.
“Relevant samples and available evidence should be properly examined in accordance with established public health procedures,” Fanwo quoted the governor as directing.
Fanwo said the state government was also concerned by reports that the family’s dog died after consuming the same food, adding that the development would form part of the investigation.
He said the governor had directed the Ministry of Health to work with relevant agencies and stakeholders to ensure that the investigation was thorough and that appropriate public health measures were taken based on its findings.
“The government urges members of the public to remain calm and avoid drawing conclusions about the cause of the deaths until the investigation is concluded and the facts are established by the relevant authorities,” the commissioner said.
Fanwo said the governor commiserated with the bereaved family and the people of Ihima over the incident, praying that God would grant the family the strength and comfort to bear the loss.
He assured the people of Kogi State that the government would make further information available as soon as verified facts emerge from the investigation.
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