The Labour Party in Kogi State has debunked the rumours making the round that 21 local government chairmen of the party have defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress.

Addressing newsmen at the party’s secretariat in Lokoja, the Publicity Secretary,  Idakwo Emmanuel said that there was no iota of truth in the rumours adding that it was an act of desperation on the part of APC.

“The level of desperacy of the ruling party is despicable and regrettably lugubrious,” he said.

According to him, “The campaign of Labour Party in Kogi State was flagged off by Mr Peter Obi, the presidential candidate and national leader of the part. The national chairman Julius Abure and other NWC members in attendance were also in attendance.

“Obviously the silence of our party is loud and terrifying to the ruling party as unknown and unidentifiable individuals are now sponsored by them to deceive the masses claiming to be Labour Party local government chairmen.

“I hereby state without equivocation that the structure of the Labour Party is intact and solidly working hard to rescue our dear state, and our move as a party is organic with genuine supporters and members.”

He said that the media and audience following must reject all individuals who are not card-carrying members of the party.

Punch

The New Nigeria People’s Party has blamed a former presidential candidate of the party, Rabiu Kwankwaso of being responsible for the loss of Kano governor, Yusuf Abba at the State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.

The party insisted that Kwankwaso allegedly sold out NNPP to the ruling All Progressives Congress in order to negotiate for a ministerial slot in the President Bola Tinubu-led government.

The Kano State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal had on Wednesday, sacked Abba, and declared the APC candidate, Nasir Gawuna, winner of the March 18 governorship poll.

The three-man panel, led by Justice Oluyemi Akintan-Osadebay, further withdrew the Certificate of Return the Independent National Electoral Commission presented to Yusuf.

Stating reasons why the Kano governor was sacked, the panel said the margin of votes scored by NNPP was invalid and not in compliance with the 2022 electoral act.

The judges deducted 165,663 votes from the NNPP, adding that the ballot papers of the 165,663 were not stamped or signed and therefore declared invalid.

Reacting, One of the Chieftain of NNPP in Southwest, Alhaji Abass Akande Onilewura, in a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday, said the loss of the party in Kano corroborated the anti-party allegation raised against Kwankwaso.

Onilewura stressed that the former NNPP flagbearer’s alleged involvement in anti-party activities led to the big loss the party is facing with the declaration of the Tribunal in Kano.

He insisted that Kwankwaso did not follow due process in the selection of some of the governorship candidates for the party, which reportedly led to the filing of unpopular or unacceptable flagbearers.

He added, “This loss is a big one for us at NNPP and it only happened because of the selfishness of Kwankwaso who sold the party to the highest bidder.

“While we are still waiting for the Certified True Copy of the tribunal judgment, it is important for the world to know that this would not have happened if Kwankwaso had allowed due process and given the ticket to the most qualified candidate but his inlaw.

“Our investigation also showed that the continuous engagement of Kwankwaso with APC at some point gave room for them to discover loopholes which were later used against the Kano governor to secure victory for the opposition.

“It is unfortunate that some of us sweat to get the party to where it is today, only for someone like Kwankwaso to come and make all our efforts a waste. We are happy that someone like that has been expelled from this great party.

“We also want to use the avenue to warn him to stay clear of NNPP, we don’t want a betrayal in our party and we would do anything humanly possible to secure our party from hijackers who are more concerned about personal gain.

“I will also urge our members across the country to remain calm because a new leadership has taken over the party and we would do everything to restore the glory of our party. NNPP will come out to become a strong voice and opposition that would stand for justice, equity, and good governance.”

Punch

Former President of the Nigeria Bar Association, Onueze Okocha (SAN), has said that the deputy governors have no specific constitutional functions, describing them as “spare tyres.” 

Okocha made this known while reacting to the lingering feud between the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki and his deputy, Philip Shaibu.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria in an interview on Channels TV said the deputy governors could only exercise the functions assigned to them by the governor.

He said until circumstances like impeachment, the death, or incapacitation of a governor arise, a deputy governor remains in a passive position, not totally different from that of a spare tyre.

He said, “Deputy governors are like spare tyres, they stay in the boot, nobody uses spare tyres if the four types are working.

“The truth of the matter and this is legal position is that a deputy governor has no specifically assigned functions under the constitution.

“It is only the governor of a state that can assign responsibilities to his deputy or to any of the commissioners in the state executive council.

“So a deputy governor does not really have any responsibility until the governor assigns a responsibility to him. So clearly no deputy governor can claim to have executive authority over any matter in the state until it has been assigned to him by the governor.

“A governor usually has prerogative to pick who should be his running mate and it is expected that the running mate, if they eventually win, will exhibit total loyalty and support to his governor.

“The constitution says clearly that you can exercise only those functions and perform those duties that have been assigned to you by the governor. So this is the point I need to be make to all those who are deputy governors, who are vice presidents. 

“Until the president assigns the function to you, until the governor assigns the function to you, you just stay there and wait until a circumstance may arise.

“If there is something like impeachment, death or incapacitate of a governor, the deputy governor will automatically assume the office but until those situations occur, a deputy governor is just a spare tyre.”

Vanguard