news
Oyetola, APC, INEC urge Appeal Court to uphold Osun election
….Court reserves judgments on four appeals
The Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have asked the Court of Appeal in Abuja to uphold the victory of Oyetola and APC in the governorship election held in the state on September 22 and 27, 2018.
Their request is contained in three separate appeals they filed against the majority judgment given by the Osun State Governorship Election Tribunal on March 22, 2019.
The tribunal had, in the majority judgment, given by two of its three members upheld the petition by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the election, Senator Ademola Adeleke and voided Oyetola and APC’s victory.
In their appeals, argued on Wednesday, Oyetola, the APC and INEC prayed the five-man panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Jummai Sankey, to set aside the majority decision of the tribunal, uphold their appeals and dismiss the October 16, 2018 petition by Adeleke and the PDP.
They equally urged the court to dismiss the cross-appeal filed by Adeleke, on the grounds that it is unmeritorious.
In the appeal by Oyetola, his lawyer, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) faulted the reasons given by the tribunal in reaching the judgment appealed against, arguing that the decision was not supported by the evidence led by the petitioners.
He urged the court to void the judgment because the judge, Justice Peter Obiorah who wrote and delivered it, did not participate in all the proceedings of the tribunal.
Olanipekun noted that “the judge, who did not sit, came to write the leading judgment and reviewed the evidence of the February 6, 2019 proceedings where he was absent.
“Adjudication is like video watching. It cannot be done by proxy. The judge cannot analyse the evidence of a witness, whose demeanor he did not observe. The judgement should be declared a nullity on this ground alone”
Olanipekun, who said he and some named senior lawyers were at the tribunal on February 6, 2019, faulted the argument by lawyer to Adeleke and the PDP that it was not clear from the record of proceedings, whether or not Justice Obiorah was absent on the particular day.
He argued that the judge’s failure to sigh at the end of the proceedings on February 6, 2019 was enough evidence to justify the appellant’s claim that Justice Obiorah was absent on the day in question.
Olanipekun also faulted the tribunal’s cancellation of results in 17 polling units in the state, and noted that the petitioners did not tender any result of the election before the tribunal.
“If there was no result before the tribunal, the tribunal could not have cancelled what was not before it. Since no single result was submitted and could not have been cancelled,” he said.
He argued that the tribunal went beyond its powers by annulling results in the 17 polling units in order to justify its the judgement it gave in favour of the petitioners.
Read Also: Easter: Oyetola okays free train transport for Osun citizens
Lawyer to the APC, Akin Olujinmi (SAN), while arguing the party’s appeal, contended that the tribunal was wrong to have allowed the petition, which was incurably incompetent.
“The 1st and 2nd respondents sought to be declared winner of the election, held on September 22, 2018, which was declared inconclusive. They also asked the tribunal to void the rerun election held on September 27, 2018, because they believed it was unlawful.
“You cannot say you should be declared a winner on the election that you said was unlawful and void,” he said.
Olujinmi accused the tribunal of exceeding its jurisdiction when it engaged in amending the petitioners’ reliefs to make them grantable.
“No tribunal has the jurisdiction to reframe, amend or formulate reliefs for the petitioners.
“On realising that the reliefs could not be granted, they (members of the tribunal) amended the reliefs and granted it by themselves.
“We are saying the tribunal has no power to amend a petitioner’s reliefs. The much they ought to do, on realising that the reliefs could not be granted, was to have dismissed the petition.”
He further faulted the tribunal for holding that the petitioners proved its case of non-compliance in respect of the polling units where it voided results.
Olujinmi added: “The tribunal was wrong. They cannot use the allegation of non-compliance directed at the election of September 27 against the election of September 22.
“The tribunal relied on certified true copy of Form EC8A, which they said were dumped on the tribunal. This was what they still relied on to nullify results in the polling units in which they said malpractices were proved. The so called non-complaince did not affect the result of the election,” Olujinmi said.
He argued that the tribunal went outside its powers and contravened Section 140(2) of the Electoral Act when it engaged in the deduction of votes from the outcome of the election to arrive at the decision it gave.
Lawyer to INEC, Yusuf Ali (SAN) who argued in similar manner, contended that the tribunal erred in its majority judgment, particularly as regards the issue of non-compliance.
He noted that the tribunal, having found that accreditation was properly done and that all witnesses agreed that the votes scored were not affected by the omissions noted in some result sheets, ought not to have voided any results.
Citing Section 134 (b) of the Electoral Act, Ali argued that non-compliance means not compliance with the provision of the Act, not an act of omission on the part of INEC officials, which are not contrary to the provision of the Act.
Ali also argued that since the tribunal held that the petitioners did not prove over-voting and non-compliance, it ought not to have turned around to void votes in some polling units.
On the question of why INEC did not call it witnesses at the tribunal, Ali said it was unnecessary because the petitioners did not discharge the burden of prove placed on them by the law to warrant INEC to call fresh witnesses.
Ali added: “There is no law that said INEC most call witnesses, since the petitioners could not discharge the responsibility of proving their declarative reliefs, there was no need for INEC to have called its own witnesses.”
Lawyer to Adeleke and the PDP, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) faulted the three appeals and the arguments proffered by Olanipekun, Olujinmi and Ali.
Ikpeazu argued that the tribunal was right in its decision to have declared Adeleke and his party as the winner of the election.
He faulted the argument that Justice Obiorah did not participate in all the proceedings of the tribunal, arguing that there was no sufficient evidence to that effect.
Ikpeazu urged the court to dismiss the three appeals and uphold the judgment of the tribunal.
Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN), who argued Adeleke’s cross-appeal, urged the court to allow his client’s appeal and reverse the portion of the judgment, where the tribunal rejected the evidence the petitioners lead in relation to six polling units.
Ogunwumiju argued that the tribunal wrongly excluded some of its evidence, because while it called 23 witnesses to prove it’s allegation of non-compliance in 23 polling units, the tribunal only upheld 17 where it voided elections.
Olanipekun, Olujinmi and Ali argued that the cross appeal was incompetent on several grounds and urged the tribunal to reject it.
At the conclusion of proceedings that lasted over eight hours, the presiding judge, Justice Sankey said judgments would be reserved till a later date.
She told parties that the date of the judgment would be communicated to them by the court’s Registry.
Other members of the court’s five-man panel are: Justices Abubakar Datti Yahaya, Ita George Mbaba, Isaiah Olufemi Akeju and Bitrus Sanga.
…….GDP rose 4.43 per cent in Q2
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu yesterday assured Nigerians that his administration would intensify efforts to translate improving economic indicators into better living conditions. NigerianBusiness Directory
He declared that the economy is now on an “irreversible path” towards growth that households will feel at their dining tables and in their pockets.
The President said the Federal Government would, within the next few weeks, introduce measures targeted at vulnerable Nigerians, including cheaper means of transportation, increased food production and relief programmes designed to directly reach people at the grassroots.
Tinubu gave the assurances in his reaction to the latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures released yesterday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report shows that the Nigerian economy grew by 4.43 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 4.23 per cent recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2025. NigerianBusiness Directory
The President welcomed the figures as further evidence that the economic reforms undertaken by his administration since May 2023 were yielding results, according to a statement by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga.
Applying For Government Grants
“Under our watch, the economy is on the irreversible path to experience even more growth that all homes will feel at the dining table and in their pockets. We are not resting on our oars.
“We are fully committed to translating consistent, stronger economic performance into better microeconomic outcomes for our citizens. We must stay vigilant by ensuring the sustainable progress we are recording remains irreversible,” Tinubu said.
According to the NBS report, growth was recorded across agriculture, manufacturing, oil and gas, and services, with the services sector maintaining its position as the largest contributor to aggregate GDP.
Political Representation Advocacy
Nigerian Partnership Consulting
Nigeria Investment Guide
In nominal terms, Nigeria’s aggregate GDP rose to N119.27 trillion in the second quarter, representing an 18.43 per cent increase from the N100.7 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Tinubu said his administration had spent the past three years taking difficult decisions necessary to stabilise the economy.
“In the past three years, we tried to do the hard part by implementing the necessary reforms to stabilise the economy.
“Now the economy is stabilised, and we have laid the foundation for a prosperous nation. We didn’t do the reforms to create challenges, but to ensure prosperity reaches all our people,” he said.
The President said the latest growth figures were among a series of indicators showing that his Renewed Hope Agenda was working, pointing to improvements in the country’s external reserves, trade position, credit ratings, infrastructure development and oil and gas production.
“The results of the efforts are becoming very clear to all: The Renewed Hope Agenda is working. Because of those tough decisions, today Nigeria has trade surpluses. Our foreign reserves are at their highest in 17 years. Our credit rating has moved up several notches.
“We are building roads, railways and superhighways that will last for a long time. Investors who left are returning. Oil and gas production is increasing,” Tinubu said.
He also cited developments in the education sector as evidence of progress, saying Nigerian universities had enjoyed stability while the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) was expanding access to tertiary education.
“And in our universities, for the first time in a long time, there are no strikes. Our children are in class. And through NELFUND, student loans are putting education within reach, and affordable credit is going to our civil servants through Creditcorp,” he said.
The President said the next phase of the administration’s intervention would place greater emphasis on alleviating pressures confronting vulnerable Nigerians and ensuring that improving macroeconomic indicators translate into tangible benefits. NigerianBusiness Directory
“In the next few weeks, we are addressing some of the challenges being faced by our vulnerable population by providing cheaper means of transport, ramping up food production and implementing various relief programmes that will touch lives at the grassroots,” he said.
Tinubu also took a swipe at the opposition, saying the latest economic figures had come at a time when opposition elements were attempting to diminish the achievements of his administration and promising to reverse some of its reforms if elected.
He maintained that the policies undertaken since the beginning of his administration were not intended to impose hardship on Nigerians, but to correct structural weaknesses and create the foundation for sustainable prosperity. NigerianBusiness Directory
The President pledged that his administration would remain focused on consolidating the gains recorded so far.
Economy expands further on broad-based growth across sectors
The NBS report, which shows 4.43 per cent growth in the second quarter, indicates that the growth outperformed both the first quarter of 2026 and the corresponding second quarter of 2025.
The report highlighted a broad-based economic expansion driven by significant improvements in the agricultural segment, non-oil sector, services and sustained growth in the oil sector.
The agricultural sector almost doubled its performance, with a growth of 4.39 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 compared with 2.82 per cent in the corresponding period of 2025.
The non-oil sector, which accounted for about 96 per cent of the economy, grew by 67 basis points to 4.31 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 3.64 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2025. Non-oil sector growth was 3.94 per cent in the first quarter of 2026.
Non-oil sector performance was driven by growth across various segments, including crop production, telecommunications, real estate, trade, financial institutions, cement manufacturing and construction, among others.
The oil sector grew by 7.31 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, higher than the 2.57 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2026, but lower than the 20.46 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2025.
The industrial sector also grew by 3.96 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, as against 7.46 per cent recorded in the comparative period of 2025.
Average daily crude oil production rose to 1.72 million barrels per day (mbpd) in the second quarter of 2026, outperforming both the preceding quarter and the comparable period of 2025.
Crude production in the second quarter of 2026 was the highest since 2022. Oil production stood at 1.68 mbpd in the second quarter of 2025 and 1.55 mbpd in the first quarter of 2026.
The oil sector thus contributed 4.16 per cent to total real GDP in the second quarter of 2026, a sustained improvement on the 4.05 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2025 and 3.92 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2026.
In nominal terms, total GDP rose by 18.43 per cent from N100.73 trillion in the second quarter of 2025 to N119.29 trillion in the second quarter of 2026.
In terms of GDP share, the services sector remained the dominant driver, contributing 56.62 per cent to aggregate GDP in the second quarter of 2026, as against 56.53 per cent recorded in the comparable period of 2025.
Exploring African Diaspora Media
Nigerian Partnership Consulting
Exploring Guided Local City Tours
Political Representation Advocacy
The non-oil sector contributed 95.84 per cent to aggregate real GDP in the second quarter of 2026, as against 95.95 per cent in the second quarter of 2025 and 96.08 per cent in the first quarter of 2026.
Experts were unanimous that the latest GDP report showed a positive outlook for the economy.
Analysts at SCM Capital stated that the second-quarter 2026 GDP report underlined improved macroeconomic conditions and broad-based policy support, which have continued to anchor economic performance.
They said the report showed broad-based resilience, with an uptick in oil output reflecting gradual operational improvements and sustained field activity across major production basins, alongside a non-oil sector gaining stronger momentum.
Analysts at Coronation Group and Cordros Capital Group stated that the GDP performance outpaced their expectations, noting that the economy had shown resilience and steady growth.
sustained economic resilience, with growth anchored by the services sector alongside gradual improvement across non-oil activities.
“The outturn affirms our broader expectation of a steady, non-oil-led growth trajectory through the rest of the year,” Coronation Group stated.
news
Update : NRC Releases Preliminary Report on Warri-Itakpe Train Crash, Says Wheel Defect May Have Triggered Derailment
……NRC Suspects Wheel Defect, Rules Out Track Vandalism
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has released its preliminary report on the June 8, 2026 derailment involving the Warri–Itakpe Train Service (WITS), revealing that a possible sudden bogie or wheel defect may have triggered the accident.
The incident occurred at about 4:17pm near the Outer Home signal of the Goodluck Jonathan Railway Station at kilometre 177, Owa-Oyibu, Agbor, Delta State.
According to the NRC, the train had departed Itakpe at 12 noon with 482 people on board, comprising 442 passengers and 40 operational personnel, when the derailment occurred.
Five coaches, one locomotive and a power car were affected, with three coaches and the power car overturning.
The Corporation said emergency response operations were immediately activated with support from the Delta State Government, the Nigeria Police Force, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), local authorities and medical teams.
All passengers were evacuated within two hours of the incident.
However, the accident resulted in four confirmed deaths — three adults and one child — while 64 people sustained various injuries.
The NRC said 28 injured passengers were treated and discharged at the Railway Hospital, Owa-Oyibu, while another 36 were transferred to hospitals in Owa-Oyibu, Owa-Alero and Agbor.
Most of those admitted were discharged within 72 hours, while three people, including an NRC employee who required surgery, remained under specialist medical care. Two of the affected persons subsequently underwent surgical procedures.
The Corporation also clarified that its initial report of five fatalities was later revised to four following verification with the Delta State medical team responsible for the deceased.
Possible wheel defect identified
The NRC said its internal investigation involved site inspections, evidence gathering, examination of operational records and communication data, technical assessments of the locomotive and rolling stock, as well as interviews with train crew, operations and maintenance personnel, witnesses and emergency responders.
The investigation also examined the track infrastructure, turnout arrangements, communication systems and the effectiveness of the emergency response and evacuation operations.
Based on the preliminary findings, the NRC said investigators identified the possible sudden development of a bogie/wheel defect while the train was in motion as a potential primary factor in the derailment.
According to the Corporation, such a defect could have resulted in abnormal wheel-rail interaction, excessive impact loading and loss of running stability.
The investigators also identified the possible manner in which the train’s brakes were applied as a factor that may have contributed to the severity of the accident.
However, the NRC stressed that both issues remain working hypotheses and that the definitive cause of the derailment would only be established after further technical analysis.
No evidence of track vandalism
The Corporation said its inquiry team found that the railway points at the accident location were intact and that there was no evidence of track vandalism.
This finding distinguishes the June 8 incident from two previous accidents involving the same Warri–Itakpe service on November 1 and November 8, 2025, which the NRC said were attributed to track vandalism.
The independent Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has also commenced its statutory investigation into the accident.
The NRC said it was cooperating fully with the NSIB and would be guided by the findings and recommendations contained in its final report.
NRC announces safety measures
Following the preliminary findings, the Corporation recommended comprehensive safety inspections and audits of rolling stock, railway tracks and infrastructure before equipment is returned to service.
It also called for stronger maintenance and condition-monitoring programmes, timely replacement of defective components and improved availability of critical spare parts.
The NRC further recommended a review of operational safety procedures, improved emergency preparedness and rescue capabilities, enhanced staff training and competency assessments, as well as sustainable funding for railway modernisation.
The Corporation also proposed improvements to its insurance and compensation framework to ensure adequate protection for passengers and staff in cases involving medical treatment, disability and fatalities.
WITS service yet to resume
The NRC said the affected track has been fully recovered and restored, while the locomotives involved have also been recovered and are currently undergoing reconditioning.
However, the Corporation said the Warri–Itakpe service would not resume until a detailed safety audit of the track and equipment has been completed.
The NRC expressed condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the incident and apologised for the delay in releasing the preliminary report, explaining that additional time was required to properly verify the casualties and notify the affected families.
The Corporation said it remained committed to implementing recommendations arising from both its internal accident inquiry and the independent NSIB investigation, with the aim of strengthening railway safety and restoring public confidence in train transportation.
I’m
Veteran Yoruba actor Taiwo Hassan, popularly known as Ogogo, has died at 66.
His daughter, Kira Taiwo, confirmed his passing during an Instagram Live session on Sunday.
The news comes days after Kira and her sister, Lima Taiwo, made public appeals on Monday, August 17, 2026, for medical advice for their father, who was battling stage-four cancer.
Kira said doctors had stopped chemotherapy because of his condition, and the family was seeking alternative treatments, including specialised procedures and traditional remedies.
She clarified that the family was not asking for financial donations, but for information on possible treatment options.
-
news6 years agoUPDATE: #ENDSARS: CCTV footage of Lekki shootings intact – Says Sanwo – Olu
-
lifestyle6 years agoFormer Miss World: Mixed reactions trail Agbani Darego’s looks
-
health5 years agoChairman Agege LG, Ganiyu Egunjobi Receives Covid-19 Vaccines
-
lifestyle5 years agoObateru: Celebrating a Quintessential PR Man at 60
-
news1 year agoBREAKING: Tinubu swears in new NNPCL Board
-
health6 years agoUPDATE : Nigeria Records 790 new cases of COVID-19
-
entertainment2 years agoAshny Set for Valentine Special and new Album ‘ Femme Fatale’
-
health6 years agoBREAKING: Nigeria confirms 663 new cases of COVID-19