An Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo, the state capital today ruled that Senator Ademola Adeleke be given the opportunity to present his certificate before the court by Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Rasheed Olabayo and Oluwaseun Idowu had approached the court claiming that Senator Adeleke did not possess Certificate as required by Section 177 (d) of the 1999 constitution and told the court to set aside the July 21st, 2018 primary election which produced him as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state.

The court, while ruling on the ex-parte application filed by Rasheed Olabayo and Oluwaseun Idowu, explained that granting the leave to restrain the PDP from presenting Adeleke as its governorship candidate over his inability to present his certificate may subject the court to mockery if the Senator thereafter presents the certificate.

Justice David Oladimeji said, “It will be inequitable not to allow the respondent to come and show his certificate if he has any but if given the opportunity to present side of the case, the balance which is necessary for interlocutory injunction would be adequately considered.”

Justice Oladimeji explained further that the ex-parte injunction as only seven days lifespan and that there are still window left open till August 8 according to the affidavits sworn to by the applicants.

The presiding judge added that “being an election matter, it is my conviction that the public will not be uninterested in the proceedings of this court”, explaining that the importance of the matter would make the court not to grant the injunction and warned that, “once a matter is before a court any party cannot take a further step without the express permission of the court”.

Justice Oladimeji thereafter adjourned the motion on notice till Wednesday, August 1, 2018 for definite hearing, adding that no form of excuse from the litigants would be tolerated by the court.

“I know that those who take Saraki like god will go. This is because wherever Saraki goes they will go. But the mistake they have made is to realize that politics is local.”

These were the words of the Senate Committee Chairman on Police Affairs, Senator Abu Ibrahim, while reacting to the defection of about 13 Senators from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday, Tuesday.

Senator Ibrahim said that the defections by 13 senators and 37 House of Representative members were not only expected but did not come to him as a shock, adding that he made the calculation and came to the conclusion that at least 13 senators will leave the APC.

According to him, the only defection he did not anticipate was the Sokoto State senator, Abdullahi Danbaba.

Senator Ibrahim who represents Katsina South Senatorial District and also chairman of Buhari Support Group, said that nobody would say that someone like Senators Isa Misau and Suleiman Nazif (two Bauchi State senators) were voted because of Saraki.

“They were voted because of Buhari. They will lose their seats. Saraki will not save them. They can’t even go to their constituencies.”

President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria and his counterpart from the Republic of Niger, Patrice Talon of have resolved to take drastic steps, including the setting up of a joint committee to combat smuggling across the boarders of the two countries.
The two leaders, who had a meeting today, Wednesday, at the Presidetial Villa, Abuja, agreed to consult the Niger Republic, which is believed to be a transit point in the concentric circle of smuggling of commodities, particularly rice, into Nigeria.
President Buhari told his guest that Nigeria has succeeded in cutting the importation of rice into the country by about 90 percent, adding that smuggled parboiled rice still finds its way into the country, thus vitiating the efforts of government, and discouraging farmers.
“When I got into office in 2015, the first thing I did was to visit all our neighbours; Niger Republic, Chad, Cameroon, and Benin Republic. It made both economic and security sense, because if you are in good terms with your neighbours, you ultimately spend less on both physical and food security, “the President said.
He said that activities of smugglers are hindering Nigeria’s quest for self-sufficiency, particularly in rice production, saying that a more sinister side to the smuggling menace, has been the influx of small arms and ammunition into the country, thus increasing the spectre of insecurity.
Modalities of the joint committee to combat smuggling are to be worked out as soon as possible, the two leaders agreed.
The Nigerian President also welcomed the idea of a rail network to link Nigeria, Benin Republic, Niger Republic, and some other countries, saying “it is valuable economically,” and would be subjected to further comprehensive study.
President Talon said smuggling affects both Nigeria and his country negatively, and also constitutes a threat to the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
“We are aware of how rice smuggling is affecting the development of local capacity in rice farming in Nigeria. It is affecting trade between us negatively, and Nigeria is an important partner for a country like Benin. But we have no powers to block goods meant for other countries, and our country is not the final destination for the smuggled rice. We need to develop a common will to face the problem,”   President Talon said.

He also submitted that the proposed rail network between the countries would boost economic development.