Shehu Sani optimistic about getting justice from tribunal

Senator Shehu Sani representing Kaduna Central on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed hope of getting justice in his petition challenging the result of the National Assembly election in the state.

According to the lawmaker, part of the reasons the petition was filed was to seek justice and provide evidence, where necessary, to prove the case.

Sani, stated through his lawyer, Kefas Kure: “We expect to get justice at the end of the case. It is equally glorifying to note that the judges have requested the cooperation of all legal practitioners to remain committed during the sitting.”

In Abia State, gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dr. Alex Otti, has asked the tribunal to declare the election inconclusive and order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct re-run in 788 polling units across the state.

In his petition, Otti listed INEC, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as defendants.
  
According to results released by INEC in the election, Ikpeazu scored 261,127 votes, Dr. Uche Ogah of APC polled 99,574 while Otti got 64,366 votes.

Meanwhile, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said Nigerian democracy would be endangered if elections were continuously characterised by violence, rigging and all forms of manipulations.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the two-day Annual Roundtable on Cultural Orientation (ARTCO) in Lokoja, Kogi State, he said government had stepped up its youth and voter education campaigns to address the anomaly.

According to him, government is doing that through the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and strengthening the capacity of security agencies to deal with all forms of deviance.

However, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi, represented at the event by his special adviser on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Mumuni Okura, said “if you must take youths off thuggery, you must provide them alternatives.”

In another vein, the NOA in Akwa Ibom State has called on aggrieved politicians in the state to embrace peace, as such would bring about a society devoid of enmity, division and violence.

This admonition was given by the state director, Mr. Enoh Uyoh, during a sensitisation campaign to curb post-election violence and promote peace, unity and patriotism yesterday in Uyo.

According to him, the recent general elections adversely affected the psyche of peace, thereby creating an atmosphere of suspicion, hatred, acrimony and tension among political parties.