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Edo PDP, others protest against Supreme Court’s verdict on Imo

By Michael Egbejule, Benin City
24 January 2020   |   4:11 am
Edo State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday held a peaceful protest to condemn and reject the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Imo State governorship election.

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Edo State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday held a peaceful protest to condemn and reject the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Imo State governorship election.

The protest, with civil society groups, public sector workers, private sector individuals and students from several tertiary institutions across in the state, was themed ‘Deepening Democracy In Nigeria: Signing the Electoral Law Amendment by Muhammadu Buhari’.

According to the publicity secretary, Chris Nehikhare, the protest was aimed at reinforcing the previous protests nationwide, which rejected the apex court’s ruling on the Imo election, as well as highlighting the need and exigency of signing the electoral law amendment to substantially eliminate electoral malpractices in the country.

He stated, “The Imo State ruling is a clear misuse of judicial authority and a usurpation of the statutory duties of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”

PDP believes that only the people should be empowered to elect their leaders.

“Legalising the card reader will eliminate the absurd judgements where votes recorded surpass number of accredited voters and the law will turn a blind eye to this obvious anomaly,” the party added.

Meanwhile, Edo deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, has stated that the multi-sectoral progress and development witnessed across the state will not be put on reverse despite the political squabbles between the governor and the All Progressives congress (APC) leaders in the state.

Shaibu told journalists in Benin City that the state government would continue to stand for the collective interest of Edo people, upholding their trust.

While thanking Edo people for the confidence and encouragement shown to the Obaseki-led government, he urged them to join hands with the government in consolidating ongoing transformation in the state.

In another development, stakeholders from the university community have called on the Federal Government to assist in entrepreneurship study by providing funds for research and make available training hubs to create opportunities for unemployed youths in the country.

Vice Chancellor of Igbinedion University Okada (IUO), Edo State, Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, made the call at a summit organised by the institution’s School of Post-graduate Studies and Research with topic, ‘Research, Ethics, Attitude and Methodologies/Intellectual Properties/Plagiarism’ yesterday.

The VC, who identified the need for entrepreneurship studies, said skills taught in entrepreneurial courses would revolutionise the country’s dependency on white-collar jobs for self-reliance.

Ezemonye noted self-reliance as key in the transformation of the local economy, particularly as entrepreneurship applies to all areas of industry.

Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies and Research. Prof. Tonye Okorie, said research and innovation remained a priority for the economic development of the country.

Similarly, former Deputy VC of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Prof. John Okhuoya, harped on the need to establish a culture of research in the country’s university system to foster meaningful research and innovation.

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