Nigerian press spotlights plans by Atiku, Obi to appeal election tribunal verdict, others

APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, have rejected Wednesday’s judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal affirming the election of President Bola Tinubu dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.
The Punch reports that presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party counterpart, Mr. Peter Obi, have rejected Wednesday’s judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal affirming the election of President Bola Tinubu.
The Legal Adviser to the Labour Party, Kehinde Edun, vowed to challenge the judgment at the Supreme Court.
Also, Atiku’s Lead Counsel, Chris Uche, SAN, said he had received instructions from his client to file an appeal at the Supreme Court.
He said “The judgment has been delivered but we have not received justice. Luckily, the law has given us leverage to go on appeal to the Supreme Court. We have instructions from our clients to go to the Supreme Court. The struggle continues.”
The PEPT, which began sitting at 9.40am at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, ruled that the petition filed by Atiku and Obi and their parties had no merit and unanimously upheld Tinubu’s electoral victory in the February 25 presidential election.
The five-member panel took turns to dismiss the petitions presented by Atiku and Obi against the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission on March 1, 2023.
The judgment was delivered by the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, assisted by other members of the panel-Justices Stephen Adah, Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf, Moses Ugo and Abba Mohammed.
The newspaper says that the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mr Shubham Chaudhuri, has said that public spending in the country is among the lowest globally.
He said this while making his keynote address at the annual banking and finance conference in Abuja on Tuesday.
His presentation noted that “Nigeria’s government expenditures are the lowest globally.”
According to Chaudhuri, “Public spending by the Nigerian government, both the federal and subnational levels, have been very low.”
He added that government spending is insufficient to close the infrastructure gap.
His presentation document read, “At the current rate of capital spending, it would take 300 years to close Nigeria’s infrastructure gap.”
The World Bank leader for Nigeria also noted that public investment spending in Nigeria lags those in other countries like Indonesia, Ghana, Egypt, and Kenya, and this has led to poor quality of and access to infrastructure.
Chaudhuri also said that government revenues are one of the lowest in the world between 2015 and 2021, and low revenues are the key risk to fiscal and debt sustainability.
He further noted that access to finance is abysmally low, which further restricts the private sector’s ability to invest, grow, and generate jobs.
The Guardian reports that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Wednesday, assured Nigerians of his renewed and energized focus on delivering his vision of a unified, peaceful and prosperous nation.
Tinubu said this in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale following the judgment by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) in Abuja.
The five justices in the Court of Appeal in Abuja unanimously dismissed the petitions from Abubakar Atiku of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party).
The Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani-led Tribunal ruled that Tinubu is the winner of the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria.
Ngelale said that President Tinubu welcomes the judgment of the Tribunal with an intense sense of solemn responsibility and preparedness to serve all Nigerians, irrespective of all diverse political persuasions, faiths, and tribal identities.
“The President recognizes the diligence, undaunted thoroughness, and professionalism of the five-member bench, led by Justice Haruna Tsammani in interpreting the law,” Ngelale stated.
He added that the President affirms that his commitment to the rule of law, and the unhindered discharge of duties by the Tribunal, as witnessed in the panel’s exclusive respect for the merits of the petitions brought forward, further reflect the continuing maturation of Nigeria’s legal system, and the advancement of Africa’s largest democracy at a time when our democratic system of government is under test in other parts of the continent.
The newspaper says that technology firm, MTN is investing in green energy technologies to achieve Nigeria’s 2050-2070 net zero target.
MTN said this move would help to reduce emissions thus helping Nigeria achieve its net zero commitments.
The firm, which disclosed this in its 2023 climate change report, said it is partnering with a renewable energy Independent Power Producer (IPP) programme to deploy a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) power plan to supply both its corporate office, MTN Plaza and main data centre in Ikoyi.
Nigeria’s Climate Change Act 2021 seeks to achieve low greenhouse gas emission, green and sustainable growth by providing the framework to set a net zero GHG target between 2050 and 2070. Nigeria aims to reach net zero as early as possible in the second half of the century.
Experts have concluded that energy transitioning is an intensive task that has to be gradual and intentional to ensure continual improvement and sustainability.
Indeed, in the report, MTN said its use of three 1.1 megawatts (MW) gas generators has significantly reduced greenhouse gas emissions and lowered energy costs by more than NGN570 million.
MTN said it has also installed motion light sensors in buildings and switching centres to optimise power consumption. In addition, MTN Nigeria installed a 56-kilowatt proof-of-concept solar project, delivering more than 4000 kilowatt hours of clean electricity each month.
Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, stated: “Our commitment to Nigeria goes beyond connectivity. We recognize the environmental challenges our nation faces, and we’re dedicated to being part of the solution. Our investments in sustainable energy and infrastructure are not just good for business; they’re essential for the future of Nigeria.”
The firm claimed that the net zero emissions target is part of MTN Group’s Project Zero, which focuses on decreasing greenhouse gas emissions across its footprints, thus enhancing operational efficiency.
The company said it aims to do this by reducing energy usage, substituting non-green energy sources and investing in certified climate protection projects with high environmental and social standards to offset the emissions that cannot be avoided.
GIK/APA