Senate seat: Court rules on Uzodinma’s eligibility July 21

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Written by Abubakar Yakubu Tuesday, 28 June 2011 00:00 The ‘Publish What You Pay Nigeria Coalition’ (PWYP) and Zero Corruption Coalition yesterday called on the Federal Government to concentrate more on stopping political corruption rather than removing subsidies in the pump prices of petroleum products in the country. At a meeting in Abuja, Faith Nwadishi, national coordinator of PWYP Nigeria, Babatunde Oluajo, national secretary of Zero Corruption Coalition and Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, executive director of CISLAC, criticized a communiqué issued recently by the Governors Forum currently chaired by the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, calling on the President to immediately hike the pump price of petroleum products in the country. They termed the motive of hinging the hike on payments of the N18,000 new minimum wage recently signed to law as embarrassing, adding that the call is anti-people and will only worsen the misery of the long suffering Nigerian masses whose mandate the governors are currently holding in trust

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Written by John Chuks Azu Tuesday, 28 June 2011 00:00

An Abuja High Court will on Thursday July 21 deliver judgment in a suit filed by a constituent of the Imo West Senatorial district against Senator Hope Uzodinma over alleged falsification of information for the purposes of contesting the April senatorial elections.

Chief Ebubeagu Godwin Ekenulo had in March requested the court to disqualify Uzodinma, who is the elected Senator for the constituency, alleging that he misinformed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the records filed to it including his date of birth.

At the hearing yesterday, Ekenulo’s counsel Patrick Ikwueto (SAN) urged the court to order that Uzodinma is not qualified to run for the Senate seat, adding that he has not shown another document to counter the falsified papers.

But Uzodinma’s counsel, M.A. Aguda prayed the court to discountenance the submissions because they failed to disclose the cause of action. He also argued that the plaintiff has not discharged the burden of proof as contained in section 131 (5) of the Evidence Act by showing that the said documents were actually the ones filed with INEC.

The suit, which joins the PDP and INEC as defendants, further argues that section 31 (5) of the Electoral Act, 2010 empowers citizens who have relevant information concerning an aspirant to come forward with same.

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Senate seat: Court rules on Uzodinma’s eligibility July 21