General
Why INEC’s Osun Inconclusive Election Decision is Faulty—CNPP
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has described the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare the Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State inconclusive as “a rape of basic democratic process and rule of law”.
In a statement signed by its Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, the CNPP noted that “garnering a simple majority of valid votes cast is what was required to be declared the winner in the Osun State election.
“The decision of the returning officer to declare the election inconclusive, which insiders have noted to be taken after receiving a phone call and the section of the Electoral Act relied upon, requires, before the rerun date, a court action to seek the interpretations of Section 179 sub section 2 of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution, on the strength of Section 1 (3) which provides that;
“(3) If any other law is inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution, this Constitution shall prevail, and that other law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.”
“This has become imperative as the provision of the Electoral Act, which was relied on by the returning officer appears to be inconsistent with Section 179, subsection 2 and 3 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, thus, it is legally contentious as the Constitution is unambiguous on how to determine an electoral victory in a governorship election.
“According to the Section 179 (2)(3) of the Constitution,
“(2) A candidate for an election to the office of Governor of a State shall be deemed to have been duly elected where, there being two or more candidates –
“(a) he has the highest number of votes cast at the election; and
“(b) he has not less than one-quarter of all the votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all the local government areas in the State.
“(3) In default of a candidate duly elected in accordance with subsection (2) of this section there shall be a second election in accordance with subsection (4) of this section at which the only candidates shall be –
“(a) the candidate who secured the highest number of votes cast at the election; and
“(b) one among the remaining candidates who secured a majority of votes in the highest number of local government areas in the State, so however that where there are more than one candidate with a majority of votes in the highest number of local government areas, the candidate among them with the next highest total of votes cast at the election shall be the second candidate.”
“The courts, including the Supreme Court of Nigeria have held that when votes are cancelled, they are not reckoned with in determining the outcome of such an election as in Osunbor Vs Oshiomhole (2007).
“Another case relevant to this matter is the T. Sylva Vs. Seriake Dickson, INEC where Sylva and APC took part in a rerun election by INEC over disputed Ijaw votes won by Sylva and APC in the first ballot.
“The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the lower Court that to take part in the rerun election means that Sylva and APC have waived and nullified their victory in the first election and their subsequent petition after they lost the rerun election in Ijawland is frivolous and of no effect.
“It can be safely said that INEC has obviously done the unthinkable by revisiting its principle of inconclusive elections, and has clearly towed the line of illegality, unconstitutionality, and chose the path of immorality by openly assaulting the sensibilities of right thinking people around the world after opting to brazenly rape Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.
“We therefore note with dismay the clear partisan role of INEC in its clandestine schemes aimed at foisting on Nigeria and Nigerians a one party system by subtly subverting the will of the people.
“For us and many well-meaning Nigerians, particularly all lovers of democracy, a declaration of the winner of the Osun governorship election after the votes cancellation would have cleared the doubts of all Nigerians that INEC will conduct a free, fair, and generally accepted election in 2019 as it did in 2015, where an opposition candidate won the presidential election for the first time in our history and without any litigation”, the CNPP stated.
By Dipo Olowookere
A $15 million debt facility has been obtained by Watt Renewable Corporation from the AfriGreen Debt Impact Fund to finance hybrid solar power plants to be built and operated by the former, especially in Nigeria.
WATT intends to use the projects to serve commercial and industrial clients in Nigeria, particularly in the telecommunication and financial services sectors.
By integrating solar hybrid solutions, the firm aims to significantly reduce diesel consumption and CO2 emissions, enabling its clients to achieve substantial energy cost savings while promoting environmental sustainability.
As a pioneer in renewable energy solutions, WATT continues to drive innovation in Nigeria’s energy sector.
The company’s robust roll-out plan includes deploying hundreds of hybrid solar power sites nationwide to meet the growing energy demands of commercial & industrial clients.
This strategic expansion aligns with WATT’s vision to revolutionize energy access across Africa, enabling sustainable development and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The funds from AfriGreen provide the critical capital needed to accelerate WATT’s ambitious projects, strengthening its market position and empowering businesses with reliable and affordable energy solutions.
Business Post gathered that to mitigate the currency risk for WATT in the event of devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, AfriGreen is offering a local currency facility that matches the payment structure of the power purchase agreements.
“We are thrilled to partner with AFRIGREEN on this transformative journey to expand reliable and sustainable energy solutions across Africa.
“With this support, it enables us to accelerate our shared mission of providing hybrid solar power to businesses, reducing carbon emissions, and supporting economic growth while enhancing energy security for our clients,” the Managing Director of WATT, Mr Oluwole Eweje, said.
“We are delighted to support WATT in rolling out hundreds of hybrid sites across the country.
“This represents another key transaction for AFRIGREEN in Nigeria. The combination of high energy prices, good solar irradiation, and strong demand from industrial and commercial energy users makes this market particularly attractive for companies like WATT.
“By leveraging these favourable market conditions alongside WATT’s exceptional operational performance and a well-structured financing solution, we are setting the stage for a strong and lasting business partnership,” the Managing Director of AfriGreen, Mr Alexandre Gilles, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has denied issuing a directive that gas supply to power generating companies (GenCos) be halted.
In a statement on Wednesday, the authority also denied instructing wholesale gas suppliers to stop further supply of gas to companies due to failure in payment obligations.
The NMDPRA described reports stating that it has directed the stoppage of gas supply to GenCos over N2 trillion debt as “false and completely unfounded”.
“It has absolutely no bearing on the information shared at a recent stakeholders’ engagement held in Lagos between the Authority, the OPTS, IPPG and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry,” the NMDPRA said.
“The purpose of the engagement was to sensitise stakeholders on the requirements, opportunities and benefits associated with the implementation of the wholesale supply license as provided by sections 142 and 197 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
“It was a follow-up to an earlier stakeholder engagement held at the NMDPRA corporate headquarters in Abuja on November 27, 2024.
“The Authority wishes to reassure all our stakeholders and indeed the general public that at no time was the false statement made at that event and anywhere else, and are advised to completely disregard the publication as every effort is being made to ensure that the supply and distribution of natural gas and petroleum products to end users is seamless and unabated as we head into the festive season and indeed all through the coming year 2025.”
Recall that Nigeria’s national grid experienced another collapse on Wednesday, the 11th time in 2024 as Gencos couldn’t generate enough power, compounding issues facing the Nigerian power sector.
This was the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shutdown in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.
Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria is currently experience a cut in power supply after the national grid collapsed for the 11th time in 2024.
This is the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shut down in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.
Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.
However, just when Nigerians were thinking they will not witnessed another national grid collapse in the year, it issue reared its ugly head again.
On Wednesday afternoon, most of the energy distribution companies suffered power outage, prompting them to inform their customers of the situation.
One of the DisCos, Ikeja Electric Plc, in a message to electricity consumers under its franchise area, said, “Please be informed that we experienced a system outage today, December 11, 2024, at about 13:32 hours affecting supply within our network.
“Restoration of supply is ongoing in collaboration with our critical stakeholders. Kindly bear with us.”
Recall that on Tuesday, in a report, Google listed national grid as one of the top trending searches by Nigerians this year.
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