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JUST IN: APC, Sylva Lose Bid To Stop Bayelsa Guber Election Petition Tribunal

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The Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has dismissed a fresh motion filed by the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its governorship candidate Timipre Sylva, seeking the disqualification of members of the panel from proceeding with their petition challenging the election victory of Governor Douye Diri.

Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Adekunle Adeleye dismissed the motion after he took arguments from counsel to Sylva, Tunde Falola, Charles Edosanwan for INEC, Chris Uche, SAN, for Governor Diri, Chukwuma Machukwu Ume, for the Deputy Governor and Tayo Oyetibo for Peoples Democratic Party PDP

Justice Adekeye, in a brief ruling, held that a letter from the President of the Court of Appeal on March 5, mandated the tribunal to proceed with the hearing of the petition, irrespective of any application by the parties.

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READ ALSO: BREAKING: Gov Diri Arrives Bayelsa Election Petitions Tribunal

He said the PCA’s letter has overtaken the request by the petitioners for the disbandment of the tribunal.

Sylva’s lawyer, Falola, had argued that his clients filed the fresh application against the tribunal on the ground that the two petitioners were convinced beyond reasonable doubt that they could not get justice from members of the panel.

The two petitioners further claimed the tribunal had exhibited strange circumstances that made them believe that they would be denied a fair hearing.

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He then asked the tribunal to, in the interest of justice, step aside from the petition and allow other members to be constituted by the PCA to determine their petition within the little time remaining for the expiration of the hearing of the case.

READ ALSO: JUST IN: Tinubu Arrives Niger To Inaugurate Agric Projects, Renamed Airport

Meanwhile, all the Respondents, through their respective lawyers, opposed the request for the panel members to recuse themselves.

They argued that the application was an attempt to prevent the respondents from presenting their defence against the petition.

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They stated that the motion by APC and Sylva was a calculated attempt to blackmail the tribunal members to do their bidding.

The four respondents claimed that the petitioners closed their case, even when the time allocated to them had not expired, hence, there was no basis for the allegation of denial of fair hearing to them.

Besides, the respondents also stated that APC and Sylva were part of the pre-hearing session and fully subscribed to the schedule of time as agreed upon by all the parties.

The tribunal has fixed March 13 and 14 for INEC, being the 1st respondent, to open and close its defence.

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Abuja School Closed For One Week Over Death Of Four-year-old

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The Brickhall School, Abuja on Wednesday announced that it has decided to mourn the memory of its late four-year-old pupil, Miguel Ovoke by closing down the school for one week.

The PUNCH reported how Ovoke was declared dead by Excel Specialist Hospital, Abuja.

The medical report, signed by Dr. Akinwande Ajayi, on behalf of the medical director, indicated that he was brought in, “on account of aspiration on meat while feeding at school.”

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The hospital said upon examination, the medical team found that the boy’s pupils were fixed and dilated, with a nonreactive response to light.

READ ALSO: Man Dies On Top Of Married Woman In Akure

His peripheral pulses were said to be “impalpable, blood pressure was unrecordable, and there was no cardiopulmonary activity or respiratory excursions.”

The report indicated that all efforts of the medical team to resuscitate him failed.

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The report concluded that he was “Brought in Dead.”

Meanwhile, the school, in a statement released on Wednesday and signed by its management, said it was greatly saddened that the life of the pupil could not be saved despite the timely response of its trained nurse and the eventual decision to rush him to a hospital.

READ ALSO: Kidnappers Sleep Off After Abducting Pastor’s Wife, Others In Ondo

While noting the decision to mourn the late pupil by closing the school for one week, the school respectfully urged everyone connected to the tragedy to respect Miguel’s memory with dignity and peace while allowing medical professionals and law enforcement agencies to conclude with the autopsy.

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The school said, “It is with profound sorrow and deepest sympathy that we at Brickhall School, Management, and the Parents Teacher’s Forum express our heartfelt condolences to the family of our dearly beloved pupil, Miguel Ovoke.

“We are devastated to report that Miguel tragically passed away on April 24, 2024, following a sad incident where he choked on a piece of meat offal from his meal brought from home, despite the immediate and expert care provided by our dedicated staff and certified school nurse.

“In response to this heart-wrenching event, we convened an urgent meeting with our school community on the day of the incident.

“Out of respect for Miguel’s memory and to honour his bright spirit, we suspended classes for over a week, allowing our community time to mourn and reflect on this profound loss.”

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Generator Fumes Kill Mother, Son In Delta, Daughter Hospitalised

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The Delta State Police command has warned the public about the dangers of generator fumes and urged them to be careful.

This warning comes after an incident in which a mother and son lost their lives while using generator inside their house during rainfall.

According to a statement signed by the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, on X.com on Wednesday, the mother and son died two days ago in Asaba, the state capital while the daughter is currently receiving treatment at a nearby hospital.

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The statement read, “Generator fumes is dangerous. It kills!!!

“A mother and son died in Asaba two days ago while her daughter is currently receiving treatment at the hospital.

“What happened? While the generator was working, it started raining, so they moved the generator somewhere inside the house and continued using it.

“Unfortunately, they slept off, and that was how they died of suspected generator emissions(carbon monoxide), and her daughter was rushed to the hospital.

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“This is not the first time we have recorded this incident in Delta. it’s important we know, learn, and educate others”

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Air Peace, Seven Countries To Revive Bankrupt Caribbean Airline

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Air Peace, a private Nigerian airline, and the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, and St Vincent and the Grenadines have concluded plans to revive a longtime regional carrier, Leeward Islands Air Transportation Limited, which is currently in comatose.

Last December, the airline’s administrator, Cleveland Seaforth, announced that the final flight of the airline would be in late January and by February 4, employees of the air transport company would be laid off.

According to an AOI report on Wednesday, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browned announced a newly revamped LIAT 2020 in the wake of LIAT bankruptcy.

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Browned added that the airline is expected to start flying soon, with the company’s jets currently undergoing testing.

The inter-Caribbean Airline was founded in 1956. The airline was burdened with debt for almost its entire existence.

Although based in Antigua, at one point, 11 Caribbean islands were shareholders in the company, making for an almost impossible management structure.

This led to a controlled bankruptcy of the airline in 2020 after many years of financial challenges, said to have been occasioned by mismanagement.

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Air peace

Air Peace, a fast-rising Nigeria airline with its recent commencement of direct flight operations to London.

The commencement of the service came a month after it announced plans to begin direct flight operations to London on March 30 during a prelaunch forum organised by the airline in February.

In November, Air Peace’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Allen Onyema, announced that the airline had successfully obtained the Foreign Carrier Operator Permit and Third Country Operator Permit.

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With this development, Air Peace became the first Nigerian airline to operate direct flights to Europe and the United Kingdom.

Contacted, the Chief Operating Officer of the Airline, Oluwatoyin Olajide, confirmed the development but couldn’t give details as she said she was onboard en route to the United States.

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