The national assembly has dissociated itself from a purported draft bill seeking to return Nigeria to a regional system of government.

Nigeria practised the regional system of government after it gained independence in 1960.

In 1979, after military rule, Nigeria adopted the presidential system of government and has maintained it to date.

On Friday, the national assembly distanced itself from the bill after a document titled ‘A bill for an act to substitute the annexure to Decree 24 of 1999 with a new governance model for the Federal Republic of Nigeria’, went viral on social media.

The bill is said to have been drafted by one Akin Fapohunda, who is not a member of the national assembly.

However, Yemi Adaramodu, the senate’s spokesperson, said there is no such bill before the national assembly.

“Such a bill is not with us. And who is sponsoring the bill? The National Assembly plenary is always held openly with the media in the chambers,” Adaramodu told TheCable.

“In which order paper has such been reflected?”

Akin Rotimi, the spokesperson of the house of representatives, also denied the existence of such a bill.

“The committees on rules and business and constitution review have confirmed that there is no such bill before them,” THE PUNCH quoted Rotimi as saying.

Jimoh Ibrahim, senator representing Ondo south, has withdrawn a suit seeking to void the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary poll in Ondo state.

Ibrahim had lost out to Lucky Aiyedatiwa, incumbent governor of Ondo, in the primary that was held on April 20.

The senator had described the exercise as a “mega fraud”.

However, in a statement on Tuesday, the lawmaker said President Bola Tinubu called and held a meeting with him over the primary poll.

He said Tinubu assured him that the internal democracy of the party would be strengthened.

“The President called me, had a meeting with me, and assured me that he will as the leader of the party improve on internal democracy within our party, and I will need to withdraw the case to enable him to chart a way forward,” he said.

“The Governor of Ondo state Lucky Aiyedatiwa earlier visited my Asokoro residence for several hours after another unsuccessful visit to my hotel room in Akure.

“I cannot disobey the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because the issue I am fighting for is not personal.

“It is simply to improve internal democracy to which the President has promised improvement. My respect for the President is absolute!

“Let me use this opportunity to thank Mr. President for the words of wisdom and encouragement during my meeting with him which lasted over one hour and his various interactions with me on the telephone, during which he emphasized his commitment to internal democracy over and over again.”

The Bayelsa Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, on Monday, affirmed the election victory of Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa.

The three-member tribunal, led by Justice Adekunle Adeleye-led, dismissed the petition by All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, as lacking in merit.

The tribunal, in a unanimous decision, held that the petitioners failed to adduce any credible evidence to substantiate any of the allegations they raised against the outcome of the state’s governorship poll.

It struck out as incompetent, all the additional proof of evidence as well as statements on oath of some of the witnesses that testified for the petitioners. According to the tribunal, the law expressly provided that an election petition must be filed not later than 21 days after the result of an election was declared.

It held that such a petition must, at the time it was filed, be accompanied by written statements of all the intended witnesses.

The tribunal held that the decision of Sylva and his party to file their additional proof of evidence and statement on oath of witnesses, long after they had filed the petition, was “tantamount to a surreptitious attempt to amend the case of the petitioners.”

More so, the tribunal dismissed the allegation that the deputy governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, tendered a forged University Degree Certificate and NYSC Exemption Certificate, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in aid of his qualification to contest the election.

It held that the allegation was a pre-election matter that ought to be litigated before the Federal High Court, adding that the matter had become statute-barred since the petitioners failed to challenge the genuineness of the certificates, 14 days after it was submitted to INEC.

Besides, it held that the issue of Ewhrudjakpo’s educational qualification was previously determined by a court of competent jurisdiction. The tribunal said it took judicial notice of the fact that the 3rd respondent, Ewhrudjakpo, is a legal practitioner, saying it was satisfied that he was eminently qualified to contest the election.

The tribunal equally noted that though Sylva and his party prayed the panel to declare that they were the valid winners of the governorship election, it said they also applied for the same election to be declared invalid.

It held that the prayers of the petitioners were contradictory, adding that Sylva and APC did not tender any electoral material to show that any irregularity occurred during the election.

It held that the petitioners were unable to discharge the burden of proof that was placed on them by the law, stressing that they failed to show, polling units by polling units, the particulars of the non-compliance they alleged and how it substantially affected the outcome of the election.