Category: Politics

  • Full Text of Peter Obi’s Chatham House Speech

    Full Text of Peter Obi’s Chatham House Speech

    Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi was at Chatham House in London on Monday to speak about his plans for Nigerians ahead of the February 25, 2023 general elections.

    Obi, who stated that the Nigerian state is captive to an elite gang-up, unveiled his agenda to “take back Nigeria”, hinged on seven priority programs, while also promising that resources will be most prudently used.

    He spoke about how his administration will end insecurity, provide stable electricity, move Nigeria from consumption to production, institutional reforms, enhance human capital by investing in education and leapfrogging Nigeria into the fourth industrial revolution through science and technology.

    According to him, Nigeria is at a critical juncture and the people, led by the youths brutalised by bad leadership, are awake and leading the movement to transform Nigerian politics and restart the engine of economic growth and social stability.

    In agreement to the primacy of gratitude among human virtues, please allow me to begin today with words of gratitude. I am most grateful to Chatham House, Dr. Alex Vines, and his team for the global impact of their mission and commitment to engagement with Nation-building in Nigeria. In providing this global platform to interrogate the vision of those seeking to lead Nigeria, at this time when clear existential threats as I will discuss shortly are pervasive across our dear country, this Chatham House event challenges us to new thinking.

    We have alarming insecurity that has led to the loss of many lives and properties, a significant decline in food and economic output, immense trauma that has compromised the mental health of communities, and in some cases, irredentist pressures and disaffection with the Nigerian project. The economy is in crisis with a troubling debt profile worsened by oil theft of proportion once hard to even imagine, two economic recessions in six years, and a lamentable power sector that significantly constrains manufacturing and social life.

    The Nigerian state is captive to an elite gang-up and a rentier political economy that has concentrated political power in the hands of those who came to power and influence mainly through their own contrivances and not through the affirmation of the people, and therefore, do not have the incentive to serve the people’s interest.

    Even after exploiting ethnic and religious cleavages and sentiments to ascend to political power, the very people on whose sentiments they grabbed power often become the primary victims of such political fraud that has rendered Nigeria a failing state with a worsening leadership crisis. Consequently, Nigeria’s Democracy has been on the wane, evident in the Afrobarometer longitudinal tracking which reveals low voter turnout and apathy in the current Republic.

    But this seems to have turned around dramatically last year, allowing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register over 12 million new voters, with many more complaining they wished to register but were unable to make INEC deadlines. What prompted this turn-around? The reasons for these very high stakes are lurking in facts of demographics, with our dominant population (the youths) frustrated and unhappy with the status quo and the diminished opportunities in Nigeria in an age of globalization when the Internet easily reveals to them the prosperous homes of those who live in better-led and governed countries.

    How did we (Nigeria) plunge into such economic decline that we have overtaken India as home to the biggest pool of the absolute poor in the world? While the poverty rate in India is about 16%, that of Nigeria is about 63% with about 133 million Nigerians classified as multidimensionally poor! This is unacceptable and needs to change! What Nigeria needs is a Great Escape as the 2015 Nobel prize winner in Economics Angus Deaton of Princeton University elucidated, that what separates poor & rich is attributable to Health & Education. But what provides Quality Health and Educational Systems for a society? Committed and Focused Leadership that can Build and Sustain Public Wealth as I was told by Professor Donald Jacobs of The Kellogg School of Management.

    In many ways, this is at the heart of my remarks today which are deeply rooted in my upbringing, particularly my mother’s counsel that I live a life of positive impact and manage both personal and public resources most prudently for sustainable/inclusive growth and development of the society. It is the principle that guided my stewardship as Governor of Anambra State, Nigeria, and led to our much-commended performance with some priced awards to show for it. Some of the awards were for outstanding accomplishments in key Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) now Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is the same counsel and principle that is guiding and motivating me to offer to serve in a New Nigeria!

     

    The answer lies in an understanding of Leadership, Institutions, and Demographics. The good news is that demography is driving the change we are seeing in Africa with election after election in the last year in Africa, in which the establishment parties are being turned by new or small parties. It is for this change that my vision of policy change and institutional development is rooted in the push for a broadened scope of SOCIAL MOBILITY AND FREEDOM for Nigerians, particularly our children and youth. Like Former British Prime Minister Harold McMillan said at the start of the Independence decade, a wind of change is blowing through Africa. Today a new wind of change sees the ballot box as being instrumental in changing of bad leadership.

    Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, my running mate, and I are committed to a new politics that starts with the ethics of servant-leaders and is anchored on the marriage of clean hearts and skillful hands. We know that unless we change our politics by changing our political leadership, we are stuck in this terrible state of underdevelopment and misery. We will patriotically reform our institutions particularly ones directly responsible for implementing Government policies to make them fit for purpose. It is not to be doubted on the global scene that Nigeria is blessed with some of the most entrepreneurial youths in the world, in science, in business, in art, and entertainment.

    We believe that what remains is to change the leadership class from predators to creators of value; from those whose wealth and power derive from the destitution of the nation and its people to those who have demonstrated the competence, character, and capacity to invest in human development, create prosperity, and instill the right values and ethical conduct deserving of servant leaders.

    Nigeria today is at a critical juncture and the people, led by the youths brutalized by bad leadership, are awake and leading the movement to transform Nigerian politics and restart the engine of economic growth and social stability. We count ourselves honored to be trusted especially by the youths, to lead this democratic revolution and we deeply pledge to do so with sincerity, accountability, and unquenchable love and desire for a better Nigeria. We are simply, the symbol of the Nigerian youths’ struggles to reverse the ugly trend that keeps driving them into social anomie, despair, and rejection of their beloved country. We are determined to do everything that needs to be done to rescue and lead our beloved country to prosperity, freedom, security, and peace. We will use merit to assemble competent Nigerians from all sections of Nigeria to form an effective Government of National Unity.

    At the heart of my goal here today is to look at our Labour Party’s key policy planks and how they will drive up the quality of life of the average Nigerian, dramatically reduce poverty, and return Nigeria to a place of strategic relevance in a world that needs a thriving and well governed Nigeria stabilizing the continent of Africa, making it a high value add for a planet imperiled by environmental challenges, terrorism and inequity. I also plan here to speak on institutions and how the leadership we offer can facilitate the evolution of stronger institutions, with the rule of law as a key anchor of nation-building in Nigeria.

    I have no doubt that the policy choices we favour, and the strong institutions La

    bour Party will facilitate, will move Nigeria from a country of rent seekers sharing Oil receipts and consuming conspicuously, to one that produces, based on vast factor endowments whose value chains can move us towards a high employment economy. We will turn our youth bulge to a demographic dividend, rather than today’s harvest of a time bomb of violence and insecurity from the uneducated, unemployed, and marginalized.

    This forms the first and most important thrust of my governance priorities without which the rest may not be achieved: “To secure Nigeria, end banditry and insurgency, and unite our dear nation to manage our diversity, such that no one is left behind”. The growing insecurity in Nigeria is not because the enemy is formidable, it is rather because of lack of focused leadership, ineffective security governance structure, and poor coordination from the center. All these need to be addressed by first, projecting strong leadership signals that allow both state and non-state actors to be mobilized around a single vision.

    Then, by pursuing a robust reform of the security governance structure with a strong coordinating mechanism that assures that all levels of government – federal, state, and local (with a 3-level policing structure) – are aligned with strong collaboration with partners from both the private sector and development groups to provide the required services and deliver results for every Nigerian. Once this is done, it is also important to have a single, clear, coherent, and consistent communication system to keep the government accountable, and citizens engaged and involved in the development process. It is important for institutions to be able to provide strong leadership, and coordination capability, partner, and engage collaboratively with all relevant stakeholders in an environment that mutually reinforces values.

    The second plank of my policy thrust is to “Shift emphasis from consumption to production by running a production-centered economy that is driven by an agrarian revolution and export-oriented industrialization”. With about 70 million hectares of arable land, we will pursue an agricultural revolution through proper segmentation of Nigeria to activate and harness the factor endowments of different parts of the country for both rapid and mechanized agricultural development and as a pillar for Nigeria’s other sectoral development and industrialization. We will incentivize and invest in agro-cluster and industrial cluster development across our geo-resource zones to take advantage of agglomeration and scale effects particularly in the North-West, North-East and North-Central regions of Nigeria. We will dredge both Rivers Niger and Benue, build dams, and massively support the planting of economic trees across the country for local usage, poverty elimination, export and revenue generation.

    A key task is to sequentially but decisively, dismantle the inefficient and anti-market distortionary structures restraining the Nigerian economy from creating the preconditions for a dynamic pro-market economy. We will employ entrepreneurial governance to dismantle impediments to free trade and ease of doing business and implement radical economic policies that will drastically reduce our debt service – a major drain on government revenue today. Our Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) will be robustly supported. Further borrowing will be strictly for productive purposes. While we will aggressively pursue the activation of all opportunities in the oil and gas value chain, we will use targeted incentive schemes that will be professionally administered to diversify our non-oil export portfolio with proper consideration and management of climate change risks and opportunities.

    The third pillar of our governance priorities is to “Restructure the polity through effective legal and institutional reforms to entrench the rule of law, aggressively fight corruption, reduce the cost of governance, and establish an honest and efficient civil service”. Reducing the cost of governance in Nigeria is an effective way to fight institutional corruption. In addition to reducing the cost of governance and streamlining government operations for efficiency and effectiveness, we will ensure that reforms are pursued in a way that protects the livelihood of our hardworking and efficient civil servants.

    Critical to fighting corruption, we shall install a new budgeting system founded on the cardinal principles of public accountability, objective setting, and program implementation. This is against the extant budgetary principles of revenue mobilization, expenditure allocation, and borrowing without emphasis on monitoring, evaluation, and feedback. We will enforce the principle of performance auditing and institutionalize the monitoring and evaluation process of the entire public service delivery as the primary means of actualizing our vision of a new Nigeria. This reform will institutionalize the personal involvement of the President in setting budgetary objectives of MDAs, and monitoring and evaluating the implementation process through the Office of Regulatory Review in the Office of the President. Budget monitoring and evaluation capacity will be strengthened within the Presidency.

    We will embark on effective macro-economic and fiscal restructuring to quickly restore fiscal viability by discontinuing unaffordable subsidies which have left a black hole in government finances. Fiscal and monetary policy will be properly coordinated, with each deploying conventional tools transparently instead of distorting markets to favour a few privileged persons. For the avoidance of doubt, we will collaborate with the Central Bank of Nigeria for the transparent liberalization of the foreign exchange market and the dismantling of the opaque multiple exchange rate regime which effectively subsidizes a few privileged persons.

    We will also seek to boost the supply side, rather than continuing to concentrate exclusively on demand management of the foreign exchange market. When unaffordable subsidies are removed, some carefully calibrated transfers will be used to cushion any adverse impact on the economically weak. If the competitiveness of a sector is to be enhanced, then that will be done via the enactment of transparent and specially targeted fiscal and trade policies designed to stimulate investment and growth. Revenue shortfalls and leakages such as oil theft will be dealt with decisively by holding persons in positions of authority fully accountable.

    The fourth plank of our governance priorities is to “Leapfrog Nigeria into the 4th Industrial Revolution through the application of scientific and technological innovations to create a digital economy”. Building on the gains of the agriculture-led manufacturing and export, we will pursue the development of knowledge and skills to leverage on the emerging disruptive digital technologies, automation, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual reality, blockchain technology, biotechnology, and data science – all of which are at the heart of the fourth industrial revolution.

     

    The fifth plank of our governance priorities is to “Build expansive infrastructure for efficient power supply, rail, road and air transportation, and pipeline network, through integrated public-private partnerships, and entrepreneurial public sector governance”. Our solution to the perennial power problem in Nigeria is a comprehensive one that covers transmission, distribution, generation, and financing as detailed in our Manifesto. However, we will immediately complete the $2.3b Nigeria-Siemens network improvement deal to achieve 7,000 MW stable capacity by the end of this year (2023), 11,000 megawatts by 2024, and 25,000 megawatts by 2025. We will support the local manufacturing capacity of power technologies and encourage and expand local R&D in universities, training centers, and workshops through which many jobs will be created.

    Our 6th priority program is to “Enhance the human capital of Nigerian youths for productivity and global competitiveness through investment in education and research, quality healthcare, and entrepreneurship education”. The World Bank’s Human Capital Development Index ranks Nigeria 168 out of 173 countries. To move Nigeria right to the top bracket of the index, we will pursue a Marshall Plan-type program on education that incorporates compulsory technical and vocational skills, sports, entrepreneurship, programming, and digital skills from the primary to the secondary level. In line with this commitment to transform our educational sector, we will prioritize the funding of this critical sector. Our tertiary institutions will be remodeled to serve as hubs or centers for research, development, and commercialization of ideas for the quick industrialization of Nigeria.

    Finally, our 7th priority is to “Conduct an afro-centric diplomacy that protects the rights of Nigerian citizens abroad and advances the economic interests of Nigerians and Nigerian businesses in a changing world”.

    CONCLUSION

    In conclusion, let me say that the problem with Nigeria is at once complex and simple. It rests on leadership. As our erudite Professor Chinua Achebe stated, ‘’The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership’’. In Achebe’s view, there is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. ‘’The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of leading in the front by example which is the hallmarks of true leadership’’.

    When people of competence, character, commitment, and compassion take over leadership and pursue their mission and task with the seriousness required, a New Nigeria characterized by peace, unity, prosperity, and inclusiveness will be achieved and sustained. That is what is driving Datti Baba-Ahmed and me to join and offer to lead this desire and crusade of Nigerians, particularly our youths, for an inclusive and sustainable Nigeria that works for all.

    In line with my upbringing, especially my Mother’s counsel, my promise is that Nigeria’s resources will be most prudently used and as the Commander in Chief, I Peter Obi sincerely pledge that Our Pact with Nigeria will be diligently pursued to create a new Nigeria characterized by sustainable/inclusive growth and development.

    Ismail Aniemu, Publisher of JournalNG and ghost writer, is a maritime journalist of over two decades’ of practice with multidisciplinary background. He holds a masters degree in Transport Management from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology(LAUTECH) with bias for logistics. He is also an alumnus of the Times Journalism Institute where he obtained a post graduate diploma in Journalism.

     

  • Stop Lying on Twitter, Ezekwesili Tells Atiku

    Stop Lying on Twitter, Ezekwesili Tells Atiku

    A former Minister of Education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili has taken a swipe at Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for describing himself as the former head of the economic team.

    Ezekwesili who tweeted her reaction to an earlier tweet by Atiku, urged the former VP to ask his Twitter account handlers to stop what she described as ‘misleading’ information

    Ezekwesili: “Dear former Vice President Atiku, please ask the handlers of your @Twitter account to stop misleading the public. You were never the Head of the Economic Management Team.

    “This absurd Lie does you no good at all. Please ask your Team to stop it.
    Happy New Year. Wish you well.”

    Atiku had tweeted yesterday: “As head of the economic management

    Joshua Okoria is a Lagos-based multi-skilled journalist covering the maritime industry. His ICT and graphic design skills make him a resourceful person in any modern newsroom. He read mass communication at Olabisi Onabanjo University and has sharpened his knowledge in media practice from several other short courses. nt team while I was Vice President, I was instrumental in designing a private sector revival strategy and advocated for the opening of the economy for private sector investments in several sectors. And we made tremendous progress. #AtikuAtNESG”

  • Abia PDP Governorship Candidate is Dead

    Abia PDP Governorship Candidate is Dead

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Abia State, Prof. Eleazar Uchenna Ikonne is dead.

    His death was confirmed by his son, Dr. Chikezie Uche-Ikonne on Wednesday

    The announcement stated: “I regret to announce the death of my dear father, Prof Eleazar Uchenna Ikonne, who died at the National Hospital Abuja today, 25th January 2023 at 4 am after a brief illness.

    “He was recovering after taking proper treatment in the United Kingdom but relapsed a few days ago leading to multiple cardiac arrests from which he didn’t recover from.

    “Further details and arrangements would be made known to the public after deliberations and meetings are made within the family”.

    Ismail Aniemu, Publisher of JournalNG and ghostwriter, is a maritime journalist with over two decades of practice with a multidisciplinary background. He holds a master’s degree in Transport Management from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology(LAUTECH) with a bias for logistics. He is also an alumnus of the Times Journalism Institute where he obtained a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

  • Saying Tinubu Brought Buhari to Power is Untrue, Propaganda – Dele Momodu

    Saying Tinubu Brought Buhari to Power is Untrue, Propaganda – Dele Momodu

    Chief Dele Momodu, a spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) Presidential Campaign Council has described the assertion that Tinubu made Muhammadu Buhari President as falsehood and a propaganda.

    Momodu who condemned what he described as an entitlement mentality expressed in the ‘Emi Lokan’ slogan by Bola Tinubu, said Buhari’s victory over former President Goodluck Jonathan, was a product of collective effort.

    He said no one should feel especially entitled to being compensated with the office of president as the job should be for the best, which according to him, is Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.

    Momodu, a former presidential aspirant on the platform of PDP, listed Tinubu, Atiku, Rotimi Amaechi, former Rivers State Governor, Senator Rabiu Kwakwanso, former Governor of Kano State as individuals who pulled resources and votes together to achieve Buhari’s victory in 2015.

    He added that if anyone demands being compensated saying it’s his turn, then all the listed politicians are equally entitled to the office of President

    Joshua Okoria is a Lagos-based multi-skilled journalist covering the maritime industry. His ICT and graphic design skills make him a resourceful person in any modern newsroom. He read mass communication at Olabisi Onabanjo University and has sharpened his knowledge in media practice from several other short courses.

     

  • US Based Activist Blames Wike, Amaechi for Rivers Woes.

    US Based Activist Blames Wike, Amaechi for Rivers Woes.

    An American-based human rights activist, Comrade Lebari Nziidee, on Sunday, blamed the current woes confronting the state on two former governors of Rivers State, Barrister Nyenso Woke and Rt. Hon. Rotimi Chebuike Amaechi.

    Nziidee, former MOSOP Chairman, Atlanta Georgia, criticized the former governors in a statement following the recent attack on the SDP Governorship candidate, Senator, Magnus Abe, Unrest, poverty, and political thuggery in the state.

    He said the current happenings in the state are capable of affecting unity, adding that the loss of lives being experienced across the state is no longer bearable.

    However, Nzidee accused the former governors of the state of misrule, failing to harness God’s given resources, a development which he said,led to the current condition of a blessed state.

    According to him, “For about 16 years both of them misruled and wasted the rare opportunity to harness our abundant resources to make Rivers a leading state in the country.

    The former MOSOP boss further explained that the state had witnessed a lot of crises that claimed many lives and destruction of properties under their regimes

    Comrade Nziidee who is the current President, of Coalition for Democracy and Fair Election International USA, noted that,” After assessing the body politics of Rivers State over the years considering the quantum of contributions and supreme prices the Ogonis have paid towards the liberation of Rivers people , the emancipation of the Nigerdelta region and the sustenance of democracy in Nigerians, called on the Ikwerres, Kalabaris, Ekpeyes, Ndonis, Andonis, Opobos etc to support the Governorship of the SDP Candidate, an Ogoni son, Senator Magnus Abe.

    In his words,” I am calling on our loving brothers and neighbors in Rivers State to support Senator Magnus Abe towards the materialization of the Ogoni objective, noting that in the past the Ogonis had thrown their weight fully behind the leadership of the state presented by any of her neighbors, and believed that it was logical for their neighbors to reciprocate such gestures by fully and politically supporting Senator Magnus Abe to serve Rivers people”.

    Nziidee also condemned in totality the language used by an Ogoni son, that Ogoni is unripe to be the governor of the state, adding that such language is an insult to the entire Ogoni race.

    According to him, “Is ridiculous for a man who climbed a ladder up and later turned back to break the ladder after achieving his aim”.

    Joshua Okoria is a Lagos-based multi-skilled journalist covering the maritime industry. His ICT and graphic design skills make him a resourceful person in any modern newsroom. He read mass communication at Olabisi Onabanjo University and has sharpened his knowledge in media practice from several other short courses.

  • Saying Tinubu Brought Buhari to Power is Untrue, Propaganda – Dele Momodu

    Saying Tinubu Brought Buhari to Power is Untrue, Propaganda – Dele Momodu

    Chief Dele Momodu, a spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) Presidential Campaign Council has described the assertion that Tinubu made Muhammadu Buhari President as falsehood and a propaganda.

    Momodu who condemned what he described as an entitlement mentality expressed in the ‘Emi Lokan’ slogan by Bola Tinubu, said Buhari’s victory over former President Goodluck Jonathan, was a product of collective effort.

    He said no one should feel especially entitled to being compensated with the office of president as the job should be for the best, which according to him, is Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.

    Momodu, a former presidential aspirant on the platform of PDP, listed Tinubu, Atiku, Rotimi Amaechi, former Rivers State Governor, Senator Rabiu Kwakwanso, former Governor of Kano State as individuals who pulled resources and votes together to achieve Buhari’s victory in 2015.

    He added that if anyone demands being compensated saying it’s his turn, then all the listed politicians are equally entitled to the office of President

    Joshua Okoria is a Lagos-based multi-skilled journalist covering the maritime industry. His ICT and graphic design skills make him a resourceful person in any modern newsroom. He read mass communication at the Olabisi Onabanjo University and has sharpened his knowledge in media practice from several other short courses

  • INEC Appeals Osun Guber Election Tribunal Judgement

    INEC Appeals Osun Guber Election Tribunal Judgement

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appealed the judgment of the Osun State Election Petition Tribunal that nullified the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke, in the July 16 governorship poll.

    Recall that on January 27 in Osogbo, the tribunal declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Adegboyega Oyetola as the winner of the election.

    The chairman of the tribunal, Justice Tertsea Kume who stated that the election was marred by over-voting, thereby deducting the number of over-voting presented by Oyetola.

    He said that having deducted the over-voting figure, Oyetola scored 314,921, while Ademola polled 290,266 votes. But in a minority decision, a member of the panel, Justice A. Ogbuli, dismissed APC’s petition and upheld Adeleke’s victory at the poll.

    However, INEC, in the Notice of Appeal dated January 30, 2023, filed before the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, obtained in Osogbo on Wednesday, the commission listed 44 grounds of appeal and asked the court to set aside the judgment of the tribunal.

    According to a report by Punch, the commission also urged the appellate court to declare that the petition filed by APC and its candidate at the poll, Adegboyega Oyetola, is lacking in merit.

    In its Notice of Appeal signed by its counsel, Prof. Paul Ananaba (SAN) and 17 other lawyers, the commission said that the tribunal erred in law by claiming that Adeleke did not score a majority of the lawful votes, saying the petitioners only called two witnesses who did not prove that the PDP candidate did not win the election.

    INEC further argued that the tribunal erred in law by using a table contained in the final written address of the petitioners to determine over-voting and deducted votes scored by the respondent.

    The electoral body also dismissed the tribunal’s claim that because it issued different accreditation reports, its conduct was tantamount to tampering with official documents.

    Ismail Aniemu, Publisher of JournalNG and ghostwriter, is a maritime journalist with over two decades of practice and with a multidisciplinary background. He holds a master’s degree in Transport Management from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology(LAUTECH) with a bias for logistics. He is also an alumnus of the Times Journalism Institute where he obtained a postgraduate diploma in Journalism

  • INEC Appeals Osun Guber Election Tribunal Judgement

    INEC Appeals Osun Guber Election Tribunal Judgement

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appealed the judgment of the Osun State Election Petition Tribunal that nullified the victory of Governor Ademola Adeleke, in the July 16 governorship poll.

    Recall that on January 27 in Osogbo, the tribunal declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Adegboyega Oyetola as the winner of the election.

    The chairman of the tribunal, Justice Tertsea Kume who stated that the election was marred by over-voting, thereby deducting the number of over-voting presented by Oyetola.

    He said that having deducted the over-voting figure, Oyetola scored 314,921, while Ademola polled 290,266 votes. But in a minority decision, a member of the panel, Justice A. Ogbuli, dismissed APC’s petition and upheld Adeleke’s victory at the poll.

    However, INEC, in the Notice of Appeal dated January 30, 2023, filed before the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, obtained in Osogbo on Wednesday, the commission listed 44 grounds of appeal and asked the court to set aside the judgment of the tribunal.

    According to a report by Punch, the commission also urged the appellate court to declare that the petition filed by APC and its candidate at the poll, Adegboyega Oyetola, is lacking in merit.

    In its Notice of Appeal signed by its counsel, Prof. Paul Ananaba (SAN) and 17 other lawyers, the commission said that the tribunal erred in law by claiming that Adeleke did not score the majority of the lawful votes, saying the petitioners only called two witnesses who did not prove that the PDP candidate did not win the election.

    INEC further argued that the tribunal erred in law by using a table contained in the final written address of the petitioners to determine over-voting and deducted votes scored by the respondent.

    The electoral body also dismissed the tribunal’s claim that because it issued different accreditation reports, its conduct was tantamount to tampering with official documents.

    Ismail Aniemu, Publisher of JournalNG and ghostwriter, is a maritime journalist with over two decades of practice with a multidisciplinary background. He holds a master’s degree in Transport Management from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology(LAUTECH) with a bias for logistics. He is also an alumnus of the Times Journalism Institute where he obtained a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

  • Election 2023: Lagos Senior Citizens, Widows, Widowers Endorse Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu

    Election 2023: Lagos Senior Citizens, Widows, Widowers Endorse Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu

    Ahead of the February 25 and March 11 general elections, the Senior citizens, widows, and widowers in Lagos State have endorsed the candidacies of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Babajide Sanwo-Olu for president and governor respectively.

    They made the endorsement at an event anchored by the Special Adviser on Civic Engagement to Governor Sanwo-Olu, Princess Aderemi Adebowale, who also doubles as Director, of Senior Citizens, Widows and Widowers Independent Campaign Organization.

    According to Princess Adebowale, the choice of who becomes the next president is clear as Bola Tinubu has a proven track record to transform Nigeria if he succeeds Buhari in Aso Rock.

    “Asiwaju laid the foundation of the Lagos we are enjoying today. The blue Rail, the Imota Rice Mill, and many other infrastructural developments are all the blueprint of Asiwaju”, she enthused.

    The former Chairman of Iru-Victoria Island Local Council Development Area (LCDA) also urged the electorates to vote and re-elect Sanwo-Olu as governor of Lagos State, noting that he performed well during his first tenure at the helm of affairs.

    “It is very evident that Governor Sanwo-Olu has done really well for Lagosians and there is no area he has not touched” ” she added.

    She further advised the electorates to vote for all APC candidates across the country and not be deceived by liars and deceivers

    Ismail Aniemu, Publisher of JournalNG and ghostwriter, is a maritime journalist with over two decades of practice with a multidisciplinary background. He holds a master’s degree in Transport Management from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology(LAUTECH) with a bias for logistics. He is also an alumnus of the Times Journalism Institute where he obtained a post-graduate diploma in Journalism

     

  • Activists task FG on curbing violence, ensuring national security ahead of 2023 general elections

    Activists task FG on curbing violence, ensuring national security ahead of 2023 general elections

    Activists in the public policy space drawn from the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA), Education Rights Campaign (ERC), and Centre for Anti-corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL) have urged the Federal Government to ensure that adequate measures are put in place to flush out violent groups and secure towns and villages affected by insecurity in the country before the February 25, 2023, general elections.

    They stressed the need for the government and the relevant security agencies to deploy adequate security for the smooth conduct of the general elections, while also ensuring that the measures do not interfere with ongoing efforts to contain activities of violent groups across the country.

    They also decried the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the shoddy way in which it handled the Naira redesign and old notes swap project, which have made life unbearable for Nigerians adding: “It is unthinkable and scandalous that in our lifetime, a black market has been created in which Nigerians now buy the Naira with the Naira. The major cause of the cash scarcity is that the apex bank did not print enough of the new notes, which is why they are hardly available.

    “There is no basis for the sufferings imposed on Nigerians in recent times due to cash and fuel scarcity. In other climes, these things are made to work seamlessly. For instance, India successfully did a currency swap within four hours such that people started having access to the new notes in a matter of 24 hours, while the old notes are used side by side with the new ones in the United Kingdom (UK) and other developed countries, but in Nigeria, the reverse is always the case in every situation.”

    Specifically, Executive Director of CAPPA, Akinbode Oluwafemi, who addressed journalists at the media presentation of its report titled: 2023 General Elections: Challenges And Threats To Consolidating Democracy in Lagos, further enjoined the Federal Government to synergize with the CBN and other relevant stakeholders to resolve the lingering crises of cash and fuel scarcity, which he said, was capable of negatively impacting the logistics capacities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other crucial stakeholders such as election monitors.

    In his address tagged: Threats Remain, But A Free And Fair Election Is Possible, he said: “INEC should work with community watch officials and security agencies to deploy technology including drones to electronically monitor and track in real time the movement of all vehicles and boats used in conveying electoral personnel and materials to prevent their hijacking and diversion.

    It should put in place mechanisms for swift countermeasures to prevent bypassing and hacking of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Result Viewing Portal (IREV) platforms. Where necessary, it should leverage international support for this purpose,” Akinbode stated.

    He noted that the commission should liaise with relevant government, intergovernmental, and non-governmental agencies to agree on effective measures to ensure the participation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the elections, adding: “This can be done by developing a register which accurately maps the number, identity, status and location of displaced persons.”

    The report also made a strong case for security agencies and operatives to promptly arrest electoral offenders and prosecute them to serve as a deterrent to other intending lawbreakers and partner with local communities and vigilantes to safeguard environments and report unusual activities before, during, and after the elections.

    “The Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) should work with security agencies to identify persons of interest based on credible intelligence and ensure they are subjected to lawful surveillance during the electioneering period provided a court order authorizing such is secured.

    “Violence often starts with allegations of bias, hence the INEC, the police, and other security agencies must maintain utmost impartiality in the course of discharging their duties,” it further added.

    Insisting that there are threats to the upcoming 2023 general election, Akinbode further charged the media, civil society, and technology companies to work together to monitor and dispel election-related fake news.

    He stressed that the stakeholders should intensify sensitization and awareness programs aimed at empowering voters with information on peace-building during elections and the latest developments with regard to the electioneering processes in Nigeria to help them make informed decisions.

    On their part, Zikorah Ibeh of the Policy and Research unit of CAPPA, National Coordinator of ERC, Hassan Taiwo Soweto, and CACOL Director of Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo, stressed the importance of the 2023 general elections to the socio-political and economic well being of the country, maintaining that Nigerians deserve nothing less than a smooth, free, fair and credible election as the only means of consolidating the nation’s democracy.

    They pointed out the need for Nigerians in the Diaspora to exercise their franchise in the 2023 general elections and in future polls, as there were well over 16 million eligible Nigerian voters in the Diaspora, who should be allowed to cast their ballots electronically.

    Besides arguing that the Political elites were bent on scuttling the consolidation of Nigeria’s democracy, they also expressed concerns over the violence in the South East region, insisting that the authorities must ensure that peace reigns in the region before, during, and after the polls to stem the tide of disputations and litigations capable of jeopardizing the conduct of the general elections.

    Explaining the motive for the report, Akinbode explained that it was informed by recent developments in the political space and the sense of apathy and hope that continues to grow, as the 2023 general elections approach.

    It is crucial for all stakeholders to take note of the emerging developments, particularly the challenges facing our democracy and the opportunities that exist to work together for a fair and credible election.

    “The report examines Nigeria’s tumultuous democratic history, from independence in 1960 marked by military coups to the restoration of civilian rule in 1999 with highlights of the persistent challenges of electoral malpractices faced during previous elections, as well as the improvements in the country’s electoral process.

    “Several years of misgovernance have resulted in despair, unrest, and uprisings across the country, particularly in the North East where the Boko Haram insurgency began and in the South East where separatist tensions continue to escalate for which most Nigerians feel the existing challenges might impede a credible general election,” he said.

    He said the report, therefore, interrogates the various concerns, including logistics and administrative difficulties faced by INEC and attacks on its facilities across the country, the lingering cash and fuel scarcity, rising security challenges, spread of misinformation and fake news, the manifestations of voter suppression and the likelihood of social unrest.

    “Besides the challenges being posed to free and fair elections, the report zeroed in on the steps taken by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to guarantee credible elections with a specific focus on the Electoral Act of 2022. It recognizes INEC’s efforts to improve elections through the adoption of the BVAS and IREV, as well as the largely successful voter registration managed by the commission, which captured 9.5 million new voters, among others.

    “Despite the concerns over observed challenges, the report notes expressed hope that credible elections can be achieved, if stakeholders work together in ensuring that all identified threats are nipped in the bud, just as it targets critical stakeholders and their roles in guaranteeing free, fair and credible polls,” he stated.

    Joshua Okoria is a Lagos-based multi-skilled journalist covering the maritime industry. His ICT and graphic design skills make him a resourceful person in any modern newsroom. He read mass communication at the Olabisi Onabanjo University and has sharpened his knowledge in media practice from several other short courses