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Rerun Election In Ondo Monetized By APC – PDP Alleges

By
Ayodele Oni
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Ondo Bye Election

By Ayodele Oni

The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo state has observed that the outcome of last Saturday’s rerun election in the state has further confirmed that democracy is still flawlessly being practiced in the country.

The party decried a situation whereby hunger was being deliberately inflicted on the people to Garner votes.

PDP in a statement on Monday by its spokesman, Kennedy Peretei pointed out that “In the last seven years, the APC has brought hunger and lack into homes.

“Poverty walks on all four legs in the state. Such a party can only use hunger as a weapon to garner votes which is what happened in this case.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Ifeoluwa Ehindero, winner of the Akoko North-East and Akoko North-West Federal constituency by-election in Ondo State.

Johnson Fasinmirin, a professor, of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), the Returning Officer of the election, declared Mr Ehindero winner after the counting of votes at the collation centre at Victory College, Ikare-Akoko on Saturday.

Mr Fasinmirin said that the APC candidate polled 35,504 votes to defeat his closest rival, Olalekan Bada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who had 15,328 votes.

PDP statement said “The bye-election for the Akoko North East/North West Federal Constituency held over the weekend without any loss of life and significant violence apart from a few places like Oyin-Akoko where PDP voters were intimidated to vote APC.

“Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ondo State Chapter’s legal team and experts are still studying the election results as announced by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to decide on our next line of action.

“In the weeks preceding the election, our party combed all the nooks and crannies, campaigning door to door for the PDP candidate, Hon. Olalekan Bada, the responses we received everywhere we went were not only re-assuring but also overwhelming.

“This was not unconnected with the age long understanding and perfect rotational agreement between Akoko North East and Akoko North West.

“An arrangement that favoured Akoko North East where our candidate hails from. However, two days to election, the APC which relied on government and the people’s fund in their custody stormed homes of party leaders and other individuals with the sole aim of changing their minds.

“Our party wishes to salute all those who in spite of financial inducement and promise of political patronage, stood their grounds and voted according to their conscience. Those who did otherwise have only posterity to contend with.

“It is not the case that, the PDP did not offer options but the people made their choices. Therefore, nobody should weep for the PDP, let us reserve our tears for our democracy which is gradually reducing the space for honest labour and elections based on performance instead of stomach infrastructure.”

CBN: We Will Not Pay; $7bn Forex Claims Riddled With Fraud, Says Cardoso

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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Yemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, says its has discovered fraud in the forex backlog claim by some stakeholders in the economy.

The CBN which said last week that it is making serious efforts to clear the $7 billion forex backlog owed some sectors in the economy said at least $2.4 billion of the said amount have been discovered to be invalid.

The apex bank said recently that it was no longer owing commercial banks and airlines having cleared the backlog with them.

The CBN boss made this known while speaking on Arise Television on Monday, explaining that the revelation was discovered by the consultant appointed by the apex bank to look into issue.

Cardoso stated that it employed prominent financial consultant, Deloitee which discovered serious discrepancies in the forex claims by some stakeholders in various sectors.

According to him, the government reserve bank has been very worried that the forex market has remained unstable, leading to the sliding value of the naira against the dollar despite all efforts being carried out to stabilize the market.

It was Deloitte that discovered that various forex claims were frivolous, which, he said, continues to fuel the depreciation of the national currency against the dollar.

The CBN has decided not to pay the claim “if they are not valid”, Cardoso said today.

Explaining why the CBN took the decision, he said, “Now, as we went along, we now had reasons to believe that we needed to take a harder look at these obligations. So we contracted Deloitte Management Consultants, to do a forensic of all these obligations and to actually tell us what was valid and what was not.

“We were committed to ensuring that we would pay all valid transactions and the result that came out of this was startling.

“We discovered that of the $7 billion, roughly about $2.4 billion had issues and had no business being there, and the infractions on that range from so many things, for example, not having valid important documents, and in some cases, even entities that did not exist, and in some cases, beneficiaries, account parties who had asked for exchange and got more than they asked for and some who didn’t even ask for any, got.

“Well, we’re not paying, if you don’t qualify. They are not valid.

“We have settled about $2.3 billion and that applies to the airlines and a whole load of different entities spread throughout the economy.”

NDDC Re-commits To Peace, Conflict Resolution In Niger Delta

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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The managing director of the Niger Delta development Commission, NDDC, Samuel Ogbuku has received accolade for promoting peace and stability in Nigeria’s oil bearing areas, the Niger Delta.

The remark was made by the commission Acting Director, Department of Conflict Resolution, DCR, Goddy Ogedegbe Ayewumi during a retreat held for some personnel of the interventionist agency in Lagos.

Ayewumi affirmed the commitment of NDDC personnel to promoting communal harmony and peaceful coexistence across the communities which he said are necessary for development in the Niger Delta.

The retreat aimed to equip the personnels on their role as Dispute and Conflict Resolution advocates and personnel, and the need to promote peaceful coexistence, oneness and unity among the States under the NDDC.

Samuel Ogbuku, the Managing Director of NDDC represented by the Special Assistant Legal, Ochu Chukwuma and 30 other personnel of Department of Conflict Resolution, DCR, and other strategic stakeholders of the commission led by the Acting Director, Goddy Ogedegbe Ayewumi attended Capacity building Retreat on Communal Dispute and Peaceful Resolution.

The Retreat with the theme Communal Dispute in the Niger Delta Region: The role of NDDC Staff in promoting peaceful resolution was facilitated by Development Projects, PEDEP, which  featured presentations on sub themes: “Peace as a Multi-Stakeholder Enterprise”, facilitated by Jide Ojo of OJA Development Consult; “Communication and Interpersonal Conflict Management-Interpersonal Self Awareness: A Power Perspective” by Professor Abigail Odozi Ogwezzy, Director, Institute Of Continuing Education (ICE), University Of Lagos University of Lagos.

Other sub themes that were treated at the Retreat include, “The Niger Delta and the Imperative of Multi-Track Diplomacy’ by Dr. Tunde Akanni of the Department of Mass Communication, Lagos State University (LASU) and “Goal Setting Agenda for Conflict Management and Dispute Resolution at the Community level” by Osaze Lanre Nosaze, Director, Projectworks of Xtrimedia and Francis Abayomi, Director, PEDEP.

PEDEP Director, Francis Abayomi in his opening remarks reiterated the imperative of requisite knowledge and skills for personnel charge with responsibilities of implementing in intervention mandate of the NDDC.

He also commended the commission for prioritizing capacity building for personnel of the Department of Dispute and Conflict Resolution which elaborately speaks to the proactiveness of the current leadership of the NDDC.

While declaring the retreat open, the representative of the MD/CEO and the Special Assistant Legal, Mr. Ochu Chukwuma urged personnel of the DCR and the strategic NDDC staff at the retreat to make effective use of additional knowledge and skills acquired to consolidate on the peace process across communities in the Niger Delta region.

At the Retreat which was an interactive session, witnessed a robust and exhaustive interactions and engagement process, broadened the horizon of the participants on what DCR entails.

As part of the Capacity building retreat with the theme: “Communal Disputes in the Nigeria Delta Region-the Role of NDDC staff in promoting peaceful resolution”, participants were taken on a tour of the yet to be commissioned Yoruba Museum (JK Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History) conducted by the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture).

The magnificently rich and captivating facility is located at Onikan, opposite the national museum, Onikan Stadium, Lagos. The structure houses one of the oldest swimming pools in West Africa, a library, lounges and many historical slave trade and precolonial facilities.

The tour helped the participants to appreciate the influence of cultural beliefs and tradition. More importantly, the tour provides deep insights into how knowledge of the history, beliefs and tradition of communities can help prevent and or resolve communal disputes in order to facilitate an effective developmental drive to the different parts of the Niger Delta.

The visit also encouraged unity and collaboration between the NDDC and the Lagos State government in the development of culture and tourism in Nigeria, analysts say.

At the end of the Retreat, a Communique was issued that in bringing into play DCR, one needs to enhance its understanding of some otherwise complicated issues, by so doing, it will lead to enhanced transparency with regards to public conduct or transactions.

Participants also agreed that diversity and differences in ethnic, social and economic backgrounds may necessitates divergent opinions on issues and therefore requires conscious efforts to foster better understanding amongst communities.

It was agreed that imperative of inclusive engagement which must reflect diversity of gender-based concerns and primary interest of people with disability (PWDs) in the community should be considered at all times.

Sustenance of peace in the community is the responsibility of all stakeholders. It is incumbent on all stakeholders to strive to make attainment of peaceful coexistence a reality and an Unflinching commitment of DCR personnel to peace building process even when it appears inconvenient, is imperative and may require the use of personal facilities like telephones and airtime and data when situation demands.

In the course of building and sustaining peace, it is pertinent to appreciate that justice is a recurrent denominator. Justice must therefore be seen to be served always otherwise whatever peaceful situation is presumed to have been attained may not endure.

Communication sustains domestic relationships and thus equally germane for sustaining relevance as NDDC personnel as peace actors in the community.

Cordial relationship with the community through regular interface and functional communication channels is desirable and should be accorded priority.

The participants recommended that DCR personnel should be sensitive and proactive with regards to conflict situations and core issues in disputes as they may pertain to individuals and communities.

It also added that DCR personnel should demonstrate a fair understanding and tolerance for diversity along social, ethnic, religious and economic divides in engaging with communities as badly managed biases may undermine otherwise fair intentions and engagement with communities.

They stressed that DCR personnel should not only be always proactive but should be accessible in engaging with issues underpinning disputes in the community.

Part of the communique reads: “The DCR should not only endeavor to advocate for fairness and justice as condition for peace but be committed to stakeholder mapping that must be done periodically for purposes of SWOT analysis (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat) to unlock potential benefits as much as challenges and for timely conflict management and to deescalate disputes that may lead to violence.

“The DCR in partnership with the corporate communications department of NDDC should collaborate with media experts and strategic NGOs to sustain public awareness and promote accurate narratives about the NDDC and the situation in the Niger Delta.

“DCR personnel should be diversity conscious and be sensitive to gender concerns and the needs of marginalised groups and individuals for effective peacebuilding efforts in the community.

“DCR personnel as drivers of development must understand the ways of life and historical beliefs of the communities / people who are direct beneficiaries of development”.

Abayomi on behalf of PEDEP appreciated the NDDC for the initiative and expresses delights for partnering with the DCR in facilitating the retreat.

Breaking: Hardship: Nationwide Protest Looms As Youths Take Over Niger State

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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Deputy Governor of Niger state, Yakubu Garba, had a herculean task controlling the crowd of angry youths that took to the street in Minna, the state capital to protest the rising cost of food in the country on Monday.

The youths who blocked the major streets in the capital are protesting the rising cost of food items in the country. The situation has become unbearable for many Nigerians, analyst insist, despite government’s assurance that it is trying hard to ameliorate the situation.

The protest has sent shock waves across the country of a possible backlash in other 36 states and the Federal capital Territory, FCT, if it is not quickly contained.

Even though, those watching the situation in the state said riot policemen are likely to be dispatched to contain the protest from spreading to other parts of the state, and adjoining states, it could spark of a more violent problem if not well handled.

The protest is coming on the heels of the Presidency attack on Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president who said at the weekend that the economy has been mismanaged by the ruling All Progresives’ Congress, APC.

For his remark that things are currently too hard for many Nigerians,  the administration issued a statement on Sunday trenchantly criticising  Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, during last year election.

The PDP candidate, among others, in his remarks slammed the government for pursuing economic policies that have driven Nigerians into deep poverty, adding that foreign companies had also left the country in droves due to the unfavourable business atmosphere.

But in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy yesterday, the government said  “Nigerians enjoy lowest cost of living in Africa under Tinubu’, knocking Abubakar for raising unnecessary alarm.

Below Onanuga’s Full Statement Titled “ATIKU ABUBAKAR AND HIS NEW HOBBY” 

 

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has certainly found a new hobby  to keep himself busy, having failed to achieve his lifelong  ambition of becoming the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He is increasingly carving for himself the role of opposition-in-chief to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his government.

 

However, we notice that the former Vice-President, just like in his political contests, is also doing a poor job of it,  offering pedestrian and uninformed interventions on our economy and other matters of public concerns.

 

Atiku’s latest diatribe was another uncharitable commentary on the state of the economy and the efforts of the President Bola Tinubu administration in remoulding it for sustained prosperity.

 

Nigerians can easily see through the hypocrisy of Alhaji Atiku, who in accusing President Tinubu of poor response to the nation’s challenges and causing pains and despair, didn’t offer any better policy options in his run for the Presidency different from the economic reform agenda being pursued by President Tinubu.

 

All the major candidates agreed that the fuel subsidy regime, which had become an albatross on the economy, must end. They all agreed that the multiple exchange rates must be fixed. Where President Tinubu and Atiku differed was in selling NNPC Limited and other national assets. Atiku went for this so he could sell these important national assets to his friends and cronies.

 

President Tinubu removed the subsidy from Day One and announced moves to harmonise the exchange rates. Since then, he and his economic team have been working vigorously to harmonise the rates and also end the rampant and criminal arbitrage that the multiple windows allowed.

 

President Tinubu acknowledged, on different occasions, that the reforms his government  is implementing will cause immediate pains, but will usher in an era of prosperity in the medium and long terms.

 

Minus Atiku, reputable local and international agencies who understand the situation the Tinubu administration found itself have commended the administration, having seen a policy trajectory that is clearly positive, realistic and sustainable.

 

Atiku’s claims that the private sector is shrinking and that multinational companies are leaving our companies in ‘droves’ are not grounded on facts.

 

His claim that the government’s policies have created intense cost of living pressures are also not grounded on facts as recent comparative cost of living indices show that Nigerians still enjoy the lowest cost of living in Africa.

 

Instead of mouthing platitudes every time in a bid to earn cheap political mileage, Alhaji Atiku who presumes himself as the leader of opposition should tell Nigerians what he would have done better if he had been elected President.

 

Atiku should be honest enough to admit that President Tinubu inherited a weak economy, which to all intents and purposes and to ensure the survival of our country needs a complete overhaul.

 

The economy was plagued by decades of significant fiscal deficits, a low revenue base, high external and domestic debts, and huge debt service burden.

 

The national budget Tinubu met in 2023 showed that 97 percent of revenue was to be spent on debt servicing, with little reserved for capital, thereby foreclosing growth and jobs.

 

Confronted with this grim  economic reality, President Tinubu faced a difficult choice of balancing the political and economic costs of reforms against the risks of economic recession. His government  chose the former, to keep the economy afloat and set it back on the path of growth and prosperity.

 

President Tinubu is focused on solving our economic and security challenges. The fiscal and monetary policies his administration is pursuing are delivering unprecedented value to investors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Nigerian Stock Exchange is outperforming others in the world and is now the best, not based on bubble, but record profits by many listed companies.

 

The administration has also embarked on comprehensive fiscal and tax policy reform that will drive speedy recovery and spur economic growth.

 

Nigerians and the global investment communities trust the ability and competence of President Tinubu to deliver progress and shared prosperity.

 

While President Tinubu and his able team are working very hard to make our country better, ensure our economy is stronger and more competitive, Atiku Abubakar and his cohorts may continue to bellyache.

 

However, they cannot stop the serious work of nation-building already set in motion by President Tinubu.

 

Edo Guber: Gov Mbah’s Role In Controversial Delegates’ Election

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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Peter Mbah

As the Chairman of the Edo state governorship Delegates election, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state was supposed to lead other leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the state on Sunday to conduct the election.

Following Makinde’s absence, the election was later conducted by Governor Peter Mba of Enugu state, the Deputy Chairman of the committee, but the process has now been declared null and void by some key governorship aspirants in the state, including Philip Shaibu, the state Deputy Governor.

The delegates’ election is coming ahead of the primary election of the PDP to pick its candidate for the governorship election slated for September this year by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

According to one of the nine governorship aspirants, Anslem Ojezua who spoke for others, the election conducted by Governor Mbah was a charade, and a hatchet job to satisfy the wishes of the governor of the state, Godwin Obaseki.

The state governor is believed to be supporting Asue Ighodalo to succeed him when he finally steps down from office later this year.

Reacting, Ojezua who briefed journalists after the election said the absence of Governor Makinde at the event has posed a serious legitimacy problem for the delegates’ election, saying the Oyo helmsman shunned it in other not to be part of the illegality.

He said some aspirants had written a letter to Governor Makinde complaining drawing his attention to the different delegate lists used for the election, which he claimed were different from the list approved by the PDP national secretariat.

The governorship aspirants said Governor Mbah and other members of the 5-man panel set up by the PDP NEC to conduct the election did not meet with them, accusing the Enugu helmsman of coming to the state to rubber stamp the plan of state governor.

Ojezua explains what happened: “Between Friday and today (Sunday), we have seen three different ad-hoc electoral committee lists, first was the one that had His Excellency Seyi Makinde as Chairman, and Senator Manu as Secretary.

“A day after, we had yet another list with Seyi Makinde as chairman and one Pascal Adigwe as Secretary. Today (Sunday), we had yet a different list with Peter Mbah as chairman and Pascal Adigwe as secretary.

“We do know that the very first one must have been the one approved by the national working committee. We are reliably informed that the National Working Committee has not met since the last time they approved that list. Now we do not even know which one is which.

“Yesterday (Saturday), we wrote to Seyi Makinde about the observation we made and we were assured that they will provide us with a level playing field, and it was agreed that those who are going to officiate are going to be members of PDP from outside of Edo state.

“But we found that contrary to the list the party sent to INEC, another list was flying around with a prominent list of government officials from the Edo state government to perform very sensitive assignments in relation to this process.

“What is even worse is that the committee has not even arrived in Benin; we were later informed that he (Governor Seyi Makinde) has declined his appointment.

“It was only today (Sunday), that we were informed that Governor Mbah is now to take the position of the chairman. Governor Mbah didn’t come to Benin until this afternoon,” he said.

Meanwhile, those watching the state insist that the crisis in the ruling PDP poses a serious threat for the party which is trying to retain the state later this year when the governorship election is conducted.

A house divided against itself cannot stand, critics say of what is going on in Edo PDP ahead of the critical election.

FCT Residents Happy On What We Are Doing To Tackle Insecurity- Minister

By
James Orji
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Amidst the problem of kidnapping that has ravaged Abuja, the nation’s capital the Minister of state for the federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mariya Mahmoud has assured Nigerians that the efforts to curtail the menace will pay off eventually.

The minister’s assurance comes on the verge of several arrests made by security agencies in the FCT.

On January 19, the FCT police arrested one Chinaza Philip, a notorious kidnapper believed to have been responsible for the abductions in the city and neighbouring Kaduna state.

Also, some abductees have also been freed in the last few days due to the efforts of security agencies.

The Nigerian Police Force, NPF, and sister security outfits in the country had swung into action after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ordered them to rein in insecurity in the city after criminals stepped up their attacks on residents by abducting them and killing others in the wake of it.

Security agencies have also re-jig their operations and personnel in other to rid the FCT of criminals as directed by the president.

For instance, the new commissioner of Police, CP, CP Ben Igweh had just been posted to FCT last Friday, making him the 31st since the city was created.

Assuring residents that the efforts being put in place will lead to significant positive effect, Mahmoud, who spoke on Sunday said the FCT administration is on top of the situation to improve security within the city and adjoining satellite towns.

According to her, security agencies have been provided with equipment and platform to carry out their job, stressing that residents have noticed improvement in the security situation in the last few days.

She said, “I am sure the people of FCT will also bear witness of our collective efforts in tackling insecurity. They have seen how we have been up and doing since this incident of kidnapping and other security matters. His Excellency, Barrister Nyesom Wike, has been on his feet.

“We have been doing all that is necessary to improve our security situation in FCT.  All the support to be given to the security agencies has been put in place and also some materials and equipment they need to carry out their works are also in the process.

“So, also the issue of access roads, we think will also improve the security situation in FCT and the satellite towns. I am sure you too have seen that the issue of kidnapping is going down, but we want it at a zero level.”

National Grid Fully Restored After Sunday Collapse, Says TCN

By
James Orji
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Following the power outage that greeted most parts of the country on Sunday, the Transition Company of Nigeria, TCN, says the national grid has now been ‘fully restored’.

The grid collapsed for the first time this year sending shock waves to many households and business owners, who depend on power that the country may likely suffer incessant power disruptions similar to what was experienced last year.

According to checks from Distribution Companies, Discos, electricity supply from the TCN dropped to the lowest ebb at the weekend as a larger part of the country was thrown into total darkness.

Details supplied by Discos entails that electricity megawatts supplied to the national grid as of 4 pm yesterday had dropped by not less than 80 percent of the over 3,500 megawatts usually available.

At a certain point yesterday also, the grid was down to Zero megawatts leading to zero allocations to the discos.

Reacting, Ndidi Mba, spokesperson for the TCN said in a statement that  the problem was a partial disturbance, adding that the grid had now come back to life fully, citing insufficient gas supply to the TCN as reason for power disruptions.

She said the company has launched investigations into the cause of the problem with a view to ensure that Nigerians enjoy stable power supply

Part of the statement said: “The Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN hereby states that the grid experienced a partial disturbance at about 11:21Hours today with Ibom power islanded, feeding Eket, Ekim, Itu & Uyo transmission substations, during the period of partial disturbance.

“According to the National Control Center (NCC), the Internet of Things (IoT) revealed that just before the partial disturbance, which occurred at 11:21Hrs today, Sapele Steam & Egbin Substations lost a total of 29.32MW & 343.84MW at 11:20:14Hrs & 11:20:17Hrs respectively, totalling 373.16MW.

“This, combined with the current low power generation due to gas constraints, caused the imbalance leading to the partial system disturbance.”

“Ensuring sufficient gas supply to power generating stations is crucial for grid stability as sufficient generation allows for better grid management in the event of sudden generation losses like this. TCN will investigate the cause of tripping of Sapele Steam & Egbin power generating units.”

Meanwhile, not a few Nigerians have countered the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu after he said last week that the federal government was considering removing subsidy on power.

They are asking the Minister why they should pay for electricity that is not constantly available.

Police Order Immediate Clampdown On Unregistered Vehicles In Abuja

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0

By Akinwale Kasali

The Nigeria Police Force has ordered a total clampdown on vehicles without number plates or with a single number plate plying the FCT roads.

FCT Commissioner of Police, Benneth Igweh, said that the clampdown is to curb kidnapping and other crimes in the nation’s Capital, as part of strategies to tackle kidnapping and other crimes.

The FCT Commissioner also directed the heads of the tactical units “to identify black spots, possible kidnappers’ den in the Territory and ensure they take the fight to them”.

He gave the directives when he met with the Management Team, leaders of all tactical units and Heads of Departments of the FCT Police Command comprising Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) on Saturday.

Igweh said the meeting, which he deemed necessary, is aimed at revamping the approach of the already existing security framework and to set in motion the plan to ensure the safety of residents in the Federal Capital Territory.

Addressing the officers, the CP urged them to “embrace intelligence led policing, visibility policing through constant stop and search duty in the fight against criminality”.

He emphasized “the need to adopt effective community partnership in the discharge of their duties, as he will have zero tolerance for laxity.

He, however, reiterated his readiness to combat criminality in the Territory, as he called on residents to collaborate with the Police in the fight against crime and to avoid boarding vehicles along the road and unapproved parks.

He urged residents to report suspicious activities through the following emergency lines; 08032003913, 08061581938, 07057337653, and 08028940883; PCB: 09022222352.

Sokoto Rerun: PDP Rejects Tambuwal West Constituency Result, Allege Manipulation

By
Ayodele Oni
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0
INEC By Elections

By Ayodele Oni

The Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) in Sokoto has rejected one of the three results in the re-run election conducted on Saturday.

The party, in a statement on Sunday, described the results of Tambuwal West Constituency, as a daylight robbery.

The State’s spokesman, Hassan Sahabi Sanyinnawal,  however, congratulated the winners of the other two contested seats.

INEC had declared the candidate of the All Progressive Congress, Dahiru Bashir Ahmed, as the winner of the Tambuwal West constituency with a total number of 19,315 votes.

He defeated PDP’s Hantsi Sule Romo who polled a total number of 19,021 votes.

The statement reads “The Sokoto State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party wishes to felicitate with the Members-Elect for Yabo/Shagari Federal Constituency Hon Umar Yusuf Yabo and Bodinga North State Constituency, in the State Assembly, Hon Abubakar Magaji for winning their respective rerun elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC on Saturday 3rd February 2024

“The PDP also commends its supporters across the constituencies as well as its supporters in all parts of Sokoto State for their efforts and dedication despite intimidation by agents of the Sokoto State Government, who were bent on rigging the process in favour of APC candidates.”

On the Tambuwal West result, the statement said, “The PDP however, totally rejects the outcome of the re-run election in Tambuwal West State Constituency, which we described as a political daylight robbery by some bigwigs of the Sokoto State Government, who snatched the ballot box of one of the polling units already won by the PDP and changed the results in favour of APC candidate

“Our party condemns the barbaric act and alerts stakeholders and indeed, the people of the entire state of the type of characters that lead the politics and government of the APC in Sokoto State.”

Fallout Of Rerun Election: INEC Sanctions Official Over Missing Ballot Papers

By
Ayodele Oni
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Fred Ogboji- the Electoral Officer for Jos North

By Ayodele Oni

In the aftermath of Saturday’s rerun election in some states, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended one of its officials for negligence.

Mr. Fred Ogboji, the Electoral Officer for Jos North Local Government Area, was sanctioned following the disappearance of ballot papers during Saturday’s rerun election in Plateau State.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Mr. Isah Idakwo, the state Head of the Department of Electoral Operations, announced the suspension on behalf of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC). Ogboji has been directed to step aside to allow for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the missing ballot papers for the House of Representatives election in 16 polling units within his jurisdiction.

“You are directed to step aside from office to enable the commission to carry out a proper investigation into the circumstances that led to the missing House of Representatives ballot papers in 16 polling units in your local government area.

“You are further directed to hand over to Mr Elekwa Onyemauche, the local government supervisor, and the two registration area supervisors of Tudun Wada Kabong and Naraguta B to coordinate and complete the remaining process.”

The development comes after INEC was forced to reschedule elections in 16 polling units within the Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency on Saturday due to the missing ballot papers.

Dr. Oliver Agundu, the state  REC, announced the postponement in a separate statement.

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