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Current Challenges Aimed At Election Postponement – Northern Elders Alert Nigerians

By
Ayodele Oni
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Northern Elders Forum

By Ayodele Oni

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has expressed doubt over the credibility of the general elections, which begin next month going by the current challenges in the country.

It warned individuals planning to interfere with the conduct of credible elections and peaceful transition of power to another administration to stay off.

NEF said it has reviewed the difficult conditions under which Northerners and other Nigerians live currently, as well as concerns over the security of the elections which will be conducted in February and March this year.

In a statement signed by the Director of Publicity and Advocacy of NEF, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, the Elders said “there are murmurs that hint at the possibility that the elections may not hold, and some kind of unconstitutional contraption may be forced on Nigerians after May, this year.”

NEF said those who peddle the rumours point to the near-desperate circumstances under which Nigerians live.

“They suggest that difficulties simultaneously imposed by insecurity, crushing inflation, fuel scarcity, exchange of old for new currency notes and others, which affect particularly poor Nigerians are deliberately contrived to inflame passions and trigger unrest which may poison the election environment or threaten its conduct.

“The Forum has no basis to support these conjectures. Nonetheless, it warns against any attempts to interfere with the conduct of credible elections and a peaceful transition to a new administration.

“The severe economic and social difficulties under which Nigerians live are indeed threats to peace and security.

“Solution must be found to improve the security of the citizen and the state. Fuel shortage can and must be eliminated immediately.

“The currency swap programme has not worked as planned, and it is strangulating economies, communities and the patience of the citizen. It should be revisited, particularly around its timelines and operations of the CBN and banks.

“Whatever its benefits, it cannot be of value if it destroys many aspects of the economy, or alienates already hard-pressed citizens further.

“The Forum advises a postponement of its deadlines and a major review of the utility of the continued stay of the leadership of the CBN in place.

“The Forum warns that Nigerians will not accept to live under any arrangement that offends the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

“Adeleke’s Victory Stolen At Gun Point; Only God & A- PDP February Victory Can Save Him” –  Adeyanju

By
Ayodele Oni
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By Ayodele Oni

The victory of former Osun State Governor, Gboyega Oyetola, over the incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke, at the Osun Governoship Election Tribunal, has been described as robbery.

Deji Adeyanju, a socio-political commentator and activist, in a series of tweets, submitted that the victory awarded to Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress, APC, over Governor Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, amount to the Judiciary,  stealing at gunpoint, Adeleke’s victory, freely given to him by Osun people.

Adeyanju said only a PDP victory at the Presidential poll in February, can save Adeleke, insisting that it is the only way he can reclaim his about – to-be stolen mandate.

Adeyanju: “An election Adeleke won before our very eyes despite all the vote-buying unleashed by APC in Osun is about to be stolen at gun point by the Judiciary. I just wonder for ‘Made-in-Court Room Democracies.’

“Tinubu and his people are so determined to take Osun through the Tribunal. Whether through bending the law or any other means, they will take it. Only God or a PDP victory in February can save Adeleke at this point.

“The Osun Election Tribunal, in annulling Adeleke’s victory, said there were some over-voting  in some PU’s. This decision, if reinforced by the Apex Court, will rubbish BVAs and INEC  result portals. The over-voting could have occurred from any side. But let’s see what Appeal Court and SC will say,”

The Osun Governorship Election was held on July 16, 2023, while Adeleke was sworn-in as Governor on November 27, 2022. The Tribunal removed him on January 27, 2022.

He has appealed for calm in the State, and vowed to appeal the judgement.

Centre For Children With Disabilities Take Off In Lagos

By
Akinwale Kasali
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By Akinwale Kasali

In a move to give children with disabilities a sense of belonging, a Centre that provides capacity building for such children has been established in Surulere, Lagos.

The centre is targeted at providing training, learning aids and vocational education for children with disabilities in order to develop and  harness their potentials.

Following this initiative, no fewer than 50 pupils will enlist in the school for an initial 12 months programe.

A statement said, the Ford Foundation West African Regional Office, is working with the Journalists for Democratic Rights, (JODER) and other civil society groups working on disabilities.

JODER, in the statement signed by its Executive Director, Adewale Adeoye said the Centre is for children who suffer many forms of exclusion and are affected by the impacts in varying degrees, depending on the type of disability.

JODER stressed that even as Presidential candidates campaign across the country, and the mainstream media sets agenda for national development, the faint voices lend to issues of disability is a strong indication of how political and economic powers pay little attention to a major national issue of human exclusion, JODER said.

The media group said in many countries such as Nigeria, responses to the situation of children with disabilities are largely abandoned or neglected with the society rooted in negative or paternalistic assumptions of incapacity, dependency and difference that are perpetuated by ignorance.

The situation, JODER said diminishes their potentials and limits their contributions to the society while undermining their individual prosperity.

JODER said in Nigeria, some 18.5% children are out of school according to UNICEF, adding that mostly affected are children with disabilities.

It said the World bank projects that persons with disabilities constitute about 15% of populations in developing countries and that between 80 to 90% of them don’t gain access to basic needs of life especially basic education, there are many gaps that can be filled by civil.

It said it is however the primary underlying causes of this situation are the exclusive and inaccessible nature, structure and system of virtually all primary and secondary schools in Nigeria; the confinement of the education of children with disabilities to very few, poorly staffed, poorly equipped and outdated special schools.

“The problem is compounded by very low public awareness on issues of inclusive education; inadequate institutional and human capacities required to implement inclusive education; and inadequate, poor implementation or non-availability of appropriate legal and policy frameworks required for the implementation of inclusive education for children with disabilities. As such, most educational plans most likely do not adequately address the needs of those with disabilities, pushing them further to the margins of society”, the statement reads.

The Ford Foundation, Journalists for Democratic Rights (JODER) working with

Independent Diamond Life for PLWDs and  Dream Land Foundation other civil society groups seek to raise awareness on the challenges of vulnerable population in  Lagos state as well as support a community center for children with severe/multiple disabilities who are excluded from accessing assisted educational opportunities.

“The focus is on those with sensory disability such as visual, hearing impairment and speech challenges.

“The centre adopts a social and human rights-based approach to disability which recognizes disability as caused by unaccommodating social environments, institutions and attitudes.

“One of the major challenge is lack of effective media coverage on the plight of the physically challenged, societal neglect, exclusion from social and economic framework, lack of capacity building, discrimination and lack of access to opportunities or outright denial where and when such opportunities arise”, Adeoye stressed.

JODER said the centre’s services are adopted from the UNICEF inclusive social model, in which It is a community service centre that provides disability specific learning support for abandoned children with disabilities.

“The centre provides housing support, learning and vocational training for children and young people between the ages of 5-20 years.  Some of the programs at the centre are Orientation & Mobility for the Blind, Daily living skills, Braille (reading and writing), Sign Language and continuous guidance and counseling”.

JODER noted that Nigeria is a signatory to many international and regional treaties such as the Cconvention on the Right of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC). The 1999 Nigerian Cconstitution as amended also states that a citizen of Nigeria irrespective of ethnic groups or disability must not be deprived by reason of the circumstances of his birth.

This it said in consonant with section of 1 of the Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities ( Prohibition) Act 2018 and section 1 of the Lagos State Special People’s Law 2010 which prohibits all forms of discrimination and other harmful practices against persons with disabilities. The programme also has a media training component to raise public attention on issues of disability for the good health and prosperity of the country.

Court Throws Out Another Suit Seeking To Disqualify Tinubu

By
Uche Mbah
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Bola Ahmed Tinubu

By Uche Mbah

A Federal High Court in Abuja, Friday, struck out a suit filed by a group, Incorporated Trustees of Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International, which sought to disqualify Bola Tinubu, the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, from the 2023 General Elections.

In an originating motion on notice marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1960/22, sought an order directing INEC to act in accordance with Section 84(13) of the Electoral Act 2022, to remove Tinubu’s name from the final list of presidential candidates contesting the 2023 Presidential election.

The Human rights group had joined, in the suit, the INEC Chairman, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and ts Presidential Candidate, Tinubu as first, second and third respondents respectively.

They claimed Tinubu violated Section 91(3) of Electoral Act 2022 which says that a political party shall not receive any contribution of cash or kind over, and above N50 million, without providing the source of the contribution to INEC, among others.

Tinubu’s Lawyer had described the plaintiff as a “meddlesome Interloper” and urged the Court to throw out the case.

Justice Binta Nyako, in her ruling, said that the plaintiff lacked locus standi to institute the case, because they are neither a political party  nor a member of one.

Describing the ruling as an abuse of Court process, she said:

“The issue of locus standi of the applicant is a threshold issue because anything conduct without locus will be a nullity and it will be set aside. ”

She found it distasteful that the plaintiff filed several cases with similar contents.

Justice Inyang Ekwo of he Federal High Court had, December 15, 2022, thrown away a similar case, though the parties involved were different.

“Consequently, the case is hereby dismissed for being an abuse of court process,” she ruled.

Adeleke’s Sack: “It’s Judicial Murder, Sad Day For Democracy” – Shehu Sani

By
Akinwale Kasali
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By Akinwale Kasali

An Activist and a former Senator from Kaduna State, Shehu Sani,  has described January 27, 2023, the day Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke was removed from office, as “sad day for democracy.”

A three-man Election Tribunal, in a split judgement of two against one, sacked Adeleke on Friday, and declared former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, whom he had roundly defeated in the Governorship election held on July 16, 2022.

In his reaction to the judgement which has shocked not a few people,  the Senator tweeted: “It’s a sad day for democracy. This is a judicial magic.”

Toeing Senator Sani’s line, another activist and former APC top shot, Timi Frank, called for a probe into the judgement to find out exactly what happened.

Adeleke, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called for calm, and is proceeding to the Court of Appeal.

Senator Adeleke was sworn into office on November 27, 2022.

Naira: First Bank’s Decision To Open Saturday, Sunday Excites Customers

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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First Bank of Nigeria, FBN Limted has assured customers that all its branches across the county will open this weekend to attend to them in view of the deadline set by the CBN to demonetize the current N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes.

This, is indeed, is a welcome development, and some customers who spoke to The Source said they are really excited by the announcement.

The Kazeem Adeduntan-led commercial banks said it’s branches will open Saturday and Sunday to attend to customers who may want to deposit existing naira notes, which by next Tuesday, January 31 seize to be legal tender, according to the apex Bank’s Naira Redesign policy.

“This is to notify the general public that all our branches will be open on Saturday and Sunday just to receive cash.

“All old Naira notes of series 200, 500, and 1000 will cease to be in use from the 31st of January,” the nation’s premier bank said in a notification to customers.

The bank’s position is contrary to rumour being peddled among some customers  that it will no longer collect the old naira notes from customers after Today, January 27, 2023.

On November 17, last year, following its decision to redesign the old naira notes, the Godwin Emefiele-led government bank directed all the commercial banks in the country to work on Saturdays to enable customers return existing naira notes for new notes.

The banks“have also been instructed to receive the existing banknotes beyond the threshold stipulated by the Cashless Policy without charges to customers,” Osita Nwanisobi, CBN’s Head Corporate Communications, said.

But only a few banks have so far obeyed the directive.

The critical step by First Bank, sources in the industry informed the magazine is most likely to push other commercial banks to act in the same manner as the deadline approaches.

Adeleke’s Sack: Timi Frank Calls For Probe, Says “Don’t Rob The Man A Second Time”

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, has called on the National Judicial Council, (NJC) and anti graft agencies to probe the judgement of the election petition tribunal which handled Osun state governorship petition.

Reacting to the judgement, which nullified the election of Governor Ademola Adeleke on Friday, in a statement in Abuja, Frank described the majority judgement of the  Election Petition Tribunal as highly questionable.

According to him, the verdict fell short of expectations and does not reflect the will of the majority of the people of Osun that freely elected Senator Adeleke as Governor.

He called on the NJC to urgently cause a probe of the verdict with a view to restoring Adeleke’s mandate as well as penalizing any of the tribunal members found to have compromised on integrity.

He also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to urgently investigate the judges, who wrote the majority judgement and prosecute those found to have based their decision on other considerations, rather than the true facts canvassed during the hearing of the case.

The former APC scribe also advised the United States of America to place a visa ban on the Osun Tribunal Judges found to have used their highly exalted position as arbiters to derail and frustrate the growth of democracy in the country.

He commended the Judge who wrote the minority judgement for sticking to the truth and siding with the wishes and aspirations of Osun people that elected Adeleke during the last governorship election.

Frank urged the people of Osun to remain calm and law abiding with the certainty that the mandate they freely gave to Adeleke would be retrieved at the Appellate Court.

He vowed that Nigerians will not fold their arms and watch any attempt to use the judiciary to again steal Adeleke’s mandate through the backdoor.

There Is Terrorism In Nigeria – Aregbesola; Says Jailbreakers Won’t Live To Tell Story

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Rauf Aregbesola and Prison Officials

By Akinwale Kasali

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has disclosed that the Federal Government on Thursday foiled another jailbreak attempt months after the attack on Kuje Correctional Center, Abuja.

The  Minister made this disclosure at the 64th session of the State House Ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Though Aregbesola did not disclose the particular Correction Center where the jailbreak was foiled, he stressing that those behind it have been “sent to their maker.”

He boasted that no fleeing inmate could hide forever as their biometrics have been stored permanently on the Nigeria Police database.

He added that the root cause of the perennial jailbreak is because It is the season. “I know you don’t want to hear it. Have we had what we are having in Nigeria today before? It is the season and it is global.

Why do we have assassinations in America? Bad as it is, it is horrible, but in America, people get killed every second. In California, within the last week in America, 20 people have been killed. Did you ask why? It has nothing to do with technology; it could even be linked to climate change.

“When things are hard, people who cannot manage their stability resort to those types of things. You can’t say there is no terrorism in Nigeria; we are managing it. You can’t say there is no banditry in Nigeria; we are managing it. It is because of the level of insecurity in Nigeria, and we are arising from it. It is as simple as that.”

He assured Nigerians that future jailbreaks will be difficult and some of those who attempted post-Kuje have been “sent to their maker.”

“So, we are doing our best to ensure that it will be difficult for anybody to attack our facilities. You may not know that some had attempted and we have sent them back to their maker.

“Take it; it is no longer game as usual. We are equipping our men to, on their own, defend those facilities. And those sister agencies are equally upping their capacity to protect and defend our facilities. And we’re improving the design of our facilities to make them almost impregnable.

“So it’s sad; we are not happy that the facilities are being attacked. But it’s a function of the season and we will be deceiving ourselves if we don’t admit it. So we are up for it. Whoever attempts to dare our will, will not live to tell the story,” he threatened.

According to the minister, the Federal Government has done its best by capturing the biometrics of all inmates nationwide.

He said, “As of today, there is no single inmate of our facilities that is not captured biometrically and that is the best we can do. We’re still working on DNA, another way to identify them.

“We have met with all agencies and institutions that can use the biometrics we have to trace and arrest them. They are doing their best. The most effective agency in capturing them is still the police force. They are doing wonderfully well. Like I would normally tell people, they can only run; they cannot hide.”

Cross River: Jitters In PDP Over APC’s Penetration, Successful Campaign

By
The Source
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Ben Ayade

By Stanley Ekpenyong (South-South Bureau Chief)

A few weeks before the commencement of the 2023 general elections, there are feelers that the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Cross River state are troubled by the penetration of the All Progressives Congress, APC in the nooks and crannies of the state.

The magazine also gathered that the opposition party is rankled by the unprecedented success the APC recorded in its just concluded campaign in the Northern Senatorial of the district of the state where the governor, Professor Ben Ayade is running as a senatorial candidate on APC’s ticket.

The governor represented the district in the Senate between 2011 and 2015.

Cross River was almost 100 per cent PDP until May 20, 2021, when Governor Ayade defected to the APC and radically altered the political landscape.

On the 11th of February, he will be slugging it out with the PDP candidate and the current Senator representing the senatorial zone in the Senate, Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe who attained his current position through the instrumentality of the Court of Appeal.

Political pundits are, however, predicting a landslide win for the governor given his immense popularity in the senatorial district occasioned by his achievements there.

Daniel Wogor, a PDP chieftain in Yala, one of the council areas in Cross River North told the magazine that “putting partisan politics aside and if truth is to be told, Governor Ayade will record an easy win over our candidate, the support the governor enjoys here is massive. It is obvious Ayade will be returning to the Senate”

Cross River North’s senatorial district boasts of a plethora of industries, an airport, a world-class hospital, and an international university among other projects and infrastructures all made possible by the governor.

Governor Ayade’s popularity and acceptance in Cross River North came to the fore during the APC electioneering campaign there as thousands of enthusiastic residents waving their voters cards and chanting “Ayade Back to the Senate” thronged campaign grounds in the five local government areas that make up the senatorial zone visited.

Monarchs and Chiefs in each of the council areas also gave their royal blessings and endorsements to the governor and other candidates of the party.

Multiple sources close to the Cross River PDP campaign council told this Magazine that the party is weighing several options to counter APC’s penetration as well as the success of its recent campaigns.

“One of the measures we are considering will be the game changer; by the time we are done, the political scale will tip massively in our favour,” one of the sources said.

The Magazines’ findings show that the opposition party will in the coming days set up what it called ward campaign councils.

Every ward in the state, it was gathered, will have a PDP campaign outfit whose duty is to sell the party’s candidates door-to-door akin to the door-to-door and house-house preaching style of the Jehova witness.

Meanwhile, the party’s campaigns have continued to be dogged by the disagreement between the Governor Nyesom Wike-led G-5 faction and the mainstream PDP led by the National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu and its presidential candidate and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.

The party’s gubernatorial candidate, Professor (Senator) Sandy Onor who is funded by Wike is loyal to the River state governor and no mention of Atiku is made in all his campaign tours across the state.

Similarly, the Ayu/Atiku faction in the state is headed by the immediate past governor, Senator Liyel Imoke. The faction has been campaigning for the Atiku/ Okowa presidential ticket but does not campaign for Senator Onor.

Matters came to a head recently at the Bekwara local government area where Senator Onor who currently represents Cross River Central in the Senate and Senator Jarigbe attempted to forge a rally.

However, the rally ended in a fiasco as Senator Onor insisted that Senator Jarigbe, a member of the Atiku/Ayu faction must not campaign for the Atiku/ Okowa ticket.

A furious Jarigbe and his supporters were to walk out of the rally thus bringing the event to an abrupt end.

Osun Election Tribunal: Akeredolu Says The Will Of People Prevailed

By
Ayodele Oni
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0

By Ayodele Oni

Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu,SAN, has hailed the judgment of the Osun State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Osogbo, which declared Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola as the winner of the July 16 Osun Guber poll.

Governor Akeredolu, who is chairman, Southern Governors Forum, said the judgement reflects the will of the people of the state that voted massively for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Oyetola in the election.

A statement by Richard Olatunde, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, the Tribunal’s judgement has again restored the hope of a common man and reinforced confidence in the judiciary.

“We received with delight, the news of the Osun State Election Petition Tribunal which declared Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola as winner of the July 16 governorship election in the State.

“This is indeed a victory for democracy. No doubt, the judgment will further consolidate and deepen our country’s democratic values and Election Petitions jurisprudence.

“It will also sustain the faith of the people in our democratic process. The will of the people has prevailed.

“I congratulate my dearest brother, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola (Ileri-Oluwa). I also rejoice with the good people of Osun State and the entire APC family. This is a victory for all.

“While we relish the victory of the moment, I like to assure my dearest brother, Gboyega that we will be with him all the way to the Supreme Court.

“We shall hold hands together and march on this path of shared conviction. At the end, this victory shall be permanent.

“Evidently, this ruling has put paid to issues surrounding the election. We are confident that this mandate restored will provide a new lease of life for Osun State.

“We urge our party members to savour this victory with joy while also seeing it as a great booster ahead of the forthcoming elections.”

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