₦airaland Forum

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared that the era of election rigging is over and the will of the people will count in the June 18 Ekiti State gubernatorial election.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ekiti State, Dr Adeniran Tella, said this in Ado Ekiti, on Wednesday, during a courtesy call on the office of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ekiti Council .

The Ekiti State REC said that the commission has put in place measures to stem electoral vices, noting that technological advanced tools have been introduced to ensure that the electorates elect the candidate of their choice.

He also added that INEC have put in place mechanism where these vices can be contained, which in-turn will restore sanity to the electoral process.

In his words, “On June 18 , we are going to conduct election here in Ekiti and it will be credible and transparent. We will give our people the opportunity to choose who will determine their lives. We are going to work with relevant agencies to bring whoever that is trying to forment trouble to book.

“The era has gone when people would just sit somewhere and cooked up figures and say this is what they have seen. It is impossible now. It is the people that will determine who becomes governor in Ekiti and nothing more.

“We have Election Violence Mitigating and Advocacy tools being used now to ascertain where violence could erupt during elections to prevent and curb violence, so that we can protect the sanctity of the electoral system.”

Tella revealed that the electoral body have created additional polling units to ensure that every eligible citizen of the state participate in the process.

He cautioned the various political parties to refrain from utterances or actions that will heat up the polity while pleading with the electorates to avail themselves during the claims and objections exercise.

Tella said ” The commission has created more polling points across units that have registered voters that are more than 750, thereby shoring up the number of units in the state from 2,195 to 2,445.

” We are not going to tolerate any violence or making of incendiary comments by candidates. This election must be peaceful. During the just concluded primaries of parties , one party contravened our guidelines, we didn’t spare it. We applied the law.

” INEC will conduct claims and objections exercise on March 18 for all the candidates that would participate in the poll, so that the people can scrutinise all their claims by being put in the court of public opinion.”

In his response, the NUJ Chairman, Ekiti Council, Comrade Rotimi Ojomoyela, assured the electoral body of her continued support, noting that they have been a major stakeholder in the electoral system.

He enjoined INEC to seek adequate ways of ensuring that quacks and fake news peddlers don’t infiltrate the system during the poll by availing the union the responsibility of accreditation of Journalists.


https://abuchy.com/era-election-rigging-inec-declares/

Nigerian lawmakers plan to amend the constitution to compel a new president to nominate the cabinet within a month of taking office, documents showed on Wednesday, to avoid policy delays as the country prepares for elections next year.

President Muhammadu Buhari took five months after he was re-elected to a second term in 2019 to submit cabinet names to parliament for confirmation, a delay that unnerved investors.

During his first term in 2015, Buhari took six months to swear in a cabinet, a delay critics say contributed to a slow response to low oil prices that pushed Nigeria into recession in 2016.

Africa’s largest economy has faced challenges including tepid economic growth, high unemployment and widespread insecurity. Growth of 3.4% in 2021 was the fastest in seven years following two recessions.

Buhari’s ruling party, All Progressives Congress, came to power in 2015 on a pledge to fight corruption and insecurity and boost the economy, defeating an incumbent president for the first time since the end of military rule more than two decades ago.

The planned amendments come as Nigeria prepares for presidential elections next year. Lawmakers also propose to allow Nigerians abroad to vote, the lower house of parliament said.

Amendments to the constitution could take months, analysts say, adding that Buhari will need to sign the provisions before they become law.


https://abuchy.com/nigeria-plans-constitution-amendment-compel-newly-elected-president-nominate-cabinet-within-month/

video circulating on social media has shown men and officers of the Nigeria Customs Service manhandling a lawyer who accompanied his client to resolve an issue with the service over his car which was impounded.


Trouble was said to have started when the lawyer informed the service of the illegality of their action in impounding the client’s car. This legal opinion from the lawyer was said to have angered the Customs officers who directed he be manhandled and detained.

From the video, seen by TheNigerialawyer, the lawyer is seen struggling with about two to three officers who at the instruction of a senior officer were trying to evacuate him from the office.

The overpowered lawyer attempted to resist the physical intimidation and harassment of the officers by informing them of the illegality of their actions even as the person who recorded the video opposed the action by reminding them that the man was a lawyer.

This worrying incident once again brings to fore the issues of intimidation and high-handedness by security agencies in the country.

More disturbing is when such is meted against legal practitioners in the regular course of their professional duties.

Recently, the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association has taken steps to checkmate frequent cases of harassment by security agents against lawyers in the country.

This led to the setting up of the NBA Security Agencies Relations Committee Chaired by J.K. Gadzama SAN.

It is hoped that the committee would step in to address this condemnable incident and ensure the erring officers are sanctioned.


https://abuchy.com/assault-customs-agents-manhandle-counsel-viral-video/