₦airaland Forum

Wonderful

Akwa Ibom State has emerged the fastest developing and cleanest state in the country, according to a quarterly rating index by Clean Up Nigeria (CUN) of the Cleanest State in Nigeria.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNdoPduAb58

Wow. This is a powerful hit, keep it up, well down

Muslim-Muslim ticket: No agreement reached with Tinubu – CAN

The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has debunked reports of reaching an agreement with the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu over the party’s Muslim-Muslim ticket.


CAN said its position against a same-faith presidential ticket can’t be compromised.

Reports had it that CAN changed its position on the same-faith presidential ticket after meeting with Tinubu and his campaign team.

However, CAN described the reports as malicious, false, and should be discountenanced.

The Christian body noted that it respects the rights of politicians and political parties to make decisions that affect their electoral fortunes.

CAN reiterated that it is non-partisan but prepared to collaborate with relevant stakeholders to ensure the country’s unity.

In a statement by CAN’s President, Daniel Okoh, he said: “The attention of the leadership of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has been drawn to a media report titled, ‘How Tinubu met, resolved Muslim-Muslim ticket with CAN’, which claimed that the apex Christian body has changed its position regarding the same-faith ticket.

“To say the least, the story is ridiculous, malicious, untrue and should be disregarded in its entirety by all reasonable members of the society.

“For the records, CAN took a position against the same-faith ticket imbroglio under the leadership of Rev. Dr Samson Ayokunle, its immediate past national president, and as a matter of fact, His Eminence Archbishop Daniel Okoh, stands on that same position.”

Ortom to Presidency: I wonder what they smoke at the Aso Rock Villa.

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state has slammed Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, following comments made by the latter on the governor for faulting approaches to ongoing war against insecurity in the country.

Vanguard reported that in response to Gov Ortom’s revelation that some high ranking military officials, confided in him that, President Buhari warned them against repelling attacks on armed herdsmen, Garba Shehu had said Ortom “expects the country to believe Nigeria’s top security personnel would share high level confidential information with him. To be clear, they do not”.

Reacting to the utterances of the Presidential spokesman, Principal Special Assistant (New Media) to Governor Ortom, Raymond Magen took Shehu to the cleaners, insisting that well-meaning Nigerians know the governor as a man who does not make baseless comments on sensitive issues.

In a statement titled, “Ortom’s revelation cannot be waved away: A response to Garba Shehu,” Mr. Magen noted that “while being a weak line in the hope of making a rebuttal of the governor’s revelation, it smacks of ignorance to make the claim generally, that, Nigeria’s top security personnel would not share confidential information with a state governor. To be clear: on a number of cases, they do. And for a state governor battling with herdsmen attacks, it’s a no brainer, he must have feedback from all security outfits involved in arresting the herder attacks. And such feedback always includes “off record” or ‘don’t quote me’, information.”

He continued: “But then, Shehu would also add that, if indeed Gov Ortom is saying the truth, he should “name names”. In Garba’s words: “Let him name the military personnel who told him this story”.

“I once wrote that, I wonder what they smoke there at the villa. Garba’s outing here reinforces my curiosity. If Garba expects Ortom to give out the identities of people who give him information on their devilish plans, he’s clearly overrated. It’s sufficient that they know, the Governor and the country now knows of this order that has long been widely thought of as, merely the body language of the President. It’s worse. It’s now a communicated order.

“In phrasing the title for his State House press release on the subject, Shehu coined it “Ortom’s lies insults nation’s security system”. An alternative title more befitting, I might add, would be “Ortom’s revelation helps in understanding the emboldened attacks on communities by armed herdsmen.

“This is especially so because, one can now make better sense of the prevalence on the one hand, of gun wielding herdsmen freely moving across the country and the shoot on sight order for possessors of AK 47 – the latter, being a so-called Presidential order.

“There is now, a guided understanding to how particular weapons are strangely withdrawn from battle fields wherein their use was mostly responsible for inflicting high number casualties on enemies of state. It addresses our curiosities (Ortom’s revelation) on strange military tactics like sending out numbered personnel to battle fields with weapons that, easily gathered intelligence already points to possession of way higher grade weaponry by the enemy. It addresses our sense of wonder and helps our appreciation of the many puzzles on bizarre military responses with regards timing, armed levels, personnel numbers, reluctance or refusal to go after known targets/camps etc.

“To have as President, someone with a military background, should ordinarily assure of their loyalty to country, their broad mindedness and triumph over such common prejudices as ethnicity, religion, region etc. Instead, we have a soldier who embraces vulnerabilities in these areas and presides over country with every security decision and appointment influenced by these parochial leanings. Shame!

“It does point to a deep sense of dissatisfaction, frustration, when high placed military personnel begin to reveal unpopular orders. When these reveals do not lead to reviews and then reversals, options available as resorts are considered and they may not be pleasant options. Ortom’s revelation can not be waved aside,” the statement read.

Mr. Magen signed off the statement with a quote by former American President, Barack Obama who in 2004 said, “When we send our young men and women into harm’s way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they are going, to care for their families while they are gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world.“

Gjrich:
Kwankwaso Booed, Pelted With Sachet Water In Kogi State Today

The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, was on Wednesday booed and pelted with sachet water by unidentified persons in Lokoja, Kogi State.

Kwankwaso was in Lokoja, the State capital to commission the NNPP secretariat and his campaign office.

The former Kano State governor had earlier visited the country home of his late friend and former governor of Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu, in Ogonicha, before returning to the State capital for the commissioning of the party offices.

But shortly after the commissioning of the campaign office located beside Dave Mercy Pharmacy, along the Government House road, an angry mob started to boo Kwankwaso and pelting him with sachet water.

The NNPP presidential candidate, who had arrived in a motorcade with few party supporters, was shouted down by the mob and all efforts to pacify them fell on deaf ears.

Kwankwaso was later whisked away by security agents to a nearby Popular Hotel.

On getting to the hotel and while trying to address NNPP supporters, the hoodlums in their numbers invaded the venue.

It took the intervention of his security details to disperse the hoodlums and bring the situation under control.

The angry youths accused of trying to hide under the canopy of the late former governor Abubakar Audu to woo the the supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to NNPC.

Also, dissatisfied NNPP members, who spoke to journalists on the condition anonymity, lamented that having waited for Kwankwaso since the early hours of the morning in Lokoja, the presidential candidate abandoned them for a faction of NNPP in the late former governor’s country home, whom they claimed are still members of the APC.

No peace for the wicked

Kwankwaso Booed, Pelted With Sachet Water In Kogi State Today

The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, was on Wednesday booed and pelted with sachet water by unidentified persons in Lokoja, Kogi State.

Kwankwaso was in Lokoja, the State capital to commission the NNPP secretariat and his campaign office.

The former Kano State governor had earlier visited the country home of his late friend and former governor of Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu, in Ogonicha, before returning to the State capital for the commissioning of the party offices.

But shortly after the commissioning of the campaign office located beside Dave Mercy Pharmacy, along the Government House road, an angry mob started to boo Kwankwaso and pelting him with sachet water.

The NNPP presidential candidate, who had arrived in a motorcade with few party supporters, was shouted down by the mob and all efforts to pacify them fell on deaf ears.

Kwankwaso was later whisked away by security agents to a nearby Popular Hotel.

On getting to the hotel and while trying to address NNPP supporters, the hoodlums in their numbers invaded the venue.

It took the intervention of his security details to disperse the hoodlums and bring the situation under control.

The angry youths accused of trying to hide under the canopy of the late former governor Abubakar Audu to woo the the supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to NNPC.

Also, dissatisfied NNPP members, who spoke to journalists on the condition anonymity, lamented that having waited for Kwankwaso since the early hours of the morning in Lokoja, the presidential candidate abandoned them for a faction of NNPP in the late former governor’s country home, whom they claimed are still members of the APC.

Lawrence Joseph Ellison is an American business magnate and investor who is the co-founder, executive chairman, Chief technology officer and former chief executive officer of the American computer technology company “Oracle Corporation”
Offers to build “Plane Manufacturing Company” in Nigeria if Peter Obi wins.”

The American billionaire, Larry Ellison, donated about $1m to the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi.

4teenblaq:
Where is afikpo?

Afikpo is in Ebonyi State

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to “urgently instruct Mr Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to urgently withdraw the threat to revoke the licenses and shut down the operations of 53 broadcast stations in the country over alleged failure to renew their licenses.”

The NBC had last week revoked the licenses of the 53 broadcast stations and threatened to shut down their operations within 24 hours over alleged N2.6 billion debt. The NBC has now asked the stations “to pay all outstanding license fees on or before August 23, 2022 or shut down by 12am on August 24.”

But in a letter dated 20 August, 2022 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said, “The threat to shut down 53 broadcast stations is neither necessary nor proportionate. If carried out, it would offend the legal principles of equity and equality of access to mass communication.”

SERAP said, “Under the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and international human rights law, freedom and diversity must be guiding principles in the regulation and licensing of broadcasting. The threat to shut down 53 broadcast stations is entirely inconsistent and incompatible with these principles.”

According to SERAP, “Revoking the licenses of 53 broadcast stations and shutting down their operations because they have not renewed their licenses would undermine the rights of millions of Nigerians to express their thoughts.”

The letter, read in part: “It would also violate Nigerians’ right to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, in any medium they choose.”

“We would be grateful if the requested action is taken within 24 hours of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.”

“The NBC Act and Broadcasting Code cannot and should not be used in a manner that is inconsistent and incompatible with plurality of voices, diversity of voices, non-discrimination, and just demands of a democratic society, as well as the public interest.”

“When money or economic considerations are the major criteria for renewing licenses for broadcast stations, the fundamental principles of equal access to the media, pluralism and diversity are compromised.”

“Broadcasting is a means of exercising freedom of expression. Any restrictions on freedom of expression must meet the requirements of legality, necessity, and proportionality. Any regulation of broadcasting must respect these three requirements.”

“With just months to go before the general elections, scheduled for February 2023, your government ought to do more to create conditions for a free and fair vote. This includes demonstrated commitment to freedom of expression.”

“Shutting down 53 broadcast stations on the pretext of non-renewal of their licenses is neither necessary in a democratic society nor proportionate to meet the constitutional and international guarantees of freedom of expression.”

“The right to freedom of expression is based on the right to establish or use a media outlet to exercise freedom of expression and on society’s right to have access to a free, independent, and pluralistic media that allows for the most and most diverse information.”

“Rather than using the NBC Act and Broadcasting Code to shut down 53 broadcast stations, your government ought to use these frameworks to promote the broadest, freest, and most independent exercise of freedom of expression for the widest variety of groups and individuals possible.”

“The media, including the affected 53 broadcast stations, serve to distribute Nigerians’ thoughts and information while at the same time allowing them access to the ideas, information, opinions, and cultural expressions of other individuals.”

“SERAP believes that the media including the affected 53 broadcast stations play an essential role, as they allow millions of Nigerians to access both the relevant information and a variety of perspectives that are necessary for reaching reasonable and informed conclusions on matters of public interest.”

“The media plays an essential role as a vehicle or instrument for the exercise of freedom of expression and information – in its individual and collective aspects – in a democratic society.”

“Indeed, the media has the task of distributing all varieties of information and opinion on matters of general interest.”

“The public has a right to receive and assess this information and opinion independently. Therefore, the existence of a free, independent, vigorous, pluralistic, and diverse media is essential for the proper functioning of a democratic society.”

“Freedom of expression includes the public’s right to receive, and the right of those who express themselves through a medium of communication, to impart the greatest possible diversity of information and ideas.”

“According to the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, ‘licensing processes shall seek to promote diversity in broadcasting. Any registration system for the media shall not impose substantive restrictions on the right to freedom of expression.’”

“The revocation of a license must be necessary in a democratic society in order to achieve the compelling aims pursued, strictly proportionate to the aim pursued, and suitable for accomplishing that aim.”

“It is essential to remove any risks of arbitrary or disproportionate use of NBC legal frameworks.”

“The strengthening of the guarantee of freedom of expression is a precondition for the exercise of other human rights, as well as a precondition to the right to participation to be informed and reasoned.”

“It is the mass media such as the 53 broadcast stations that make the exercise of freedom of expression a reality. This means that the conditions of its use must conform to the requirements of this freedom.”

“Therefore, any regulation of the media, including licensing, must be evaluated according to the guidelines and directives imposed by the right to freedom of expression.”

“SERAP recognizes the mandates of the NBC to regulate broadcasting. However, the exercise of such mandates including renewals or revocation of licenses must follow the thresholds and guidelines set by the right to freedom of expression.”

“The free circulation of ideas and news is not possible except in the context of a plurality of sources of information and media outlets. The lack of plurality in sources of information is a serious obstacle for the functioning of democracy.”

“If carried out, the threat by NBC would impermissibly restrict the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas to a greater extent and would therefore violate freedom of expression.”

“The regulation of broadcasting must aspire to promote and expand the scope of the right to freedom of expression, not restrict it.”

“Revocation of licenses of broadcast stations can seriously jeopardize fundamental rights of the individuals involved and create a silencing or “chilling” effect on democratic speech.”

“The revocation of the licenses of the affected 53 broadcast stations is neither necessary nor proportionate, as the issue of licence fees can be reasonably achieved through other measure(s) that is less restrictive of freedom of expression.”

“The right to freedom of expression is a central pillar of a democratic society and a guarantor of free and fair electoral processes, and meaningful and representative public and political discourse.”

“It is during times of political change that the right to freedom of expression is most essential, ensuring that a well-informed and empowered public is free to exercise its civil and political rights.”

“Section 39(1) of the Nigerian Constitution provides that, enshrines the right to freedom of expression and indicates that this right can be exercised through any medium.”

“Effectively, Section 39 of the Constitution establishes that the right to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds can be exercised orally, in writing, in print, in the form of art, or through any other medium of one’s choice.”

“Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights contain similar provisions.”

“The Nigerian Constitution and these legally binding human rights treaties, recognize that every individual has the right to an equal opportunity to receive, seek and impart information through any communication medium without discrimination.”

“Freedom of expression goes further than the theoretical recognition of the right to speak or to write. It also includes and cannot be separated from the right to use whatever medium is deemed appropriate to impart ideas and to have them reach as wide an audience as possible.”

“The 53 affected broadcast stations include: Rhythm FM (Silverbird Communications Ltd) FM Abuja; Rhythm FM (Silverbird Communications Ltd) FM Lagos; Rhythm FM (Silverbird Communications Ltd) FM Yenagoa; Rhythm FM (Silverbird Communications Ltd) FM Port Harcourt; and Rhythm FM (Silverbird Communications Ltd) FM Jos.

2023: Atiku, Wike in Eyeball to Eyeball.

(THEWILL) – The popular political dictum that politicians think of the next election always appears to be clogging the wheel of progress in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), ahead of preparations for the 2023 election. It is also proving to be a bitter pill for its leaders to swallow in the ongoing tiff between the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and Governor Nyesom Wike of River State.

THEWILL can authoritatively reveal that just as preparations for next year’s general elections gets underway, considerations for the 2027 general election are already playing out in the crisis within the opposition party.

Reliable party sources say the raging issues, which had metamorphosed from that of the party to the group and then the personal, have continued to rear their heads and make reconciliation difficult.

The first issue had to do with the zoning of the presidential ticket to the South, following popular public clamour, as a way of addressing a perceived unfairness and inequity against the backdrop of clannish and nepotistic tendencies on the part of the current Federal Government.

Although the issue appears to have been ‘resolved’ on the grounds that rotating the presidential ticket between the North and South was for a sitting President and not a candidate in an election, it still boils within the party and it is ready to be whipped up during negotiation.

The second issue which is that of the group, deals with what is now commonly called the Wike Group (though there is also an Atiku group that does not flaunt its members publicly), which had maintained a hard stand in support of the Rivers governor after he was allegedly cheated out of the race for the VP slot.

Composed of many serving and ex-governors, ex-ministers and other party stakeholders, the group has been depleting against the backdrop of several moves at reconciliation within the party. Thus, vocal members of the group like Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State had since publicly declared his support for Atiku’s presidential aspiration. Another strong member is Governor Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State, with whom Wike and Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State once dictated the tune in the party before and immediately after the former National Chairman, Uche Secondus, was booted out.


Faced with a second term election in his state, Fintiri has since fallen into the line with Atiku, his kith and kin and mentor. In Oyo, Makinde is still hanging on alongside new member Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, whose former Chief of Staff, Dr Cosmos Ndukwe and ex-Commissioner for Trade and Industry, recently sued the party and Atiku over the conduct and outcome of its May 28, 2022 presidential convention.

With the victory of the party in the Osun governorship election, which the Wike Group boycotted, Makinde’s claim to the leadership of the party in the South-West was called to question. Thus, while the Wike Group is lacking in cohesion, the personal issue kicks in.

According to sources, the personal issue that may become an impediment to proper reconciliation in the party is the matter of who owns or uses the platform for the 2027 election. “Atiku has promised to run for one-term only. Wike is waiting to see that promise cast in iron so that he can be sure to inherit the platform for his presidential ambition in 2027,” a party source said.

Nevertheless, these three issues are like shifting sands in the course of negotiations with fresh issues cropping up as some are giving way. One of the fresh issues that has created a wedge between the feuding camps is the one that insists the current National Chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu, must resign because he comes from the same northern zone as the presidential candidate. The Atiku Abubakar group has rejected that demand on the ground that what the party said was that in the event the party wins the presidency in 2023, the National Chairman must quit. Even so, THEWILL learnt that using the party’s constitution to resolve this matter may yield nothing because if Ayu were to go, Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagun, Deputy National Chairman, North, will be the one to step in until a convention is held to properly constitute another exco, according to Section 45 (I and II) of the party’s constitution.


On the eve of the Friday meeting in Port Harcourt between the Rivers State Governor and the 14-member reconciliation committee constituted by Atiku Abubakar, Wike made a revealing statement.

Speaking during the flag-off of the 11th flyover project, which was performed by a former governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, at the Rumuola- Ikwerre Road-Rumuokwuta Roundabout in the Obio Akpor Local Government Area of the state, Wike, who boasted that the state was too strategically important to the victory of Abubakar, considering the 3.6 million votes from the state, said: “If we were Father Christmas before, we won’t be Father Christmas again? You must tell me what is there for me if I should vote. So nobody should bother himself…”

Reacting to the Atiku/Wike debacle, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba,told THEWILL, “The crisis you talked about is a creation of the media. That is not to say you are not doing your work. But as far as we are concerned, what you call crises are parts of disagreements that occur in an organisation and we have internal mechanisms to deal with them as they arise. Is there any organisation, even a home, that does not have disagreements? What happens in the end is that any time such disagreements occur, there are mechanisms to resolve them.”

RECONCILIATION MEETING IN PORT HARCOURT
The reconciliation meeting, as demanded by Governor Wike, was held in Government House in Port Harcourt last Friday. Although the spokespersons of the two groups, Governor Fintiri for Atiku and former Ondo Governor, Segun Mimiko, said talks were fruitful and would continue, this newspaper learnt that Wike was mollified that the party agreed to his demand to hold the meeting in Port Harcourt, a move he considered a political masterstroke to show he still controls the party in the state in the face of disaffection among party elders over his perceived foot dragging on the crisis.

A source who was privy to discussions between the Atiku and Wike groups further told THEWILL that the Wike group is seeking a reconstitution of the entire National Working Committee (NWC) and the Board of Trustees (BoT) that will see a Southerner emerge as leader of both organs. “Is the PDP a Northern only party? The simple answer is no. As things presently stand, our presidential candidate, Atiku, national party chairman, Ayu and BoT chairman, Senator Walid Jibrin are all from the North. This is not equitable and fair to us from the South. So we are demanding a reconstitution that will reflect a true balance of power in the party between the North and the South. This was the core issue of the discussion last Friday. The Atiku group has taken our demands to the party and Atiku.”

‘WIKE WILL NOT LEAVE PDP’
Following his repeated assurances that he will remain in the PDP, though he may not support the aspirations of its presidential candidate, Wike, like any seasoned politician, knows that even one vote in any election is an advantage over a rival and he is flaunting the huge numbers in Rivers in the face of the party. The party is taking him seriously, though it is uncertain how far its leaders would bear his stand-off, particularly with the official kick-off of the campaign on September 22, 2023.

“You can imagine that the election is around the corner and Wike continues to make these demands, which makes you ask whether he really cares about the party or not. At first, he said he was not interested in the post of VP. Now, he is clamouring for the National Chairman to go. Is his job now to make and unmake the Chairman? This makes us begin to wonder what he wants. The thinking now is that he does not care a hoot about 2023 and wants Atiku out so he can inherit the party’s structure,” a party leader said, asking not to be identified.


Senator Dino Melaye, PDP presidential campaign spokesperson, did not respond to multiple calls to his phone.


Meanwhile, the party, THEWILL has learnt, is considering a fall back option should the Wike/Atiku imbroglio continue into the electioneering period. Sensing moves by party leaders to create parallel party groups in the state, Wike alleged last week at the 74th birthday anniversary of former Governor Peter Odili that some elders of the party in the state, who had encouraged him to join the party’s presidential race, have become turncoats and now go to Abuja for meetings with the PDP National Executive Committee and Atiku. Some of these stakeholders, according to investigation, include serving and former senators and aggrieved party chieftains who lost out in the governorship primary in the state. They may turn out to be Atiku’s foot soldiers whose duty will be to rally the party in the state during the campaigns, if Wike continues to play hardball. It is this turn of events that has informed the plan by Atiku to give a major role to the grassroots in constituting his campaign council which would soon be unveiled publicly. Funding would be directly released to ward Chairmen, unlike in the past campaign plans when funding was released to henchmen and those considered leaders in the various zones and states.

Several attempts to reach Kelvin Ebiri, Media spokesperson to Wike, were unsuccessful as he did not answer calls to his phone nor respond to text messages sent to him. Chairman of the PDP in Rivers State, Ambassador Desmond Akawor also did not respond to phone calls.

However, after the reconciliation meeting, he issued a statement confirming what Governor Fintiri and ex-Governor Mimiko said that discussions had begun to ensure reconciliation.

A chieftain of the party, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, expressed confidence in the ability of the party’s reconciliation committee to fulfil its mandate.

The one-time National Publicity Secretary, who spoke with this newspaper on Friday after the meeting in Port Harcourt, said: “What is important is for the party to go into the 2023 elections as one body. I think the committee will fulfil their mandate, from the outcome of the meeting on Friday.”

Former National Chairman of the party, Haliru Mohammed, agrees with Ologbondiyan. Mohammed who took over from Chief Nnia Nwodo as National Chairman at the party’s National Convention held in 2011 when the same argument about zoning came up because the National Chairman and President, Goodluck Jonathan, were from the South, said the Board of Trustees should have stepped in immediately to mediate in the VP candidacy crisis, following Wike’s grievance over Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa’s selection by Atiku, adding that he considers silence as his best contribution to the ongoing reconciliation efforts because speaking may be considered as an interference.

BREAKING: 2023 Election Results will be collated manually – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has announced that results of the 2023 General Elections will be collated manually.

This is despite the adoption of electronic transmission of results.

Speaking on the matter, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, disclosed that the Electoral Act explicitly detailed how collation would be done.

He added that the commission will still transmit results to its result-viewing portal.

“There is a marked difference between the transfer/transmission of results and the collation of results. Section 50(2) of the Electoral Act, 2022 gives the commission the absolute discretion to determine the mode and procedure of voting in an election and the transmission of election results.”

“Sections 60 and 62 of the Electoral Act govern post-election procedure and collation of election results. Section 60(1) of the Act provides that the presiding officer shall, after counting the votes at a polling unit, enter the votes scored by each candidate in a form to be prescribed by the commission.”

“Section 60(5) of the Act makes it mandatory that the presiding officer shall transfer the results, including total number of accredited voters and the results of the ballot in a manner prescribed by the commission.

He told Punch; “Thereafter, the presiding officer shall after recording and announcing the results deliver the same along with election materials under security and accompanied by the candidates or their polling agents, where available to such person as may be prescribed by the commission.”

“The implication of this is that the collation process of results is still essentially manual, but the collation officer must collate subject to his verification and confirmation that the number of accredited voters stated on the collated result are correct and consistent with the number of accredited voters recorded and transmitted directly from polling units.”

He added that if disputes arise from the collated results, the returning officer will use the results transmitted directly from the polling unit and the original of the disputed collated result to determine correctness.

I Didn’t Endorse Tinubu—Obasanjo

’Those claiming to be meeting insiders are candidate’s enemies’

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has cautioned supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, over the claim that he has endorsed him .

Obasanjo expressed dissatisfaction with what he described as unauthorised report of the discussion at the closed doors meeting he held with Tinubu when the candidate and some of his loyalists paid him a visit in Abeokuta last Wednesday.

The former President, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, yesterday, said the statements coming from those claiming to be supporters of Tinubu are unhelpful.

Speaker of House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, had said that what transpired during the meeting between Obasanjo and Tinubu was a sign of victory for Tinubu come 2023. Gbajabiamila had made the statement on Thursday while speaking at the Surulere Local Government Area APC meeting in Surulere, Lagos.

The Speaker, who said he was present at the Abeokuta meeting, said from what he heard there, Tinubu’s presidency was almost a reality.

Reacting to the claim, Obasanjo said the statement credited to him is fake and that the people behind the report are not helpful to the candidate .

Obasanjo said, “Those claiming to be insiders at the meeting issuing statement on the discussion and those crediting to me statement I had not made are enemies of the visitor and are not doing the visit any good.

DWickedLandLord:
If you want business as usual, vote anybody BUT PO. It's really that simple

Peter Obi candidacy is divine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkZRmqmnImA

https://fb.watch/f0W6C4TbTj/

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has told members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) not to rely solely on his state to win the 2023 general election.
Wike admonished other governors to also put in work in their respective states.

The Governor, who said this while commissioning one of his state projects, added that the masses will vote the PDP based on the projects that had been executed by the elected candidates of the party.

He urged other governors noto t to be a liability and put in efforts in making sure the party clinch the presidential seat in the 2023 elections.

2023: Fulani Group Carpets Miyetti Allah Over Attack On Peter Obi.

(THEWILL) – A group known as the Coalition of Fulbe Professionals in Africa (COFPIA) has distanced itself from a statement credited to one Alhaji AlHassan Salah, National Secretary of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, which claimed to be against Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election.

COFPIA enjoined Nigerians to disregard any statement from Miyetti Allah Kauta Hore, saying the group did not speak for Fulani ethnic group or represent the Fulani in any way.

AlHassan, who is the National Secretary of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, had, in an interview with a national newspaper, said the Fulani nation would not support the candidature of Obi, describing him not only as a tribal bigot but also as someone who did not like the North and by extension, the Fulani ethnic group.

He said the leadership of the group has instructed every Fulani in the country not to vote for Mr Peter Obi, because, according to him, “Obi is a tribal bigot and represents the Biafran interest that will not favour the Fulani nation in Nigeria.”

AlHassan had also noted: “As far as Miyetti Allah is concerned, Obi is out of the options of persons to be voted for in the forthcoming elections.

Anxiety As FG Takes Terrorism Financiers to Court
“As far as we are concerned, we know those we cannot vote for. You see one that they call Obi or OBIdient, any Fulani man who votes for him must be questioned because he may not be a true son of the soil. Obi represents the Biafran interest. So, we know those we cannot vote for and those that cannot be president of Nigeria. He is a tribal bigot,” he said.

He claimed that when Obi was the governor of Anambra State, he “destroyed the businesses of northerners and chased plenty Hausa and Fulani people from entering Anambra.”

But, COFPIA, in a statement signed by its National President, Prof Mohammed Gidado and Secretary, Hajiya Mairo Modibo, picked holes in Alhasan’s claim, adding that while it acknowledged the group’s right to freedom of expression and opinion, it lacked “the right to speak for the entire Fulani in Nigeria.”

The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a sectional, unpatriotic, ungodly and senseless statement credited to one of our brothers, Alhajji Hassan Saleh, the National Secretary of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, the most controversial Fulani group in Nigeria, which no doubt, is responsible for the bad name Fulani nation has been branded with in Nigeria.

“The Fulbe all over Nigeria will not be bound by that politically sponsored statement of Miyetti Allah anymore.

“The Fulani people are wise now and cannot be used as tools of extortion and religious sentiment any more. We will enlighten our people to vote for competence and capacity come 2023. We will never vote for any candidate who has nothing to offer. We have gone far beyond religious and ethnic sentiments.

“We will vote for a President that will tackle poverty and acute hunger that have held our people hostage for so long. We will vote for a President that will fight insecurity with every commitment and unbiased mind, no matter who is involved.

“Our respected tribal group, Miyetti Allah, should channel their campaign to redeem the bad image they have created for Fulani people in Nigeria rather than casting aspersions on Peter Obi, who has demonstrated capacity to rescue Nigeria from the current hopelessness.

“We wish to also make it categorically clear that we have not endorsed Obi or any presidential candidate in the forth-coming general election and we are not Obi’s mouthpiece, but it is wrong for our people to continue to brand Peter Obi as a tribal bigot and that he doesn’t like the North. Available data has shown Obi as an ardent nationalist that believes in the unity of Nigeria.

“We, therefore, call on our brothers in the Miyetti Allah Kauta Hore to only speak for their group, rather than misleading Nigerians that they are speaking for the entire Fulani people.

“They lack the moral, spiritual, and religious rights to speak for the entire Fulani people in Nigeria, especially when they have reduced themselves to tribal bigots that has no regards for other tribes and faiths.

“Nigerians have taken position in the forthcoming elections to vote for the best man for the job and cannot be distracted by any selfish agenda and blackmail.

“As campaigns start, we shall mobilise and enlighten the Fulani, young and old, to every ruga and town to sensitise our people so as not to be deceived by Miyetti Allah Kauta Hore and its likes.

Dsalvo:
https://thenationonlineng.net/peter-obi-not-ready-for-presidency/

Go and study for your neco and weac exam.
Look at all your thread how many people view and comment on them.

When others of your age starts doing well for themselves you be blaming God, joining mc olumo criminals.

But now you are here wasting your life because of tinubu's monthly 5k

Obasanjo: Anyone Who Says Nigeria Doing Well Is Mad

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said anyone who claims Nigeria is doing well at the moment needs to be medically examined.

Obasanjo spoke as the special guest of honor at the Wilson Badejo Foundation’s 15th annual lecture with the theme, ‘Overcoming the twin challenges of poverty and insecurity in Nigeria’ held in Lagos.

The ex-president said Nigeria has not taken its rightful position because of poverty and insecurity.

He said, “Nigeria is not where it is supposed to be today. If anyone says it is ok where we are at the moment, then the person’s head needs to be examined.

“My friend, late Ahmed Joda, used to tell me that God has given us everything a nation needs and there’s no need for prayers because if God has given you everything and you squandered it, then something is wrong.

“I told him that even at that, we still need prayers as a nation because what is good needs prayers and on the other side too, we still need more prayers.”

Obasanjo, however, expressed the hope that if the right choice was made in 2023, the nation may witness progress.

He said: “It is either we make the right choice in 2023 because if we make the right choice, we would get there.

“However, if we do not make the right choice in 2023, things would consume us and we pray against that one. We must make the right choice in 2023.”

The guest speaker who is the Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Prof Eghosa Osaghea, in his lecture titled, ‘Overcoming the twin challenge of poverty and insecurity in Nigeria,’ explained that when “one’s country fails the individual, then that individual becomes a failure.”

He said, “Poverty cannot divide us but it binds us what divides us is corruption. If you see street protests across the world, it is the poor who do it.

“Corruption, by whatever means, is what causes division.

“Many people today dig their boreholes for water, employ private security units, etc, yet, these are things that the state should have put in place.

“It is the duty of the state to provide these for the common good of all.”

Peter Obi Presidential Ambition Gets A Boost As 15 Political Parties Support Him.

The 15 political parties which were deregistered by the Independent National Electoral Commission, under the aegis of Coalition for Good Governance, have pledged allegiance to Labour party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

The organization insisted Peter Obi is the only presidential candidate who can stop Nigeria from falling apart.

The CGG in a statement released on Friday by its national chairman, Okey Chikwendu, and Publicity Secretary, Don Anthony Harmattan, said the party took the decision to back Obi after carefully studying each presidential candidate to know the most reliable and credible among them.

The statement read, “We have earlier stated that the outcome of the political parties primaries for the presidential ticket and selection of the vice presidential tickets will determine which party we, the Coalition for Good Governance comprising of 15 deregistered political parties and some former presidential candidates would endorse and support for the 2023 presidential election.

“The choice is based on identifying the ticket with the most credible candidates who are tested, trusted, and exhibit sufficient intellectual capacity to salvage our nation from the wreck we find ourselves and meet the yearnings of the Nigerian people which is equitable, fair and just irrespective of tribe or ethnicity.

“In furtherance to the above, the CGG on July 28 held a meeting in Abuja well attended by the National Party Chairmen and former presidential candidates of deregistered political parties whereby they took a very critical appraisal of all the current presidential contenders for the 2023 presidential elections and their Vice, the house unanimously voted Peter Obi/Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed as the most credible among the candidates and as such resolved to support and work with them and their campaign group on the platform of Labour party.

“We, therefore, agreed to rebrand our offices nationwide as Campaign support offices for the project. Our structures all over the 36 States and 774 Local Government Areas are henceforth required to support the Obi ticket.

“Nigerians have had enough of the disunity, eminent disintegration, lingering ASUU strike, terrorist threats, killings, kidnappings, hunger, unemployment, unbearable petrol cost and scarcity, high electricity tariffs, its epileptic situation, rising food cost etc and the continued lack of resolve by the establishment to put an end to these crises.

“We as leaders in mainstream politics in Nigeria wish to make clear that only an efficient, effective and credible candidate of renowned character can resolve most of Nigeria’s lingering problems and we, therefore, urge Nigerians to heed to our advice and support our goals of returning Nigeria as the true giant of Africa and the production hub of West Africa.

BREAKING: Senators to remove Lawan if he blocks Buhari’s Impeachment.

Nigerian Senators are currently scheming to Impeach President Muhammadu Buhari over the lingering Insecurity in the country, POLITICS NIGERIA has learned.

It can be recalled that some days ago, several Senators staged a walk-out from Plenary after Senate president, Ahmed Lawan blocked attempts to discuss President Buhari’s failure to solve the nation’s longstanding battle with Insecurity.

They also held a press conference where they issued an 6-week ultimatum to the President to solve the problem or face impeachment proceedings.

In a recent Interview, Senator Francis Fadahunsi, who represents Osun East in the Red Chamber confirmed that there are moves to impeach Buhari adding that the Senate president, Ahmed Lawan will be removed should he attempt to block proceedings.

“We have been talking and giving suggestions on how we could end the insecurity challenges facing the country but the Head (Senate President) is hooked to the Villa. He has been frustrating all our moves to take drastic measures against the President.”

“We have now made up our mind to strike now that the iron is still hot instead of wasting our time, cooperating with the Ahmad Lawan leadership while the nation is being destroyed by terrorists with no plan by the government to stop them. We won’t wait until we are all killed.”

“We have now decided to pull out of the ‘rubber stamp’ arrangement so that the whole of Nigeria would know that we have not been in support of the failing economy, the huge debts accumulation, falling naira, insecurity across the country and the unprecedented forms of corruption going on in the polity.”

“Unfortunately, the man heading us now (Lawan) was leading the opposition lawmakers before and was challenging the rots in the system then. Now, he doesn’t want anyone to challenge Buhari’s government when things are falling apart every day. Any leader that opposes such a challenge in a democratic setting must also be challenged because we are elected by the people.”

“Go and interview most of the senators. There is no effective oversight of the ministries, departments and agencies of the federal government. Buhari will bring the budget and his people here will want us to pass it as he brings it. No examinations and heads of MDAs are doing what they like.”

“That is why we resolved that if we come back on September 20 and discovered that the situation is still the same, with no appreciable steps taken, we would impeach him.”, he disclosed.

Outrage as Buhari allegedly approves N1.4 billion to purchase vehicles for Niger republic.

President Muhammadu Buhari is facing severe criticisms from Nigerians following a report that he approved N1.4 billion for the purchase of 10 vehicles for Niger Republic.

Popular Investigative Journalist, David Hundeyin, on Tuesday night, published a document from the country’s budget office alleging that President Buhari approved the funds for the purchase of 10 Toyota land Cruiser jeeps.

Nigeria Rewards Terrorists Instead Of Killing Them-Fani-Kayode

A former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has reacted to the killing of Al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, by a United States drone strike.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Fani-Kayode hailed the USA for killing terrorists warlords like Osama Bin Ladin, AbuBakr Al Baghdadi and Ayman Al Zawahiri.

However, he alleged that terror kingpins in Nigeria are rewarded instead of being killed.

He said terrorists are begged, paid, appeased, rewarded and even given chieftaincy titles in Nigeria.

“The Americans killed Osama Bin Ladin, AbuBakr Al Baghdadi & now Ayman Al Zawahiri. Kudos!

In Nigeria we do not kill terrorists: we beg them, pay them, appease them, reward them, bow before them, give them chieftaincy titles & let them break into prison to free their brothers,” he tweeted.

Earlier in the day, reports emerged confirming that Al-Zawahiri was killed in Afghanistan by a US drone strike. He was anointed the leader of the terror group after the death of his predecessor, Osama Bin Laden.

gidgiddy:
This is the same Northern Coalition that put up N100M Naira for the capture of Nnamdi Kanu but have never put one Kobo for any of the terrorists bandits slaughtering them daily up North

There is no IPOB in the North but Nnamdi Kanu is a bigger problem for them than all the armed bandits in the North

Tufiakwa!

The Northerners are afraid of separation.

Judge Sends Lawyer To Prison, Orders Arrest, Detention Of Reporter Inside Court.

CHIEF Judge of Akwa Ibom State Justice Ekaette Obot on Wednesday sent a lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, to jail for one month from the courtroom.

Justice Obot also ordered the arrest of a Premium Times reporter Saviour Imukudo, who was in the court to cover Effiong’s case.

Effiong, a human rights lawyer, was handling a case for his client before the judge sent him to prison.

Shortly after the court sitting, the lawyer announced his travails on Twitter.

“I have been sent to Uyo prison by the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State, Justice Ekaette Obot, for one month for defending Leo Ekpenyong in a libel suit filed by Governor Udom Emmanuel,” Effiong said.

The Premium Times reporter, Imukudo, was also arrested by the police in the same court on the orders of the Akwa Ibom Chief Judge.


Saviour Imukodo was covering the court sitting when he was harassed and ushered out of the court before Justice Obot ordered his arrest.

Imukudo was in the court to cover the defamation case between Akwa Ibom State governor Udom Emmanuel, and a lawyer, Leo Ekpenyong.

It was gathered that the judge ordered Imukudo to leave the courtroom after he identified himself as a reporter with the Premium Times.

As he was walking out of the courtroom, the judge ordered a police officer to search him and confiscate his phone, Premium Times reported.

Imukudo was still in detention as of 1:30 pm in Justice Obot’s court.

Meanwhile, the Coalition for Whistleblower Protection and
Press Freedom (CWPPF) has condemned Imukodo’s arrest.

The civil society organisation demanded the immediate release of the reporter and another journalist, John Adenekan.

The CWPPF spoke in a statement signed by Programme Officer Stephanie Adams-Douglas.

“On Wednesday, July 27, Mr Imukodo, a reporter with Premium Times, covering a court proceeding, was first harassed and ushered out of the court before Judge Obot ordered his arrest.

“Sadly, this is not the first time journalists, media professionals, press freedom advocates and civil rights activists have been targets of assault by anti-democratic elements. Judge Obot has intentionally shown disregard for the Constitution which gives journalists the right to gather and disseminate information in the public interest,” the statement said.

CWPPF also condemned the raid by Nigerian police on the Abuja head office of the Peoples Gazette on July 23 and the arrest of Adenekan, an assistant managing editor.

According to the CWPPF, “these among several other attacks targeted at
proactive individuals engaged in human rights and media freedom activism reflect the sustained assault on the civic space by elements resistant to being held accountable to the people”.

The coalition added, “Specific case of the media, it is constitutionally mandated to hold the government and public office holders accountable to the people. For this reason, the Federal Government and Nigerians should see the news media and civil society groups as partners, not adversaries.

“While investigation is ongoing, we condemn the attacks on Mr Imukodo and Mr Adenekan and demand their unconditional release.”

The coalition said it would continue to uphold its stance against any attack on human rights and press freedom in Nigeria and across the sub-Saharan region.

So apparently, Ekweremadu's daughter needed a kidney transplant. She's in the UK.

What Ekweremadu did was to pick a 15 year old homeless orphan living on the streets of Lagos. He said he's sending him to the UK to train him and give him a better life. Seeing as he's a popular figure, the young boy agreed. Any of us in his shoes would have. From homeless living on the streets of Lagos to the UK.

They didn't tell him they wanted to use him as a spare part for their daughter.

They falsified his travel documents and gave him a fake identity. The boy has been in the UK since May or so.

It was while he was in the UK hospital in May that the boy found out they wanted to remove his kidney. Nobody told him!

A 15 year old boy!!!

He told some medical officials that he wasn't aware and that was how the hospital got the police involved. The police didn't burst the case as Nigerian police would have. They continued following it up codedly till now.

Ekweremadu and his wife were arrested at the airport immediately after they entered the UK yesterday. The boy is in police custody and Ekweremadu and his wife then appeared in court for their first hearing today.

Both of them were denied bail and the case was adjourned to July 7th.

Mind you, it's even illegal for a minor to donate organs in the UK. A parent or guardian must authorise it. Of which the Ekweremadus are neither.
So they had to falsify his travel documents and changed his age to 21 so that he can donate freely without legal problems.

Do you think they would have let that boy live after the operation? Of course not.
Because they know he will raise alarm after the surgery and the thing would blow up.

I'm very sure they brought in that boy just for the sole purpose of using him as a spare part and nothing more. That's the reason they falsified his travel documents.

This makes me wonder how many young, poor/homeless teens they must have kidnapped and tested here in Nigeria, before this guy matched with his daughter that they now took him to the UK.
How many homeless teens did they test?
What happens to the ones that didn't match?
Did they send them back to the street where they picked them from or...

I'm so glad they are still in custody. Let's watch how this unfold