₦airaland Forum

A Google search shows the Nigerian
naira to be trading at 184 per US
dollar, nearly twice as strong as its
actual value of 362. A quick look at
the chart, however, shows the
currency at the correct value.

This isn't the first time the currency's value has been wrongly displayed on
Google. Last March, a similar error
occurred, with a Google search
showing the naira's exchange rate at
182.16 per US dollar. At the time, it
was trading at about 360 per dollar.

Google did not immediately respond
to a request for comment.

Two days before Nigeria’s election postponement was announced, thousands of police officers travelled from their duty stations to field postings across the country to ensure the security of voters and sensitive election materials. A week later, officers remain in the field without stipends for food and accommodation.

The money is finished,” said one officer deployed to the south of the country. “The public hall they are using [to house officers] has disconnected the water and light,” he added. According to the Police Services Commission (PSC), a civilian oversight agency for the Nigerian police, similar reports are coming in from police in states all across the country. No additional money has been made available for stipends.

“If officers are mobilized and their allowances are not paid it could be a recipe for election violence,” said Dr. Benson Olugbuo, executive director of CLEEN Foundation, a leading Nigerian civil society organization focused on police reform. Security agencies are considered to be “actors likely to cause election violence” in almost half of Nigeria’s thirty-six states, according to CLEEN Foundation’s Election Security Threat Assessment [PDF]. “How can we expect them to go there and do whatever it takes to protect the elections when they haven’t been paid? It will definitely affect morale and concentration,” said Rommie Mom, human rights commissioner for the PSC.

Additional funds to support officers would have to be approved through the National Assembly—a lengthy process unlikely to conclude by the time voting is scheduled to begin on Saturday, February 23. The PSC has filed a report with the national security advisor requesting additional funds be made available for officers, but they have not yet received a response. While most senior officers have returned to their home stations until next Saturday, almost all junior officers, who make up the majority of the force, will remain in the field for at least another week. These officers will do the majority of the heavy lifting come election day, responding to possible incidents of violence and crime, as well as policing against vote buying and political interference in the electoral process.

A company led by the National Leader of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), Ahmed Bola Tinubu,
may have deployed the perfect election-rigging
mechanism in the 2015 election, a confidential
review obtained by SaharaReporters shows.

And it may all have been accomplished with the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
not knowing its own technology was being
used against it.

It began in 2012 when a company, Act
Technologies Limited, was put into play after it
had been taken from its original owners by
Tinubu and Retired Col. Sani Bello, two of Africa’s
wealthiest men. ACT went into partnership with
INEC to provide voter registration and accreditation, as well as election-management
technology, to Nigeria’s electoral body.

“This company eventually flushed out the
original recipient of the voter management
system contract from INEC and provided a
compromised technology which had a gaping
back door framework for manipulating voter
registration, PVC card issue and the voting process,” the report said.

The contract to provide INEC with the election
technology was originally to have been awarded
to Zinox Technologies Ltd, but INEC frustrated
Zinoxand ensured it was awarded to ACT, which
was then used to perpetrate APC’s scheme
known as “Preferred Voter Arrangement.”

“Despite winning the INEC contract, the company
had no records of having filed an annual report
as of May 2015,” the report said. “Disgruntled
individuals within the company have revealed
that approximately 80% of the company’s
earnings from IMEC were siphoned off, with the company being left with 20% to execute the
project.”

According to the report, “There is a very high
probability that the Card reader technology and
accompanying biometric PVC card technology
was severely compromised.”

“With access to the port and to the exact replica
of both the card readers and the Biometric
security template, parties loyal to the APC injected
data seamlessly and near flawlessly into the
database without anyone being alerted. With
inflated accreditation numbers in designated polling units/regions, they knew exactly which
polling units to rig and go unnoticed.”

It concluded that in 2015, the electronic
accreditation process was clearly tampered
with.

He, however, said: “I have listened carefully to
the message. I will speak with the Minister of
State Petroleum. I will call for the latest
production figures. I know that it is in our
interest to listen. We will cooperate.”

He commended King Salman for his leadership
in global oil matters, assuring that Nigeria will
continue to accord respect to the Kingdom in
that regard.

He said the reports available to the PDP reflect the desperation of the APC to win, at all cost, especially the said states and some others using
security reasons as a pretext for postponement of polls.

”The deal, cut at a meeting with some northern governors and service chiefs in the presidential villa in Abuja is simple: The FG will shift election in the northern states of Borno, Adamawa and Kaduna citing security concerns to provide the APC the opportunity use security agents to massively rig polls in those states at a later date,” the statement said.

”The implication of the plot is that President Buhari, for all his sweet words on ensuring free
and fair elections and avoiding unethical measures to win at all costs, is ready to do anything just to ”capture” Borno, Adamawa, Kaduna and other states using security reasons as a pretext,” he said

In an interview with channels TV, President Buhari in reaction to a question about a word for his supporters, replied "They should go and vote at their own expense if they want to".

Following the postponement of the presidential
and national assembly elections by the
Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC), the international and local observers for
the polls, met on Saturday, at Transcorp Hilton
Hotel, Abuja.

NAN reports that meeting, which held inside
the Plateau Ballroom of the hotel started at
about 11.00am,

The meeting, which had attendance are
Commonwealth Observer team, EU Observer
team, AU Observer team and ECOWAS Observer
mission, and others, lasted for about an hour.

Some of the leaders of the local observer
groups sighted by the News Agency of Nigeria
(NAN) included Mr. Clement Nwankwo,
Convener, the Nigeria Civil Society Situation
Room and Ms. Idayat Hassan, Director, Centre for
Democracy and Development (CDD).

Others were Mr. Auwal Musa-Rafsanjani,
Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative
Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Mr. Samson Itodo,
Executive Director, YIAGA AFRICA, among
others.

When, newsmen approached the Head,
ECOWAS Election Observation Mission and
former Liberian President, Mrs. Ellen Johnson-
Sirleaf, asking what the meeting was all about
and her reaction to the election postponement,
Johnson-Sirleaf, declined to comment

She said newsmen would be briefed later.

senatordave1:
That would have been the result of today's polls.apc had totally compromised inec and was coasting away.

As such, I call on all Nigerians to be patient. We have tolerated the maladministration of this government for four years. We can extend our tolerance a few more days and give them our verdict via our votes.

Maintain the peace and be law abiding. Do not react to this provocation with anger, violence or any action that might be exploited by those who do not want this election to hold. Remain calm. We will overcome this. You can postpone an election, but you cannot postpone destiny.

Please come out to vote on Saturday, 23 February and Saturday, 9 March respectively. Frustrate those who do not want this election to hold by coming out in very large numbers. That is the best antidote to their plans.

May God bless you and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

"While I reaffirm my strong commitment to the
independence, neutrality of the electoral umpire
and the sanctity of the electoral process and
ballot, I urge all political stakeholders and
Nigerians to continue to rally round INEC at this
trying national moment in our democratic journey.

"I, therefore, appeal to all Nigerians to refrain
from all civil disorder and remain peaceful,
patriotic and united to ensure that no force or
conspiracy derail our democratic development.

"I have decided to move back to Abuja to ensure
that the 14.00 hrs meeting called by INEC with all
stakeholders is successful."

kcmichael:
APC =20,670,450 PDP=9,589,200

I am deeply disappointed that despite the long notice given and our preparations both locally and internationally, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) postponed the Presidential and National Assembly elections within hours of its commencement.

Many Nigerians have traveled to various locations to exercise their right to vote, and international observers are gathered.

INEC themselves have given assurances, day after day and almost hour after hour that they are in complete readiness for the elections. We and all our citizens believed them.

This administration has ensured that we do not interfere in any way with the work of INEC except to ensure that all funds were released to the commission.

We now urge INEC to ensure not only that materials already distributed are safe and do not get into wrong hands, but that everything is done to avoid the lapses that resulted in this unfortunate postponement, and ensure a free and fair election on the rescheduled dates

While I reaffirm my strong commitment to the independence, neutrality of the electoral umpire and the sanctity of the electoral process and ballot, I urge all political stakeholders and Nigerians to continue to rally round INEC at this trying national moment in our democratic journey.

I, therefore, appeal to all Nigerians to refrain from all civil disorder and remain peaceful, patriotic and united to ensure that no force or conspiracy derail our democratic development.

I have decided to move back to Abuja to ensure that the 14.00 hrs meeting called by INEC with all stakeholders is successful.

KANO, Nigeria (AP) - Nigeria's electoral commission delayed the presidential election until Feb. 23, making the announcement a mere five hours before polls were set to open Saturday. It cited unspecified "challenges" amid reports that voting materials had not been delivered to all parts of the country.


Residents of Africa's most populous nation and largest democracy will soon wake up to outrage. Many had relocated for the chance to vote.

"This was a difficult decision to take but necessary for successful delivery of the elections and the consolidation of our democracy," commission chairman Mahmood Yakubu told reporters in the capital, Abuja. He said more details would be released during an afternoon briefing.

A review of logistics, along with the determination to hold a credible vote, led the commission to conclude that going ahead with the election as planned was "no longer feasible," he said.

Nigeria also postponed the previous presidential election in 2015 because of deadly insecurity in the northeast, which remains under threat from Islamic extremists.

As word filtered out after midnight of a possible election delay at least in some regions, the Situation Room, a civil society collective monitoring the vote, said in a statement that "any suggestion that the election be held in a staggered manner will be totally unacceptable, and would be a recipe for a disastrous election."

In this image from video, Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), speaks about election delayed during a press conference in Abuja, Nigeria, Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission delayed the presidential election until Feb. 23, making the announcement a mere five hours before polls were set to open Saturday. It cited unspecified "challenges" amid reports that voting materials had not been delivered to all parts of the country.

[i]In this image from video, Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), speaks about election delayed during a press conference in Abuja, Nigeria, Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019. Nigeria's electoral commission delayed the presidential election until Feb. 23, making the announcement a mere five hours before polls were set to open Saturday. It cited unspecified "challenges" amid reports that voting materials had not been dlivered to all parts of the country. (AP Photo)

More than 84 million voters in this country of some 190 million had been expected to head to the polls in what is seen as a close and heated race between 76-year-old President Muhammadu Buhari and top challenger Atiku Abubakar, a billionaire former vice president.

Both have pledged to work for a peaceful election even as their supporters, including high-level officials, have caused alarm with vivid warnings against foreign interference and allegations of rigging.

"This is truly disappointing but ... Nigeria will prevail," the spokesman for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said on Twitter, noting that Buhari was already in his hometown where he had been set to vote.

When Buhari came to power in 2015 he made history with the first defeat of an incumbent president in an election hailed as one of the most transparent and untroubled ever in Nigeria, which has seen deadly post-vote violence in the past.

Now Buhari could become the second incumbent to be unseated. His term has been marked by a crash in global oil prices that spun Nigeria's heavily crude-dependent economy into a rare recession, from which it only emerged in 2017. Unemployment shot up. The country passed India as the nation with the most people living in extreme poverty. More than 13 million children are said to be out of school.


Insecurity on multiple fronts has seen little improvement, worrying neighbors of the West African regional powerhouse and beyond. While the military pushed Boko Haram extremists out of many communities in the country's northeast, claims of the group being "crushed" have withered in the face of continuing violence. A new offshoot pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group has surged in recent months, attacking military bases - and this week, a governor's convoy - sending tens of thousands of people fleeing anew.

On top of that, banditry in the northwest, oil militants in the south and deadly fighting in the central region between farmers and herders over increasingly precious land keep security forces stretched and the population on edge. On Friday, authorities reported at least 66 deaths in a single community this week in what one resident blamed on farmer-herder clashes.

"We love our country and we need our country to be safe from all the violence ... and all the nonsense that takes place during election time," worshipper Amin Muhammad Khalif said as he emerged Friday from prayers in Kano, Nigeria's second-largest city in a nation largely evenly split between Muslims and Christians.

Even in the fight against corruption, in which Buhari could claim some progress, many in Nigeria have expressed concern that those targeted are mostly opposition figures..

Meanwhile, many Nigerians worry about Buhari himself after he spent more than 150 days outside the country for still-unspecified medical treatment. Spare in both charisma and physique, Buhari spoke for just a few minutes at his final campaign rally on Thursday and struggled to hear or grasp a number of questions in a recent televised town hall.

Borrowing a page from President Donald Trump's playbook, top challenger Abubakar has campaigned on the theme of "Let's Make Nigeria Work Again," while vowing to apply his business acumen to privatize Nigeria's all-important state oil company and lift 50 million people out of poverty by 2025.

Despite such proclamations, Abubakar has never managed to shake years of corruption allegations. And, as Buhari grumbled in his final pre-election address to the nation on Thursday, one "cannot simply proclaim jobs into existence."


In the end, the now-delayed vote could come down to the sorry state of Africa's largest economy and people's empty pockets, and stomachs.

In Abuja, 56-year-old Bako Sharibu was wrist-deep in a dumpster as he fished out pieces of plastic for recycling. His shy smile disappeared as he recalled that he once had good work as a janitor. Now he struggles to make his target of 300 naira (83 cents) a day.

"Everybody suffers too much. Hungry everywhere," he said, adding that if he could save a few thousand naira he would send the money to his three children in northern Kaduna state.

Then he shook his pocket. It was near sunset. He had just 50 naira in hand.

He will be voting for Abubakar, he said. Nigeria needs change.

Church members were said to have filed out to receive anointing oil during the May 14 service without any preference given to Bolanle, who waited endlessly with her entourage.

She was said to have later moved to be anointed and moments later, stormed out of the church, as some of the women leaders ran after her.

Bolanle, who was reported to be visibly angry, allegedly shunned entreaties from the women, which included the wife of the presiding chaplain.

The cleric got the sack the following day.

A group, Itesiwaju Ipinle Eko Vanguard, made up of social activists, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), artisans, political groups and youths, has described wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode as a humble, detribalised Nigerian.

Coordinator of the group, Mr. Bamigbade Seyi, in a felicitation message on her 55th birthday commended Mrs. Ambode for being a strong pillar for her husband.

He pointed out her support to the governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has manifested in the giant strides recorded across all sectors in the state in the last three and half years.

He said as a humble and compassionate mother who combines decency and commitment to excellence in personal and public life, she has been able to warm her way into the hearts of residents.

Bamigbade also described Mrs. Ambode as a role model and shining star in the state’s political firmament.

“Mrs. Bolanle Ambode is a detribalised Nigerian who has traversed the length and breadth of the state, helping less privileged people, seeking
the emancipation of women and the youths for an egalitarian society through her pet project, Hope for Women in Nigeria Initiative, HOFOWEM.

“Her undying love for the downtrodden, the deprived and the ordinary folks across the state
is widely acknowledged, while her unflinching backing for Governor Akinwunmi Ambode administration has helped tremendously in the fulfillment of its electioneering promises to Lagosians,” he said.

Bamigbade said special prayer will be organised for her.

“As you are savouring the joy of this occasion, it is our prayer that God Almighty strengthens you so that you can continue with you good character for the betterment of your fatherland,” the felicitation added.

Dionne Searcey Dionne Searcey is the West Africa bureau chief for The New York Times.

The seven sewing
machines were quiet at Diamonds Empire on a
recent morning. The blades of a standing fan
were still. Adama Daniel sat behind the front
desk of the dark, stuffy tailor shop and
moped.

The blackout in the neighborhood not far
from the capital had started nearly 28 hours
earlier. Customers were waiting on suits,
dresses and a tiger-print miniskirt. Mr. Daniel
was contemplating firing up his generator,
but that would cut into his profit margins.

In 2015 when he cast a ballot for president,
Mr. Daniel, who is 29, thought he would be in
a better place by now. He had bounded into a
polling station to throw his support behind
Muhammadu Buhari, who seemed bursting
with ideas to grow the country’s lackluster economy. Mr. Daniel was elated when his
candidate won. Finally, he thought, the
country was on the right path.

Now, with a presidential election set for Saturday, any economic gains of the past four
years are far from evident in Mr. Daniel’s daily life. This weekend when he walks into the
voting booth, Mr. Daniel is going to cast his
ballot for Mr. Buhari’s main opponent, Atiku
Abubakar.

“He had four years and couldn’t do anything,”
said Mr. Daniel, speaking of the president.
“Another four years won’t make a
difference.”

Although Mr. Buhari did make notable moves
toward improving the economy during his
term, the impact has not registered widely. His
crowning achievement: pulling the oil-
dependent nation out of a grueling recession.

In a speech on Thursday night, he said
Nigerians were seeing his economic efforts
“bearing fruit.”

But outside the wealthy elite, all that means
little to countless Nigerians. Mr. Daniel, for one,
spends $200 a month to buy diesel fuel for his
generator to keep his business going. He’s
anxious to finish his medical degree but
administrators at his school, and all public universities, keep striking for months at a
time to agitate for better resources. His
brother has an engineering degree but can’t
find a job that pays more than the tailors earn
at Mr. Daniel’s shop.

Mr. Abubakar, who has put economic issues
at the center of his campaign, “knows what
Nigerians need,” said Mr. Daniel.

“Look, I have made no attempts to hide my
friendship with Atiku. We were friends before
this election and hopefully we will be friends
after February 16 when he goes into
retirement. Despite our friendship, I must say
the type of enrichment of friends he envisions does not recommend itself to me. It is unjust
and impoverishes all but a handful of Nigerians.
I want no part of such enrichment for my love
of Nigeria and its people is far greater and
deeper than my friendship with Atiku. For the
good of Nigeria and even the good of Atiku himself, we do well to send him into retirement
on Saturday.

The group said at least 42 people were killed
in Tuesday’s attack. Sources told Reuters the
death toll was between 3 and 10 people,
though an unknown number of others were
beheaded.

Racoon:
The OP is just being mischievous with the head caption
Where was it mentioned that it was a party affiliation issue? Even the hate speech issue is more with the APC than PDP given the Buhari, El-Rufai & Rotimi Amaechi speeches.

“We are concerned about the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) rally which has hate
speech a lot and we will like to call that kind
of thing out.