C’River Bye-Elections: Don’t allow APC intimidate you — Wike to PDP
February 19, 2022
…they are afraid to sign the electoral bills because of electronic transmission of result
By Ike Uchechukwu Calabar
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has told members of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Cross River not to be intimidated by the antics of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC ahead of the February 26 by-election.
Gov Wike made the call while addressing, candidates, Party stalwarts at the Flag off of Campaigns of Ogoja l/ Yala Federal Constituency & Akpabuyo State constituency bye-elections at the Calabar Sports Club on Saturday.
He said it was unfortunate and shameful for anyone to try to intimidate members of PDP by using security operatives to stop a rally for ordinary Federal and state Constituency bye Elections.
Wike added that any government that has done well will not use such gimmick in its bid to stop a rally unless they were not confident or have not done well for the people stressing that ruling APC was afraid of signing the electoral bill into law which is before President Buhari because they are afraid of transmission of result and the level of transparency the act will guarantee.
His words:” Why on earth will they try to stop an ordinary rally if they have done well, this is just bye-elections for federal and state constituency, what if it was the governorship, what would they have done ?. If they had succeeded in stopping us from holding the rally, that would have been the end of the party in Cross River, but we are very resilient people.
” 2023 is not 2019, PDP means business, we are taking over Cross River state, go out and get your PVCs, make sure you vote and also make sure you guide and protect your vote, it is obvious that you are ready to take over Cross River once again.
“Do not be afraid, they tried it in Rivers state, but we resisted them, it is just a form of intimidation, I thought the only way to test the people is to allow them to hold their rally whether they would come or not, but with the crowd here, it shows that things are not well with them ( APC).
“With the bye-elections, they will know and understand that it is no longer business as usual, indeed we will leave no stone unturned, we must defeat APC forget about presidential ambition we must win this first,” he said.
Speaking earlier the Chairman of PDP in Cross River, Venatius Ikem Esq expressed satisfaction over the patience of Party stalwarts adding that they tried to stop them but it did not work.
“They tried to stop us but they could not, we have mobilised, we are ready for the elections, nobody can stop us, nobody can intimidate us,” he said.
vikstandon: All the Cabins won't exit...There would also be fatalities. I believe the head missed a headon collision...but the back cabins must have suffered great damage.
How many persons got damaged?
Luckily they were both freight (goods) trains not passenger trains. Nobody died, but 3 people got injured.
Forget! If Nigerians like your football sense dem must give you title 👑@ashplumptre played as No.4 for the @NGSuper_Falcons - played so good full stadium begin chant “Oyibo!!!!” 😩
Forget! If Nigerians like your football sense dem must give you title 👑@ashplumptre played as No.4 for the @NGSuper_Falcons - played so good full stadium begin chant “Oyibo!!!!” 😩
2022 WAFCON Qualifiers: Onumonu Bags Brace, Plumptre Shines As Falcons Claim First-Leg Win Over CIV
February 18, 2022 6:32 pm
A brace from American-born striker Ifeoma Onumonu earned the Super Falcons of Nigeria a 2-0 win against Côte d’Ivoire, in the first leg final round qualifiers for the 2022 Women’s Cup of Nations, at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja on Friday,Completesports.com reports.
Leicester City defender Ashleigh Plumptre made her competitive debut for the Falcons and gave a five-star performance.
The Falcons were without regulars like Asisat Oshoala, Francesca Ordega and Desire Oparanozie.
Onumonu broke the deadlock in the 21st minute after finishing off from close range off a pass from Esther Okoronkwo inside the box.
In the 51st minute Côte d’Ivoire went close to equalizing but brilliant defending by Michelle Alozie which was followed by a fine save from Chiamaka Nnadozie denied the visitors.
Onumonu got her second goal to put the Falcons 2-0 ahead on 56 minutes as she lobbed the ball over the Ivorian goalkeeper.
The Ivorians bossed the closing stages of the game but the Falcons defense held firm to see out the encounter.
Both teams will meet again on Tuesday, February 22 for the return leg in Abidjan.
The winner between the Falcons and Côte d’Ivoire will qualify for this year’s Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.
The 2022 WAFCON, which will hold from 2nd to 23rd in July, will also serve as qualifiers for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Semi-finalists at the WAFCON will qualify for the World Cup while two more teams will advance to the Inter-confederation play-offs.
Meanwhile, Russian ally, President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus paid a visit to President Putin today. President Lukashenko said that they are going to witness an interesting exercise tomorrow and Putin replied that they would personally take part in that interesting exercise and Lukashenko agreed.
Russia and Belarus will hold a nuclear drill tomorrow (Saturday).
Ukraine crisis: reports in Russian state media of explosion in Donetsk amid fears of plan to trigger invasion
Russian state media say a blast has occurred in Donetsk amid multiple US warnings of false flag incidents
The US has obtained intelligence that Russia is building lists of Ukrainian political figures and other high-profile political opponents to be targeted for either arrest or assassination in the event of a Russian assault on Ukraine, Foreign Policy reports.
Four people familiar with US intelligence told the website that if Russia moves forward with plans to invade Ukraine, it may target prominent political opponents, anti-corruption activists, and Belarusian and Russian dissidents living in exile.
A fifth person, a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the US has been downgrading its intelligence classification in order to share threats to specific groups within Ukraine with Ukrainian government officials and other partners in the region.
The US official said:
As we’ve seen in the past, we expect Russia will try to force cooperation through intimidation and repression.
These acts, which in past Russian operations have included targeted killings, kidnappings/forced disappearances, detentions, and the use of torture, would likely target those who oppose Russian actions, including Russian and Belarusian dissidents in exile in Ukraine, journalists and anti-corruption activists, and vulnerable populations such as religious and ethnic minorities and LGBTQI+ persons.
The report comes after US secretary of state Antony Blinken hinted that Russia would target political opponents with arrest or assassination in a speech at the United Nations yesterday. “We have information that indicates Russia will target specific groups of Ukrainians,” Blinken said, without providing details.
Reports in Russian state media of explosion in Donetsk amid fears of plan to trigger invasion
Luke Harding
Russian state media say a major blast has occurred outside the separatist-controlled administration building in the rebel-held city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
The explosion follows multiple warnings by the US and others of a “false flag” incident, used by Russia as a pretext to justify a military attack on Ukraine.
It comes hours after the leader of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), Denis Pushilin, announced that residents would be evacuated from the city to Russia’s Rostov region.
Pushilin said the move was necessary because of an impending attack on the territory by Ukrainian forces. Ukraine’s pro-western government has vehemently denied the claim and says it has behaved with restraint despite heavy shelling on Thursday and Friday from rebel held territory.
Nobody was injured in Friday’s blast, which was caused by a car bomb, Russian media reported, quoting separatist leaders. Video filmed by Russian reporters at the scene showed a fire burning. The car belonged to the head of the DNR’s police force, Denis Sinenkov, reports said.
Ukrainian rebels to evacuate civilians to Russia amid crisis
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, YURAS KARMANAU and AAMER MADHANI an hour ago
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Spiking tensions in eastern Ukraine on Friday aggravated Western fears of a Russian invasion and a new war on the edge of Europe, with a humanitarian convoy hit by shelling and pro-Russian rebels ordering the evacuation of civilians from the conflict zone.
The Kremlin declared massive nuclear drills to flex its military muscle, and President Vladimir Putin pledged to protect Russia’s national interests against what it sees as encroaching Western threats. U.S. and European leaders, meanwhile, grasped for ways to keep the peace and Europe’s post-Cold War security order.
While Putin held out the possibility of diplomacy, a cascade of developments this week have have further exacerbated East-West tensions and fueled war worries. This week’s actions have fed those concerns: U.S. and European officials, focused on an estimated 150,000 Russian troops posted around Ukraine’s borders, warn the long-simmering separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine could provide the spark for a broader attack.
Vice President Kamala Harris said the U.S. still hopes Russia will de-escalate but is ready to hit it with tough sanctions in case of an attack. U.S. leaders this week issued their most dire warnings yet that Moscow could order an invasion of Ukraine any day.
“We remain, of course, open to and desirous of diplomacy ... but we are also committed, if Russia takes aggressive action, to ensure there will be severe consequence,” Harris said at the annual Munich Security Conference.
While Russia snubbed this year’s conference, lines of communication remain open: The U.S. and Russian defense chiefs spoke Friday, and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called for de-escalation, the return of Russian forces surrounding Ukraine to their home bases, and a diplomatic resolution, according to the Pentagon. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov agreed to meet next week.
Immediate worries focused on eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces have been fighting pro-Russia rebels since 2014 in a conflict that has killed some 14,000 people.
Separatists in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions announced they are evacuating civilians to Russia starting Friday afternoon. The announcement appeared to be part of Moscow’s efforts to counter Western warnings of a Russian invasion, and paint Ukraine as the aggressor instead.
Denis Pushilin, head of the Donetsk rebel government, said women, children and the elderly will be evacuated first, and that Russia has prepared facilities for them. Pushilin alleged in a video statement that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was going to order an imminent offensive in the area, known as the Donbas.
Around the volatile line of contact, a UNCHR convoy came under rebel shelling in the Luhansk region, Ukraine’s military chief said. No casualties were reported. Rebel forces denied involvement.
Separatist authorities reported more shelling by Ukrainian forces along the line. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the situation is “potentially very dangerous.” A surge of shelling Thursday tore through the walls of a kindergarten, injuring two, and basic communications were disrupted. Both sides accused each other of opening fire.
Ukrainian officials charged that the rebels intensified the shelling in the hopes of provoking a retaliatory attack by government forces.
The Ukrainian military chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said it is “not planning any offensive operations or shelling of civilians,” adding that “our actions are purely defensive.”
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the threat to global security is “more complex and probably higher” than during the Cold War. He told the Munich conference that a small mistake or miscommunication between major powers could have catastrophic consequences.
While Russia announced this week it is pulling back forces from vast military exercises that had sparked fears of an invasion, U.S. officials have said they see no sign of a pullback — and instead saw more troops moving toward the border with Ukraine.
Austin said the U.S. believes Russia could launch an attack “any time.”
The Kremlin sent a reminder to the world of its nuclear might, announcing drills of its nuclear forces for the weekend. Putin will monitor the sweeping exercise Saturday that will involve multiple practice missile launches.
The move overshadowed Russian offers of continued diplomacy to defuse the Ukraine crisis.
While the Kremlin insists it has no plans to invade, it has urged the West to keep Ukraine out of NATO and roll back alliance forces from Eastern Europe — demands roundly rejected by Western allies.
Asked about Western warnings of a possible Russian invasion on Wednesday that didn’t materialize, Putin said, “I’m not paying attention to that, there are so many false claims.”
“We are doing what we consider necessary and will keep doing so,” he said. “We have clear and precise goals conforming to national interests.”
Putin reaffirmed that Russia was open for dialogue on confidence-building measures with the West on condition that they will be discussed in conjunction with Moscow’s main security demands.
He also urged Ukrainian authorities to implement a 2015 peace deal for eastern Ukraine that was brokered by France and Germany, adding that “regrettably, we are now seeing the exacerbation of the situation in Donbas.”
NATO allies are also flexing their might, bolstering military forces around Eastern Europe, but insist the actions are purely defensive and to show unity in the face of Russian threats.
The U.S. announced the $6 billion sale of 250 tanks to Poland, a NATO member that has been occupied or attacked by Russia in the past. Announcing the deal, Austin said Russia’s military buildup had only reinvigorated NATO instead of cowing it, as Moscow had hoped.
World leaders meeting in Munich warned that Europe’s security balance is under threat. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the situation is “calling into question the basic principles of the European peace order.”
“Even steps, millimeters toward peace are better than a big step toward war,” she said.
Biden planned to speak by phone Friday with trans-Atlantic leaders about the crisis and continued efforts at deterrence and diplomacy.
Blinken revealed some conclusions of U.S. intelligence in Thursday’s speech at the U.N. Security Council, warning that Russia could create a false pretext for an invasion with a trumped-up terrorist bombing inside Russia, a staged drone strike, or a fake or real chemical attack.
U.S. and European officials were on high alert for any Russian attempts at a so-called false-flag operation, according to a Western official familiar with intelligence findings. Ukrainian government officials shared intelligence with allies that suggested the Russians might try to shell the areas in the Luhansk region controlled by separatists as part of an effort to create a false reason to take military action, according to the official who was not authorized to comment publicly.
Putin met Friday with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to discuss the ongoing joint drills in Belarus that borders Ukraine to the north. The massive exercise involving Russian forces moved from the Far East fueled Western fears that they could use it to cut a short way to the Ukrainian capital.
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Isachenkov reported from Moscow and Superville from Washington. Lorne Cook in Brussels, Matthew Lee and Karl Ritter in Munich, Angela Charlton in Paris, Jill Lawless in London, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Frank Jordans in Berlin, Aamer Madhani and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington, and Vanessa Gera in Warsaw contributed.
Politics › Re: C’River Bye-Elections: Don’t Allow APC Intimidate You — Wike To PDP by naptu2(op): 8:43pm On Feb 19, 2022*. Modified: 9:14pm On Feb 19, 2022
