₦airaland Forum

I laughed very hard when I first heard the proposal that the chairman of INEC and the chief justice of Nigeria should be elected. This was in the 2000s. Why did I laugh?

I laughed because someone will still have to conduct and manage the election and that person will still be accused of bias.

People who don't want to accept the result of an election will not accept it, no matter what.

In the US we have heard about the chads in the 2000 election, Russian collusion in the 2016 election and stolen elections in the 2020 election season.

The president does not appoint the INEC chairman. He nominates the chairman and the elected representatives of the people confirm or reject the nomination.

Dalohad:
Why is Rangers going all the way to Abeokuta to play home games, when it can play in closer venues within the region like the Enyimba stadium in Aba, Adokiye Amesiamaka stadium in PH or Dan Anyiam stadium in Owerri ?

Isn't that going to cause a logistical nightmare!

I pray that Nigerians do not kill the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta. We shouldn't overuse the stadium.

Ogun State hosted the National Sports Festival in 2025 and the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta was the main stadium for the games. The stadium was upgraded because of this.

However, since then the Super Falcons have used the stadium, Rangers International are using the stadium for both their domestic and continental home games and Shooting Stars are also using the stadium for their continental home games.

I hope they don't damage the pitch due to overuse.

GloriousGbola:
Your want Nafdac to be entering everyone house? Because that is how you get NAFDAC entering everyones house.

You want everyone selling any kind of food to have a license? Everyone selling orange, suya, beef etc should have a license and a registered abode.

That is how it works

Wole Wole is the job of state and local governments.

That's the job of the state and local governments.

Previous thread:

Peter Obi's Photographer, Esther Umoh, Raises Alarm Over NDC Logo Problems
https://www.nairaland.com/8723104/peter-obis-photographer-esther-umoh

Summary of the NDC court case.

Henry Seriake Dickson began trying to register the NDC in 2017 when he was governor of Bayelsa State. However, the association had many problems and INEC refused to register it because of those problems.

One of the many reasons why INEC refused to register the NDC was because it said that the NDC logo was similar to the Movement for Peaceful Change (MPC) logo. It asked the NDC to change its logo.

But instead of changing its logo, the NDC sued INEC. In February this year the court ordered INEC to register NDC as a political party.

This led to a flurry of lawsuits. The African Democratic Alliance (ADA) is a political association that was seeking registration. Many people believe that it was going to be used by Atiku Abubakar for his presidential bid. However INEC did not register the ADA so Atiku moved to the ADC.

The ADA sued INEC and accused it of double standards because it registered NDC which did not meet all the requirements, yet it did not register ADA because it said that ADA did not meet all the requirements.

The Peace Movement Party (PMP), another association that has been seeking registration, approached the court and asked to be joined in the case between INEC and the NDC because it said that NDC stole its logo. It said that it submitted the logo to INEC before NDC started trying to be registered in 2017 and that NDC stole its logo.

The court has now ruled that it made its earlier ruling (ordering INEC to register NDC) based on incomplete information. It said that the PMP should have been involved in the case and that it will start the case all over again and this time the PMP will be a party in the lawsuit.

Some people say that because of this controversy an NDC logo was publicised, but a slightly different logo (same logo but different colour scheme) was submitted to INEC

The logo in the first photo below was submitted to INEC, but the logo above was publicised. The court has now ordered INEC to use the logo that was publicised.




Photo 2 below) MPC logo

Henry Seriake Dickson @iamHSDickson

Fellow Party Members and Nigerians,

It is our pleasure to announce that yesterday, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, presided over by Hon. Justice J. O. Abdulmalik, granted the prayers of the NDC in a suit seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to upload and utilise our modified digital logo, as contained in our party’s constitution, instead of the association logo with which the NDC was originally registered.

The party had, at our first NEC meeting, approved and forwarded our modified logo to INEC, which subsequently uploaded it. However, without any reason communicated to us, INEC later removed the modified logo and insisted on using the old logo of the association, a position we disagreed with. After giving INEC sufficient time to correct the situation without any action taken, we were compelled to go to court.

We therefore commend the judiciary for its timely intervention and welcome the judgment directing INEC to forthwith upload and utilise our modified digital logo. We commend the judiciary for upholding the party’s legitimate position and ensuring that due process is respected.

We also commend all party members, particularly our candidates, for their patience and understanding throughout this period. We urge all candidates and party members to forthwith adopt and utilise the approved logo in all campaign materials, including banners, posters and other publicity materials.

I want to assure everyone that the party has experienced and strategic leaders who understand what we are doing. Therefore, nobody should panic. Members are free to raise questions and concerns, but there is absolutely no reason for panic.

We understand that some candidates and party members may have already made arrangements using the other logo, and we regret the inconvenience this may have caused. However, both logos retain the two-finger victory sign. Candidates should now transition to the logo approved in our party’s constitution, which is the authentic party logo and, indeed, the one that is more widely recognised.

We regard the challenges surrounding this matter as part of the administrative machinations we have continued to confront. But we want to assure our members that we are democratic fighters. We do not run away from battles.

We thank God that the judiciary has once again vindicated our position.

Accordingly, from this moment, the party and all its candidates should use and refer to the constitutionally approved modified digital logo in all campaign and party-related materials.

The party will issue a formal statement and embark on appropriate publicity to ensure that all members and candidates are properly guided, while also sensitising the voting public. There is still time to do so.

We thank all our members, candidates and supporters for their patience, understanding and steadfastness.

Together, we remain focused in SERVICE. Together, we move forward.

NDC all the way!

~HSD

Source

Festus Keyamo, SAN, CON, FCIArb (UK) @fkeyamo

PETER OBI AND THE BENUE INCIDENT: WHAT WE DEMAND IS CONSISTENCY FROM THE PARTISAN MEDIA

Yesterday’s report of the prevention of the Presidential candidate of the NDC, Mr. Peter Obi, by some angry protesters from proceeding to the venue of his visit in Benue State must be condemned by all men of goodwill. Whether the protest was as a result of internal squabbles within the NDC (as posited by the Benue State Government) or sponsored by the APC or any other rival party, this should not be part of our democracy. Some have also accused Obi of attempting to whip up fresh emotions by attempting to visit Yelwata where the unfortunate killings happened more than a year ago just for political reasons, hence the blockade. That is still not acceptable; everyone should be allowed to move about freely and play their politics without such crude interference.

However, there is no better time to draw attention of Nigerians and the world to the spin that the partisan section of the media usually put to such incidents. Many a time when an angry crowd confronts or molests an APC candidate at any level, the partisan Press shamelessly dubs or spins it as ‘rejection’ by ‘Nigerians’. When it concerns the opposition, then it is ‘attack’ by ‘sponsored thugs’ or ‘hoodlums’. Just check most headlines today.

This is what is unacceptable. In fact, many opposition leaders openly boasts that the APC candidates cannot go to some parts of this country and shout ‘APC!’ without being ‘stoned’, ‘beaten’ or molested, yet the partisan Press do not call out such leaders and even help to accentuate such statements. What is good for the goose is also good for the gander. The Press must extricate itself from such partisanship and be fair to all.

Whoever is angry at any candidate of any political party should display the anger with the ballot paper on voting day by a simple thumbprint, not by violent acts during campaigns.

Source

I thoroughly enjoy giving trolls work to do. Yet at the end of the day their hard work won't achieve anything.

Renovation Of Ranchers Bees Stadium, Kaduna Causes Controversy
https://www.nairaland.com/8744505/renovation-ranchers-bees-stadium-kaduna

Types of stadiums in Nigeria.

Anybody that has lived in Nigeria automatically knows the various types of stadiums in Nigeria (that's why I said that those people are not being serious). In this post I will limit myself to the relevant types.

A) Sports cities: There are many stadiums in Nigeria that are what I call sports cities. They have a main bowl that consists of a football pitch and an athletics track and they also have other sports facilities, most notably a sports hall that is used for basketball and other indoor sports and an aquatic centre.

Some people complain about these sports cities because they do not understand why there's a track around the football pitch. They watch the English Premier League and other European football competitions and they don't see athletics tracks around the pitches and so they wonder why there are tracks around the pitches at these sports cities.

This issue isn't new to me, but I assumed that everybody understood it, however, I discovered on Nairaland in the early 2010s that not everybody understands the issue.

The answer is very simple. These sports cities were built by government. Governments want to develop multiple sports in order to improve the chances of their citizens winning medals at multi-sports events. They need to have the facilities in which to train these athletes. Some governments also hope to host events like the Nations Sports Festival, the National School Sports Festival, Youth Games, All Africa Games, Commonwealth Games, the Olympics, etc. It is more cost effective and efficient to build a sports city than to build separate football stadiums and athletics stadiums. This is the reason that governments build the sports cities. Track and Field Athletics was once Nigeria's second sport, it is the one sport that every school takes part in and there must be facilities to host such competitions.

The football stadiums that you see being used in the English Premiership and similar competitions are owned by wealthy football clubs. They have no responsibility to develop track and field athletics and they want to ensure that their fans can get very close to the action by having the seats/stands very close to the pitch.

Examples of sports cities include the National Stadium Lagos, the National Stadium Abuja, Liberty Stadium Ibadan, Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium Enugu and the Ahmadu Bello Stadium Kaduna.

B) Single use stadiums: There are also single use stadiums in Nigeria. When I say "single use" I mean that the stadium comprises just a football pitch, although that same pitch can be used for association football, rugby and American football.

Most of the single use stadiums are the older stadiums like the Onikan Stadium in Lagos, Sharks Stadium in Port Harcourt, Kano Pillars Stadium and the Ranchers Bees Stadium, Kaduna. Most of these stadia are associated with a particular football club and it is not the club's responsibility to develop other sports like track and field athletics or swimming. Besides, most of these older stadia are smaller than the sports cities and there's no space to put an athletics track.

C) Mini stadiums: Mini stadiums are very small stadiums that are designed to be used by a community. Most of these stadiums are not used by any professional sports team, rather they are used by the youths in the area.

Mini stadiums are built to provide an outlet for youths in the area, so that they can hone their skills, to provide them with something to do and keep them away from crimes and other vices.

Mini stadiums also serve as a community centre. They are a place where schools can hold their inter-house sports competitions, nearby companies can have bonding sessions, etc.

A great example of a mini stadium is the Campos Square Mini Stadium. It was basically just a playground once upon a time. There were no stands and there was no grass (it was just sand). People played football there, it was used as a prayerground during Eid and some people had parties there. In 1987 a part of the square was partitioned off and converted into a school.

However, Governor Babatunde Fashola converted it into a mini stadium with stands, an electronic scoreboard and an outdoor basketball court.

Nowadays there are activities at the stadium every day. It is used by the Lagos State Government to train primary and secondary school students, teams of youths rent the stadium for their football matches and it was the site of the Channels Television primary school football competition.

D) Playgrounds: What I call playgrounds are community sports facilities that have no stands, in some cases they have no grass, but they are used by youths in the area to play football in the evenings and at weekends. They are also used for social occasions like parties and for political gatherings. A good example of a playground is the old Campos Square.

Previous threads:

The much bigger Ahmadu Bello Stadium is being reconstructed.

Photos And Videos Of The Reconstruction Of The Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna
https://www.nairaland.com/8743719/photos-videos-reconstruction-ahmadu-bello

Photos And Videos Of The Renovation Of The Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu
https://www.nairaland.com/8743738/photos-videos-renovation-nnamdi-azikiwe

Photos And Videos Of The Renovation Of Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos
https://www.nairaland.com/8744413/photos-videos-renovation-teslim-balogun


Bello El-Rufai And Sadiq Umar Buy Over Ranchers Bees
https://www.nairaland.com/8496199/bello-el-rufai-sadiq-umar-buy

Better Kaduna @Better_Kaduna

1) Kaduna State has two major football teams; KADA Warriors playing NNL and Rancher Bees playing NPFL

2) H.E The Governor @ubasanius announced that the Kaduna Township Stadium will be ready in a short while, so that both teams can resume playing Home Matches in the stadium after a decade (See Frame II)

3) @ranchers_bees should thank the Governor for bringing back the “pride” home by fixing the Kaduna Township Stadium with modern turf, new stands and proper accessibility.
— 2a) The project is at 90% completion.

4) The administration of H.E @ubasanius has prioritized sports infrastructure. Ahmadu Bello Stadium is coming up gradually. Kaduna Township Stadium will be ready in the next four weeks.

https://x.com/Better_Kaduna/status/2095597673898557849