By Chibuike Nwabuko
ABUJA NIGERIA – Former Aviatiation Minister Osita Chidoka resigns from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and said he is quitting politics for the mean time.
Chidoka said he is committed to ensuring a credible electoral process. He made the announcement on Friday evening when he appeared on Channels Television programme titled “Politics Today” anchored by Seun Okinbaloye.
Details later….
By Chibuike Nwabuko
ABUJA NIGERIA – Presidency has reacted to the comment credited to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, saying that Obasanjo has lost any moral right to condemn any government, stressing that he should apologise to Nigerians for not laying the foundational infrastructure Nigeria needed to advance.
Precise Post recalls that Obasanjorecently took a swipe at President Bola Tinubu, describing Nigeria’s current state under his leadership as “glaringly indicative of failure” and lamenting the nation’s struggles with corruption and mismanagement.
He stated this in a statement issued by his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, which said Obasanjo made these remarks during his keynote address at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum held at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Slamming Obasanjo over the comment on his X account on Monday, Sunday Dare, Special Adviser, Public Communication and Orientation to President Tinubu said “former President Obasanjo as a man with a tremendous capacity for mischief and Nigerians know it. His journey along the path of hallucinations has never been in doubt. So is his descent into muddling facts, forgetting that he ran a Presidency on record as the most corrupt. His recent diatribe at Yale University lacks sincerity.”
“It is actually laughable that Obasanjo’s pretentiousness about fighting corruption is not cutting any ice in the eyes of the general public. We all know what happened under his watch and how, up till the present moment, there has been no explanation as to how he wasted a whopping $16bn in generating megawatts of darkness across the nation. But that is not even the issue.
“Democracy suffered mortal wounds under his watch only capped by his murderous rage for an ill-fated 3rd term. Successive administrations struggled to clean up the mess Obasanjo left behind, which President Tinubu is now making progress with. Obasanjo has lost any moral right to condemn any government. He should apologise to Nigerians for not laying the foundational infrastructure Nigeria needed to advance.
“The. Yoruba proverb, “A o ki n wo ariwo oja, eniti a anba na oja ni a n wo”. This means that you shouldn’t pay heed to the market’s noise. Rather, keep an eye on the person you are negotiating with. This is instructive. In this market called Nigeria, the man with the renewed hope agenda is the one that matters and indeed Nigerians. Everything else is ariwo oja. This administration will stay focused in bringing relief to Nigerians. Obasanjo’s remarks reflect the infantilist nature of market noise.
President Tinubu will Stay the Course in seeing through the reforms he has instituted for a better Nigeria.
“The point here is that Obasanjo should take time off this habit of pulling down leaders, especially his successors and try to interrogate himself on how he has contributed to the parlous state of the Nigerian nation which President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is now spiritedly battling to put back on the track of development. We thank former President Obasanjo for agreeing that “Yes, there is hope”. That’s the Renewed Hope Agenda President Tinubu is about and it’s on track. We are happy to have that conversation with the former President.
Further recall that in his speech titled “Leadership Failure and State Capture in Nigeria”, former president Obasanjo attributed the nation’s challenges to pervasive corruption and a lack of competent leadership.
The more the immorality and corruption of a nation, the more the nation sinks into chaos, insecurity, conflict, discord, division, disunity, depression, youth restiveness, confusion, violence, and underdevelopment. That’s the situation mostly in Nigeria in the reign of Baba-go-slow and Emilokan.”
“As the world can see and understand, Nigeria’s situation is bad,” Obasanjo said. Referring to Tinubu’s administration, he added, “The failing state status of Nigeria is confirmed and glaringly indicated and manifested for every honest person to see.”The more the immorality and corruption of a nation, the more the nation sinks into chaos, insecurity, conflict, discord, division, disunity, depression, youth restiveness, confusion, violence, and underdevelopment. That’s the situation mostly in Nigeria in the reign of Baba-go-slow and Emilokan.”
Obasanjo also referenced Chinua Achebe’s seminal 1983 work, The Trouble with Nigeria, agreeing with the assertion that the country’s core issue lies in leadership failure. He remarked, “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character… The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership.”
He contrasted Achebe’s moderate critique with more severe analyses by American scholars, including Robert Rotberg and former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, who described Nigeria as “a fully failed state of critical geopolitical concern.”
Drawing from definitions by the World Bank and Transparency International, Obasanjo elaborated on the concept of state capture, which he described as a form of corruption where powerful individuals manipulate a nation’s policies, economy, and resources for personal gain. He cited examples of how public institutions in Nigeria are being exploited by political elites to the detriment of the nation’s development.
“State capture can seriously affect economic development, regulatory quality, the provision of public services, quality of education and health services, infrastructure decisions, and even the environment and public health,” he warned.
Reflecting on Chinua Achebe’s legacy, Obasanjo described the renowned author as “a great and distinguished Nigerian” whose works and values continue to resonate.
The former president’s critique has once again sparked conversations about Nigeria’s leadership challenges and the need for a transformative approach to governance.
By Chibuike Nwabuko
ABUJA FCT – The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has said Edo people stood to enjoy more dividends of democracy from the Federal Government if they vote in an administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State in the forthcoming governorship election.
Senator Akpabio spoke on Saturday at an APC grand rally in Benin City, Edo State. The rally had in attendance the Vice-President, Kashim Shetima, the National Chairman of the APC, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje and about 12 Governors of the APC extraction among other dignitaries.
A statement by the Special Assistant on Media and Communication to the President of the Senate, Anietie Ekong quoted Senator Akpabio as urging Edo people to return the State to the Centre by voting for the APC candidates, Senator Monday Okpebholo and Honourable Dennis Idahosa.
Senator Akpabio revealed that the Federal Government had awarded the contract for the construction of Auchi – Benin road for over N11 billion and work was ongoing and assured that more Federal projects will be executed in the State with an APC administration in the saddle.
According to Senator Akpabio, “My presence here today is to let you know that I have implicit confidence in the capacity of the duo of Senator Okpebholo and Honourable Idahosa as members of the National Assembly to bring the desired change to Edo and return the State to the path of progress.
“A vote for Senator Okpebholo is a vote for infrastructural renaissance in Edo State and end the present decay that the State is witnessing. The APC administration will bring about empowerment and employment to the youths and I urge you to join hands and return the State to the path of development,” he said.
Also speaking, Vice-President Shetima said the expectaions of the Nigerian people remain the same no matter their differences in ethnicity, gender or religion and assured that the Federal Government will ensure that more resources are put into the development of the States.
Former Governor of the State and Senator representing Edo North, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole lamented the present situation that Edo State has found itself after his exit as the Governor.
He said the administration of Mr Godwin Obaseki had destroyed the State and had only engaged in ground-breaking ceremonies and signing of memorandum of undertanding with nothing tangible to show for the homonguous allocation that had accrued to the State. He urged the people to vote massively for Senator Okpebholo to turn the tide around.
The rally witnessed the defection of high profile politicians in the State from other parties who were received by the APC National Chairman, Ganduje.
The team led by Vice-President Shetima had earlier paid a courtesy visit on the Oba of Benin His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo, Uku Akpolokpolo Oba Ewuare II.
The Venezuelan government said Saturday that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who disputed President Nicolas Maduro’s July 28 reelection, has left the country to seek asylum in Spain.
Gonzalez Urrutia had been in hiding for a month, ignoring three successive summons to appear before prosecutors, saying attending the hearing could have cost his freedom.
“After taking refuge voluntarily at the Spanish embassy in Caracas a few days ago, (Gonzalez Urrutia) asked the Spanish government for political asylum,” Venezuela’s vice president said on social media, adding that Caracas had agreed to his safe passage.
Madrid’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on X that Gonzalez Urrutia “at his request” had departed on a Spanish military plane, adding that Spain was “committed to the political rights” of all Venezuelans.
Gonzalez Urrutia’s lawyer Jose Vicente Haro also confirmed to AFP that the opposition candidate had left for Spain, declining to comment further.
Venezuela has been in political crisis since authorities declared Maduro the victor of the July 28 election.
The opposition cried foul, claiming it had evidence Gonzalez Urrutia had won by a comfortable margin.
Numerous nations, including the United States, European Union and several Latin American countries, have refused to recognize Maduro as the winner without Caracas releasing detailed voting data.
After the election, Venezuelan prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez Urrutia over his insistence that he was the rightful winner of the election.
– Disputed election results –
Lawyer Joel Garcia, who has defended opposition figures in Venezuela, said if Gonzalez Urrutia was charged with everything the government has accused him of, he could face a jail sentence of 30 years.
Authorities said Maduro had won reelection to a third, six-year term with 52 percent of the vote.
The opposition published its own voting records, which it says showed Gonzalez Urrutia winning 67 percent of the vote.
Venezuela’s electoral authority has said it cannot provide a full breakdown of the election results, blaming a cyber attack on its systems.
Observers have said there is no evidence of any such hacking.
Post-election violence in Venezuela has claimed 27 lives and left 192 people injured, while the government says it has arrested some 2,400 people.
Prior to the election, Gonzalez Urrutia was a little-known retired diplomat.
He became the last-minute presidential candidate after main opposition figure Machado was banned from running by state institutions seen as loyal to Maduro.
After Venezuela’s last election, in 2018, Maduro was proclaimed winner amid widespread accusations of fraud.
He has led the oil-rich but cash-poor country since 2013.
His tenure, which has suffered from domestic economic mismanagement as well as international sanctions, has seen GDP drop 80 percent and more than seven million of the country’s 30 million citizens emigrate.
India’s marathon election drew to a close Saturday, six weeks after voting began. Voters endured a scorching heatwave to cast their ballots in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has long been widely expected to win a third term when results are announced Tuesday, in large part due to his cultivated image as an aggressive champion of India’s majority faith.
Exit polls — though historically unreliable at capturing voter shifts in an election with 968 million eligible voters — are expected to give some initial indication of whether he has succeeded later on Saturday night.
Many in the 73-year-old premier’s constituency of Varanasi were eager for that to be the case.
“I voted for growth and development of my country,” local resident Brijesh Taksali told AFP outside a polling station.
“There’s only one leader that I know… Narendra Modi. I voted for him.”
Varanasi is the spiritual capital of the Hindu faith, where devotees from around India come to cremate deceased loved ones by the Ganges river.
It is one of the final cities to vote in India’s gruelling election, and where public support for Modi’s ever-closer alignment of religion and politics burns brightest.
Modi has already led the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to two landslide victories in 2014 and 2019, forged in large part by his appeal to the Hindu faithful.
This year, Modi presided over the inauguration of a grand temple to the deity Ram, built on the grounds of a centuries-old mosque in Ayodhya razed by Hindu zealots in 1992.
Construction of the temple fulfilled a longstanding demand of Hindu activists and was widely celebrated across the country with back-to-back television coverage and street parties.
The ceremony, and numerous other chest-beating demonstrations of fidelity to India’s majority religion over the past decade, have made many among the country’s 200 million-plus minority Muslim community increasingly uneasy about their futures.
Modi himself has made a number of strident comments about Muslims on the campaign trail, referring to them as “infiltrators”.
He has also accused the motley coalition of more than two dozen opposition parties contesting the poll against him of plotting to redistribute India’s wealth to its Muslim citizens.
Janesar Akhtar, a Muslim clothesmaker working in Varanasi’s famed embroidery workshops, told AFP that the BJP’s sectarian campaigning was an unfortunate distraction from India’s chronic unemployment problems.
“Workshops here are closing down and the Modi government has been busy with the politics of temples and mosques,” the 44-year-old said.
“He is supposed to give us jobs and not tensions.”
Analysts have long expected Modi to triumph against the opposition alliance, which at no point has named an agreed candidate for prime minister.
His prospects have been further bolstered by several criminal probes into his opponents and a tax investigation this year that froze the bank accounts of Congress, India’s largest opposition party.
Western democracies have largely sidestepped concerns over rights and democratic freedoms in the hopes of cultivating an ally that can help check the growing assertiveness of China, India’s northern neighbour and rival regional power.
Modi’s image at home has been bolstered by India’s rising diplomatic and economic clout — the country overtook Britain as the world’s fifth-biggest economy in 2022.
“As an Indian, I feel that he has ensured a lot of respect and prestige for India during his term,” Shikha Aggarwal, 40, told AFP while waiting to cast her vote.
“People now look at India and Indians with a lot more respect, something not accorded earlier.”
India has voted in seven phases over six weeks to ease the immense logistical burden of staging an election in the world’s most populous country.
Turnout is down several percentage points from the last national election in 2019, with analysts blaming widespread expectations of a Modi victory as well as successive heatwaves scorching India’s northern states.
Authorities in the eastern state of Bihar said Friday that 10 poll workers had died of heatstroke the previous day while setting up for the vote.
Extensive scientific research shows climate change is causing heatwaves to become longer, more frequent and more intense, with Asia warming faster than the global average.
A scorching sun bore down on Varanasi and its countless temples and riverside crematoriums during Saturday’s vote, with afternoon temperatures peaking at 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit).
“The last few days have been very tough,” housewife Bindwasvini Devi, who voted soon after polls opened to beat the scorching temperatures.
“We’ve tried to stay hydrated and avoided going out as much as possible.”
By Chris Udochukwu
ABUJA – The Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC has charged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct free, fair, credible, acceptable and inclusive governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States.
The IPAC Chairman Yusuf Dantalle, gave the charge on Monday in Abuja at the second regular quarterly consultative meeting with political parties.
He said: “All eyes are on INEC to conduct free, fair, credible, acceptable and inclusive elections. With adequate preparation, functional BVAS and the capacity to upload results in real-time on its IReV portals, Nigerians will once more have confidence in the electoral system where every vote will be counted and counted in the overall result.
“Our commitment to deepening democracy in Nigeria will yet again be tested in the Edo and Ondo gubernatorial elections. We are all in it together for successful elections.”
The chairman said it was important that voters in the two states are massively mobilised to register and participate in the polls.
He assured that IPAC would spearhead this crucial exercise in collaboration with INEC, saying with the lowest voter turnout in the 2023 general election, much needs to be done.
Dantalle stated: “The need to restore annual grants to political parties that were expunged from the constitution by the National Assembly, cannot be overemphasized.
“IPAC has set up its Constitution and Electoral Act Amendments Committee that will recommend aspects of the laws that need to be reviewed, and presented to the National Assembly for consideration.
“Local Government autonomy is essential for the survival of democracy in Nigeria as politics is local. Citizens must be encouraged to actively participate in grassroots politics that guarantees free and transparent polls.”
Dantalle said frequent cross-carpeting by national and state legislators was inimical to sustainable democracy, saying it was the remote cause of the crisis in political parties and the state houses of Assembly, particularly when legislators decamp with impunity without cogent reasons, insisting it must stop.
The All Progressives Congress APC has reacted to the comment made by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi, who at a press conference today March 2 said he won the 2023 Presidential election last Saturday, February 25..
In a statement by the Director of Public Affairs and Chief Spokesperson, Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo (SAN), the party advised the former governor of Anambra State to stop misleading the gullible, noting that Tinubu won the election and not him.
According to him
“We make this brief statement in reaction to the Press briefing held earlier today by the defeated candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, wherein (in his now well-acknowledged penchant for spewing falsehood) he made the outlandish claim before the world that he won the 2023 Presidential Election, but he was robbed of the victory.
Having been officially declared winner of the 2023 Presidential Election by the Independent National Electoral Commission and having received his Certificate of Return (along with his Vice-President Elect), the President-Elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu would have ignored this continuous false claims being peddled by Mr. Peter Obi and his supporters. But we recognise his motive of doing this is to simply delegitimise the mandate freely given to the President-Elect by majority of Nigerians.
Mr. Peter Obi is always quick to cite some isolated incidents of irregularities outside his strongholds that could not have SUBSTANTIALLY affected the outcome of the results in those areas, whereas he DELIBERATELY fails to comment on tons and tons of evidence circulating everywhere wherein his supporters in his strongholds engaged in thuggery, hooliganism, violence and outright falsification of figures against our Party and our supporters. He pretends to play the victim, whereas he is the greatest culprit in this game of brickbats.
Mr. Peter Obi knows HE COULD NOT HAVE won having played the most divisive religious politics in our history and the pattern of the votes clearly show that; Mr. Obi KNOWS HE COULD NOT HAVE WON having broken out as a fragment of the main opposition, the PDP and all he could hope for was to harvest a portion of the votes of PDP in a section of the country and the results do NOT tell a lie; Mr. Obi knows HE COULD NOT HAVE WON, when he presented himself as a tribal candidate and was only campaigning in settlements of his tribesmen in other States outside the South East instead of appealing to all and sundry; Mr. Obi knows he could not have won having joined the Labour Party few months ago and bought the ticket of the Party without valid Primaries and thereby polarised his party; Mr. Peter Obi KNOWS HE DID NOT WIN because he did not even fulfil the minimum requirement of our constitution which requires a spread of 25 percent in two-thirds of the States of the Federation. He did not come even close. With his divisive rhetorics, he could not have come close.
It is also ludicrous that Mr. Peter Obi is laying claim to victory along with his new-found partner, the PDP, that is also laying claim to victory. I tweeted this morning, thus: ‘’This is the first time in my entire life that I am seeing people who came 2nd and 3rd in an exam both claiming they took first and then agreeing to protest together to the examiner to record that both of them took first, yet they are not seeing the contradiction in their actions.’’ We stand by that comment.
The President-Elect, ASIWAJU Bola Ahmed Tinubu has extended a hand of fellowship to his defeated opponents, including Mr. Peter Obi to join hands with him in nation-building.
Mr. Peter Obi should embrace that hand of fellowship and brotherhood by the President-elect as a committed patriot instead of engaging in this crass grandstanding.”
Osogbo, – Osun Deputy Governor, Prince Kola Adewusi, has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) for the smooth conduct the Presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.
Adewusi, while casting his vote at Ilode Polling unit 1, Ward 1 , Enuwa Square palace, Ile-Ife in Ife East Local Government, also commended the large turnout of voters.
The deputy governor said that the INEC staff arrived early and the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) machine was working perfectly.
Adewusi said with the BVAS, the system of voting had been standardised in the country.
Also speaking, Mr Gboyega Oyetola, the immediate past governor of the state, commended INEC and the security agencies for the smooth conduct of the election.
Oyetola, while speaking with journalists after casting his vote at polling unit 10, ward 1, Iragbiji in Boripe Local Government, said the conduct of INEC was commendable.
“The conduct INEC officials is highly commendable. I believe we are going to have a very free, fair and credible election, if what I have seen here is something to go by.
“I think the exercise is going on well.
“The environment is actually more of APC, so all our candidates will win. The atmosphere is calm and peaceful, and the turnout of voters is quite impressive.
“I urge electorate across the state to continue to conduct themselves calmly and peacefully as we go on with the electoral process,” he said.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director-General of Atiku-Okowa Campaign, Prof. Wale Ladipo, commended INEC for the smooth conduct of the election.
Ladipo, while casting his vote at Ilode Ward 1, Unit 001, Enuwa Square Palace Frontage, Ile-Ife, Ife East Local Government Area, commended the electorate for their large turnout.
According to him, election in the unit is going on smoothly without any rancour or violence.
Similarly, a former member of House of Representatives, Rotimi Makinde, commended the youths for coming out en mass to vote and for maintaining orderliness.
On his part, Sen. Babajide Omoworare, the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, also commended INEC for the smooth conduct of the election.
Omoworare was optimistic that the APC presidential candidate, Sen. Bola Tinubu, would win the election.
“Tinubu will win and he is going to change Nigeria to the best”, he said
Similarly, some domestic observers also commended INEC and electorate for the peaceful conduct of the election.
Mr Adekola Adebisi, a domestic election observer with the Center for Transparency and Advocacy, however, expressed worry over the non-availability of election materials for Persons With Disabilities (PWDs).
Adebisi said most polling units visited by his team especially in Modakeke, revealed that the PWDs were not fully prepared for by the electoral umpire.
He said that the election had been peaceful without any violence report from his team working across the 30 local government areas in Osun .
According to him, the turn out of electorate to exercise their franchise was commendable, without any intimidation or harassment from anyone.
Another domestic observers, Mrs Shiru Hauwa, from the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, said there was slight delay of arrival of voting materials in some of the polling units in Ede town.
Hauwa commended security personnel deployed to Ede town for ensuring the peaceful conduct of the election without any form of fear or harassment. (NAN)
By Stella Kabruk
Kaduna, – Ahead of Saturday’s general election, the Nigerian Red Cross Society in Kaduna has deployed 360 of its members for emergency response and first aid treatment at some polling centres.
Sunday Awulu, the Secretary of the Kaduna Branch of the society, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.
He said that the deployment of its personnel to some of the polling centres was part of their collaboration with government and other stakeholders.
“We have a contingency plan for the election to see how we can provide our services during the period particularly in the violence prone areas.
“The personnel are going there in case of any emergency not only election violence, but in the course of queuing to vote, someone may slump or some issues may come up and people might sustain injuries.”
He added that the members would be deployed to each of the 23 Local Government Areas of the state and some at the headquarters for emergency and first aid treatment.
“We have deployed 15 members to each local government area of the state and also 15 at the headquarters for emergency responses.”
Awulu said the personnel would be stationed at strategic places not close to the polling units.
He explained the members were trained on emergency response and with knowledge on basic first aid to strengthen their capabilities in attending to emergencies.
“We had a training session with them at the ministry of local government to strengthen the response mechanism on how to respond to emergency and render first aid,” the branch secretary said.
Awulu added that the Red Cross Society was making arrangements to facilitate the use of ambulances from the General hospitals in the state during the elections to attend to emergencies. (NAN)
By EricJames Ochigbo
Abuja, – The African Parliamentary Advocacy and Reform Group (APARG) has charged Nigerian media practitioners to give additional coverage to National Assembly election, given the importance of legislature in a democracy.
The Team Lead of the group, Mr Chibuzo Okereke said this at a news conference on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said that the national assembly was the symbol of democracy as well as an important institution that mirrored the democratic character of a nation.
“We note with interest the efforts of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the media and other stakeholders to deliver a free, fair, transparent, peaceful and credible elections.
“APARG is, however, concerned about what appears to a deliberate suppression and low interest in the National Assembly campaigns, by the media and other stakeholders.
“Whereas, the media are saturated with the presidential rallies and media engagements, with presidential candidates and their policy documents in political programmes of major media organisations in Nigeria.
“However, little or no attention has been channeled toward the electoral campaigns for the national assembly; it is important to state that the national assembly election is as important as the presidential election,” he said.
Okereke said that the lawmakers at the national assembly performed multiple functions like oversight, confirmations, loan approvals, policy interventions, foreign relations, quasi-judicial functions and treaties domestication.
‘’Over the years election reports of accredited observer groups and the media have shown near complete disinterest for the national assembly election campaigns and election.
‘’The candidates for national assembly election usually make ultra-varies promises in their campaign trail that are outside their constitutional mandates as legislatures.
‘’This is promoting excessive clientelist relationship with voters, which often creates undue burden on the country’s governance systems.
‘’The challenge can be addressed through strategic mass campaigns and public education on the electorate across the constituencies,’’ he said.
He added: “We therefore, call on the national and community print, electronic media organisation and all relevant stakeholders, to use the remaining 15 days campaign window, to focus attention and consummate publicity on the National Assembly election.
“This is to highlight the important facts that no president in a constitutional democracy can successfully implement its policy agenda, without the presence of a functional, knowledgeable and consenting national assembly,” he said. (NAN)
Washington, – Hours after election polls in numerous U.S. states began to close, it remained unclear as of Tuesday night which party would control either chamber of Congress.
Voters are determining the majorities in the U.S. Congress, the country’s two legislative chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate.
This as well decided on numerous governorships and other important offices.
Early results showed U.S. President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party holding several key seats in states on the East Coast.
Thereby keeping alive Democrats’ hopes of holding onto control of Congress and deflating expectations of an overwhelming national victory for Republicans.
In the elections midway through Biden’s four-year term, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate are up for grabs.
Republicans need to gain one Senate seat and five House seats to have a majority in both houses.
Polls had predicted a so-called red wave and thus a clear victory for the Republicans, especially in the House.
But better-than-expected performances by some Democrats indicated that the election would likely be far closer than predicted.
“It’s definitely not a Republican wave, that’s for darn sure,’’ Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said on NBC News.
Graham nonetheless predicted a narrow Republican victory once all ballots are counted.
Final election results may not be available for several days.
Biden’s Democrats defended two hard-fought seats in the state of Virginia in the House of Representatives.
The two incumbents, Abigail Spanberger and Jennifer Wexton were re-elected. Observers saw those races as key indicators of Republican performance.
U.S. news agencies also predicted that Democrat John Fetterman would win Pennsylvania’s Senate seat over television personality, Dr Mehmet Oz.
A victory in the closely watched Pennsylvania race would boost Democrats’ chance of keeping control of the closely divided Senate.
In the U.S. state of Florida, however, Republican Ron DeSantis has been convincingly re-elected governor of the state in the southeast of the country.
Within the party, DeSantis was considered the primary rival of ex-President Donald Trump and was widely believed to be considering running for president in 2024.
Florida had long been considered a so-called swing state but has become more solidly Republican in recent years.
Within the Republican Party, former president Donald Trump’s influence has appeared to remain strong.
Candidates supported by Trump won in several U.S. states, including best-selling Republican author JD Vance, who won the U.S. Senate seat in Ohio.
In Arkansas, former spokeswoman for the Trump White House Sarah Huckabee Sanders will become the new governor.
The Republican is a loyal supporter of the ex-president.
As expected, Republican Greg Abbott once again won the Texas gubernatorial election.
But Democrats also made gains. In Massachusetts and Maryland, they recaptured governorships from Republicans.
In Pennsylvania, Democrat Josh Shapiro prevailed against ardent Trump supporter Doug Mastriano.
The position of the governor is the top elected position in a federal state’s local government.
Historically, the president’s party usually fares poorly in the midterm elections. Polls have shown low approval ratings for Biden, who his handling of inflation and rising fuel prices.
In a post-election poll, around a third of respondents named inflation as the most important issue in voting.
In second place with 27 per cent, people gave the topic of abortion.
If the Democrats lose their majority in Congress, Republicans are likely to block the majority of Biden’s policies until the next presidential election in November 2024. (dpa/NAN)
By Chris Udochukwu
Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police (I-G), Usman Baba says there is no immediate threat to the conduct of the 2023 general elections.
The I-G gave the assurance in a statement issued by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, on Sunday in Abuja.
According to Baba, the assurance followed a robust security threat analysis carried out by the Police using global best standards to ascertain the trend of expectations for the electioneering processes.
Baba spoke during a meeting with Mr Todd Robinson, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, US Department of States. The I-G met with the official during the summit of United Nations Chiefs of Police, held in the US.
He said discussions at the meeting were centered around enhancing support for the Nigeria Police training and capacity building programme.
Baba said the focus was particularly on the training of tactical units deployed in the North East and other conflict theatres across the country.
He said that the discussion was also on the need to cascade the ongoing election security management training across the six geopolitical zones in preparation for the 2023 general elections.
According to him, they also discussed training of police recruits on modern policing themes such as forensic investigations, human relations and cyber security.
In his remark, Robinson commended the Nigeria Police over the good work and the feats being recorded by the present leadership of the force. (NAN)
By Chris Udochukwu
Abuja – The Academic Staff Union of Universities said its members going to participate in the 2023 elections would be doing so on their own.
ASUU said it withdrew from participating in elections in Nigeria because the system was flawed.
The organisation said it had requested that it should be allowed by the Independent National Electoral Commission to participate in all the segments of the election, from the polling unit, collation and announcement for which government refused.
The President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said these in an interview with Sunday PUNCH.
He said, “ASUU participated (in election) during the period of (Prof. Attahiru) Jega and since then, we have decided we are not participating as a union in any election process because it is fraudulent.
“We requested that they should allow us participate in all the segments of the election, from the polling booth, to the collation to announcement. But they refused and so we withdrew from it as a union.
“And in the last (2019) election, we were very clear; we announced openly that we are not participating in 2019 election that any of our member who is going, is going as a person, not as an ASUU member which they are entitled to.
“So (in 2023), we are not going to tell our members anything. Anyone who wants to go is doing so on his own. When you are going, don’t wear anything that has ASUU signal, either its name or anything. You are going as a person; you are not going because you are a member of ASUU.
“During Jega (era), he asked us to nominate, which we did. Although at the upper collation level, we were able to control it, at the polling booth where they do the rigging, we were not allowed access to it, so we left.”
According to Osodeke the Vice Chancellors who took part as Returning Officers in elections have no influence but to announce results which have allegedly been written. (Punch).
By Agency Report
Abuja – Director General, General Directorate for Support to the Electoral Process (DGAPE) in Cape Verde, Ms Arlinda Chantre has told the ECOWAS long-term Observer Mission that the country was ready to conduct credible elections on October 17.
The ECOWAS delegation to Praia, Cape Verde, led by Mr Francis Oke, Head of ECOWAS’ Electoral Assistance Division, disclosed this in a statement issued to the media on Friday, following its election mission to the country.
According to the statement, Chantre told the ECOWAS mission that the country expected a large turnout of voters in the election compared to the turn out recorded in the 2016 elections.
Chantre briefed the ECOWAS delegation on various issues, including voter registration, the 2019 gender parity law, and the exemplary collaboration among electoral institutions.
She said that with the collaborations among electoral institutions; the National Electoral Commission, (CNE) was working to deliver credible and successful elections in the Archipelago.
The electoral management bodies were already preparing for a possible presidential second round or run-off vote on Oct. 31 as provided for in the electoral Act, she said.
She showed the delegation the electoral materials packaged for dispatch in case none of the seven presidential candidates met the constitutional requirement of 50% +1 vote in the Oct. 17 first round ballot.
“Voters would continue to use their valid National ID Cards or Passports for voting, until the national database is updated for the production of registration cards.
“Candidates are not legally required to pay any fees or deposits to contest an elective office.
“Instead, candidates are paid 750 Escudos (92 Escudos =$USD1) for each vote received in an election after the audit of campaign and political party finance.
“On the low voter turn-out in the last presidential election in 2016, the incumbent president being on the ballot could have been a factor.
“We are optimistic that the Oct. 17 contest, involving seven candidates, would likely record a higher voter turn-out,” Chantre said.
The statement by the ECOWAS delegation indicated that the mission also visited the centralised data system that provides digital solutions to Cabo Verde’s government institutions, including election data management.
The Center is known as the Praia NOSI DataCentre, (Portuguese: NucleoOperacional da Sociedade de Informacao).
Set up in 2012, the centre is largely responsible for the country’s advancement in e-government, with improved outcomes in sectors such as health, education, municipal governance, financial management and electronic transmission of election results.
Ms Ana Marta, Senior Manager, made a presentation on the generation of NOSI Data, while Lumumba Barbosa, Executive Administrator, and Luis Correia, Director of the Centre, explained the workings of NOSI, as a Network Operation Centre (NOC), that has seven levels of security and a 24/7 monitoring system.
The facility is also insulated against natural or man-made disasters such as fire, tsunami, earthquake, plane crash and similar threats.
While some of its hard wares, such as Tablets and refrigerating systems are sourced from abroad, especially Italy, the officials explained that NOSI had a complement of domestic engineers for its uninterrupted operations, and that the technology had not experienced any negative incidents since its inception.
Describing NOSI’s original idea and concept as home-grown, the officials underscored the efficiency and effectiveness of the Centre as being driven by centralized, integrated and synchronised systems of data generation, storage and processing (NAN)
Mr Bitrus Kaze, the Chairmanship Aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau has expressed confidence in the Sen. Tunde Ogbeha-led Caretaker Committee in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the National Working Committee of the PDP ordered a fresh election in the Plateau chapter of the party after dissolving the state exco led by a former Commissioner, Chris Hassan.
The NWC of the PDP appointed Ogbeha as State Caretaker Committee to oversee the affairs of the party for Plateau State pending the emergence of new elected officials.
This followed a judgment by the Jos High Court .
Kaze, in an interview with NAN on Wednesday in Jos, said that the caretaker committee mean well for the party and all members will cooperate with it.
The former member of House Representatives pointed out that the party under the leadership of Ogbeha, will attract attention of party enthusiasts.
”We believe he will deliver and reunite the party. Members are ready for state congress to be held to usher in an elected State Executive Committee.
“We want a free and fair congress where nobody is shortchanged or excluded.
“We believe that the Ogbeha-led leadership mean well and we will continue to cooperate with him,” he said.
He said that if the right thing was done, consensus is an option and he would support someone that would reposition the party to recapture power come 2023.
“PDP is the party for the people of Plateau and the people believe in the party’s capability to improve their wellbeing. They have been yearning for the party to return to power,” he said.
(NAN)
By Our Reporter
Abuja – Presidency on Friday reacted to President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the National leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress ( APC) in the United Kingdom (UK), saying it was just on account of goodwill and not to show support for his presidential ambition in 2023.
Speaking as a guest on Channels Television programme, Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, said given the fact that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has not given the green light for campaigns to start, the president will never break the rules by campaigning.
He, however, said the President may campaign after the presidential candidate has emerged in the APC.
“The President still has two years, less three months in his tenure of office. So for him to start supporting somebody now will just be jumping the gun. And you know that President Buhari will never do that. Before the 2019 election, people started to campaign for him before INEC blew the whistle of the campaign to start. He was the one who came out to say No, don’t do it. Don’t jump the gun.
“So the President himself will dare not jump the gun in terms of supporting one candidate or the other.
“Also recall that he has said that anybody who wants to be President after him should go out and work. That means the president may not be supporting anybody until maybe when the candidate of the party emerges. Knowing President Buhari, he will never jump the gun,” Adesina stated.
