By Taiye Olayemi

Chellaz Schools on Monday celebrated Mothering Sunday, commending mothers for their efforts toward societal development and nation building.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Mothering Sunday is usually celebrated every March 19 every year.

It is a celebration honouring the mothers of the family, motherhood, maternal bonds as well as their influence on the society.

Speaking during the celebration in Lagos, Mrs Adenike Johnson, Proprietress of the school, said mothers have been able to position themselves as great pillars of support to their wards.

She appreciated their various contributions to the growth of their children which are rubbing off positively on societal development.

She advised mothers on healthy living and regular checkup as they advance in age.

“We want to appreciate our mothers, here present. You have been great sources of inspiration to these children and we appreciate this as a school that is interested in raising healthy and responsible children.

“We appreciate your timely response to their needs.

“I want us to pay attention to healthy living and take regular checkup seriously. We all need these so that we can keep being healthy to raise these children as well as enjoy our health,” she said.

Also, Mrs Modupe Lawal, one of the parents, urged mothers to always cultivate the habit of making their children their confidants.
Lawal spoke on the need for mothers to communicate,  effectively, with their children which also entailed giving absolute attention to them while they speak.

She commended the school for the systematic way in which knowledge and discipline were instilled on the pupils.

Lawal also advised the school management on ensuring the children were taught the African culture of respect.

Another parent, Mrs Arinola Fowowe, a businesswoman, advised mothers not to relent in their responsibility of engaging their wards on sex education early enough.

Fowowe noted that this would guide them against molestation so as not to truncate their bright future. (NAN) (nannews.ng)

Edited by Olawunmi Ashafa

By Thompson Yamput

Six persons are allegedly feared missing when unknown gunmen attacked six Hummer Buses carrying INEC officials in Kogi in the early hours of Sunday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports on Sunday that the incident, which occurred around 2 a.m of March 19 at Abajana, left several officials with gun shot wounds including policemen and drivers.

The six missing persons include two serving NYSC corps members and four ex- youth corps members.

The injured persons are already on admission at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), now Federal University Teaching Hospital, Lokoja.

Mr Salisu Ibrahim, one of the bus drivers, who was shot on his right leg, and recuperating at the hospital, told NAN that the attackers took them by surprise.

“We were on our way back to Lokoja from Abujor RAC with the results of the House of Assembly election held there, when we were attacked by some people.

“All the six buses moving in a convoy were attacked and in the process many of us sustained injuries.

“Thank God, none of us died in the process but I learnt some youth corps members are missing during the attack on us this early morning,” Ibrahim narrated.

Mr Dare Owofadaju, a youth corps member who was shot on his left thigh, said: “It is only God that kept us alive considering the way and manner the gunmen attacked us.”

Owofadaju said that the election was conducted peacefully and counting was completed, and “it was when we were returning to Lokoja that we were attacked at Abajana”.

“Thank God some security operatives came to our rescue and rushed those of us injured to this Federal University Teaching Hospital Lokoja for immediate treatment,” he narrated.

NAN also gathered that the Commander, Headquarters Command Army Records (CAR), Maj-Gen. Sunday Igbinomwanhia, Kogi INEC REC, Dr Hale Longpet, and the Kogi NYSC Coordinator, Mrs Mofoluwaso Williams, have visited the injured in the hospital.

The REC and the state NYSC coordinator declined to respond to NAN enquiries on the incident.

But the Spokesman of Kogi Police Command, SP Williams Ovye-Aya, confirmed the incident, saying that the police was on top of the situation.

“We are aware of the sad incident and preparing to issue a statement on the attack,” he said. (NAN) (www.nanews.ng)

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Edited by Benson Iziama/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

By Lucy Ogalue

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), says many African countries are struggling to meet the continent’s development goals due to the impact of severe and mutually reinforcing shocks.

Mr Adam Elhiraika, ECA’s Director, Macroeconomic Policy Division, in a statement said the continent encountered severe developmental challenges due to increased poverty, high inequality rates and lack of decent jobs.

Elhiraika said that the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukrainian war and resultant food and energy crisis, rising inflation, debt tightening, and natural disasters were critical factors to the challenge.

The director said this while presenting an overview of recent Economic and Social Conditions in Africa at the ongoing meeting of experts.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was held to herald the 2023 Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in Ethiopia.

According to the Report, growth in Africa dwindled from 4.6 per cent in 2021 to 3.6 per cent in 2022.

“In 2022, an additional 18 million new poor emerged in Africa, with more than half the highest proportion of the world’s poor at 54.8 per cent.

“This is alarming because 546 million people were living in poverty in 2022, which is more than half of the continent’s population,” Elhiraika said.

According to the director, women and girls remain particularly vulnerable, and the continent is facing a potential reversal of the hard-won gains made on gender equity.

He said another challenge stressed during the meeting was inequality which remained pervasive across all African sub-regions and was exceptionally high in Southern Africa.

“Among the top ten countries where wealth inequality is the highest, seven of them, South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, Angola and Malawi, are in Southern Africa.

“While two are in west Africa, Guinea-Bissau, and Sao Tome.

“ECA estimates that although the economic outlook remains bleak, Africa is anticipated to grow by 3.9 per cent in 2023,” he said.

Elhiraika said the commission had cautioned that the growth might experience headwinds.

“Especially with an unfavourable external environment created by the recession in both the United States and the Eurozone and expected to weigh on commodity prices,” he said.

Fostering recovery and transformation in Africa to reduce inequalities and vulnerabilities is the theme of the ongoing meeting in Addis Ababa.

At the meeting, countries were urged to pursue pro-poor and inclusive macroeconomic policies and ensure access to affordable and innovative finance for an inclusive recovery. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

By Rotimi Ijikanmi

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has described the 2023 polls as one of the most transparent and credible ever held in the country.

The minister said this on Saturday in his home town, Oro, near Ilorin Kwara while speaking with newsmen after casting his vote in the Governorship and State Assembly election.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the minister voted at about 9.45 a.m. at Polling Unit 006, Oro Ward 2 in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara.

Justifying his assertion, the minister said the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was a game changer in tackling the issues of multiple accreditations, voting and rigging.

“With what I have observed both in the February 25 and today’s elections, there has been a remarkable improvement in the performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

“Without any doubt, the introduction of BVAS has been a game changer in the sense that with BVAS, you are able to get the actual number of people who are accredited.

“Also with BVAS, it is now not possible for you to vote twice because your biometric and facial are captured.

“That explained why though INEC said there were 84 million voters in Nigeria, the last election showed that only about 24 million people cast their votes,’’ he said.

The minister said, in spite of the obvious improvements in the electoral process, he was worried about the red herring that trailed the outcomes of the Feb. 25 Presidential and National Assemblies elections.

He said most of the issues being raised about the credibility of INEC in conducting the polls were distractive.

According to the minister, the electoral law does not recognises electronic voting while the decision of a federal high court in Abuja gives INEC the power to determine the manner it collates and transmits election results.

Mohammed said he was happy that some of the aggrieved parties in the concluded elections had approached the court to ventilate their grievances.

He, however, berated the activities of some non-state actors making analysis and propositions which he said were incendiary and injurious to the harmonious and peaceful co-existence of Nigeria.

The minister said the activities of some Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) had also been very unhelpful because many of them came out to unjustifiably discredit INEC and set one ethnic and religion against the other

He said the media should also be circumspect of what they report on the elections and must show professionalism in discharge of their duties.

“What we noticed is that some media houses had taken position for one candidate and this makes rubbish of most of the analysis we see on their platforms,’’ he said.

The minister said the regulators of the media, particularly the broadcast media were doing their best by issuing warnings and fines where applicable.

He said many of the broadcast stations that were fined had refused to comply and pay up but dared the regulator.

He said the intention of the broadcast stations was to provoke the regulator to shut down their stations and by so doing labeling the government of  stifling press freedom.

The minister assured that the regulators would not rest on their oars in the discharge of their constitutional duty of ensuring that the right things were done in the media industry. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

By Ismaila Chafe

President Muhammadu Buhari has cast his vote at polling unit 003, Sarkin Yara A in Daura, Katsina State, with a call to electorate to vote for their preferred candidates even if politicians tried to offer them money.

The president, who briefly spoke to newsmen both in English and Hausa languages after casting his vote on Saturday, said his administration had been preaching against vote-buying and monetisation of politics, calling on politicians to desist from such acts.

“If they (politicians) still give you money, collect, but vote for your preferred candidates,” Buhari maintained.
He again thanked the electorate for trusting the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the Feb. 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections where the party’s candidate, Sen. Bola Tinubu, emerged winner.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the president, who cast his vote at about 9.55 a.m, refused to ‘openly’ display his ballot paper as he did during the Feb. 25 Presidential election. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Salif Atojoko

By Emmanuel Oloniruha

The West Africa Elders Forum (WAEF) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security operatives, and other stakeholders to act in accordance with the laws of the land in the Saturday elections.

WAEF made the call in Abuja in a statement jointly signed by its leader of 2023 Election Mission to Nigeria and former President of Ghana, John Mahama; and the Convener of the Forum and former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The forum urged all stakeholders to exercise their constitutional responsibilities in a manner that would promote peace and protect the integrity of the electoral process in the governorship and state assemblies elections.

They urged INEC to address the challenges identified by various stakeholders after the Feb. 25 presidential and National Assembly elections, as a means of protecting the integrity of the process.

“This election is another opportunity for INEC to rebuild the trust and confidence of the citizens and show its commitment to credible polls for a better democratic outcome in Nigeria and our sub-region.

“There is, therefore, the need for the electoral body to take into account the complaints raised by the different stakeholders, including local and international observers, during the presidential and national assembly elections and make a commitment to resolving those challenges.

“We reiterate our earlier statement made after the Presidential and National Assembly elections that Nigeria is a major stakeholder in the sustainability of democracy in West Africa.

“The responsibility of maintaining the nation’s thriving democracy and the general peace of our sub-region rests on all our shoulders, especially on the credibility of INEC and other election management bodies in West Africa, during elections.”

WAEF urged Nigerians to be law-abiding and desist from acts that could mar Saturday’s elections and threaten the peace of the country and the sub-region.

“ The WAEF Election Mission to Nigeria, 2023, once again commends Nigerians for their calmness and maturity during the last Presidential and National Assembly elections.

“We wish to call for fair, peaceful, and transparent elections as citizens gear up to go to the polls for the Gubernatorial and State Assembly elections, on Saturday,” the forum appealed.

The forum praised the presidential candidates in the last elections for heeding the elders’ advice to toe the path of peace and follow legal means to address the grievances observed during the last elections.

The mission urged political parties, candidates, and their supporters to carry out their civic responsibilities within the ambit of the law and refrain from acts that could lead to violence and the breakdown of law and order during and after the polls.

The only elders called on security authorities to be alert to their responsibilities and check the unlawful activities of those seeking to disrupt the elections.

“Ahead of this second round of elections, we have observed the untoward actions of some party loyalists in some states meant to induce voter suppression by intimidating the citizens and discouraging them from exercising their civic rights.

“This same trend was noticeable three weeks ago during the presidential and national assembly elections.

“The citizens overcame these challenges and were able to cast their ballots and we are hopeful that, this time also, they will be out in their numbers to cast their ballots in defence of the nation’s democracy.”

WAEF also commended Nigerians for their peaceful disposition and faith in the nation’s democracy, in spite some of the challenges of the process.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Abdulfatai Beki/Isaac Aregbesola

By Angela Atabo

The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to tackle and improve on noticeable challenges experienced during the Feb. 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The CSOs made the call in their preliminary statement on the March 18th  elections, signed by the Convener and Co-Coveners, Ene Obi, Asma’u Joda and James Ugochukwu, ahead of the Governorship and House of Assembly elections.

Obi, while addressing newsmen on the preliminary statement in Abuja, said the Civil Society Situation Room deployed 2,340 election observers, with at least three election observers per LGA in every state of the federation, excluding the FCT.

She added that the number included 131 Persons with Disabilities for receiving data and reports from the field, which would be analysed and disseminated through press statements and reports.

Obi said that the Situation Room’s observation and analysis of the conduct of the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections would be guided by the Credibility Threshold for the 2023 General Elections.

“Situation Room expects that INEC has taken lessons from the challenges experienced during the Presidential and National Assembly elections of Feb. 25.

“We hope that the commission has made adequate arrangements to forestall the recurrence of the gaps observed during the elections.

“Situation Room also expects that the glitches that led to the malfunctioning of the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) have been resolved.

“And also that the issues that occasioned the inability of the commission to conduct elections in some polling units and late opening of polls in others have been addressed.

“In particular, the Situation Room calls on INEC to address the shortages in the number of ad hoc staff available for the elections,” she said.

Obi also urged INEC to make adequate transportation arrangements, conduct additional training for the ad hoc staff, and promptly reconfigure and deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and other materials required for the elections.

According to her, INEC should ensure that it communicated in a timely manner to the public on any challenges or changes made to the electoral process.

Obi said that the security situation across the country appeared tense, with reports of violence, kidnappings and assassinations in several states, including Lagos, Rivers, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu and Kano.

She reminded the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies that they had a primary responsibility to guarantee the safety and security of election officials as well as other election stakeholders.

Obi urged security agencies to take adequate measures to forestall the recurrence of acts of voter suppression, disruption of voting, and outright violence experienced in some places during the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

“Situation Room calls on the Nigeria Police and other security agencies to ensure that they are non-partisan, professional and will avoid any actions capable of being interpreted as acting in support of any political interest,” she said.

Obi also used the opportunity to call on political parties to respect and abide by the Peace Accord signed by them.

She said that Situation Room would be tracking violent incidents across the states, adding that perpetrators and masterminds would be called out for investigations and punitive measures in line with Section 92 (5-8) of the Electoral Act 2022.

Obi called on citizens to continue to show patriotism and patience by coming out to cast their votes, and by conducting themselves in a peaceful manner during the elections. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Yinusa Ishola/Idris Abdulrahman