By Emmanuel Oloniruha

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commiserated with Nigeria’s civil society community on the death of Mrs Esther Uzoma, a gender rights advocate.

Uzoma was the National Coordinator of Proactive Gender Initiative and the Convener of the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room.

Mr Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner, and Chairman, Information and Voter Education, said in a statement on Friday in Abuja that the commission received with shock the news of her death.

Okoye, who also condoned her family and friends said the death was “an irreparable loss” pointing out that Uzoma would be remembered for her commitment to a better Nigeria.

“She has worked closely with the commission (INEC) in the areas of election observation, constitutional and electoral reforms as well as in capacity building for the staff of the commission.

“Uzoma championed good causes and spent a considerable portion of her life fighting for a better society,” the INEC chief said.

He said Nigeria had lost a “courageous and vibrant civil society leader”.

“Uzoma was a known gender rights advocate, civil society activist and a tireless campaigner for credible elections in Nigeria,” Okoye said. (NAN)

By Dianabasi Effiong
Rivers State Executive Council has approved the construction of a new House of Assembly quarters in Port Harcourt at the cost of N10.1 billion.

The new legislative quarters, expected to provide global standard accommodation for the legislators, is expected to be completed within 16 months.

The approval for the construction was given on Friday during the Executive Council meeting presided over by Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers at the Government House, Port Harcourt.

The Commissioner for Housing, Elder Chinedu Tasie, who briefed journalists on the approval, said that the new Assembly Quarters would be built within the old site.

Tasie said that the project would comprise “32 four bedroom duplexes as against the block of flats now considered to be obsolete’’.

The Commissioner added that a two-room `Boys Quarters’ would be attached to each of the duplexes.

The new legislative quarters will include a multipurpose hall, green area, security accommodation, guard office, gate houses and network of roads and underground drainage.

He said: “It has been awarded to an indigenous company to undertake the project for a period of 16 months and the contract sum approved is N10.1 billion.’’

The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr Paulinus Nsirim, said the approval for the construction was to ensure that the legislative arm have decent accommodation.

Nsirim also said that the project would boost the synergy that existed between the two arms of government.

“In this State, the relationship between the executive, legislature and the judiciary is one that is being celebrated across the country because of the leadership that the Governor has given in the State.

“So, we are looking forward to a global standard accommodation for our legislators, which will help them in the legislative business in the years ahead,’’ Nsirim said. (NAN)

By Naomi Sharang

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has urged the National Assembly to use a bipartisan approach in amending the Electoral Act to help improve conduct of elections in the country.

Yakubu made the call at the inauguration of the Joint Technical Committee on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill on Friday in Abuja.

The event was organised by the National Assembly Joint Committee on INEC and Electoral Matters with support from Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) and UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO).

He was represented by Mr Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee.

Yakubu said that the amendment was timely, saying that more fundamentally, the reforms must be impactful, approached from a bipartisan angle, devoid of divisive issues and concluded at least by the first quarter of 2021.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan had in 2020, pledged the commitment of the National Assembly to the passage of the Electoral Act amendment bill by the end of first quarter of 2021.

The INEC chairman welcomed the renewed efforts and commitment by the leadership of the National Assembly towards amending the electoral legal framework for the conduct of elections.

Yakubu said that the renewed drive by the legislature was timely and must be sustained and approached with a sense of history and urgency.

He said that the efforts must be diffused with clearly defined timelines, priority, interventions and strategic thinking.

Yakubu said that the commission was fully committed to the amendment process and would continue to offer suggestions and recommendations that would help improve the regime of elections in the country.

He further said that amending the electoral legal framework would not automatically lead to improvement in the management and conduct of elections.

“The Constitution and the Electoral Act are not self-executory, and both operate through the actions and inactions of the critical stakeholders in the electoral process,” he said.

A member of the Technical Committee, Mr Sadiq Mua’azu said that one of the advantages of the electoral reforms was to bring all amendments together in one document.

Mua’azu said that the major target of the amendment was to ensure that all political parties were gender sensitive as well as eliminate all forms of discrimination in all political parties.

“The bill mandates all political parties to ensure that women leaders are women or persons of the feminine gender and that all youth leaders are between the ages of 18 to 45 at the date of elections into such offices.

“The bill also seeks to increase maximum election expenses to be incurred by Presidential or Governorship Candidates, Senatorial or House of Representatives Candidates.

“The amount was increased for the Presidential election from N1billion to N5 billion and from N200 million to N1 billion for the governorship and for the Senate and House of Representatives it was increased to N100 million and N70 million respectively,” he said.

Sen. Kabiru Gaya, Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC, said that the bill when passed and assented would tremendously change the political sphere of the nation.

“The amending of the Electoral Act would indeed positively affect the electoral process and procedures which has posed challenges and raised controversies that have put the mantra of free, fair and credible elections to question,” he said.

He said that the Technical Committee was inaugurated in order to achieve the set timeline for passing the bill by the end of the first quarter of 2021.

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, pledged to work with the technical committee to ensure unhindered presidential assent to the bill.

Malami was represented by Special Assistant to the President on Justice Reform and International Relations, Mrs Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu.

“I will continue to work more closely with the National Assembly to ensure that the bill is eventually passed as scheduled.

“I recall that immediately after the 2015 elections, the President approved the inauguration of the constitutional and electoral reform committees in 2016, we have been working with the National Assembly and we came up with four bills that have been approved by the Federal Executive Council and forwarded to the National Assembly,” he said.

In a goodwill message, Head, Governance and Stability, FCDO, Mr Sam Waldock said that the UK was a proud supporter of Nigeria’s democratic process.

“In the last five years, the UK has invested more than 50 million pounds in Nigeria’s democratic process and it’s the largest democracy in Africa and it is the leading member of Commonwealth.

“We commend the National Assembly for its work to reform this legislation which will go a long way even after the next election.

“Setting up a technical sub-committee to expedite the work on this bill is a very important contribution to Nigeria’s electoral legal framework,” he said.

Also, Executive Director, PLAC, Mr Clement Nwankwo expressed optimism that the bill would be passed within the shortest possible time.

“Following the experience of the last failed attempt to sign the Electoral Act in 2018, it is quite clear that this commitment is unanimous on all sides to ensure that we do have a new Electoral Act in place.

“With the support from the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, we are able to collaborate with the National Assembly to deliver on the commitment that has been made by the assembly,” Nwankwo said. (NAN)

By Leonard Okachie

Thousands of the Peoples Democratic Party faithful in Abia on Thursday formally defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The defectors, who came from Aba North Local Government Area of the state, were received by the Senate Chief Whip, Sen. Orji Kalu, at his Camp Neya’s country home in Igbere, Bende Local Government Area of the state.

Kalu said he received them on behalf of the State Chairman of the party, Chief Donatus Nwankpa, and Chairman of the party’s National Caretaker Committee, Gov. Mai Buni.

Speaking at the brief event, Kalu urged them to be of good behaviour and work conscientiously for the party’s victory in 2023.

“We are a disciplined party. We are a party that encourages people to pay workers’ salaries, pensions, build roads and take care of society.

“We have no other business than taking care of the welfare of our people.

“Our business in APC is to think and work toward the welfare of Abia, Imo, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra people and Nigerians resident in our state.

“Today is a remarkable day and I want to welcome you to this great party, which is for all Nigerians.

“We believe that this party will make all of us proud. The party believes in the rule of law.

“It believes things should be done well and believes in all Nigerians.

“Your defection to APC shows that this party is the best for Abia and Nigeria.

“We are growing  stronger and stronger everyday and our growth will be felt in the 2023 general  elections,” he said.

Also, the APC  House of Representative’s candidate for Aba North and South in the 2019 poll, Mr Mascot Kalu, commended the defectors for their “bold decision”.

He said that the party’s doors were still open for more prospective defectors.

Earlier, spokesmen of the defectors, Bunch Adiele and Eze Agege, pledged to be law abiding and deliver Aba to APC in 2023.

They appealed to Kalu and the leadership of the party to accept them unconditionally, saying: “We are your sons and daughters residing and doing business in Aba.

“We have realised our mistake and lost our political root.

“But today, we are here to tell you we are sorry and fully back with you. Forgive us and take us back as your children.

“Today, we want to be officially accepted into APC to reunite with the father of politics in Abia.

“All the wards in Aba north are all represented here. We are resolute to return Aba North to APC,” they said.

According to them, the poor governance index in Abia shows that APC will take over the state in 2023. (NAN)

By Adekunle Williams

The Speaker, Lagos House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, has advised the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos State Council, to sanction perpetrators of fake news.

Obasa gave the advice when the executive members of the state council of NUJ paid him a courtesy call on Tuesday.

The Speaker stressed the need for a lasting solution to the problem of fake news dissemination in the country.

“I want to suggest sanctions against perpetrators of fake news to serve as a deterrent to others.

“This is because journalists have a role to play in sustaining the achievements of the founders of the great profession,” he said.

Obasa urged the union to come up with a structure that would surmount the challenges of fake news.

The Speaker noted that some social media platforms were being wrongly used to peddle fake news.

Obasa assured the journalists that the Assembly would partner NUJ on training and other areas to improve professionalism.

He pledged legislative processes that would enhance journalism profession.

The Chairman of NUJ Lagos Council, Mr Adeleye Ajayi, gave an assurance of looking into the issues raised wholistically, with a view to finding lasting solutions to the peddling of fake news.

Ajayi noted that the leadership of the union was making efforts to restore sanity to the profession.

He also appealed that the legislature should move for an extension of retirement age of journalists to 65 years in line with what was obtainable in academic circle.

Ajayi commended the Speaker for the oversight functions of the Assembly and for quick passage of the Lagos State Appropriation Bill.

He lauded the giant strides of the Speaker in presiding over an Assembly that catered for the interests of more than 20 million residents of the state. (NAN)

By Chimezie Anaso

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked its members in court against the leadership of the party in Anambra to withdraw all litigations ahead of the November governorship poll in the state.

The South-East National Vice Chairman of the party, Chief Ali Odefa, made the request in Awka during a meeting of the Zonal Working Committee with stakeholders in the state on Monday.

Odefa said that it was in the overriding interest of the party for peace and unity to reign ahead of the poll.

According to him, the party needs unity and cannot afford any court distractions, if it must form the next government in Anambra.

He, therefore, urged the aggrieved party members to direct their complaints to the zonal leadership for amicable and dispassionate resolution.

Odefa, who expressed satisfaction with the progress of PDP in Anambra, promised that the zonal leadership of the party would ensure that the primary election produced the best and most popular candidate.

He advised the “money bag” aspirants to deploy their money in lobbying delegates “and not try to bribe any leader of the party”, saying that money would not play any role.

He said: “Anambra PDP has all it will take to win the governorship election and the aspirants are equally capable and qualified.

“Under my watch, we shall have a free, fair and transparent primary where the popular candidate will emerge and others will support him.

“My mission is to produce a PDP governor in Anambra.”

The PDP chieftain said the party remained strong in the southeast and ruled out the possibility of any other PDP governor defecting to another party.

In an address, the state party Chairman, Ndubuisi Nwobu, said the party remained united and strong more than ever before in the state.

Nwobu said the party could no longer afford the distractions of the litigations and urged aggrieved members to sheathe their sword and allow peace to reign.

He urged the aspirants to have confidence in his leadership to conduct a free, credible and acceptable primary which, he said, would be the selling point of PDP in the election.

Also, Chief Peter Obi, the former PDP Vice Presidential Candidate in the 2019 election, called on the aspirants to stop competing against one another.

Obi urged them to see the ruling-All Progressives Grand Alliance as their common opponent in the election.

He said that aspirants should shun social media hype and get to work by going to villages and electorate to make commitment of what they intend to do for them, if elected.

He called on the party leadership to design programmes for a tour of communities in the state.

The former governor announced a donation of N100,000 to each of the 326 electoral wards as Christmas gift.

He also donated N4 million monthly stipend to the state executive to facilitate its activities. (NAN)

By Shedrack Frank

Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa, on Sunday, joined other Christians in the state to offer praises to God for witnessing the first Sunday of 2021.

Diri, who worshipped at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Sampou, his hometown, told the congregation that he never knew the community would produce a governor, while he was supporting the governorship aspiration of others.

A statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Daniel Alabrah, quoted Diri as saying that when it was time for God’s destined purpose, it would surely manifest.

He said: “Sometimes I wonder that all the time I had been supporting the governorship aspiration of others, I did not know that God had destined me, even before I was born, to be governor. So when your time comes, nobody can stop it.

“If the same God could do this for me, He will do it for you. Just be faithful, have free mind and He will do it again and again,” he said.

The governor urged Christians to be faithful to God in order to unlock more earthly blessings, just as he called on the people of the state to always give thanks and pay less attention to their worries.

“Let me commend the people of Bayelsa for taking out time across the state to thank God today. What can you offer to God other than to say ‘thank you’ to Him?

“He has the gold and the silver. He also has the power, as power comes only from Him.

“If not for God, I will not be standing here as governor. So we must continue to thank Him with everything we have daily.

“I, therefore, join the rest of the people of Bayelsa to say thank you Lord for keeping us to see this first Sunday of 2021,” Diri said.

He also urged the citizens to realise that they were special in the sight of God, adding that He always manifested Himself in the affairs of the state, whenever the agents of evil tried to plunge it into darkness.

“For us in Bayelsa, we are a special people, and until we realise that we are special, we will continue to give room for darkness,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the service was attended by members of the state executive council, traditional rulers, other appointees and dignitaries from across the state. (NAN)

By Ikechukwu Iweajunwa

Princess Gloria Akobundu, Chief Executive Officer of New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), has begun moves to reconcile aggrieved members of All Progressive Congress (APC) in Isiala- Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State ahead of the party’s congress.

Akobundu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Owerri that she convened a meeting of party loyalists to reconcile aggrieved party members from the local government area.

Akobundu said that  the party leaders discussed important issues of differences and possible ways to chart a new roadmap that would reconcile aggrieved members and end misunderstanding in the party.

“This meeting will address the 4-point agenda which were the resolution in the recent APC South-East caucus meeting.

“We have been given a directive to reconcile members, register more members, plan for the state congress and the national convention.

“We are going to embark on aggressive grassroots mobilisation and to canvas for more members in the state,” she said.

She advised members of the party to shun acrimonious attitude and embrace unity and peace.

“We want to bring back peace and unity in Imo APC because misunderstanding and rancour among members is affecting the party’s progress in the state.

“We must respect party leaders at all level, only such respect can translate to lasting peace in the party,” Akobundu said.

She also related President Muhammadu Buhari’s new year message and assured of continued financial support to the party for grassroots activities in Isiala-Mbano.

Also, APC state caretaker committee Chairman, Mr Marcelinus Nlemigbo, said that the only way to guarantee the future of APC was for the party to strengthen succession plan.

Nlemigbo advised party members against anti party activities, while urging members to participate fully in the ongoing party registration. (NAN)