The Independent National Electoral Commission has disclosed that it had processed 476 requests of Certified True Copies of documents to aid litigation by aggrieved individuals in court.
The decision followed the recent party primaries conducted for the nomination of candidates for the 2023 general elections.
This was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja by the commission’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye.
It partly read, “The commission has continuously responded to requests for the issuance of CTCs of documents mainly arising from the conduct of party congresses, primaries, and nomination of candidates. The number of requests processed has now risen to 1,662,987 pages of documents.
“Sadly, in spite of the commission’s effort, 147 out of 476 requests processed as of today involving 5,646 pages are yet to be collected by applicants.
“The commission appeals to prospective litigants to come forward and collect the certified copies of the documents.”
Okoye added that the July 15 deadline set for the submission of the list of governorship and House of Assembly candidates by political parties remained sacrosanct.
According to him, the commission had processed 6,995 nomination forms (EC9) uploaded by 16 out of 18 political parties for the constituencies where they intend to sponsor candidates.
He however regretted that two political parties, the African Action Congress and New Nigeria Peoples Party were yet to upload a single nomination to the portal.
As the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike enters the sixth month in the night of July 14, the Federal Government says there is no deal yet.
ASUU has been on an industrial action since February 14, with tens of thousands of undergraduates out of universities.
On Wednesday, the government declared there was no Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) awaiting President Muhammadu Buhari’s assent.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige made the clarification in a statement by Olajide Oshundun, ministry’s Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations.
Ngige accused the President of ASUU, Prof. Victor Osodeke and branch leaders of misinforming Nigerians.
Ngige said when a CBA is produced between unions and the Federal Government, it is not the President that signs.
“There is no such CBA that has been reached between the Federal Government, ASUU and other university unions on the renegotiation of their salaries and allowances (wages).
“What is in existence is a proposal. Even when such CBA is made, it is not the president that signs it. From available records, no Nigerian President or sovereign signs such”, he explained.
Ngige said ASUU’s demand for better conditions of service – wages, salaries, allowances and other public service matters – would be guided by relevant government ministries and agencies. قوانين لعبة بوكر
The minister listed the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Budget office of the Federation. العب وربح
Others include the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission, Office of Head of Service of the Federation, through the Prof. Nimi Briggs Committee.
Ngige said the team just like the Prof. Munzali Committee it replaced, is an internal committee of the Ministry of Education to receive ASUU’s demands and renegotiate the 2009 Agreement.
Kano State government has dismissed as unjustifiable a claim attributed to former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, that the Ganduje Foundation, a philanthropic organisation, is being used by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje to force some Christians to join Islam.
A statement issued by the commissioner for information, Malam Muhammad Garba, indicated that the comment was totally false considering that there is no compulsion in religion, adding that Islam gave individuals the freedom to choose their own religion, and also provided non-Muslims with considerable economic, cultural and administrative rights.
He said there was never a time any Christian or non-believer is forced to embrace Islam by the foundation because it negates the teachings of Islam, but are called to Islam at their wish just as the missionaries go to villages in Kano to invite non-believers to embrace Christianity.
Garba said it was unfortunate that at a time when the country needs to be united for national development and religious tolerance, a man of Babachir’s calibre, who is highly respected, would spread falsehood without much consideration to his position in the All Progressives Congress (APC) and close relationship with the party’s flagbearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The commissioner pointed out that going by its activities, the foundation is not faith-based but purely philanthropic in which case, non-Muslims also stand to benefit from the services it renders.
He said the Ganduje foundation was set up about 40 years ago and is engaged in philanthropic, humanitarian and charitable activities that included medical support and assistance to the needy in the society, particularly the orphans and the physically challenged, medical outreach to attend to those with diabetes, hypertension, malaria, dental as well as ante-natal and maternal care.
Garba added that since its establishment, the foundation has built many schools, healthcare centres, distributed free school uniforms and instructional materials to new intake in primary schools, construction of boreholes and mosques.
Others include distribution of food items to the orphanage and Muslim communities during Sallah and fasting period, Christian community during Christmas and Easter period, provision of medical assistance to the needy as well as other philanthropic activities.
The commissioner stated that available statistics indicates that no fewer than 380, 000 people have benefited from the foundation’s eye care programme that included treatment for cataract and glaucoma, as well as distribution of medical glasses.
He stated that Governor Ganduje always stands for religious harmony in Kano as exemplified by the administration’s creation of the Ministry for Religious Affairs, where the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) is a partner and enjoys a good working relationship with the governor as well as the introduction of an Inter-Faith Dialogue that promotes religious harmony between Muslims and Christians in the state.
Garba said that Governor Ganduje’s disposition on religious tolerance informed his administration’s stance on guaranteeing religious freedom and association for ethnic nationalities in the state, which earned him recognition and conferment of traditional title of Agu Na Eche Mba of Igbo land by the chairman, Abia State/South East Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Eberechi Dick and another chieftaincy title conferred on him and his wife as Aare Fiwajoye of Ibadan by Olubadan, Oba (Dr.) Senator Mohood Olalekan Ishola.
The governor, according to the statement, assured that the Muslim-Muslim ticket is not going to in any way result in the neglect of Christians in the country, and appealed to the former SGF, Christian party members and other Nigerians to be mindful of their utterances especially on religious matters and support the APC for quality leadership that will deliver the country from its challenges.
The Lagos State House of Assembly has debunked a report making the rounds on social media that it has secretly passed a sharia law in a deal to get Northern support for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC Presidential Candidates.
The Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Information, Publicity, Security and Strategy. Hon. Setonji David made this known to newsmen on Wednesday in Lagos.
The Lawmaker is described as a mere figment of the imagination of the writer and a total lie from the pit of hell even as he stated that he would not have dignified the writer but in order to set the record straight.
According to him, no informed person should believe this lies against the Assembly that is above the common standard of excellence as the news is far from reality.
“The attention of the Lagos State House of Assembly has been drawn to a malicious and unfounded report making the rounds on social media that the assembly has secretly passed a sharia law in a deal to get Northern support for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC Presidential Candidates.
“We would not have dignified the writer of this hate speech but in order to set the record straight, this is a mere figment of the imagination of the writer and a total lie from the pit of hell.
“No informed person should believe this lies against the Assembly that is above the common standard of excellence. العاب تربح جوائز حقيقية The news is far from reality.
“Some people are just mischievous. كيف تربح بالروليت Spreading all sorts of untrue stuff. Is it possible to pass a law under cover? The process of law-making is universal and very open. You cannot pass a law without subjecting it to public hearing in Lagos State,” he said.
The Chairman, therefore, urged the residents of the state and Nigerians as a whole to take the peddlers of the report as illiterate, uninformed, and uneducated people who needed to be schooled about the law-making process.
“We urged the residents of the state and Nigerians as a whole to take the peddlers of this unfounded report as illiterate, uninformed, and uneducated people who needed to be schooled about the law-making process. لعب بينجو
Setonji added that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a fast-selling product across the country and does not need any law from the state to further endear him to all Nigerians and by the special grace of God would emerge winner of the 2023 Presidential election to the shame of the purveyors of this hate news.
“Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a fast-selling product across the country and does not need any law from the state to further endear him to all Nigerians and by the special grace of God, the Jagaban would emerge winner of the 2023 Presidential election to the shame of the purveyors of this hate news”, he said.
As the 2023 election gathers steam, the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) on Thursday said Rabiu Kwankwaso, its presidential candidate, has chosen Bishop Isaac Idahosa as his running mate.
ABN TV reports that the NNPP made the announcement via its official Twitter handle.
Kwankwaso arrived at this decision following his failure to persuade Peter Obi, a fellow presidential hopeful and former governor of Anambra State, to become his running mate.
Who is Bishop Isaac Idahosa?
Bishop Isaac Idahosa, an indigene of Edo State, is the senior pastor of God First Ministry, popularly known as Illumination Assembly, Lekki Light Centre (LLC), Ajah, Lagos. He is also a gospel singer, writer, and motivational speaker.
Bishop Idahosa, who is called ‘Prophet Talk Na Do’ by his followers, was born in the predominantly Muslim north, precisely in Minna, Niger State, but became a born-again Christian in 1979.
The son of Senator Ifeanyi Araraume, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Ifeanyi Araraume Jnr has defected to the Labour Party, LP, after being denied the ticket of PDP to vie for the Okigwe Senatorial zone for the 2023 general elections.
Araraume, who was a former Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Tourism under Governor Rochas Okorocha’s administration, resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, where he was aspiring to contest, saying circumstances beyond his control necessitated a change in his political party membership.
Ifeanyi Araraume Jnr
The first son of former two-time Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, who stated this in his address to the people of Okigwe Senatorial zone on Thursday, said, “Today, I am proud to say that I am a member of the Labour Party (LP). On the platform of the Labour Party, I remain resolute in my dream to bring change and development to our Senatorial Zone.
“It is important that I address you at this point, as there have been some changes in the course of my journey to represent the great people of Okigwe Senatorial zone. I began this journey under the umbrella of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), but, circumstances beyond my control necessitated a change in my Political Party membership. بيت 365 ”
He said he intends to carry out the responsibilities of the office when elected, to the best of his ability.
According to him, “As I reach for this goal, I acknowledge that these are turbulent times in history of our Nation and State. For many people in Imo State, they are hard times. My parents belonged to a generation whose belief was ‘we want our children to be better off than us’.
“They did their best for us, however, we are at a time where we can no longer be sure that the same will be true of our own children. تعليم البوكر As a result of the economic crisis in Nigeria today, poverty is on the increase and unemployment has reached disastrous levels among young people in particular.
“This crisis of confidence in politics and its institutions is also undermining faith in the democratic system. However my people, I urge you to remain steadfast in your belief and hope that things will get better. الرهانات
“It is for this reason and more that I joined the Labour Party (LP). The LP pledges to diligently and carefully give its best members as representatives of our great nation; individuals that will not only lift us out of economic depression but kick start the much-needed expeditious journey into Nigeria’s prosperity.
“To this end, therefore, I enjoin you my people to take your right to vote very seriously, since, in essence, you are giving another person the responsibility in directing or delivering goods, services and amenities that will greatly affect the quality of life you experience in the years to come.”
Dr. Nkechi Ikpeazu, the wife of Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, says she is upscaling her involvement in the fight against substance abuse through advocacy and sensitisation.
She also promised interventions to promote care and recovery for those who have been exposed to misuse.
Dr. Ikpeazu stated this when she visited the State headquarters of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in Aba.
The governor’s wife affirmed that her organisation, the Vicar Hope Foundation, will introduce a set of programmes that would support the NDLEA in public enlightenment.
Dr. Ikpeazu, who was emotionally disturbed at the sight of some promising youths, mostly graduates who were at the rehabilitation center, strongly condemned the use of drugs.
She also noted that drug addiction can cause untimely death, mental illness, rustication from school, while abusers are prone to violence and crime among others.
The wife of the governor cautioned the youths against drug intake, peddling and abuse, and emphasised on the need for parents, community leaders, Non-governmental Organizations, religious bodies, government and other relevant stakeholders to join forces in the campaign against drug abuse in the state and country at large.
While praying for the total rehabilitation of the clients at the NDLEA rehabilitation facility, Dr. Ikpeazu promised to look into the challenges raised by the clients in the rehabilitation center and commence the unrelenting fight against drug abuse in the country by the agency as well as their efforts at rehabilitating victims of drug abuse.
Earlier, the State Acting Commander of NDLEA, Mr. MacLean Ebani, appreciated the wife of the governor for finding time to visit and show her support to the outfit in their fight against drug abuse.
He enumerated some challenges facing the agency, including small rehabilitation facilities that affect the number of intakes that the centre can handle.
Mr Chukwuemeka (surname withheld) who is a graduate of Federal University of Technology Owerri, who spoke on behalf of his fellow internees, conveyed their thoughts through an emotional poem which explained how drugs looked so beautiful, attractive but gradually lured them into a very deplorable state.
He said substance abuse and dependency had affected the social and educational development of many of his fellow internees on the rehabilitation programme and expressed remorse over their involvement in drugs and promised to turn a new leaf after undergoing rehabilitation.
The graduate used the opportunity to thank the wife of the governor for showing them love and care and appealed to the First Lady to assist them to learn skills and be gainfully employed.
The Special Adviser to the Abia State Governor on Narcotics, David Anyanwu, commended Mrs Ikpeazu for supporting the fight against drug Abuse through her NGO over the past five years, and expressed gratitude that the Governor’s wife has declared intent to increase her activities in the coming weeks to combat substance abuse using advocacy, sensitisation and other types of interventions.
The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Wednesday lashed out at controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi over his comment that the emergence of Peter Obi as the Labour Party, LP, the presidential candidate has slowed down Biafra agitation in the Southeast.
However, IPOB believes that Obi’s involvement in Nigerian politics can’t compromise the agitation for Biafra.
ABN TV reported that Gumi said the emergence of Obi as LP presidential candidate had slowed down the agitation for Biafra.
The cleric had said the Obi’s movement had reduced IPOB’s activities, thereby bringing relative peace to the Southeast.
Condemning Gumi’s remark, IPOB reiterated that it does not recognize Obi as a Biafran because he opted to engage in Nigerian politics.
The separatist group noted that Obi’s involvement in the presidential race won’t affect its agitation for Biafra.
IPOB stressed that it does not engage in Nigeria’s election process because it’s “shambolic” and fraudulent.
A statement by IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, described Gumi as clueless and uninformed about its activities.
The statement reads partly: “The attention of the global family and movement of the Indigenous People of Biafra under the command of our leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has been drawn to the unguarded statements from Sheikh Gumi, alleging that IPOB agitation has slowed down in the South Eastern region since Peter Obi picked up the tickets from Labour Party for presidential race in Nigeria.
“We understand that some unscrupulous elements in Nigeria, especially Fulani elements, were thinking that Peter Obi who is among those running the race to become Nigeria President would affect us or change our decisions to pursue the freedom of our dear Nation Biafra.
“We have said it before now that IPOB does not know Peter Obi and Peter Obi does not know IPOB. If Peter Obi knows IPOB and its aims and objectives, he wouldn’t have come out in the first place to contest or waste his wealth and vast knowledge, talent, and wisdom which God Almighty gave and blessed Biafrans within the Zoological Republic.
“We can never slow down agitation until Biafra comes.”
IPOB said Gumi and his likes would not understand how Biafra would be actualized.
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has responded to a comment by Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in which the latter criticised the LP.
At the APC governorship rally in Osun on Tuesday, Tinubu had described the LP as “a mushroom party”.
“Think about your children and vote accordingly so you can see the future. Come out en masse. Don’t mind PDP and other mushroom parties — parties like Labour; they will labour till they die. God will not make you labourers,” he had said.
Speaking on Wednesday at a rally organised by the LP in Osun, Obi said such a comment by the APC presidential candidate comes from a place of hatred, but the LP will respond with love.
“I listened to our national chairman when he said that somebody said that they can labour till death. When they talk like that, when they show you hatred, Labour Party will show them love. There is dignity in labour,” he said.
Obi, who urged the residents of Osun to vote for Yusuf Lasun, the LP’s governorship candidate, said the party’s focus is on ensuring better welfare for citizens.
“Vote for Labour Party so that your children can have jobs. Vote for people that will work for you,” he said.
“We want to change Nigeria and the only way we can change Nigeria is to remove all these people who have put Nigeria where it is for the past 23 years. This is time for them to go.
“They are owing salaries, pensions; and those that are working hard are not been paid. But this will stop once you vote Labour Party on Saturday.
“Vote for Labour Party; vote for the future of your children. Vote for the candidate that will be committed to better Osun state.
“We are going to introduce you to a governor who will be committed to a better Osun state, and that is what we want.”
Also speaking, Julius Abure, the national chairman of the party, said the people should not sell their votes.
“I want to beg you, no matter the temptation of the money they might want to give you, do not sell your future,” he said.
“The reason we had been in trouble over the years is because when they give us part of the money they stole from us, we will still vote for them.
“If you can resist the temptation of not collecting the money, do not take it, but if you cannot resist the temptation, take the money and vote against them.”
Abia State governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Mascot Uzor Kalu, has expressed concern over what he described...
