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Tag: 2019 Election

  • Breaking: INEC Chairman provides motive behind N242bn 2019 election budget

    Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mr. Mahmood Yakubu on Wednesday defended its proposed N242 billion budget for the 2019 election before Senate Committee on INEC.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports that at the 2019 general elections budget presentation, the INEC Chairman acknowledged that it was the first time that the budget is presented in this manner.

    “For the first time, this budget is subjected to scrutiny by the National Assembly and the Nigerian people. I am happy to be a part of this process,” he said.

    The INEC Boss said that as at Saturday, the commission registered 12.1 new voters.

    “Adding this to the 70 million voter register, we have over 80 million registered voters. In 2015, we had 70 million registered voters. As of last week Saturday, we now have over 80 million registered voters.

    “There is a difference of N69 billion in the budgets of 2015 and 2019. All major activities are pegged against the total number of voters.

    “In 2015, we had only 42 political parties. We now have 91 registered political parties eligible to take part in the 2019 general elections.

    “The cost of logistics is also different in 2019 as opposed to 2015, because the pump price of petrol in 2015 is different from that of 2019. This will also have an impact.

    “With the increase of voters, we will have to increase the number of voting points. And with the increase of voting points, we will also have an increase in Ad-Hoc Staff.

    “We have provided a line-by-line explanation and account of this budget to the Distinguished Senators,” the INEC Chairman said.

    TNG reports Chairman of Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Suleiman Nazif, after the defence, gave an opportunity for all members of the Senate Committee to ask questions.

    Here are some highlights of the Senate committee meeting with the INEC chairman:

    “Continuous voter registration is of great importance to Nigerians. Without which you cannot excercise your right to vote. Mr. Chairman, in the 2018 budget, we made provision for this process and I believe that this funds are supposed to run till the end of the year.”- Senator Suleiman Nazif.

    “Mr. Chairman, in item 39, you have budget N5bn+ for this continuous voter registration. Mr. Chairman, if you were provided with funds in the 2018 budget, why is this provision repeated?”- Senator Suleiman Nazif.

    “The electoral act demands that we continue voter registration. Based on the budgetary provision in 2017, we could only do PVC registration at the LGA level.”- INEC Chairman.

    “By the end of the Second Quarter of 2017, we had over 1400 registration centers across the country.”- INEC Chairman.

    “The funds we had were not adequate. This is why in 2018, we approached the National Assembly for additional funding.”- INEC Chairman.

    “The Electoral Act Amendment has been going back and forth between the National Assembly and the President. What would happen to the provisions of the Act that have been budgeted for if it is not signed by the President?”- Senator James Manager.

    “Your contingency budget provisions have been cut down. I am surprised that you have decided to cut this down to only 2.5% of the budget. What informed this thinking?”- Senator James Manager.

    “If the Electoral Act is not signed into law, we will continue to operate within the ambits of the law as it exists.”- INEC Chairman.

    “Even if the Electoral Act is not signed into law, we need to continue to improve our electoral process to promote transparency.”- INEC Chairman.

    “Why is our contingency low? If it had been 10%, it would have been considered too high. Now it is 2.5%, it is too low. However, there are some contingencies that we need to expect.”- INEC Chairman.

    “There is a conflict of request here: from the letter presented by Mr. President and the budget presented by INEC. You are asking for N189billion, meanwhile Mr. President is asking for N140billion.”- Senator Mohammed Hassan.

    “The President is saying that the additional N45billion will be requested for in the 2019 budget. You are asking for N189billion. Which of these requests should we focus on?”- Senator Mohammed Hassan.

    “There is no conflict in the letters. If you add up the requests by the President and INEC, they add up. The sequence of disbursement is up for the legislature and the executive to decide.”- INEC Chairman.

     

  • NCC, INEC review committee report on 2019 election

    NCC, INEC review committee report on 2019 election

    Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) have met to review the outcome of the report of the joint committee set up early in the year on electronic transmission and collation of results.

    Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman, NCC, after the meeting with the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Thursday, described the forum “as a huge step toward entrenching free, fair and credible elections in the country’’.

    He said the joint committee set up seven months ago by the two agencies had worked hard to produce a document on the basis of which elections could be conducted in a manner conducive, credible and transparent.

    “This can only be done by leveraging the power of Information Communications Technology.

    “ So this is to bring to bear global best practices in the way and manner elections are being conducted all over the world,” he said.

    On his part, the INEC chairman expressed delight with the way NCC picked up the gauntlet thrown by the INEC and the joint committee.

    “When we started we were clear in our minds that we must challenge every national institution to contribute towards free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.

    “We are happy that the NCC has risen to this challenge and we look forward to implementing these recommendations.

    “If there are other areas we need your collaborations we hope you will remain open to us to do so.

    “But we are very happy that one major national institution has been challenged and has risen to the challenge,” he said.

    In January, NCC and INEC, in a deal acclaimed to “have the potential of playing a major role in the outcome of future elections in the country reached an agreement on the electronic transmission of results in the 2019 general elections’’.

    The meeting had in attendance Mr Ubale Maska , Executive Commissioner Technical Services (EC-TS) of NCC, , national commissioners of INEC and senior managers of the two agencies.

     

  • 2019: Atiku explains how he’ll fix electricity, fight insecurity, create jobs as President

    2019: Atiku explains how he’ll fix electricity, fight insecurity, create jobs as President

    Former Vice President and 2019 elections presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar, has vowed to fixed problems associated with electric power generation in Nigeria.

    The 2019 elections presidential aspirant made the vow and explained how he will go about fixing the persistent scourge when he was questioned on what he will do to fix electricity problem of the country.

    “We shall increase power generation by ensuring full participation of private sector. We shall issue licences to enable the private sector invest in mini-grid capabilities to service local communities or local govts, states, regions or target industrial clusters.

    “Our electricity generation plan shall be diversified to include clean energy (hydro, solar and nuclear) in addition to natural gas. As you may be aware, the transmission infrastructure of the power sector is ageing and in dire need of investment.

    “We shall provide incentives – including tax breaks to the private sector to invest in the development of multiple green field mini-grid transmission systems.

    “In the mean time we shall consider concessioning to private sector segments of the national grid under some form of PPP over a period of time,” Atiku stated.

    Addressing the issue of insecurity in the nation, he “On security, we must understand the root causes of the security challenges in the North. The full economic potentials of the region remains undeveloped resulting in high rates of youth unemployment, high levels of poverty and deprivation and income inequality”.

    “Access to education is more restricted, resulting in more out of school children in the North than anywhere else in Nigeria. Unless these issues are tackled, youth restiveness, sectarian violence and other acts of insurgency and terrorism shall continue to bedevil the region.

    “My first critical policy priority therefore is to support the northern states in rebuilding their economies and opening up economic opportunities for their citizens. This will reduce frustration and alienation and minimize grievances.

    “We shall same time undertake a comprehensive review of our security architecture & enhance its preparedness to meet challenges. As part of the review we shall commence the gradual process of instituting state police & community policing in line with principle of restructuring,” he added.

    On job creation, Atiku said, “as long as growth of the economy is driven by the oil sector, job creation is bound to suffer. To tackle the job and poverty challenges bedeviling the economy, we shall focus on four areas”.

    “First, we shall stimulate the growth of those economic sectors which are considered the domain of the poor – i.e Agriculture and Micro & Small Enterprises.

    “For the MSE sector, we shall set up a Venture Capital Fund to enhance their access to finance and hence their ability to grow and employ more hands.

    “Second, we shall set up a National Innovation Fund to support budding entrepreneurs, especially young men and women with brilliant ideas.

    “Thirdly, we shall promote a Special Apprenticeship Programme that will support training of up to 1,000,000 youth (including the NYSC) each year in diverse fields, by local master crafts persons. While they undergo the training, we shall match them with potential employers.

    “Fourth area of focus is the aggressive promotion of Nigeria as Africa’s leading business process outsourcing destination with potential to create two million direct and indirect jobs,” he stated.

    The presidential aspirant explained that his goal is to ensure that Nigeria fully explores the vast opportunities that abound in the global market for IT and IT-enabled services to create quality jobs for our youth.

    “Also, to lift our people out of poverty, we shall improve their access to basic services including education, health, electricity and water – by making these services not only available but affordable.

    “On currency, the only way the Naira will be more valuable is to apply a diversified structure for our economy. This way, our economy will become more productive. We are committed to revamping the non-oil sector through increased private sector investments.

    “We shall diversify our export base by providing export expansion incentives to manufacturers. Increasing our exports means increased foreign exchange earnings and stronger currency,” he said.

     

  • 2019: We must protect Nigeria’s democracy – PDP Chieftain

    2019: We must protect Nigeria’s democracy – PDP Chieftain

    National Vice Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), South-South, Mr Emmanuel Ogidi, has urged Nigerians, especially politicians, to come together and work to protect Nigeria’s democracy ahead of 2019 general elections.

    Ogidi, who made the call in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said that developments in the polity were endangering democracy in the country.

    He said that though Nigerians and the political parties were ready for the 2019 elections, the coast appeared not clear for a credible election.

    The party chieftain accused the All Progressive Congress (APC) of plotting to rig the 2019 elections, saying it was against the principles of democracy.

    He said that the Executive was using its powers to undermine the Judiciary and the Legislature, adding that both arms of government also suffered most as a result of successive coups in the country.

    He said that though the judiciary was trying to get out of the wood, the legislature which was the symbol of democracy was not doing so as a result of the negative narratives about the organ.

    Ogidi said that the legislature had been accused of corruption and that such had undermined its legislative duty of performing oversight functions on the Executive.

    “Democracy must be protected for it is now endangered specie in Nigeria, and the media must not let this happen.

    “We need to protect this democracy; God will not forgive us if we do not protect democracy in this country; we are blessed with human and natural resources.

    “The media must rise up and ask questions and should not be sectional about it.

    “Look at the issue of mace at the Senate, it is simply executive rascality which should not be allowed in democracy,” he said.

    Ogidi said that APC was not ready for governance and that it came to power by propaganda.

    He said that if Nigerians knew what APC was up to, they would have fought to prevent it from coming to power.

    The chieftain said that it was disheartening for the party to be blaming the PDP for everything while the nation degenerated under its watch.

    On the fight against corruption, he said that it was good but that it became injustice when the government became selective about it.

    He said it was against the Constitution for someone to be treated as though he was guilty of an offence when the courts had not declared him so.

    Ogidi said that in spite of Nigeria becoming largely militarized, killings were had remained unabated across the country.

    He said that inconsistencies in Federal Government’s approach to challenge were making many Nigerians to lose hope of a better future.

    The PDP stalwart recalled that PDP National Chairman, Mr Uche Secondus, had months ago apologised to Nigerians for the party’s past mistakes.

    According to him, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party, today, is made of men of proven integrity and are determined to ensure that internal democracy was upheld in its activities.

    He said that PDP had put strategy in place to reposition the country and that its doors were fully open to all Nigerians to participate.

    Ogidi said that impunity had been eliminated from the party, adding that the hope of Nigerians were now in the PDP.

    “We are not going to make that mistake again; we assumed too much and took Nigerians for granted in the past.

    “Nigerians are not even happy that we allowed the APC to come to power because they know that in spite of our failings, we are better off; we promise not to make the mistakes again,” he said.

    The chairman said that PDP had put structures in place to ensure checks and balances on activities of those who would be elected on its platform.

    He assured that the party was prepared to discipline both elected and appointed officers found derailing from its ideology.

    He said “power must return to the people and the PDP is the vehicle as it is ready to perform oversight functions to ensure that power returns to the ward level.”

    Ogidi said that PDP had again returned to the disciplined path “because the bad eggs have all defected to other parties”.

     

  • 2019: Umahi throws Ebonyi House of Assembly contests open

    Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi has said that his administration and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would favour no candidate during the 2019 general elections’ for House of Assembly.

    Umahi made the assertion on Monday at Ezillo, Ishiellu Local Government Area (LGA) of Ebony during a solidarity rally in his honour.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the governor had earlier at several fora, canvassed for the re-election of all the House members.

    Umahi, however, noted that the only exceptions were the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker with all the contestants required to organise rallies in their constituencies to test their popularities.

    “We are appealing to the ‘divine mandate’ his (political structure) for peaceful primaries because we are not going to stop anybody from contesting.

    “Continuity will, however, benefit Ebonyi people but we are not going to impose unpopular candidates on the people during the elections.

    “I will attend the rallies you are going to organise individually because it is not only the delegates that will elect you during the primaries,’’ he said.

    Umahi said that his vote during the election would be tied to those of the House of Assembly contestants and the masses needed not to be disfranchised in the process.

    “We will support any contestant that mobilises the greatest number of people because I don’t want to take risks during the election.

    “You should therefore, go back to the field and mobilise the people and not go to sleep because the governor has endorsed you,’’ he said.

    He said the elders of the state would sit and decide on the National Assembly positions to avoid possible crises.

    “We will not allow the other parties to benefit from our situation but ensure that all matters concerning the positions are resolved amicably without rancour.

    “I thank the people of Ishiellu for the reception and commend them for maintaining the peace we instituted in the area, especially at the Ezillo and Ezza-Ezillo communities,’’ he said.

    Chief Austin Umahi, the PDP South-East Zonal Vice-Chairman, commended the people for supporting the governor and urged them to massively vote for him in the 2019 elections.

    Umahi, who is the governor’s elder brother, noted that the best support for the governor was for the people to massively register in the ongoing voters registration exercise.

    “Ebonyi is a PDP state as other political parties exist on the pages of newspapers, magazines and the social media,’’ he said.

    Chief Onyekachi Nwebonyi, the PDP Chairman in Ebonyi, also assured that the party would not endorse any candidate but allow all contestants to freely pursue their ambitions.

    Mr Henry Eze, Chairman of the council, said the reception was to thank the governor for his numerous favours to the people in areas of infrastructure, empowerment and political appointments among others.

    NAN reports that stakeholders pledged their solidarity to the governor as he was given the chieftaincy title of “Achinagbara Oha’’ meaning the seed that spreads to all by the council’s traditional rulers.

     

  • Buhari’ll win 2019 election without support of Saraki, Kwankwaso, others in nPDP – El-Rufai

    The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, on Tuesday said members of the defunct new Peoples Democratic Party were not capable of stopping President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election.

    He made the disclosure during an interview session with newsmen at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The governor said since 2003, Buhari had been winning elections in Adamawa, Kano and Sokoto states where most of the nPDP members hail from.

    Apparently, El-Rufai was specifically taking a swipe at the Senate President, Bukola Saraki of Kwara; former governor of Kano State and senator representing Kano central, Rabiu Kwankwaso; Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar who dumped the All Progressives Congress and returned to his former party [PDP].

    He however agreed that some of the grievances of the party chiefs were legitimate and should be looked into.

    He said, “Who are these new PDP people that are threatening? They are Kwara, Kano, Sokoto, Adamawa, Rivers but I don’t think Amaechi is part of them.

    “So, let’s take these four states, go back to 2003 and check. Buhari then under the ANPP won in all these four states.

    “Go back to 2007, Buhari won in these four states. Even when Shekarau was running as a presidential candidate in 2011, Buhari defeated him in Kano.

    “I have no doubt in my mind that even if the people threatening to leave decide to leave, it will have absolutely no impact on the presidential election.

    “The President will win Sokoto, Kwara and Adamawa easily. Kano is already in the bag, I mean if you saw the crowd that welcomed the President without the former governor Kwankwaso, Kano has always been the President’s base.”

    El-Rufai however admitted that some of the grievances expressed by the aggrieved nPDP members were legitimate and should be looked into.

    He said the only thing that was wrong was their threat to leave the party.

    He described politics as a game of addition and not subtraction, saying the party did not have to lose anyone.

    However, members of the Alhaji Kawu Baraje-led faction of the defunct new PDP, who are currently in the APC, have said that their letter to the APC leadership is not an empty threat.

    The spokesperson for the group, Mr. Timi Frank, stated this in interview with reporters in Abuja, on Tuesday.

    Frank stated that the group was considering options following the expiration of a seven-day ultimatum given to the APC.

    He explained that the group had yet to receive any response either from President Buhari or the APC leadership.

    Frank also dismissed insinuations that there was a crack in the nPDP bloc as a result of a counter-letter written by Senator Abdullahi Adamu on Monday.

    According to him, the authentic members of the nPDP bloc were not surprised about the antics of the former Nasarawa State governor.

    He explained that the senator was better known for his active involvement in the pro-Abacha movement as well as ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s failed third term bid.

    Frank said over 95 per cent of the nPDP members gave Alhaji Kawu Baraje the authority to speak on their behalf and as such, the contents of his letter conveyed their feelings.

    Asked whether the President or the APC had responded to his group’s letter, Frank said, “Today makes it seven days from the day our group brought this letter to the party. But as it stands, we’ve not got any response yet from them. As we’ve said, whatever we must have said in that letter, it is not an empty threat. If they decide to ignore us, so, be it.

    “At the appropriate time, we are going to respond and make our position known to Nigerians based on what we’ve said. It is not just a mere threat; it is not just a mere ultimatum.

    “I will tell you we are meeting with our leaders and we are going to come up with a clear position on our next step if finally they don’t attend to us.”

    The nPDP spokesman further explained that history appeared to be repeating itself because this was the same way the then ruling PDP ignored calls by some of them to address certain issues.

    He said, “We told them why we were aggrieved. Our leaders moved round the states to talk to party members, to ask the government at that time to listen to our views, but at the end of the day, they refused. They ignored us and that was how we left.

    In response to a question on what the next step would be should the APC continue to ignore the bloc, he said, “We believe we are going to take a decision that will benefit the Nigerian people because we believe that democracy should be all inclusive. Democracy should not be a situation where when you speak the truth, you will be harassed; you will be intimidated and so on.”

    He debunked Senator Adamu’s claims that the APC had been fair to the nPDP bloc.

    Frank said the positions occupied by the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, were not appointments.

    He argued that the two men enjoyed the confidence of their colleagues in the National Assembly across party lines and were elected based on their personal merits.

    Earlier, el-Rufai had justified the use of electronic voting in last Saturday’s local government elections in his state.

    He said the process gave the people the confidence to elect their chairmen and ward councillors.

    He said electronic voting did not contravene the Electoral Act as being argued by some persons.

    He said former President Goodluck Jonathan signed an amendment to the Act which, he claimed, legitimised the use of card readers and other electronic systems for voting.

    The governor also recommended electronic voting for the 2019 elections.

    “I recommend it highly to everyone. I have already offered to my colleagues’ governors that are yet to conduct local government elections that they can come to Kaduna and we can give them the machines on mutually acceptable terms.

    “All you will need is to change the software, it will have the logo of the state and the number of parties active in the state and the number of parties active in the state and they can use it. It is easy.

    “At the federal level, I will recommend it as well because with the card reader and the electronic voting machine, the era of rigging elections is almost over and I think that is when people will have confidence in the process and will come out en masse to vote for their leaders.

     

  • Breaking: Buhari officially announces intention to run in 2019

    President Muhammadu Buhari, who is expected to leave Abuja today for an official visit to the United Kingdom, has officially announced his intention to contest the 2019 presidential elections.

    Bashir Ahmad, Personal Assistant to Buhari on New Media made this known on Monday morning.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari has just officially announced his intention to seek re-election in 2019. Details soon…,” he posted on Twitter.

    Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has also confirmed the President’s intent.

    Shortly before making the declaration, the President presented a speech on the report submitted by the APC National Executive Technical Committee.

    Buhari’s Speech:

    1. I am delighted to welcome you all to this very important meeting in the affairs of our party and our country. I want to specifically thank members of the Technical Committee for a job well done within the limited time frame.

    2. It shows a great sense of commitment to the ideals of our party with a view to consolidating and positioning the party to continue delivering good governance in the overall interest of Nigerians.

    3. With the present state of the party and based on the report submitted by the Technical Committee, It is important to focus on how to move the party forward by avoiding actions detrimental to the interest of the party. Considering that politics is a game of numbers, we must not be a house divided against itself and must try to note, appreciate and accommodate our differences as far as the law permits.

    4. Upon my review of the Report, my position is to ensure that the party tows the path of unity, legality and cohesion and not that of division.

    5. Therefore, I am stressing that we should strengthen our internal democracy by organising the Party’s Congresses and Convention where election of National Executive Committee members would be held. This will automatically end the cases filed by members seeking orders of Court compelling the party to hold its Congresses.

    6. I also believe that the current executives should be free to vie for elective positions in the party if they so wish as permitted by our Party constitution.

    7. However, considering the provision of Article 31(1)(iii) of the APC Constitution which requires any serving officer desirous of seeking re-election to resign from office 30 days before election, I am not sure of the practicality of present serving officers’ ability to meet this condition.

    8. Accordingly, the party may consider granting waivers to party executives at all levels so that they are not disenfranchised from participating in the elections should they wish to do so, provided this does not violate our rules.

    9. Necessary waiver(s) should also be extended to executives at the Ward level whose tenures may have elapsed, and indeed to anyone knocking at our doors from other political parties. This is in the spirit of the Right to Freedom of Association guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

    10. In this circumstance, the party should officially issue a statement on the above Waivers so that our house may be full. We all must not be ignorant of the times, and the journey that is ahead of us.

    11. Just like our party symbol; “the Broom,” which typifies strength in unity, let us strive to remain united in our purpose. Victory is sure by the Grace of God, and together we must continue to sanitize Nigeria’s political environment.

    12. Once again, I welcome you all to this meeting with the hope that we will, in our deliberations today, conduct ourselves without rancour and promote the highest interest of the party and the nation.

    ——————————————————————-

    Buhari will today leave Abuja for an official visit to Britain where he is due to hold discussions on Nigeria- British relations with Prime Minister Theresa May, prior to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings scheduled for 18th to 20th April.

    The President will also meet the Chief Executive Officer of Royal Dutch Plc, Mr. Ben van Beurden in connection with Shell and other partners’ plan to invest $15b in Nigeria’s oil industry.

    These investment ventures will lay the foundation for the next 20 years’ production and domestic gas supply, according to the Presidency.

    President Muhammadu Buhari will also in the UK renew discussions with the Archbishop of Canterbury, The Most Rev. and Rt. Hon. Justin Welby, a good friend of the President, on inter-religious harmony in Nigeria and worldwide.

     

  • INEC inaugurates task teams to drive elections’ projects plan in Ebonyi

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ebonyi, on Tuesday inaugurated 19 different committees to drive the commission ‘s Elections’ Projects Plan (EPP), ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    The committees are: Inventory Committee, Election Monitoring and Support Centre Committee, Electronic Dashboard Committee, Security Committee, Domestication of EPP Committee, among others.

    The Ebonyi INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Godswill Obioma, inaugurated the committees at the commission’s state headquarters in Abakaliki.

    He said that the action was in line with directive from the national headquarters of the commission.

    According to him, the committees known as Elections’ Projects Plan task teams will carry out various responsibilities preparatory to 2019 general elections.

    He said that each of the committees has specific activities, team leader, team members, time line and terms of references.

    The resident commissioner described the inauguration as a ‘defining’ moment for the commission as it moved closer to the 2019 general elections.

    He said: “The Elections’ Projects Plan is a document developed by INEC to drive the implementation of transparent elections for 2019.

    “Therefore, the inauguration of the 19 Elections’ Projects Plan task teams is a defining moment for the commission in Ebonyi because they are going to drive transparent conduct of 2019 elections.

    “INEC has developed a five-year strategic plan covering 2017 and 2021 and what this means is that whatever INEC does in terms of election and other activities are captured in the strategic plan.

    “You have a daunting task to make the commission to succeed in the 2019 general elections and you must work hard within your committees to enable the commission achieve better result”.

    The resident commissioner said that a monitoring team would be set up to ensure that various committees worked within the time line.

    The INEC’s Administrative Secretary, Mr Charles Ezema, who responded on behalf of other heads of the committees, assured that the committees would carry out the assignments diligently and in accordance with terms of reference.

    “The committees will not disappoint the commission on this very important assignment and we must work within the time line.

    “What we have done today has helped our understanding to know that election is a process which can be reduced into strategic planning for efficient and effective result.

    “It is important that we take our responsibilities seriously, especially now that we have 68 registered political parties to contend with, ” Ezema said.

    Activities expected to be performed by the task teams include: to domesticate the 2019 Elections Projects Plan in order to design a state-based 2019 EPP for Ebonyi, adopt final report of the inventory committee.

    Other activities also include to set up state Election Monitoring Centre (EMSC), create Electronic Dashboard for state EMSC, reactivate periodic data – gathering for base line data, among others.

    The task teams are expected to conclude all their assignments by April 4.

     

  • 2019: Enugu APC endorses President Buhari for 2nd term

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Enugu State Chapter, on Sunday, endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term in office as the 2019 General Elections draw close.

    The party equally passed a vote of confidence on the president and Dr Ben Nwoye, led executive committee of the party in the state.

    The unanimous decisions were taken during the state’s APC’s enlarged State Executive Council and stakeholders meeting held at the party’s secretariat in Enugu.

    Addressing the executive members and stakeholders, State Chairman of APC, Dr Ben Nwoye, said that the party would field candidates in all elective positions in 2019.

    According to Nwoye, the Lion Building (Enugu Government House) is our target, and in doing that, we must also make ensure that President Buhari gets the highest votes that will be cast in the state.

    “We have the power and all it takes to confront the PDP in 2019,’’ he said.

    He, however, cautioned against sabotaging the plans of the party by some members.

    “If there is anybody here who will support the election of a PDP candidate, this is not the place for you, you should leave us; what we want is purely candidates of APC extraction.

    “We must drop our egos and focus on winning elections in the interest of the party,’’ he said.

    Nwoye used the occasion to appeal for peace in the party and apologized to party faithful whom he might have offended during the crisis in the state.

    “I tender unreserved apology to those I may have offended by my words and actions.

    “By the same token, I have forgiven those who offended me through their conducts. These include those who filed false cases against me in the DSS, EFCC, courts, among others,’’ he said.

    In his remarks, the Director-General of Voice of Nigeria, (VON), Chief Osita Okechukwu, called on the party in the state and South East to support President Buhari for a second term in office.

    “We need to vote for President Buhari in 2019 because it is the closest possible gateway to Igbo presidency in 2023,’’ he said.

    “What the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership could not do for the South-East throughout its 16-year leadership was now being done by the APC government.

    “Ndigbo have hope in APC, if we support President Buhari to complete a two-tenure in 2023; Ndigbo will have golden opportunity to produce the president because equity and justice will be on our side,’’ he noted.

    The immediate past Governor of Enugu State, Mr Sullivan Chime, stressed the need for members to embrace peace; saying: “APC does not have the luxury of crisis’’.

    Chime applauded the decision of the APC NEC to extend the tenure of its national leaders noting that it would have been the opportunity for enemies to scatter the party.

    “As things are now, what is before us is more important,’’ he said.

    On the choice of the party’s governorship candidate, the former governor said it was necessary to choose credible candidates that would deliver.

    “I pray that we won’t have difficulty in choosing who will be our governorship candidate in 2019,’’ he said.

     

  • INEC receives Facebook team ahead of 2019 general elections

    Ahead of 2019 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday received a Facebook team led by its Head Of Public Policy for Africa, Ebele Okobi at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

    Facebook offered to explore avenues with the commission that could help expand voters’ education and engage citizens meaningfully to achieve peaceful general elections in 2019.

    The social networking giant made this offer having noticed that topics Nigerians mostly shared on its platform bordered on elections and politics

    Facebook, which noted that it has a membership base of 2.1 billion worldwide and 80 million from Nigeria, discovered that “people care very deeply about how they are governed, about who governs them and other political issues”.

    “Knowing that people come to the platform to talk about what they care about, we have developed a politics and government programme essentially to understand how our platform is being used, not just during elections, but also to help governments engage with their citizens and also to see what the risks related to our platform in elections are and what opportunities and programmes can be put in place to address the risks,” Okobi told INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and members of his commission.

    The Facebook Head disclosed that the company was open to ideas on how best it could improve its services and the electoral processes in Africa, particularly in Nigeria.

    Responding, the INEC boss, Yakubu told the team that organizing and conducting elections was a huge responsibility for the commission and comes with enormous risks.

    “A good election, I have always said, is a recipe for peace and a poorly conducted election could lead to violence and civil war. And part of it is the perception some people create on the social media,” he said.

    He acknowledged the large following the electoral body enjoy on Facebook, which he said is the largest among election management bodies in Africa, and underscored its potentials for engaging citizens, disseminating information and dispelling fake news for peaceful elections.

    While acknowledging that Facebook has become one of the veritable means of interacting with the public, Yakubu said, “I think more people now get their news from the social media than the traditional media”.

    The INEC chairman thanked Facebook for pulling down fake pages of the commission from its platform just as it commended, “the social media giant” for also putting mechanisms for checking hate speech and fake news in place.

    He said the commission looked forward to working with Facebook in ensuring that the voting population gets the best to help them make informed choices at the polls.