TheNewsGuru

Tag: 2019 General Election

  • 2019: Politicians using religion to divide Nigerians

    2019: Politicians using religion to divide Nigerians

    The Senior Pastor, Father’s Touch Ministry Church, Nyanya, Abuja, Pastor Evans Idoko, has accused some politicians of using religion and ethnicity to divide Nigerians ahead of the 2019 election.

    Idoko made the allegation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Abuja.

    “It’s regrettable that the unity of Nigerian is strengthened during sporting activities and otherwise becomes the case during electioneering activities.

    “It is an indication that politicians have taken pleasure in using religion to divide Nigerians against themselves for political or selfish reasons. It must stop forthwith! Nigerians must resist it because it will take us nowhere,” he said.

    He recalled with nostalgia how Muslims and Christians lived together peacefully some years back irrespective of religious or ethnic differences.

    He said such divisions have been responsible for the obvious hatred among Nigerians, which, he said, has slowed down socio-economic and political development in the country.

    “As 2019 political activities gather momentum, we appeal to politicians seeking elective offices to eschew hatred and bitterness, and promote courses that will promote peace and unity among Nigerians,” he said.

    Idoko advised that the church should take the front row in moblising Nigerians to participate in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.

    “It doesn’t come by words alone. We have to take a step further to empower people educationally, financially and otherwise so they could have voice and knowledge to take their rightful place in Nigerian political and economic discussions,” he said.

    He explained that the church could partner with the Social Exchange Market, to disburse financial grant to citizens not minding their religion or ethnicity.

    “We are all one body in Christ Jesus,” he said.

    The cleric said that such empowerment initiative should be borne out of utmost desire of the church to rekindle the hope of Nigerians.

    He, however, encouraged churches, corporate organisations and individuals with financial ability, to assist to lift the poor off poverty so they could confidently participate in political and economic activities.

     

  • 2019: NYSC DG admonishes corps members

    2019: NYSC DG admonishes corps members

    Brig.-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, Director General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), has admonished corps members that would take part in the 2019 general election to display high sense of integrity.

    Kazuare gave the warning on Saturday while addressing 2018 Batch ‘C’ Stream 1 corps members at the Oyo State NYSC Orientation Camp in Iseyin.

    A statement by Mrs Christy Olatoye, Assistant Director, Public Relations, NYSC Oyo State on Sunday, quotes the DG as reminding the corps members that the NYSC is a non partisan organisation.

    Kazaure was represented by the Director Planning, Research and Statistics, Mrs Victoria Okakwu.

    “When you are called upon, with discipline and steadfastness, ensure that you put in your best and at the end your name will be written in the sand of time,” he said.

    According to him, the content of the NYSC scheme is now bigger, better and stronger, which must be celebrated following her numerous achievements over the years.

    “As corps members, who are part of the Big Family (NYSC), you should be celebrated having graduated from the various institutions which qualifies you to be mobilised for the one year mandatory service to the fatherland.

    “I want you to be happy being a part of this great family which from inception had not relented on its efforts in building and incorporating young vibrant graduates into the plan of nation building.

    “The Management celebrates you our dear corps members, we see in you the future great Dangotes and Otedolas.

    “You are advised to embrace hard work and good virtues that will elevate you to the top,” he said.

    The NYSC boss, also enjoined the corps members to embrace the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED ) programme by acquiring skills that would turn them to employers of labour and wealth creators.

    “I urge you to key into SAED programme which will add value to your lives and make you self reliant, ” Kazaure said.

    Earlier in her address, the State NYSC Coordinator, Mrs Eniola Ambekemo, informed the DG that a total of 2265 corps members were registered for the 2018 Batch C (stream 1) orientation course.

    Ambekemo enumerated some of the challenges encountered in course of the orientation programme to include lack of lecture auditorium and hostel accommodation.

    Highlights of the DG’s visit was inspection of camp facilities, during which he expressed delight at the quality of food being served to corps members as well as the level of sanitation at the Orientation camp.

     

  • 2019: Bayagbon cautions youths against old ways

    2019: Bayagbon cautions youths against old ways

    Eweka Palmer Bayagbon, President of Advancement for Youth Development (AYD), has cautioned youths to be weary of old ways of politicians, especially as the 2019 general elections rapidly draw near.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Bayagbon stated this in a chat on Sunday, urging youths to shun acts of vote-selling/vote-buying, and acts tantamount to disrupting the electoral process, while also stressing that youths have distinctive interests and are more inclined to change the old ways.

    “A well-established democracy is founded on the premise associated with continuity, as a fundamental political value, in order to maintain a democratic political system that creates stability in the place of chronic instability.

    “However, to create this stability, young people should be at the forefront as they can be seen as having distinctive interest and more inclined to change the old ways, more idealistic and focused in their goals and less loyal to the old established tradition,” he stated.

    The AYD president further stated that when youths are empowered, they can be key agents for global innovation and development within their various constituent assemblies.

    He, however, lamented that presently young people are experiencing a political crisis, which includes the constant manipulation of the political process by a significant faction of the professional political class that marginalizes youth participation in the political process.

    He also stated that there is a cult of ignorance in our society which has always been the true reflection of anti-intellectualism that has threaded through our political and cultural life.

    “Therefore, the time is now for young people to stand and speak for themselves and cultivate self-belief in their abilities to fully exploit every opportunity at proposing various measures aimed at stabilizing our commitment towards democratic process in 2019, and beyond.

    “Subsequently, our survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenges that will surely come from the privileged few couple with their watchdogs that are empowered with fee to air political mechanized tools such as euphemism, lies and possibly using all available forces to deceive, subdue and forcefully make us to accept their old ways and or even pushing hard to make us demand our own enslavement,” he stated.

     

  • INEC deadline: Delta APC at risk of missing out in 2019 elections

    It appears the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta state is at risk of missing deadline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) for the submission of forms CF001 and CF002 for candidates vying for Senate and House of Representatives positions.
    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports INEC form CF001 is affidavit in support of personal particulars of persons seeking election, and form CF002 is form for the submission of names of candidates by a political party.
    INEC had fixed October 18, 2018, for the submission of forms CF001 and CF002 for Presidential and National Assembly and December 1, 2018, for Governorship and State House of Assembly.
    A Federal High Court sitting in Asaba, chaired by Honourable Justice Toyin Adegoke, according to Fred Okpowhoro Olokor, Esq, the legal team lead of the Cyril Ogodo led executive, had given an order on October 17, 2018 barring either factions of the APC in the State from submitting names of candidates to the INEC.
    This follows a suit by Cyril Ogodo and two others brought against National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole and others, that all parties maintain status quo pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
    At the resumed hearing of the case, Counsel to the Plaintiffs (O. J. Oghenejakpor, Esq.) who had filed a Motion on Notice to restrain 1st and 2nd Defendants (i.e APC and Oshiomhole) from submitting any list of candidates from Delta State to INEC other than the list of candidates that emerged from the Cyril Ogodo led executive’s primaries, which was duly served on all the Defendants, urged the Court to hear the Motion on Notice.
    But because the Defendants served counsel to the Plaintiffs their processes which included preliminary objections in court on the 17th of October, 2018 the motion was not moved.
    In a bid to diligently prosecute the case, the plaintiffs’ counsel applied for a stand down for a few hours to respond to the preliminary objections filed by the Defendants and served in court. The stand down was granted.
    And before the resumption of hearing after the stand down, the Plaintiffs’ counsel was able to file his response to the preliminary objections and was ready to argue the said preliminary objections and the substantive application.
    However, the Defendants vehemently argued that they were not ready to respond on points of law orally. They insisted on filing a reply and applied for an adjournment of the case.
    The Plaintiff Counsel thereafter called upon the court to preserve the res in the matter which is to restrain the APC from submitting any list of candidates from Delta State to INEC for the 2019 general elections except candidates that emerged from the Cyril Ogodo anchored primaries.
    TNG reports the court then inquired from the Counsel to the INEC if any list of candidates had been submitted to INEC as at 17th of October, 2018. The INEC counsel confirmed to court that no list of candidates for Delta State have been submitted yet.
    At this point the Honourable Judge ordered that all parties should maintain status quo. The clear meaning and intent of the Status Quo, therefore, is to preserve the res by ensuring that no list of candidates is submitted to INEC until the determination of the substantive matter.
    The judge then ordered for accelerated hearing and fixed November 1st and 2nd 2018 for the hearing and determination of the case.
    Going by this, the Delta APC might miss deadline for the submission of candidates for Senate and House of Representatives in the 2019 elections. The party might also miss out in submitting candidates for Governorship and State House of Assembly if the case is not decided by November 2nd.
    Reacting to the development, the legal team lead of the Cyril Ogodo-led faction, Fred Okpowhoro Olokor, has warned the Prophet Jones-led faction against contempt if they go ahead to flout the court order.
    “It is pedestrian and mischievous for anyone to suggest or argue that the Federal High Court in Asaba did not restrain APC from submitting any list of candidates for Delta State to INEC.
    “The counsel to the 1st and 2nd Defendants (APC and the APC National Chairman) was in court and clearly understood what the order meant.
    “Counsel will thus be unduly exposing his clients to the risk of contempt proceedings if he allows them to be misled by the mischievous interpretation of the Prophet Jones factional Legal Adviser as is being circulated in the media.
    “Let it be known that anyone who violates the clear orders made on the 17th of October, 2018 stands the risk of having contempt proceedings initiated against them,” he stated.
    Meanwhile, Legal Adviser of the Prophet Jones Ode Erue led executive, E. V. Onojeghuo Esq has said the party is at liberty to carry out its constitutional duties.
     

  • Breaking: Facebook opens elections war room ahead of 2019

    Ahead of the 2019 general elections in Nigeria, social media giant, Facebook has announced opening its first physical elections war room in Menlo Park, California.
    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Facebook’s goal is to get the right subject-matter experts from across the company in one place so they can address potential problems identified by its technology in real time and respond quickly.
    “The war room has over two dozen experts from across the company – including from our threat intelligence, data science, software engineering, research, community operations and legal teams. These employees represent and are supported by the more than 20,000 people working on safety and security across Facebook.
    “When everyone is in the same place, the teams can make decisions more quickly, reacting immediately to any threats identified by our systems, which can reduce the spread of potentially harmful content.
    “Our dashboards offer real-time monitoring on key elections issues, such as efforts to prevent people from voting, increases in spam, potential foreign interference, or reports of content that violates our policies.
    “The team also monitors news coverage and election-related activity across other social networks and traditional media. These efforts give us a collective view and help track what type of content may go viral.
    “To prepare, our team has also done extensive scenario-planning to game out potential threats – from harassment to voter suppression – and developed systems and procedures in advance to respond effectively,” Facebook said on Thursday.
    The social media giant in a statement by Samidh Chakrabarti, Facebook Director of Product Management, Civic Engagement, said the preparations helped a lot during the first round of Brazil’s presidential elections.
    “The work we are doing in the war room builds on almost two years of hard work and significant investments, in both people and technology, to improve security on Facebook, including during elections.
    “Our machine learning and artificial intelligence technology is now able to block or disable fake accounts more effectively – the root cause of so many issues.
    “We’ve increased transparency and accountability in our advertising. And we continue to make progress in fighting false news and misinformation.
    “That said, security remains an arms race and staying ahead of these adversaries will take continued improvement over time. We’re committed to the challenge.” the Facebook Director stated.
    Speaking further on efforts to prevent people from misusing Facebook during elections, the social media platform said it has also broadened its policies against voter suppression, action that is designed to deter or prevent people from voting.
    “We already prohibit offers to buy or sell votes as well as misrepresentations about the dates, locations, times and qualifications for casting a ballot. We have been removing this type of content since 2016.
    “Last month, we extended this policy further and are expressly banning misrepresentations about how to vote, such as claims that you can vote using an online app, and statements about whether a vote will be counted (e.g. “If you voted in the primary, your vote in the general election won’t count.”).
    “We’ve also recently introduced a new reporting option on Facebook so that people can let us know if they see voting information that may be incorrect, and have set up dedicated reporting channels for state election authorities so that they can do the same,” said Jessica Leinwand, Facebook Public Policy Manager.
     

  • No blood is worth any politician’s ambition – UPU

    No blood is worth any politician’s ambition – UPU

    As the 2019 general election is fast approaching, the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) has warned no blood of any Urhobo sons and daughters is worth the ambition of any politician.
    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports President General of the Union, Olorogun Moses Taiga, gave the warning on Sunday while congratulating candidates who have conclusively secured their parties’ nomination to contest in the general elections.
    While maintaining that the UPU is the sociocultural umbrella body of all Urhobos worldwide, he reiterated commitment that the UPU will work with the political class, irrespective of party leanings, to move the Urhobo Nation forward.
    Olorogun Taiga also advised Urhobo sons and daughters vying for various political offices to put the interest of the Urhobo Nation first, and above personal interest.
    “I recognize the passion and the competitive nature associated with the nomination process, but I advise all the contestants across political parties to follow due process, avoid rancour and any act capable of dividing or weakening the position of the Urhobo Nation.
    “The precious blood of Urhobo sons and daughters should also not be shed to actualize any political ambition,” he stated.
    He further urged all contestants to go and sell their programmes to the people in other to get their support.
    However, he advised that such programmes should lead to the enhancement of the wellbeing of the people and improvement in the socioeconomic environment of the Urhobo Nation.
     

  • Breaking: Ezekwesili declares for president, emerges ACPN presidential candidate

    Obiageli Ezekwesili popularly known as Oby Ezekwesili has finally officially declared intention to contest post of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the 2019 general election under the Allied Congress Progressives Party (ACPN).
    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Oby made her intention known on Sunday stressing that her decision is based on self-conviction, and that there already “a multi-million-person national grassroots organisation across the 36 states of Nigeria”.
    “I am announcing not as an aspirant, but as a candidate running under the flag of the ACPN. Our party primaries held today, and I have humbly accepted the nomination.
    “To show that we mean business, especially as we have already started building a multi-million-person national grassroots organisation across the 36 states of Nigeria.
    “I have spent the past few weeks engaged across the country and internationally and I have fully persuaded myself, by myself, that the one thing I hate more than politics is politicians who believe they are untouchable by citizens because of power and money.
    “My friends who have fully assumed their role as #OfficeOfTheCitizen, what started as my being aggrieved with the despair and despondency across the country, and the failure of governance by the #APCPDP has now become an urgent national movement.
    “This is why, today, in response to the candidates of the #ACPPDP, I have officially declared my candidacy to run as a citizen, alongside you and other citizens, for President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2019.
    “Our message is HOPE. Our hashtag is #Hope2019. Let the old order politicians of the #APCPDP be thereby put on notice that us citizens did not come here to play. We are in it to win it, for 2019.,” she stated.