INEC laments insecurity ahead of Kogi, Imo, Bayelsa polls.

INEC laments insecurity ahead of Kogi, Imo, Bayelsa polls.

The Independent National Electoral Commission has expressed concern over the rising insecurity ahead of the November 11 governorship elections in Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi states.

The commission, in a statement by its National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, also lamented that despite notices and subsequent reminders, political parties had yet to substantially submit the list of their agents.

The INEC commissioner, while appealing to political parties and their candidates to avoid actions and utterances capable of heating up the polity, said, “The commission is concerned about the spate of insecurity and violence, including clashes among supporters of political parties and candidates in the forthcoming elections.

“In our engagement with political parties, the commission has constantly called on parties to rein in their supporters from actions capable of jeopardising the peaceful conduct of elections in Nigeria.

“INEC earnestly appeals to all political parties and candidates to avoid utterances and acts that may heat up the polity. The commission will continue to closely monitor the situation and sustain its engagement with security agencies and stakeholders to ensure peaceful conduct of elections in the three states.”

 

On the submission of the list of party agents, Olumekun said, “The commission notified all political parties of the opening of its online portal for the upload of the list of polling units and collation centre agents, which commenced on Thursday, August 24, 2023. The commission thereafter engaged party representatives on the methodology for a seamless process.

“However, despite this notice and subsequent reminders, political parties are yet to substantially comply by submitting the list of their agents. For Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi States, only 55 per cent of the expected total of 189,180 polling unit agents have been uploaded to the designated INEC Portal. Specifically, 29,278 out of the expected 40,372 (72.5 per cent) for Bayelsa State, 51,681 out of 85,644 (60.3 per cent) for Imo State, and 23,720 out of 63,144 (37.6 per cent) for Kogi State have been uploaded.

“Similarly, only 25.1 per cent of the expected 15,804 collation agents in the three states have been uploaded: 1,246 (26.0 per cent) out of 4,806 for Bayelsa, 1,638 (27.3 per cent) out of 5,994 for Imo, and 1,095 (21.9 per cent) out of 5,004 for Kogi State.

“The commission hereby wishes to further remind political parties that the portal will automatically shut down at 12 midnight on Tuesday, October 10, 2023. There shall be no extension. Consequently, all parties sponsoring candidates for the elections that have yet to upload the list of their agents should do so before the deadline for the exercise.

Credit: The Punch Newspaper.

1,000 killed as Israeli-Hamas conflict rages, US deploys munitions.

1,000 killed as Israeli-Hamas conflict rages, US deploys munitions.

Israel, reeling from the deadliest attack on its territory in half a century, formally declared war on Hamas on Sunday as the conflict’s death toll surged to 1,000 after the Palestinian militant group launched a massive surprise assault from Gaza.

AFP reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu steeled the shocked and grieving nation for a “long and difficult” war ahead after Hamas launched a barrage of rockets at Israel before dawn on Saturday and sent in fighters who gunned down civilians and took at least 100 hostages.

Several Germans, who are also Israeli nationals, were among those kidnapped by militants of the Palestinian Hamas group during its raids into Israel, German ministerial sources said on Sunday.

The sources did not specify the numbers involved.

“As far as we know, they are all Israeli nationals as well as Germans,” they told AFP.

United States President Joe Biden has, however, ordered “additional support” for Israel after the attack, the White House said Sunday, without giving details.

“The President directed additional support for Israel in the face of this unprecedented terrorist assault by Hamas,” the White House said in a statement.

The bloody escalation heightened Middle East tensions and killed more than 600 people on the Israeli side, the country’s worst losses since the 1973 Arab-Israeli war when it came under attack from a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria.

In Gaza, which was hammered by Israeli air strikes on 800 targets ahead of what many feared may be a looming ground invasion, officials reported at least 370 deaths, with thousands more wounded across the war zone.

Tens of thousands of Israeli forces were deployed to battle holdout Hamas fighters in the South, where the bodies of civilians had been found strewn on roads and in town centres.

“The enemy is still on the ground,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari told journalists as a second night fell after the attack, adding Israel was reinforcing its military strength near the Gaza Strip.

Gun battles raged as the Israeli army sought to secure desert regions near the coastal enclave, rescue Israeli hostages and evacuate all areas near Gaza.

“We’ll reach each and every community until we kill every terrorist in Israel,” vowed Hagari, a day after hundreds of Hamas fighters launched their shock offensive and surged into Israel using vehicles, boats and even motorised paragliders.

There was widespread shock and dismay in Israel after about 100 citizens were captured by Hamas and abducted into Gaza, with images circulating on social media of bloodied hostages, and distraught relatives pleading for the state to rescue them.

Privatise moribund refineries, Senate tells FG.

Privatise moribund refineries, Senate tells FG.

The Senate has called for the privitisation of moribund oil refineries owned by the Federal Government.

The call was made by the Senate through its Committee on Finance chaired by Senator Sani Musa ( APC Niger East).

Musa made the call in Abuja on Saturday while fielding questions from journalists on the way forward for Nigeria, 63 years after independence.

According to him, the refineries have more or less turned into bottomless pits for the government as far as turnaround maintenance is concerned.

“For me, my candid advice to the Federal Government on the nation’s apparently moribund oil refineries is for them to be privatised .

“Proceeds from such privatisation should be sunk into the mining sector for jobs creation for the teeming Nigerian youth who are roaming the streets on a daily basis.

“The youth constitute 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population and must be made to be productive, which is doable if the mining and agricultural sectors are repositioned for that.

“ The Not-Too-Young-To-Run opportunity given to the youth in the political terrain should be practically extended to the realm of innovation by providing them with a conducive environment and enablement to innovate as it is, in most developed countries,” Musa said

Sunday Igboho regains freedom in Benin after two years.

Sunday Igboho regains freedom in Benin after two years.

Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, better known as Sunday Igboho, has regained his freedom from the Beninese authorities.

The embattled agitator said on Sunday he was now legally free to leave Cotonou, capital of the Benin Republic, to Nigeria and other countries.

“I am now free to return to Nigeria and visit any country in the world. I have fulfilled all the legal conditions attached to my bail a few years back and I am coming home to Nigeria, my country of origin, any moment from now.

“I can confirm to you that I am now free to come back to Nigeria. There is no legal encumbrance again. Even though I have been living in Cotonou for some time, I can confirm to you categorically that I have now secured the liberty to leave Cotonou for Nigeria,” Adeyemo told the Nigerian Tribune on Sunday.

He regained freedom after two years of trial by the Beninese government.

It was reported that Adeyemo stirred the hornet’s nest when he declared the Yoruba Nation’s sovereignty in March 2021.

He started a campaign to chase killer herdsmen and kidnappers out of the South-West states and went on to call on Yoruba in Hausa/Fulani or Igbo territories to return home.

He, however, fled Nigeria in July 2021 following a nocturnal invasion of his Ibadan residence by the operatives of the Department of State Services.

The attack led to at least one death, while some of his belongings were vandalised.

The DSS claimed that seven AK-47 rifles, pump-action guns, and 5,000 rounds of ammunition, charms and other weapons were recovered from his apartment during the invasion.

The judgment was later set aside by the Court of Appeal in August 2022.

He was later arrested at the Cardinal Bernardin International Airport in Cotonou, Benin Republic while attempting to flee to Germany.

Attempts by the former President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to repatriate him to Nigeria were unsuccessful.

Credit: Punch Newspaper 

President Tinubu Pledges 500,000 Jobs As Ajaokuta Steel Nears Completion.

President Tinubu Pledges 500,000 Jobs As Ajaokuta Steel Nears Completion.

....Flags off Kogi APC governorship campaign.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared on Sunday that with the hitherto abandoned Ajaokuta Steel Complex now nearing completion, the project will have the capacity to employ 500,000 Nigerians once designated as a free trade zone. 

The President further promised to fully harness the potentials of the Complex once it is completed, as it would boost Nigeria's foreign direct investment and provide avenue for the creation of the much-needed conducive business environment for all sectors to thrive. 

Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented the President, made this known at the flag-off of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship campaign in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital. 

The governorship poll in the state is slated for November 11. 

Addressing a mammoth crowd in Lokoja, VP Shettima also noted that Tinubu remained committed to completing the constructions of the River Niger, the Kabba-Lokoja and the Abuja-Lokoja roads. 

President Tinubu, VP  Shettima stated, is a man of plenty ideas who is determined to reposition the nation in its rightful place, especially as it borders on restructuring and stimulating the Nigerian economy. 

"Given Mr President's commitment to the development of Kogi State and indeed the entirety of Nigeria, Kogi in particular being a confluence state, cannot afford to have a governor who is hostile to the center. We must be partners in progress and work hand in hand to develop this great nation," the Vice President said. 

He further hinted about plans by the Tinubu administration to make the Itakpe crop processing project a dream come true, just as he promised jobs and affordable education under the present government. 

Reemphasising that the welfare of the citizenry would never be willfully compromised, VP Shettima called on Kogi citizens to come out en masse on November 11 to vote for the candidate of the APC, Ahmed Usman Ododo, in order to consolidate on the achievements of the APC government in the state. 

He added that the natural endowments of Kogi State would be harnessed for the development of the state and the nation at large, adding that President Tinubu had further given his nod for the rehabilitation of Obajana-Okene road in Kogi State. 

Speaking earlier, Kogi State Governor, Alh. Yahaya Bello, thanked President Tinubu for accepting to flag off the governorship campaign in his state, disclosing that his administration has achieved a lot, and it is time for consolidation in order to move the state forward. 

"We have done a lot in the area of security, education and health, among others. We want to consolidate on that. I am, therefore, calling on the people of our dear state to vote for our candidate in order to move Kogi State forward," he said. 

For his part, APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, said because Governor Yahaya Bello has provided good governance to the people of Kogi, the state cannot afford to be left behind by giving power to another party different from the one at the center. 

Also, the Chairman of the APC Campaign Council for Kogi State, Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, enjoined the people of Kogi State to clean up their voter cards and turn out in numbers to vote for the candidate of the APC in the November 11 governorship election. 

On his part, Kogi State APC governorship candidate, Ahmed Ododo, pledged to carry the people of the state along if elected, saying he remained committed to the development agenda of Kogi State. 

"We will build on the legacies of my mentor, Governor Yahaya Bello. We will give attention to security, education, agriculture and health. Our women will also be empowered," he said. 

Other dignitaries at the campaign rally were the Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq; Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Abubakar Audu, and members of the National Working Committee of the APC, among others. 

The Vice President's engagements in Kogi had started with an audience with traditional rulers and other stakeholders of the state ahead of the November 11 governorship election. 

At the audience with the stakeholders, VP Shettima also solicited support for the APC candidate in the forthcoming election. 

Responding on behalf of his colleagues, the President, Kogi State Traditional Council and the Attah of Igala, HRH Mathew Ipaluwa, pledged their support for President Bola Tinubu. 

The royal father commended the state governor, Yahaya Bello, for working hard in addressing security challenges in the state. 

IPOTI Diamond Sisters Empower 20 Widows In Ipoti-Ekiti.

IPOTI Diamond Sisters Empower 20 Widows In Ipoti-Ekiti.

The diamond sister yesterday at their annual empowerment put smiles at the faces of 20 widows selected across churches in Ipoti Ekiti.

The empowerment which they started last year was conducted in a low key yesterday at Otunba Kunle Ajayi House one of the patron to the club. The special guest of the occasion Hon. Sunday Olayinka Awoyomi in his address which was delivered by his personal assistance as usual appreciate club members on their good move in assisting their fellow men especially the widows. 

The club was represented by members of the executive.

President - Mrs Remi Akinola

Vice president - Deaconess Kehinde Afolayan

Secretary - Chief Mrs Victoria Daramola

Treasurer - Olori Olajumoke Asekunowo

P.R.0 - Mrs Awe Omolara Grace

Ex-officio - Mrs ldowu Arigbede.

The men of God Alhaji Odeyemi, Alhaji Leteef Yusuf, Elder Olajide, Deacon J.0. Dada in their prayers appreciate God for the grace of better life for others.

Afe Babalola Doles Out N11M To Ekiti Farmers.

Afe Babalola Doles Out N11M To Ekiti Farmers.

Elder statesman and founder of Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) has presented a sum of N11.5 million as empowerment to farmers across the 16 Local Government Areas of the State.

Babalola doled out the cash award to the outstanding farmers at the weekend during the grand finale of the 2023 edition of Afe Babalola Agricultural Exhibition ( AB-EX) and empowerment of youths in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital.

At the event, about 80 farmers from the 16 LGAs received a sum of N9.2 million; the overall best farmer got N2 million and other cash awards for the local council areas; while 32 youths received empowerment tools for self-reliance.

Babalola who congratulated the farmers for success of this year’s edition explained that his efforts in empowering farmers in the last nine years in the state were borne out of his genuine concern to boost food sufficiency in the society and contribute to the economic growth of the country.

He revealed that the decision of the Forum for International Green Sustainability (FIGS) which is a body that promotes food security across the world to decorate him as grand patron and the distinguished African Man of the Year in food security 2014, necessitated his resolve to fund the yearly farmers exhibition.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said that investment in agriculture remains the only way for the country to survive its current challenges, adding that when farmers are producing in commercial quantities it would reduce the over-dependence on foreign foods and unemployment rate.