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Gambian Leader Rejects Election Results After Admitting Defeat

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Gambian Leader Rejects Election Results After Admitting Defeat
Incumbent Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh
Incumbent Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh

Yahya Jammeh of Gambia has rejected the result of the presidential election held earlier this month, a week after conceding defeat.

The Gambian leader cited “abnormalities” in the vote and called for fresh elections.

Jammeh, who took power in a coup in 1994, was defeated by Adama Barrow, who won more than 43% of the vote.

Barrow accused the incumbent of damaging democracy by refusing to accept the result. His transition team said the president-elect was safe.

The results were revised by the country’s electoral commission on 5 December, when it emerged that the ballots for one area were added incorrectly, swelling Barrow’s vote.

The error, which also added votes to the other candidates, “has not changed the status quo” of the result, the commission said.

However, it narrowed Barrow’s margin of victory from 9% to 4%.

Jammeh said that he now rejected the results of the election “in totality”.

He said: “After a thorough investigation, I have decided to reject the outcome of the recent election,

“I lament serious and unacceptable abnormalities which have reportedly transpired during the electoral process,

“I recommend fresh and transparent elections which will be officiated by a God-fearing and independent electoral commission.”

The government in neighbouring Senegal condemned the move and called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Foreign Minister Mankeur Ndiaye, speaking on national television, urged President Jammeh to respect the election result.

The US has “strongly condemned” Jammeh’s rejection of the result.

“This action is a reprehensible and unacceptable breach of faith with the people of The Gambia and an egregious attempt to undermine a credible election process and remain in power illegitimately,” a spokesman of the state department said

A spokesperson of Barrow’s said the head of the army,  Ousman Badjie, a general, supported the president-elect, having pledged his allegiance after the initial result.

The BBC’s West Africa correspondent, Thomas Fessy, said people have been celebrating the end of Jammeh’s 22-year rule for the past week, but now The Gambia’s future looks uncertain again.

Barrow, a property developer, is due to take office in late January.

The Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, with a population of fewer than two million.

In his 22 years in power, Jammeh acquired a reputation as a ruthless leader.

Ahead of the election, Human Rights Watch accused him of using violence to silence critics. The group said two activists had died in custody and dozens of people had been jailed and denied medical or legal help.

House Of Reps Begins Retreat On Constitution Amendment

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House Of Reps Begins Retreat On Constitution Amendment

house-begins-retreat-on-constitution-amendment

The House of Representatives has commenced a two-day retreat on the review of the 1999 Constitution in Abeokuta, Ogun capital.

The retreat which was organised by the House Ad-Hoc Committee on Constitution Review, has as its theme: “The Imperatives of Constitution Review/Amendment in Nation Building.”

Speaker Yakubu Dogara while declaring the retreat open, called on the committee to be guided by national interest and not parochial, sectional or religious considerations in its assignment.

Represented by the Majority Leader of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker advised the committee to consult widely and come up with a constitution that would stand the test of time.

He pointed out that there were areas in the constitution amendment where the 7th National Assembly had secured consensus of the National Assembly as well as approval of the various state Houses of Assembly, asking the committee to take that into consideration.

Chairman of the committee and Deputy Speaker of the House, Yusuf Lasun, noted that the House had been working tirelessly to ensure that the 4th Alteration Bill was given speedy passage.

He added that the retreat would provide the committee an opportunity to consult with stakeholders on the issue.

“Constitution amendment process is a serious matter and oftentimes challenging,” Lasun said.

“Thus, the committee is involving the participation of various stakeholders to make their much-needed contributions.”

According to the deputy speaker, among the issues listed for constitutional review are; same sex marriage, resource control and local government creation. Others are state police, electoral laws and appointment of judges.

He noted that the 7th Assembly had gone an appreciable length in the constitution amendment, adding that the 8th Assembly would rely on the framework laid by the previous Assembly to address unresolved issues.

Lasun said, “Here in Nigeria, several attempts made to amend the constitution have often ended in futility.

“We have decided that the process should commence and fast-tracked to ensure a time passage of the Bill.”

Bola Ajibola, a former Judge of the International Court of Justice, as well as former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice advised the committee to treat their assignment as crucial to the future of the nation.

He called on the committee members to use the instrument of the constitutional amendment to address Nigeria’s ailing economy.

“We have never had it this bad before and we have never been in this situation before,” Ajibola said.

“The constitution needs to be adjusted, amended and corrected in other to fit in and address the drastic situation we have found ourselves.”

Over 5,000 Civil Servants To Have Own Houses

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Over 5,000 Civil Servants To Have Own Houses

over-5000-civil-servants-to-have-own-houses

Up to 5,635 federal civil servants will now have the opportunity to have their own houses as the Federal Government launched a N13 billion Federal Civil Servants Mortgage Refinancing Scheme on Friday in Abuja.

Speaking at the occasion, the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun said  that the federal government recognised the need for housing and has provided the sum of N40 billion in the  2016 Budget for the implementation of a comprehensive housing scheme.

She said, “This is to address the housing challenges facing the country, improve the living conditions and welfare of our work-force and people, as well as generate gainful employment for our teeming youths.’’

“It is only fair that those who serve the country can be afforded the opportunity of owning their own homes at retirement.

“We have to put in place the right incentives as part of our anti-corruption drive to plug leakages.’’

Adeosun disclosed that the scheme was a collaboration steered by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board, FGSHLB.

She added that the Federal Integrated Staff Housing Programme, FISH, and the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company Plc, NMRC, were also part of the collaboration.

The minister pointed out that the ministry had concluded arrangements to provide a complementary and sustainable housing market finance ecosystem to address the challenges of affordable housing.

Adeosun said that this would be done through Family Homes Fund, FHF Ltd., an innovative private sector-driven financing programme.

According to her, the initiative is expected to catalyse funds from the private sector, pension and insurance funds, multilateral agencies and impact investors.

The minister said the fund would be used to selectively intervene in the areas of developer financing and mortgage provision.

She said that the scheme was being implemented in partnership with state governments which would contribute land with the necessary approvals.

Adeosun called on willing investors to explore the investment opportunities and support the federal government’s initiatives towards providing affordable housing for Nigerians.

The Managing Director, NMRC, Charles Inyanete, said that it was imperative for the public and private sectors to come together to address the country’s housing problem.

He said that the company had taken the housing value chain approach to deal with the challenges.

“We are looking at housing right from where we need to get land titles and infrastructure to support the land.

“We are happy to see FHF stepping in to really help in providing the construction finance that is critical and in also providing the mortgages that will fit into our refinancing activities.

“Our mission is to bring down the barriers that prevent home ownership by really providing the liquidity required by making home ownership more affordable and accessible,’ he said.

30 Confirmed Dead In Adamawa Blasts

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30 Confirmed Dead In Adamawa Blasts

Diary blast

Military Authorities have confirmed that 30 people lost their lives in the bomb blast that rocked a local market in Madagali, Adamawa State, North East Nigeria.

Spokesman of the 28th Task Force Battalion of the Nigerian Army, Badere Akintoye, told newsmen that the two teen female suicide bombers sneaked into the busy market and detonated their explosives.

“For now 30 were confirmed dead and another 67 (were) injured and have been evacuated to Michika hospital,” he said.

Madagali is close to Borno, the state worst-affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.

It was one of several others captured by the terrorists at the height of the insurgency but has since been recaptured by troops of the Nigerian military.

Friday’s attack was not the first in Madagali as a busy motor park had been targeted by two female suicide bombers a year ago, precisely on December 28, 2015.

Local sources had earlier said two female suicide bombers detonated the bombs at the grains and second hand clothes section of the market, Fridaynoon, killing dozens of people.

Chairman of Madagali Local Government, Yusuf Muhammad, described the attack as a huge setback to the community as relative peace have returned to the area and residents have resumed normal commercial and social activities following successful military operations.

He called on government to deploy more soldiers to the surrounding areas where he said Boko Haram insurgents had set up camps.

Rivers Re-Run: Foreign Envoys Worry Over Rising Tension 

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Rivers Re-Run: Foreign Envoys Worry Over Rising Tension 

 

rivers-re-run-foreign-envoys-worry-over-rising-tension

Heads of foreign delegations to Nigeria have expressed concern over what they described as the rising tension in Rivers State ahead of re-run legislative elections scheduled to hold in the State on Saturday December 10.

This was contained in a joint statement issued on Friday and made available to journalists across the country.

The Statement was signed by the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright; the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, the French Ambassador to Nigeria,  Denys Guaer and the EU Head of Delegation to Nigeria, Michel Arrion.

The foreign envoys called on the leadership of all the political parties in Rivers State and their supporters “to allow the elections to go ahead peacefully.”

“We urge all parties to respect the electoral process and raise any grievances peacefully and through official channels,” the statement read.

“We encourage INEC and the security forces to perform their duties responsibly and impartially.”

The statement stressed “that the leaders of all parties are accountable for the actions of their members and we encourage them to urge their supporters not to use or incite violence.”

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday also called on all parties participating in Saturday’s election to shun violence as the exercise was not a do-or-die affair.

Legislative elections in Rivers State have been postponed on two occasions due to violence and insecurity.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had said it would not organize the re-run elections unless participating political parties signed an undertaken to guarantee the safety of electoral officials and equipment.

The electoral umpire was however forced to make a U-turn after members of the Senate mandated it to organize the elections or they would suspend sitting indefinitely.

One National Youth Service Corps member who was acting as an INEC ad-hoc staff was killed in the violence that characterized legislative elections in Rivers State in 2015.

Supreme Court Orders Ekiti Govt To Pay Ousted LG Officials

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Supreme Court Orders Ekiti Govt To Pay Ousted LG Officials
Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose
Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Ekiti State Government to pay all the entitlements, allowances and emoluments of the Local Government officials who were illegally removed in 2010.

The apex court in a unanimous decision upheld the judgement of the Court of Appeal delivered in January 2013 on the matter, and directed the Ekiti government to comply with immediate effect.

Spokesman for the former council chairmen, Adeleke Ogunbiyi, told journalists shortly after the verdict was delivered that the ruling was another proof that the courts remain the last hope of the common man.

“The judiciary has been the stabilizer of our democracy as it has consistently proved as the last hope of the common man,” he said.

“We are grateful to the Supreme Court judges for their industry and erudition in arriving at today’s verdict.”

Ogunbiyi who served as chairman of Ikere Local Government Area noted that though it took them six years to get justice, having been removed from office on October 29, 2010, the wait was worth it.

“We are happy that at last, justice has been done and we are all savouring it together.

“We still had 15 months to complete our tenure before our councils were dissolved and as law abiding citizens, we headed for the courts.”

According to him, the LG bosses were elected in the December 20, 2008 local government election in Ekiti state, during the administration of former Governor Segun Oni, but they were removed by former Governor Kayode Fayemi on the grounds that the State Independent Electoral Commission, SIEC, which conducted the poll was not properly constituted.

Ogunbiyi urged the current Governor, Ayo Fayose, to pay them their outstanding salaries and allowances in line with the judgment of the Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the land.

“We want to appeal to Governor Ayo Fayose to obey the judgment without any delay, the judgment is clear and it is to the effect that we should be paid what is due to us for the remaining 15 months in our tenure,” the former council chairman said.

“We believe that government is a continuum, it has nothing to do with the party or personalities involved.”

TheCable Editor Wins African Media Initiative Award

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TheCable Editor Wins African Media Initiative Award
Fisayo Soyombo
Fisayo Soyombo

Fisayo Soyombo, editor of TheCable, has been announced as one of the winners of the Zimeo Excellence in Journalism Awards organised by the African Media Initiative, in Nairobi, Kenya.

Soyombo won the Maritime Economy category, for his story: UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION: Nigeria’s ‘Customs of corruption, bribery and forgery’ which waspublished in December 2015.

Three other Nigerian journalists were also on the 15-man list of winners which was drawn from more than 700 entries from journalists across Africa.

They are Adedayo Oketola of Punch Newspaper, Hannah Ojo of TheNation Newspaper and Eromo Egbejule of Ventures Africa.

Soyombo has won several other awards in 2016 including, the Newcomer of the Year — Hans Verploeg Award at the 2016 Free Press awards, which held in The Hague, Netherlands and Journalist of the Year (Business and Economy Reporting) in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Awards.

On Sunday, December 4, he was named second runner-up in the Diamond Awards in the Investigative Journalist of the Year category for the 25th Diamond Awards for Media Excellence, DAME.

Soyombo, is a 2013 recipient of the Deutsche Welle/Orange Magazine Global Fellowship for Young Journalists, contributes opinions to Doha, Qatar-headquartered Al Jazeera and Germany-based TAZ.

A finalist for the 2015 Thomson Foundation Young Journalist from the Developing World FPA Award, his works have been translated into French, German and Arabic.

Ten Feared Dead In Adamawa Bomb Explosions

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Ten Feared Dead In Adamawa Bomb Explosions

suicide bomber

Unconfirmed reports have it that several people were killed on Friday when two bomb explosions occurred at a market in Madagali town, Adamawa State, North East Nigeria.

But eye witnesses say not less than ten dead bodies were seen after the explosions.

The Borno State Police Command speaking through its spokesman, Othman Abubakar, confirmed the incident but added that there was no official figure yet on the number of casualties.

Similarly, the coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, in charge of Adamawa and Taraba States, Sa’ad Bello, confirmed the twin bomb attack.

Bello, also said that the number of casualty was yet to be ascertained.

Speaking to newsmen, Chairman of Madagali Local Government, Yusuf Mohammed, said the incident which occurred around noon was at the animal and grains sections of the market.

“Certainly there is casualty but I can’t really give you a figure for now,” Mohammed said.

An eye witness, Ahmadu Gulak, said that the two explosions struck simultaneously at opposite ends of the market selling grains and vegetables.

He added that he counted at least 10 bodies and many wounded people being ferried to a nearby hospital by ambulance.

Another resident of Madagali, who only gave his name as Hamma, told journalists that many people were affected as the blasts took place at the busy areas of the market.

“You know today is our market day. I just pray God to minimises the casualty,” He said.

Rivers Re-Run Not Do-Or-Die – Buhari

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Rivers Re-Run Not Do-Or-Die – Buhari

buhari-charges-inec-to-conduct-hitch-free-elections-in-ondo-rivers

President Muhammadu Buhari has urged political stakeholders in Rivers State to ensure that Saturday’s legislative re-run election in the state is peaceful and orderly, adding that the election should not be treated as a do-or-die affair.

Buhari called on political parties and their candidates as well as the people of the state to create an atmosphere that is devoid of rigging, violence and intimidation of opponents and electoral officials.

“The rerun elections should not be seen as a do-or-die affair to the extent that people will be killed, maimed and property destroyed in a mindless display of crude primitive instincts,” the president said.

“Innocent blood should never be sacrificed on the altar of political contest for temporary power.”

President Buhari charged the security and law enforcement agencies to be professional and non-partisan in the discharge of their duties even in the face of extreme provocations.

He also directed them to ensure that trouble-makers are fished out and decisively dealt with.

Buhari called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct the re-run election with all fairness and transparency, to reflect the will of the people of Rivers State.

The president restated his administration’s commitment to deepen democracy in the country through a culture of free, fair and credible elections.

Supreme Court Affirms Election Of Governor Ayade Of Cross River

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Supreme Court Affirms Election Of Governor Ayade Of Cross River
Governor of Cross Rivers State, Ben Ayade
Governor of Cross Rivers State, Ben Ayade

The Supreme Court has reaffirmed the election of Ben Ayade as the Governor of Cross River State.

A gubernatorial aspirant, Joe Agi, who contested the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, governorship primary election in the state in 2015, had asked the court to sack Ayade over false declaration of age but the apex court held on Friday that Agi could not prove the allegation against the governor.

After losing the primary election, Agi filed a case against Ayade at the Federal High Court, claiming among other prayers that Ayade was parading conflicting age declarations, maintaining that by the constitution of the party the respondent was not qualified to be governorship candidate.

Agi asked the court to declare him candidate of the party having come second in the primaries.

However, On July 31, 2015, Justice Abdul Kafarati of Federal High Court dismissed the case on grounds that the matter was not proved beyond reasonable doubt.

On appeal, the judgment of the high court was later upheld by the Court of Appeal in a three-man panel of Judges led by Justice Tinuade Akomolefe.

Agi who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, took the matter to the Supreme Court but lost again.

In a unanimous judgement , a five-member panel of justices dismissed the application for lacking in merit.

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