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IGP INSISTS VOTERS SHOULD GO HOME AFTER CASTING BALLOT

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IGP INSISTS VOTERS SHOULD GO HOME AFTER CASTING BALLOT

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Suleiman Abba, has reiterated his earlier warning to intending voters not to remain at the polling centres after casting their ballot on Election Day.

The police chief again made his position known on Tuesday during the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, stakeholders’ meeting, when he ‘advised’ voters to go home after voting in order to avoid being arrested for loitering.

Later in the day while addressing a closed-door meeting with 90 commanders of some special units of the police force, Abba clarified his position saying “The police did not ban anyone from the polling units after casting their votes; we only advise people to cast their votes and leave the polling units.”

He further said he gave the advice as part of security measures to check violence in line with the Electoral Act, stating that those who desired to stay and monitor should remain 300 metres away from the centre in line with the Act.

The IGP first issued the “vote and go home” directive on March 19 and it was greeted immediately with criticism and condemnation as particularly by the opposition All Progressive Congress, APC, which said that the police boss did not have the power to issue such a directive.

Abba had given the warning while addressing accredited observers for the general elections in Abuja, stating that the possibility of committing electoral offence was very high if voters hung around the polling booths after voting, waiting for the results of the poll.

The APC had immediately asked Nigerians to ignore the directive, observing that neither the Constitution nor the Electoral Act mandated voters to leave the polling area without determining the results of their ballot.

The national publicity secretary of the party, Lai Mohammed, advised the electorate to pay attention instead to the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Attahiru Jega, who has clarified the issue by stating that the electoral law does not state anywhere that voters should not wait to ensure that their votes are counted.

The INEC chairman, during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise programme has said that voters can wait peacefully for ballot papers to be counted as long as they remain law abiding.

But the IGP insisted on Tuesday that voters should not wait after the voting exercise because there is high possibility of committing electoral offense if they stay back.

Abba’s advice for voters to go home after voting curiously came after the Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, PRO, Emmanuel Ojukwu, on Tuesday tried to clarify his boss’ earlier position, saying that “the IGP was taken out context”.

Ojukwu, who spoke on the African Independent Television, AIT, program, Kakaaki, conceded that no one could prevent voters from staying back to watch proceedings at the polling booths after casting their ballot, stated “go out and vote and if you want to go home go home and if you want to remain at the Polling Unit do that peacefully.”

In a related development, Abba has ordered a restriction on vehicular movements across the country during the two dates scheduled for the general election.

In a press statement issued by Ojukwu, the IGP announced that vehicles are restricted from movement from 8.00am to 5.00pm on Saturday 28th March and Saturday 11th April respectively.

According to the press statement, only ambulances, Fire Service trucks and others on essential duties are exempted from the restriction.

Expressing regrets for inconveniences caused by these measures, the IGP maintained that it was done in the interest of peace keeping and security.

The IGP further assured that adequate security logistics and manpower have been strategically deployed to achieve a most conducive electioneering atmosphere.

“Policemen for election duty have been properly trained, briefed and sensitized on their roles as stipulated in the Electoral Act. They are expected to be professional, non-partisan, civil but firm in their approach and relation to the public,” he stated.

 

 

ELUMELU FOUNDATION SELECTS 1,000 AFRICANS FOR $100 MILLION ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMME

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ELUMELU FOUNDATION SELECTS 1,000 AFRICANS FOR $100 MILLION ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMME

About 1,000 African entrepreneurs have been shortlisted to partake in the inaugural edition of The Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme, TEEP.

The Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme is a $100 million initiative of the Tony Elumelu Foundation aimed at discovering and supporting 10,000 African entrepreneurs over the next ten years thereby creating as much as one million new jobs and $10 billion in additional revenues in the process.

The contest saw over 20,000 African entrepreneurs from 52 countries across Africa applying for the programme and the top 1,000 applicants were selected for the 2015 class.

The founder, Tony Elumelu, who spoke on the desired impact of the programme, stated that the programme would help to “drive Africa’s economic and social transformation from within and to radically intensify job creation in Africa”.

He expressed confidence that the rigorous criteria and selection process had ensured that the successful 1,000 interns selected are Africa’s hope for the future, stating also that he was delighted to invest his resources in such.

“I will continue to invest my experience, time, influence, and resources to see them succeed.  I am embarking on this journey with these entrepreneurs hopeful and inspired,” he promised.

The winners, who represent 52 African countries and territories, come from diverse sectors ranging from agriculture and education to fashion and ICT.

The 1,000 selected entrepreneurs will continue through the programme cycle over the next nine months. This cycle include an intensive online training curriculum, mentoring, and participation in a two-day entrepreneurship boot-camp and the Elumelu Entrepreneurship Forum.

About 19,000 applicants who were screened out during the selection process will however be invited to join the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Network where they will be able to further hone their entrepreneurial knowledge and skills.

The director of entrepreneurship at the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Parminder Vir, stated that the quality of applicants received has testified to the brilliant ideas and incredible talent that exists in abundance across Africa.

He further stated that the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme will give structure and support to these African entrepreneurs to develop themselves and to grow their businesses, reasoning also that “through TEEP, the ripple effects of the long-term investments in a new generation of Africapitalists will be felt throughout the continent”.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation is an African-based, African-funded philanthropic organization, founded in 2010 by African business leader and philanthropist Tony Elumelu, with a commitment to drive African economic growth, through empowering African entrepreneurship.

 

 

 

 

2015 ELECTION: UN SETS UP WOMEN’S SITUATION ROOMS

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2015 ELECTION: UN SETS UP WOMEN’S SITUATION ROOMS

By Abiose Adelaja Adams, Lagos

Ahead of Saturday’s general elections, the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, KIND, in conjunction with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, WILPF, has set up ten women’s situation rooms across ten states to enable election observers as well as the general public report any forms of electoral violence especially as regards women participation in the electoral process.

The program manager for KIND, Olubunmi Shonde made this known to a group of women election monitors, the media and students, at a meeting tagged “Townhall Meeting on Election Observation” in Lagos on Tuesday.

“What we hope to achieve with the Women’s Situation Room is to monitor the election, at real time, with a gender eye. We also want to have an aggregate of data in this election concerning women, pre, during and post elections,” Shonde said.

According to her, the project, funded by the United Nations Women in partnership with Democratic Governance for Development programme, has trained 300 women observers, with 30 in each of the ten states.

Explaining the reach of the projecr, she said, “This is a pilot project. It is the first of its kind even in Africa. We have had CSO, Civil Society Organization, situation rooms in the past, but none of it has really focused on how it affects women; even all over West Africa. So this is the first time. What we have is just to start off.”

A participant at the meeting, Adeola Ogungbemi, the executive director of Volunteer Corp and one of the 30 observers in Lagos, remarked that a lot of women are often disenfranchised during elections.

“What is often observed is that women are disenfranchised during elections because they have to care for their children. For instance maybe she has a baby at home and is unable to stay in the queue for such a long time. She may miss out on some voting exercise,” she observed

The team leader for the observers monitoring the polls in Ikorodu and Epe local government areas of Lagos Titilayo Adekunle agreed with this position.

“If a woman has children, where will she plan to put them if she wants to vote. Will she take them to polling centres? These are the situations we want to report. And we are not doing it for just women alone, but we are looking at gender as it affects both male and female too.”

About 74 millionm people were registered voters in the 2011 election according to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, but the percentage of women that voted is not known.

“This is the kind of data we are trying to get in this election,” Shonde stated.

She added the international best practice is for there to be a separate queue for pregnant women, mothers of young children, nursing mothers and the elderly as they may not be able to stand for long in the sun on a queue to vote.

The INEC chairman has only said that there would be separate queues for persons with disabilities, including albinos, who might not be able to stay out in the sun for a long period of time.

However, on the Frequently Asked Questions section of INEC’s website, there is only a mention of separate queues – for cultural reasons.

Thus, the answer to the 143rd question, which is on whether there should be separate queues is “Yes. Where culture does not allow men and women to mix in a queue.”

The situation rooms are set up in Lagos, Benue, Anambra, Enugu, Rivers, Plateau, Kaduna, Gombe and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

Shonde also made known that hotlines to the public to report situations as well as a website will be officially opened on Wednesday in a ceremony in Abuja where all ten state observers will gather.

“As soon as violence is spotted in any state, the ‘why is it happening’, the ‘who is causing it’ and ‘how it affects women’ will be reported,” she said.

JONATHAN’S TRANSFORMATION HAS DEFORMED NIGERIA – OSHIOMOLE

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JONATHAN’S TRANSFORMATION HAS DEFORMED NIGERIA – OSHIOMOLE

By Jefferson Ibiwale, Benin

The Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has said that the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan has failed to make any meaningful impact on the nation and the people.

The governor, who addressed Benin residents on Monday after a road walk tagged “March for Buhari” which started from Oba Ovoranwen square, the city centre and culminated in a mass rally in the New Benin area of the state capital, berated the President for an alleged lack-lustre performance and went further to assert that rather than better the country, the Jonathan – led government’s transformation agenda had deformed the country instead.

According to Oshiomole, Nigerians will have the opportunity on Saturday to vote out the government which he said had abused their trust and failed them in the past 16 years.

“I have seen the huge gap between the promise and the reality. Nigeria today is 16 years into democracy. Governments have come and made promises, they have abused the trust of our people.

“On Saturday, Nigerians are being called upon, there will be a referendum- a referendum of every Nigerian from the age of 18 and above who is equipped with his PVC will have to make a decision that will define the future of our great nation and indeed the future of the black race,” he said.

The Edo State governor wondered what kind of transformation the PDP was presenting as its achievement, while also debating the issue of continuity versus change.

“For those that say they want continuity, what is it we want to continue with? Sixteen years into democracy, Africa’s most populous nation, most naturally endowed nation under one party for 16 years even the poor are using generator, the rich are using generator, even the villa is using generator. For 16 years, PDP failed to deliver on one of the most fundamental issues in the Nigerian economy, the issue of power supply.

“Without power supply, nothing will work; the local woman cannot grind her cassava except there is a generator to power the grinding machine, the local businessman who tries to start a small scale business needs a generator to run his business. Who wants us to continue in the dark? Are they saying we should continue living in darkness?” the governor asked.

He went further to question the rationale behind paying for power even when it is not supplied.

“NEPA does not give you light for months and yet they ask you – a democratic country, a free country to pay fixed charges even when they deliver fixed darkness. Who says we should continue with this condition?” he asked.

Oshiomole also lamented the prevalent corruption and mismanagement in the petroleum sector, stating that it had robbed rather than enrich the Nigerian people.

“Today, Nigeria is importing petroleum products. As we import these products, NNPC tells us that they are subsidizing your kerosene for N50. They ship about $30 million taxpayer’s money, they give it to themselves at $10 million and they pocket $20 million and share it among themselves. Today a litre of kerosene is sold for N150 yet NNPC says they are subsidizing it to be sold at N50.

“Where is the transformation? They have transformed refineries that were working when General Buhari was the Minister of Petroleum to refineries that are not working. This issue is about common sense. When the Warri refinery was working, many of our people were working there, earning good salaries, adding value. When General Buhari was head of State, all our refineries were working. He refused to take the IMF Loan. N1 was equivalent to $1 but today, $1 is N230,” Oshiomole said.

Stating also that the PDP- led government was to blame for the spate of crime and the wide-spread unemployment across the country, the governor claimed that there was no single reported case of kidnapping in Nigeria before PDP took over power in Nigeria.

He asserted that the APC was determined to change the state of affairs in the country through responsible leadership.

“We want to change the story. We want to change from darkness to light so that when you put on your light, it works. If Ghana can achieve 24 hours of uninterrupted power supply, why can’t we do it? We want to change from generator that is noisy, polluting the environment to power supply that is reliable.

“Fixed charges will be abolished in APC government. General Buhari will not allow any body to be made to pay when power is not delivered. No light, no pay,” he stated.

Addressing the issue of religion, corruption and justice, Oshiomole wondered why it was usually when issues of prosecution come up that the accused persons remember tribal or religious alliances.

“When people have done bad things and you ask them to account, they resort to ethnicity and religion. I ask you to find courage to interrogate all those miscreants who are preaching message of hate, who wants to pitch Christians against Muslims,’ he stated.

Oshiomole, who defended the Buhari’s reputation as an incorruptible leader, further stated that the APC presidential candidate was a person of integrity who only ensured that justice was served while he was Head of State.

“It is true he sent some people to jail but did he jail innocent people? He jailed corrupt people and he will jail corrupt people again. There is no running away from it. That is why they are afraid, that is the message,” the governor said.

Nigerian Soldiers Sack Boko Haram From Pulka, Arrest Disguised Terrorists

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Nigerian Soldiers Sack Boko Haram From Pulka, Arrest Disguised Terrorists

Nigerian troops continue to gain the upper hand in the campaign in the North east as soldiers on Monday recovered Pulka, a town in Borno State, from the control of insurgents after a fierce battle.

Pulka is said to have served as one of the insurgents’ major access routes to the Mandara mountains and was also a supply route linking Nigeria with Cameroon.

“Pulka used to serve as a supply conduit for the insurgents. They also used the route to pass to and fro Cameroon and Nigeria,” the director, Defence Information, Chris Olukolade, said in a statement.

Olukolade, a Brigadier-General, also confirmed that the troops commenced cordon and search operations in the area immediately after the success of the air and land operations.

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In a related development, a male terror suspect disguised as a hijab-clad lady was nabbed by vigilant troops as he embarked on a suicide mission targeting Kwaya Kusar Market in Borno State on Saturday.

.Male terrorist disguised as female in Hijab nabbed by Nigerian troops as he made for market in Kwaya Kusar in Borno last weekend (3)

Male terrorist disguised as female in Hijab nabbed by Nigerian troops as he made for market in Kwaya Kusar in Borno last weekend (1)

The suspect is currently in custody of the military and is said to be providing useful information on Boko Haram’s modus operandi.

 

 

 

 

NEW DRUG RESISTANT MALARIA DISCOVERED

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NEW DRUG RESISTANT MALARIA DISCOVERED

The on-going campaign to eradicate malaria completely may just have encountered another hurdle as scientists have announced the discovery of a new drug resistant strain of the disease.

According to researchers from Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit who describe this development as alarming, the strain which was detected at the Myanmar-India border poses an enormous challenge to global health as it has been discovered to have ability to shut-off the effects of Artemisin, a compound which has been largely effective in the treatment of malaria until now.

This emerging trait means that the largely effective power of Artemisin can be negated at will by the new strain of malaria.

The World Health Organisation, WHO, estimates that in 2010 there were 219 million cases of malaria resulting in 660,000 deaths. Others have estimated the number of cases at between 350 million and 550 million for falciparum malaria and deaths in 2010 at 1.24 million up from 1.0 million deaths in 1990.

The majority of cases (65%) occur in children under 15 years old. About 125 million pregnant women are at risk of infection each year; in Sub-Saharan Africa, maternal malaria is associated with up to 200,000 estimated infant deaths yearly.

According to WHO, deaths attributable to malaria in 2010 were reduced by over a third from a 2000 estimate of 985,000, largely due to the widespread use of insecticide-treated nets and Artemisin-based combination therapies.

In 2012, there were 207 million cases of malaria. That year, the disease is estimated to have killed between 473,000 and 789,000 people, many of them children in Africa.

Deaths from malaria have nearly been halved since year 2000 and the infection now kill about 584, 000 people each year.

The new drug resistant strain of malaria has been detected in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar. So far, it has however  not been undetected in Africa.

 

NIGERIA HAS 140 MILLION ACTIVE GSM SUBSCRIBERS – NCC

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NIGERIA HAS 140 MILLION ACTIVE GSM SUBSCRIBERS – NCC

Active subscribers to the nation’s telecommunication network has reached the 140 million mark, bringing teledensity to 100.59%, the executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Eugene Juwah, has disclosed.

Speaking in Enugu during the NCC Day at the on-going 26th Enugu International Trade Fair, Juwah however expressed regrets that most telecommunication consumers were ignorant of the opportunities made available by the commission, including the code of conduct regulations that provide how to engage the service providers to the subscriber’s advantage.

“…we need to inform you today that active subscription in the network has reached 140 million mark, and that Nigeria, as at January 2015, had achieved a teledensity of 100.59%.

“Teledensity is calculated by the International Tele-communications Union (ITU), to mean active line distribution of one telephone to a hundred of population.  This is very remarkable achievement given where we have come from since 2001 when we had a teledensity of some 2.4 per cent”, said Juwah.

According to the NCC boss, the country’s telecommunications network offers voice telephony and other services like internet banking, ATM services, online hotel reservations, flight booking and flight management.

Speaking on the challenges faced in the bid to provide reliable telecommunication services, Juwah highlighted issues such as poor power supply, multiple taxation and regulations and vandalisation/theft of telecommunication infrastructure as some of the problems that the regulatory agency still contends with.

 

TWO FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBERS KILLED IN ACCIDENTAL DETONATION OF BOMBS

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TWO FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBERS KILLED IN ACCIDENTAL DETONATION OF BOMBS

By Musdapha Ilo, Maiduguri

Two female suicide bombers killed Sunday when the improvised explosive devices, IEDs, which they had strapped on their bodies were accidentally and prematurely detonated in Auno village, Borno State.

The incident, which occurred on Sunday afternoon in Konduga Local Government Area, about 15 kilometers from Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, also injured seven other persons.

According to reports, the suicide bombers, who were believed to be on mission to Maiduguri Monday Market where they intended to detonate the bombs, were waiting at Auno for a commercial vehicle to convey them to their destination when the IEDs exploded and ripped their bodies apart.

Modu Bukar, a young man who witnessed the incident, said that the bombs exploded at about 2:00 pm on Sunday, scattering the bodies of the suicide bombers, while seven persons injured by the explosion were rushed to Maiduguri General Hospital for treatment.

“The suicide bombers were said to have brought from Damaturu by one suspected Boko Haram terrorist who dropped them in Jajana and told them to take a bus to the next town, on reaching Auno they thought it was Maiduguri and they started asking about Maiduguri Monday Market.

 

“We believe their master dropped them in Jakana because he knows that it will be very difficult for them to beat security checkpoint and get entrance into the town,” he said.

A taxi driver, Mohammdu Abor, who claimed he drove through Auno on Sunday afternoon, told journalists that he saw mangled bodies of the suicide bombers by the roadside.

According to Abor, the residents of the village, though curious about the incident, stood afar from the bodies as they were apprehensive that they may still have un-detonated explosives on them.

The spokesman of youth vigilante group in Borno State, Jibrin Gunda confirmed the incident and assured that there would have been no way for the suicide bombers to penetrate the security cordon around Maiduguri as his team had intensified their vigilance in stop and search procedures.

 

 

 

 

Borno PDP Advised To Unite For Success In Election

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Borno PDP Advised To Unite For Success In Election

By Mustapha Ilo, Maiduguri

Leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Borno State have advised members to eschew divisive tendencies and unite for the party’s success at the upcoming elections.

Recent media reports had indicated that the party appeared to be divided between two governorship aspirants, Mohammed Imam and Gambo Lawan, who had both received endorsements at separate times as the PDP’s candidate at the forthcoming election.

The chairman of the party in Borno Central Senatorial District, Umar Mustapha Kaleri, who addressed party supporters Monday in Maiduguri, admonished them to come together and work for the victory of the party at the forthcoming elections, adding that they must eschews division and work in obedience to the party constitution.

“We appeal to all our party men and women to respect the ruling of the Abuja High Court which affirmed the successful emergence of Gambo Lawan as PDP Borno state governorship candidate 2015.”

“We also call on the good people of the state to remain focused and support the PDP to bring about the much needed change in our dear state given the shackles of insurgency and bad governance that has resulted in multi-dimensional poverty in all segment of our lives,” the zonal chairman of the party said.

Kaleri further stated that the PDP in Borno State had grown to become an indivisible entity of committed, tested, trusted and experienced party men and women of common vision and transformational programmes, adding that that the PDP does not consist of camps such as old and new PDP exist as insinuated by other parties.

The zonal chairman insisted that as it stands Lawan and not Imam is the candidate of the party at the election, debunking a report making the rounds that the latter had approached the court for a stay of execution on the verdict which replaced him as the party candidate.

Kaleri implored all party members to stick by the decision of the Abuja High Court which upheld Lawan’s emergence as candidate until otherwise decided.

 

2015 Elections: Us President Barak Obama Writes Nigerians

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2015 Elections: Us President Barak Obama Writes Nigerians

International interest in the conduct of the coming general elections in Nigeria remains sustained as the United States President, Barack Obama, on Monday wrote a special letter to Nigerians, canvassing for credible and peaceful elections.

President Obama, who began the letter to the people of Nigeria with an informal “Hello”, recalled how Nigerians earned their independence from colonialists, how the nation emerged victorious after the struggle against military dictatorship and how the people have turned the country’s diversity into a source of strength.

“Nigeria is a great nation and you can be proud of the progress you’ve made.  Together, you won your independence, emerged from military rule, and strengthened democratic institutions.  You’ve strived to overcome division and to turn Nigeria’s diversity into a source of strength.  You’ve worked hard to improve the lives of your families and to build the largest economy in Africa,” he wrote.

The US president observed that Nigerian have a historic opportunity to help write the next chapter of Nigeria’s progress—by voting in the upcoming elections.

“For elections to be credible, they must be free, fair and peaceful.  All Nigerians must be able to cast their votes without intimidation or fear,” Obama stated, while calling on the people “to peacefully express your views and to reject the voices of those who call for violence.”

He also called on all political leaders and candidates in the polls to make it clear to their supporters that violence has no place in democratic elections and that they will not incite, support or engage in any kind of violence before, during, or after the votes are counted.

“Successful elections and democratic progress will help Nigeria meet the urgent challenges you face today.  Boko Haram—a brutal terrorist group that kills innocent men, women and children—must be stopped.

“Hundreds of kidnapped children deserve to be returned to their families.  Nigerians who have been forced to flee deserve to return to their homes.  Boko Haram wants to destroy Nigeria and all that you have worked to build.  By casting your ballot, you can help secure your nation’s progress,” the American President further stated.

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Reminding Nigerians that the work of peace keeping and nation-building is that of every citizen, President Obama said: “I’m told that there is a saying in your country: “to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done”. Today, I urge all Nigerians—from all religions, all ethnic groups, and all regions—to come together and keep Nigeria one”.

He assured Nigerians that the United States would remain a friend and partner in “this task of advancing the security, prosperity, and human rights of all Nigerians”.

 

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