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INEC Conducts Lagos Supplementary Poll Saturday
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos State on Thursday met with various security agencies in the state to ensure successful supplementary election in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Federal Constituency on Saturday.
INEC Spokesman, Femi Akinbiyi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after the meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) that the commission was ready to conclude the exercise.
NAN reports that the meeting, held at the INEC Office, Sabo-Yaba, had representatives of various security outfits including the Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in attendance.
Others at the meeting were representatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Department of State Security (DSS), the Nigerian Army, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).
Mr Akinbiyi said the security agents had given assurance that there would be safety of men and materials for the election.
He said: “The commission is fully prepared for Saturday April 27 supplementary election in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Federal Constituency.
“Today, we held an Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) meeting on the issue, and at the end of the meeting, they (security agencies) assured the people of the affected area that there is going to be adequate security of men and materials for the elections.
“As such, people in the constituency should come out en masse and vote for the candidate of their choice,” Mr Akinbiyi told NAN.
According to him, the supplementary election becomes imperative due to the margin of lead between the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and that of the All Progressives Congress in the February 23 election.
“As a result of the court order that directed the commission to release the result of the election conducted on February 23, the commission declared the result on April 17 and the election was declared inconclusive.
“This was because there were anomalies, over voting and non-compliance to the use of smart card readers in some polling units in the area.
“We have 71 polling units where the elections were cancelled for reason of over voting and violence,” he said.
These, he said, cut across eight registration areas (Wards), with the total registered voters in the affected areas being 43, 660.
According to him, the materials for the poll are in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and will be retrieved on Friday for onward movement to the constituency, then to the Registration Area Centres (RACs).
“We will retrain some of the ad hoc staff that will be engaged for the poll same Friday at the RACs. The smart card readers that will be used for the area have been reconfigured,” the Public Relations Officer said.
According to the commission, the affected areas are: Ward 02, Awodi Ora with three polling units; Ward 03, Wilmer with six polling units; Ward 04, Olodi with one polling unit and Ward 05, Tolu with 27 polling units.
Others are: Ward 07, Ojo Road with two polling units; Ward 09, Alaba-Oro with two polling units, Ward 10, Mosafejo with 18 polling units and Ward 11, Temidire 2 with 12 polling units.
The PDP candidate, Rita Orji polled 31, 982 votes, while Kolawole Taiwo of the APC scored 28, 758 votes in the result declared by the commission for the February 23 election.
The difference between PDP and APC is 3,224.
(NAN)
The Federal Government apologised on Friday for saying that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the first African President to ring the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System (NASDAQ) closing bell.
Tinubu’s spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, tendered an official apology on behalf of the presidency in a statement where he said the error was regretted.
President Tinubu rang the closing bell of NASDAQ on Wednesday alongside business leaders, including the Chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu.
“We inadvertently referred to President Bola Tinubu as the first African leader to ring the bell at NASDAQ on Wednesday in New York, based on the information provided by a third-party event organiser,” Ngelale said.
“We have since found out that this information was/is incorrect, as a former African leader has indeed had the privilege. This error is sincerely regretted.”
It has been revealed that a former African leader had previously rung the bell at NASDAQ, debunking the earlier claim of Tinubu’s bell-ringing, which was perceived to be a historic achievement.
They argued that in 2014, President Goodluck Jonathan rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange, while Femi Otedola’s daughter, DJ Cuppy, rang the NYSE bell in 2019.
Contrary to the claim, the former President of Tanzania, Kikwete, First Ladies and Health Ministers rang the closing bell of NASDAQ in 2011, as announced by NASDAQ in a notification to the public dated 2011 with the title, “President Kikwete of Tanzania, First Ladies and Health Ministers, and Global Health Leaders to Ring The NASDAQ Stock Market Closing Bell.’
Call it the eating of a humble pie, and you may not be wring as the embattled Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu, apologised to Governor Godwin Obaseki amid a face-off between them.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday in Benin City, Mr Shaibu appealed to Governor Obaseki to forgive his “mistakes” for them to continue to work together, Channels TV reported.
“I use this medium to appeal to Mr Governor, if there is anything that I don’t know that I have done, please forgive me so that we can develop our state together,” he said.
“We have just one year to go. We have been the envy of the entire country. So, Mr Governor, if there is anything you feel that I have done, please I am sorry. I need us to work together to finish well and strong,” the deputy governor added.
When asked if he had resumed at his new office, Mr Shaibu said, “We have resumed but there is still a lot of work to be done there.
“There is no problem about it. The governor has asked us to go there. Like I have always tried to prove, I am a loyal servant and nothing has changed.
“I took a personal vow to support my governor and you can see my Catholic people are here. When I took a vow with God, nothing can change it and I wish that the relationship that we had will come back in the next few days and weeks.”
Mr Shaibu also said he has been missing the governor since their rift began, and expressed hope that God will “touch the governor’s heart” to forgive him.
“I mean well. If there is any mistake I have made as a human, it is not out of wickedness because I know I’m not wicked. I have a very clean heart.”
The Federal Capital Territory FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has announced the revocation of 167 plots of land in some highbrow districts of the nation’s capital, Abuja.
Areas affected are Maitama, Gudu, Wuye which had the highest revocation, 41; Katampe, Katampe Extension, Wuse 2, Jabi, Utako, Idu Industrial zone, and Asokoro which had the second highest revocation, 39.
In a notice issued Thursday night in Abuja, the administration said the plots were revoked due to the refusal or failure of their allottees to develop them.
“The Federal Capital Territory Administration FCTA hereby informs the general public that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory has, in the exercise of the powers conferred on him under Section 28(5)(a) & (b) of the Land Use Act 1978, revoked the underlisted plots with names and titles as reflected in our records for continued contravention of the terms of development of the Right of Occupancy to wit non-development”, the administration said in the notice signed by the Permanent Secretary, Mr Olusade Adesola.
Some of the plots revoked in Maitama district A05 had names like Liyel Imoke, Musa Aboki Egu, Hassan Hadejia and Ishaya Baba.
In Jabi, some of the plots revoked had allottees such as Sam Nda-Isaiah, and Donubari Josephine Kogbara, while Katampe district had Peter Gregory Obi, BUA international among others.
In other areas, this revoked had names as Julius Berger Nigeria, Honeywell Construction, Uffot Joseph Ekaette, Shittu Mohammed, Udoma Udo Udoma, Kanu Agabi, Niki Niki Tobi, Ishaku Bello, and others.
Wike had on assumption of office vowed to restore the master plan of the territory and revoke plots that had not been developed or those whose ground rents have not been paid for years.
He had consequently given a two-week grace to allottees to pay their ground rents or risk revocation of their allocations.
Vanguard
