Politics
Govt House In Retrospect (3rd-10th February 2013)
Early last week, Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State returned from a meeting with President Godluck Jonathan in Abuja over the swelling HIV/AIDS spread in some states of the federation.
The meeting is expected to proffer measures on how to curb the scourge ravaging some states in the country of which Rivers State according to statistics is among the top list.
On Tuesday, Rt. Hon. Amaechi flagged-off an Immunisation Plus Programme in Degema Town, headquarters of Degema Local Government Area.
Governor Amaechi, while pledging the state government’s total support to the scheme directed the state Ministry of Health and Primary Health Agency to liase with local councils in order to cover the rural communities in their areas.
He also hinted that the state will push for the independence of the state Primary Health Development Agency. This, he believed, will help drive the health programmes of the administration.
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sampson Parker said though polio cases are rare in the state, efforts should be intensified to ensure that it is fully eradicated since the disease is “ubiquitous.”
On Wednesday, the State Executive Council meeting held and another meeting consisting of Local Government chairmen and top government officials also took place on Thursday.
The meetings it was learnt were organised ahead the visit of National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamana Tukur to the state on Friday.
On Friday Governor Amaechi on receiving the National Chairman of the PDP at the Airport took Alhaji Tukur on a tour of projects embarked upon by his administration.
The project tour lasted for two days with visit to Elele/Omerulu/Owerri Road, Rumuosi Power Transmission Station, the new Sports Village at the Greater Port Harcourt City.
Ambassador Nne Kurubo Model Secondary School at Eleme and the Songhai farm at Tai.
Later on Friday evening, Alhaji Tukur and his entourage were treated to a dinner well attended by party faithful in Government House.
At the dinner, member representing Ahoada-West in Federal House of Representatives, Honourable Asita posited that the PDP family in Rivers State is still intact and growing strong on daily basis.
Asita observed, Rivers State is the best state of the PDP we are all PDP in Rivers State.
Speaking later at the dinner, Governor Amaechi showered praises on the PDP chairman, promising him of the total support of the Governors in the party.
Rivers State Governor submitted that despite the internal wranglings, expressed optimism in the ability of the party coming out victorious considering the strength of the character of the chairman.
“I learn a lot from you,” Amaechi emphasised, “you are one man who have moved from the public sector to private sector.
Before attending the 29th Convocation of the University of Port Harcourt Saturday, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur took time to visit the Prof. Kelsey Harrison Hospital at Emenike Street and the Maxillo Dental Hospital at Garrison in Port Harcourt.
Alhaji Tukur spoke to newsmen after touring the first-class medical facility saying Governor Amaechi has laid foundation for the future Rivers State, considering the fact that all sectors have been touched.
“What I have seen today have given me confidence and have given me hope,” Tukur declared.
Governor Amaechi attended the 29th Convocation Ceremony of the University of Port Harcourt, where he laid foundation Stone for the Bamanga Tukur School of Business.
The Governor announced the endowment of four professional chairms to immortalise Retired Supreme Court Justice, Adolphus Karibi-Whyte in law, Prof. Tekena Tumuno in History, Prof. Tam David West in Virology and Prof. Tonti Nduka on Education.
He also promised to intervene in finding a lasting solution to the land crisis faced by the university.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted on the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise yesterday (Sunday) despite calls by some opposition political parties and civil society organisations for an extension over concerns that millions of citizens could be excluded from the 2027 general elections.
In a notice issued on its X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday, the commission reminded the public that the exercise would end on Sunday, July 26, with designated registration centres open from 9am to 3pm.
“Your future won’t wait. Neither should you. The Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ends Sunday, 26 July 2026,” the Commission stated.
INEC also reminded prospective voters that they could complete the registration process online through its dedicated CVR portal or visit designated INEC offices and registration centres nationwide for physical assistance.
The new Electoral Act stipulates that INEC is required to stop voter registration, updating and revision of the voters’ register 90 days before an election to allow for data clean-up, the printing of Permanent Voter Cards and other logistical preparations.
The law also requires the Commission to display the voters’ register for claims and objections within the stipulated period to enable eligible Nigerians to challenge omissions and errors and help ensure the credibility of the final register for the polls.
The INEC National Commissioner on Information and Voter Education, Mr Mohammed Haruna, told The Tide source that the Commission would not extend the deadline, stressing that the registration exercise had to close to allow the electoral body to begin cleaning the data already collected.
“By midnight on Sunday, voter registration ends. There won’t be any extension. There are so many things that we need to do at the back end. We have to draw a line; otherwise, we won’t be able to produce a clean copy of what has been posted,” he said.
Mr Haruna explained that the commission’s Information Technology team and the Voter Registration Department would begin processing the data immediately after the closure of the registration window.
He said INEC would deploy its Automated Biometric Identification System to detect and remove multiple registrations before the provisional voters’ register is displayed for public scrutiny.
“We have this automatic biometric system that will check whether somebody has registered more than once. They will publish the register for claims and objections. That is, if anybody thinks a name shouldn’t be on the register, or if he has some claims, for instance, that his name has been omitted or some of his details are incorrect,” he said.
According to him, the final number of newly registered voters would only be known after the biometric verification and the claims and objections process.
“So, it’s after all that has been done that we will have a final figure, which we will now add to the existing 93 million or so. That will then become the voters’ register. We are mandated to give every political party a copy ahead of the election,” Mr Haruna added.
Responding to concerns over the number of Nigerians who may be excluded from the 2027 electoral process by the closure, the national commissioner said INEC could only account for eligible citizens who presented themselves for registration.
He added that the commission had recorded registrations through its online platform, physical registration centres and INEC offices across the 774 local government areas.
According to a public announcement signed by Mr Ariyo Rufus, Head of Department, Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Inclusivity on behalf of Mr Oluwatoyin Babalola, the INEC Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), the said exercise is aimed at assessing its operational readiness and testing the efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the governorship poll.
INEC stated that the exercise would simulate Election Day accreditation procedures but clarified that no voting would take place during the exercise.
The commission explained that “the mock accreditation would be conducted in selected polling units spread across the three senatorial districts of Osun State, covering Osun Central, Osun East and Osun West.
“In Osun Central Senatorial District, the selected local government areas are Osogbo, Olorunda, Ifelodun and Boripe, with designated polling units identified for the exercise.
“For Osun East Senatorial District, the exercise will take place in selected polling units across Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Oriade and Obokun local government areas.”
INEC also listed Egbedore, Ede North, Ede South and Ejigbo local government areas as the selected councils for the mock accreditation exercise in Osun West Senatorial District.
The commission urged all registered voters whose polling units were selected to participate in the exercise, stressing that only holders of valid Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) would be accredited.
“This exercise is designed to test the functionality and efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) under conditions similar to Election Day. There shall be no voting during the exercise,” the Commission stated.
INEC reaffirmed its appreciation to residents of Osun State for their continued cooperation and support throughout the electoral process.
INEC also assured political parties, the media, civil society organisations and other stakeholders of the Commission’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive governorship election in Osun State.
Mr Dare made the remark while criticizing Alhaji Abubakar for hiring a United States of America lobbyist with $1.2 million, in preparation for the 2027 elections.
In a statement he personally signed, Mr Dare said the former vice president can’t take Nigeria down the path of self-destruction.
The statement read in part: “Worse still, for a man who presumes to offer leadership to Africa’s most populous nation, his recent resort to grievance offshoring, outsourcing political warfare to Washington and reportedly paying $1.2 million to an American lobbying firm to peddle petitions against a sitting Nigerian President, stands as an affront to Nigeria’s sovereignty and a vote of no confidence in its democratic institutions.
“It is also a stinging slight, an implicit condescension directed at generations of Nigerian journalists, policy analysts, academics, and public intellectuals who have spent decades analysing, critiquing, and carrying the burden of the nation’s democratic evolution.
“The Atiku Abubakar of today cuts a pitiable figure, a grotesque portrait of what a politician becomes when ambition overwhelms judgment and every political faculty becomes programmed for self-destruction.
“No, Atiku cannot take Nigeria down that path with him. He must travel it alone. But first, Nigerians deserve Atiku Abubakar’s report card. Charity, they say, begins at home, not in Washington.
“Nigerians deserve to know whether the Atiku Abubakar who has long presented himself as a democrat is, in reality, a politician of many colours. He has erected for himself a throne built simultaneously on sand and bayonets. It is time to explode the bayonets.”
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