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US Has No Preferred Candidate For 2015 – Envoy
Managing Director, Resort Savings and Loans Plc, Mortgage Banks, Mr Abimbola Olayinka (right) chatting with the Deputy president, Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture and former Commissioner of Health Rivers State, Dr Emi Membere (left) during the council meeting of PHCCIMA in Port Harcourt recently. Photo: Egberi A. Sampson
The United States has said it was not supporting any candidate in the forthcoming polls, including the presidential election slated for February 2015.
It has also asked the various Nigerian security agencies to be neutral during the forthcoming 2015 general elections.
The US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, said these while he led a delegation of some members of the embassy staff, to the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja, over the weekend.
The advice by the US ambassador came on the heel of recent alarm by especially the APC of worsening partisan roles played by the various security agencies in the recently held governorship elections in Ekiti State on June 26 in Ekiti and August 9 in Osun.
The APC had repeatedly alleged that the various security agencies openly took side with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by intimidating leaders and supporters of APC in during the elections in the two states.
The ambassador, who said he was on a mission of advising political parties, politicians and Nigerians in general on the need to eschew violence in the February 2015 polls, said elections were key to democratic governance.
He said Nigerians must be conscious of their right to vote, while security agencies must ensure they were neutral during the forthcoming elections.
He said, “I have always told Nigerians to be careful about their right to vote because it is the most precious thing in the world.
“The other thing is the role that the security agencies have to play. They have a very huge responsibility in any country to maintain security and peaceful atmosphere during elections. That is their job and we support them in that. But they have to maintain absolute neutrality so that they are not seen as favouring either sides.”
He said of late he had been inundated with questions of who his country would be supporting in the forthcoming election.
Entwistle, who said he was previously US Ambassador to Democratic Republic of Congo in Kinshasha, said his response to the inquiries had always been that the support of the US was for the Nigerian people.
He said, “I have been frequently asked who the United States is supporting for the February 2015 elections and my answer has always been that the United States supports the Nigerian people in their quest for a credible, transparent election that they want and deserve.
“So, we are not here to support anybody or any candidate, but to support a credible process in which the Nigerian people can freely express their wishes. That is why we provide support to INEC and civil societies as we get ready for this election.
“Let me be clear and say that what I am saying t you now, I say to the PDP and all others who are involved in the democratic process in Nigeria.”
Earlier, APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, who welcomed the US delegation to the party’s secretariat, and thanked the US government for its support for the development of democracy in the country, said opposition parties were disadvantaged by the new trend of heavy militarisation of elections in the country.
During an interview with journalists after the meeting, Odigie-Oyegun said the fact that there was no violence on the Election Day did not necessarily mean a transparent election had been conducted.
He pointed out that “about 70,000 troupes were put in Osun with the obvious intent of intimidating voters.”
He said, “The truth is that we are often blamed for being bad losers, not just the APC, but Nigerians. But losers find it difficult to accept because there is no demonstrable level playing field.
“The kind of thing we are having is that weeks to elections, the might, militarisation and the rest of it and monetary inducement are deployed in such a way that it places the opposition clearly at a disadvantage.
“In a situation like that, quite frankly, it become very difficult to say that there was a free and fair election just because there was no violence on the day of the election itself.
“The so-called famous observers will tell you that nobody snatched a box or nobody got killed. The run off to elections are as important as the days of the election itself. We want you as a good friend of this nation to talk to those that you normally talk to nature that this nation.”
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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