Politics
Party Harps On Voter Education
The Progressive Action Congress (PAC) on Thursday called on
politicians and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to give
priority attention to voter education for the betterment of the nation’s
electoral process.
The National Chairman, Chief Charles Nwodo, who made the
call in an interview with The Tide’s source in Abuja, said voter education was
a critical area that must be given a priority in the process of electoral reform.
He regretted that it was the negligence of the importance of
voter education that had been responsible for violence and bulk voided votes
during elections.
“ It is unfortunate that Nigeria operates fire brigade
approach in some of our undertakings, especially as regards to voter education.
“ Instead of encouraging the electorate with voter education
within the four years of interregnum, we waited until elections are about to
start,” he said.
He said it was not the responsibilities of INEC alone, but
collaborative efforts among the stakeholders, like the political parties, civil
societies, NOA, churches and mosques and even the traditional institutions.
Nwodo said the government should accommodate in its plans
the stakeholders in the budgetary allocation to voter education for vast
campaign down to the grass roots.
According to him, the campaign should be holistic ranging
from logo identification to the right fingers to be used during elections.
“ The process of complaints where one’s name is omitted, the
dangers of violence and rigging, how to protect their votes and how to make
votes count generally will be avoided.
“ All information related to the elections should be made
known in advance for the betterment of the exercise.
“ People who have relocated from their original homes are
expected to know where to vote in subsequent elections,” he added.
The chairman said it must also be followed with honesty,
transparency and accountability in all resources to be used for the elections.
He added that the electoral officers were also expected to
be conversant with the functions of each form used during elections in order to
avoid confusion and anarchy.
He urged the Federal Government to put every measure in
place in order to ensure smooth running of the entire exercise and to also
serve as basis to punish electoral offenders.
He also tasked the National Assembly in the interest of the
nation to create Electoral Offences Commission (EOC) with defined
responsibilities in order to check mate electoral fraud.
“ It is high time we practiced rule of law to avoid the
jamboree experienced in the previous elections where people keep registration
machines in their homes and nothing comes out of it at the end of the day.
“ When people are fully educated, it will go a long way in
curtailing violence and bring about credible elections, ‘’ he said.
He said voter education should be taken as part of civic
education in primary and secondary schools with the intentions of, “ catching
them young and avoiding the repeat of the past.”
Politics
Alia Denies Calling For Ganduje’s Resignation
Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has denied calling for the resignation of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje.
This was contained in a press statement issued on Wednesday in Makurdi by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr Tersoo Kula.
The Tide source reports that the CPS was reacting to some media reports that the governor had called for the resignation of the APC national chairman.
Kula said the governor at no time called for the resignation of the APC national chairman.
He said the governor enjoyed a good relationship with the Ganduje-led leadership of the APC.
“It is imperative to clarify that at no point did Governor Alia assembled, attended and sent a representative or participated in any meeting to discuss the removal or call for resignation of Alhaji. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
“The Benue State governor remains firm in his support and allegiance to the leadership of the National Working Committee of the APC, under the leadership of Alhaji Ganduje.
“Furthermore, at no point, whether publicly or privately, has the governor advocated or expressed any desire for the resignation of the national party chairman”, he said.
He said the governor was focused on positively changing the fortunes of the state.
“He is alive to his responsibilities as the leader of APC in Benue State and is doing everything legitimate to reposition the party for future victories,” Kula said.
Politics
LP Re-Elects Abure As National Chairman
The embattled national chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Julius Abure, has been re-elected for a second term by a unanimous affirmation of delegates despite the protests by the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
The Chairman of the National Convention and Deputy Governor of Abia State, Mr. Ikechukwu Emetu declared him the winner during the party’s national convention that held in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Wednesday.
Other serving officers of the party were also returned unopposed.
Recall that the NLC had called for Abure’s resignation as party chairman and the immediate constitution of a caretaker transition committee to organize an all-inclusive national convention for the party.
Meanwhile, a factional chairman of the Labour Party in Anambra State, Mr Peter Okoye has boasted that the Nnewi national convention will not stand.
Describing the convention as a sham, Okoye said: “This is not a convention. We are on top of the matter. It’s purely illegal.
“There was no ward congress, no local government congress, no state congress, and now who and who are the elected delegates that are electing the National Working Committee, NWC, members?
“The NLC was not there, TUC was not there, the owners of the party and members of the NEC and BOT members were not there too. So, who is holding the convention?”
Politics
Suswam Blames External Forces For Problems In PDP
Former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is being undermined by external forces which have rendered the party ineffective as a viable opposition.
Senator Suswam stated this during a live television interview on Wednesday.
He lamented that the party had since after the 2023 general elections failed to live up to expectations of Nigerians as a viable opposition.
Senator Suswam, who blamed the current PDP leadership for the ineffective state of the largest opposition party in the country, said unless there is an overhaul of its leadership, the party would “go nowhere” because the current leadership has lost focus.
He said, “I think there are subterranean forces inferring in the party and they are determining what is going on in the party. And the leadership is acquiescing to it.
“Subterranean suggests that people are trying to control the party from the outside. They are controlling the party from the outside and they are keeping the party in a comatose state.”
The Benue senator accused the party of refusing to call a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting to help resolve some of the issues arising in the party.
He regretted the inability of the party to resolve the fallout of the 2022 presidential primary election which saw a group of five governors work against the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election.
He added that the inability of the Iliya Damagum-led leadership to discipline erring party members worsened the situation.
Senator Suswam said it was wrong for the party not to have sanctioned the G-5 governors and their allies who openly declared that they would remain in the party and work against its interest.
“They were not sanctioned which made others become emboldened to act anyway they wanted. PDP has been weakened since then,” he said.
He said no serious organisation does that, stressing that, “A serious organisation would apply sanctions” based on the laid down rules as contained in its constitution.
He further accused the acting national chairman of the party, Ambassador Iliya Damagum, of occupying the position which belongs to the North-Central zone, following the removal of the substantive chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, who hails from the zone.
Amb. Damagum, who was the Deputy National Chairman (North), hails from the North-East zone but was, as permitted by the party’s constitution, made acting chairman after Ayu’s removal by a court order.
The party’s law provides that the deputy chairman from the same region as the chairman takes over in the event of the latter’s removal from office.
Senator Suswam further lamented that “PDP is comatose now, and nothing can happen now,” adding that it was regrettable that politicians are now preferring to hold talks with smaller parties and not the PDP.
Noting that the PDP was at the precipice, Senator Suswam said, “Until we provide that leadership, PDP will not be a viable platform. We need to overhaul the leadership of the party. There is no pretence about it, everybody in PDP knows it. Without discipline and reconciliation, the party goes nowhere.”
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