Politics
Wike Inaugurates Committee On Environment Varsity
Conversion of Ken Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, to a full-fledged University was one of the major issues that dominated discussions last week in the Rivers State Government House, Port Harcourt.
Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, last Wednesday, set up an ad-hoc committee to examine and advise the state government on the idea of upgrading the existing Ken Polytechnic to University of Environment.
The governor’s action was sequel to the request made by the Ogoni apex group, KAGOTE, that the polytechnic be upgraded to University of Environment as a legacy to the struggle of the foremost environmental right activist in Nigeria, Ken Saro-Wiwa hails from Ogoni.
Wike who hosted the high powered delegation of KAGOTE last Tuesday presented the proposal at the Rivers State Executive Council meeting in Government House, Port Harcourt Wednesday, for approval.
The committee headed by the Deputy Governor, Dr Ipalibo Harry Banigo has two weeks to submit its report. It would examine the prospects of transforming the polytechnic into the third state-owned university.
Another crucial event last week was the governor’s accent to the Rivers State Neighbourhood watch bill on Wednesday.
Recall that penultimate week, the governor had promised that he would sign the bill into law stressing that the law will help the security agencies get intelligence and information from the initiative.
He also said it would create employment opportunities to the youth adding that the insinuation that the government has motive of arming youths as false.
Last Tuesday, Wike hosted the Assistant Inspector General of Police zone six.
The AIG who came in company of the Rivers State Commissioner of Police and other top security officials said he was in the state to seek collaboration with the state government on how to bring about improved security.
Last Thursday, the Governor led the management of the leadership Newspaper, members fo the National Assembly and Elder statesmen on projects inspection.
Wike who is set for honour on March 29, 2018 as the Leadership Newspaper Governor of the year 2017 declared that majority of key projects would be delivered between May and December.
Among projects inspected were Port Harcourt Pleasure Park Cinema and Restaurants, Cultural Centre, Creek Road, Bonny/Bille/Nember Jetty, Judges Guaters, Mother and Child Hospital, Produce House, Court of Appeal and National Industiral Court.
Speaking on behalf of the Leadership Group, Director Leadership Group, Mr. Michael Okpere commended the governor for turning Rivers State into a major construction site.
He said: “These projects generate employment, they generate revenue and they create employment opportunities for the people”.
The governor, last week flagged off some projects among which are upgrading and remodeling of Bonny National Grammer School Bonny.
He noted that the project will be completed in nine months and that all the contractors handling the job are indigenes of Bonny.
“None of the contractors doing this job is from outside. This is to show that we are interested in empowering the people”, he said.
Wike regretted that the APC-led Federal Government was playing pranks with the Bonny-Bodo Road project after NLNG committed N50 billion as counterpart fund to the project.
While the upgrading and remodeling of the Bonny National Grammer School (BMGS). Bonny was flagged off last Tuesday, Wike on Wednesday flagged off the execution of Rivers State Government, European Union and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Water and sanitation projects in two local government areas.
The flag off was done at Nkoro Town School in Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, where he stated that his administration is committed to the provision of potable water for rural dwellers.
The governor was represented at the event by the Commissioner of Water Resources, Prof Kaniye Ebeku.
Chris Oluoh
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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