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Reps: Bill On One Female Senator Per State For 2nd Reading

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A bill to make it compulsory for every state to reserve one seat for female senator will soon come up for second reading in the House of Representatives.
Rep Taiwo Oluga, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Women in Parliament, made this known when receiving the Legal Defence and Assistance  Project (LEDAP), a coalition partner to Advance Gender Equality (SAGE) in Abuja.
She said that the bill is an initiative of the committee and part of the efforts being made to increase women representation in government.
“What we are proposing in the bill is to have at least a senator from every state, it can be two out of the three.
“It is not just because the female want to occupy positions, we want to complement the efforts of the men; we are not in competition, just to complement them.
“Why is the committee advocating this?  It is because we know we have women who are intelligent and are capable in this country.
“We have females that have the ability, they have demonstrated the ability; we are just 12 in this 9th House but our contributions on the floor cannot be swept under the carpet, the House recognises that.
Oluga commended the contributions of female lawmakers to national issues such as security, health and in reducing the number of children out of school.
The lawmaker said that the issues in the country today cannot be addressed without the participation of women.
She said that women, with population of about 100 million cannot be ignored or left out in the scheme of things.
Oluga said that following the interventions of the committee all 20 female lawmakers in the National Assembly were included in the Constitution Review Committee.
“My own personal opinion is to have 360 members divided by two; how we are going to do it, let the political parties and the INEC cooperate and let everyone be on the same page and make it a reality.
“If you cannot do that, in 2023 give us the 35 per cent affirmative action, and that is what we are doing in collaboration with all stakeholders,” she said.
Earlier, the Senior Programme Manager, Ms Pamela Okoroigwe, said that there was need to strategise on how to increase women representation in government.
Okoroigwe said that such strategy was most necessary as the Constitution was being amended by the National Assembly.
She also recommended that the Constitution should be amended to change the language to reflect all gender.
She said that “He” as used in the Constitution should be removed and let ‘Chairman’ be replaced with ‘Chairperson’.
Okoroigwe said that the Constitution should be amended to ensure 35 per cent affirmative action for women was reflected in political parties’ candidates.
According to her, INEC can be empowered by the Constitution to enforce it by deregistering political parties that fail to conform.
Okoroigwe said that the Constitution should be amended to make it mandatory for the offices of chairman and secretary of political  parties  be occupied by a man and woman at all times.
She said that the Constitution should also be amended to reflect 35 per cent affirmative action in ministerial appointments and in the Judiciary.
The Programme Manager, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Mr Okeke Anya, said that the SAGE is a USAID supported project.
He said that the aim was to drive a campaign to increase the number of women in governance across all tiers.
Anya said that a political party advisory group was being worked on to engage political parties on the need to produce more female candidates.
He said that a Civil Society group was also in place to help amplify and increase the momentum of the SAGE.
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… Vote Buyers Attack EFCC Operatives In Kaduna

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says its operatives were attacked in Kaduna on Saturday during the governorship and state houses of assembly elections held across the country.
In a statement on Saturday by Wilson Uwujaren, EFCC spokesperson, the commission said the operatives came under attack at School Road in Unguwan Rimi, Kaduna, while attempting to arrest a suspected vote buyer identified as Kabiru Musa.
Uwujaren said the suspect was seen in a video inducing voters by using his phone to transfer money into their accounts after they cast their votes.
“Immediately he was accosted by the operatives, Musa became unruly and screamed to attract the attention of his syndicate members, who descended on the operatives, using all manner of weapons that left some of them injured. It took great restraints for the operatives to ignore the unprovoked attack but insisted on arresting the suspect,” the statement reads.
“As the team drove away with the suspect, their vehicle was pelted with stones and other dangerous objects that damaged the windshield and three operatives suffered varying degrees of injuries in the process.
“The injured operatives are currently receiving medical attention at the Medical Centre of the Kaduna Zonal Command, while the suspect is in custody, pending conclusion of the investigation.
“It will be recalled that EFCC teams were similarly attacked during the presidential and national assembly elections, leaving some of its vehicles badly damaged.”
Reacting to the incident, Abdulrasheed Bawa, EFCC chairperson, commended the operatives for exercising restraint under extreme provocation.
He, however, appealed to the public to desist from attacking officers of the commission as it would no longer be tolerated.

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Gov’ship/State Assembly Polls: EFCC Arrests 65 Suspects Over Vote Buying

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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says its operatives arrested 65 persons across the country over alleged voter inducement.
EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, announced the development on Saturday in a statement on the commission’s monitoring activities of the governorship and state houses of assembly elections across the country.
He said 20 of the suspects were arrested in Kwara, while 13 suspects were arrested in Kaduna state.
He added that 12 suspects were arrested in Rivers; four each in Akwa Ibom and Cross River, while others were apprehended in Gombe, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Niger states.
“Those arrested in Kaduna State were 10 males and three females. They were apprehended by EFCC operatives either working on intelligence reports or were chanced upon during monitoring,” the statement read.
“A suspect allegedly involved in vote buying was nabbed at School Road, Unguwan Rimi in Kaduna. The suspect, who initially resisted arrest, is however in custody pending the conclusion of investigation.
“Also in Kaduna, a team arrested a suspect with voter coupons, which he confessed would be used to trace and pay those who voted for his party”, the statement added.
The EFCC also said its team monitoring voting around Local Education Authority School, Kabala Doki in Kaduna, arrested two suspects for vote buying, while the sum of N67,500, a list containing names of voters and bank account details were recovered from the suspects.
“Some of the items recovered from the suspects were voter cards, monies, lists containing names and account details of voters, and telephone recharge cards,” he added.

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Alleged Party Name Omission, NNPP Candidate Threatens Suit Against INEC

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Olufemi Ajadi, the governorship candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in Ogun State, says the party will sue the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the “omission of the party’s name from ballot papers”.
Ajadi spoke with journalists on Saturday after casting his vote at Ofada, Obafemi Owode LGA of Ogun state.
The NNPP candidate said he was “disappointed” over the conduct of the governorship and house of assembly elections in the state.
Ajadi said the party had earlier written a letter to INEC to ensure the inclusion of his party’s name on the ballot paper, instead of only the logo.
“As you can see, we cannot see security everywhere. In my polling unit, where I cast my vote, the APC gathered hoodlums to attack me,” he said.
“I’m so disappointed in this country. I’m so disappointed about the leaders that we have. People can’t move around freely to the extent that they were dragging guns with my security. Can you imagine? No, this is not an election.
“On the ballot paper, I can’t see my party, the NNPP. After writing to INEC, to make amendment before the election and today is an election, we can’t find the name, only the logo.
“By the grace of God, we are going to court to challenge INEC on reasons why they failed to put our name on the ballot paper. I’m disappointed in INEC”, he lamented.
When The Tide source checked the list of political parties on INEC website, it was observed that the name of the party was not inscribed on the party’s logo.

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