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2023: Insecurity Heightens INEC’s Fears …As 95m Voters DetermineWho Wins Presidency
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has again expressed concern over the insecurity in the country ahead of the 2023 general election.
Yakubu, who described the 2023 general election as significant to Nigeria, said the first concern of INEC was the insecurity in different parts of the country, compounded by thuggery during elections organised by some of the political actors.
According to a statement issued, yesterday, the INEC boss said this at an event organised by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in Washington DC, United States.
“Elections are conducted by human beings. We worry about the security of our officials, voters and the materials to be deployed.
“Without them, we cannot conduct elections. We have spoken to the security agencies; they have assured us that the situation will improve before the elections. So, fingers crossed.
“Those who are supposed to secure the environment have assured us that they will secure the environment for us to conduct elections. Our responsibility is to conduct election,” the INEC chairman.
He further expressed concern over fake news, saying the commission was harmonising available opportunities to address fake news which he said has impact on elections.
Similarly, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said 95million voters would determine President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor in the 2023 presidential election.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this at an event organised by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in Washington DC, United States.
Yakubu, in a statement made available to newsmen, yesterday, described the 2023 general election as significant to Nigeria, adding that 95million Nigerians were expected to vote in 176, 846 polling units across the country.
“The election is significant because the incumbent President is not eligible to run, this being his second and final term.
“There are 18 political parties in the race to produce the next President to be elected by 95 million voters. We had over 84million registered voters in 2019.
“But with last Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), we are going to add at least 10million Nigerians and that will take the Register of Voters to 95million.
“Each time Nigeria goes to the poll, it is like the whole of West Africa voting.
“In West Africa, there are 15 countries including Nigeria. But the total number of registered voters in the 14 countries combined is 73million.
“In Nigeria, it’s going to be 95million. So, there will be 22million more voters in Nigeria than the whole of West Africa put together,” the INEC chairman said.
Yakubu stated that INEC has learned a lot of lessons from the 2015 and 2019 general election as well as 103 off-cycle elections and bye-elections conducted after the 2019 general election.
The INEC chairman added that a lot of innovations have been introduced to increase transparency and ensure the credibility of the country’s electoral process.
“The new Electoral Act with its many progressive provisions has provided legal backing to the innovations.
“These innovations are now provided for and protected by law, especially those leveraging on technology to improve voter registration, voter accreditation, result management, and the promotion of inclusivity for marginalised persons such as women, youths, and persons with disability,” he said.
Yakubu said the introduction of online voter registration was part of the innovations, saying it was very helpful during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He noted that the online registration was done alongside physical registration from June 2021 to June 2022 when it lasted, saying 12,298,944 voters completed their registration.
He said the figure was more than the voter population in the Republic of Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Cape Verde.
Yakubu stated that NEC has completed the cleaning up of the data of newly registered voters using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) that combine the fingerprint and facial authentication of registered voters.
The INEC chairman said those who registered twice and those who were underage or have no reason to register as provided by law have been weeded out.
“The exercise was completed a few days ago. We have not even shared the information with Nigerians, but we have 2.7million invalid registrants and they have been weeded out.
“We will continue to take steps necessary to protect the integrity of the Register of Voters because it is fundamental to the conduct of elections. There can’t be credible elections without a credible register of voters,” he said.
Yakubu said Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) would be available for new registrants by November, adding: “We are looking at early to the middle of the month to make the cards available.
“We have already printed over 50percent of the cards but we haven’t delivered them to the states yet.
“As we clean the data, we also print the cards. Nigerians who have registered should be rest assured that they will have their cards ahead of the general election.
“We also need to do so in good time because the law now requires us to publish the number of cards collected per polling unit.”
Yakubu added that INEC also introduced other portals for accreditation of observers, media organisations, nomination of candidates by political parties, and nomination of polling agents by parties.
He said the innovations have also been helpful in reducing the level of litigation arising from the conduct of political parties.
On BVAS innovation, Yakubu said the use of the technology in Nigeria’s electoral system has come to stay, noting that there was no going back.
The INEC boss stated that the technology has helped to eliminate multiple accreditations that were observed in previous elections, increased public confidence in the outcome of elections, and eliminated the use of the Incident Form.
“Another innovation that we introduced is the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal. We are perhaps one of the few countries in the world that transmits polling unit-level results in real time on Election Day.
“Proudly, I can say we are the first to introduce it in Africa,” he said.
Yakubu said IReV has increased transparency in result management and helped to eliminate the falsification of results from polling unit level to the collation centres.
“We have deployed the IReV in 105 off-cycle and bye-election.
“We believe that the system is robust and we are taking additional measures to safeguard and fortify our web resources generally against threats of attack,” he said.
On inclusivity, Yakubu said INEC has created a new Department for Gender and Inclusivity in the commission.
He added that within the limits of available resources, INEC has also provided assistive devices for Persons with Disabilities, such as braille ballot guide and magnifying glasses for the vision impaired and those living with Albinism.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
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RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.