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INEC Raises Fresh Security Alerts Over 2023 Poll …Urges Media To Avoid ‘Breaking News’ Syndrome

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised fresh concerns over security challenges confronting next year’s general elections.
It also disclosed that it would immediately publish summary of guidelines on finances and election expenses of parties and candidates and release the summary highlighting the legal provisions governing the conduct of political rallies, processions and campaigns.
INEC’s Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, made the revelation at the stakeholders forum organised by the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room in Abuja, yesterday.
“Arising from our experience in previous elections, the commission has expanded the scope of collaboration to include the marine union for the riverine areas. Very soon, the revised MoU will be signed with the service providers to cover both land and maritime transportation.
“However, there are four broad areas that Nigerians would like to receive assurances of the progress the commission is making and challenges (if any) being encountered. They are security, campaign finance, technology, the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) and assurances that their votes will count on Election Day.
“On security, the commission has said repeatedly that it is an area of concern. The commission has the responsibility to conduct elections. However, securing the environment for the deployment of personnel and materials as well as the peaceful conduct of elections is a shared responsibility involving the security agencies, the political actors and their supporters, the media and all other critical stakeholders.
“The perennial insecurity in the country is a source for concern. This existing challenge is compounded by the unfortunate incidents of attacks on campaigns, rallies and processions across all political parties.
“Although the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties are clear, the commission has found it necessary to remind political parties, candidates and their supporters on the provisions of the law and their responsibilities.
“Accordingly, on Thursday, November 24, 2022, the commission will release a summary highlighting the legal provisions governing the conduct of political rallies, processions and campaigns. This will be uploaded to our website and social media platforms.
“Beyond the provisions of the law, the commission held an emergency meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) in the wake of the recent condemnable attacks on our Local Government offices in Ogun and Osunstates. Far-reaching resolutions were arrived at, including the deployment of joint security teams to our facilities nationwide.
“Beyond that, the Inspector General of Police summoned an extraordinary meeting with leaders of political parties on the imperative of peaceful campaigns. We will continue to follow up on that bold step in our engagement with political parties and other critical stakeholders.
“Turning to campaign finance, the commission is determined to tackle the matter frontally. Areas of violation include party and candidate expenditure beyond what is provided by law and the diabolical practice of vote buying at polling units on Election Day. Here again, the commission will on Thursday (yesterday), publish a summary of the guidelines on finances and election expenses of parties and candidates.
“Beyond that, we are mobilising every national institution with the responsibility for tracking and combating the illicit flow of funds as well as the broadcast and print media regulatory agencies to confront the problem head-on. The details of this will be unveiled shortly.
“On technology, the Electoral Act 2022 requires the commission to deploy technology on Election Day for voter accreditation and the upload of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal. These processes will be achieved through the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). I wish to reassure Nigerians that the BVAS has come to stay as the only means of voter accreditation.
“There will be no incident form on election day. Results from polling units will be uploaded to the IReV portal in real-time. Nigerians will view the results as they are uploaded.
“For the last two years beginning from August 2020, the commission has published results direct from polling units in 105 off-cycle Governorship and bye-elections in real-time and the results can still be viewed on the IReV portal.
“The 2023 General Election will not be different. There is no truth in any insinuation to the contrary. This should put to rest the erroneous notion that Nigerians will not have the opportunity to view polling unit results uploaded by Presiding Officers in real-time on Election Day.
“On the collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) for fresh registrations in 2022 as well as applicants for transfer to other polling units and the replacement of damaged or lost cards, we wish to assure Nigerians that the commission will soon release the timelines and procedure for the collection of PVCs.
“With the ongoing display of the register for claims and objections, the commission considered it appropriate to conclude the process so that the cards will not be in the hands of ineligible registrants who may attempt to use them during the election.
“We understand the anxiety of Nigerians to collect their PVCs and appeal for a little patience as we speedily conclude the necessary safeguards for a transparent process. The cleaning up of the voters’ register is critical to elections. We have been transparent in making the register available both online and manual copies in 9,583 locations nationwide (8,809 Wards and 774 Local Government Areas) for scrutiny by citizens as required by law.
“The voters’ register is the largest database of citizens in Nigeria. Like all databases of this size, it cannot be perfect. However, the commission believes that Nigerians are the real owners of the voters’ register.
“They are therefore in a best position to point out ineligible persons on the register, including deceased persons that will help the commission to improve on this critical national asset. I want to reassure you that based on the observations made by Nigerians; we will dutifully clean up the register ahead of the election.”
Similarly, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has called on all media organisations in Nigeria to avoid the ‘breaking news’ syndrome in their reportage as the 2023 general election draws nearer.
The National Chairman of the commission, Prof. MahmoodYakubu, made the call in Bauchi, yesterday, during a one-day capacity-building programme for journalists on conflict-sensitive reporting and the 2023 general election.
Organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and INEC, the programme was for journalists in the North Eastern part of the country.
Yakubu, represented by AlhajiNasir Mohammed, said that the tendency for the ‘breaking news’ syndrome could result in dishing out unverified or not properly processed information to the general public.
He said the media must be circumspect in casting headlines and avoid sensational headlines “because sometimes, people look at the headlines and draw conclusions without looking at the body of the report.
“The media must avoid deliberate falsehood. They must also avoid tilting of stories towards religious, zonal and ethnic narratives,” he said.
Yakubu assured that INEC would continue to partner with the media not only as key stakeholders in the electoral process but also as a veritable tool for combating misinformation, fake news and malicious falsehood in society.
Also speaking, the National President, NUJ, Chief Chris Isiguzo, represented by the National Secretary of the union, Mr ShuaibuLiman, said if there was going to be a Third World War, it would start from social media.
He added that as media professionals, journalists need to be careful about carelessly jumping on the bandwagon of emergency journalism which thrives in canvassing support for the political parties of their sentiments using social media.
“Journalists must avoid hate journalism and fake news as these evils can destroy a society.
“The advent of multimedia technology has changed the pattern and flow of communication, globally and since journalism is in the business and practice of communication, it has also impacted people tremendously”, he said.
Also, a human rights lawyer, EffiongInihebe, has disclosed that the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System(BVAS), an electronic means of reading Permanent Voter Cards(PVCs) and accreditation of voters, would guarantee free and fair elections in 2023.
Inihebe made this known on his official Twitter handle while reacting to the comment credited to the All Progressives Party Congress (APC), Chairman AbdullahiAdamu, stating that Nigeria is not ready for the use of BVAS.
Reacting to Adamu’s comment, Inihebe said: “The enemies of democracy and credible elections are unveiling themselves in the most shameful way. Adamu is telling us that they are scared of BVAS. Clearly, election riggers are terrified. If INEC succumbs to this evil agenda, we can kiss free and fair elections in 2023 goodbye.”
The Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, Chairman MahmoodYakubu, a week ago, assured Nigerians that there is no going back on the use of the BVAS and Result Viewing Portal (IReV) for the forthcoming elections.
The BVAS was used in the Ekiti and Osun elections which took place on June 18 and July 16, 2022, respectively.

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Shettima In Ethiopia For State Visit 

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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

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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

 

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Tinubu Orders Civil Service Personnel Audit, Skill Gap Analysis 

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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.

 

 

 

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