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Nigeria Has UK’s Support For Credible Elections In 2023 – Envoy

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The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, has said that the government of the United Kingdom is supporting Nigeria to ensure credible elections in 2023.
Laing, who disclosed this in an interview with The Tide source on Saturday in Abuja, said the UK would monitor the elections closely.
She expressed the UK government’s optimism that Nigeria would deliver free and fair elections in 2023 once the amended Electoral Act was implemented.
She said the UK government had been supporting the electoral process in Nigeria by ensuring that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) got the processes right and working with Civil Society Organisations to carry out advocacy.
“What I have just said now – the advocacy – is showing Nigerians that we care about their democracy and we are watching it.
“In a practical way, for many elections we have been supporting INEC – your electoral body – to ensure it has got the necessary systems and processes in place. And in each election we have seen INEC improve its processes.
“We were the partner who supported the passing of the Electoral Act. It was a project that we funded through legal advisors to help you actually write that Electoral Act and looking at best practice globally.
“And it has been absolutely instrumental. So, with the passing of that, then the possibility for electronic transmission of votes, the young people feel much more confident that their votes will count.
“So we provided that support, we support civil society, the YIAGA not too young to run campaign alongside U.S  partners, we support that and we have been supporting women groups in particular, to encourage young women, more women to try and stand for political offices.
“We are supporting voter education, encouraging voters to understand the importance of going out to vote. So we are involved in a number of different ways.
“I should say we always say that each election alongside our U.S partners that we will have eyes on; we will be monitoring this election closely on the ground and through other means.
“And if we understand that an individual has been involved in violence, either directly or through inciting violence, we can use our visa programme to ensure that that person is not allowed to travel to the UK.
“So we do have some negative levers as well as our positive levers,” Laing said.
The High Commissioner emphasised that the visa sanctions on electoral offenders remain a very effective mechanism for deterring people from engaging in electoral violence.
She added that the political parties are supportive of the policy.
”They (visa sanctions) absolutely do work. Obviously, I cannot talk about individual names, but I can assure you we have used it and the whole point of it is to deter people.
”The political parties tell me that they think it does work. In fact, during the last election, both APC and the PDP told me they welcomed it.
”We are completely neutral and we would apply this to whoever may be engaged in violence,” she said.
The British envoy described Nigeria’s democracy as critical to the growth of democratic rule on the African continent hence the need for the country’s leaders to set the pace especially for the sub-region where democratic transitions are being threatened.
“Nigeria is the biggest democracy in Africa and in your part of the world where democracy is backsliding”.
“Looking at what is happening in Mali, Guinea and others, the coup’s, and the presidents who are refusing to step down when their term ends, as well as Nigeria’s journey to democracy since 1999, you know, it’s been rocky at times.
“But you have continued on that pathway and that sends a very, very important signal to Africa, that if Nigeria can do it – the biggest democracy in Africa with all the challenges you have with 36 states, and with the complexity of ethnicity and religion, and so on – they can do it too.
”No election in the world is perfect, nevertheless, the journey continues. And I am really hopeful that the next election will be credible,” Laing added.

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Kwankwaso Agrees To Rejoin APC, Gives Terms, Conditions

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The 2023 presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has given terms and conditions to rejoin the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Sen. Kwankwaso, while addressing a gathering at his Kano residence, said any political alliance must recognise and respect the interests of his party and political movement.

The former two-term governor went down memory lane to recall how they founded the APC but were used and dumped.

In his words, “…those calling on us to join APC, we have agreed to join the APC but on clear agreement that protects and respects the interest of my party, NNPP and my political movement, Kwankwasiyya. No state where you go that you don’t have NNPP and Kwankwasiyya. We have gubernatorial candidates, senatorial candidates and others.

“We are ready to join APC under strong conditions and promises. We will not allow anyone to use us and later dump us.

“We were among the founding fathers of the APC and endured significant persecution from various security agencies while challenging the previous administration.

“Yet when the party assumed power, we received no recognition or appreciation for our sacrifices, simply because we didn’t originate from their original faction.

“We are not in a hurry to leave the NNPP; we are enjoying and have peace of mind. But if some want a political alliance that would not disappoint us like in the past, we are open to an alliance. Even if it is the PDP that realised their mistakes, let’s enter an agreement that will be made public,” Sen. Kwankwaso stated.

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I Would Have Gotten Third Term If I Wanted – Obasanjo 

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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has dismissed long-standing claims that he once sought to extend his tenure in office, insisting he never pursued a third term.

Speaking at the Democracy Dialogue organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Accra, Ghana, Chief Obasanjo said there is no Nigerian, living or dead, who can truthfully claim he solicited support for a third term agenda.

“I’m not a fool. If I wanted a third term, I know how to go about it. And there is no Nigerian, dead or alive, that would say I called him and told him I wanted a third term,” the former president declared.

Chief Obasanjo argued that he had proven his ability to secure difficult national goals, citing Nigeria’s debt relief during his administration as a much greater challenge than any third term ambition.

“I keep telling them that if I could get debt relief, which was more difficult than getting a third term, then if I wanted a third term, I would have got it too,” he said.

He further cautioned against leaders who overstay in power, stressing that the belief in one’s indispensability is a “sin against God.”

On his part, former President Goodluck Jonathan said any leader who failed to perform would be voted out of office if proper elections were conducted.

Describing electoral manipulation as one of the biggest threats to democracy in Africa, he said unless stakeholders come together to rethink and reform democracy, it may collapse in Africa.

He added that leaders must commit to the kind of democracy that guarantees a great future for the children where their voices matter.

He said: “Democracy in Africa continent is going through a period of strain and risk collapse unless stakeholders came together to rethink and reform it. Electoral manipulation remains one of the biggest threats in Africa.

“We in Africa must begin to look at our democracy and rethink it in a way that works well for us and our people. One of the problems is our electoral system. People manipulate the process to remain in power by all means.

“If we had proper elections, a leader who fails to perform would be voted out. But in our case, people use the system to perpetuate themselves even when the people don’t want them.

“Our people want to enjoy their freedoms. They want their votes to count during elections. They want equitable representation and inclusivity. They want good education. Our people want security. They want access to good healthcare. They want jobs. They want dignity. When leaders fail to meet these basic needs, the people become disillusioned.”

The dialogue was also attended by the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto diocese of Catholic Church among others who all stressed that democracy in Africa must go beyond elections to include accountability, service, and discipline.

 

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Rivers Assembly Resumes Sitting After Six-Month Suspension

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The Rivers State House of Assembly yesterday resumed plenary session after a six-month state of emergency imposed on the state by President Bola Tinubu elapsed on Wednesday midnight.

President Bola Tinubu had lifted the emergency rule on September 17, with the Governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state assembly asked to resume duties on September 18.

The plenary was presided over by the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, at the conference hall located within the legislative quarters in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

The conference hall has served as the lawmakers’ temporary chamber since their official chamber at the assembly complex on Moscow Road was torched and later pulled down by the state government.

The outgone sole administrator of the state, Ibok-Ete Ibas, could not complete the reconstruction of the assembly complex as promised.

Recall that on March 18, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers following the prolonged political standoff between Fubara and members of the House of Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

He subsequently suspended the governor, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and lawmakers for six months and installed a sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.), to manage the state’s affairs.

The decision sparked widespread controversy, with critics accusing the president of breaching the Constitution.

However, others hailed the move as a necessary and pragmatic step.

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