Politics
APC Can’t Distract Me -Wike
The Interdenominational Church Service for the 2017 Armed Forces Remembrance Day and the signing of the 2017 Appropriation Bill into law were among events that topped activities in Government House last week.
Governor Nysom Wike and other top State functionaries started last week with an interdenominational church service to herald the week, long programmed to commmorate ex-servicemen and women who had contributed to the uUnity and security of the country. The church service was held at First Baptist Church, Aggrey Road in Port Harcourt.
Last Monday, the governor unveiled the Eneka/Elimgbu link road which had been abandoned over the years, he lambasted the immediate past administration for failing to meet the yearning of the people, saying for eight years APC failed the people.
Due to the failure of the past administration to touch on the lives of the people, the governor observed that the opposition was poised to distract him but insisted that they will fail as his administration is determined to better the lives of citizens.
He used the occasion, to warn the opposition to stop formenting crisis in the State and should rather join hands to make the state better.
Last Tuesday, another road was unveiled at Rumuoparali, linking Choba and Ozuoba. The four kilometre road, according to the Commissioner for Works Arch. Bathuel Harrison, had been abandoned over the years, leading to economic hardship on both residents and business people.
On his part, Chief Wike said that linking Akpor Kingdom with roads is a way to reciprocate the support given to him by the people and at the same time ameliorate their sufferings over the years.
Last Wednesday, the governor took time off to visit project sites in the city. At Ogbunabali Community, he was greeted by excited residents who hailed him for rehabilitating the internal roads within the area.
Speaking to newsmen after inspection of Nkpogu Bridge, the Pleasure Park and Ogbunabali internal roads, Chief Wike said this year will be marked with road projects all over the state. He emphasized that no area will be left out as the state government marks the golden jubilee of the creation of Rivers State.
The governor, last Thursday was represented by his deputy , Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo at the Yearly Thanksgiving and Dedication of the State Civil Service. She promised that the administration of Chief Wike is poised to improve the working conditions of all public servants, most especially the hiccups that emanates from State Pension Scheme.
Chairman of the State Civil Service Commission, Oris Onyiri used the forum to call on all civil servants to be more dedicated to work as the government is ready to provide the enabling environment for their efficiency.
Last Friday, Chief Wike signed the 2017 Appropriation Bill into law. The State budget which was presented last year was deliberated upon and endorsed by the law makers. The budget tagged “Golden Jubilee Budget” has 70 per cent dedicated to capital projects and infrastructure development.
After appending his signature to the bill, Chief Wike pledged that the budget will be implemented to the letter, while assuring all the arms of government of due and timely allocation. The Speaker thanked the governor for his vision and hardwork.
Two days before the closing ceremony of the Port Harcourt International Polo club competition, former Federal Ministers led by Alhaji Sule Lamido paid a solidarity visit to Governor Wike urging him not to be intimidated by antics of the federal government. The goivernor commended organisers of the Port Harcourt Polo Club for organising a successful event on Saturday.
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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