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INEC, stakeholders meet on 2019 election
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logistics is basically public service. some citizens may understand if we dont open polling units at 8.00a.m. others will see it as incompetence of the electoral commission1 the inec chairman prof. mahmood yakubu on thursday met with heads of security agencies logistics experts transport unions and other stakeholders to ensure seamless deployment of elections materials and personnel in 20191 the event was equally supported by the international foundation for electoral systems ifes1 it was aimed at enhancing timely delivery of materials and personnel to polling units during the 2019 general elections1 declaring the conference open yakubu said that nigerians would expect polling units to be opened at 8.00a.m. on election days feb. 16 2019 and march 2 20191 if we dont open the polling units at 8.00a.m. it means we have not started well but how do we open polling units at 8.00a.m1 it requires biggest and big time logistics operations1 we have been required to deliver personnel and electoral materials at 119 973 locations nationwide and they must all open simultaneously1 electoral logistics is key to the successful opening of polling units at the time we have promised nigerians we are going to do so1 if we open all the polling units or a substantial majority by 8.00a.m. we have achieved a considerable part of our responsibility in election management other things will fall in place he said1 according to him if there are hiccups people from different sections will complain1 yakubu said that some polling units were hard to reach and would require use of boats1 he noted that the 2019 elections remained 232 days saying that the exercise would be a huge undertaking with several obstacles some preventable and others unexpected1 the chairman said that the exercise would require careful planning adding that deployment and retrieval of personnel and materials for elections would call for huge logistics1 according to him any flop in logistics will be termed as an attempt to disenfranchise the citizens hence the need to plan adequately with logistics operators and security agencies1 the news agency of nigerian nan reports that inec organised the conference on logistics for the 2019 general elections in collaboration with the european centre for electoral support eces1 the work is sensitive so we are determined as the election management body to ensure that polling units open at 8.00a.m. as promised1 to be able to do so we need contributions support suggestions and inputs of those who have been handling these as a matter of their respective constitutional duties yakubu said1 he said that the conference was marking the last stage of planning for the elections before moving to the implementation1 the inec boss said the management of the electoral process is not left for the commission it is a nigerian project it is not an inec project1 we thought we should mobilise all our national assets from the security agencies officials of the commission private sector transport unions to put our heads together so that we can better deliver this service to the nation in 20191 in his keynote address mr david le notre project director eces said election is a time-bound event which requires precision and exactitude in the deployment of sensitive and non-sensitive materials1 for a vast geographical country like nigeria with pockets of difficult terrains the importance of putting in place efficient and effective logistics for deployment of personnel and election materials to service about 1558 constituencies cannot be over- emphasised1 le notre said that the conference sought to examine challenges related to the deployment of electoral personnel and materials countrywide1 mr seeray jay the representative of ifes said that the body was committed to advancing good governance and democratic rights by providing technical assistance to ensure electoral integrity1 jay said a national election is one of the countrys biggest logistics events. personnel and materials must get to the polling units at the right time quantity and in good shape for elections to take place as scheduled.1 to do this inec has to rely on capable and professional transport providers public or private ones that know think and act like inec1 he called on all stakeholders to support inec in ensuring that deployment and retrieval of materials and personnel would be timely during the elections1 nan reports that key players in the logistics industry such as the military police private logistics companies and bulk transporters among others were at the conference1 the inspector-general of police mr ibrahim idris attended the event while the army air force navy federal road safety and department of state security were represented. nan1 -
Conflict : 10,000 Children Killed In 2017 UN
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among the most significant violations registered in 2017 were killing and maiming recruitment and use and attacks on schools and hospitals all of which registered a rise in comparison to the previous year she told journalists at un headquarters1 no fewer than 10000 children were killed or maimed in conflict last year while more than 8000 youngsters were recruited or used as combatants the united nations reveals1 un chief antnio guterres has expressed outrage over the numbers according to a statement issued by his spokesperson1 boys and girls have once again been overly impacted by protracted and new violent crisis. despite some progress the level of violations remains unacceptable the statement said1 the secretary-general reiterates that the best way to address this horrific situation is to promote peaceful solutions to conflicts. he calls on all parties to exert maximum efforts in this regard1 the report covers 20 countries including hotspots such as syria yemen and afghanistan but also situations in countries such as india the philippines and nigeria1 virginia gamba the uns expert on children and armed conflict said 66 parties to conflict are listed this year three more than in the 2016 report with nine government forces and 57 armed groups named1 these violations contributed to the overall rise in the number of children globally affected by fighting in 2017 as documented in the annual report of the secretary-general on children and armed conflict caac1 overall the un verified more than 21000 grave violations of childrens rights between january and december 2017 compared with 15500 the previous year1 government forces committed at least 6000 of these crimes while the majority involved various non-state armed groups1 ms. gamba said crises in the central african republic car the democratic republic of the congo drc myanmar south sudan syria and yemen were the main reason for the serious increases reported1 she provided examples including what she described as the despicable trend of turning children in nigeria into human bombs where nearly half of the 881 verified child casualties resulted from suicide attacks1 also worrying is the number of children detained for their alleged association with armed groups. for example more than 1000 children in iraq were held due their suspected affiliation with the terrorist group isil also known as daesh1 ms. gamba also reported positive developments such as the formal release of more than 10000 child soldiers from armed groups and forces while four armed groups in myanmar have agreed to work with her office1 -
ASUP issues 14-day ultimatum to Nasarawa Govt.
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he however lamented the delay in the release of the white paper report of the committee for implementation1 the academic staff union of polytechnic asup nasarawa state polytechnic lafia chapter has given the state government 14 days notice of strike1 according to him the 14 days ultimatum followed the expiration of the 21 days ultimatum earlier given to the government in line with labour laws1 he said that the grievances of the union include lack of accreditation of all courses at the polytechnic implementation of four years promotion and annual increments1 he listed lack of payment of pension and gratuity to retired staff and lack of office accommodation to academic staff among others as other grievances of the union1 he said that all these issues were tabled before the investigative panel set up by the government for redress1 mr paul usaini asup chairman of the polytechnic stated this on thursday in an interview with newsmen in lafia1 the union believed that the reports will help in addressing issues of lack of accreditation outstanding promotion arrears and corruption in the system among others he added1 he said that the reports should be released urgently in order to save the institution from total collapse because things were currently in bad shape1 the union also condemned the appointment of unqualified persons outside the system into the management of the three institutions1 the union therefore advised the state government to follow due process in any subsequent appointments of management staff1 gov. umaru al-makura had on november 2 2017 set up three panels to investigate state owned tertiary institutions1 the panels submitted their reports to the government on jan. 191 -
Photos: Lai Mohammed inspects Second Niger Bridge
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i think one thing that this government has assured is that fundingwont be a problem because we have many sources of funding and i thinkthe latest is the presidential infrastructural development fund whichis actuallyaimed at ensuring that no project like this suffers for lack offunding the minister said1 the minister of information and culture alhaji lai mohammed has inspected the second niger bridge in continuation of hisongoing tour of federal government projects across the country1 i am very excited because the thing about this project is thatbecause of the alignment people travelling on the old bridge will saynothing is going on because they cannot see it but you have come hereand you can see the amount of work that is going on so im very veryexcited the minister told the journalists who accompanied him on thetour1 alhaji mohammed who inspected construction work at the asaba andonitsha ends of the bridge said when completed the bridge will easetraffic congestion on the road as well as change the socio-economiclandscape of the south-east and south-south geo-political zones in particular1 he commended the enthusiasm with which the contractor julius bergeris handling the project and gave the assurance that henceforthfunding will no longer be a challenge for the construction of suchprojects1 he expressed satisfaction at the pace of work on the bridge1 he said having achieved tremendous success with the sub-structuralwork the project will now witness rapid progress1 while briefing journalists on the level of work on the bridge thefederal controller of works for anambra state mr. innocent alumonasaid so far phases 1 2 and 3 which have to do with the foundationhave been completed and that the contractor is currently on phase 4 which will end in july this year.1 a lot of people are saying no work is going on on the second nigerbridge because they have not been opportune to visit the site. thefederal government actually is not sleeping. a lot of money has beenspent in the process of realising the second niger bridge and as wego further we will show you a lot that has been done to prove to someof us who are still doubting that nothing is happening at the secondniger bridge that a lot is ongoing he said1 mr. alumona said some 310 of the 615 piles designed for the bridgehave been sunk while massive sand-filling of the approach road hasbeen carried out to the height of five metres1 at least 400 nigerians are currently employed by the contractorhandling the project which is expected to be completed within thenext two years1 -
Monarch wants Aug. 20 declared traditional festival day
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a traditional ruler oba kamila isiba has urged the federal government to declare aug. 20 annually traditional festival day to give a sense of belonging to traditional worshippers1 isiba the olu of agege in lagos state told the news agency of nigeria nan on thursday in lagos that traditional worshippers deserved holiday in their honour since muslims and christians enjoyed same1 the monarch noted that osun had started observing the day but said that there was the need for nationwide recognition1 according to him the festival will showcase indigenous tradition and culture and preserve1 we will continue calling on the government to declare aug. 20 traditional day1 the idea behind the festival is for us to showcase our tradition and culture. if there is no traditional day how will our children know about our culture and preserve our heritage he asked1 isiba also expressed dissatisfaction at the alleged denial of some traditional rulers the opportunities to perform their statutory roles1 the royal father alleged that the denial was being made by some politicians1 if traditional rulers are allowed to play their roles well you wont see miscreants in our communities because we have a way of dealing with them but when a traditional ruler does such in nigeria of today they will say you have committed an offence1 that is why we are careful he told nan1 -
Plateau Killings: Presidency slams PDP for crocodile tears
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november 20 1999. odi in bayelsa state was invaded on orders of a pdp president. about 2500 people killed1 the presidency has hit back at the peoples democratic party pdp for playing cheap and opportunistic politics with the latest killings in plateau state1 the pdp had following the sad and unfortunate killings in plateau state over the weekend declared seven days of mourning1 the party also said flags would be flown at half staff during the period1 but adesina reminded the pdp that under its 16-year rulership of nigeria worst tragedies happened and the party did not consider it fit to shed the crocodile tears it is shedding now1 the comatose and prostrate party is declaring seven days of mourning during which flags in its offices would be flown at half staff nationwide. but unknown to the party those flags had been forcefully lowered since its 2015 loss at the polls and may remain so for a long time to come because nigerians are politically discerning and cannot be hoodwinked by cheap antics1 in providing a check list of the killings recorded in the pdp era the presidency clarified that it is not justifying the present killings as it believes that every single soul is important to be preserved in the country1 those who take pleasure in twisting statements from the presidency may claim we are saying that many more people were killed under pdp than under president muhammadu buhari. it would be unconscionable to do so. the intendment of this statement is to show that wanton killings had been with us for awhile this government is working towards enduring solutions and should be given the opportunity to do so1 even a single soul is precious and no man should take a life which he cannot create. but when tragic situations as had happened in plateau state occur such should never be used to play crude politics. those who are wont to do so should have change of hearts or lose their very humanity adesina stated1 these are dolorous times that call for deep introspection on how cheap human lives have become and the proffering of actionable ideas on how to get out of the bind. but the pdp would rather dance on the graves of the dead playing cheap infantile politics said femi adesina presidential media adviser in a statement today1 between february and may 2000 about 5000 people were killed during riots over sharia law in different parts of the north. no national mourning1 in 2001 hundreds of people including the old infirm women and children were killed in zaki biam. no crocodile tears1 between september 7-12 2001 jos plateau state erupted in internecine killings. between 500 and 1000 people were killed1 in february 2004 at least 975 people were killed in yelwa-shendam plateau state1 between november 28 and 29 2008 jos was in flames again with 381 deaths1 in 2010 992 people killed in jos1 in 2014 alone according to global terrorism index at least 1229 people were killed in the middle belt1 boko haram killings in pdp years were over 100001 -
World Cup: Fans abandon viewing centres in Kafanchan
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i have heard some of my customers tell me they would rather stay at home and listen to news commentary or follow updates on their android phones1 football fans in kafanchan kaduna state have deserted viewing centres following nigerias ouster from world cup in russia the news agency of nigeria nan reports1 mr amos sidi who operates a viewing centre around roundabout junction said the premises had experienced a dramatic low patronage since after the defeat of the super eagles on tuesday1 a lot of people had lost enthusiasm after nigeria lost and crashed out of the competition and as such patronage has also drastically reduced1 before now we used to make an average of n2 000 to n3000 daily but now one can hardly boast of n1 000 a day he said1 also malam mohammed saleh who operates a viewing centre on bauchi road told nan that football fans in the area had deserted the centre1 saleh said the fans felt that there was no need spending their money watching other countries play while nigeria was already back home1 checks by nan on thursday in kafanchan revealed that most of the viewing centres within the metropolis witnessed poor turnout while the operators lamented low patronage1 only a few football enthusiasts and sports betting addicts still patronise the premises and even plead to watch for free he said1 other viewing centres including those around yakowa market road garaje and katsit areas witnessed low patronage with their operators sharing similar experiences1 meanwhile football analysts in kafanchan have lamented the exit of the super eagles from the ongoing world cup in russia describing the development as a clear case of marginalisation1 mr solomon ambukson of jos street told nan that the super eagles deserved more than they got at the competition and described their last match against argentina as cheating1 the officials should have called the referee to order which they failed suggesting a clear picture of conspiracy he said1 ms asabe musa of lowcost area said if the situation as witnessed in the super eagles last match persisted african teams might be left with no choice but stop attending subsequent tournaments1 -
Governors meet over minimum wage
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the nigeria governors forum ngf on wednesday night met in abuja to discuss issues of minimum wage insecurity and other matters of interests for the development of the country1 while the nigeria labour congress nlc is proposing a minimum wage of n65000 for workers the governors have been insisting on the staggering of the implementation of the new wage if approved1 also on the meeting agenda was discussion on the issue of insecurity especially the killings in jos1 the governors were also expected to meet with the postmaster-general of the nigerian postal service and the attorneys general from 36 states of the federation on the contentious issue of stamp duty1 part of the agenda was to discuss the face up between the executive and legislative arms of government1 meanwhile the nigerian national petroleum corporation nnpc expected to make representation on the actual oil revenue generation and remittance from the corporation did not come1 the nigerian communication commission ncc was also expected to make presentation to the governors. nan1 -
Buharis group sues for peace
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as a show of concern the vice president and president had personally visited the state to condole with the state and families of the victims after he had earlier directed the minister of interior general abdulrahaman dambazzau to visit the state to assess the situation1 the buhari media organisation bmo has advised stakeholders to work together in order to restore peace in embattled plateau state1 a statement in abuja by the coordinator of the organisation mr. austin braimoh and the secretary mr. cassidy madueke said it is confident that with the renewed commitment of the administration insecurity will be nipped in the bud1 the group noted the federal governments proactive measures in containing the violence including the deployment of special forces and equipment to plateau state1 it also noted with satisfaction the deployment of a deputy inspector general of police operations at the helm of affairs1 the organisation which aligned itself with the advice of president muhammadu buhari on the need for collective order to end carnage in nigeria praised efforts already put in place to curtail insecurity in all restive areas1 we commiserate with the families of the victims of the unfortunate incident and use this medium to appeal for peaceful coexistence among the various ethnic groups in plateau state1 we also solicit the support of the media in advancing peace in the state and call on affected people not to take the laws into their hands as the federal government is already taking necessary measures to bring the perpetrators to book. we believe that at the end of the day a lasting solution will be found to the problem1 the group urged the security agencies to do all that is necessary to stop further attacks in the state1 in another development the group commended the inauguration of a seedling factory in calabar which is said to be the first of its kind in africa and which is expected to raise nigerias rice production from 4 tonnes to 9 tonnes per hectare1 it noted that the cross river states project was in furtherance of president buharis economic diversification agenda which would impact positively on economic growth as well as employment generation1 -
Knife-wielding man kills 2 primary schoolchildren
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a man armed with a knife attacked students at the entrance to a primary school in shanghais central xuhui district on thursday killing two of the children police said1 the victims were rushed to hospital but two of the students died it said adding that the third student and the parent were not in a life-threatening condition1 the man who was arrested at the scene was unemployed and angry at society the police said. a video circulated on chinese social media platform weibo showed people tying up the attacker with rope on a roadside pavement1 violent crime is rare in china compared with many other countries especially in major cities where security is tight but there has been a series of knife and axe attacks in recent years many targeting children1 such attacks are often blamed on people with mental illness or who have personal grievances. knives are most commonly used because gun controls are extremely strict in china. reutersnan1 -
Queen Elizabeth is ill
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the awards were in honour of the work they are doing to transform lives in their communities2 the queen was joined at the award ceremony by the duke and duchess of sussex in recognising their success2 britains queen elizabeth 92 is feeling unwell and will not attend a special service on thursday at st pauls cathedral buckingham palace said1 her majesty will be represented by the duke of kent as grand master of the order a palace statement said1 elizabeth the worlds oldest and longest-reigning living monarch celebrated her 92nd birthday in april1 on tuesday night queen elizabeth presented three nigerians hauwa ojeifo isaac ezirim and kennedy ekezie-joseph from nigeria with a queens young leaders award at a special ceremony at buckingham palace london1 -
Putin, Trump summit for Helsinki: Fox News
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the summit between u.s. president donald trump and russian president vladimir putin will be held in helsinki fox news reported on thursday1 moscow and washington will confirm the time and place of the summit on thursday1 the two countries struck a deal on wednesday to hold a summit soon1 kremlin foreign policy aide yuri ushakov speaking after putin met u.s. national security adviser john bolton in the kremlin said the summit would take place in a mutually convenient third country and that several more weeks were needed to prepare for it1 -
Ighalos family receives death threat over missed goals
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super eagles striker odion ighalo has reacted to the alleged death threat issued to his family in lagos on the social media due to his failure to score goals from clear-cut opportunities against argentina saying it was not deliberate1 ighalo who replaced kelechi ihanacho in the second half of the match between nigeria and argentina in the ongoing world cup in russia failed to convert a through pass from ahmed musa had incurred the anger of fans1 nigerian fans strongly believed that if ighalo had scored the goal it would have seen the super eagles through to the round of 16 of the world cup1 speaking through his social media timeline ighalo who was involved in nigerias qualification for the world cup said that he regretted not scoring the crucial goal1 it is a great experience to play at the world cup and i enjoyed every moment of it but sometimes things dont work the way you want1 but life has to go on i am grateful to god i did not sustain any injury he said1 after the match which generated a lot of ill-comments from fans the changchun yatai f.c. of chinas striker apologised to nigerians and assumed personal responsibility for the blunder1 -
Another PDPs bigwig defects to APC
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source63 mr. sunday akinniyi former chief whip of ekiti state house of assembly has defected from the peoples democratic party pdp to the all progressives congress apc ahead of the state governorship election on july 142 he accused the outgoing governor of disrespect for top leaders of pdp2 he said that the alleged high-handedness was causing internal crisis and mass defection of influential members of pdp to the opposition2 the lawmaker representing ikere constituency ii said at the kayode fayemi campaign secretariat in ado ekiti said he got the blessing of critical stakeholders in my constituency before taking the step2 he explained that he decided to join the governorship campaign of dr fayemi because fayose treated the olukere of ikere ganiyu obasoyin with disdain and reneged on his promise to give him recognition and staff of office2 he alleged that fayose neglected his constituents in major projects executed in ikere ekiti2 governor fayose said i should bring olukere to him which i did. he promised that he will ask the council of traditional rulers to go to olukeres palace and examine the place and make recommendations on how best they can recognise his stool which they did2 akinniyi defected on tuesday with the excuse that he joined apc due to high-handedness of governor ayodele fayose2 all the projects he did in ikere including the dualisation were concentrated in constituency i. i used to raise issues about this and that was why they removed me as the chief whip instead of the allegation of docility and sleeping at plenary they levelled against me2 apart from all these the pdp had been in constant crises and now irreversibly divided and polarised to the extent that more than half of its members have moved out of the party in recent times to join apc2 as a democrat i cannot continue to remain in a party that had been polarised by internal crises because my continued stay will not allow me to effectively represent my people2 he declared that after consultations with leaders and people of his constituency he had resigned his membership of the pdp due to irreconcilable breaking into factions of the party in ekiti following the rancorous governorship primary2 i view of this i use this opportunity to announce my defection to apc from effect from today june 26 20182 last week a former deputy majority leader of the assembly ebenezer alagbada of iseorun had also joined the fayemi campaign2 a former pdp governorship aspirant and chieftain of pdp prince dayo adeyeye also defected to apc2 the obas turned in their report and governor fayose never acted on it. rather than recognising olukere they set him up for murder and put him in detention and that was why i decided not to support the governorship candidate professor kolapo olusola2 -
Women in Politics urge Buhari to overhaul security apparatus
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she called on president mohammadu buhari to direct security agencies in the country to observe the principle of the rule of law and respect for human right1 the women in politics forum wipf has called on president muhammadu buhari to overhaul the security structure in the country in view of the unending killings ongoing across nigeria1 she said that the forum was saddened by the continued killings around the country saying that thousands of lives had been lost in benue taraba kaduna and zamfara1 ifendu said that the killings were not only condemnable they were also unacceptable as it was on record that women and children were the most victims1 we call on the federal government to overhaul the security structure of the country we cannot continue to lose lives and property when is the responsibility of government to protect citizens1 we demand the immediate arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of this heinous crimes she said1 ifendu said that wipf was also concerned over the indiscriminate arrest of innocent citizens by security agencies without proper investigations1 the president pointed out the recent arrest of sen. enyinnaya abaribe by the department of state security dss for a matter in court1 the president of the forum ms ebere ifendu made the call at a press conference following the killing of over 100 people in barkin ladi riyom and jos south local government areas of plateau1 the forum demanded the immediate release of the senator and other detained citizens held without proper investigation1 on women representation in politics ifendu said though democracy was a game of numbers it had not reflected the population of women in nigeria1 at the federal level she put women representation in government at five per cent and various degrees at state level with none hitting the 35 per cent affirmative policy1 ifendu said that in the absence of any legal decument supporting women participation in politics political parties could bridge the gap1 she said that political parties determines who become candidates demanding that parties obey legal document setting them up and ensure internal democracy1 the forum commended the governor and citizens of rivers for electing 23 women as vice chairman and an unprecedented numbers as councilors in the just concluded local government elections in the state1 she said that rivers is one of the six states that has a woman as deputy governor commending governor nysom wike for appointing women into versions top government offices1 the president called on other states to emulate rivers canvassing that the gesture be replicated at the federal level in 20191