On No-Interview Visa Renewal, it said:

You are physically present in Nigeria;

If you are qualified based on the above criteria, visit https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ng to start
your application.

Please note that processing times for the program are expected to be up to two months and
you will not be able to retrieve your passport during that time.

Each applicant must individually meet the criteria; minors can apply without an interview only if
they meet the eligibility criteria on their own.

On Emergency Appointments, it said: If you have a life-or-death emergency, you may request an expedited, in-person interview;

However, to accommodate No-Interview Visa Renewals, appointments will be very limited.

Business travel, conferences, weddings, and graduations are not considered emergencies.

If you have an emergency and need to travel immediately, please follow the guidance provided at
https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ng or 234-1-227-8955 to request an emergency appointment.

The Mission alerted that third parties unaffiliated with U.S. Embassy Abuja and Consulate General Lagos
might seek to take advantage of various visa services to target visa applicants with fraudulent
offers or claims.

It advised applicants to fill out their own forms and make their appointments themselves via the
official websites.

As future opportunities for Interview Waiver appointments become available, they will be
communicated via our website.

Remember to rely on information only from genuine sources: https://travel.state.gov,
https://ng.usembassy.gov/visas/, and https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ng.

Avoid becoming the victim of a scam!, the U.S. Mission advised. (NAN) www.nannews.ng

Source: NAN News

By Diana Omueza

The Cleen Foundation, an NGO, has lauded the conduct of the Nigeria Police and other law enforcement agencies during the general election held on Saturday.

The elrection was held to elect the President and Vice President and members of the Senate and House of Representatives.

Mr Peter Gad, Executive Director of the foundation gave the commendation while addressing newsmen on the foundations preliminary report on the conduct of security agencies in the elections.

Gad also urged the electorate to remain peaceful to the end of the entire electoral process.

He said from reports so far received from the foundations observers in senatorial districts across the country, the elections appeared to have gone according to the standards for democratic elections to which Nigeria had committed itself.

We deployed roving observers in the 109 Senatorial Districts and our preliminary reports indicates that, inspite some reported delays, the elections appear to be going on according to the standards for democratic elections.

The 109 trained INEC accredited observers liaised with a sizable number of citizen observers across the country covering the 109 senatorial zones in Nigeria.

They reported that the elections commenced early in most polling units before 9:00 am, however in Kogi, Ebonyi, Imo, Enugu, and Abia States observers reported delays due to late arrival of INEC staff and voting materials.

While in Delta, Ebonyi, Imo, Ondo, and some part of Lagos State, late arrival of security personnel were reported in some polling units, he said.

Gad said that in spite of the late arrivals of security, data gathered showed that over 80 per cent of the polling units had at least two or more security agents.

He added that almost all the polling units observed security agents were wearing easily visible and identifiable name tags and they were civil and approachable.

According to him, observers across the states reported that they felt safe and secure at the polling units.

Our observers reported that security personnel in the polling units visited acted professionally and impartially towards the voters.

The security personnel were of good conduct at the various polling units, he said.

The director said that most of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) functioned reasonably well, except in few cases where the machines for different polling units were mixed up.

The BVAS machine that was meant for a different unit was deployed to Polling Unit 004, Ward Dan Mangu Zodu, in Bassa LGA in Plateau State.

Again our observer in Polling Unit 012, llesha Ward, Baruten LGA in Kwara State reported that the BVAS thumbprint failed to capture any registered voter as at 10:50 am.

However, in all, the elections appear to have gone according to the standards for democratic elections to which Nigeria had committed itself, he said.

Gad said that the group was still compiling reports from across various polling units and would disseminate a more elaborate post election report to the public in due time. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Sadiya Hamza

Source: NAN News

Malam Saliu Mustapha, a Senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara Central, has been declared winner of Saturdays election.

Prof. Abdullahi Abubakar, Returning Officer for the Senatorial Election in Kwara Central, announced Mustapha, early Monday morning, as the winner, having satisfied the requirements of the electoral law.

Abubakar said that Mustapha polled 109,823 votes against his close rival, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who polled 69,202 votes.

Also, Mr Apaokagi Salahuddin of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), polled 13,193 to come third in the keenly contested election.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Olagoke Olatoye

DD/Website

By Nabilu Balarabe

Sen. Ahmed Lawan of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has won the Yobe North Senatorial District election in Yobe.

Declaring the results in Gashua on Monday, the Returning Officer, Prof. Omolala Aduoju of Federal University, Gashua, said Lawan scored 91,318 votes.

Having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest votes, Alhaji Ahmed Lawan of the APC is hereby declared the winner and returned elected, she said.

She said Lawans closest opponent, Sheriff Abdullahi, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came second with 22,849, while the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) candidate, Alhaji Garba Umar, scored 7,210 votes.

Aduoju said Action Democratic Party (ADP) scored three votes even though the party did not field a candidate in the election.

The total votes cast in the election is 126,677 out of which 122,136 were valid and 4,541 votes rejected, she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the district comprises of Machina, Nguru, Bade, Karasuwa, Jakusko and Yusufari Local Government Areas.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Sadiya Hamza

Source: NAN News

By Angela Atabo

A Coalition of Civil Society Organisations has expressed worry over the slow upload of the Presidential and National Assembly election results.

Mr Hamzat Lawal, Chief Executive, Connected Development (CODE), who spoke on behalf of the Civil Society Organisations on Sunday in Abuja, said that at the INEC result portal currently has only results for 40,000 polling units.

Lawal said, this is most disturbing as we are aware that INEC created over 50,000 new polling units with less than 100 registered voters in each of them.

This is even as elections have since been concluded in most of these polling units at 2:30p.m., yesterday.

One would expect that by midnight of yesterday, all this polling units results should have been uploaded.

This expectation is coming from the experience we observed in the Ekiti and Osun Gubernatorial elections, where we witnessed over 95 per cent of the results uploaded before midnight on election day.

He said that the CSOs were forwarding to INEC some of the reports they were got from the field.

Lawal said that with 20,000 community-driven observers on the ground, CODE and its partners using the Electoral Intelligence tool, Uzabe, noticed a worrisome trend across the nation .

He said that these pointed to the gaps and unpreparedness within the structure of the electoral process and which threaten the credibility of this election.

The coalition said that there were several reports which indicated that in states like Ekiti, Cross River, Imo, and Rivers, INEC had their Local Government Area (LGA) collation centers relocated without adequate information to stakeholders.

In Ekiti especially, we have it on good authority that all LGA collation centres were relocated, and in most cases, accredited observers were outrightly denied access to were results were being collated.

This happened in Oru East, Imo State, where our observers confirmed that no election was held and in fact, some voters were asked to vote in a private residential building of a party chieftain, which is clearly against INEC guidelines and the electoral act.

Yet we have results from that LGA. This is an indictment on INEC and all that our constitution stands for, the group said.

Lawal said that CODE and its partners call on INEC to indeed be independent and serve the people what the constitution has mandated it to serve.

Therefore we are calling on INEC to address these issues immediately. We are also calling on the Nigerian police as the lead agency on election security to monitor, he said (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Bayo Sekoni

Source: NAN News

By Rotimi Ijikanmi

As Nigerians await the outcome of the Saturday general elections, Information and Culture minister Lai Mohammed has lauded his compatriots determination to elect credible leaders for the country.

Mohammed, who voted at his Polling Unit 006 in Oro Ward 2, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara, particularly lauded the voting process which he described as peaceful.

He also lauded the massive turn-out of voters.

What struck me the most is the turn-out of the young, old, strong, the physically challenged men and women; they all came out to cast their votes.

You can see the determination and resolve on their faces in an atmosphere of conviviality.

I hope that it will be the same atmosphere and ambience in every other polling unit, the minister said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the seat of the President, the 109 slots in the Senate and the 360 seats in the House of Representatives were up for graps on the first election day.

The next election day is March 11 when Nigerians will elect new state governors and members of state houses of assembly. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams and Ephraims Sheyin

DD/Website

PDP Flag

By Gami Tadanyigbe/Ijeoma Olorunfemi

Mr Sunday Zaka, Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the FCT, lost his life in an automobile accident in the early hours of Saturday in Kuje.

A close aide of the deceased, Bawa Benjamin, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) the accident happened around 2 a.m. along the Gudaba-Arena road on the outskirts of Kuje town.

He said the deceased was returning from a meeting of party officials in Abuja, and his Peugeot car lost control and crashed into a tree.

He was rushed to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital at Gwagwalada, where he was confirmed dead by the doctors, Benjamin said.

Reacting to the sad event, Mr Abdullahi Sabo, Chairman of Kuje Area Council, while also confirming Zakas death, described it as a great loss to the party. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Mr Olawale Alabi

Source: NAN News

Obasanjo voting in an election

By Olawale Jokotoye

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, have adjudged the 2023 Presidential and National Assembly elections in Ogun as smooth and credible.

Osinbajo and Obasanjo expressed their views in separate interviews with journalists after casting their votes in Ikenne and Abeokuta respectively.

Commenting, Obasanjo who voted at about 10:32 a.m. at Ward 11, Polling Unit 22, Olushomi Compound, Sokori area of Abeokuta-North, expressed satisfaction at the peaceful and orderly conduct of the polls.

I think we are getting it through in election in our country.

One can see things that are encouraging and giving hope for future as far as election is concern, because there are improvements, he said.

Obasanjo, particularly, commended INEC for the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), saying that technology had improved the voting process.

I came in and I was checked. I was asked to remove my glasses and the gadget was placed before my face and my picture appeared.

That is a new one and if that will happen all over the country, I think we are making progress.

One should encourage and support anything that will help the credibility, integrity and transparency of the electoral process, because credible election is the begining of good governance of any country, he said

Obasanjo expressed optimism over the outcome of the polls, adding, my expectation is high.

Also, Osinbajo, who cast his vote at Unit 014, Ward 1, Ojurege in Ikenne Local Government area of the state, also described the exercise as peaceful.

He expressed hope that the election would be orderly and peaceful across the country.

This is my polling booth. The Ojurege polling booth is very peaceful.

I hope this is the same all across the state and the country, he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

==========
Edited by Olagoke Olatoye

Source: NAN News

BVAS machine operated by an electoral officer

By Ikenna Osuoha

As Nigerians go to the polls on Saturday, a group, Initiative for Leadership Development and Change (ILDC), has urged voters to conduct themselves peacefully in exercising their electoral rights and vote their conscience.

Mr Ugochukwu Nnam, President of the group, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday.

He called on the voters to see the election as an opportunity to make statement without fear or favour.

Nnam said: Today is a remarkable day, it is historic in the sense that it is the long expected day for Nigerians to decide their future.

So, I advise voters not to be intimidated but vote whosoever is their choice considering their vote as power to make or mar their future.

The youths leader, who commended President Muhammadu Buhari for promising free and fair elections, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to compromise its set standards.

Every hand should be on deck to support INEC deliver credible, peaceful, free and fair elections., Nnam appealed.

He lauded Buhari for signing the Electoral Act which had reduced possible incidents of thuggery and rigging in elections.

The ILDC leader advised voters to resist temptations of vote-buying and other acts capable of undermining a credible electoral process.

Nnam promised that the group was committed to the promotion of good governance in the country for a united and prosperous Nigeria.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigerians will be going to the polls on Saturday to elect a new President and National Assembly members. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Funmilayo Adeyemi/Bashir Rabe Mani

Source: NAN News

Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele

By Julius Toba-Jegede

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Senatorial Candidate for Ekiti Central, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele, has defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the race in his polling unit in Iyin Ekiti.

The current Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, defeated his closest rival Oladimeji Ajijola of PDP with 171 votes.

Ajijola pulled two votes, according to the result confirmed by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at Polling Unit 003 of Ward 13 on Saturday.

NAN reports that Bamidele is seeking a re-election to National Assembly where hes the Chairman, Southern Senators Forum.

In the same polling unit, APC Presidential Candidate, Sen. Bola Tinubu scored 155 against his opponent, Atiku Abubukar of PDP who scored two.

Also in the same polling unit the APC House of Representatives Candidate Steve Fatoba polled 165 votes, while his closest opponent from the PDP scored only one vote.

Bamidele appreciated the people of his ward for the overwhelming victory and promised to report his qualitative representative hes offered in the last three years. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

JTJ/IAA

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

Source: NAN News