POLITICS
INEC Committed to Conducting Free, Fair, Election in Ondo – REC
Independent National Electoral Commission has reiterated its commitment to conducting a free, fair and credible election in Ondo State on Nov. 16.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Ondo State, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, gave the commitment at a Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room Dialogue Session on Ondo State governorship election, in Abuja on Tuesday.
Babalola said that the commission was fully aware of its duty of conducting a free and fair election in the state and had put proactive measures in place to actualise this.
She said that the state, with 18 local government areas, has a total of 2,0531,061 registered voters, adding that INEC had, as of date, distributed 61,919 permanent voter cards (PVCs).
According to her the commission has been engaging the media to engage citizens on voter education and sensitisation in order to reduce voter apathy and build their confidence.
Babalola said that she had also held meetings with some civil society organisations and paid advocacy visits to traditional leaders to discourage youths from engaging in violent acts.
The REC added that Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) would be deployed in all the 3,933 polling units in the state, stressing that transportation arrangements and security collaboration were also in top gear.
“I wish to state that INEC in Ondo State is fully geared up for the conduct of the 2024 governorship elections scheduled to hold on Nov. 16, 2024.
“To ensure a seamless and successful electoral process, we have implemented some proactive measures, including working ahead of timelines, applying the lessons learnt from previous elections and ensuring capacity building for our staff and ad hoc staff.
“We are also engaging in intense collaboration with critical stakeholders and ensuring early opening of RAC and pulling units.
“Our resolve in the state is that polling units will open early while election officials will wait for voters and not the other way round.
“These measures demonstrate INEC’s preparedness and dedication to conducting free, fair and credible election in Ondo State. With careful planning and collaboration, the commission is poised to conduct a successful election,” she said.
According to Babalola, ccredited observers groups are expected to report any irregularity or breach of the election process without interfering in the process and procedures.
The REC, however, said that the observers could escalate issues that were critical on the election day through the INEC Situation Room hotline.
She said that a dedicated hotline would be provided to all accredited observer groups for direct reporting to the INEC situation room.
Speaking earlier, Mr Yanusa Ya’u, Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and Executive Director, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), said as observers, their mission was not limited.
“Our observation is not just limited to the election day activities.
“Observation will allow us to identify areas of weaknesses, areas of challenges and call the attention of relevant agencies so that remediation can take place.
“We believe that without credible elections, democracy will itself be facing serious challenges because the confidence of people in the democratic processes will be challenged when they believe that their votes do not count.
“We are committed to doing everything possible within the limit of our resources and endowments to contribute to that process.
“For us, we see INEC as a partner in the democratisation process.
“But, we will not shy away when we see lapses and particularly, where we see lapses that consistently occur in the conduct of elections in this country.
“We hope that some of the weaknesses and lapses, and perhaps even the situation we witnessed in Edo will not repeat itself in Ondo State.
“We have confidence in the REC and all the stakeholders in the conduct of the election,” Ya’u said.
The convener, however, said that his organisation wanted to put on record that some of the things they witnessed in Edo fell short of what they considered to be the threshold of a free and credible election.
“We hope that lessons have been learnt from that process to make sure that the election in Ondo State will be one that we will all come and celebrate that we have got it right,” Ya’u said.
Dr Matthew Ayibakuro, Governance Adviser, U.K Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), said that the platform should be used to discuss such issues that were pertinent to the electoral system and restoration of voters’ confidence.
“We want you to spotlight some of the issues that will potentially affect some of the outcomes of the Ondo State election, like insecurity, economic hardship and the climate, and how they affect the election.
“It is good for us to look at the issue of participation because Nigerians have become dissatisfied with how elections were re managed recently and even in time past.
“I think it is getting to a point where people are removed or indifferent in issues of election. We don’t want a repeat of some of those things in the event past in Ondo
“We want to see an election where we can hold up our chest and it is an election that is free, fair and credible at the end,” he said.
Ayibakuro assured the gathering of FCDO’s non-interference and support in such initiatives that would support the systems like INEC and security agencies to ensure credible and fair election.(NAN)
The leadership of Labour Party (LP) says Ms Oluchi Oparah, its former National Treasurer, is not the National Woman Leader of the party.
This is contained in a statement by issued the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Obiora Ifoh, on Thursday in Abuja.
Ifoh said that Oparah was suspended indefinitely in November 2023 as a member of Labour Party for alleged anti-party activities, adding that her suspension is still subsisting.
He said that Oparah was never the national woman leader of the party and that she had never contested to be one at any point in time.
“A person who pretends to be someone else in order to deceive others is an impostor.
“Therefore, her recent actions, using the office of the National Woman Leader of the Labour Party to seek pecuniary patronage amount to impersonation.
“This development has immensely embarrassed the Labour Party, hence this disclaimer,” he said.
According to him, the national woman leader of the party is Mrs Dudu Manuga.
“She alone is constitutionally mandated to oversee the activities of millions of Labour Party women in Nigeria and across the globe.
“We are, by this disclaimer, alerting organisations including the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), The Kukah Foundation, Non-Governmental Organisations, political associations, National Assembly, and security agencies to be aware of her dubious activities,” he said.
Ifoh warned any individual or organisation being approached by Oparah to contact the police immediately. (NAN)
Chairman of Cross River Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC), Dr Ekong Boco, says 10 political parties will be participating in the Saturday local government elections.
Boco stated this on Thursday in Calabar during the commencement of distribution of sensitive materials to all the 18 local government areas in the state.
He, however, debunked the speculations that the materials had already been sent to the council areas.
Boco, who showed everyone the ballot papers before the commencement of distribution, urged political parties to keep supporting the commission until the election was ‘done and dusted’ on Saturday.
“We will be using 3,281 polling units, as approved by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 9,843 ad-hoc staff, 460 supervisors, 18 returning officers and 198 collation officers,” he said.
The CROSIEC chairman said that all the ad-hoc staff were trained from Oct. 25 to Oct. 27, including the returning officers and ward collation officers, expressing the hope that they would conduct themselves well during the exercise.
“We want everyone to see that the process is transparent and the commission is clean,” he said.
Boco further stated that the voting, which would be manual, would commence by 8 a.m. and end by 2 p.m.
In his remarks, the State Chairman of Inter party Advisory Council (IPAC), Mr Effiom Edet, said that the council had observed the process by the commission, expressing the confidence that the election would be free, fair and credible.
“We have not noticed in anyway where results were signed for any political party and so we want to let the people know that something like that cannot happen,” he said.
Report says that Friday has been declared public holiday by the state government to ensure effective preparation for the polls. (NAN)
By Eze Okechukwu, Abuja
The senator representing Borno South in the National Assembly, Mohammed Ali Ndume has spoken against plans by the Federal Government to review the tax regime of the country upward, stressing that such measures would impoverish Nigerians the most.
Speaking in Abuja yesterday, Senator Ndume explained that the Federal Government must get things right first, expand sources of income for Nigerians and ensure that the people are living and not surviving, before reviewing the taxes upward.
The former Leader of the Senate said the middle class of the country was gradually fading, as they were being squeezed out by the high inflation.
“This tax they’re talking about, we are almost losing the middle class in Nigeria. It is either you have it or you do not have it. Those that are in the middle are being squeezed out. If Nigerians can pay for those taxes, it is okay.
“But in the current situation, increasing taxes is not an alternative at all. I will not support any increase in tax.
“Let us get things right first. Let people start living and not survive. Let people have extra income, and then you can tax them. I like to use an example of common sense. Allow Nigerians to have enough blood in their body before you start asking for donation,” Ndume stated.
He said the managers of the economy want to make President Bola Tinubu look bad before Nigerians by proposing any increase in tax, while calling on the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and other managers to stop misleading President Tinubu.
Ndume, who recently appreciated President Tinubu for his de-dollarisation policy, said: “The poverty is too much in the north. Let us be frank about that. So, you want to increase taxes again? Tax those people who can afford it. Those who can afford the taxes in Nigeria, I do not want to be particular about it, are not even paying the taxes. These big companies do not even declare their income, not to talk of getting the appropriate taxes.
“I am one of those opposing that tax bill in the National Assembly. I am not going to support it. In fact, I am going to start campaigning against the increase in tax for now because it does not only affect the north but the average Nigerian.
“I am not saying people should not pay tax, but do not go and tax people that are barely struggling to survive. You are paying somebody N70,000 as a minimum wage, and all of a sudden, the price of fuel went up to N1,000. It means that if you put the arithmetic together, you see that you would have continued paying me the N30,000 and allow the litre of fuel to be N100.
“It is like giving you with one hand and taking it with the other hand. Let the tax authority focus on those who are supposed to pay tax. For example, in Abuja, if you go round, there are a lot of properties in there that are not paying taxes. Fortunately, you have Nyesom Wike who stands up to do something about it.
“People are not paying property taxes. These banks, for example, are making tons and tons of money, and they are not paying taxes. And they are collecting taxes. If you transfer money, they are collecting taxes. If you receive money, they are collecting taxes. And they declare profits. Go and check their taxes. Now you want to squeeze somebody who is barely trying to survive because there are many.
“You need to start from somewhere that is acceptable. I, at one time, proposed a bill for communication and phone owners to pay tax. It didn’t see the light of the day.
“You are talking about Abuja here. Many people do not have access to mobile phones. Anybody who can access a phone should be able to pay tax.”
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