NEWS
2023: INEC Begins Training of Political Party Officials
By Jude Opara, Abuja
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has begun the training of officials of political parties on the INEC Candidate Nomination Portal (ICNP) for the conduct of the forthcoming exercise.
The programme was put together in collaboration with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).
Declaring the occasion open, INEC National Commissioner, Mrs.
May Agbamuche-Mbu said the Commission has decided to organize the event to keep the parties abreast with the way the functions of the new device the electoral body is introducing in the conduct of the elections.Agbamuche-Mbu further explained that with the signing of the Electoral Act in February, the political parties have 180 days to the next general elections, adding that the Electoral Act has made the inclusion of technology as part of the process.
“The Electoral Act, 2022, has made provision for several technological innovations and has additionally given the Commission a general discretion to apply technology as it sees fit.
“Prior to the 2019 General Election, you will recall that the nomination process was manual and fraught with a plethora of challenges, which necessitated the launch of the ICNP. The ICNP has been in use since the 2020 Edo and Ondo State Governorship elections. The portal was though recently redesigned to accommodate the greater demands of a wider, general election nomination process.
“This training is of utmost importance to political parties as it will enlighten them on the guidelines for nomination of candidates and the new procedure of the ICNP bearing in mind that political parties will be submitting forms on the portal in respect of candidates they intend to sponsor for the various offices in One Thousand, Four Hundred and Ninety-Nine (1, 499) constituencies in Nigeria.
“It is expected that at the conclusion of this training, political parties would have gained extensive knowledge on the new nomination process for the 2023 General Election, demonstrate practical knowledge on how to make submissions on the portal and be equipped with the approved Guidelines for the Nomination of Candidates for Elections as stipulated in the Electoral Act, 2022. I am convinced that with the highly experienced resource persons provided, these objectives would be achieved”.
Also giving a background of the training programme, the INEC Director of Legal Department, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola said INEC is an organization that has as its mission the conduct of free, fair, and credible elections and the vision of being one of the best Election Management Bodies (EMBs) in the world that meets the aspirations of the Nigerian people.
Babalola said; “It is imperative that INEC must consciously, deliberately, and vigorously pursue measures that make the election process seamless, a seamless process for the submission of names of nominated candidates by political parties is not negotiable if the electoral process will be seen as free, fair, credible and inclusive”.
She added; “By the provision of Section 29 of the Electoral Act, 2022 and the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the general elections, the names of all candidates nominated by political parties shall be submitted to the Commission via the ICNP on the date stipulated in the timetable. It is worthy of note that the procedure for submission of nomination forms by political parties has in recent times gone through several modifications due to the recent technological innovative developments in the electoral process by the Commission and also, the recent enactment of the Electoral Act, 2022”.
She further stated that the demands of the forthcoming 2023 General Election, as well as subsequent elections, the Commission has approved the redesign of the ICNP which will indisputably improve the nomination process for the elections.
The Federal Government has declared Wednesday, Thursday and Jan.1, 2025 as public holidays.
This is contained in a statement signed by the Ministry of Interior’s Permanent Secretary, Dr Magdalene Ajani, on Monday in Abuja.
According to Ajani, the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo said that the public holidays were to enable citizens to celebrate Christmas, Boxing Day and the New Year respectively.
“The Christmas season is a good moment for both spiritual reflection and national renewal.
“As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, let us demonstrate kindness and extend goodwill to one another, irrespective of our differences,” the Minister.
Tunji-Ojo emphasised the importance of the season as a time to foster harmony and to strengthen bonds across families and communities.
He assured citizens of the federal government’s continued commitment to ensuring peace, security, and prosperity across the nation.
He further expressed confidence in the renewed hope agenda of President Tinubu’s administration for a better and prosperous economy in 2025.
The Minister, on behalf of the federal government sent warm greetings to all Nigerians, urging them to use the festive period to reflect on the values of love, peace, and unity that the season signifies.(NAN)
Some suspected hoodlums on Saturday attacked the palace of Etsu Lokoja, Chief Emmanuel Dauda-Shelika, Nyamkpa IV, burning properties within the premises, including a vehicle.
The palace, located on plot 306, New Layout, Lokoja, was allegedly attacked by hoodlums at about 1:00 am on Saturday.
The Nupe Natives of Lokoja Development Union were planning to host the 2nd edition of the Nupe Natives end-of-the-year event, tagged “Lokoja ’24 Nupe Cultural Fiesta,” on Dec.
21, 2024, before the incident occurred.The event was, however, aborted due to the unfortunate attack.
Dauda-Shelika said this on Monday in Lokoja that he heard a big bang on my door at around 1 am.
“I woke up to check through the window, wondering what could have happened.
“Then, I suddenly saw wildfire coming out of my car that was set ablaze by attackers.
“I knew it was an attack on the palace, and therefore I could not come out because of fear of being attacked. So, I managed to come out through the back door and scaled the fence to escape for my life.
“Thereafter, I came out to the road and realised that all my neighbours in the community were on the ground trying hard to quench the fire, but unfortunately the car was burnt as well as other properties inside it.”
The traditional ruler appealed to the government and security agencies to investigate the cause of the attack and bring perpetrators and their sponsors to justice.
He admonished Nupe natives in Lokoja to avoid any reprisal attack but continue to remain peaceful and law abiding and allow the government and security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation of the attack.
“We are appealing to Gov. Ahmed Ododo and security agencies to please use their good offices to investigate this unfortunate incident and bring to justice whoever is concerned, whether directly or indirectly.
“We also want the government to kindly visit our issues by recognising and grading the stool of Etsu Lokoja, which had been in existence before colonisation,” he said.
He stated that the Lokoja Local Government Area chairman and his security team came for an on-the-spot assessment that Saturday morning, as well as the police and other security outfits.
The National President, Nupe Natives Union Lokoja, Alh. Abubakar Ndashite, said the event scheduled for Saturday was a celebration of Nupe cultural heritage and not any form of coronation as being insinuated from some quarters.
Ndashite, who doubles as the chairman of the planning committee, said the aborted event was to project the Nupe spirit and culture as well as the rich history of the diversely composed Lokoja community and the peaceful and harmonious coexistence among her.
He expressed his displeasure over the aborted cultural event, noting that the union had expended so much on it, and urged the government to bring perpetrators to book. (NAN)
The Abia Sector Command of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has confirmed the death of eight persons with two others injured in a road traffic crash that occurred along the Bende-Ohafia Road.
A statement by the Sector Commander, Mrs Ngozi Ezeoma, on Monday in Umuahia said that the crash occurred on Sunday along the Mmuri River axis of the road in Ohafia Local Government Area of the state.
She said the crash involved a Trailer carrying chippings which hit and fell on a Sharon Volkswagen vehicle with 10 persons on board.
“At the time of the crash eight persons had died including a woman standing by the roadside and three were injured.
“The injured victims were taken to the hospital while the dead ones were deposited at the morgue,” she said.
Ezeoma said that preliminary investigation revealed that the crash was caused by dangerous driving and excessive speeding. (NAN)
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