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ECOWAS Reaffirms Commitment to Peaceful Elections in Nigeria 

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The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has reaffirmed its commitment to efforts to foster peace, security and stability for Nigeria to achieve a peaceful elections in 2023.

The Director, Political Affairs of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr.

Remi Ajibewa, made this known on Friday during a sensitisation workshop in partnership with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Rivers.

He said that the South-South sensitisation workshop, with the theme, “Enhancing Media and Political Parties Roles in Promoting Good Participatory Process”, intended to get response from stakeholders on how to achieve a successful electioneering process in the 2023 general election.

Ajibewa, represented by Mr Emmanuel Okorodudu, the Head of Division, Democracy and Good Governance Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Regional Security at ECOWAS, said that the Commission would identify with Nigeria as ECOWAS member state during the elections.

Ajibewa said that ECOWAS would also deploy short-term and long-term observers in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria to monitor and observe the elections.

He said that ECOWAS believed that with such support, Nigeria could achieve a peaceful and violent-free electoral process.

Ajibewa, on behalf of the President of ECOWAS Commission, also thanked the Rivers Government for being a perfect host.

He also commended the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Rivers for partnering with the Commission, the security agencies, Civil Society Organisations and the media in making the workshop a success.

He also commended the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) for its support.

He urged IPAC to work cordially with the political parties to ensure a peaceful electioneering process in the 2023 general election.

Mr Kweku Asante, the Senior Programme Manager, Media Foundation for West Africa, Accra, Ghana, said that social media should be used as a tool during and after election.

Asante, who spoke on the topic “Upholding positive media values and Ethics during electioneering”, urged media practitioners to sustain a culture of facts checking on information emanating from social media and other sources before publication.

Asante also spoke on the topic: “Social Media and Positive Citizens’ engagement for Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, opportunities for Nigerian citizens journalists,  social media practitioners and political parties”.

He advised stakeholders to be present and active on social media platforms to enable them know when issues of fake news on social media would cross the line of National peace and unity.

Mr Brenard Mornah, Former Chairman, Political Party, Human Rights Advocate and Citizens Activist, Accra, Ghana, who also spoke on the topic “The Campaign Strategy for Political Parties and Positive Citizens’ engagement for Nigeria 2023 election”, commended ECOWAS for peace building across West Africa.

Mornah urged political parties to focus on issue-based campaign, saying that the choice of candidates and their activities should reflect good governance for citizens and the nation.

Mornah, who also spoke on “Managing Thuggery and Vigilantism Group Activities”, said that much attention should be given to Vigilantism due to its importance to the nation to avoid crisis.

Mr Stanley Job Stanley, the State Chairman of the NUJ, commended INEC and ECOWAS for equipping journalists through trainings and workshops.

According to Stanley, the media are well equipped and set for the 2023 election reportage in Rivers.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the stakeholders, during the meeting, also recommended that the security agencies’ neutrality should be paramount while pledging allegiance to the people instead of parties in power or opposition.

They also stated that protection of journalists and electorates by security  agencies, especially the police, should be paramount.

They said that the election entity by the police should be holistic not excluding the political parties.

They also urged the military to stick to its Constitutional roles and stay away from politics in order not to undermine participation.

They also said that sensitisation and advocacy for security agencies in terms of further operational procedures was necessary.

They also called for equitable deployment of security personnel to all areas.

They urged the security agencies, especially the police, to be proactive, especially on social media.

On the part of the media, stakeholders recommended that journalists should be professional and abide by the Code of Ethics of the profession.

They urged journalists and the media to keep to the electoral rules and regulations, adding that insurance policy should be taken out for journalists in the region.

They also recommended that journalists should be patriotic, nation builders, conflict sensitive and promote peace journalism.

They urged media organisations to use evaluation mechanisms to counter fake news, disinformation and misinformation, adding that journalists should also be security conscious and a live to report the news.

On the part of national interest and security recommendations for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), the commission urged CSOs to be home based, obey rules and regulations and have proper understanding of the new electoral act process to be able to sensitise the public.

It urged them to promote disabilities and gender equality.

Speaking on vote buying, the commission also expressed the need for intensive education or sensitisation awareness on the disadvantage.

It urged the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to scale up its surveillance during the election, by having desk officers to counter fake news and misinformation.

It urged International Observers to be objective in their reports.

The commission also urged the electorates to go out in mass and cast their votes. (NAN) 

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Bandits Invade Niger Local Market,  Village  Head, 20 Others Killed

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From Dan Amasingha,  Minna

After relative  peace since the start of the Ramadan fast,daredevil Bandits  invaded a Niger local market and killed the Village head and 20 traders in Madaka, Rijau local government areas of Niger State.Rijau Local Government which borders  neighbouring Kebbi State, has experienced consistent banditry attacks in the past one year.

Eye witnesses inform our Correspondent that the suspected bandits riding on motorcycles stormed the market  on Thursday  afternoon  around 3.
30- 4pm  when activities at the market  were  at its peak.According  to the source,  the invading  bandits who shot sporadically  into the air to scare away traders later started ransacking big time traders by carting away food stuffs  and Cash.
Villagers who had the pandemonium at the market square fled into nearby bushes to take cover and the Village head who attempted  to find out  what was happening was shot dead at close range.”At the end of the confusion, we discovered that twenty one persons  including our Village  head were wasted,The Source  maintained that, the bandits before leaving  later set about 50 houses  including commercial shops on fire, and a  number of cars and motorcycles were burnt down during the incident.”After  killing innocent victims and burning down the market they also went away with an unspecified number of the villagers to an unidentified destination”Confirming  the incident,  Madaka District Head, Alhaji Isah Bawale  said  it was a black Thursday evening in a telephone interview on Friday morning.He further recounted that the Community  had come under similar attack some times ago when his predecessor  was killed without any resistance from security agencies.When contacted, Niger State Command of Police Public Relations Officer PPRO SP Wasiu Abiodun assured to verify and get back but he couldn’t revert at the time of filing in the report.Meanwhile, the Niger state government, especially the commissioner for security, General Bello Abdullahi Mohammed (retired) is yet to speak on the incident.

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Women Are Nation Builders, Bayelsa NAWOJ

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From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa

The Nigerian Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ, Bayelsa State chapter has described women as society builders hence they should be empowered to harness their potentials for nation building.

Chairperson of NAWOJ Bayelsa, Mrs Grace Orumieyefa handed down this during a one day program to commemorate the 2024 International Women Day held at the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ Press Centre in Yenagoa, the state capital.

Mrs Orumieyefa noted that NAWOJ has over the years been at the forefront of advocacy for women rights as the empowerment of women brings empowerment for everyone around her which makes a better society.

Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer, Eunice Nnachi Women Advocacy Foundation, ENWAF, Lady Eunice Nnachi urged women to take advantage of technological advancement to improve their learning and training in order to empower themselves.

“You can learn almost anything using the internet, through YouTube, women should use this medium to learn many things and train themselves.”

While responding to questions, she said, women should not be desperate to get life partners but should ensure that they have partners who can help them to achieve their dreams.

The Keynote Speaker, Mrs Ebi Kakandar who delivered a lecture on “Harnessing the Prospects and Potentials of Women” called on women to shun all forms of laziness, be determined and courageous to pursue their life ambitions.

Mrs Kakandar pointed out that factors such as building a growth mindset, improving your emotional mindset, developing willpower, cultivating strong social support, aspiring for greatness and setting achievable goals are some of the keys to achieving success as a woman.

She encouraged women to seek more knowledge and inspire themselves to be self-reliant.

Various organizations such as NUJ, FIDA, NLC, MWAN, Starzz Initiative, DO Foundation, POWA and other women organizations as well as NGOS delivered Goodwill messages for women advising to aspire for higher achievement.

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Students Loan: FG Explains Delay in Take-off, Sets New Date

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The Federal Government has set the month of March for a definite opening of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFund) portal for eligible students.

Dr Akintunde Sawyerr, Execute Secretary NELFund, who disclosed this in an interview with newsmen on Thursday in Abuja urged eligible students to register to access the fund.

President Bola Tinubu on June 12, 2023, signed the Access to Higher Education Bill into law to enable indigent student access interest-free loan to pursue their education in any Nigerian tertiary institutions.

The scheme was slated to commence between September and October 2023, but because of unforeseen circumstances, there was a revised timeline to January.

Giving reasons for the delay in starting the scheme as earlier scheduled, Sawyerr explained that the process is technically driven and necessary measures needed to be put in place for proper execution.

“The take-off date is this month (March) and the reason for the delay is that we are trying to get it right.

“This is not a political programme where we say, oh! we are just going to do it, it doesn’t  matter how it works.

“This is a programme that will, probably run beyond me as a human being, not even as a Secretary. This is something that we want to run adequately, so we have to get it right,’’ he said.

Sawyerr, reiterated President Tinubu’s commitment to ensure that lack of finance should not be a reason for any student in Nigeria to halt education at a tertiary level.

According to him, the scheme was designed for indigent Nigerian students in tertiary institutions and applications would be done online.

“We have decided that, all applicants should be able to access this scheme regardless of where they are, who they are and who they know.

“We want this to be a process that is fair to all and we will advertise the portal widely so that applicants will be able to go to the website to fill series of forms and answer certain questions.

“Base on the data they input and their answers to the questions, the system will be able to determine appropriately, whether they are eligible to apply or not,’’ Sawyerr explained. (NAN)

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