POLITICS
Elections: Lack of Transparency Must be Addressed in Nigeria, others – UN official
Shrinking civic and political space, and lack of transparency, were among the common concerns, leading to a decline in trust in electoral processes in Nigeria and other West African countries, according to UN envoy.
Leonardo Simaõ Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) said this while briefing Security Council on Tuesday at UN headquarters in New York.
Simaõ said these challenges should be addressed way ahead of future elections in Nigeria, Benin, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Sierra Leone.
He, however, commended the countries for embracing democracy.
The envoy said that they had marked important steps towards democratic consolidation, offering opportunities for citizens to choose their leaders and representatives at the national and subnational level.
Simaõ urged ambassadors to pay the “utmost attention” to the situation in Mali, where the mandate of the UN’s peacekeeping mission, MINUSMA, was terminated by the Security Council last month.
“The situation in Mali continues to require our utmost attention. In anticipation of a detailed plan, UNOWAS will play its role liaising intensively with ECOWAS and other partners as the mission is set to draw down until the end of the year,” Simaõ said, adding that he will travel to the country shortly.
Established by the Council in 2013, following a coup the previous year, the mission’s presence, as of February 2023, stood at more than 15,000 personnel, according to MINUSMA.
Media reports have depicted a grim security landscape. Over the past decade, Mali and the Sahel region have seen a surge in clashes and attacks by armed groups and terrorist affiliates, with 303 peacekeepers killed, according to the mission.
Simaõ voiced concerns over underrepresentation of women in politics and decision-making, emphasising that failing to include women held back sustainable development and denied their basic human rights.
Calling upon all stakeholders to promote legislation and enforce existing instruments for women’s empowerment and gender equality, he also emphasised the role of youths.
“With more than 60 per cent of the population being younger than 25, youths are an important group whose voice is not yet fully heard in peace building efforts,” Simaõ said.
On the security side, Simaõ informed the 15-member Security Council that the central Sahel region had seen a further deterioration in the security situation, marked by multiple attacks against civilians and defence forces.
Meanwhile, he added, as coastal countries have enhanced their efforts to strengthen policing and security operations, reinforced through bilateral cooperation, security threats from the north were still a real concern. (NAN)
POLITICS
Edo Lawmaker Dumps PDP for APC
A two-term member of Edo House of Assembly, Mr Ojezele Osesua, has dumped Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for All Progressives Congress (APC).
Osesua, representing Esan South-East Constituency, announced his defection on Monday in Benin at a news conference held at the APC state secretariat.
The development came less than two months after PDP lost the state to APC in the governorship election.
NAN also reports that the lawmaker was received by members of the State Working Committee (SWC) of the party headed by Jarrett Tenebe.
Osesua said that he decided to dump the opposition party over what he called”irreconcilable crisis.”
He said that his defection was like paying back a debt he owed the ruling when he left the party in 2020, after it had sponsored him to win election in 2019.
“In 2019, I was elected into the assembly on the platform of APC. Due to some challenges, I left the party and joined PDP after one year.
“Though I was elected on the PDP platform in 2023, I have been indebted to APC. It is that debt I have come to pay with my defection,” he said.
On his part, the APC chairman commended the legislator for joining the party.
Tenebe described Osesua as a ‘focused, election-winning’ member, adding: “It’s not APC’s fault that PDP has issues.
“You will recall that during the election campaigns, I said our doors were open and the doors are still open,” he said. (NAN)
POLITICS
APC Accuses PDP of Politicising Stampedes
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of politicising the recent stampedes in Abuja, Anambra, and Ibadan, where several lives were tragically lost.
In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, the APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Felix Morka, condemned the PDP’s actions, calling them “grossly indecent, insensitive, and despicable.
”Morka criticised the opposition party for using the national grief over the stampedes to launch a political attack on the APC-led administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Morka stated, “At a time of national grief over the stampedes that resulted in the deaths of citizens, the PDP seized the moment to engage in callous political chicanery.
“Rather than genuinely commiserate with the victims and their families, the PDP chose to politicise the tragedy, blaming the incidents on the APC government.”
He emphasised that the tragedies had united Nigerians in mourning and reflection, with a collective focus on how the incidents might have been avoided through better planning and organisation.
“Our thoughts and prayers remain with the victims and their families,” Morka added.
Morka also rebuked the PDP for exploiting the stampedes to attack the APC, particularly since the current administration was committed to addressing the challenges inherited from nearly two decades of PDP rule.
He reminded the PDP of the 2014 Nigerian Immigration Service recruitment stampede, which occurred under its administration, where many job seekers lost their lives.
“The PDP’s allegations only serve to remind us of its sordid record of maladministration and incompetence,” Morka said.
He noted that the party’s suggestion that President Tinubu’s administration was not committed to the welfare of Nigerians was “mischievous and out of touch with reality.”
He pointed to the current administration’s efforts to invest in alternative energy sources and the introduction of the Credit Corps scheme and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
Morka also highlighted salary reviews for workers and increased allowances for corps members as part of the government’s commitment to improving the welfare of Nigerians.
Morka further highlighted the government’s commitment to provide free and subsidised transportation during the holiday period, approving grants for farmers and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and other humanitarian initiatives.
He asserted that this administration is “the most people-centric in our history.”
He also dismissed the PDP’s claim that the APC’s policies had damaged the economy.
“For years, successive PDP governments operated a phantom economy riddled with distortions and corruption, deceiving Nigerians into believing the economy was thriving.”
Morka commended President Tinubu for suspending his scheduled activities to honour the victims and expressed condolences to the families affected by the tragedies.
He wished a speedy recovery to those injured in the incidents.(NAN)
POLITICS
Journalists Honour Barau for Topping Chart of Private Member Bills Sponsorship in Senate
By Mike Odiakose, Abuja
Journalists covering the Senate have honoured Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, with award on highest number of private member Bills sponsorship.
Records on Private Member Bills sponsorship among serving Senators in the 10th National Assembly , obtained from Rules and Business office , indicated that Senator Barau tops with 21 bills within the last 18 months.
One of the 21 private member bills sponsored by Senator Barau was the NorthWest Development Commission Bill which is now an Act of Parliament legalising the creation of North West Development Commission (NWDC) after assented to, by President Bola Tinubu.
Barau in his response to the honour, said it would make him to do more for his constituents in Kano North Senatorial District and Nigerians generally.
”Your recognition of my legislative inputs in the Senate within the last 18 months, particularly on series of development – driven bills sponsored so far, is something that will energize and propel me further to do more.
“Once you are given an award, it’s a kind of telling you to go and do more. To whom much is given, much is expected.
”This to me also is considered as your contribution to making sure that the legislature remains vibrant.
”Once you identify those who are doing well and you honour them through awards of this nature, that will create some kind of competition and will propel others to do more so that they can be recognized at some other time in the future.
”We can’t perform here in the best manner possible, without your contribution to what we are doing. And you are contributing in a very robust way to what we do here, making us as partners in progress for the good of Nigeria and Nigerians .
”So our relationship with you is sine qua non to our success. We can never succeed without you because without you reporting what happens here , Nigerians can’t know what we are doing,“ he said .
Earlier, the Chairman of the Corps, James Itodo, told the DSP that the honour is strictly on performance as contained in the records and not for any other thing.