NEWS
INEC Seeks Reps Nod to Classify Facilities as High Security
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, on Friday sought the nod of the House of Representatives to classify its facilities as high security facilities across Nigeria.
Yakubu made the appeal in Abuja during the investigation hearing of the the ad-hoc Committee Investigating the Attacks On INEC Offices and Facilities.
He said INEC might not be able to hold election in states where facilities are being repeatedly attacked.
The INEC Chairman noted that out of the 36 states, 15 states have recorded fifty incidents so far.
He urged the National Assembly to expedite action to pass the Electoral Offences Commission Bill, adding that any nation that does not penalize offenders is doomed.
According to him, INEC is saddled with a responsibility that it can not execute, the commission cannot keep replacing destroyed items.
He said Nigeria needed to put a stop to these destructions, adding that the commission had applied for additional budgetary allocation towards the success of the 2023 elections.
In his submission, the Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence, Ahmed Audi, said the various attacks were targeted at the 2023 elections.
He said the Civil Defense had lost men in the crisis, especially in Imo state, adding that one of the reasons for the attack was to prevent INEC from conducting free, fair and credible elections.
“It might disenfranchise some people and cost government money. We have increased deployment of men to curtail the attacks.
“We have also mounted surveillance on facilities across the country, the nature of the attacks are very new in Nigeria.
Similarly, Inspector General of Police, Mr Alkali Baba, said the Nigerian Police were always at the receiving end of the attacks.
He said Imo state and south East Nigeria had been very volatile due to the activities of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and their military wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
“It is a well known fact that we have issues of secession that are bent on stopping elections in the south East.
“There is also the issue of failed politicians who are bent on making sure that the election does not hold. There is also the issue of retired politicians,” he said.
He, however, lamented the lack of synergy and intelligence gathering between the security agencies.
“The police are handicapped as most of the people arrested are connected to people in high places. Police are under-staffed.
“We are not up to 400,000. We lack manpower. We need additional funding for recruitment. We lose personnel everyday and we need to replace,” he said.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, while declaring the hearing open, said that the House is disturbed at the systematically orchestrated attacks .
He said this was not only because it posed a threat to INEC’s capacity to conduct the 2023 general elections, but because it was an attack on democratic governance.
He declared the perpetrators of the attacks as enemies of the country, adding that it was on these basis the House unequivocally condemned the nefarious attacks.
He said this also propelled the House to set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the remote and immediate causes of the incessant attacks on INEC facilities.
He said the house is hopeful that at the end of the investigation, the Committee would come up with far-reaching recommendations.
This, he said, would not only bring an end to the unfortunate attacks on the nation’s democracy, but also ensure that the perpetrators of the nefarious acts face the full wrath of the law.
The Chairman of the ad-hoc Committee, Rep. Oluga Oluremi, said the House would look into the issue of inadequate manpower of security agencies as well as other recommendations.
She also urged security forces to be more proactive to prevent further attacks. (NAN)
Chief Bode George, a former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has urged President Bola Tinubu to reduce the price of petrol to N300 per litre ,to make things easy for Nigerians during the festive season.
George, the Atona Oodua of Yorubaland, made this plea at an interactive session with newsmen on Wednesday in Lagos.
The price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, is currently above N1,000 per litre.
According to the elder statesman,Nigerians are going through hardship, the President should give an order to reduce fuel price, specifying time frame the people will enjoy such window of relief.
He said that the federal government as well as well- meaning individuals and businesses could bear the cost of such price slash , to bring happiness to all Nigerians.
The PDP leader, who noted that December and January are special months , said that such gesture could start from the middle of December and run through January.
“I have been thinking, as a Nigerian, what can we do because the anger and the hunger are almost equal on the streets of Nigeria.
“What am I suggesting is that Mr President should sit down with his managers and give an order that from the middle of December to the end of January, the cost of petrol will be N300 per litre.
“The government can absorb the losses in the interest of the suffering people.
“If they (government) want others to contribute, let us know how much that is going to cost and ask people to donate, to bear the cost.
“We will be sending a lot of messages of happiness across the tribes and homes.
“Everybody in Nigeria will be happy because it will positively impact on this period of the year. It is a challenge and he (Tinubu) can do it.
“We need this in this December and January to put smiles on the faces of Nigerians, ” George, a PDP Board of Trustees (BOT) life member, said.
Advising the President to take further measures to bring relief to the people, he said that the gesture would crash prices of essential commodities and services for the benefit of all .
He said that government’s efforts should be concentrated on reducing high inflation rate, unemployment, poverty and youth restlessness in order to create a better future for Nigerians
Speaking on the recent presidential election in Ghana, George noted that Nigeria’s electoral system needed reforms to guard against electoral frauds and manipulations.
According to him, the nation will continue to grope for development if the system fails to encourage best candidates to emerge.
Stating that election must reflect the wishes of the people and be devoid of religious and tribal sentiments, George said that Ghana election should be a wake up call for Nigeria.
“INEC performance must improve. The commission must make sure that the voice of the people is heard in elections.
“Electoral offenders should be made to face the music and sent to jail. We must be very firm about due process, credibility and transparency in elections,” he said.
Urging the President to revisit resolutions in the 2014 Constitutional Conference, George said that the current constitution was not federal in principle and practice.
“We should not deceive ourselves, the constitution is a problem. It is a military constitution, it is not democratic,” he said.
George called on the National Assembly to ensure devolution of powers and electoral reforms that would do away with manual collation of election results and mandate electronic transmission of election results from polling units.
George disagreed with political watchers saying no vacancy in presidency in 2027.
On the dwindling strength of the former ruling party, George, who noted that all organisations had its ups and downs, said that selfish interests and disregard for party rules remained PDP’s major challenge.
He said that PDP could bounce back and win presidential election if the leadership decided to elevate national interest above selfish interests and adhere to the party’s constitution.
“We will tell ourselves some serious old truth. We messed ourselves up. ” he said.
Stating, however, that the PDP was not dead, George said that lack of justice, equity, fairness and the inability to adhere to the party’s zoning and rotational principle cost the party victory in 2023.
Calling on the party’s founding fathers alive to wake up and rescue the party, George said that Nigerians were still waiting for the former ruling party to take over power and put things right. (NAN)
President Bola Tinubu, is set to perform the groundbreaking of 2,000 housing units of the Renewed Hope City in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, in the next few weeks.
Mr Ahmed Dangiwa, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, announced this during an official assessment visit, on Wednesday in Lagos
Dangiwa said Lagos would represent the South-west, while the president would do that of the North-West in Kano, before doing that of the four other regions.
“Arrangements is already on ground, we have gotten sites, and work has commenced for 2000 houses in the Renewed Hope City that we intend to build in Ibeju-Lekki,” he said.
Towards achieving the set goal, the minister said the visiting team also paid a courtesy visit to Gov.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu to discuss area of collaboration between the federal and state governments.He disclosed that the federal and Lagos state governments had agreed to set up a Tripartite committee and ensure all the issues of concerns between the parties were resolved amicably for the benefit of all.
Earlier, the Minister embarked on an assessment visit of deplorable Federal Government buildings and assets across Lagos state in a bid to commence rehabilitation on them in a few months.
Dangiwa said the rehabilitation was necessary as the deplorable buildings posed a challenge and security concerns to the Lagos state government. (NAN)
Gov. Hyacinth Alia on Wednesday presented the sum of N550.1bn as the 2025 appropriation bill to the Benue State House of Assembly for consideration and passage into law.
Alia told the lawmakers that out of the total budget size, N175.4 billion is for recurrent expenditure while the N374.
7 billion is for capital expenditure.The governor said that the total estimate represented a 47.
5 per cent increment over the 2024 revised and approved figure of N373 billion.He stated that the appropriation bill tagged “Budget of Human Capital Development, Food Security, and Digital Economy” was to consolidate the gains made in 2024.
Alia further explained that the proposed recurrent expenditure of N175.
4 billion was 13.55 per cent higher than the previous year.According to him, budgeted capital expenditure of N374.7 billion represents a 71.5 per cent increment on the 2024 revised capital expenditure.
“The budget breakdown indicated that the sum of N212.2 billion, representing 38.52 per cent is for administration; N196.6 billion, representing 35.68 per cent is for the economy; law and justice will take N26.6 billion, representing 4.84 per cent while social welfare will gulp N115.5 billion, representing 20.96 per cent.
“We have the vision. We have the will. And most importantly, we have the people ready to work alongside us to turn this vision into reality.
“Together, we will build a state where every citizen has the opportunity to succeed, where food is plentiful, and where the digital economy opens new frontiers of opportunity for all,” he said.
The governor said the intention of the government was to stay within the limits of its recurring revenue to build the state without accruing unnecessary debts for generations unborn.
He, however, said that since the 2025 budget was a deficit one, it proposed a borrowing plan of a conservative sum of N26bn, representing a modest 4.7 per cent of the proposed aggregate expenditure for 2025.
“This is lower than the state’s debt-to-GDP ratio of 8.2 per cent which is within the benchmark of the 25 per cent debt sustainability threshold.
“Despite these favourable debt ratios, I want to reiterate that borrowing will only be considered as a last resort and for regenerative investment purposes,” he added.
Alia stated that the problem of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) remained a challenge, adding that they have reasonably improved their living conditions.
He said the Bureau of International Cooperation and Development has elicited substantial grants from donors, totalling N85bn. (NAN)
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