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.”

From Yagana Ali, Yola

The former senator representing Adamawa north senatorial district senator Ishaku Abbo, said democracy was under threat under the corrupt judicial system in Nigeria.

Abbo said this while interacting with journalists in Yola.

Sharing his experiences on what led to his removal from the national Assembly, Abbo said the judiciary is full of corrupt judges and judiciary states that negotiated with people to win cases.

He said the verdict given to him is not what is delivered during the trial at the Supreme Court when his seat is challenged.

“Any judicial system that is characterized by corrupt judiciary staff that negotiate with plaintiff to win a case, that means democracy is under treat”

Abbo said he has many text messages and interactions of the negotiation that were offered to him to maintain his seat at the assembly by one of the senior staff of the Supreme Court with a video footage when he is visited in a hotel in Abuja.

The Supreme Court should have asked for a rerun election in the polling unit which they claim has issues rather than just declaring his opponent the winner.

But he took what happened as a blessing in disguise because he now learns many lessons from what transpired during the case.

Abbo furthermore said he is making consultations on his next political ambition and will go along with what his people want because he is a man of the People, he said.