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INEC To Extend PVC Collection Deadline In Selected States

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The Independent National Electoral Commission has said that there is a possibility of extending the deadline for the collection of Permanent Voters Card(PVC) in some states where the collection rate is low.

The electoral umpire had earlier set Friday, 8 Feb. as the deadline for the collection of PVCs.
Speaking at the National Stakeholders’ Forum on the 2019 General Elections Thursday in Abuja, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the Commission would meet with Resident Electoral Commissioners RECs in the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT to review the collection rate and take an appropriate decision.

“I want to assure stakeholders that INEC is prepared for the elections. Let me assure the stakeholders and the nation that Smart Card Readers will be deployed in the 2019 general elections. The next issue is the Voter Register and Permanent Voter Cards. We have a lot of complaints from citizens, however, the complaints are coming from those who have damaged their PVCs and require replacement, as well as those who applied for transfer and relocation but the cards, have not been found.

“Some of you will ask that the last day for the collection of PVCs is tomorrow which is Friday, the 8 of November. The Commission is going to meet today after this forum and the next meeting we are going to hold is with security agencies and where it is necessary we will review the arrangement for the collection of PVCs. No Nigerian is going to be disenfranchised for no fault of his or fault of hers.

On ad hoc staff, he said; “We have three categories of ad hoc staff; we have the supervisory presiding officers. We have the presiding officers and assistant presiding officers 1, 2 and 3. The third category are the collation and returning officers. Our State offices are responsible for the recruitment and training of the first two categories. We are satisfied with the processes and we are going to do refresher training before the election”.

The INEC Chairman who explained that State Resident Electoral Commissioners have been mandated to meet with Commissioners of Police in their respective States to decide on the deployment of security, said they are to meet with State Chapters of Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers to implement the earlier signed Memorandum of Understanding to ensure that election staff and materials are moved to various polling units before the arrival of voters at 8 am on election day.

Also speaking, the Acting Inspector General of Police, Muhammed Adamu disclosed that the six Deputy Inspectors General of Police, DIGs will be deployed in the six geopolitical Zones, 24 Assistant Inspectors General of Police, AIGs will be deployed in the Zones while 36,000 tactical personnel will also be deployed in addition to regular police to beef up security on election day.

According to him, “in the tactical unit, over 24,000 mobile police personnel will be deployed, 4000 counter-terrorism personnel will be deployed and about 8000 special protection personnel will be deployed”.

“I work tirelessly with the INEC, with the office of the National Security Adviser and other security agencies to make sure that 2019 election is done in a secure manner, in a professional manner, in a way that a level playing field is provided for every political party and to indicate that all the security agencies will be impartial in the conduct of the 2019 general elections.

“All the Commissioners of Police in the States were made to identify the flashpoints within their States; to identify those that will cause what will lead to the disruption of elections and make sure that we bring them to order before the elections. That has been done. We have done the threat analysis in all the State Commands. The state Commissioners of Police are also going to identify all the polling units and voting points within their Commands in cooperation with the Resident Electoral Commissioners to make sure that all the polling units are known before the day of the election.

“Apart from the regular police officers and other security agencies posted, we have our tactical units like the mobile police force, the counter terrorism unit, our special protection unit, all deployed to give additional security”, he stated.

Adamu said all the Squadron Commanders of Police Mobile Force, Special Protection and Anti Terrorism Units will escort sensitive election materials to the State Branches of Central Bank of Nigeria CBN, Registration Areas and accompany INEC Staff and poll officials to their duty posts.

He added that there will be no Police Escort for very important personalities, VIPs to polling units but INEC State and Local Government offices, Collation Centres, NYSC Lodges and public utilities will be protected by armed Police personnel while three unarmed security personnel will man each polling unit on the day of election.

The Police Boss promised that the phone numbers of all Police Public Relations Officers, AIGs, Commissioners of Police, Assistant Commissioners of Police and other officers involved in election day security would be made available to the public before election day.

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IBEDC records 1,459 energy theft cases in January, February

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The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company said it has recorded 1,459 cases of energy theft by its subscribers between January and February 2024.

This was disclosed in a press statement signed by the firm’s Chief Key Accounts Officer, Mr. Johnson Tinuoye, on Tuesday.

IBEDC added that it is actively pursuing investigations and legal actions against individuals and businesses involved in the theft in collaboration with the Federal Government Special Investigation and Prosecution Task Force on Electricity Offences.

Identifying the cases, IBEDC said they included various offences such as meter bypass and illegal meter tampering, which resulted in significant financial losses amounting to hundreds of millions of naira for the company.

The statement read, “We want to send a clear message to our customers that energy theft will not be tolerated. Our collaboration with the Federal Government Special Investigation and Prosecution Task Force on Electricity Offences underscores our commitment to ensuring a fair and just electricity distribution system.

“Energy theft not only undermines the integrity of our operations but also deprives IBEDC of the revenue necessary to provide quality services to our customers.”

Tinuoye emphasised that under the Electricity Act, energy theft is now recognised as a criminal offense, carrying severe penalties including imprisonment stressing, “In the Osun region, two individuals were apprehended for stealing energy through meter bypass and illegal connections. Their cases have been formally charged in court for prosecution.”

IBEDC further urged customers to refrain from engaging in any form of energy theft, emphasising that the consequences can be severe, as there is no room for negotiation with the SIPTEO Task Force team, which is actively patrolling and investigating instances of energy theft for prosecution.

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Copyright Breach: NCC Drags MTN, Others To Court Over Musician’s Works

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The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) has filed criminal charges against MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd. and four others over alleged copyright infringement.

The charge with number FHC/ABJ/CR/111/2024 filed in the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court was obtained by journalists on Monday.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that the four other defendants in the case include the chief executive officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola; Nkeakam Abhulimen, Fun Mobile Ltd.; and Yahaya Maibe.

In the three-count charge, NCC alleged that the defendants, between 2010 and 2017, “offered for sale, sold and traded for business’’, infringed the musical works of an artiste, Maleke Idowu Moye, without his consent and authorisation.

The commission alleged that the defendants used musical works and sound recordings of Mr Maleke with subsisting copyright as caller ringback tunes without the authorisation of the artiste.

The musician’s musical works and sound recordings allegedly infringed upon included 911, Minimini-wanawana, Stop Racism, Ewole, 911 instrumental, Radio, Low Waist, and No Bother.

The defendants were also alleged to have distributed the musical works to their subscribers without authorisation, thereby infringing on the rights of the artiste.

In the third count, the defendants were alleged to have in their possession, other than for their private or domestic use, the artiste’s musical works and sound recordings.

According to NCC, the alleged offences are contrary to and punishable under section 20 (2) (a) (b) and (c) of the Copyright Act, Cap. C28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

The case has yet to be assigned to any judge, and no date has been fixed for the mention.

Meanwhile, no official statement has been released by any of the defendants as at the time of filing this report, while all efforts to get reactions from MTN by New Telegraph proved abortive.

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LASG, LCC ANNOUNCE REOPENING OF LEKKI CONSERVATION CENTRE AFTER REPAIRS

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Following the completion of extensive routine maintenance works on the Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC), the Lagos State Government and the Management of the Centre have announced that the Walkway will be reopened for public use with effect from Friday, 29th March 2024.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Idris Aregbe confirmed this on Friday during a visit to the Centre in Lekki alongside some officials of the Ministry.

Aregbe said that he was happy to see that all repairs and renovations on the facility, including the Walkway, have been completed and would be accessible for tourism during the Easter celebration.

The Special Adviser appreciated Lagosians and tourists across the world for their patience during the thorough maintenance works carried out at the Centre in Lekki.

The Director-General of the Centre, Prof Mathew Onoja also appreciated the State Government for its intervention following the viral video, which first circulated in December as well as the swift response and efforts towards making the repairs and renovations seamless.

He noted that the Centre being a major tourism asset in Lagos State has played host to tourists from all over the world as it offers a serene environment for nature tourism and also boasts of the longest canopy walkway in Africa.

Recall that the facility has been undergoing routine maintenance since January following apprehensions arising from the damaged section of the Canopy Walkway, which had been repaired before the viral video was posted on social media platforms.

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