Connect with us

News and Report

A Must Read: Nigeria holds its breadth as Edo elects next governor Tommorrow.

Published

6 years ago

on

With the stage set for the Edo State governorship poll tommorrow Wednesday, September 28, Nigerians are waiting with bated breath for a free, fair and transparent election process. But once again, the build-up has been marred by allegations of fraud, even after the elections were postponed. An allegation of connivance to rig the polls was levelled against INEC, the Police and the ruling APC. The PDP in a statement by its publicity secretary, Chris Nehekhare claimed it had credible information that there was an arrangement by the APC to thumbprint fake ballot papers and take them to local councils where its candidate is expected to lose. He further said there was another plot to plant fake permanent voters cards on PDP supporters and get them arrested. Although the Edo the state police command and INEC have in separate reactions, denied the allegation, these are ominous signs that portend to trouble. If, as we say, the morning tells the day, then politicians, their supporters, power mongers, security agencies and all sorts of irredentists who take advantage of such situations of chaos should spare a thought for peace and security in Edo state and indeed the country.

According to the PDP, this sinister plot hatched between the APC and INEC with the connivance of the police was a ploy to manipulate or disrupt the results on the field at polling stations where they may be losing the elections. “They are planning to destabilize the election at Uromi, Ovia and parts of Oredo in order to provoke inconclusive elections in their areas of weakness. We are also reliably informed that members of the APC have been granted remote access to the INEC servers and its e-collation platforms. We are informed that certain officials of the commission had granted the APC real time access to the platforms in furtherance of their plan,” the PDP statement said.

Interestingly, the two governorship candidates, who hail from the ancient Benin Kingdom, have served the state in various capacities and on the platform of the same political party before this contest separated them. This, of course, could make the contest very divisive. On an optimistic note, it could also make it less so! Nigerians hope the latter prevails. What is more, incumbent Governor Adams Oshiomhole who is rounding off his constitutional second term has presided over a relatively peaceful state. While he is entitled to some partisanship as expected of an outgoing governor who would want his legacies consolidated by a successor, the least that is expected of Oshiomhole, a well-known unionist is to help ensure that the will of the Edo people prevails at the ballot box. That is the only way to guard his reputation as a statesman.

The APC governorship candidate, Godwin Obaseki defeated other aspirants at the APC primaries of Saturday, June 18, while Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who will fly the PDP flag, won his party’s ticket on June 20. Ize-Iyamu and Obaseki have both been in the same political camp before going their separate ways.

Ize-Iyamu, a pastor, is a former Chief of Staff and Secretary to Edo State government. He was an APC bigwig before decamping to the PDP. Ize-Iyamu was also the National Vice-Chairman, South-South Zone of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). He was the director general of Oshiomhole’s second term campaign organization in 2012. He had also once coordinated the office of the Goodluck/Sambo campaign organization on the PDP platform.

Obaseki was managing director and board chairman of Afrinvest (West Africa) Ltd until June 2016. He served on the Presidential Committee on the Reform of the Nigerian Pensions System; and also on the Committee on Reactivation of the Nigerian Bond Market set up by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). He is an active member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and currently serves in its Governing Council. He has also served on many NSE committees. In 2001, he was nominated Global Leader of Tomorrow (GLT) by the World Economic Forum. He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers and an alumnus of the Lagos Business School. He is the founding and current Chairman of Edo State Economic and Strategy Team which was inaugurated by Governor Oshiomhole in March 2009. So, both men come to the race with good enough credentials as managers and politicians.

Next Wednesday’s election offers another important test case for what to expect in 2019 and INEC should seize the moment to send the right signals about its capacity to organize free, fair and credible elections. With only 1,925,105 registered voters, INEC has more than adequate material, personnel and security wherewithal to do a diligent job in Edo, if it wants to. Therefore, there was no excuse for INEC, to have postponed the election from September 10, to September 28 after deploying all the requisite logistics, other than gross incompetence, partiality, corruption and mischief. The postponement of the vote over some imaginary security threats led to all sorts of speculations and opened the electoral umpire to charges of impartiality; and in the process, undermined its own credibility. INEC now has a historic opportunity to try to salvage its increasingly battered public image and gain some measure of public respectability.

As this is the second state-wide election to be organized by new INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmud Yakubu, expectations are high that INEC would discharge itself creditably. The first election on Yakubu’s watch was in Kogi where a strange development neither envisaged by the constitution nor Electoral Act occurred: the presumed winner died before the results were announced and that created a new phrase in Nigeria’s political lexicon – “inconclusive election.” In Nigeria where cynicism, political opportunism and inordinate ambition is the currency of choice of politicians, the prospect of any “inconclusiveness” over the Edo election should be banished by INEC with fairness in its conduct of the poll.

INEC should ensure that Edo politicians are not given any opportunity to engage in a shouting match to the news media when certain hiccups occur. INEC should work hard to plug all loopholes and save itself any embarrassment. The politicians in Edo State must behave in a decorous manner if they are truly out for service to the people, and the security agencies must show a high degree of professionalism and neutrality. Election is a process that has many components and stages. The Election Day itself is however the most critical, when its integrity can be easily compromised and outcome discredited. Once trust, the building block of credibility of the process is doubtful, people and observers automatically suspect injustice and that can be the trigger of widespread violence.

Politicians, their supporters, power mongers, security agencies and all sorts of irredentists who take advantage of the absence of an Election Offences Tribunal should spare a thought for peace and security in the state and indeed the country. All told, the people of Edo State should also be conscious of the fact that extant electoral laws empower the election umpire, INEC, to suspend or cancel elections where actions are suspected to have compromised the integrity of the process. That is why all Nigerians need to reflect on the implications of their negative attitude before, during and after elections. The people of Edo should realize that they are the source and the pillars of democracy and good governance. They owe themselves the duty to make it work in their State. They should help deepen democracy by voting peacefully on Wednesday and ensuring that all votes count.

 

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Advertisement

News and Report

HOW ACCESS BANK STRUGGLES TO ATTRACT FRENCH COMPANIES…

Published

10 hours ago

on

September 27, 2023

By

Nigerian Access Bank has been very outspoken about strengthening ties with France, but has not yet made much progress.

On the 10th floor of the Access Tower on Victoria Island in Lagos, the only sign that Access Bank has what it calls a “French Desk” is a tiny French flag in a corner. It has been nearly four months since the bank’s main shareholder and non-executive director, Herbert Wigwe, opened the Desk, but it has not yet done anything.

The Desk has been set up to help French companies work in Nigeria and vice versa. To this end, a partnership with the Business France office in Lagos is currently being finalised. However, its efforts will first focus on Ghana. Access Bank’s branch in Accra handles accounts for several major French companies, including TotalEnergies and the consultancy Mazars.

Presence in Paris

In May, Minister Delegate for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships Chrysoula Zacharopoulou attended the inauguration of the new French Desk, intended to mark a new step forward in Access Bank’s French strategy. Two weeks before, on 15 May, Wigwe became chairman of the French-Nigeria Business Council, replacing Abdulsamad Rabiu of BUA and then inaugurated a Paris branch at the Petit Palais with French Foreign Trade Minister Olivier Becht in attendance

Like the French Desk in Lagos, the Paris office, a branch of Access Bank’s London and run by Justin Maria, cannot do much. It currently cannot open an account for any clients, discussions are still on going with the French Prudential Supervision and Resolution Authority.

 

Westward bound

The Paris branch of Access Bank and the French Desk in Lagos, which will also benefit from an office in Paris in the coming months, indicate its interest in the West African Economic and Monetary Union. The Nigerian bank acquired Standard Chartered Bank’s assets in Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, Tanzania and Sierra Leone, and now intends to break into the markets in Senegal and Ivory Coast.

 

  • The Capital

Continue Reading

News and Report

Businesses to enjoy more value with Glo Prime

Published

15 hours ago

on

September 27, 2023

By

A new offer, Glo Prime, has been unveiled by Digital and telecommunications solutions provider, Globacom. It comes with a portfolio of call and data package aimed at aiding the growth of businesses by keeping them connected at all times and ensuring they get more value for the money they spend on the network.

 

The product, according to a Globacom statement, comes in four different plans with each of them delivering immense value to the businesses and other customers. The plans includeN1,500, N3,000, N5,000 and N10,000 packages.

 

Customer who chose Prime N1,500 pack will get 45 minutes of calls and  4GB of data, while those who prefer the Prime N3,000 plan will enjoy 100 minutes of calls and 12GB of data. Those who opt for Prime N5,000 pack will get 300 minutes of calls and 25GB data while 750 minutes of calls and a whopping 60GB of data await customers who pick the N10,000 pack.

 

Globacom stated that, “In a highly dynamic environment, there is  need for constant innovation to offer more value to our new and existing customers. The Glo Prime is, therefore, a portfolio of new plans designed to surpass similar products in the market in terms of flexibility, ease of use and value”.

 

It added that the introduction of Glo Prime reinforces the company’s position as a provider of the most competitive Voice and Data solutions for high value customers, both individuals and corporates.

 

The company, which marked its 20th anniversary in August, recently received two awards at the Consumer Value Awards and picked up another two at the prestigious Marketing Edge Annual Brand and Advertising Awards, lending credence to its  commitment to excellent service delivery and innovative offering to subscribers.

Continue Reading

News and Report

Court halts Aiyedatiwa’s impeachment, kinsmen hold solidarity protest

Published

16 hours ago

on

September 27, 2023

By

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, restrained the Ondo State House of Assembly from impeaching the Deputy Governor, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, over alleged gross misconduct.

Justice Emeka Nwite gave the restraining order in a ruling shortly after Aiyedatiwa’s counsel, Kayode Adewusi, moved an ex parte motion to the effect.

The judge also restrained Governor Rotimi Akeredolu from nominating a new deputy governor and forwarding the same to the lawmakers for approval pending the hearing and determination of the substantive matter.

Justice Nwite held that after listening to Adewusi, he was of the view that the interest of justice would be met by granting the application.

“Therefore, the application of the applicant succeeds,” he held.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the embattled deputy governor had, in a motion on notice marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1294/2023, sued the Inspector-General of Police and the Department of State Services.

Others joined in the suit are Akeredoku, Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Chief Judge of Ondo State, and the House of Assembly as 1st to 6th respondents, respectively.

In the application filed by Mr Adelanke Akinrata on September 21, Aiyedatiwa sought four reliefs.

Justice Nwite, who granted all the reliefs, adjourned the matter until October 9 for hearing.

Meanwhile, hundreds of indigenes of Ilaje community in the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, on Tuesday, stormed Akure, the state capital, to protest against the ongoing impeachment process against Aiyedatiwa.

Aiyedatiwa, who is also an Ilaje man, had been served the impeachment notice by the state House of Assembly and was expected to respond to all the allegations in the notice.

The protesters, who gathered in front of the entrance of the Assembly gate with leaves in their hands, chanted various solidarity songs to express their support for the embattled deputy governor.

Some of them carried placards with inscriptions such as “Justice for Lucky, Lucky is innocent”; “Stop accusing him wrongly”; “Ilaje Nation stands with Aiyedatiwa”; “Aketi, Lucky is not your enemy,” and “Let Lucky finish his term,” among several others.

The protesters alleged that the impeachment proceedings were a plot to take Aiyedatiwa out of the race of the 2024 governorship election in the state.

Speaking on the development, one of the leaders of the protesters and Founder of the Ilaje World Congress, Mr Ola Juda, declared that the indigenes of Ilaje would not tolerate the impeachment move against Aiyedatiwa.

He said, “This gathering is the gathering of sons and daughters of Ilaje land; not only Ilaje, but we also have other sympathisers from Akure and Ese-Odo Idanre axis that have come together to protest against injustice and the battle that is going to erupt in Ondo State. The peace of Ondo State is being threatened by the actions of the Ondo State House of Assembly.

“For the past decades, an Ilaje man has never been a deputy governor but for the first time, we have a deputy governor, and yet powers that be have vowed that he will not finish his tenure. Aketi/Lucky mandate was given to both of them and if Aketi is still the governor of Ondo State, our mandate as the deputy governor remains.”

However, no member of the House came out to address the protesters.

The Akure Area Commander of the Ondo State Police Command, Mr Nzota Chidi, who addressed the protesters, advised them to be peaceful in order not to be infiltrated by miscreants.

In a related development, some former members of the Ondo State House of Assembly have condemned the process taken by the state Assembly to impeach the deputy governor.

The former lawmakers, under the auspices of the Concerned All Progressives Congress’ Ex-Lawmakers in Ondo State, said it was too early for the members of the 10th Assembly to take the issue of impeachment as a major priority at the expense of various challenges facing the state in recent times.

Speaking in Akure on Tuesday on behalf of others, a former lawmaker, Mr Abiodun Jerome, urged the state Assembly to play the game according to the rules, warning them against causing chaos in the state.

Jerome said, “Our intention is purely advisory. May we remind you, dear honourables (lawmakers) that Chapter 5 Part 2 and Section 90 to 129 of the Nigerian Constitution is very clear on the establishment of the House of Assembly and its functions.

“The present House of Assembly is less than four months old, and it’s very unfortunate that impeachment proceeding is their priority amongst the myriads of critical issues confronting our state presently.

“As former lawmakers, we have the responsibility to point attention to all forms of abnormalities we observe so that the general public is not misled. Although we could have ordinarily ignored the shenanigans of the orchestrators of the dastardly act, we are compelled by the trust once held by us with the political responsibilities as representatives of our various constituencies.”

Similarly, a political organisation under the aegis of Ondo State Consciousness Movement, on Tuesday, warned members of the Ondo State House of Assembly against being used as a political tool in the hands of the executive to achieve a predetermined objective.

The chairman of OCM, Shalom Olaseni, in a statement, said that the legislature should not allow its hallowed chambers to be tainted with political witch-hunts or targeted vendettas as being rumoured in various quarters in the state.

He said, “The alleged discord between the state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, who recently returned from a protracted sick leave abroad, and the deputy governor, stemming from the deputy governor’s alleged gubernatorial ambitions, should not be allowed to overshadow the pursuit of justice and adherence to constitutional principles.”

 

Continue Reading

Trending