Author: The Nation

Ahead of the forthcoming general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday conducted a mock accreditation exercise in Twelve (12) polling units across six local government areas in Lagos.

While the presidential and National Assembly elections hold on 25 February, the governorship and State Assembly elections will be conducted on 11 March.

The Nation reports INEC, last week, noted the mock exercise was to test the efficacy of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in preparation for the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, added that the machines used for the mock exercise would be reconfigured in preparation for the main elections

Although the technology has also been deployed in several off-season elections held recently, INEC will be deploying the BVAS machine for the first time in a general elections.

In Lagos, the selected local government areas include: Ikorodu, Somolu, Eti-Osa, Surulere, Agege and Ikeja. They were picked from the three senatorial districts in the state.

INEC officials led by the Lagos Resident Electoral Commissioner, Olusegun Agbaje, visited six polling units in Surulere, Shomolu and Ikeja respectively to observe the process.

Agbaje re-echoed that the mock accreditation process was to test the functionality of the BVAS ahead of the 2023 general election in the state.

In some of the polling units monitored by The Nation, the exercise started at 8:30 a.m and ended by 2:30 p.m.

At the polling units, security operatives including the Police, NSCDC, DSS were on ground to monitor the process.

Read Also : PHOTOS: INEC holds mock accreditation exercise in Ikeja

Also, various party agents, especially Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Congress (APC), and Labour Party (LP) agents were on ground to observe the process.

Of the 543 registered voters at Anifowoshe/Ikeja, ‘in front of No 50 Abeokuta’ in the Ikeja local government area, 27 voters were accredited at about 12:11 pm when The Nation visited. The INEC official said that all the accreditation were successful.

Also, at Somolu LGA, RA – Mafowoku, Polling Unit 040, Ward 5 located at Omo Alade Alafia Street, Bariga, an INEC official said that “no failed accreditation” was recorded, and that the process was smooth due to the co-operation of the voters.

Meanwhile, voters in their different reactions while speaking on the mock exercise, commended the use of BVAS, and urged INEC to conduct free, fair and credible polls.

One person has been confirmed dead in the Apata area of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital following a clash between suspected hoodlums and security operatives.

The deceased, a member of a vigilance group, has since been deposited at a government hospital for post-mortem.

Men of the Oyo State Police Command in concert with sister security agencies had embarked on joint patrols simultaneously across the nook and crannies of the state. 

Their mission was to dissuade persons intent on hijacking the protests that rocked different parts of the state on Friday. 

The Nation learnt that the crisis started early Saturday morning when the operatives arrived at the Apata market junction. 

They reportedly met suspected hoodlums who began firing guns, hurling stones, sharp objects and other dangerous missiles at the security patrol. 

The Spokesperson for the Oyo State Police Command, Adewale Osifeso, a Superintendent of Police confirmed the development in a statement.

Osifeso said but for the calmness and professional conduct displayed by the security operatives, the provocation would have led to worse casualty figures. 

He said “The Oyo State Police Command wishes to unequivocally re-assert its resolve to maintain the relative tranquillity in the state despite pockets of protests witnessed in some parts of the metropolis under the capital.

“Recall the Command issued an advisory via a press release dated Friday 03/02/2023 with the intent to intimate residents about concluded plans of some criminal elements to destabilize and completely bring to a halt economic activities in the state by launching coordinated attacks on critical infrastructures to include INEC facilities, banks, correctional centres, religious centres, landmarks, recreational centres, shopping malls, business centres, public spaces and other places of interest under the guise of protesting the scarcity of fuel and paucity of cash for dispense at ATMs and Point of Sales Terminals.

“Consequent on the above stated, Oyo State Police Command in concert with relevant sister agencies embarked on high octane joint convoy patrols simultaneously across the nook and crannies of the state with the sole purpose of ridding the environs off undesirable elements with sinister motives of hijacking the situation to make criminal proceeds.

“Today Saturday, 04/02/2023 at about 1015hrs, while embarking on a series of confidence-building patrols around different blackspots and flash points, the joint convoy patrol comprising of the Police and other agencies ran into a band of hoodlums around Apata Junction Market, Apata Area under Ido Local Government Area.

Read Also : Protests, clashes in Ibadan, Warri as cash, fuel scarcity bites harder

“In a rather surprising event, the hoodlums who had perfected plans to molest residents, harass shop owners and loot shops on sighting the combined convoy of security launched a series of unprovoked attacks by firing guns, hurling stones, sharp objects and other dangerous missiles at them.  

“The trained officers, cautious of the level of casualties that might be recorded should they engage at the location,  resorted to restraints and professionally took charge at the scene while arresting the situation with reasonable force in line with standard operational procedure.

“However, during the rage, an individual identified to have been a member of a vigilante group and who was reported to have died in the fiasco has since been deposited at a government hospital for post-mortem.

“Meanwhile normalcy has since returned to the area with heavy deployment of patrol teams and other tactical assets visibly on the ground.

“So also, the Commissioner of Police has directed that the Deputy Commissioner of Police in Charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department leads the investigating team with a deadline for results as an arrest was made.”

The North Central Youth Stakeholders Forum (NCYSF), has demanded the extension of the deadline for the old naira notes.

It said the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is insensitive for allegedly  kicking against the extension. 

The group in a statement issued on Saturday by its Chairman, Mohammed A. Mohammed, asked Nigerians to remain vigilant to the direction the country is heading.

It also urged them to prepare to embark on a mass “Bring Back Our Old Notes” protest in the event the insufficiency of the new notes persists beyond the 5th of February. 

The statement reads: “The North Central Youth Stakeholders Forum has received with utter dismay newspaper reports quoting Atiku Abubakar asking the Central Bank of Nigeria not to extend the deadline beyond the February 10th deadline.

“We found this statement very callous, reckless and insensitive to the plight of the masses. 

“Over 80 per cent of local governments in the North Central and indeed the entire country have no banks. The NCYSF wishes to remind the general public that their enemies are not hidden as can be seen from the recent statement of Alh. Atiku Abubakar.

“We therefore add our voice to the calls by well-meaning Nigerians for the CBN to extend the deadline and make more money available to messes of Nigerians”.

He urged all negatively affected families and communities to note that Emefiele, Atiku and their fellow collaborators in this scheme should be held responsible for the sufferings brought upon the nation.

“We warn all those involved in this act to note that in the fullness of time, they will certainly be called to account for the consequences of their wickedness. 

“Finally, we join the calls for the immediate resignation of Godwin Emefiele from the position of the CBN Governor

The National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOSS) has criticised former governor Ibikunle Amosun for endorsing Biyi Otegbeye of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the gubernatorial election in the state.

The students picked the incumbent, Dapo Abiodun of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as their preferred candidate for re-election, saying he would continue with his good work in the state.

They spoke via a statement signed by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Ogun State Chairman, Comrade Damilola Simeon and Comrade Ogunrombi Oluwagbemileke, NAOSS National President.

The students enumerated what they described as several unfriendly policies to the growth of education during the Amosun administration.

The statement reads in part: “We have assessed the keywords of Senator Ibikunle Amosun at the campaign of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) yesterday.

“One striking point to prove to the people of Ogun State that the political camp the ex-governor controls, if any, is not built on trust, transparency and commitment to service.”

Read Also : Ogun West monarchs won’t support ADC’s Otegbeye – Eselu

It said as a constituency, their fear was “not political but rather holistic about the future of our dear state. Everywhere in the world, children and youths are projected as the future of society.

“It is with qualitative education that proficient teachers, doctors, engineers, lawyers, administrators, business magnates among many other professionals are produced.

“Senator Amosun in his era as the governor of the state disregarded this.

“One of such backward thinking decisions he took was to scrap the first University of Education in the state, Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED). Not only does the University stand as a legacy for the state to have the first University of education in the country, it also symbolises the tradition of the educational heritage of the state by the emulating life lived by Dr Tai Solarin whom the University is named after.

“In the course of the defense of the University to stay, we lost one of our noblest comrades, Fashina Olatunji aka Humble TJ in an accident while students were on the way to protest the intended scrapping.

“To the glory of God and efforts of stakeholders, most particularly the Students’ Union of the institution, the school is outliving Amosun as the governor till date.”

They also accused Amosun of unfavourable policies at the Sikiru Adetona College of Education, Science and Technology (SACOTECH), formerly Tai Solarin College of Education (TASCE) and Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY).

They added: “These and many more reasons are our justification to antagonize anything ex-governor Amosun brings to the table to single-handedly project for governor.

“In the resuscitation plans and actions of Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun, all of these institutions are bouncing back and growing fast. That is the standard we want to sustain.

“Hence, our reasons for supporting Prince Dapo Abiodun’s second term bid. “

In Ikeja LGA, the mock accreditation exercise is taking place at Polling Unit 017, Ward 10 located at the Junction of Irewole/Joseph Str, Wasimi/Opebi/Allen.

Read Also : PHOTOS: INEC holds mock accreditation exercise in Surulere

In Surulere LGA, the mock accreditation exercise took place at Polling Unit 035, Ward 2 located at Enitan Primary School, Aguda.

Read Also : PHOTOS: INEC holds mock accreditation exercise in Lagos

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Malam Muhammad Bello, on Saturday directed security agencies to arrest officials of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) and the developer of a collapsed two-storey building in Abuja.

The Coordinator, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, Umar Shuaibu, disclosed this to journalists during a briefing on Saturday.

Read Also : Abuja building collapse: FCT Minister orders  FHA officials’ arrest

He ordered the arrest of the FHA officers saddled with monitoring building development, in charge of granting development permit, the developer, and the engineer supervising the development, for manslaughter.

Shuaibu disclosed that the uncompleted building that collapsed two days ago at 6th Avenue in Gwarinpa Estate, trapped 24 persons, with three confirmed dead, while 21 persons have been rescued.

Details shortly……