The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Coup bid in America

    Coup bid in America

    Kayode Robert Idowu

     

    WERE it in some backwater democracy, it would be properly labelled a coup attempt whose promoters had their comeuppance in the stiffest retribution of law. Even in the United States the act was no less ugly, marking the worst of its touted political advancement as anarchists assayed to overturn time-honoured constitutional procedure of power transition. Interestingly it was a coup bid masterminded, not by rogue elements against a sitting ruler but by the sitting ruler against the law of his country through which he had himself attained power four years ago, and by which power should now pass on to a successor. Only he refused to accept electoral defeat despite multiple indications to the contrary. Welcome to Donald Trump’s America!

    An unruly mob stormed the US Capitol in Washington last Wednesday, momentarily scuttling a joint sitting of that country’s Senate and House of Representatives to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win in last year’s 3rd November elections. Biden had won the poll with 306 electoral votes to President Trump’s 232 (270 are needed to win the presidency), plus an edge of more than 6million over Trump in popular votes. In line with American law, the Electoral College formally cast its votes on 14th December in fidelity with projections from the November poll. Also by American law, Congress was required to tally and certify the electoral votes last Wednesday, 06th January 2021, giving final imprimatur to the poll results towards inauguration of a new president in office 20th January. Historically, both the voting by the Electoral College and Congress certification of those votes were largely ceremonial steps that hardly attracted public attention. But with Trump having plied conspiracy theories that the last election was stolen from him, and having pursued multiple lawsuits across U.S. states to overturn results announced in Biden’s favour, which he all lost, the ceremonial layers of the U.S. electoral process assumed unprecedented significance in ascertaining the final score line of the 2020 poll.

    So it was that the incumbent president had set much store in the public domain on a last-minute reversal of Biden’s win through the Congress certification process. Under American law, Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, is also president of the Senate with statutory mandate to preside over Congress’s joint sitting on electoral votes certification. In the build-up to Wednesday’s session, Trump had pressed Pence in private and openly to leverage his position in aborting the results certification. “I hope Mike is going to do the right thing. If Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election,” he had said at a rally mid-day Wednesday. But Pence, who had been an obsequious loyalist of Trump over the past four years, publicly broke for the first time with his principal, saying he couldn’t submit to demands he overthrow the results. “It is my considered judgement that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not,” he stated in a letter articulating his stance. Analysts said Trump’s gameplan was for Pence to delay the certification by refusing some states’ electoral slates, hoping to push the matter back to the courts. “Let them sue,” some legal aides had reportedly advised him.

    Apparently with Pence having made clear he won’t play ball, hundreds of pro-Trump protesters resorted to self-help: they fought through security barricades Wednesday to disrupt Congress’s sitting. No fewer than four persons were reported killed and about 70 others arrested in a standoff by rioters with security agents – an encounter that compelled hurried evacuation of Congress chambers. Cable News Network (CNN) reported an official saying it was the first time US Capitol was being so invaded since the British attacked and burned the building in August 1814. But the resilience of institutional safety catches in the American society ultimately carried the day. After security personnel cleared off the rioters and secured the Capitol against further breach, Congress reconvened its proceedings at about 8p.m. Eastern Time and continued until the early hours of Thursday, collating the electoral votes and eventually certifying Biden’s win.

    There was little doubt in every quarter those rioters acted on both covert and overt instigation of Trump, who never hid his acute desperation to overturn voters’ verdict in the November poll which did not favour him. In the closing days of 2020 when he abruptly cut short his Yuletide vacation in Florida, he had tweeted that his supporters should converge on Washington. And penultimate weekend, he was caught on tape pressing Georgia’s GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes that could be used to overturn Biden’s win in the state; Trump was heard trying to convince Raffensperger to announce that he had recalculated the vote totals and that the president won, threatening reprisals if the fellow Republican failed to oblige. The Georgia official calmly rebuffed Trump by telling him he got his figures wrong. So it wasn’t exactly out of the blues that pro-Trump mutineers stormed the US Capitol to overthrow constitutional Congress proceedings. CNN, in its ‘Meanwhile in America’ newsletter, put it thus: “The sitting President of the United States incited thugs to attack the citadel of his nation’s democracy and block the will of the people delivered in a free election. The rest of the world looked on in horror.” Among horrified reactions, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson viewed the US Capitol incident as “disgraceful,” European Union High Representative Josep Borrell wailed: “This is not America,” while a Republican legislator from Illinois, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, in a tweet bluntly called it a “coup attempt.”

    Despite pressure mounted on President Trump by other world leaders and fellow Americans, he only very reluctantly called off the protesters. Actually, he also gave in on the election reluctantly after Congress certified Biden’s victory, saying the decision represented “the end of the greatest first term in presidential history.” In a statement, Trump reiterated false claims of election fraud that had incited the mob action, saying: “Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again.”

    It is curious that Nigeria – along with other African nations – lost her voice in the heat of last week’s subterfuge in America, since that country would’ve been first to issue sanctimonious threats of sanctions if the shoe were on the other foot. But that is by the way, as there are yet a few lessons to learn from the experience. One lesson is the resilience of American institutions and their operators in checkmating abuses by rogue actors. Just the way the American judiciary had thrown out all legal challenges mounted by Trump, Congress succeeded in rebuffing his manoeuvres, which he had anchored on potential self-interested but character defective considerations by Pence, his deputy who doubles under American law as Senate president. Last Wednesday, Pence dutifully presided over a process by which he himself was losing office as vice president – just the way Al Gore had presided over the process that saw him out of power in 2001 despite the 2000 US election being highly controversial. We require such moral integrity among power actors for our political system to thrive, and we need grow our institutions in constitutional resilience against abuses.

    Another lesson: there is need for voters to make choices based on clear-minded rationality rather than cloudy sentiments. Americans voted Trump in 2016 largely from their fascination with his anti-establishment traits. Four years on, he has thoroughly wrecked, not just the establishment but entire country persona, such that Biden says the work of the next four years would be to restore democracy. Leaders shouldn’t be chosen on cultic appeal but on performance credentials.

     

    • Please join me on kayodeidowu.blogspot.be for conversation.

  • Trump and emerging questions on electoral democracy

    Trump and emerging questions on electoral democracy

    By Matthew Ayibakuro

     

    AS I laid back and watched the news on the developing events in Washington, DC, the best phrase to describe what I felt at that moment is “sustained disbelief”; sustained because the presidency of Donald Trump has thrown up so many shockers over the last four years that nothing is hardly shocking anymore, including the events of last Wednesday. In fact, when you speak to most liberal minded persons in the United States of America and elsewhere, the last four to five years sometimes feel like living in an alternative universe that you would have thought impossible just a decade ago.

    We have come to trust so much in the supposedly inherent utilitarian value of electoral democracy in the post-war era that we are now scrambling to make sense of the diverse sour and grey fruits that electoral democracy has forced down our throats in the last half-decade. Personally, as a Nigerian, it started when our citizens voted out a liberal-minded, equity-driven president seeking a second term, and replaced him with a former military dictator who continues to pursue a brazenly ethnic agenda that has left the country in chaos.

    Of course, there was the little matter of the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom, – the process of which has just been finalised a week ago – the election of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, who is on a mission to destroy the Amazon; the Five Star Movement in Italy, Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines and many more. However, there is no doubt that the most notable and terrifying outcome of electoral democracy in recent times has been the election and resulting presidency of Donald J. Trump.

    There is a lot that can be said about the many unbelievable things that Donald Trump has said and done, and gotten away with during his presidency, including his incitement of the events of last week. These should, however, not be the major cause for concern in the bigger picture. These are regrettable actions that would come and go with the man, hopefully. The main question is how a modern democratic system in an educated and supposedly enlightened society like the United States of America produce an outcome such as the election of Donald Trump, despite his obvious regressive position on issues such as climate change, human rights, equality and fairness, religious tolerance and respect for humanity.

    Over the last few years, I have spoken to people who believe that events like the election of Trump and what the world is witnessing currently in the United States is a sign that electoral democracy is not inherently better than other forms of government. There are more extreme views that consider these events as the unravelling of the message of democracy that the United States has championed around the world. Irrespective of one’s stand on this argument, what is clear is that leaders with extreme dictatorial and populist views are now finding success in manipulating electoral systems to gain access to power or otherwise institute populist policies.

    In the long run, the effect of the Trump Presidency and the many other incredible fruits of electoral democracy over the last few years from the perspective of countries in the global North might be to engender a certain level of humility in preaching the message of electoral democracy around the world. The impression that elections and democracy are the unquestionable tools for achieving desired national development and global goals will no longer fly unchallenged. There is now ample anecdotal evidence to show that even a democracy as deep-rooted as America’s is still susceptible to deep cracks that will echo through time.

    For countries and people in the global South, it is in our best interest not to be carried away by the theatre and slight feeling of schadenfreude at seeing democracy bear fruits like the siege of Capitol Hill in a country like America that has talked down on us for decades. Rather the focus should be on drawing useful lessons to protect our democratic institutions and processes from producing outcomes such as Donald Trump.

    The reason for this is simple: Whilst the Republican Party and American democracy as a whole will not be the same again following the shockwave generated by the Trump Presidency, there is little doubt that they would recover in time and do their best in addressing the circumstances that got them here. They have the institutions and processes that would enable them do that; we don’t. If Trump was leading a country with a relatively young democracy like countries in Africa, Asia or the Middle East, there would be a real threat of civil war or the start of a dictatorship in America right now.

    If we are to draw meaningful lessons from the ongoing events in Washington, DC, a good starting point would be to try to understand why over 70 million people voted for Donald Trump during the just concluded elections, despite his many misdeeds during his four years in the White House. It is important to understand the factors in society – from education to religion to economic circumstances and electoral systems – that made 70 million people decide that they would re-elect a leader like Donald Trump, irrespective of the consequences.

    Closer to home, we have to understand why most of our educated friends and colleagues continue to be committed followers of Donald Trump, even going as far as holding rallies for him in Nigeria, praying for him and defending him even after he lost at the polls. Despite its many flaws, electoral democracy continues to be a preferred form of government due to its capacity to let every citizen have a say in who should lead or represent him or her. Inevitably, many, like Trump’s 70 million supporters, would have to accept that the person who is eventually selected would not be their choice.

    The result of a refusal to accept is what separates the countries that have effective democratic and governance institutions from the countries that do not. As America tries to recover from four years of Trumpism, we must all deal with the question of whether our democracy would survive if Donald Trump were a leader in our country?

     

    • Dr. Ayibakuro wrote from Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

  • Looking ahead

    Looking ahead

    Editorial

     

    THIS year will not form suddenly, but for those who understand the causal dynamics of societies, the horizon beckons bleakly. We know that histories are not judged necessarily by a year or years but epochs or eras. An era is not determined even by a few years but by the wave of events that coalesce into themes. The themes are determined by leaders, especially personages of consequence.

    Some eras take significance in a certain year. For instance, the Nigerian civil war may have exploded in 1967, but historians know that a series of events snowballed to that bloody hour. The date of crystallisation often takes a consequential character because the major players could have exercised personal choices at the moment of climax, either towards violence or peace. Hence historians disavow the concept of historical inevitability. They have emphasised this point about other major watersheds in the past, like 1914 when the world plunged into a war, or decades later when the Berlin Wall fell.

    Many have predicted that 2021 may bear a potential as a year either of promise or derailment, or even seeding the germs of catastrophe. The reason is that this is the year when the main wheel horses of our political society will start positioning themselves for major perches in 2023.  Hence even some of them predict it is chock-full of perils.

    From the activities of 2020, whether it is the polls in Edo and Ondo states, the internecine boils within the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), or the rumbles in the top brass of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), this year holds the hint of catharsis. Is it going to be a lot of hot air that will blow away like the harmattan gale, or will it be a big, howling pot that eviscerates anyone thrown into it? It is a puzzle, given the fiery zest of ambitions, and the stakes we see in the horizon.

    It is important to emphasise that patriotism should trump any tendency to excess. Individuals should understand that politicians mean nothing if they do not aspire to be statesmen. To win a party’s nomination by skewering the tenets of decency or subverting party rules only poisons the body politic. If any bullies his way to the ticket and gets away with it, it may give a temporary triumph and even swagger but, in the long run, the party suffers because it has enthroned the gangster over the level head. The party becomes an endorser of impunity. The party may look robust, but democracy weakens into poor health. That is how this country has suffered for over two decades of this republic.

    We know that the issue of ethnic and regional power play may become the rubric of muscle flexing. But Nigeria as a dream should come before tribe and tongue, and even region and religion. Such consideration can strengthen the choice of where the next president comes from rather than flick out the knife of discord. So, as parties move towards their new executives and their gladiators rumble for their tickets, let us know that the paramount interest is the man who cannot afford three square meals a day, the family seeking a home, the school fees not paid, the classroom without a chalk board, the jobless crowd and the thief that got away.

    Hence we must also note that this is not a time for politics to kick governance to the back seat. President Muhammadu Buhari should note that he could become a lame duck easily this year. But he must note that he is the only one who can determine that. He can do well, and work towards accomplishing important landmarks. In spite of the attacks, he has worked steadily on some major infrastructure work like the Second Niger Bridge, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. He is set to launch the railway project from Lagos via Abeokuta to Ibadan. He must encourage his two ministers in this regard to accomplish them, as well as quite a few road and rail networks going on across the country.

    He cannot do much or be said to have done enough if he leaves the country under the sway of the militants, kidnappers and robbers, especially in the north and federal highways across the country. The nation will never forget major bloodstains in 2020. The northeast, especially Borno State, was a butt of terror. We witnessed the governor of the state, Babagana Zulum, engage the Federal Government in many episodes of conflict, showing up the military’s ineptitude, aloofness and sometimes collapse in the face of the onslaughts of the Boko Haram. We saw absurd chapters in the last quarter of last year when scores of natives were slaughtered in the throats. The image of their bodies wrapped in white funeral cloths still haunts a bewildered nation.

    Of course, we know the episode that even fiction writers would have described as melodrama in which, within hours of the president arriving his home state, the hoodlums whizzed into a  boys school and carted away over 300 students in a long trek and placed on the dreary diets of potatoes, unknown vegetables and grubby water. Not long after – after their return – a bevy of school girls almost fell into their hands, a la Chibok girls.

    They have not spared anyone, north or south. The nation cannot say it is well-governed when its citizens dread where they travel, where they sleep and where to eat. It is the existential threat of the nation, and the defining task of the Buhari administration. The president has promised that insurgency will end this year. We will hold him to his promise.

    After security, the next most important matter is the question of the economy. COVID-19 has become an excuse for governments all over the world for hunger and a groveling economy. We understand it. The pandemic has been destabilising, and the world has not seen such a plague in a century. But it is no reason for paralysis. This administration has advanced its humanitarian policies whose success has been questioned because of the preponderance of poverty. Welfare is important, but the statistic drowns any hopes. It is either the programme is fraught or it is non-existent, but certainly it is falling far short of expectation.

    This is no year to dilly dally; it is time to swivel into action. The poverty and fear in the land call for no less.

  • UK spends £50m on Nigeria elections in five years, says official

    UK spends £50m on Nigeria elections in five years, says official

    By Sanni Onogu, Abuja

    The United Kingdom (UK) has spent over £50 million to support the electoral process in Nigeria in the last five years, the Head of Governance and Stability at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office, Sam Waldock, said on Friday.

    Waldock, who spoke at a retreat of the Joint Technical Committee on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2020 in Abuja, said the UK, being a supporter of Nigeria’s democracy and its electoral system, was ready to offer more assistance to further enhance it.

    The United Kingdom, he said, recognised Nigeria as the largest democracy in Africa and a leading member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

    “It will therefore be good to have a robust comprehensive system in place far ahead of the general election so that adequate preparations could be made,” Waldock said.

    The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, lauded the efforts of the National Assembly Joint Committee on INEC, Senate Committee on INEC at giving the country, a new legal framework for the conduct of elections.

    Yakubu, who was represented by a National Commissioner of INEC in charge of Voter Education, Festus Okoye, said the renewed drive was timely and must be sustained and approached with a sense of history and urgency.

    “The reform must be impactful and should be concluded by the first quarter of 2021,” he said.

    Continuing, he said: “INEC is committed to the process of the amendment and would make recommendations that would improve elections in Nigeria.

    Read Also: Shenanigan in INEC and courts

    “However, it must be borne in mind that amending the electoral legal framework will not automatically guarantee or lead to improvement in the management and conduct of elections.

    “The Constitution and the Electoral Act can only be effective through the action and inaction of the critical stakeholders in the electoral process.

    “The Constitution and Electoral Act can enhance the electoral process if the electoral management body, political parties and the Electoral actors, the security agencies, the media and civil society organisations effectively play their roles.”

    He urged all critical stakeholders to demonstrate respect for the constitution and the law. He added: “Nigeria democracy and electoral processes will become more robust if the critical stakeholders in the process resolve to restore sovereignty to the people as the true determinant of the outcome.”

    The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), pledged to work with the technical committee to ensure unhindered presidential assent to the bill.

    The Special Assistant to the President on Justice Reform and International Relations Office, Mrs. Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu, who represented Malami at the session, said the minister would  “continue to work more closely with the National Assembly to ensure that the bill is eventually passed as scheduled.

    She recalled how “immediately after the 2015 elections the President approved the inauguration of the constitutional and electoral reform committee in 2016, working with the National Assembly and came up with four bills that had been approved by the  Federal Executive Council and forwarded to the National Assembly.”

  • FG warns public against using Lagos Airport Road Flyover

    FG warns public against using Lagos Airport Road Flyover

    Our Reporter

    The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos State, Mr Olukayode Popoola, on Friday advised members of the public to stay off the Airport Road Flyover in Lagos which was seriously burnt by fire, pending the determination of its structural safety.

    The bridge, which runs over Toyota Bus Stop on the Apapa-Oshodi-Ojota-Oworonshoki Expressway being reconstructed, was engulfed by fire when a petrol tanker burst into flames on Thursday.

    The federal and Lagos State governments on Friday carried out a joint inspection to determine the extent of damage to the bridge and adjoining roads.

    Leading the state and federal officials, Popoola raised concerns over the safety of the bridge, saying that its structural integrity had yet to be ascertained.

    Read Also: Petrol tanker explosion kills six in Kwara

    He said samples were being taken from the burnt bridge for analysis to be able to ascertain the level of damage and where to carry out repairs.

    Popoola said that 200 metres of the rigid pavement of the Apapa-Oshodi-Ojota-Oworonshoki Expressway reconstruction project being carried by the Dangote Group was burnt.

    He added that the deck of the flyover was burnt and its pier badly damaged, raising fears of structural instability of the bridge.

    The controller said that the bridge was barricaded after the fire because of safety concerns, regretting that the barriers were removed at night.

    Popoola warned that there would be risks in using the bridge.

    “We are taking some samples to go and analyse before we know the structural stability. But physically, a lot of damage has been done to this pier of the bridge.

    “The integrity is already compromised.

    “Yesterday, the road was barricaded, but in the night, some people went and removed the barricade.

    “We are advising that members of the public should not take the risk of using this bridge,” he said.

    He said that outcome of tests would ensure appropriate action on the flyover constructed by Julius Berger Plc, as well as the highway under reconstruction by the Dangote Group.

  • NBA wants ban on use of motorcycles reversed

    NBA wants ban on use of motorcycles reversed

    By Uja Emmanuel, Makurdi

    The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association ( NBA), Makurdi Branch, Justin Gbagir Esq, has called on the Benue State Security Council as a matter of urgency reverse the ban on the use of motorcycles in Ukum and Katsina Ala Local Government Areas in Benue State.

    Following the brutal killings of three (3) policemen at the residence of council chairman in Katsina Ala town in Katsina Ala and Ukum Local Government Areas, the Security Council placed a ban on motorcycles transport and operation in the two local government areas.

    But one week after the ban, there was public outcry over the destruction of motorcycles impounded by security agents posted to enforce the order.

    Addressing journalists in his office in Makurdi , Barrister Gbagir noted that motorcycles are the commonest and affordable means of transportation in communities like Ukum, Logo and Katsina Ala and the ban has brought untold hardship on commuters and farmers.

    Read Also: NBA urges Buhari to declare emergency on insecurity

    The NBA chairman stated that these communities are predominantly farmers and rely heavily on the use of motorcycles as a means of transportation to access their farms.

    “The inability of government to provide white- collar jobs for the unemployed youths, commercial motorcycles has become a refuge for said youths. ”

    He said: “Some of the youths obtained their motorcycles through long term  savings and hired purchase, so to ban the use of motorcycles will bring untold hardship to the youths and criminal activities would  spring up more in Sankera geo political zone, ” said Barrister Gbagir .

    .

  • Buhari directs states to domesticate Disability Act

    Buhari directs states to domesticate Disability Act

    By Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja

    President Muhmmadu Buhari has directed state governments to domesticate the Disability Act to make the establishment of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities perform its responsibility.

    The President spoke on Thursday when he hosted members of the newly established commission, led by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, at the State House in Abuja.

    A statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said President Buhari praised some governors for enacting laws on disability and enjoined those who have not, to do the needful.

    The President expressed joy that the commission was in place, as it was among vital issues he spoke about during his electioneering campaigns.

    “In December 2014, during my campaign for the President of this country under our great party, I met with the Community of Persons with Special Needs who showed unalloyed loyalty and support for our party and my candidature in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.

    Read Also: Why I don’t want to talk about Buhari govt, by Soyinka

    “I recall that the most pressing and priority request from the community was the passage of the Disability Bill and the subsequent presidential assent, which I promised them I would do. I am happy to have fulfilled that promise.

    “I thank the governors of Plateau, Lagos and Nasarawa states for enacting disability laws and establishing Disability Rights Commissions in their states. I am calling on governors of Yobe, Kano and Kogi states, to implement their laws while those states that are yet to do so should take necessary action to enable the Federal Government efforts have the desired impact at the subnational levels,” President Buhari said.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • PDP: Why Buhari, APC must learn from US election crisis

    PDP: Why Buhari, APC must learn from US election crisis

    By Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have lessons to learn on how the democratic institutions in the United States checkmated attempts by President Donald Trump to truncate democracy in that country.

    The party said the triumph of the democratic institutions in the US over plans by President Trump to abort the country’s presidential election has reinforced the demands by Nigerians on the Buhari administration to allow democratic institutions in Nigeria to function.

    Trump, who lost the November 2020 presidential election, had attempted to destroy the sanctity of the ballot by instigating violent attacks on democratic institutions, including American Congress.

    In a statement by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Friday, the party noted that the US election served as a strong lesson to corrupt and power-drunk leaders.

    Read Also: We’ll end insurgency war this year – Buhari

    It added that no matter how desperate such leaders seek to manipulate the system, the will of the people and the constitution will always prevail in the end.

    The PDP asserted that the insistence of the US judiciary and the legislature to uphold the provisions of their nation’s constitution, especially in resisting Trump who was desperate to hold on to office even after losing an election, has reinforced the triumph of the collective will of a people through their system.

    The main opposition party however, regretted that the reverse was the case during the 2019 presidential election, reiterating the accusation that President Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) subverted the popular will of the people.

    The PDP said: “Whereas our institutions of democracy, including the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies, were brazenly manipulated by the APC in the 2019 elections, the United States experience strengthens the determination by Nigerians to stand up against such manipulations ahead of 2023.

    “The PDP therefore calls on all Nigerians, including compatriots in INEC, the judiciary, the legislature, security forces, faith-based organisations, the media, civil society groups and other political parties to join forces with our party in the quest to reposition and strengthen our institutions for the task ahead.”

  • Trump: I won’t attend Biden’s inauguration

    Trump: I won’t attend Biden’s inauguration

    Our Reporter

    President Donald Trump will not attend President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on January 20, and this is official.

    Trump, who returned to Twitter on Friday after his Thursday suspension, said: “To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the inauguration on January 20th.”

    Responding to Trump’s comment on Friday, Biden said it was a ‘good thing’ that the outgoing president would not come.

    In another tweet soon afterwards, he said: “The 75,000,000 great American patriots who voted for me, AMERICA FIRST, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, will have a GIANT VOICE long into the future. They will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!”

    This was in contrast to the video he posted on his Twitter handle in which he said he was outraged by the lawlessness of the Congress invaders.

    He said those who carried out the assault of “the seat of America’s democracy” would pay for their actions.

    His words: “Like all Americans, I am outraged by the violence, lawlessness and mayhem.

    “I immediately deployed the national guard and federal law enforcement to secure the building and expel the intruder. America is and must always be a nation of law and order.

    “The demonstrators who infiltrated the Capitol have defied the seat of American democracy. To those who engaged in acts of violence and destruction… you do not represent our country. And to those who broke the law, you will pay.

    “We’ve just been through an intense election and emotions are high but now tempers must be cooled and calm restored. We must get on with the business of America.

    Read Also: Trump surrenders after failed ‘coup’

    “My campaign vigorously pursued very legal avenue to contest the election result. My only goal was to ensure the integrity of the election, and in so doing, I was fighting to defend America’s democracy.

    “I continue to believe that we must reform our election laws to verify the identity and eligibility above others and to ensure faith and confidence in all future elections.”

    “Now congress has certified the results, a new administration will be inaugurated on Jan. 20. My focus now turns to ensuring an orderly and seamless transition of power.

    “This moment calls for healing and reconciliation.”

    But the exercise was almost aborted by Trump’s supporters who invaded Congress who breached Capitol security.

    Trump has railed against the results of the election for the last two months, pushing conspiracy theories and misinformation about voter fraud while insisting he had defeated Biden.

    Biden won both the popular vote, with more than 81 million votes cast in his favor, and the Electoral College vote.

  • Recruitment: NDLEA releases list of successful applicants

    Recruitment: NDLEA releases list of successful applicants

    By Nicholas Kalu, Abuja

    The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has released the list of successful applicants in its ongoing recruitment exercise.

    Principal Staff Officer, Public Affairs, Jonah Achema, in a statement in Abuja on Friday, said the candidates had applied for different cadre vacancies, some of which were invited for job competency test.

    Achema said all candidates are to visit the agency’s website www.ndlea.gov.org for the list, while those shortlisted have also been contacted via E-mail and SMS.

    “The affected candidates, numbering 5, 000, are to appear at the Agency’s Academy, Citadel Counter-Narcotics Nigeria, CCNN, Katton-Rikkos, Jos, Plateau State for the screening and documentation exercise between January 10 and 23, 2021 at 0900 hours daily.

    Read Also: NDLEA intercepts 14.4kg of cocaine at airport

    “The candidates are divided into four different groups for the screening, in adherence to the COVID-19 pandemic protocol. The order and schedule for the exercise, according to the group, into which the candidates fall are also indicated. They are expected to arrive a day ahead of their screening period.

    “Successful candidates are expected to be issued letters of appointment and documented immediately upon successful screening. Candidates are therefore to report for the screening exercise with their guarantors’ form, originals and duplicates of academic credentials, birth certificate/age declaration and indigenship certificates. They are also expected to come along with certificate of medical fitness from a government hospital as well as a pair of shorts, T-shirts, canvass and stockings,” he said.