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Tag: campaign

  • Stop campaign of calumny against APC, says ACN

    Stop campaign of calumny against APC, says ACN

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has condemned what it described as “the persistent campaigns of calumny” against the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The party described the alleged attempt to use ethno-religious sentiments to destroy the budding party as a cheap shot that has fallen flat on “the faces of the purveyors of falsehood”.

    It urged Nigerians to disregard the attempts by enemies of progress to sabotage the birth of the APC, in addition to being vigilant in the days ahead.

    In a statement in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party thanked Nigerians for standing by the APC.

    The statement reads: ‘’These purveyors of falsehood do not want good governance. That’s why they are peddling the lies that the interim leadership of the APC is controlled by Muslims, and that it did not reflect the country’s plural values.

    ‘’The truth is that while ethno-religious sentiments did not form the criteria used in selecting the interim leadership, we were conscious that Nigeria is a country of plural values. That is why we have 17 Christians and 18 Muslims (the best balance possible in the odd number of 35 posts that were shared). That is why the 35 occupiers of the positions are from 29 different states, four more than the 25 stipulated by INEC. It was equal opportunity across all zones! (See list on last column)’’

    ACN challenged anyone who doubts the authenticity of these facts and figures to verify them at INEC, instead of spreading rumours.

    The party said: ‘’First, they ambushed us by duplicating our acronym, sponsored of course by those who are well known to Nigerians and, when that failed to slow down our momentum, they said the sharing of posts will divide us and ultimately sound our death knell. With these moves having failed woefully, they have now played what they considered their most potent joker: the ethno-religious card.

    “Thankfully, this too has failed. Nigerians are so desirous of good governance that they will not allow any play on sentiments to shake their resolve.’’

    ACN said the promoters of the APC were determined to give Nigeria the good leadership that has eluded it for long and were prepared to shelve their differences and make whatever sacrifices to achieve this objective.

  • 2015: Taraba acting governor opens campaign office

    Ahead of the 2015 general elections, a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party in Taraba State yesterday opened a campaign office for the Acting Governor Garba Umar and President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The office, with the PDP logo, is located at 29, Barde Way, beside the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Jalingo, the state capital.

    Some loyalists of ailing Governor Danbaba Suntai have been reacting to the development.

    They accused Umar of being “too ambitious”.

    Since last October, when Suntai has been incapacitated following the injury he sustained in a plane crash near Yola, the Adamawa State capital, Umar has been holding forte.

    The governor is still receiving treatment in a US hospital.

    A member of the House Representatives representing Karim-Lamido, Lau and Ardo-Kola in Taraba State, Jerry Mamwe, campaigned for President Jonathan during the opening of the office.

    This was apparently in defiance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) order that parties and politicians should stop campaigns for 2015.

    “In 2011, we voted for President Goodluck Jonathan. We shall still vote for him in 2015, whether he is good or bad.

    “With the support of the acting governor (Garba Umar), President Jonathan must win in Taraba,” Mamwe said.

    The politician said the organisers of the event were not bothered about what some people were saying and their perception of the event.

    He said: “Whatever thoughts anyone has on what we are doing here is welcome.”

    Speaking with The Nation on why he was campaigning for Jonathan, despite INEC’s warnings, the Representative said he was only promoting the Taraba PDP Youth Vanguard and not campaigning on the platform of a party.

    Mamwe said: “Whether Jonathan is running or not, I am asking him to contest.”

    It was learnt that the leadership of the ruling party in the state, headed by Mr. Victor Bala, was against the development.

     

  • 2015: INEC bans parties, politicians from campaign

    2015: INEC bans parties, politicians from campaign

    Politicians were warned yesterday to pull the brake on campaigns for 2015.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) issued the ban, which is coming six months after a letter was written to all political parties in January.

    Politicians seem to have rejected INEC’s warning.

    Besides President Goodluck Jonathan’s campaign posters for the 2015 election, there have been others and leaflets for Vice-President Namadi Sambo, Governors Sule Lamido/ Rotimi Amaechi ticket and Governor Babangida Aliyu. There are ex-Vice-President Atiku Abubakar branded 2015 shoes on the Internet.

    The story is the same for aspirants seeking to contest at the state level.

    Although some of these political figures and aspirants have disowned the posters, INEC believes they were testing the waters in defiance of the Electoral Act.

    In a statement, INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Kayode Robert Idowu, said violators of the Electoral Act would henceforth be arrested by security agencies.

    The statement said: “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has observed that some politicians and registered political parties have begun unbridled campaign towards the forthcoming general election, thereby heating up the polity.

    “It is observed that campaign posters are being indiscriminately displayed, while electioneering broadcasts are being aired outside the statutory provision for campaigning towards elections into various elective offices.

    “This trend is unhealthy and portends ill for the political process. Indeed, it is a threat to Nigeria’s democracy.

    “The Commission hereby reminds all players of the provision of Section 99(1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended), which states as follows:

    “For the purpose of this Act, the period of campaigning in public by every political party shall commence 90 days before polling day and end 24 hours prior to that day.”

    “Political parties are advised to note that campaigning outside this provision is a violation of the law, and the Commission will not hesitate to apply appropriate sanctions against culprits as provided by relevant sections of the law.

    “Meanwhile, INEC calls on security agents to apprehend violators, whose activities in this regard pose a threat to public order.

    “The Commission enjoins all parties to play strictly by the rules, as part of a collective effort to ensure the success of the 2015 elections.”

    A source in INEC, who spoke in confidence, said: “When the commission was worried about the poster war in January, it wrote a letter to all political parties to call their members to order.

    “But INEC management has observed that these politicians have not relented, although they are clever to admit not being the brain behind such campaigns.

    “Heating up the system with 2015 campaign and posters amounts to lawlessness and unwillingness of these politicians to respect the rules of the game. We will not take kindly to it.”

  • UN agencies to launch campaign against illicit goods, services

    UN agencies to launch campaign against illicit goods, services

    In the presence of the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) have agreed to launch a new public awareness campaign, calling on tourists to help reduce demand for illicit goods and services linked to transnational organized crime.

    Preparations for the campaign were set in motion during the spring meeting of the Chief Executive Board of the United Nations in Madrid. A cooperation agreement was signed between UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, and UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov, in the presence of United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.

    The joint campaign, to be launched later this year, aims to raise awareness among international tourists about the types of illicit goods and services to which they are often exposed during their travels and which directly or indirectly fund organized crime groups.

    Travellers can play a key role in reducing demand for these products through ethical consumer choices. The campaign will encourage tourists to make informed decisions and help reduce demand for trafficking in persons, cultural artefacts, wildlife, fauna and flora such as ivory products, as well as counterfeit goods, and illicit drugs.

    UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon commended this innovative joint initiative between the two partner UN agencies: “The illegal trade in goods and services often funds unscrupulous people involved in human trafficking, the illicit ivory trade and other areas that cause immense suffering and destruction. Well-informed tourists can make a real difference in turning the tide against these criminal acts.”

    Organized criminal networks generate money wherever there is demand and travellers are often exposed to objects which are illicitly sold. With more than 1 billion tourists now crossing international borders each year, there is a growing opportunity to call on tourists to act and reduce demand for these illicit products which in many cases are providing a funding source for organized crime.

    The campaign drives the message that while some products may seem harmless, the demand created and their sale can, in fact, have devastating effects on the lives of innocent people, on wildlife or on cultural property. The billions of dollars generated through such trade also fund criminal groups who use this money to branch out into other illicit and unethical lines of business.

  • Stakeholders to CBN: Step up cash-less policy campaign

    Stakeholders to CBN: Step up cash-less policy campaign

    To ensure that the cash less and financial inclusion strategies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are achieved, Union Bank of Nigeria and eTranzact, an electronic card payment company, have charged the apex bank to step up awareness campaign about the benefits of the programme. They also urged the apex bank to remove spurious charges on customers to encourage uptake of the programme.

    Head, E-Business, Union Bank, Fatai Baruwa and Chief Technology Officer, Etranzact International, Richard Omoniyi, spoke in separate interviews during the sealing of partnership deal on Pocket Moni and Union Money at the bank’s head office in Lagos. They said if the apex bank and other stakeholders collaborate to step up campaigns about the initiative, many Nigerians will embrace the initiative.

    This, they argue, will allow the Federal Government to realise its strategy and encourage use of alternative method of paying for goods and services other than use of cash in the country.

    “Part of the major problems (besetting the initiative is that) the banks and CBN need to improve on communication. We are not communicating well; we are not saying exactly what this thing can do; we are not (disseminating the message) well any time we go out. We have seen the change. I was in Gbaja market and saw how people were willing to embrace it, but we are not really communicating and I think the banks and the CBN need to communicate well. This, I think is a major issue (that must be addressed),” Baruwa said.

    Speaking on charges, he said people should not be made to pay for using alternative method of carrying out transaction as this will be a disincentive to them. “PoS (Pont of Sale) terminal is taking time for several factors. One of this is the charges you put on it. One of the things the CBN should do is to remove the fee on POS and encourage the merchant, (so that) if somebody wants to use the phone with the merchant, merchants will allow him to use it rather than the charges coming to them. If that is taken away, a lot of people will be encouraged to use it,” he said.

    “If I want to pay Dstv, they charge me N100. I should not be paying, because it is helping the company to manage cash; it has to worry about the queue and (other discomfort), so if the customer is paying electronically, why are you penalisng him for making your process easier? So, what we are saying is that they should pay not the customer,” he added.

    Omoniyi agrees no less with him. According to him, education is vital element in driving mobile money to success because a lot of people are still skeptical about the transactions that can be done on their mobile phones. “One thing that is important is education. CBN needs to push further; awareness is very vital in this regard because people still find it hard to believe that in their cell phones, they could send money to pay for goods and services,” he said.

    Speaking on the deal, Uwa Uzegbu, head, Mobile Payment, eTranzact, said it is to enable the two firms to expand their market share, adding that Pocket Moni, which is the firm’s product licenced by the CBN to drive financial inclusion already has about 400,000 users across the country.

    He said Union Mobile, which is tied to Union Bank account, allows account holders to transfer funds, pay bills, buy air time recharge cards and make request to the bank within the comfort of the users’ living room.

  • Cancer prevention campaign launched

    A Non-Governmental Organisation NGO, Centre for Women and Youths Wellbeing Advocacy (WOYWA) has flagged off the awareness campaign on prevention and treatment of cancer among women in Ondo State.

    The programme, which was held at Isikan Market, Isikan, Akure, was part of the activities set out by the NGO to mark 2013 World Cancer Day.

    Speaking at the flag-off programme, Wife of the State Governor, Mrs. Olukemi Mimiko, implored women in the state to see their health as a paramount issue. She advised them to go for regular screening and treatment to tame the spread of the cancer virus in their body.

    Mrs.Mimiko, who said that being diagnosed with cancer virus is not a death certificate, stressed that early detection of cancer either in the breast or the cervix would help in treating the disease at early stage and prevent its spread to other parts of the body.

    “We appeal to our women particularly those who have attained the ages of thirty years and above to go for cancer screening. Doing so would help them know their cancer status early enough. Health is weath.Our women must place their well being above all material pursuits. They must realise that they need to go for screening on regular basis to ensure that they are not harbouring cancer in their bodies,” the governor’ wife counselled.

    Mrs. Kemi Mimiko who told the gathering that having cancer is not a death warrant, assured that screening would lead to early prevention, detection and better management.

    “Having cancer is no longer a death warrant. If we go for screening and we detect cancer on the patient we can begin the treament before its spread to other parts of the body”.

    She spoke further that the state government under the administration of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko has provided a state -of- the- earth medical facility for diagnosis and treatment of cancer

  • Ogun takes tax campaign to schools

    Ogun takes tax campaign to schools

    The Ogun State government has taken its tax awareness campaign to secondary school pupils.

    The government, through the Commissioner for Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, championed the cause at a Civic Education programme organised by her ministry in conjunction with the Ogun State Internal Revenue Service (IRS) last week.

    Speaking at the event for selected secondary schools pupils in the state, Mrs Adeosun said there is need for the citizens to be informed and educated to perform their civic responsibilities such as paying taxes regularly and promptly.

    Mrs Adeosun added that the pupils were included in the campaign so they can be enlightened on why they should pay tax as adults in future, and so they can serve as change agents for their parents.

    The Commissioner explained that the monthly federal allocation to the state is insufficient for the government to embark on capital projects, adding that Ogun State ranks 21 among the 36 states in the federation revenue sharing formula as it is not an oil producing state.

    She said: “The money we get can only be used to pay salaries and for general maintenance. It is not enough to do capital projects. The only way we can get more money is through tax and every adult that is working must pay.

    “The tax we generate in this state is very low. The problem we have is that a lot of people don’t want to pay yet everyone enjoys whatever amenity the government provides through tax.”

    Giving his remarks, the Chairman of the IRS, Mr Babajide Odubanjo said tax education for school children would help government record less tax evasion in future.

    On his part, the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Segun Odubela, described the programme as an investment in the future of the State, saying, “we will not be in office by the time these young people become tax payers but the seed being sown today will make them responsible citizens in future, which will benefit the entire State.”

     

  • Youths strengthen good character campaign

    Youths strengthen good character campaign

    Something remarkable is happening among the youth. They are showing profound interest in the campaign to make character count in the country. That campaign is championed by Good Character Development Initiative (GCDI), a non-profit organisation with a vision to stimulate national development through a new moral order.

    GCDI drives this crusade across secondary schools in the country, incorporating good conduct and citizenship modules in the curricular.

    The authorities of these schools alongside staff have helped the campaign by inculcating the GCDI message in the pupils.

    But the students themselves are proving to be even more enthusiastic. At Oxbridge College, Ikeja, they were the good character leaders teaching junior colleagues, many of who drawn from various institutions in the state. They guided their classes through the GCDI pillars of good character, namely, trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.

    In the Responsibility Class, Miss Chinaza Eze, 16, and Yvonne Udeagha, 17, both Advanced Level students of the college, were exemplary. They placed jars, rice and tennis balls on desks and asked the pupils to fill the containers with the items in minutes. The pupils, divided into three groups, struggled with the task, one of them managing to fill their jar with the grains and tennis balls and closing it within the stipulated time. As the stand-in instuctors explained, the jar-rice-balls exercise represented daily life experiences and priorities. While some have clearly-identified goals and work diligently towards achieving them, others have misplaced priorities and waste precious time in pursuit of trivial interests.

    Yvonne and Chinaza made the point confidently, convincingly and in flawless English.

    They also showed the students an illustration of a guy whose multi-coloured outfit had various words and phrases written on it. Such wprds included homework, clean room, help others, think before you act, plan ahead, never give up, always do your best, work hard, set goals, stand up for excellence, a person of character meets demands of duty, among others.

    There was also something to lift their spirits. A short video showed a man with neither arms nor legs. The man drew tears from his audience not because of his physical challenges but because he made the point that if you are down, you have to try and try again to “get back up”, as he put it.

    The youths said the entire exercise was worth their while.

    “Good values will get you far in life,” said 17-year-old Advanced Level student who, alongside a partner, also sank home the imperatives of good citizenship in his class.

    Prince Nnagozie Ochi, chief executive of GCDI, encouraged the students to make character count in their respective schools, homes and environments.

    The good character vision is a new Nigeria that is strong in morals, where priority is on proper conduct as opposed to material acquisition or influential position.

    GCDI is seeking to have “a critical mass of Nigerians” on the side of good character whose contribution will make a crucial difference in the moral profile and growth of the country.

    Former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Dr Christopher Kolade, chairs the GDCI board of trustees.

     

  • More recruits join Jonathan 2015 campaign

    More recruits join Jonathan 2015 campaign

    In spite of several denials by presidential spokesmen, it has been uncovered that the team packaging President Goodluck Jonathan’s early 2015 presidential campaign is not resting on its oars as it has continued to recruit new underground staff.

    During the week, Ripples learnt that some top ex- militants in the Niger Delta were approached to help persuade some South-South people currently against the re-election bid of Jonathan. We gathered hat they have since commenced work.

    It would be recalled that some of the ex- militants recently dismissed the possibility of Jonathan’s return, dismissing the claims that the president has performed.

     

  • Alaafin urges politicians to fulfil campaign promises

    The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, has urged politicians to fulfil their campaign promises.

    Oba Adeyemi spoke yesterday after inaugurating two blocks of three classrooms at the Irepodun Araromi and Asamu community Primary Schools and boreholes built by the lawmaker representing Atiba State Constituency in the House of Assembly, Mr. Waliu Adekunle.

    The monarch hailed Adekunle for putting a smile on the faces of the electorate and urged politicians to emulate his gesture.

    He advised the benefiting communities to take care of the projects and support Adekunle in future elections.

    Adekunle said he was distributing materials worth N20 million to empower his constituents.

    He said N4 million was shared to 200 people to start small scale businesses.

    The lawmaker thanked the Alaafin and Governor Abiola Ajimobi for their support.