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Tag: campaign

  • Buhari to youths: resume your campaign after 2019

    New law cuts age limit for president to 35 years

    The youth got a pleasant gift yesterday from President Muhammadu Buhari. He signed the “Not-too-young- to-run” bill into law at the State House, Abuja.

    He jokingly asked the youth to shift their campaign until next year’s election.

    “But please, can I ask you to postpone your campaigns till after the 2019 elections!” he told his guests, who clapped and laughed.

    Buhari has declared his intention to run next year.

    Urging the youth to wait for 2023 to run for President, he said that the new law  permits them to run for the various political offices.

    The new law, he said, has reduced the age limit for contesting for House of Representatives and State Houses of Assembly from 30 to 25 years

    For President, the age limit has been reduced from 40 to 35 years.

    Through its Founder Samson Itodo and National Coordinator Faruk Ibrahim, the Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement (YIAGA), praised the leadership of the National Assembly for its role in the making of the law.

    The group said the passage of the bill into law was the first phase of the struggle, urging both chambers of the National Assembly to insist on free and fair elections next year.

    Itodo said: “Let me congratulate you on the campaign that helped in the passage of the bill in the National and State Houses of Assembly. What you have done has become a reference point across the continent.

    “When you have the voice, you have the numbers. So the first thing for the advocacy that will support ‘Not Too Young to Run’ must be free and fair elections.

    “We want to convey our appreciation to you and the other 108 members of the Senate that we are pleased with this development. You and your counterparts in the House of Representatives have written your names in gold,” Itodo said.

    However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has chided  Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) for claiming to be the architects of the ‘Not-Too-Young-to-Run Act’.

    A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan said the bill that culminated in the passage of the Act, was sponsored and pursued by the PDP members in the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly.

    The statement said, “It is instructive to note that President Buhari had no input whatsoever in the bill; never showed any support or enthusiasm towards the initiative and had no option than to perform a mandatory constitutional duty of assenting to the bill, as a clear reflection of the mood of the nation, given that the bill had already found an easy passage to the crucibles of the required approval of two-third of states in the federation.

    “The PDP therefore urges the Nigerian youths to immediately take advantage of the Generation Next platform and incentives already established by the repositioned PDP and actively participate in the collective quest to rescue our nation from the misrule of the APC”.

  • Fayose’s deputy gets campaign council

    Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has set up a campaign council for the his  candidate in the July 14 election, Prof. Kolapo Olusola.

    Peoples Democratic Party PDP) has fixed May 8 as its primaries, the All Progressives Congress (APC) will hold its primary three days earlier, on May 5.

    Environment Commissioner Chief Bisi Kolawole has been appointed director-general of the Kolapo Olusola Eleka Campaign Council.

    His appointment was conveyed in a public service announcement on the radio and television channels of the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State (BSES).

    The announcement said Kolawole would coordinate the campaign activities of the deputy governor, but was silent on other members.

    Kolawole, a two-time commissioner under Fayose, represented Efon in the House of Assembly between 2007 and 2011.

    He served as director-general of the Prince Adedayo Adeyeye Movement (PAAM) in the run-up to the 2014 election.

    According to a notice of primary and election timetable forwarded to Ekiti PDP from the national secretariat, the governorship shadow election holds on May 8, while appeals hold on May 10.

    Last day for withdrawal by candidate and replacement of withdrawn candidate is May 30, and last day for submission of candidate’s nomination form is June 13.

    Last day of campaign is July 12, while the governorship election holds on July 14.

  • PDP seeks proscription of APC over loot campaign

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday told the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately proscribe the All Progressives Congress (APC) following what the opposition party described as “undisputed revelations” that it financed President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2015 campaign with looted funds.

    The party, in a statement  by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, also gave the Buhari-led Presidency a three-day ultimatum to respond to allegations that it was elected with looted funds or find itself top on the list of confirmed looters.

    The party said instead of the Presidency and the APC to come out with a response to how President Buhari’s 2015 campaign was funded with looted sums, they are busy “hallucinating” about names of individuals whose matters are before the courts of competent jurisdiction.

    The statement said: “It is evidently clear that the APC, Federal Government and the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, are running away from the issue of how they raised money to install Buhari as President.

    “They have pressed the panic button and resorted to unfounded allegations against PDP members just to divert the attention of Nigerians and the international community from their atrocious government and its manifold failures of leadership.

    “The PDP will not join the panicky APC and the Federal Government in their resort to engage in matters that are subjudice because we believe and respect the rule of law, particularly as it concerns the rights of every citizen.

    “We know those in the APC and Buhari’s cabinet, who as champions of looting, plundered the resources of their various states and handed same over for the very expensive electioneering campaign of President Buhari, who had earlier confessed of his insolvency.

    “We have challenged the APC and the Presidency to declare the sources of these funds and how they were used since they have been proven to come from public coffers.

    “Now that the APC, the Federal Government, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and the Buhari Presidency have chosen a loud silence rather than accepting that looted funds were used to install Buhari as President in 2015, we charge INEC to do the needful by commencing the process for the proscription of the APC as a political party.”

  • Lagos flags off tax campaign at GTBank

    Lagos flags off tax campaign at GTBank

    Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode has flagged off the electronic tax payment campaign of the state which will allow residents and citizens of Lagos State to pay their taxes directly to the coffers of the State Government. The flag-off campaign was kicked off at the bank’s Opebi branch, Lagos.

    Speaking at the flag-off ceremony, Ambode noted that this noble effort was implemented to help tax payers make direct deposits to the government coffers seamlessly.

    According to him, “The process in the payment of taxes has been simplified for the residents and citizens of Lagos State who are the direct beneficiaries of the productive utilization of taxes in the state. All the projects that have either been completed since the commencement of my administration or those that are underway have been done through taxes. Lagosians would henceforth be able to pay their taxes through GTBank branches; the mobile payment and internet banking platforms of all banks.

    Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Segun Agbaje, said, “The e-tax payment campaign has shown the premium placed on electronic payment by the Lagos State Government and this would equally aid the financial inclusion program of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

  • Ikpeazu: I‘m fulfilling my campaign promises

    Ikpeazu: I‘m fulfilling my campaign promises

    Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the achievements and constraints of Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu in his bid to implement his campaign promises. 

    Expectations were high in Abia State almost three years ago when Okezie Ikpeazu, a former university don, succeeded former Governor Theodore Orji. The state was just trying to find its feet, owing to its slow pace of development. The infrastructure battle has not been won and residents demanded a new lease of life.

    The governor inherited many challenges, which he wanted to tackle immediately. He was determined to make a difference. His priority was the provision of essential social amenities to guarantee improved welfare and boost trading activities. Also, he had a commitment towards safeguarding security. But, the cloud of uncertainty did not fizzle out in time. The poll that brought him to power was inconclusive. Abia is not known for any politics of affection. Gladiators are always at war before, during and after elections. The governor’s attention was somehow distracted by protracted litigations, which later ended in his favour in court.

    During his inauguration, Ikpeazu urged Abians to be hopeful. He also advised them to make sacrifice for the state as the country was facing hard times. Noting that raising and spending of money is the task of governance, called for a paradigm shift in income generation. Ikpeazu said while optimization of government spending should be accompanied by significant internally revenue generation growth.

    The governor also said probity will be the watchword. “This government intends to be firm in plugging all revenue leakages alongside developing new channels. I call on all sons and daughters of Abia to key into this by ensuring that they fulfill their statutory obligation to pay all their taxes timely.

    “We will restructure our Inland Revenue Service to become a strategic contributory parastatal in the actualization of our vision for Abia. We will bring private sector competence and mindset to this agency, thus paving the way for significantly increased IGR levels. With this, our vision for better life for our people can be realised,” he stressed.

    The governor now has a good tale to tell, judging by his performance in the six critical sectors: agriculture, trade and commerce, oil and gas, education, health care delivery, and infrastructure development. “We have lived up to expectation by delivering on our campaign promises. Our record and achievements speak for us in all the areas. Despite the financial constraints, we have made a big difference,’ Ikpeazu told eminent Nigerians who visited some of the project sites.

    Many of them testified that the state has become a huge construction site. Road construction is the vogue in the Southeast state. But, other sectors are not neglected. Reviewing the activities of the administration, Works Commissioner Hon. Eziuche Ubani said the people were satisfied with the giant strides. If performance will be a yardstick for re-election, he said Ikpeazu has no cause to worry. “We are not worried about the next election. This governor has been working,” added the former House of Representatives member.

    The distribution of the road projects reflects the senatorial spread. The commissioner said Abia South has 35, Abia Central has 39 while Abia North has 13. Some of them are virgin roads. Many of them are handled by reputable foreign contractors; some are also handled by indigenous ones. But, Ubani the governor has always insisted on good standard. “No contract failure is tolerated. Proper agreements are signed with contractors,” he added.

    The Commissioner for Information, John Okiyi, explained that 10 kilometres of roads are constructed in each local government to open up rural areas and assist farmers to have access to the market. He said the roads inherited by the administration are not allowed to become abandoned projects.

    Under the first phase of the road projects, N6 billion was earmarked. Many of the projects are ready for commissioning. The goal is to promote trade and open up the communities. They include Idima-Abam, Ndi Oji/Ndi Okereke Bridge/Abam-Arochukwu, Ohafia Ring Road, Abariba-Nkporo, Abariba Ring Road, Eluama in Isuikwata, Nkpa, and Owerrinta-Egbelu Mbutu. Others are Umuala, Adaelu, Umuode, Umuechilegbu, Umule, Kamalu, Ovom, Owerri Road (off Okigwe), Ochefu, Weeks Street, Aba, and the six-lane Port Harcourt Road. Excited at the completion of the road in his ward at Isialangwu South Council, the Leader of the Council Parliament, Chief Chidi Nwotie, praised the governor for his rural development project. He said: “The road has opened a lot of opportunities for the people of the area. The governor does not need to give the people rice, salt or anything again before they vote for him in next election.”

    The Ndioji-Ndiokereke Bridge stands out among the projects. It links the rest of the state with Arochukwu and Abam, the home of rubber and cocoa plantations, and the agricultural hub of the state. House of Representatives member Hon. Nko Nkole, who represents the constituency, said the people were grateful for the project. The people of Arochukwu-Ofion Constituency will not forget this rare gesture,” added.

    Many of the infrastructural facilities are concentrated in Aba, the commercial hub. The construction of the road that lead to the Areare market has led to a free flow of traffic for the first time in 21 years.  The city is also benefiting from the urban renewal and street lightening projects of the administration. Ubani explained that it was deliberate, stressing that “if Aba is working, the state is working.” He said the governor was trying to restore the glory of the commercial capital. “We concentrate on Aba. Aba has suffered the dearth of infrastructure. Everybody in the state is connected to Aba. It is the economic hub. Many people from all over the state live there. Anything you do in Aba is done for the entire state. Aba should be given special attention because it is the economic nerve centre,” he added.

    Also, efforts have been made to construct roads leading to other states. Abia is surrounded by seven states, which have built roads to the border towns. Thus, the governor decided to the roads that lead to these borders to enhance inter-state transportation.

    In Abia, agriculture is a core priority. This is in line with the diversification policy of the government. Farming is no longer perceived as the occupation of the uneducated. In fact, youth participation in agriculture has boosted employment. Agriculture Commissioner Uzor Azubike explained that, under the Fadama Project, N300 million has been released as grants to farmers. “We have also encouraged rice farming in the state and we are having rice mills for packaging, marketing, refining and polishing,” he added. The poultry village is being developed at Umuoza. To avert herdsmen/farmers rift, he said plans are underway to introduce native goat anching, adding that N1 million will be given to interested farmers as loan. “We are matching traditional and modern farming practices,” he added.

    Education is also been defended. Stakeholders have hailed the governor for school rehabilitation project and the supply of adequate education infrastructure. “372 primary and secondary schools are being renovated,” said Okiyi, who added: “Students and teachers deserve a conducive environment.”

    In Umuahia, the state capital, the Investment Building has been completed. It is an architecture for ensuring ease of doing business. Ubani said: “What is needed to set up a business-land matters, tax, rates, right of way-are there in one building. All the professionals are there to attend to businessmen and investors.”

  • Ensure Insurance campaign winner gets cheque

    After two years of the inception of the Ensure Insurance Cash Back Season campaign, Mrs. Abimbola Jinadu has emerged its first winner.

    The Ensure Insurance Cash Back is perhaps one of the most innovative and revolutionary incentive package for customers in the industry explained Sunkanmi Adekeye, Managing Director, Ensure Insurance Plc. He said the scheme gives cash back of 15 per cent of the premium paid by the policy holder that has made no claim within 24 months of buying the motor insurance policy.

    According its Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Tonte Ikiriko, the campaign which has been on for two years, is in line with the company’s objective of delivering innovative insurance products that work for the customer.

    “Ensure Insurance is changing the way insurance works for Nigerians. Ensure Cash Back is innovatively designed with the meticulous customers in mind. They are rewarded with 15 per cent cash back for their safety consciousness and painstaking efforts to ensure accidents do not occur,”he said.

    According tohim, the company is elated to have its first winner in the scheme and also “very happy to walk the talk as we presented her with a cheque amounting to 15percent of her total premium paid over the last 24 months”.

    While receiving the cash back reward, praised Ensure Insurance Plc for the innovative scheme, an elated Mrs Jinadu thanked the company. The scheme has the potency of further inculcating good driving habits among Nigerian drivers, which would also lead to safety for Nigerians road users.

  • ‘Wike is fulfilling his campaign promises’

    ‘Wike is fulfilling his campaign promises’

    The Rivers State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Felix Obuah, has called on the people to remain resolute in their support for the Governor Nyesom Wike-led administration, even as he continues to provide quality and credible leadership.

    A press statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Chairman on Media and Publicity, Mr. Jerry Needam, said Obuah made the remark at a reception for the All Progressives Congress (APC) members who defected to the PDP recently.

    The Chairman was said to have told the gathering that the good work of the governor is a testimony that he is indeed a ‘promise keeper’.

    Obuah, the statement said, recalled that Wike had during his campaigns ahead of the 2015 governorship election assured that his administration would bring development to all the nooks and crannies of the state. It added that the governor has not only kept those promises but has also performed beyond expectations.

    The statement said over 2000 members of both the APC and the Labour Party (LP) were received during the reception.

    Quoting Obuah it added: “Governor Wike has given to every Riversman and woman, a sense of pride.  Our state has been rebranded and we can now proudly showcase our identity as Rivers people, to the admiration of others.”

    The chairman urged the people to take advantage of the ongoing Continuous Voters Registration exercise and obtain their Permanent Voters Card (PVC) as according to him, it remains the only instrument needed to re-enact what they did in 2015 and return Wike to power again come 2019.

  • Good campaign

    •Charlie Boy group’s advocacy for sound voter registration is the first crucial step to free elections 

    Any move to make voter registration impeccable is welcome; and that is why Charles Oputa, otherwise known as Charlie Boy, and his Our Mumu Don Do movement deserve praise for their call to make the ongoing voter registration exercise better.

    From news reports, the group visited the Abuja national headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to complain about the alleged shambolic nature of the registration exercise; and also called on INEC to make amends. The areas it wanted improvements were challenges noted in electronic voting, documentation and the adequate capture of as many as eligible voters that turn up.

    “We humbly request a strategic engagement with INEC to discuss issues identified above,” Deji Adeyanju said, reading a formal letter to his INEC hosts, “and other likely developments obstructing the electoral processes; and how we can equally be of significant help as stakeholders.”

    The group also complained of alleged under-aged voting in the just concluded local government election in Kano. INEC has responded, at another forum, that local government elections were conducted by State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs).

    That defence would appear sound since SIECs seldom use card readers, a vital quality control check, to ensure the integrity of the voter register, by ascertaining every potential voter’s fingerprint, before being allowed to vote.  Still, it is a pointer to the imperative for even better vigilance, at the registration stage, to checkmate the systemic skewing of the electoral roll by unscrupulous politicians.  That is why every concerned democrat must push for SIECs too to invest in card readers, so that they don’t continue to kill the electoral culture at the grassroots.

    However, moving for INEC to conduct local government elections would be anti-federal. That would jar against the spirit of the Constitution; and further reinforce the debacle of over-centralisation of the Nigerian space, logically resulting in stunted development in all spheres of life.

    The Charlie Boy group also cautioned INEC against disenfranchising a large swathe of the populace. This was a natural worry from reported glitches during the registration exercise. This has made not a few to declare the exercise erratic, so much so that even within a state, it cannot boast of a uniform level of success.

    These are key observations, and INEC would do well to address them dispassionately. If the collective goal is to achieve elections that reflect the true will of the people, that should not be any especial chore.

    Still, it is a truism of the Nigerian situation that between activism and partisan politics, there might be but a very thin line, at times as thin as gossamer. So, it is not impossible that an activist is a front for a rabid partisan, sworn to blackmailing INEC to doing his partisan bidding. Such phoney lobbies should be isolated and discounted.

    The best way to do this is for INEC itself to stay focused on its mandate and execute it with candour, openness and integrity. As the old saying goes, honesty is the best policy. If INEC is fair to all, and is perceived to be so, its first hurdle in free and fair elections may have been scaled.

    Still, to be fair is one thing. To be perceived as fair is another, particularly in the Nigerian space, with its terrible blur of the normative and the dysfunctional. That is why INEC must keep engaging its critical stakeholders and the general public; to share its experiences and difficulties with them.

    As routine, it should also mount periodic and ceaseless public enlightenment campaigns to educate voters on their duties and responsibilities. That it could do by partnering with political parties, pressure groups and non-governmental organisations interested in voter education, organisation and allied activities.

    But even before going public, it must get its training, organisation and logistics right. The more Nigeria deepens its democracy — it is the 18th year now, going to 19 since 1999 — INEC should be seen to have developed a certain level of competence and capacity, which can only get better with more practice.

    Elections are the most visible rituals of democracy. Although elections alone cannot aggregate the whole gamut of democracy, they are the most physical and observable gauge, which must be kept sacred and legitimate. The integrity or otherwise of the electoral roll occupies the central pillar of it all. That is why INEC cannot afford to get it wrong, without catastrophic consequences.

     

  • Oyo electoral body lifts ban on campaign for council poll

    Oyo electoral body lifts ban on campaign for council poll

    •Aggrieved APC members protest alleged imposition

    The Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) has lifted the ban on campaign by aspirants for chairmanship and councillorship positions in the 33 local governments and 35 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) across the state.

    The commission announced this in the amended election time table it released yesterday in Ibadan, the state capital.

    In the revised time table, which was signed by its Chairman, Mr Jide Ajeigbe, the commission said campaigns by political parties and conduct of primaries will hold till February 23.

    Candidates for councillorship positions will be screened by OYSIEC between February 28 and March 4 while chairmanship candidates will be screened from March 6 to 10.

    According to the time table, cleared candidates can pick nomination forms from March 25 to 29, while the names of qualified candidates will be published on April 20.

    Electioneering campaigns will end on May 11 while the actual election holds on May 12.

    The commission said it reviewed the time table following complaints by some parties about delineation of wards in the newly created LCDAs, but the date of the election was not changed.

    Also, scores of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) members in Oyo State yesterday protested what they called planned imposition of candidates by Governor Abiola Ajimobi ahead of the May 12 local government election in the state.

    The aggrieved members stormed the Oke-Ado state secretariat of the party, which also doubles as the campaign office of the governor, in the early hours.

    They insisted that there would be no local government election in the party without a free, fair and credible primary.

    The protesters said the primary must encompass all groups within the party and progress from wards to local governments.

    But the party’s State Chairman Akin Oke said there is no reason for some groups in the party to protest an “invisible” list of candidates.

    Oke said those protesting were being misguided by those he called disgruntled elements in the party.

    The chairman said such people do not wish the party well.

    But the aggrieved members said the list of aspirants was being manipulated.

    They said the governor had perfected plans to substitute the delegates’ list with his own people so that only those loyal to him would become the party’s candidates.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Enugu group raises alarm over smear campaign

    An advocacy group for the promotion of good governance in Enugu State, Youth Coalition for Good Governance, has raised the alarm over alleged plans to run a smear campaign against Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and the House of Assembly.

    In a statement by its Coordinator Ikechukwu Ibeh and Secretary Jude Onyema, the group said its alarm became necessary in view of the pressure being mounted on them by the desperate individuals to accede to “this selfish request.”

    The group added that its leaders rejected the offer because of their conviction that the plot was immoral, mischievous and baseless.

    It added that the ulterior motive of the sponsors of the planned smear campaign revolved around their selfish political interest in the 2019 general elections, adding that they displayed similar crass desperation in the build-up to the 2015 elections but failed.

    The group said those behind the plot were envious of the good work of the Ugwuanyi administration.

    “It is on record that the present administration has received commendation from reputable institutions for prudent and judicious management of the finances of the state such as the federal government bailout funds to states, Paris Club refunds and the releases from the federal account.

    “It is noteworthy that at a time most states are unable to pay workers’ salaries, the Enugu government is up-to-date in payment of salaries; has recorded tremendous achievements in massive infrastructural development and even went further to pay the 13th month salary in keeping with its commitment to the wellbeing of the people,” it said.