The Nation Newspaper

Tag: electoral commission

  • Buhari to Nigerians: Vote govt of your choice

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday morning again appealed to Nigerians to come out on Saturday to vote for the presidential candidate of their choice.

    In doing this, the President urged them to vote for the government that will lead Nigeria toward its finest destiny.

    He made the call in a national broadcast this morning.

    Buhari said “As your President, I hereby ask all Nigerians with voting cards to participate in defining the future of our nation by exercising your democratic rights tomorrow. I urge you to go out and vote.

    “I say this because elections are the cornerstone of representative governance. And voting constitutes the highest and best expression of the sovereign will of the people to choose the government that best represents them.

    “It is only upon the freely expressed will of the people that government truly dedicated to the welfare, rights and interests of the people can be founded.

    “You will be able to vote in an atmosphere of openness and peace, devoid of fear from threat or intimidation. Tomorrow is an encounter with history in which you, the people, shall affirm your collective belief in our national greatness and in our future.

    “I ask that you embrace and hold on to the importance of the moment soon to be upon us. Honour your civic duty as voters by going to the polls tomorrow to vote for the government of your choice, for the government that will lead Nigeria toward its finest destiny.

    “As citizens there is no greater duty than this and no greater honour. Tomorrow, I know you will once again make Nigeria proud of its people.” he said

    The President urged Nigerians not to be discouraged by anyone from exercising their rights as citizens and voters tomorrow.

    Read also: APC to Nigerians: reject treasury looters

    To vote, he said, means that they believe in Nigeria and the excellent things the future holds for the nation and its people.

    He added “No matter our political leanings, we all believe in Nigeria, in the noble principles for which it stands and in the values we strive for our beloved nation to uphold.

    “All who are able, must vote so that we may better perfect this democracy and continue to build the greater nation we seek. Do not be afraid of rumours of violence and unrest.”

    According to him, the security agencies have worked diligently to ensure that adequate security measures are in place.

    While noting that democracy is the most beneficial way to select a nation’s leaders, he said that it is far from the easiest thing to achieve and maintain.

    He said that it requires a combination of patience, tolerance, compassion, diligence, wisdom and hope.

    “These traits exist in us the Nigerian people. Because of who we are, democracy has the chance to flourish in this land.

    “Thus, I commend all of you for your patience and peaceful conduct so far during this electoral season and especially during this intervening week following the postponement of the February 16 elections.

    “Many were worried and thought the worst might happen. You proved them wrong by showing that you are a great people with an abiding love for peace, democracy and the unity of our country.

    “According to the daily INEC public briefings given this week, the Electoral Commission says it is ready and fully prepared to conduct the election in a free, fair and transparent manner. I believe INEC realises the profound and weighty duty that rests upon it.”

    The President urged Nigerians to have faith that INEC will this time rise to the occasion.

    He said “We must cast aside doubt and have faith that INEC will rise to the occasion. We must believe and encourage INEC to fulfill and honour this responsibility it owes to our country.”

    Buhari also assured the international, domestic monitors and observers of their safety and freedom of movement needed to perform their important functions.

    While thanking domestic monitors and observers for their contributions to Nigeria’s democracy, the President also thanked the international groups for their friendship and concern for the nation.

    “We appreciate their efforts in encouraging us to further entrench and strengthen our democracy.” he said

  • Ghana Polls: Opposition calls on president to concede defeat

    Ghana Polls: Opposition calls on president to concede defeat

    Ghana’s main opposition party on Thursday said it had a strong lead in elections and called on President John Mahama to concede defeat,comments which had been dismissed as “treasonable” by the incumbent’s campaign team.

    The New Patriotic Party (NPP) said its candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, had won 52 per cent of the vote according to its own tally of Wednesday’s presidential poll, against 44.8 per cent for Mahama.

    The Electoral Commission said it had not certified any results in the closely fought race to lead the West African nation that has seen a series of peaceful transfers of power.

    However, figures shown by television and radio stations showed the opposition making gains in both races.

    “These are results that were declared at the polling stations. I am calling on the president to concede defeat,’’ NPP campaign chief Peter Mac Manu said.

    A senior official of the ruling party, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, countered that Mahama was “comfortably ahead” and asked his supporters to remain calm.

    “The results are still trickling in and the call and declaration by the NPP are irresponsible and treasonable because it can throw this country into chaos,’’ he added.

    Ghana is one of Africa’s most stable democracies and voters have rejected the government of the day twice since 2000.

    Until 2014, the country also had one of Africa’s most dynamic economies, though growth has slowed in part due to a fall in the price of its commodity exports.

  • Fashola’s men and their 2015 ambition

    Fashola’s men and their 2015 ambition

    Ahead of next year’s elections, members of the Lagos State Executive Council are nursing ambitions for elective offices. Correspondent MIRIAN EKENE-OKORO examines how far they can go.

    One thing that cannot be taken away from the Lagos State Executive Council headed by Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) is the team spirit.

    The decision to work as a team has obviously paid-off in the last seven and half years. It has led to effective administration. According to observers, the Fashola Admninistration has built on the foundation laid by its predecessor, the Tinubu Administration.

    Fashola is a trail blazer. The number of developmental projects embarked upon by him attests to his vision and determination to catapult the state to the horizon of progress.

    The achievements of the administration has elicited applause from home and abroad. This credit is shared by him and the egg heads in his cabinet. However, on May 29, next year, the governor will pass the baton to his successor.

    There are some members of the executive council itching to succeed the governor. Their supporters believe that they have what it takes to serve Lagosians as the number one citizen.

    Top on the list is the Works Commissioner, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat. He is the son of the eminent politician and monarch, the Olu of Afowora Sogaade, Ewekoro Local Government Area of Ogun State, Oba Olatunji Hamzat. He is the brother of Hon. Ganiyu Hamzat, who had been in the House of Representatives since 1999. His mother is from Epe, Lagos East District. Between 2005 and 2011, he was Commissioner for Science and Technology. In 2011, he became the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure under Fashola.

    Hamzat is a brilliant technocrat. He holds a doctorate degree. As Science and Technology Commissioner, he  introduced the Oracle Technology to boost data and record keeping by the government. The move led to the elimination of ghost workers in the state’s civil service.

    Four years before he resumed at the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure, the ministry was under the supervision of a Special Adviser, Hon. Ganiyu Johnson. He has sustained the tempo of the infrastructure battle. Under him, Lagos has become a huge construction site. The governor has tremendous respect for Hamzat. In fact, in the cabinet, he is perceived as the defacto deputy governor because of the responsibilities delegated to him by Fashola. This has led to a sort of rivalry in the cabinet.

    The billboards and posters of Hamzat are visible in the metropolis. He has a solid support base. His father’s colleagues in the old Justice Forum are rooting for him. But, prominent Lagosians have objected to his ambition on the ground that he hails from Ogun State. Few months ago, the Olowo-Eko of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, said that community elders and chiefs will not support the ambition of the Ewekoro prince. Despite this, Hamzat appears to be a formidable aspirant.

    Another contender is the Commissioner for Transport, Comrade Kayode Opeifa.He is the son of the Asiwaju of Aworiland, Pa Opeifa of Orile-Agege. He was one of the early leaders of the Campaign for Democracy in Lagos. Opeifa was a lecturer at the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, before he travelled abroad for further studies.

    Opeifa was appointed as the Special Adviser on Transportation  in 2007. He was a House of Representatives aspirant in Agege Constituency. When the ticket for the legislative seat eluded him, he did not betray the party. He supported the candidate, Hon. Samuel Adejare at the poll.

    The human rights activist has also served the state as a member of the Lagos State Scholarship Board, Bursary Awards Screening Committee, 1992-1997, and Lagos State Forum. He was a member the Alliance for Democracy, United States Chapter, and founding member of the Action Congress (USA) and Action Congress, Lagos State.

    The Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Ayo Gbeleyi, a Fellow of the Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA),  former Director-General and Special Adviser on Public Private Partnership (PPP) Scheme, is eyeing the governorship. He is popular in the financial sector. He is a first class technocrat. But, he has little political experience.

    His supporters have said that his late entry into politics will not be a barrier. They recalled that Fasola did not have any party card, until he became an aspirant in 2007.

    Gbeleyi’s counterpart in the Ministry of  Agriculture and Cooperatives, Mr. Gbolahan Lawal, is another aspirant. The former police officer was the former aide-de-camp to former Governor Bola Tinubu.

    There are other members of the executive council who are eyeing other elective positions.

    The deputy governor, Mrs Tawakalitu Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, is said to be eyeing the House of Representatives seat in Alimoso Constituency. The lawmaker from the constituency, Hon. Olamilekan Adeola, is returning to Ogun State to vie for the senatorial slot in the Yewa/Awori District.

    Orelope-Adefulire was born into active politics. Her father, Pa Karimu Laka Orelope, is an Awoist and one of the pillars of the progressive bloc in Alimoso. In the Third Republic, she was a member of the House of Assembly. He was the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation under the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC). Between 2003 and 2011, she was a commissioner under Tinubu and Fashola.

    Orelope-Adefulire was not a dormant commissioner. She introduced skills acquisition training programmes for unemployed youths.  Her passion for youth development led to the establishment of 17 Skill Acquisition Training Centres. About 9, 000 beneficiaries have graduated annually from the centres.

    As an advocate of child survival, protection and development, she co-sponsored the passage of the Child Rights Law in 2007.  She has worked hard to ensure that every child is given equal opportunity to education and medical care, irrespective of status, gender and background.

    Another cabinet member nursing ambition is the political scientist and journalist,  Mr. Tunji Bello, who is a two-time Commissioner for Environment. He has been described as  a‘round peg in a round hole’. So far, he has lived up to expectation. Flooding has reduced in Lagos, owing to his campaign against indiscriminate dumping of refuse on drainage channels and canals, the  clearing of drainage channels and the construction of new channels.

    The Commissioner for Housing, Hon. Bosun Jeje, is warming up for the House of Representatives election in Kosofe Constituency. Many believe that he was the choice of the constituency at the shadow poll in 2011. Before he ventured into politics, he was a successful banker and private investor. Jeje is also a lawyer.

    Former Special Adviser on Central Business District (CBD) Mrs. Derele Disu, who resigned few weeks ago, is said to be eyeing the deputy governorship. But, family members have disputed this, pointing out that her husband, Kunle Disu, is a governorship aspirant.

    The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Ademorin Kuye, has been drafted into the senatorial race in Lagos East by party elders. Their argument is that no senator has come from Somolu/Bariga axis of the district.

    Kuye is a loyal party man. The lawyer is a former Chairman of Somolu Local Government. However, his supporters said that the contest is not a do or die affair for him.

    Also, the Commissioner for Rural Development, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, is eyeing the House of Representatives seat in Ojo Constituency. He is a former council chairman and federal legislator. During the primaries in 2011, he was persuaded to jettison his second term ambition. The ticket was given to Hon. Toyin Suarau, the son of the political leader, the late Pa Suarau.

    The Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Hon. Lateef Raji, is an aspirant for the House of Representatives in Osodi/Isolo Constituency. The historian is the former secretary of Alliance for Democracy (AD). He contested for the seat in 2011. But, the ticket was given to Hon. Moruf Akinderu-Fatai, who was elected into the House in 2007.

  • Local Govt gets electoral commission

    Chairman of Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Kehinde Bamigbetan has inaugurated an eight man electoral commission that will supervise the conduct of elections into various executive committee positions in the 74 Community Development Associations (CDA) and Community Development Committee (CDC) of the council.

    Addressing the commission’s members shortly after their inauguration in his office, Bamigbetan said the creation of an electoral body to conduct the forthcoming election was a novel idea geared towards ensuring that only committedpeople were elected as the people’s representatives.

    This step, he added became necessary because CDA was established by law, as the fourth tier of government that will serve as a link between the people and government at both local and state levels.

    “In order to ensure that the people’s interests are well presented to government, there is need to ensure that the people who will be saddled with the responsibility of making the presentation are credible and selfless community leaders”, Bamigbetan said.

    Members of the commission include : Miss Hontonnu Mary Senapon, as the Chairperson, Remi Gbadegeshin, Mrs Yemisi Alashe, Mrs. Anike Shobowale, Hassan Rabiu and Chief Steven Onadeko. Others are Rt. Captain Olusesan Akanbi and Mrs Adenike Arajo.