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Tag: moves

  • INEC moves to foil vote buying

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday announced its preparation to thwart the buying and selling of votes during the Osun governorship election.

    A lecturer in the Department of History and International Studies, Osun State University, Prof. Siyan Oyewesor had in his lecture at the INEC institute, Abuja, called for a proper check of the menace of vote buying during elections.

    In the lecture, titled “Policy Dialogue on Osun Governorship Election: Critical Factors and What INEC should do to ensure successful polls,” the don recalled that vote buying was reported during the Edo and Ekiti governorship elections.

    He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly give his assent to the electoral bill that he reportedly rejected, stressing that the Presidency and National Assembly to iron out the technical grey areas in the bill.

    Oyewesor was of the opinion that an assent to the bill would make votes count.

    Asked how the commission was planning to checkmate the scourge, the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Olusegun Agbaje, admitted that vote buying had become an embarrassment to the commission.

    Agbaje however revealed that plans were underway to reposition the cubicles in the polling units to make it impossible for voters to display their ballot papers for a fee, after casting their votes.

    His words: “The commission has made itself clear on this issue that it is an embarrassing situation. And one of the ways that the commission has planned to check the development during the Osun State election is  to reposition all cubicles in such a way that it is not going to be easy for the voter after casting his vote to come out and display his ballot paper for people to see.”

    Agbaje said people must understand that neither vote selling nor buying would aid the nation’s democracy and future. He said the commission was already embarking on education of voters to curb vote buying.

  • Tinubu’s peace moves will succeed, says cleric

    Tinubu’s peace moves will succeed, says cleric

    The National President of the All Christian Leaders/Ministers Forum (ACLMF), Dr. Sam Ogedengbe, has said the appointment of Asiwaju Bola  Tinubu as the chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) Consultation and Reconciliatory Panel by President Muhammadu Buhari was a welcome development.

    Ogedengbe, who spoke to reporters at the headquarters of the group in Abule-Egba, Lagos, said: “Such a delicate but very important assignment like this ought to have been given earlier, considering preparations for the coming general election.”

    He, however, said Tinubu, being a light-hearted person, could only be advised to take up the rigorous assignment, if the National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, could resign honourably to enable him (Tinubu) concentrate on the assignment and correct the wrongs.

    Ogedengbe said: “If the President can allow Odigie-Oyegun to resign and let Asiwaju Tinubu do the job, the better for the party and Nigerians. But in a situation where stakeholders are not ready to hold on to the truth and extract the needed facts, the end will not augur well for all.”

    He said everything should be done to ensure that Asiwaju Tinubu is not fooled and advised that the needed tools and memorandum of understanding should be provided, to ensure the success of the assignment.

     

  • Ebonyi, no longer at ease over Umahi’s political moves

    Ebonyi, no longer at ease over Umahi’s political moves

    Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi’s alleged friendly relationship with the Presidency is not only a source of concern to his political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but also the root cause of the speculation that he is poised to dump PDP for All Progressives Congress (APC). Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu reports that the development has pitched Umahi’s supporters with the followers of former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, and may redefine political alignments in the state.

    In Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, and its environs, it is still possible today to see Governor Dave Umahi and Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), sharing warm jokes in public places. Just recently, when Anyim buried his mother- in- law at Isiagu and Umahi graced the occasion in style, the handshake was warm enough to create doubts in the minds of anyone suspecting a possible rupture in the relationship of the two political leaders.

    This show notwithstanding, insiders in the politics of the South-East state confirmed to The Nation during the week that all is no longer the same between Anyim and his political grandson, Umahi. We gathered that some PDP chieftains in the state, especially close associates of Anyim, who allege that the governor is shifting his allegiance to the new lords in Abuja, are no longer at ease with his political overtures.

    “All is no longer the same here because we have reason to believe that Governor Umahi, who is always passionate to be his own man politically, is poised to dump our leaders here. This is unfortunate because it is these same leaders that made him who he is today. We hear and have seen concrete moves that confirmed to us that he may no longer be a PDP loyalist”, alleged a top PDP member in the state who pleaded not to be named.

    Although Umahi has reportedly denied any move to dump PDP for APC, the allegation had literally placed iced water on the hitherto warm relationship between him and the other leaders of PDP in the state. Sources said some Anyim supporters, who accuse Umahi of not deferring to the former SGF any longer, are however helpless as Umahi’s control of PDP in the state and indeed the politics of the state today seems near total.

    According to Chief Uzoubi Uko, “Whether he chooses to remain in PDP or to defect to APC will make little or no difference in his control of the politics of Ebonyi. The governor is fully in charge here. If you understand the politics of this state and the dynamism of Umahi, a grassroots leader, you will understand that he is not and will never be threatened even if he chooses to defect to APC. But he has said he is not planning to dump PDP but have seen the need to give President Muhammadu Buhari the support he needs to succeed. Now, tell me, what is wrong with that? I do not know why some elements are just desperate to create tension where none exists.”

    In fact, since Engr. Dave Umahi, then as the Deputy Governor, first declared resolve to pursue his governorship ambition in Ebonyi State in spite of the then Governor Martin Elechi’s open refusal to offer the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to him, the tempo of the politics of the South-East state has remained in the upward swing. The same, it seems, could be said to be the case with the political image of Umahi himself. He has always displayed uncanny ways of winning the stiff political battles he chose to fight.

    Bookmakers had given him little chance when he battled with Elechi, his boss, over the soul of the ruling party in the state. But he won and not only emerged the party’s flag bearer but also the governor of the state notwithstanding reports that most of the associates of the then Governor Elechi had teamed up in the Labour Party to raise the carpet off his feet at the grassroots level.

    Abuja connection

    When Umahi hijacked the leadership of PDP from serving governor Elechi before the last general elections, in what some commentators described as one of the most dramatic political coups of the Jonathan era, close observers credited the feat to his strong Abuja connections. Though the major actors in the Wadata Plaza headquarters of PDP in Abuja then and in the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan-led Presidency have all taken the back seat, his close associates confessed that Umahi is still highly connected in Abuja and is poised to utilize that connection to enhance both his political fortunes and the fortunes of his state.

    Ironically, it is this attempt by the governor to cultivate friendship with the Presidency and chieftains of the ruling APC at the centre that is allegedly heating up the politics of the state.

    The rumour about his alleged plan to dump PDP garnered steam when he held a closed-door 45 minutes meeting with former President Olusegun Obasanjo in Abeokuta. Stepping out of the meeting, Umahi had said to the new leaders at the centre, “We also came here to thank you for the manners and the ways you have been using the wisdom of God to assist in piloting the affairs of our nation. I thank you very greatly sir. I believe very strongly that what transpired during the election is actually the will of God. And we have the opportunity to right the wrong.

    “There is no administration that wouldn’t have some ills but the most important thing is the ability and the knowledge and wisdom to identify them like you just advised me here; all those good ones continue with them, the bad ones you can always right them,” he said.

    He did not stop there but openly pledged support for Buhari, saying of him: “And I use the opportunity to thank Mr. President Sir and to say one of the greatest things that will move this nation forward is forthrightness and Mr. President has displayed that. In our meetings, the governors, we are very pleased with him. It’s not a question of being in this party or being in the other party.

    “He displays rare sense of humility, honesty and the willingness to carry this country forward. And that’s what we are looking for. We are not interested in which party or the other party. We are interested in the man who has the welfare and the interest of the nation at heart. His directive to stop many accounts of NNPC, I’m sure you are gladdened because I had discussed that with you and you complained bitterly about the way NNPC was being run; when they keep more money than what they give the federal government.

    “So, we thank you and I want to say Sir that you continue to support Mr. President, General Buhari, and I’m very sure with you sir by his side, he is going to deliver in his promises,” Umahi said.

    Coming from a PDP governor, these comments have been interpreted to be a confirmation that the governor may be on his way out of PDP.

    Umahi’s interest in APC dates back to July this year, barely a month after his swearing in as governor, when he paid a well publicized visit to Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa though he defended then that his support for the programmes and policies of the President, especially the anti-corruption stance, does not translate to plans to defect to APC.

    But most political watchers could not believe him because not only has he gone out of his way to associate closely with Buhari and Obasanjo, he has also been seen consolidating his stake in the leading political platform by associating with and sending special gifts to some powerful Emirs who allegedly wield enormous influence in APC.

    We also gathered from top political leaders from the state, especially federal lawmakers who have held several meetings with him that he is zealous about the need to collaborate with Buhari’s government, notwithstanding how some elements in PDP will interpret it. An earlier report had quoted one of the Ebonyi State federal lawmakers as saying that Umahi actually advised them in a meeting to ensure that they align their bills with the vision of the Buhari-led government.

    No matter how Umahi may try to justify his resolve to praise and work with Buhari’s government in the interest of Nigeria, he can no longer deny the fact that this decision may have pitched him against PDP purists who see him as a betrayer. Umahi, it seems, is not perturbed. But there is some unease even amongst his associates, who are wondering if it is necessary for him to encourage this brewing political battle and if the governor stands a chance of coming out of it without sustaining some fatal political bruises?

    A top government official in Abakaliki, explaining the situation in the Government House said on Friday, “We are not worried here by the rumour because the governor is not afraid of political battles. He thrives from it. Recall that his political rise into the Ebonyi State Government House began when the then Governor Martin Elechi, who had assured him that the governorship of the state would be zoned to his old Afikpo bloc of Ebonyi South Senatorial district, suddenly shifted interest from him to the former Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu.

    “Many had thought the shift would mark the end of Umahi’s dreams but it ironically marked the beginning of a new tempo, a more radical and realistic tempo. Immediately the former Health Minister was named as the consensus governorship candidate, Umahi dished out his campaign posters. You know the rest of the story. So, he is not afraid to do the right thing,” he said.

    It is on record that in that political battle the official recalled, Umahi was backed by political heavyweights in the PDP like former Governor Sam Egwu, whose friendship with the then National Chairman of PDP, Adamu Muazu, gave enormous influence and the then Secretary to Government of the Federation, (SGF) Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, who literally oversaw Nigeria then, among others.

    With the help of these people, Umahi defeated Elechi and effectively took over control of PDP in the state.

    Now that his new steps would imply dumping these same PDP lords, it remains to be seen how it would impact on the politics of the state. Already, some supporters are saying that the weak economy of the state makes it wise for Umahi to relate well with the federal government. But the question his critics are asking is if he must dump PDP and his political godfathers before working with the Buhari-led federal government?

    The chess-like game has just commenced and it remains to be seen how it will ultimately affect common Ebonyi people and Governor Dave Umahi.

  • Buhari moves into Villa

    Buhari moves into Villa

    Twenty three days after taking the oath of office, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday moved into his official residence, the Aso Villa in Abuja.

    Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo operated from the Defence House, Abuja after their inauguration to allow renovation of the facilities at the sprawling Villa.

    Military President Ibrahim Babangida built the complex and was the first leader to occupy the place after moving the seat of government from Lagos to the Federal Capital Territory in 1991.

    The movement of the capital to Abuja was proposed by the Murtala Muhammed military government in 1975.

    Aso Rock Presidential Villa houses the President’s residence and office. It is variously called Aso Villa, The Villa, Aso Rock and State House.

    The Aso Villa is located in the Three Arms Zone in the Central Business District of Abuja. The National Assembly Complex and the Nigerian Supreme Court are also located in the three arms zone.

    The Presidential Villa is built on the valley of the geographical feature, Aso rock, a 400-meter monolith.

    Apart from Gen Babangida, the other leaders who have occupied the place are: Chief Ernest Shonekan, the late Gen. Sani Abacha, Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and now Buhari.

    The President’s wife, Aisha, moved into the official residence last Thursday before the President joined her.

    Buhari returned to Abuja from his home town, Daura in Katsina State on Saturday and officials began moving his  personal effects yesterday before he moved in.

    It is believed that the tempo of activities in government will increase this week as vital appointments are expected to be made.

    Already the president is being perceived as starting slowly in some quarters but the All Progressives Congress (APC) said he is taking his time to pick his winning team.

    Buhari’s spokesman Garba Shehu said the President did not move into the Presidential Villa on May 29 because it was not ready for habitation.

    He said the President chose to live in a rented apartment until the work was completed.

    He said: “They claim some renovation was going on; the place is being cleaned up for his occupation. The contractors are probably working at their pace.

    “I am not saying he’s comfortable where he is at his rented house, but he is operating from there at the moment and when the Villa is ready, he will move.”

    Shehu was also quoted as saying: “As far as the President is concerned, the place (his official residence) is not ready yet.

    “Workers are cleaning and refurbishing the place. Once the exercise is completed, the President will move in.”

  • Kese Jabari’s latest moves

    Kese Jabari’s latest moves

    Former actor and fashion designer, Kese Jabari, now runs Warrington Consulting, LLC in Atlanta Georgia.

    The father of four, who married former beauty queen, Sabinah Umeh, through his consulting outfit in conjunction with the Africa Business Council, will be hosting in Atlanta, Georgia the three major governorship candidates of the 2015 gubernatorial elections in Delta State, Nigeria. The first candidate, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor OON, is confirmed for the 12th, 13th and 14th of March.  While in Atlanta, Emerhor will be hosted at The Capitol on the 12th of March, 2015 by key Senators of The Georgia State Senate and Representatives of The Georgia House of Representatives. He will be honoured with a Honorary Citizen Award of the State of Georgia, for his outstanding success in business, exemplary service to community and philanthropic contribution to the less privileged in Delta State, Nigeria.

    This will be followed with a meeting with business leaders, corporate citizens, investor groups, chambers of commerce, non- governmental organisation’ on the 13th to explore attracting business opportunities to Delta State.

    The businessman turned politician will be hosted by the Nigerian community, especially indigenes and friends of Delta State.

  • SON moves against importers of fake LED bulbs

    Importers of sub-standard Light Emitting Diode (LED) energy saving bulbs are in for hard times, says the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). It has adopted measures to stop influx of such bulbs.

    The organisation has also started examination of all imported LED bulbs to determine their genuineness. LED bulbs are considered the best energy saving bulbs. They are expensive but have long life span.

    SON’s Head of Enforcement, Bede Obayi said the bulbs are undergoing tests in the agency’s laboratory to determine their level of reliability, and further ensure that those that fail to meet the required safety standards are impounded to serve as deterrent to other importers.

    He said the tests vary in scope, adding that they seek to achieve a common goal of differentiating the original from fake.

    Obayi told The Nation that SON is conducting what it described as Life and Turfion tests on the bulbs in order to know the compositions, workings, and other vital information about the bulbs, and subsequently separate the fake from the original.

    He said Life test is going to show the life span of the bulbs vis-a-vis knowing the number of hours they can spend before they go off, while the Turfion test shows the distinct and definite natures of the bulbs.

    He said bulbs are expected to spend certain number of hours, days, or months, adding that there are cases whereby bulbs goes off few hours after they are fixed.

    Obayi explained that people use substandard energy saving bulbs without considering their financial and health implications. He said bulbs that are not showing reasonable level of light emission, offering lasting value, among meeting other requirements provided by their manufacturers, are deemed to be substandard, and should be withdrawn from the market.

    Obayi said there was no let up in the fight against importation of substandard energy equipment, noting that SON has been withdrawing obsolete gas cylinders from the market in line with the Federal Government’s directive that the  products must be phased out to pave way for the production of new ones locally.

    According to him, complaints from customers made the government to initiate the tests, among taking other precautionary measures to protect the users.

    He said the delay in impounding fake energy bulbs, was as a result of lack of enough evidence on them, stressing that the tests would give a true picture of the bulbs used in Nigeria.

    Obayi said: “It was not proper for SON to start impounding energy saving bulbs without having enough proofs to substantiate its claims.  The tests would reveal a lot of things. The outcome would determine the next line of action which SON would take. We have heard of fake energy saving bulbs in the market, but we need to follow due process by conducting a thorough investigation on the issue before we do anything.

    “We have organised a forum for all the stakeholders especially those that are importing the bulbs. We told them to collect Standards Organisation of Nigeria Conformity Assessment Programme (SONCAP) certificate since it is a major way of knowing whether products coming into Nigeria meet the local standards.

    He said possessing of SONCAP certificate is mandatory for importers of goods into the country, arguing that anybody without the certificate is not worthy of bringing goods into the country.

    The government’s decision to introduce pre-paid meters made electricity consumers to determine their consumption level and costs. In recent times, millions of energy conserving bulbs have flooded the market as consumers transit from analog to pre-paid meters.

  • Kwara ACN moves to unite members

    The Chairman of the Kwara State Caretaker Committee of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Comrade Sola Iji, at the weekend said efforts were on to reposition the party to ensure its success in future elecions.

    He said the seven-man committee, which was constituted by the ACN National Executive Committee (NEC) to reconcile the factions within the party, would ensure a formidable transition from ACN to All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Iji, a lawyer and former ACN Chairman in Ondo State, told reporters in Akure, the state capital, that he was banking on the modest experience he garnered in politics and as former caretaker chairman of ACN in Enugu State to face the challenges of his mandate.

    He said: “We are mobilising members. We are taking up rigorous reconciliation parleys. We are engaging party leaders in open discussions, even with our merging partners in the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

    “We are having useful discussions in anticipation of the template to be sent to us from the APC National Interim officers.”

    Iji said the regular interaction between members and the caretaker committee would break barriers and harmonise the party in preparation for the coming local government election in the state.

    On the Ondo governorship election dispute, the party leader said the Appeal Court verdict was a fundamental shift from that of the lower tribunal, particularly in admitting that the foundation for that election was manipulated and full of irregularities.

    The party chieftain assured that the apex court would make a pronouncement on the credibility or otherwise of an election conducted with a compromised voters’ register.

    Iji said: “The law does not allow somebody to vote twice. But names of voters were replicated, even on the same page. The whole process was compromised. The foundation for the election was full of absurdities.”

    The lawyer hailed the Appeal Court judges for admitting that the voters’ list was compromised.

    But he noted that the good job the judges did would have been well executed by discrediting the disputed election and granting the ACN’s prayer for an annulment of the election.

    Iji said: “Voters’ register is so fundamental. You cannot build a house without a proper foundation; that house will crumble. The verdict of the Appeal Court did not excite the public. That was why there was no jubilation; it was because it fell below the people’s expectation.”

    The ACN chieftain described the Olusegu Mimiko administration as a disaster.

    He added: “It has plundered the resources of the state to such an extent that the masses are suffering.”

  • Obodo moves to Belarus

    Obodo moves to Belarus

    Nigerian midfielder Christian Obodo has moved to Belarus in a bid to revive a career blighted by injury.

    The 28-year-old joins Dinamo Minsk on a one-and-a-half-year deal after being released by Serie A club Udinese last September.

    “This is a very important move for me at this time,” Obodo, who last played for Nigeria in 2008, tells KickOffNigeria.com. “I am very happy to come here and I just want to get back to playing football again.

    The Nigerian joined Udinese from Fiorentina in 2005, where he was to form a formidable midfield partnership with fellow African Sulley Muntari. But an anterior cruciate ligament injury kept him on the sidelines for almost two seasons before he was eventually loaned out to Lecce.

    On his return, he failed to break into the first team, and last year, both club and player agreed to cancel the contract by mutual consent.

  • Total moves staff out of Abuja

    French oil major Total has moved its staff from the Nigerian capital Abuja following the kidnapping of a French national last month, Chief Executive, Christophe de Margerie, said on Friday.

    This is the first time in recent history that a company has said it has evacuated foreigners from Nigeria’s capital due to security concerns. Western diplomatic sources told Reuters earlier this week that embassies were not planning to remove families of their staff from Abuja.

    “What we do first is to limit the number of expatriates, not because they have more rights to be protected than the others, but because they are a more interesting target, if I may say,” de Margerie told France 24 television.

    He did not elaborate on the number of staff moved.

    “In Nigeria, we have three installations … We moved our people from Abuja, which is the city that is most at risk, to Lagos and Port-Harcourt, and if necessary, we move them back to Paris,” he told the TV channel on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

    Nigerian Islamist group Ansaru kidnapped a French national last month in the remote northern town of Rimi, close to the Niger border.

    The group threatened to continue to target the French because of the country’s support of military action in Mali and its decision to ban the full face veil.

  • Akinfenwa Akinsola moves on

    AKINFENWA Akinsola was one of the bank MDs affected by the sweeping reforms embarked on by the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. He has since moved on. Apart from his consultancy for various banks across the country and beyond, the bespectacled banker has now ventured into the hotel and hospitality business. The former bank chief, we learnt, is exploring new frontiers in Ondo State, where he has unveiled a multimillion naira hotel.