BREAKING NEWS: GOVERNOR EL-RUFAI ORDERS THE ARREST OF A MONARCH

Governor El-Rufai has ordered the immediate arrest and imprisonment of the Paramount Ruler of the Kurama Nation of Lere Local Government Dr Ishaku Damina, JP. He along with three (3) others are being charged with Criminal Conspiracy, Assault and Adoption.

According to the information gathered by our correspondence from a native of Kurama Chiefdom who informed us that the arrest may be connected with some herdsmen invaders that were rounded up by the Kurama Christian Youth when they (Fulani Herdsmen Terrorists) went as usual to attack the natives.

Nnamani must quit as Electoral Reform Committee Chairman - Fayose

Ekiti State Governor and Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum, Mr Ayodele Fayose has called for the immediate resignation of former Senate President, Ken Nnamani as chairman of the Electoral Reform Committee and allow a non-partisan person to take over, saying “if the federal government is serious about electoral reform, Senator Nnamani, a card carrying member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won’t head the Electoral Reform Committee.”

The governor, who also said there was nothing wrong with the country’s electoral system, said; “It was the same electoral system that produced the present APC government of President Muhammadu Buhari, in an election adjudged as relatively free, fair and credible. So what happened to the system after May 29, 2015 that this present government took over? How did we get to this level of inconclusive and questionable elections in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies appear to have become part of the ruling party?”

In his presentation at the public hearing on constitution and electoral reform held at Ogun State Cultural Centre, Abeokuta today, Governor Fayose said; “Even when it inherited a working system that conducted elections adjudged as free and fair by local and international communities, INEC has failed consistently to replicate the inherited working system due to overzealousness and rabid passion to work as appendage of the federal government.

“Imagine an election that is ongoing, only for INEC to postpone counting of votes by midnight, with the party agents driven away. Any result announced in the morning has lost any credibility and legitimacy and cannot represent the will of the people.”

The governor, who was represented by the Chairman, Ekiti State House of Assembly Committee on Information, Dr Samuel Omotoso pointed out that “The only time this country made an attempt at a reliable electoral reform was during the tenure of President Umaru Yar’Adua who appointed retired Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mohammed Uwais as the chairman. This singular move gave the panel credibility, widespread acceptability and massive supports from all over the country and across political divides.

“Such cannot be said of this panel that is overshadowed with massive moral burdens and conflict of interest as a result of the chairman being a card carrying member of a political party called APC.”

He said; “Senator (Dr) Ken Nnamani, being the South-East regional leader of APC is incapable of rising above primordial and party sentiments to give Nigerians anything different from electoral inconclusiveness that we have at the moment.

“Any reform from such encapsulation can as well be said to be dead on arrival.”

Speaking further, Governor Fayose described INEC under the present APC government as the champion of electoral malpractices, saying “INEC and security agencies need to purge themselves of all these putrid behaviours and face the reality of modern day democracy.

“As Governor of Ekiti State, I have no reservation about reviewing and reforming our electoral process but I am reluctant about the sincerity of purpose deploy each time we display such political hallucinations under the guise of reforms, this has amounted severally to playing to the gallery and this committee just like others that have embarked on several wild goose chases in the past is not likely to be different.

“When those who are to supervise an election take over the process and turn themselves to interested parties rather than rise above board, then we breed nothing other than chaos, pandemonium, mayhem, confusion and disorganisation of the whole process.

“We all know those who commit crimes during the elections but this same people are protected using the police, who is supposed to ensure orderliness and legal consequences for electoral infractions. The police would rather arrest and prosecute the victims of electoral malpractices and violence while releasing the actual aggressors due to the relationship of these offenders to the government in power.

“The penchant for disorder by the umpire has got to a state of obsessive compulsive disorder, in the sense that rather than ensure sincerity of purpose within the system, what we have is deceit, flippancy and double standards.

“Therefore, there is no gainsaying that this electoral review body is not needed until the panel is equitable, non-partisan and devoid of influence from the powers that be. He who comes to equity must come with clean hands.”

PDP crisis: Supreme Court to hears conflicting motions by Sheriff, Makarfi

The Supreme Court will on Thursday hear two conflicting motions from warring factions in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Ahmed Makarfi-led faction has filed a motion seeking accelerated hearing of the appeal it filed on February 27 against the February 17 judgement of the Appeal Court, Port-Harcourt division, upholding the Ali Modu Sheriff-led committee as the authentic leadership organ of the party.

On its part, the Sheriff faction has filed three processes including a motion and a “Form 19” for the discontinuance of the appeal, and a motion urging  court to strike out the appeal.

The Makarfi faction, in its motion, wants the court to depart from its rules, abridge the time for the hearing of the appeal and allow accelerated hearing from the appeal.
The group said it has compiled record of proceedings at the lower court and had it transmitted to the Supreme Court within a week.

The Makarfi faction said it has also ensured that the appeal is entered in Supreme Court’s list and a number issued. The appeal is numbered: SC.133/2017.
On its part, the Sheriff faction, in an affidavit supporting its motion for striking out the appeal, stated since it has applied to withdraw the appeal, being the authentic leaders of the party, the proper order to be made by the court was to strike it out.

PDP’s Acting National Legal Adviser, Bashir Maidugu (belonging to the Sheriff faction), said the PDP did not authorise the appeal.

Ile-Ife: Afenifere mobilises 100 lawyers to defend suspects

Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, has said it will assemble over 100 lawyers to defend the 20 indigenes of Ile-Ife, who are being held for their alleged involvement in the recent clash between the indigenes and the Hausa community in the town.

The PUNCH learnt on Wednesday that the organisation had secured the readiness of no fewer than 18 lawyers of Yoruba extraction to represent the accused persons free.

The National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, stated this in an interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja.

He was reacting to the demand for clarifications by The PUNCH on a statement by him on the fate of the Ife citizens.

“For now, about 18 Yoruba sons and daughters, who are all lawyers, have expressed interest to defend their brothers who have been falsely accused. Many others are coming to join. At the end, Afenifere will be having over 100 Yoruba lawyers to defend the 20 Ife indigenes,” he said.

In the statement, Afenifere said it would resist the undue deployment of federal troops in the South-West to settle ethnic scores.

It added, “Following the illegal, unconstitutional and sectional parade of 20 Ife indigenes over the recent clashes between the host community and Arewa settlers, Afenifere has vowed to resist the undue deployment of federal might to settle ethnic scores.

“As a first step in this regard, we have assembled a powerful team of lawyers to enforce the fundamental human rights of the 20 abducted Yoruba persons.

“It is a settled law that the investigation and trial of suspects must take place at the scene of the crime. We are appreciative of the many lawyers of Yoruba extraction who have taken up this challenge pro bono.

“The legal team will challenge this subversion of due process while political pressure continues on why two communities will be involved in a fight and only members of one community will be put on trial by a police whose leadership is of the same ethnic group with the other party in the conflict.

“We restate the fact that the Arewa group started the killings in Ife by killing a Yoruba young man. This is clearly missing in the skewed report by the police.

“We appeal to our people to be calm while we pursue the legal angle to this challenge to our pride as a people as the first step.”

Meanwhile, the Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State has called on the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, to release innocent persons arrested in connection with the clash in Ile-Ife.

The chairman of the group, Mr. Sulaiman Adeniyi, said this in a statement made available to one of our correspondents in Osogbo on Wednesday.

He stated that Yoruba people across Nigeria would rise against the bias, adding that the people would not allow the kind of mindless arrests targeted at the race during  the June 12, 1993 impasse to stand.

Adeniyi, who blamed President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Rauf Aregbesola for not saying anything against the biased investigation by the police, argued that the lopsided investigation could pit the people against the police.

The group described the security operatives’ action as unacceptable, barbaric, unfair, satanic, evil, ungodly and a crime against humanity and God.

It added, “The police should live above board in dealing with a situation of this nature by not engaging in action that might trigger another crisis in our society.

“Nothing good will come out of the police investigation than unnecessary tension to the peaceful town.

“Yoruba are not second-class citizens to other ethnic groups in Nigeria and the security operatives’ action is unacceptable and totally rejected by all and sundry.

“Our advice to the Nigeria Police over this matter is to release the innocent residents arrested unconditionally by going for an amicable resolution (of the crisis).

“We do not want a situation where citizens will be attacking police formations in the area if their family members are not released on time.

“As we all know, the Hausa and Yoruba have been living together in Ile-Ife and other towns in Osun State for a very long time and this avoidable Ile-Ife crisis should not be allowed to escalate.

The group called on human rights groups and individual rights activists to rise against what it described as an injustice done to the people of Ile-Ife after the destruction of the lives of the indigenes and their properties.

AFENIFERE CONSTITUTES LEGAL TEAM FOR IFE 21

Following the illegal,unconstitutional and sectional parade of 21 Ife indigenes over the recent clashes between the host community and Arewa settlers ,Afenifere vowed to resist the undue deployment of federal might to settle ethnic scores.
As a first step in this regard ,we have assembled a  powerful team of Lawyers to enforce the fundamental human rights of the 21 abducted Yoruba persons .
It is a settled law that the investigation and trial of suspects must take place at the scene of the crime.
We are appreciative of the many lawyers of Yoruba extraction who have taken up this challenge pro bono.

The legal team will challenge this subversion of due process while political pressure continues on why two communities will be involved in a fight and only members of one community will be put on trial by a police whose leadership is of the same ethnic with the other party in the conflict.
We restate the fact that the Arewa group started the killings in Ife by killing a Yoruba young man.This is clearly  missing in the skewed report by the police.
We appeal to our people to be calm while we pursue the legal angle to this challenge to our pride as a people as the first step.

Yinka Odumakin. 
National Publicity Secretary

Breaking news: Commissioner dies while jogging with Governor.

Samuel Galadima, the Plateau State Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, slumped and died on Wednesday, while jogging along with Governor Simon Lalong at the Rwang Pam Stadium, Jos.Emmanuel Nanle, the Director of Press Affairs, confirmed the incident to the our correspondent..

Nanle said: “Yes, the commissioner slumped while jogging and was rushed to the Plateau Specialist Hospital, where he died.”

Nanle said that the official was gasping for breath by the time he arrived the hospital.

He said: “Doctors tried to stabilise him but could not. We have lost him.”

PRESIDENCY ORDERS THE AUDIT OF NPA ACCOUNT

The Presidency has ordered for an investigation into the financial books of the Nigerian Ports Authority under the management of Mrs Hadiza Bala Usman for fraud.

Mrs Hadiza Bala Usman, the MD of The Nigerian Ports Authority who once served as Governor El Rufai’s Chief of Staff is alleged to have given $25 thousand to several APC chieftains to support El Rufai’s emergence as Vice President under the assumption that President Buhari may not return to Nigeria from his medical leave.

Buhari’s medical leave which lasted for more than 45 days instead of the planned 10 days raised a lot of questions about the President’s ability to return to office. While there were rumours that he was in coma after a series of operations, there were even rumours of his passing and a conspiracy by the Presidency to conceal his health status from Nigerians as much as they could.

Governor El Rufai and his former Chief of Staff had seen the President’s ill health as an opportunity to further push the Former’s Political Career. Mrs Hadiza Bala Usman who was appointed by President Buhari, met with several APC chieftains at the request of El Rufai and reportedly gave $25,000 each to many of them to influence the picking of El Rufai as the Vice President should President Buhari fail to return to Nigeria and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was sworn in as President.

This grand plan would see El Rufai contest for the 2019 Presidency as it would be widely accepted in the APC Northern Nigeria that the north had not completed its 8 year tenure.

President Buhari’s return marked the end of El Rufai’s scheming and dashed his hopes, the Kaduna Governor wrote a lengthy letter and released a lengthy memo to criticise the President’s policies weeks after the President returned."

INEC INTRODUCES ELECTRONIC COLLATION AND RESULT TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

The Independent National Electoral Commission has unveiled an electronic collation and results transmission system with a view to eliminating manual collation which the commission says enables malpractices.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Chidi Nwafor, disclosed the development on Thursday during a media parley chaired by the commission’s chief, Mahmood Yakubu, in Abuja.
In his presentation centred on deployment of technology and innovations to drive Nigeria’s electoral system ahead of the 2019 general elections, Mr. Nwafor highlighted the weakness of current collation system which involves manual transmission of results sheets from one stage to the next up to the point of final collation in the course of which malpractices are perpetrated.
“Observations have shown that most election malpractices that take place do not take place at polling units,” said Mr. Nwafor, a fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers who supervised the deployment of permanent voters’ cards and smart readers for the 2015 elections.
He said it was barely possible to “rig” at polling units where everybody participates in the process of counting of ballot papers and recording of scores.
‘The challenge has been after the poll – between the polling units and the collation centres and at the collation centre.
“INEC has therefore decided to securely transmit results from all polling units to central database such that only viewing access is allowed at the wards and local government levels – which ultimately eliminates manual collation processes.”
The new e-collation system has four procedures, namely:

Results from polling units will be entered into the e-collation application on the smart card reader;
Results are transmitted to a central server;
Results are auto-collated and can be viewed at the RAs (wards) and ECA8s can be scanned at that level; and
Result audit and confirmation takes place at collation centres at LGAs, state and national level.
Mr. Nwafor said the new system could be used for all elections, from local council polls which INEC conducts in the Federal Capital Territory to the presidential election.
He added that the system had “a flexible dashboard to with a real-time user interface showing graphical presentation of status of results collated per given time.”
It is expected that the e-collation system further improves the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process, as did PVC and smart card reader when deployed for the 2015 elections, reputed as the most credible since the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999.
INEC said the new system would be first deployed for the November 2017 Anambra State governorship election as pilot phase.
“INEC is preparing for the 2019 elections and is further deploying technology to improve its service delivery and make its processes less prone to manipulations,” said Mr. Nwafor.
At the media parley, the chairman of the commission, Mr. Yakubu said the commission had been meeting with security, intelligence and military agencies to improve security of elections in Nigeria.
INEC’s last outing in Rivers States was widely condemned for widespread violence and malpractices, which ensured the commission had to wait till February 26 before concluding an exercise that started on December 10 of the previous year.
But Mr. Yakubu said 29 staff suspected to have been involved in the misconducts during the Rivers polls had been interdicted pending the outcome of investigation and prosecution by the police.

INEC INTRODUCES ELECTRONIC COLLATION AND RESULT TRANSMISSION SYSTEM

The Independent National Electoral Commission has unveiled an electronic collation and results transmission system with a view to eliminating manual collation which the commission says enables malpractices.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Chidi Nwafor, disclosed the development on Thursday during a media parley chaired by the commission’s chief, Mahmood Yakubu, in Abuja.
In his presentation centred on deployment of technology and innovations to drive Nigeria’s electoral system ahead of the 2019 general elections, Mr. Nwafor highlighted the weakness of current collation system which involves manual transmission of results sheets from one stage to the next up to the point of final collation in the course of which malpractices are perpetrated.
“Observations have shown that most election malpractices that take place do not take place at polling units,” said Mr. Nwafor, a fellow of Nigerian Society of Engineers who supervised the deployment of permanent voters’ cards and smart readers for the 2015 elections.
He said it was barely possible to “rig” at polling units where everybody participates in the process of counting of ballot papers and recording of scores.
‘The challenge has been after the poll – between the polling units and the collation centres and at the collation centre.
“INEC has therefore decided to securely transmit results from all polling units to central database such that only viewing access is allowed at the wards and local government levels – which ultimately eliminates manual collation processes.”
The new e-collation system has four procedures, namely:

Results from polling units will be entered into the e-collation application on the smart card reader;
Results are transmitted to a central server;
Results are auto-collated and can be viewed at the RAs (wards) and ECA8s can be scanned at that level; and
Result audit and confirmation takes place at collation centres at LGAs, state and national level.
Mr. Nwafor said the new system could be used for all elections, from local council polls which INEC conducts in the Federal Capital Territory to the presidential election.
He added that the system had “a flexible dashboard to with a real-time user interface showing graphical presentation of status of results collated per given time.”
It is expected that the e-collation system further improves the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process, as did PVC and smart card reader when deployed for the 2015 elections, reputed as the most credible since the inception of the Fourth Republic in 1999.
INEC said the new system would be first deployed for the November 2017 Anambra State governorship election as pilot phase.
“INEC is preparing for the 2019 elections and is further deploying technology to improve its service delivery and make its processes less prone to manipulations,” said Mr. Nwafor.
At the media parley, the chairman of the commission, Mr. Yakubu said the commission had been meeting with security, intelligence and military agencies to improve security of elections in Nigeria.
INEC’s last outing in Rivers States was widely condemned for widespread violence and malpractices, which ensured the commission had to wait till February 26 before concluding an exercise that started on December 10 of the previous year.
But Mr. Yakubu said 29 staff suspected to have been involved in the misconducts during the Rivers polls had been interdicted pending the outcome of investigation and prosecution by the police.

THE MAKING OF A HERO OUT OF SEN. DINO MELAYE:BY ATABO M ABUBAKAR

In the last few days,the media trended with news that Sen. Dino Melaye did not graduate from ABU and that even his results indicated he failed five Courses that could prevent him from graduating. Before i set the record straight,let me abreast you with some of my personal encounters with Dino Melaye in ABU.

MY PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH DINO MELAYE IN ABU ZARIA.
I and Dino Melaye were part of the delegation from ABU in 1998 to NANS Convention in Enugu. We slept in the same bus the first night we arrived Enugu.But in the morning when the convention became chaotic Dino disapeared from there and we only met when we managed to return to ABU. Some of us felt betrayed by Dino's action since our feeding and transport allowances were in his custody.From that day,I hated having anything to do with Dino.
Secondly,I was billed to ride on a horse at ABU/OAU Club procession to signal its Annual Week in January of 1999. I paid for the horse and the costume but,the shoes coudnt size me.So,I dashed to my hostel to get my own shoe for the ride. On my return,I was told that Dino had picked my costume and rode the horse for the procession.I ran after him and it took us serious browl to get my horse and costumes back from him. Our adversary escalated from that day.
Thirdly, my then Political God father in ABU and Dino's main adversary Sir Empero masterminded Dino's impeachement as the Geography Depatartmet President in 1998.So,when I was contesting for the post of Director of Social of the Faculty of Social Sciences in 1999,Dino saw it as a pay back time to make sure I loose the elections. Dino came in and gave maximum support to my opponents in the elections.But, I won with landslide and humiliated Dino's adversary.
In a nutshell, Dino and i were never friends or in good terms through out my personal encounter with him.
Now,back to the main issue of non graduation from ABU.
DINO MELAYE IN ABU ZARIA
For anyone that was in ABU between 1991 to 1999 surely knew Dino.Dino was very popular,lausy,impulsive,pocknosive and above all gatecrashed any event or place that he find himself. Anywhere you go around ABU main Campus,you are bound to meet Dino or his antics. May be to paint a picture of Dino in ABU,just look at his antics in the house of Representatives and the current Senate,then picture it in ABU environment.

ISSUE OF RESULTS AND CARRY OVERS
Dino was admitted in ABU in 1991,so he ought to have graduated in 1994 being a four years course.Unfortunately,ABU was engulfed into crisis between 1992 up to 1996.That was why Gen. Abacha appointed Gen. Mamman Kontagora as Sole Administrator to end the crisis and restructure the school. Part of the restructuring was to ensure all those victims of the crisis (of which wasnt fault of theirs) were adequately given soft landing to graduate. Thus, the school put in a policy of waiver of some Carried Over Courses for all those that over stayed. Dino and his mates benefited from that policy.
Secondly,I was part of the meeting with the then NANS President Philip Shuaibu ( who is now the Deputy Governor of Edo State) in 1999 when NANS demanded the restoration of Student Union Government in ABU.The then Dean Student Affairs Dr. Tanimu made recommendations to the then Vice Chancellor Prof. Abdullahi being that Dino and his likes must not be allowed to participate in Unionism and the only way to achieve that is to make sure they graduate that year since most of them have spent over seven years on four years courses.
After all those waivers and considerations,Dino Melaye graduated in 1999 with CGPA of 1.36. A result that everyone around Dino knew.

FOR THE RECORDS
It is worthy of note to state clearly here that ABU is not a University that anyone can claim to have graduated if he dindt.Had it been Dino did not pass through ABU he woudnt have spent four years in the House of Representatives between 2007-2011 without beeing detected. Not to even talk of beeing Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
For the avoidance of doubt,Dino Melaye was a bonafide graduate of Geography from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria 1999. He graduated along with his mates and before our own eyes.Even his adversaries back there in ABU cannot deny that fact.

CONCLUSION
For anyone to insinuate that Dino dindnt graduate from ABU in 1999 is as good as saying Obasanjo,Yar Adua,Jonathan have never ruled this country at one time or the other. To crown it all,the peddlers of this rumour are either ignorant,mischievous or at most making a hero out of Dino
I rest my case.

By
Atabo M Abubakar
21.03.2017

LASIEC to distribute PVCs, rule out card reader

The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) says it has reached an agreement with the Lagos office of the Independent National Electoral Commission to constitute a joint committee to distribute about 1.47 million Permanent Voter Cards that have yet to be collected by registered voters in the state.

This is coming just as LASIEC ruled out the usage of card readers in the local government election.

INEC and LASIEC reached the agreement during a meeting between the two electoral bodies.

The meeting, which was attended by LASIEC  chairman, electoral commissioners, the permanent secretary of LASIEC, INEC administrative secretary and some principal officers of INEC, Lagos office, held at the headquarters of  LASIEC.

A statement on Sunday said the LASIEC Chairman, Justice Ayotunde Phillips (retd.), had sought the cooperation of the Administrative Secretary of INEC, Lagos State office, Mr. Clement Oha, for the constitution of the committee to ensure the distribution of the PVCs to voters who had yet to get their PVCs.

The chairman said, “This initiative will assist in reducing voter apathy and enhance the credibility of the electoral process at grass roots level.

“LASIEC will not be able to use the card reader machines for the conduct of the forthcoming election in view of the closeness of the date of the election.”

In his comment, Oha assured LASIEC that INEC team would work with LASIEC to ensure that the 1.47 million PVCs were distributed to their owners.

The administrative secretary added that the commission had decentralised the distribution of the PVCs from the headquarters of the 20 local government areas to 245 registration areas.