Author: Chief Editor

You may recall that at our last meeting held on 17th June 2021, we focused mainly on the resumption of the nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR). More specifically, we discussed the schedule for the exercise as well as the Commission’s proposal for a two-tier online and in-person or physical registration of voters. We also presented to you two technology-driven innovations to facilitate the CVR exercise in the form of a portal for online pre-registration of voters as well as the new INEC Voter Enrolment Device (IVED) for physical registration. Since the resumption of the CVR online on 28th June 2021,…

Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to be deployed by INEC in subsequent elections will tackle election fraud, Yiaga Africa stated in Abuja on Friday. Yiaga Africa is a non-profit civic hub of change makers committed to the promotion of democratic governance, Its Director of Programmes, Cynthia Mbamalu, said in the statement that BVAS would also guarantee the sanctity of ballots. Mbamalu stated that INEC had at its quarterly consultative meeting with Civil Society Organisations shared its plan to deploy BVAS for the accreditation of voters. “As presented at the meeting, this all-in-one technology is a multifunctional integrated device that serves…

YIAGA Africa has blamed the National Assembly for hindered access to justice for victims of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in Nigeria. Yiaga program manager, Cynthia Mbamalu stated this Friday in Abuja during a two-day workshop to review legislation on Women and Girls Rights in Nigeria organized by Yiaga Africa under its EU- UN Spotlight Initiative Project. Mbamalu called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Senate President, Ahmed Lawal to prioritise assent to the bill when passed as one of the legacy projects of the present administration. According to her, the existing legal framework in the country is not sufficiently…

The Executive Secretary of National Land Development Authority (NALDA), Mr Paul Ikonne says the establishment of 109 Integrated Farm Estate by the Federal Government has nothing to do with Ruga or ranches. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Muhammadu Buhari had directed NALDA to establish integrated farm estates in all the 109 senatorial districts to boost food production across the country. Pan-yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, had in a statement by its spokesman, Mr Jare Ajayi, allegedly accused the federal government of attempting to bring back the rejected cattle colony and RUGA through the establishment of the farm…

Jide Ojo The Federal Government will in consequence apply the law to remedy the deficiencies outlined in the audit report as appropriate. This will include but not limited to initiation of criminal investigations, prosecution, recovery of funds not properly utilised for the public purposes for which they were meant for, review of the laws to reposition and restructure the NDDC for the efficiency of better service delivery amongst others. In all these instances of actions, legal due processes will strictly be complied with.” – Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, on September 2, 2021 while receiving the…

Lekan Sote In July 2015, the US President, Barack Obama, acknowledging that then newly minted Nigerian President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), had a “very clear agenda” to defeat extremism, committed $5 million to fight Boko Haram insurgents. In May 2018, President Donald Trump promised to sell military helicopters and light aircraft to assist Nigeria in fighting the insurgents. In July 2021, President Joe Biden delivered the first batch of six A-29 Super Tucano aircraft to Nigeria. And to help identify sponsors of Boko Haram and other extremism in Nigeria, Mary Leonard, America’s ambassador to Nigeria, promised, “That is…

Greg odogwu One thing any observant citizen would easily note is the rate at which market fire disasters befall the country. It is in the news, day in and day out. No part of the country is spared. The states with large populations, such as Lagos, seem to have more incidents of such infernos. The news screams the same headlines: goods burnt, shops razed, markets destroyed, a few people dead! But then, few have taken time to link these unfortunate disasters to the actual damage done to the country’s economy. It is a huge hole these rampant market fires have…

Says it’s unacceptable and has no place in 21st century Stresses that illegal govt in Guinea can ultimately destabilize the country  Wants preventive measures in place Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has flayed the unconstitutional takeover of power in West Africa, saying such a move is unacceptable and has no place in the 21st century. He has, therefore, called on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to take proactive steps to prevent coups d’etat in the sub-region and by extension the African continent. According to him, the unconstitutional seizure of power in any shape or form is simply unacceptable and…

The Lagos State House of Assembly has passed the State’s Value Added Tax (VAT) bill and the Anti-open Grazing bill. The two bills were passed after unanimous votes by the lawmakers at Thursday’s plenary where they were read the third time. The Speaker, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, immediately directed the Acting Clerk of the House, Olalekan Onafeko, to transmit a clean copy to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu,for assent. Details shortly… [ThisDay]

The Federal Government has said it would not allow any separatist group to disrupt the forthcoming governorship election in Anambra state. National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (Rtd) gave the warning at a meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, (ICCES) in Abuja, on Thursday. Mugono spoke against the backdrop of some of the recent activities of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB) in the Southeast. In May this year, unidentified hoodlums carried out series of attacks on government facilities, including setting ablaze the headquarters of INEC in Anambra. Though the police accused members of IPOB…