Mike Igini, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Akwa Ibom State, has said that Amina Zakari is no longer in charge of electoral operations and logistics at the Independent National Electorial Commission (INEC).

Speaking on Channels Television, Igini called for an end to criticism and complaints targeted at Zakari, following the postponement of the general elections on account of logistic challenges.

“I want to appeal to Nigerians that, this time, let us not just be name-calling without fact-checking some of the things people talk about. Amina Zakari is no longer the Chairperson of electoral operations.

“The person in charge of electoral operations today is Professor (Okechukwu) Ibeanu,” Igini said.

He also claimed that the issues concerning arrangements for NYSC members, and the welfare of ad hoc staff fell under him.

Mrs Zakari, who is the Chairman of the INEC Committee on Collation Centre for the general elections, has been the subject of controversy before now, with the opposition alleging that she is related to President Muhammadu Buhari.

In an interview last month, she insisted she was not related to the President and argued that she has always done her job professionally.

The Supreme Court has upheld the ownership claim of the people of Umuagama village (Ukwulu) and Oranto/Akpu village (Ukpo) in Anambra state to a disputed parcel of land that had pitched them against their neighbours in Okpuloji Abba Town.

In upholding the respondents’ claim, the apex court dismissed the appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal, Enugu which had earlier made similar findings.

A five-man panel of the court, headed by Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, resolved all the four issues, identified for determination, in favour of the two sets of respondents – listed as representatives of Umuagama village (Ukwulu) and Oranto/Akpu village (Ukpo).

Court documents revealed that the people of Okpuloji Abba Town, Umugama Village Ukwulu and Oranto/Akpu Village (Ukpo) have been locked in dispute over the parcel of land in the area since early 1970.They went before the High Court of Anambra in 1975 in a suit marked: AA/53/75 and a subsequent one filed in 1977, marked: AA/11/77.

Both suits were later consolidated, and in a judgment by then Chief Judge of the court, Justice Obiora Nwazota, delivered on November 12, 1999, the court declared the title of the disputed land in favour of the people of Umuagama Village (Ukwulu) and Oranto/Akpu Village (Ukpo).

Okpuloji Abba Town, through its representatives – Uyaemenam Nwora, Eric Uzoma, Emesi Okeke, Gabriel Okoye and NwudeIgweonuwu – appealed the decision at the Court of Appeal, Enugu.

The Court of Appeal, Enugu, in its final decision on June 27, 2016 dismissed the substantive appeal on the grounds that the appellants failed to compile and transmit record of appeal within the stipulated period, as provided in Order 8 Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules 2011.

The court also dismissed the appellants’ motion, in which they had sought to direct the Chief Judge of the High Court of Anambra state to re-assign the consolidated suit for hearing afresh, on the grounds that the court’s Chief Registrar had declared the record of proceedings missing.

Uyaemenam Nwora, Eric Uzoma, Emesi Okeke, Gabriel Okoye and NwudeIgweonuwu, acting for Okpuloji Abba Town, subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court, in SC: 589/2016.

The appeal had Nweke Nwabueze, Phillip Okoro and Reuben Ifeka, representing Umugama Village Ukwulu (as the first set of respondents) and Nwoye Ofoedu, EkemekaOmogu, Ichie Titus Okeke and EuguneOtunabo, representing Oranto/Akpu Village, Ukpo (as the second set of respondents).

Justice Paul AdamuGalinje, who read the lead judgment of the Supreme Court’s decision on February 15, 2019, held that the appellants failed to sustain their allegation of denial of fair hearing and miscarriage of justice.

Justice Galinje said it was the fault of the appellants that they failed to ensure the compilation and transmission of record of appeal within time, as required under order 8 rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules 2011.

In upholding the Court of Appeal’s dismissal of the appellants’ motion, Justice Galinje held that the appellants were wrong to have filed their motion, for retrial, at the Court of Appeal.

He said the motion ought to be filed at the trial court, since the appellants’ appeal was not yet properly before the Court of Appeal, and because they were yet to compile and transmit the record of appeal then.

Justice Galinje however advised parties to the dispute to return to the trial court to have the case re-heard because it might be difficult to enforce a judgment, which record is said to be missing from the trial court.

The judge added: “In the instant case there is in place what I may call “force major,” an unexpected occurrence, which has the capacity to defeat even the enforcement of the judgment obtained at the trial court in the two consolidated suits.

“It follows therefore that, if nothing is done, there will be a total failure of justice. The loss of the record of the appeal is a factor that has in my view vitiated and rendered the judgment invalid.

“Is there a way of enforcing the judgment in the absence of the record of the case? This is what may unfold later. I think it is in the best interest of the parties to go back to the trial court and sort out this mess,” the judge said.

Justice Galumje rejected the appellants’ contention that they ought not to be penalised for not compiling and transmitting record when the trial court’s Chief Registrar had said the record of proceedings was missing.

The judge said that the appellants were not diligent in their handling of the appeal at the Court of Appeal, Enugu.

He stated: “In this matter, the appeal was filed on the 18th November, 1999. The appellants applied for and obtained a stay of execution of the judgment that had adjudged them trespassers on a piece of land, upon which title was declared in favour of the two sets of respondents.

“Thereafter, the appellants stayed away from the trial court and refused to take steps to fulfil the condition of the appeal for four years until on the 31st of October, 2003 when they deposited the sum of N10,000 on the prompting of the respondents who wrote and complained to the Chief Registrar about the appellants’ failure to take steps to prosecute the appeal.”

At a time when Africa nations are still battling with poverty, some are still planning to produce pencils, United States government is still battling its legislators over the Mexico wall which amounts into trillions of dollars, China is silently developing its nation and making it the eighth wonder of the world by building the largest airport in the world which will accommodate, wait for it, 72 million people, that's about the combination of Ghana, Senegal, Benin Republic, and Niger. And someone will say these Chinese are human beings right? Let's continue...

If you are always fond of getting lost in an airport or sprinting through long terminals to catch your flight, you’re sure to be out of breath when you visit the Daxing International Airport. Opening in 2019, and slated to be the largest airport in the world, China’s newest airport is designed to meet the country’s ever-growing travel needs, and become the new hub for China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines.

Beijing is in desperate need of a second global gateway. The existing Capital International Airport is hitting full capacity, making it nearly impossible for airlines to add flights at desirable times.
In 2017, more than 95 million passengers passed through the three terminals of Beijing Capital, the world's second busiest airport behind only Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta.

The new Daxing airport, designed by the late architect Zaha Hadid and her Chinese partners, is built for the future, boasting four runways and a terminal the size of 97 soccer pitches upon opening of the first phase.

Nicknamed "starfish" by Chinese media for its shape of five concourses connected to the main hall, Daxing aims to reduce walking for passengers, long a complaint against many new mega-hubs.



Travelers can expect a spacious, open interior filled with civic gardens and other sustainable elements. These include shading strategies, high-performance glazing, and roof lights that will optimize the terminal’s energy performance. All of this is predicted to reduce overall energy consumption and CO2 emissions by 50%. “The overall symmetry of the airport,” says the website of Zaha Hadid, the airport’s late architect, “together with its flowing, interconnected forms, create a fluid composition which evokes the harmony and balance evident in Chinese landscapes.”

The airport aims to accommodate 100 million passengers a year, with a 700,000 square-meter energy-efficient terminal designed to make navigation as smooth as possible — or, as smooth as can be expected from one of the world’s busiest airports. With Beijing’s Capital International Airport currently recognized as the second busiest in the world, China’s new airport will play an important role in improving the travel experience to and from Beijing.

The first phase of the airport project is designed with a target of 72 million passengers, 2 million tons of cargo and mail, and 620,000 aircraft movements in 2025, with plans to handle 100 million passengers in the long term.

























The Prototype

ABUJA- PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has warned those planning to snatch ballot boxes during the elections as he said that those caught doing that will pay with his or her live.President Buhari who stated this at the opening session of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Caucus meeting in Abuja, on Monday, said that such act would be the last unlawful act the person will engage in.
But the governors of Imo, Rochas Okorocha and Ogun, Ibikunle Amosun were conspicuously absent at the meeting.

President Buhari disclosed that he has ordered security agents to deal ruthlessly with party thugs that try to snatched ballot boxesBuhari who said he is confident that he has garnered enough supporters having gone round the country to campaign, urged party members to reassure their constituents to come out and vote on the rescheduled dates.

The President urged party agents to watch out for the party interests at the polling units.
He said that he has directed security agencies to identify hot spots and be ready to move should they suspect any attempts to cause problems by thugs across the country irrespective of party affiliations.
He said that he was told about the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to postpone the last Saturday election at quarter to 5 in the morning of the elections.
He said that INEC had all the time and resources, didn’t have to wait six hours to the elections to announced postponement.

“Definitely, INEC must explain to Nigerians what happened, the constitution and the law protects INEC but they must not take us for granted.
“If we had failed to provide all what INEC wanted, then we would have been held responsible
“So at least after the elections we will have to go into details to find out what happened,” he said.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has resolved to continue with its campaign in the light of the postponement of the elections.

This was announced by Adams Oshiomhole, the APC National Chairman, at the party’s national caucus meeting held in Abuja on Monday.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the postponement of the elections by one week, respectively, hours before the presidential and National Assembly elections were scheduled to begin on Saturday, February 16, 2019.

At another conference with political stakeholders later that Saturday, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC Chairman, had stressed that campaigns remained suspended.

However, the APC has taken a contrary position, insisting that it would continue with campaigns till Thursday, in line with the provision of the Electoral Act.

Oshiomhole said: “You know that when you have low voter turnout, that is when election rigging is most easy. Voter turnout and voter apathy can result from the confusion. If at our level, we are sufficiently disturbed, what would be the fate of the ordinary man? I think we need to remind them across the country that elections have been rescheduled and they should have trust, faith, and remain determined to vote. The process of doing that would require that we return to campaign between now and Thursday this week. Friday is not a campaign day.

“To ask us as a political party not to go out? The members, our people, would have forgotten. Some would have assumed that ‘look, I’m not sure what these people want’. And the result could be very, very low turnout. That is not good for a party that has huge, huge support base. It can only be good for a party that is not sure of its level of grassroots support.

“So, without consulting INEC, we are proceeding and we are ready to meet them in court. Because they cannot by administrative fiat amend or distort extra provisions in the relevant electoral act and those laws are not secret to INEC.”

The French legend is keen to talk seriously about taking over as boss and turn the Blues into contenders again at home and abroad with a £200m transfer kitty.

If he were to succeed under-pressure Maurizio Sarri, Zidane has a three-part wishlist:

1) New bumper deal for superstar playmaker Eden Hazard, keeping the Belgian to build a team around.

2) £200m to improve the squad — more if he sells players who are currently at Stamford Bridge but are out of favour.

3) A major say in recruitment alongside Blues director Marina Granovskaia.

SunSport revealed last week that Chelsea ’s top brass wanted Zidane, who has won the Champions League three times as manager and once as a playe at Real Madrid.

Sarri remains in charge for now and has some huge games coming up — starting with Manchester Unite at home in the FA Cup fifth round tonight.

The Carabao Cup final against Manchester City on Sunday also feels like a defining moment.

Sources close to Zizou have told SunSport he is not yet expecting to be given the job, as he respects that current chief Sarri is still in control of his own destiny.

He knows if Sarri wins the Carabao Cup — perhaps even the FA Cup — and qualifies for the Champions League in his first season as manager, that is no mean feat.

But two defeats to both Manchester clubs this week could prove a fatal blow for the Italian.

Sarri oversaw the humiliating 6-0 defeat to Manchester City a week ago but he has vowed not to change his style.

Until last month, Nigerian presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar had a problem. He was persona non grata in the U.S. after cropping up in connection with several corruption investigations.

Then the cloud lifted. Years after he’d last been seen in the U.S., Abubakar surfaced in Washington in January. He held court at the Trump International Hotel. He met with members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Congress. Those meetings were trumpeted to his followers back home on Facebook and Twitter. The public tour has helped silence opponents who said Abubakar couldn’t effectively lead one of Africa’s biggest economies if he wasn’t even welcome in the U.S.

Abubakar had been blocked from entering the U.S. under a State Department edict applying to officials linked to foreign corruption, two former U.S. officials said. One of them said the Nigerian had been seeking a waiver to enter the country for years and expressed surprise when told that the effort was ultimately successful.

Abubakar’s rehabilitation was driven in part by Washington lobbyists and lawyers with links to President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential race. Ballard Partners -- run by Brian Ballard, a fundraiser for Trump’s campaign who now has a deep roster of clients eager for an inside track to the administration -- helped set up meetings for the candidate in the U.S., according to people familiar with the firm’s work for him.

Law firm Holland & Knight lobbied the State Department, House of Representatives and National Security Council on Abubakar’s behalf on visa issues, according to a disclosure filed with Congress. The firm’s lead lobbyist on the effort was Scott Mason, who previously directed congressional relations for Trump’s campaign and transition team.

In defusing opponents’ chief criticism, the U.S. visit and meetings positioned Abubakar as a stronger challenger, not to mention a potential international partner to the U.S. should he prevail in Nigeria’s Feb. 16 presidential race. He’s the leading opposition candidate to run Africa’s most populous nation and top petroleum producer, where wealth and corruption mix with extreme poverty to create deep concerns about security and safety.

A member of Abubakar’s communications team, Boladale Adekoya, denied Abubakar had been banned from the U.S. A State Department representative declined to comment.

Mason didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Ballard referred questions to its lead lobbyist for Abubakar’s political party, James P. Rubin, who said he wasn’t involved in getting the travel visa and was focused on pushing for fair elections in Nigeria.

Cash in Freezer

Abubakar’s troubles with the U.S. date back more than a decade. In 2004, George W. Bush signed a presidential proclamation meant to deny corrupt foreign officials a coveted luxury -- fluid access to the good life in America and a safe place to stash ill-gotten proceeds.

Abubakar’s name surfaced in two criminal cases in the U.S. -- the prosecution of German engineering giant Siemens AG for paying bribes to officials in Africa, and the prosecution of former U.S. Representative William Jefferson.

In the latter case, Abubakar, then Nigeria’s vice president, gained notoriety for his connection to $90,000 in cash found in Jefferson’s freezer in 2005. In a secretly videotaped conversation, Jefferson told an undercover informant that the money was for Abubakar, intended to smooth the way for a U.S. company’s African expansion. Prosecutors never introduced evidence showing Abubakar solicited or accepted a bribe, and he was never prosecuted. Jefferson was convicted, though his case was partially overturned on appeal.

Abubakar was also the subject of a 2010 congressional investigation, which found that he and his wife transferred more than $40 million in suspect funds into the U.S. from offshore corporations. Lawmakers said Abubakar held a stake in an oil-services company that received hundreds of millions of dollars in payments from Western companies seeking to do business in Africa, including when he was vice president.

Abubakar has attributed his wealth to prudent investments and luck. In an interview, Edward Weidenfeld, a Washington lawyer who represented Abubakar at the time of the Jefferson and Siemens cases, said he maintained his innocence in those proceedings.

Adekoya, the Abubakar spokesman, said Jefferson had falsely accused Abubakar of being the intended recipient of the cash. Regarding the $40 million Abubakar brought into the U.S., Adekoya said it was intended as payment to American University to launch a school in Nigeria. He added that Abubakar is a “reputable entrepreneur" and a successful businessman, that his funds were from legitimate business ventures and that his oil-services stake was held in trust while he was in office.

Visa Waiver

Once the State Department bars a foreign official it becomes difficult to get the ban rescinded, according to the two officials. By U.S. law, the status of visa applications is confidential. So are the identities of barred foreign officials. The process by which people get on or off the list is also opaque.

In certain cases, the department will grant temporary waivers allowing dignitaries to visit, often with limits on duration and itinerary. If indeed a ban were in place, Abubakar may have been granted a waiver to encourage good relations should he win, one of the officials said.

Holland & Knight, which was hired at the end of October, disclosed payments of $80,000 in relation to its visa work for Abubakar.

[/b]Through his spokesman, Abubakar said he applied for and received a visa through the U.S. mission in Nigeria.

[b]Abubakar’s People’s Democratic Party of Nigeria inked a $1.1 million annual contract with Ballard Partners last fall, according to foreign lobbying records filed with the Justice Department. People familiar with Ballard’s work on Abubakar’s behalf said it included getting him a meeting at the State Department during his visit and shepherding him to various events.
Rubin, Ballard’s primary lobbyist on behalf of Abubakar’s party, was an assistant secretary of state during the Clinton administration. He joined Ballard’s firm as a lobbyist last year, according to a disclosure filing. (He was also previously an executive who helped lead Bloomberg’s editorial page, then called Bloomberg View.)

“My work on behalf of the People’s Democratic Party exclusively focused on pushing for free and fair elections and did not involve any consular matter or visa matter,” Rubin said.

Ballard’s Roster
Ballard Partners opened its Washington office in 2017, just months after Trump’s election. Ballard had previously been as a lobbyist in Florida for Trump; after the election, he was a member of Trump’s inaugural committee. The expanding client roster includes household corporate names such as Amazon.com Inc., Boeing Co., Uber Technologies Inc. and H&R Block Inc., according to lobbying disclosures filed with Congress.

Ballard has also attracted a roster of foreign governments such as Kosovo, Qatar, the Maldives and Azerbaijan. Another pair of clients, the Republic of Turkey and Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS, have been implicated in U.S. court proceedings in a scheme to aid Iranian sanctions evasion, for which Halkbank remains under scrutiny by U.S. authorities.

The firm has also been expanding and adding firepower, in recent weeks hiring other Trump loyalists including a recent White House spokesman, Raj Shah, and the former attorney general of Florida, Pam Bondi. As attorney general, Bondi declined to pursue fraud charges against Trump University after Trump’s charitable foundation gave $25,000 in 2013 to a re-election fund for Bondi.

During his visit, Abubakar held a “town hall” at the Trump International Hotel in Washington to meet with Nigerians in the U.S. He also appeared on a panel at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, stopped at the office of the Voice of America and met with Representative Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican. Abubakar’s campaign broadcast the town hall meeting on Facebook, and he posted a string of photos of his U.S. visit and meetings to his Twitter account, including one from his arrival at the airport putting him back on U.S. soil.

A spokesman for Smith didn’t respond to questions about the meeting. A Chamber of Commerce spokeswoman said the roundtable discussion was private.

— With assistance by Greg Farrell, Tope Alake, and Bill Allison

Source: Bloomberg 

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Adams Oshiomhole has alleged that the Independent of National Electoral Commission, INEC, and its officials shared the news of planned postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, before taking the action.

Oshiomhole spoke at the emergency caucus meeting of the APC held in Abuja Monday following the postponement of the elections.

The former Edo State Governor said, “I can put my hands on the quran and swear that INEC and its officials informed the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, before postponing the election.

The PDP were well acquainted with the plans to move to the elections.

“This is why they did not receive the news with shock. They made us look like fools, because we were busy preparing for the elections while they were relaxing.”

Details later…

HOW TO KNOW A PROGRAMMED OR MANIPULATED CARD READER....

Party agents should take note of the following as they get to the polling units.

1. Agent must arrive to your polling units as early as possible, at least before accreditation begins. Once accreditation begins, you won't be able to detect a manipulated card reader.

2. Upon arrival to your polling units, agent must verify the card reader brought to your unit for the election. Identify the Presiding Officer (PO) for your unit, and request him to present the card reader to the agents onground.

3. Request the PO to put on the Card Reader (if it is not already on), and request him/or her to click on "query icon" on the smart card reader.

4. Check that the card reader shows zero "0" upon clicking the query icon. If it shows zero, it is okay to be used for accreditation. If it shows any other figure before comencement of accreditation, the card reader has been pre programmed.

5. If confirmed that a figure other than "0" is displayed, agent should raise alarm and inform agents of other parties, and no accreditation should take place in that unit until the card reader is cleared.

Please this is very important as rigging in any election starts from the polling unit.

Agents should be smart enough not to miss these Steps...

Lagos / Abuja – Pressure from the international community, especially the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), and the European Union (EU) saved Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), from being relieved of his job following the sudden postponement of the 2019 general elections, Daily Independent has gathered.

The INEC chairman had cited “logistics and operational problems” to postpone the February 16 presidential and National Assembly elections to February 23, while the governorship and House of Assembly elections will now take place on March 9.

It was gathered that President Muhammadu Buhari, presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), who was apparently disappointed by the postponement had in a meeting in Aso Rock contemplated replacing Yakubu whom he believed had “demonstrated gross incompetence” in the handling of the electoral exercise.

According to our source, “The pressure from the international community and some civil society organisations saved the INEC chairman. They believed that sacking him at this point will have huge negative impact on the conduct of the elections and its results.

“Though they felt the pains of the president and Nigerians, they believed that since the INEC chairman has promised to get everything done to have a successful election in one week, he should be allowed to carry on with the exercise. Appointing a new chairman now will no doubt give the elections credibility problems”.

Speaking with our correspondent, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN) Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), said calls for the sack of the INEC boss are unreasonable.

According to him, given the logistic challenges experienced by the electoral commission in some days before the elections such as delay in budget passing and burning of sensitive materials, the best option available to INEC is to postpone the exercise in order to have a free, fair and credible poll.

He, however, faulted the timing of the announcement, saying it would have been done few days before the elections so that Nigerians who traveled far to vote wouldn’t have done so.

“Sacking the INEC chairman because of the postponement of election will be unreasonable. We have heard various things that have been happening. Card readers were burnt in different states, some never arrived as bad weather prevented aircraft from landing, therefore, prohibiting distribution of electoral materials.

“Also, there was the case of the delay by the National Assembly in passing the budget of INEC. So, the decision to postpone is better so that we can have a flawless election.

“My only blame is the lateness of the announcement. If INEC had announced it maybe two days before so that people will not travel from one point to the other or close their offices. The inconvenience caused by the last minute announcement is totally uncalled for.

“In fact, some people were already at the polling stations. That is where I blame the INEC chairman. So, postponing the election is the best option in the current circumstance. I don’t think he can be blamed for that”, he said.

In a related development, INEC will today meet to deliberate on whether political parties can resume campaigns before February 23, the new date for the rescheduled elections.

Following the postponement, political parties felt it will be wrong to stay mute for a week, as it may affect voter turnout for the rescheduled general elections.

It would be recalled that INEC, weekend, said there was no more room for political campaigns in spite of the postponement of elections by one week.

Confirming the meeting of INEC on the issue, Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to the chairman of the commission, said that “on campaigns, the commission will meet tomorrow and take a decision.”


Buhari To Attend APC Emergency Caucus Meeting Today

Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has given hints that he would attend a caucus meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) scheduled to hold today at the party’s secretariat in Abuja.

The meeting, according to sources, within the presidency, may not be unconnected with the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections.

Even though stakeholders have called on Nigerians to be patient with the electoral umpire and wait for the February 23 rescheduled date, the APC appears to be unsettled over the postponement.

Buhari had shortly after learning of the postponement, expressed his reservations against INEC management, saying he was disappointed by the agency.

The development had also compelled him to cut short his stay at his home town Daura, Katsina State, where he was expected to exercise his franchise.

Buhari had stated, “I am deeply disappointed that despite the long notice given and our preparations both locally and internationally, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) postponed the presidential and National Assembly elections within hours of its commencement.

“Many Nigerians have traveled to various locations to exercise their right to vote, and international observers are gathered.

“INEC themselves have given assurances, day after day and almost hour after hour that they are in complete readiness for the elections. We and all our citizens believed them.

“This administration has ensured that we do not interfere in any way with the work of INEC except to ensure that all funds were released to the commission.

“We now urge INEC to ensure not only that materials already distributed are safe and do not get into wrong hands, but that everything is done to avoid the lapses that resulted in this unfortunate postponement, and ensure a free and fair election on the rescheduled dates.

“While I reaffirm my strong commitment to the independence, neutrality of the electoral umpire and the sanctity of the electoral process and ballot, I urge all political stakeholders and Nigerians to continue to rally round INEC at this trying national moment in our democratic journey.

“I, therefore, appeal to all Nigerians to refrain from all civil disorder and remain peaceful, patriotic and united to ensure that no force or conspiracy derail our democratic development.”


APC, Buhari’s Govt Sabotaging INEC— PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday revealed that facts available to the party confirmed that elements of the Federal Government and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have been sabotaging the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in a well-orchestrated plot to engineer a staggered presidential election.

This, according to the party, is contrary to simulated stance by the Buhari presidency and National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole.

PDP further alleged that it has been reliably informed that Amina Zakari and another high-ranking INEC commissioner, played a pivotal role in assisting the APC and Buhari presidency in sabotaging the operations of INEC and scuttling the February 16 elections.

PDP, in a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, said, “Nigerians will recall that the PDP had vehemently protested the continued retention of President Muhammadu Buhari’s relation, Mrs. Amina Zakari, in INEC. We have been reliably informed that the same Amina Zakari and another high-ranking INEC commissioner played a pivotal role in assisting the APC and Buhari presidency in sabotaging the operations of INEC and scuttling the February 16 elections.

“The reason for this is that President Buhari is determined to have a staggered election where he can use security agencies to subvert the will of the people at the polls.

“These APC elements in INEC engineered actions that affected the distribution and delivery of INEC sensitive materials to designated locations, thereby frustrating the electoral process.

“We also have details of how a hired team of data hackers corrupted the voters register, with a view to cause mass confusion and voters’ suppression on election day.

“Nigerians would have been shocked that many registered voters in possession of their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) would have arrived their polling centers on election day only to discover to their amazement that their names have disappeared from the register in their units.”

The party also revealed how the Buhari presidency infiltrated the distribution system and ensured that sensitive election materials do not arrive at the designated locations, adding that there was a deliberate swapping of sensitive election materials between different states and local governments so as to muddle up the process and stall election in affected areas.

A show of power looms between the Federal High Court, Abuja and the Code of Code Tribunal (CCT) over the latter’s arraignment and trial of the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen. Onnoghen was docked by the CCT last Friday for non-declaration of assets, which also granted him bail on self-recognition.

But, the matter has taken a new development as a contempt charge has been filed against the CCT chairman, Mr. Danladi Umar, before the Federal High Court, Abuja over his trial of the suspended CJN.

The suit is at the instance of the incorporated trustees of the Centre for Justice and Peace Initiative which filed a notice of consequence of disobedience of court order against Umar.

According to the notice, the CCT chair allegedly disobeyed the order of Justice N. E, Maha of 14th January, 2019, which ruled that parties should maintain status quo until January 17.

The contempt charge reads: “That unless you obey the command/order contained in the order of Hon. Justice N. E. Maha of the Federal High Court dated 14th January, 2019 (which was duly served on you and copy thereof as attached to this notice), you will be guilty of contempt of court and will be liable to be committed to prison.”

Also, an affidavit of service, deposed to by the court bailiff, Mr. Bright Adesiyan, indicated that the order was duly served and received by one Friday Ebute.

While ruling on two separate ex-parte motions, Justice Maha ordered that the defendants should be served with all the papers filed and they should appear in court at the next hearing.

Maha, in his ruling, on the two suits, filed by incorporated trustees of the Centre for Justice and Peace Initiative, and the incorporated trustees of the International Association of Students Economists and Management, ordered the CCT to halt Onnoghen’s trial pending the determination of the matter before him.

One of the two suits marked FHC/ABJ/CS/27/2019, filed by incorporated trustees of the Centre for Justice and Peace Initiative, joined as defendants, the attorney-general of the federation and minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), Umar, the National Judicial Council (NJC), the acting IGP, Mohammed Adamu, and the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki.

Despite Federal High Court ruling, the tribunal proceeded with Onnoghen’s trial.

Umar and one other member held that the order of the Federal High Court and a similar order by the National Industrial Court were not binding on the tribunal and as such could not stop the CCT from carrying out its constitutional duties.

“The issues before the two courts are hereby discountenanced and have no binding effect on the tribunal,” Umar said.

The third member of the tribunal, who gave a contradictory ruling, argued that the CCT is bound by the orders of the Federal High Court and the National Industrial Court.

Meanwhile, the contempt form (Form 48), which was dated 12th February, 2019 but filed on the 14th February has not been successfully served on the CCT chairman.

LEADERSHIP gathered that the CCT chairman is yet to accept service of the charge.

A source familiar with the matter noted that the plaintiff would approach the court for an order of substituted services.

“Since he appears to be dodging service, the plaintiffs may approach the court this week for an order to serve him the charge by substituted means,” he said.

POLICE operatives in Abia State have arrested three officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission for allegedly being in possession of over 10,000 Permanent Voter Cards.

It was gathered that one of the suspects, simply identified as Stella, was arrested at a checkpoint at INEC head office in Umuahia, the state capital.

Stella was said to have stuffed the PVCs in the booth of her Honda Accord saloon car with Registration No.AKD 953 FN.

It was gathered that the suspect was arrested while trying to move the PVCs illegally to a location where they were to be used to rig elections in favour of some politicians in the last Saturday’s postponed presidential and National Assembly elections.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Prof. Joseph Iroh, confirmed that the suspects were employees of INEC.

He said they were on an official assignment in Ikwuano Local Government Area before they were arrested.

Iroh added that the INEC office in the state was not contacted to properly clear them before they were taken to the police station to make statement.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr Geoffrey Ogbonna, also confirmed that the suspects were arrested by the police.

He said one of the suspects claimed that she was reportedly returning the uncollected PVCs to the INEC head office before she was arrested by the police.

Actress Yvonne Jegede shares first photos of her son, Xavier. The single mother recently packed out of husband house after marriage crashed.

The photos were taken from the day he was dedicated.

Senator representing Nasarawa South Senator Solomon Adokwe says that the last minute postponement of the general election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has “crippled” and rendered the party “broke”.

Senator Adokwe told journalists in Lafia that the Commission’s action was a calculated attempt to make sure that the opposition party has no funds to mobilise logistics to its members.

He said that there was pressure on the Commission by the ruling APC party to conduct multiple-day elections in the country.

Their plan, he said, was to use enough security agencies in an election intended to run over multiple days to pepetuate themselves in office, even though it is clear that Nigerians were going to reject them in a free and fair election.

Senator Adokwe, who accused the electoral body of bias against the PDP said “most states in Nigeria, including Nasarawa State, were earmarked to frustrate the process so that they have staggered election. I believe it is God that is working; now you have the whole week to prepare and address all the challenges, no excuses any more,” he said

Senator Adokwe accused the Commission of being partisan, saying that “the integrity and credibility of INEC to conduct free and fair elections is questionable.

“The APC are quick at saying it was done in the past. Even if you say Jonathan did it, the Commission under Jonathan gave two weeks notice, but this INEC gave just few hours notice when we have already used our little resource to mobilise logistics for the process.

He went on to add that, “They did that to frustrate PDP. It was a calculated attempt at making sure that PDP is broke since they can easily go back to Central Bank to get funds. It is an attempt to make sure we are crippled and broke, but they will be shocked at the resilience of PDP; we are going to bounce back right into their faces.”

Despite the frustration, Adokwe said that his supporters were fully prepared for the election, noting that the postponement would not deter them from troopping out next Saturday to cast their votes for him.

The candidate expressed disappointment over the action of the Commission, noting that since the advent of democracy in Nigeria, this was the first Commission to give a long period notice in preparation for an election.

“They released their timetable eight months ago and commenced the process immediately. Their actions have raised a lot of room for one not to trust them. You cannot look at a Commission that is speaking from both sides of the mouth and believe that they will do the right thing, ” he said.

Senator Adokwe is running for the fourth time to represent Nasarawa South, contesting against APC candidate and incumbent governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.

Retired Group Capt. John Ojikutu, a security expert, has said 60 per cent of INEC staff that superintended the past elections which were equally postponed might still be in the system.

“It is high time they were identified and weeded out of the system,” Ojikutu said in his reaction to the postponement of the general elections by INEC.

According to him, from 2011, 2015 and 2019, the reasons for rescheduling of elections had always been logistics.

He said, “It has always been logistics problems since I can remember way back in 2011 when Jega came on board. Has INEC learnt any lessons from the experiences of the past including the 2015 experiences?” he asked.

“There could still be no less than 60% of these in the systems; Who are those that were managing the INEC logistics in the past and how many of them are still in the process? Are there any intelligence about any from the experience of the past? What has INEC done to attend to these experiences?

The leftovers in the systems that were part of the experience of the past could still be the clogs in the process; why would INEC not identify them and remove them,” he asked.

As an election observer a Kenyan Governor who left her country and arrived Nigeria has express disappointment following the last minute postponement of the election, Brainnewsradio.com report.

Charity Ngilu, a Governor of Kitui in Kenya, among international observers for the Nigerian General Election left stranded after the exercise which was kick off on Saturday, February 16, was postponed has expressed deep dissatisfaction with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The Governor, Ngilu who had arrived at a polling station was caught off guard by the last minute cancellation of the exercise by the electoral commission just five hours to opening of the polls at 6am.

The governor expressed shock at how the populous West African nation trivialized an important occasion as a presidential election.

Below is her post;

“Ready at 6am for our observer mission but alas, the election was postponed at 2am. Five hours to opening of the polling stations. Really sad for Nigeria and democracy in Africa,” she lamented.

The electoral agency chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, said they reached the decision to postpone for the public good premised on free and fair polls.

Former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani Kayode was recently Interviewed on the 'Underground', a program organized by top Foreign Television, RT, where he revealed that the Former President of the United States, Barack Obama backed President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 Elections despite several warnings.

FFK revealed that Obama alongside the former president of France, Francois Hollande and the former UK Prime minister, David Cameron all backed Buhari despite warnings. He disclosed that they have all realized their mistakes owing to the President's poor performance over the last 4 years.

The fiery political leader also commented on the recent 'body bag' threat issued by the Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-rufai.

Watch the explosive interview below;