National
INEC extends CVR in Edo, Ondo to June 9
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has extended the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in Edo and Ondo earlier scheduled to end on June 6 to June 9.
Mr Sam Olumekun, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.
Olumekun added that the daily duration of the exercise was also extended from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
“Furthermore, the number of registration centres has been increased beyond the 397 wards and the state offices in Benin City and Akure to include all the 36 Local Government offices of INEC in the two states.
“More machines will also be deployed to areas identified to have peculiar needs such as difficult terrain,” he said.
He added that detailed information on the names and location of the LGA offices have been uploaded to INEC website and social media platforms to guide prospective voters in the two states.
Olumekun said that the decision was taken after a review of the exercise, stakeholders’ appeal, and other matters, to enable more eligible voters in the two states to register.
He disclosed that as at June 3, eight days after the commencement of the CVR, a total of 120,458 new voters had been registered.
He said that out of the figure, 55,861, representing 46.4 per cent were males, while 64,597, representing 53.6 per cent were female.
He added that 82,003 of the voters, representing 68.8 per cent, were youths between the ages of 18 and 34 years, thereby constituting the majority of the newly registered voters.
“In terms of occupation, 43,419m representing 36.8 per cent are students, while 812, representing 0.67 per cent are Persons with Disability (PWDs),” he said.
He explained that the final figures would be published on a state-by-state basis after a data clean up, indicating all categories of newly registered voters at the end of the exercise.
Olumekun said that the data would be clean using the Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS).
He appealed to eligible voters to seize the opportunity of the extension to register, transfer or correct personal information on their PVCs as provided by law, adding that there would be no further extension. (NAN
General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, has assured that all security challenges facing the nation will be effectively addressed by the year’s end.
This statement was made during the launch of attack drones and the demonstration of locally produced bombs, developed by a homegrown technology firm.
The event was attended by security specialists and senior government officials, as General Musa showcased the indigenous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to the audience.
Accompanied by Ajao Adewale, the Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of Police, and Caleb Mutfwang, the Governor of Plateau State, General Musa emphasized the ongoing bureaucratic obstacles in acquiring military equipment from abroad.
Governor Mutfwang stressed the urgency for decisive measures against insecurity, calling on leaders to prevent any entity within the nation from possessing military capabilities.
The operational features of the UAVs were also demonstrated, with General Musa expressing satisfaction with this advancement, labeling it a pivotal step in combating insecurity in the country.
The Supreme Court has set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Abuja recognising Julius Abure as the National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP).
In a unanimous judgment on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the Court of Appeal lacked the jurisdiction to have pronounced Abure National Chairman of the LP having earlier found that the substance of the case was about the party’s leadership.
It held that issue of leadership was internal affair of a party over which courts lacked jurisdiction.
The court allowed the appeal filed by Senator Ester Nenadi Usman and one other and held that it was meritorious.
It proceeded to dismiss the cross-appeal filed by the Abure faction of the LP got being unmeritorious.
Details shortly…
Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, special adviser on political matters to Vice-President Kashim Shettima, has resigned from his position, According to Daily Trust.
The newspaper quoted sources as saying that the former spokesperson of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) resigned two weeks ago.
President Bola Tinubu appointed Baba-Ahmed as special adviser on political matters to Shettima in September 2023.
Baba-Ahmed is the elder sibling of Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election.
Baba-Ahmed served as chief of staff to Bukola Saraki, former senate president, from 2017-2019.
CONFRONTATION WITH MATAWALLE OVER NEF
In April 2024, Bello Matawalle, minister of state for defence, described the NEF as a “political paperweight” after the group stated that the north made a mistake voting Tinubu in 2023.
In his reaction to Matawalle’s remarks, Baba-Ahmed said it would have served the Tinubu administration better if Matawalle had listed his achievements as minister — and the achievements of the other northern appointees — instead of attacking NEF.
“Scathing criticism of NEF by a junior minister of defence, Matawalle, is ill-advised. He could have done a better job for this admin if he identified contributions of especially northern ministers and other appointees like me to improving security and reducing poverty in the North,” Baba-Ahmed said.
In a riposte, the minister said any appointee must defend and promote the administration they work for.
“Dr. Baba-Ahmed’s relationship and affinity with Northern Elders’ Forum (NEF) is well-known,” Matawalle said.
“The fact now is that he is an appointee of the administration as Special Adviser and it is incumbent on him to work for the success of the government he is part of, protect and defend the government against unjust and vicious attacks from those who hide under ethnic and other primordial interests to heat up the polity for myopic reasons.
“It is pertinent to state that every appointee of President Tinubu including Dr. Baba-Ahmed owes the government a copious duty to promote, elucidate and advance the good works and commendable efforts of the government across all sectors.”
He added that northern appointees must defend the government or take their exit.
Matawalle is a native of Zamfara while Baba-Ahmed hails from Kaduna.