INEC AG. ON PROLONGED ELECTION TRIBUNAL!!

Photo Credit:

Channels Television. 

The Acting Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Wednesday, spoke out on the effects of the prolonged election tribunals maintaining that it is constituting a big challenge to the progress of the commission.

Mrs Amina Zakari noted that some states are still grappling with issues in courts six months after elections, preventing them from properly settling down to governance.
The situation, according to the INEC boss, also takes a toll on staff and management of the electoral commission.
Mrs Zakari announced a 13-member committee set up to understudy the issues surrounding the tribunals which would perhaps, proffer solutions within two months.

GUNMEN HIJACKED APC GOVERNORSHIP PRIMARIES AT BAYELSA!!

Pandemonium broke out on Tuesday morning in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital, as gunmen and suspected cultists hijacked the governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

19 aspirants were expected to contest in the primaries, but trouble broke out when the former Governor of the state and party leader, Timipre Sylva, suddenly picked up a form and joined the race.
The Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, who conducted the primaries, had ordered the arrest of Mr Fortune Panabi, the Publicity Secretary of the APC in the state, for allegedly accrediting unknown delegates for the exercise.
However, three of the aspirants, Timi Alaibe, Editimi Angbare and Priye Aganaba, called for a shift in the exercise, saying that the atmosphere was not conducive for a proper primary to hold.
Governor Oshiomhole is, nonetheless, expected to announce the way forward after meeting with the aspirants and delegates.

SARAKI LAMENTS OVER THE DEATH OF HAJJ VICTIMS!!

Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki is saddened over the death of about 717 pilgrims who died, following a stampede at Jamrat in Mina, Saudi Arabia.

Doctor Saraki is asking the Saudi authorities to review the safety rules governing activities around places where the Hajj rites usually take place.
The Senate President says he is pained that such a tragic incident could still occur, despite the safety instructions the Saudi Arabia authorities issued to pilgrims.
In a statement from his media office, the Senate President said, “We are pained. The death of pilgrims who came to worship from different parts of the world is too much for us to bear.
“My heart goes out to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic incident, and I pray almighty allah to grant aljannah fidaus to souls of all those who lost their lives.
“I also pray for quick recovery for those that sustained injuries during the stampede. May Allah give the families of the victims the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss,” Saraki stated.
The Senate President also charged the Saudi authorities to organize a comprehensive review and update of the safety rules and security arrangement around the holy places where many pilgrims will always visit at the same time.
He said this was necessary to avoid unnatural disasters like the two that had happened in the last one month.
He also called on the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria to be more proactive in training and orientation of intending pilgrims as, “safety instructions and guide to pilgrims during hajj, particularly in specific areas, will help forestall future occurrence of such human surge and any other form of crises.”
Senator Saraki called on the Saudi authorities to intensify measures to guarantee the overall safety and welfare of pilgrims in future exercises.
“Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam and compulsory for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it to undertake. Tragic incidents like this may create fear and panic in the minds of prospective pilgrims.”

POLICEMAN KILLS TWO INSPECTORS, SELF IN YOBE!!

A Police Constable, Ibrahim Musa, on Friday, fatally shot two Police Inspectors before shooting himself at the Nangere Division in Yobe State, north east Nigeria.

Confirming the incident to Channels Television through its Yobe State Correspondent, Jonathan Gopep on phone, the State Commissioner of Police (CP), Mohammed Zanah Ibramim said that “the Police Constable who was being booked for insubordination, seized a rifle at the counter and shot the two Inspectors at close range, before shooting himself”.
The CP said that the Constable first shot Inspector Muhammed Musa, before firing Inspector Ishaku Allen, who was making the entry in the defaulter’s registry, after which he shot himself.
The subject, he revealed, who was taken to the Potiskum General Hospital, later died while receiving treatment.
During the press briefing, the CP said he had in company of the Emir of Nangere, Alhaji Muhammed Ibn Abubakar Grema, attended the burial of the two Inspectors, as well as paid condolence visits to the bereaved families on behalf of the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
The CP also revealed that while the case is currently being investigated, the subject will be tried posthumously as machinery are being put in place to prevent future occurrence.
Nangere is 118 kilometres north of Potiskum, the commercial nerve centre of Yobe State and west of Damaturu, the state capital.

13 KILLED IN CULT WAR IN RIVERS!!

Residents of Omoku and Obrikom in Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Area in Rivers State have been thrown into pandemonium as gunmen stormed their communities and unleashed terror on the people.

Eyewitnesses say both communities have become ghost towns as residents have fled for safety from a cult clash which they said lasted for two days.
According to them, seven persons were reportedly shot dead in Omoku and six others in Obrikom.
Confirming the cult clash, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Ahmad Mohammed, said that the Rivers Police Command has deployed more men from MOPOL19 and 56 Port Harcourt to the affected areas to restore order.
In a telephone conversation with our correspondent, the Police Public Relations Officer also stated that the Rivers State Command is currently on the trail of the warring parties, reiterating its resolve to maintain its onslaught against criminality in the state.

UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY OPENS IN NEW YORK!!

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has opened in New York, United States (U.S.).

 

President Muhammadu Buhari, who arrived New York on Friday, has reacted to the Saudi Arabia stampede, describing it as a calamity, also commiserating with the families of Nigerians who died, alongside over 700 pilgrims.

President Buhari believes that the stampede at Mina which claimed the life of a Nigerian journalist, Bilkisu Yusuf, and one Professor Tijjani Miskin is very tragic.
The President ends his statement, taking note of assurances from the government of Saudi Arabia that such catastrophe will not happen again, and that this particular incident will be thoroughly investigated.
Top on the agenda as President Buhari holds talks with world leaders will be domestic developmental issues, bilateral relations, the war against terrorism, countering violent extremism, the enhancement of global security, peace-keeping operations, climate change and the adoption of a post 2015 global development agenda.
President Buhari is also scheduled to address the World Leaders Summit on Violent Extremism to which he was personally invited by Mr. Ban Ki Moon during the Secretary-General’s recent visit to Nigeria.