Arrest Akpabio Now - PDP Spokesman Cries Out

The Spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom State has called on the Inspector General of Police to arrest and prosecute Senator Godswill Akpabio without further delay.

Addressing the press at the state, the state publicity secretary of the party, Mr.Ini Ememobong said his party was aware of plans to attack and burn INEC offices in Ikot Ekpene senatorial district and its headquarters in Uyo and accused Senator Godswill Akpabio of attempts at frustrating the announcement of collated result of Essien Udim local government area and the final result of the senatorial district.

“This plan we learnt was hatched and sponsored by the out-going senator for Ikot Ekpene senatorial district, Senator Godswil Akpabio who is hell-bent on frustrating the announcement of the collated result of Essien Udim Local Government Area and the final result of the senatorial district. “Before the elections, Senator Akpabio, Obong Nsima Ekere, Ini Okopido, and other APC chieftains undertook the regular submission of frivolous petitions against top PDP members to necessitate their arrest by the police. To give a fillip to their plan, they facilitated the relocation of AIG Musa Kimo from Zone 6 to Uyo, so that immediately any petition from the APC is brought, he will instruct the CP to enforce the arrest of the PDP stalwart accused.

“Last week, scores of PDP faithful were arrested and detained for no justifiable reason; even those with valid injunctions from the court were not spared. Captain Iniobong Ekong, Barr. Akan Affia, Godson Uwah, and many other strong PDP members were arrested. Many others who were targeted for arrest a few hours to the election escaped by God’s grace; people like Senator Bassey Albert, Obong Paul Ekpo, Rt. Hon Onofiok Luke, Engr. Uwem Okoko were on that long list. “Having seen the resounding rejection served him by his senatorial district on the election day, Senator Akpabio in company with the police and military men stormed INEC offices in the federal constituencies of his senatorial district in an attempt to influence the electoral officers to change results in his favour. But he failed in that respect.

“Last night, he held a victory party at his residence in Ukana, Essien Udim, where he declared himself the winner of the elections, against the provision of Section 27(2)(e) of the Electoral Act which provides that the returning officer shall announce the result and declare the winner at the senatorial collation centre. “It is therefore unlawful and illegal for Senator Akpabio to announce himself as the winner. “The truth is that collation of results has been done in 9 out of 10 local government areas in Ikot Ekpene senatorial district and three out of four of the House of Representatives seats declared by INEC as having been won by the PDP with a wide margin of more than 60,000 votes. The only LGA left is Essien Idim, which INEC is currently working on. “We are hereby appealing that the security operatives should provide adequate security for all the offices, officers and infrastructure for INEC to prevent agents of the Senator Akpabio from making good their threat. We appeal to INEC to remain firm, resolute and unbending in the discharge of their duties. Illegitimate requests must never be acceded to.”

Akwa Ibom Govt. launches Ibom Air

The Akwa Ibom State Government today launched the Ibom Air with two aircrafts in its fleet.

 Speaking at the launching of the aircrafts at the Victor Attah International Airport today in Uyo, the state Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel said the airline was a monumental achievement in the state.

According to him, the aircrafts, C-FWNK, are only six years old with a sitting capacity of about 90 persons and constitute the newest and modern fleet of the Canadian airbus, adding that the government is running the Ibom Air as a business.

Unveiling the aircrafts, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki praised the leadership qualities of the Governor and said that with the aircrafts in operation, the Governor would create an environment viable for development.

‘’Today we celebrate leadership, we celebrate the good things that can come out of Nigeria, we celebrate the audacity of hope. The Governor has created an enabling environment for people to have jobs.’’

Also speaking, the former Governor of the state, Obong Victor Attah commended Governor Emmanuel Udom for carrying on the project he started and expressed joy that the Governor was running the state as a business.

The Ibom Air, it is believed will provide employment opportunities for over 3,000people.

Few Days to election: Several killed and many Injured in fresh attack by Fulani Herdsmen in Benue state

Barely few days to the nation’s presidential election, several persons have been allegedly killed and many others injured by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.

Confirming the report, the acting Chairman of Agatu local government area, Alhaji Oyigocho, condemned the attack and wondered why it should be happening at a time Nigerians are preparing to elect their new leaders. He said his people had never taken laws into their hands despite provocations from the herdsmen whom he said had taken over farmlands in most parts of Agatu land and appealed to the government to quickly come to their aid. Meanwhile, the Force Commander of the security outfit, Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), Maj. Gen. Adeyemi Yekini, has confirmed the killing but could not say the actual number of people killed.

Yekini in a statement disclosed that although his troops were not in the Agatu main area, he had dispatched a patrol team to the scene to verify what actually led to the killing.

“I received a report this afternoon that some people were killed in Agatu by suspected armed bandits. I’m not sure of the number of casualties yet but I don’t think it’s up to 16. “We have sent a patrol team to the general area where the incident happened. The location where it happened, although is in Benue can better be accessed through Loko in Nasarawa State. We are already sending a patrol team there to verify what really happened.’’

One year after: Mother of abducted Dapchi school girl Leah Sharibu, cries to Buhari for the release of her daughter

Distressed, depressed and distraught mother of Dapchi school girl, Rebecca Sharibu has cried out in a loud voice to President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the release of her daughter, Leah Sharibu, who was kidnapped exactly one year ago. Speaking with a voice laden with sorrow, the troubled mother of the school girl who is still in Boko Haram captivity said she feels disappointed because President Muhammadu Buhari has failed her. She recalls: “They sent three ministers to my house promising that my daughter would be released; now it is a year and my daughter is not home yet. Since she left, my family and I have been devastated; my heart is full of sorrow.” 

She went further to lament that all that matters to her now is the safe return of her daughter back home. Leah was abducted alongside with about 109 girls from a girls’ secondary school at Dapchi, Yobe State by the Boko Haram, last year. After the release of 105 of the girls, Leah was held back because she refused to succumb to Boko Haram’s forceful conversion to Islam.’’ 

The President has several times promised to secure the release of Leah Sharibu and several others who have been held captive by the insurgents in North-Eastern Nigeria but in vain. Meanwhile, churches and religious organizations have continued to pray and mount pressure on the federal government to do everything within its powers to release the innocent girl from her captors.

INSIDE THE MINDS OF SOME NIGERIANS ON THE POSTPONEMENT OF THE ELECTIONS

"I am not arguing the fact that, postponement of the election could be due to logistics, security and lack of proper statistical analysis and this could be as a result of human inefficiency. So on their own part INEC could have been proactive in their planning, sensitive and intelligent enough to handle all these issues before now. Although they did their best but we should stop using fire brigade approaches in handling national issues mostly when it comes to election' because it is high time Nigerians need to get good representation. Therefore, INEC should plan well even subsequently." - Mr. Promise Udo

"Honestly, I am not surprised at this development. Incompetence and the likes have always been the norm as well as subsequent defence of these shameful acts. Some of these defences stem from the fact that the act of postponing elections did not start today so why should we be disappointed. The fact is that we are allergic to positive change not the charge scam many mantra of APC and until we learn from our past, no improvements will be made. There are speculations that either major parties have initiated and even stated executing the action of distributing tampered voting materials and that these items were intercepted. Other versions say that the materials due to "bad weather" could not arrive at their destination. I bet you even if we postpone this election severely till 2023 and are not committed to improving situations, materials will still be delayed or worst still not get to designated locations. Rigging and vote buying coupled with bloodshed will advance to the next level. Now talking of bloodshed, am quite sure you are aware of the Kaduna incident and subsequent response from the so-called governor who is constitutionally supposed to defend all Kaduna residents inspite of tribe and religion. All these leaders think they can disgrace this country. To whoever disgraces his/herself, more disgrace is expected from such individual with greater consequences on his or her generation."  - Mr. Anthony Emeribe

"The postponement suggests many things; either INEC means well, truly had logistics problems or just want to manipulate the elections. It is not every problem or information that an organized body like INEC wound like to explain to Nigerians. One critical or unexpected issue or problem which can affect the credibility of the election may come up, and in this spirit of what is worth doing at all is worth doing well, there may be genuine reasons to postpone. Secondly, INEC may actually have logistics problems based on the news flying all over the places across different states. The reports of already thumb-printed ballot paper caught with some people, which former President Obasanjo alluded to, can undermine the elections, thus the need to arrest the situation. Thirdly, it is possible INEC may have ulterior motives. Now, that both fake and true news fly all over the places and operate with the same level of authority, their partisanship or plans to manipulate the elections may have been exposed, hence their need to postpone. With all these, it is difficult to know which is the case here. All I know, is that election is about three major factors; voting, "scheming" (including rigging) and most importantly, the will of God. A combination of the three determines a winner. May God help us in this country."  - Henry Ogaraku (MA)

"I feel so ashamed of Nigeria. The whole world is laughing at us right now. This clearly shows how incompetent our Government and INEC board is. The commission stated logistics and operational plans as reasons. For crying out loud, that's not enough reason. What has the commission been doing in the past years. They have failed Nigeria and the entire world. What then happens to all the Nigerians that travelled to vote? How about the corps members that slept in terrible conditions last night even without allowances. It’s a pity."  Samuel Oliver,Ph.D

"Type a message... The postponement is absurd, considering the time. At least if it was like the previous ones it'll be understood, but this one is done in a reckless manner. Anyway, on a divine side maybe God want to intervene on an unassuming circumstance, and also unpopular this government the more. However, I'm just waiting to see the outcome of the press conference by 2pm." - Mr. Emmanuel Akorokpor

"I’m just so pained that INEC and the government are insensitive to the plights of her citizenry. The excuse of logistics is too flimsy. Many had travelled, Corpers slept at polling units and so on..Only for INEC and by extension, government to come up at 2am to postpone the elections. It’s very bad and so wrong. What happened 24-48hrs ago for INEC to had postponed the elections instead of wasting Peoples time and resources. If Goodluck had postponed elections must Buhari do same and even at a worst time. We must change this change o"- Emma

President Buhari boasts: Nobody will unseat me...

President Muhammadu Buhari has boasted that nobody will unseat him in the presidential election, report say.

Speaking exclusively on CNN Africa aired on Friday, the incumbent President also dismissed suggestions that he lacks the stamina to run the country for another four years.

When asked if he was scared that he could be defeated the way he defeated former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, Buhari replied: “No. Nobody would unseat me. I am ready to take this country forward for the next four years.”

INEC Postpones Election...Decision painful to Nigerians

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has  Postponed the presidential and national assembly elections till February 23rd, 2019.

The governorship and state assembly elections will now hold on March 9. This was announced in Abuja by the chairman of the commission, Prof.  Mahmood Yakubu around 2.45 am on Saturday, February 16, after he held an  emergency meeting with security officials, election observers and other stakeholders.

According to him, the decision was taken after a careful review of the plan for the exercise. “Following a careful review of the implementation of its logistics and operational plan and the determination to conduct free, fair and credible elections, the commission came to the conclusion that proceeding with the elections as scheduled is no longer feasible,” he said.

“Consequently, the commission has decided to reschedule the Presidential and National Assembly Elections to Saturday, 23 February 2019.

“Furthermore, the Governorship, State House of Assembly and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council Elections is rescheduled to Saturday 9th March 2019. This will afford the Commission the opportunity to address identified challenges in order to maintain the quality of our elections.

“This was a difficult decision for the Commission to take, but necessary for the successful delivery of the elections and the consolidation of our democracy.”

He announced that the commission will meet key stakeholders to update them on the development at 2pm on Saturday.

INEC had summoned stakeholders to an emergency meeting on Friday night following logistics problem in some states.

In Ekiti state, electoral materials had not arrived some areas as of 9pm. There were also issues in Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Taraba and Rivers.

Meanwhile, several Nigerians have expressed disappointment concerning the Commission's decision to postpone the election. "I feel so disappointed over the sudden decision of the electoral empire to postpone the election considering that I had traveled to my faraway village only to hear of the postponement of the election." Charles Ekwe.

"If INEC wanted to postpone the election, the announcement should have come at least two or three days before the initial date. The decision took us unawares after spending so much money on transportation. It is demoralizing." Another Nigerian who preferred anonymity.