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Obasanjo Calls For Sack Of Mahmood Yakubu, Other INEC Leaders At Federal, States, LGs
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for the dismissal of the Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, and officials of the commission at all levels as part of a reform of the electoral process in Nigeria.
Mr Obasanjo made the call in a paper he presented at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum, Yale University, in the United States. The annual lecture honours the late Nigerian writer, Chinua Achebe.
He delivered the address, titled “Leadership Failure and State Capture in Nigeria”, in a pre-recorded speech played at the event.
In his speech, Mr Obasanjo described the 2023 general election as a “travesty”, adding that the reform of the electoral system is a key agenda for the country.
The former president also called for shorter tenures for INEC officials and a more rigorous vetting process to prevent the appointment of partisan individuals.
“As a matter of urgency, we must ensure the INEC Chairperson and their staff are thoroughly vetted. The vetting exercise should produce dispassionate, non-partisan actors with impeccable reputations.
“Nigeria must ensure the appointment of new credible INEC leadership at the federal, state, local government, and municipal – city, town, and village – levels, with short tenures to prevent undesirable political influence and corruption, and to re-establish trust in the electoral system by its citizens,” he said.
He argued that “The INEC Chairperson must not only be absolutely above board but must also be transparently independent and incorruptible.”
Mr Obasanjo said the commission willfully failed to utilise two main technological tools at its disposal—the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Election Result Viewing Portal (IReV)—during the 2023 presidential election, despite the promises made by Mr Yakubu.
“The BVAS and IReV are two technological innovations that, prior to 2023, were celebrated for their potential to enhance the accuracy and transparency of our election results, eliminate the threat of election rigging, and boost public trust in electoral outcomes.
“These technologies were touted by the INEC chairman himself. In the end, these technologies did not fail. INEC wilfully failed to use or implement them, which resulted in widespread voting irregularities. It was a case of inviting the fox into the henhouse,” he said.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
President Bola Tinubu has fired Nura Sani Kangiwa as Director-General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR).
Recall that Sani Kangiwa was appointed NIHOTOUR DG in September 2020 by former president, Muhammadu Buhari.
Though no official reason was provided for the dismissal, it is possible that his tenure had come to an end.
However, in his place, President Tinubu on Thursday last week appointed Abisoye Fagade as the new Director-General of NIHOTOUR.
Dr. Abisoye Fagade is a marketing communication professional.
He is the founder and managing director of Sodium Brand Solutions.
President Tinubu urged the newly appointed officer to discharge his duties with dedication, patriotism, and excellence.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
A policeman attached to the member representing Isialangwa North and South Federal Constituency of Abia State, Hon. Ginger Onwusibe has been feared dead.
The incident happened around 9pm at Ubakala Umuahia South.
According to a police source, gunmen dressed in black and wearing police-style armor jackets had blocked the convoy of the House of Representatives member with a Toyota Corolla.
The lawmaker was not in the vehicle when the incident happened but at least two police officers and a driver were in the vehicle.
The gunmen opened fire on the escorts after they identified themselves as police officers.
In the process, a police officer was killed, while another officer was injured. The attackers fled the scene, and the police station at Ubakala responded with gunfire.
Attempts to contact the Abia State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO) was unsuccessful. Police sources said officers of the command are on the trail of the suspects it believes are kidnappers.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the 2023 election and leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has alleged plans from Lagos to colonise the northern region.
Kwankwaso, who made the allegation while delivering a speech during the convocation ceremony of Skyline University, Kano, also claimed that Lagos has been on the way to the issue of emirates tussle in Kano State.
Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State, also lamented the avalanche of challenges bedeviling the North, including economic crisis, insecurity, poverty, hunger and different kinds of diseases, saying the situation is not good for the country.
Kwankwaso said, “Let me note our situation here in Kano and indeed northern Nigeria. The emir is just being a stooge at this very difficult time, especially in this part of the country (northern Nigeria).
“Today, we can see very clearly that there is a lot of efforts from the Lagos axis to colonize this part of the country. Today, Lagos wouldn’t allow us to choose an emir, Lagos has to come to the centre of Kano to put their own emir.”
Kwankwaso also spoke on tax collection, saying, “Today, we are aware that the Lagos young men are working so hard to impose taxes and take away our taxes from Kano and this part of the country to Lagos.
“Today, as we have seen, even the telephones that we make or register here in Kano, efforts are there to take all the taxes to Lagos.
“Even our sons and daughters who have brought factories many of them here in Kano and northern Nigeria and even banks, somehow, they are forced to take their headquarters to Lagos because taxes will now have to go to Lagos.”
The former Kano governor also spoke on the disparity between the rich and the poor saying, “We have seen the efforts of some people to make the poor poorer and the rich richer and I believe this is more dangerous.”
Kwankwaso therefore called on the lawmakers from the northern part of the country to wake up and make sure the region is not cheated in any way.
“At this moment, I would like to call all our National Assembly members to keep their eyes open so that they don’t do anything that would cheat the people of northern Nigeria, especially here, Kano.
“We are witnesses to what happened during the first term, 1999 to 2000, where our members of the National Assembly were bribed, were treated into collecting huge sums of money to support offshore in this country. That law put a huge blow into our economy not only here in northern Nigeria but all other states.”
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