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INEC registers 120,458 new Edo, Ondo voters, extends exercise

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The Independent National Electoral Commission has extended the Continuous Voter Registration exercise in Edo and Ondo states to June 9.

The commission had earlier set Wednesday, June 5, 2024, as the closing date for the registration exercise, which started on May 27, 2024.

During the period, the registration exercise recorded significant progress, with 120,458 new voters registered.

Earlier, the exercise suffered some hitches in Edo State, as flood, on Friday, May 25, ravaged the state headquarters of the electoral commission, leaving equipment and materials needed for the registration damaged.

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INEC, not deterred by calls for postponement of the exercise, moved its logistics to Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area office located at 16, Custom Road, off Benin/Auchi Road, Benin City, where the exercise had continued unhindered.

Announcing the extension of the registration to June 9, the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, in a statement he signed on Tuesday, said the commission also extended the registration period from 9 am to 5 pm.

The CVR aims to prepare for the upcoming governorship elections in Edo State on September 21, 2024, and in Ondo State on November 16, 2024.

Olumekun, in the statement, also announced the increase in the number of registration centres, to include all 36 local government offices in the two states, supplementing the existing 397 wards and the state offices in Benin City and Akure.

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“The commission met today, Tuesday, 4th June, 2024. Among other matters, the meeting reviewed the ongoing CVR in Edo and Ondo states scheduled to end tomorrow, Wednesday, 5th June, 2024.

“However, following appeals by stakeholders, the commission has approved the extension of the exercise from Thursday, 6th to Sunday, 9th June 2024, to enable more eligible persons to register.

“Similarly, the duration of the exercise is extended from 9.00 am – 5.00 pm daily.

“Furthermore, the number of centres has been increased beyond the 397 wards and the two-state offices in Benin City and Akure to include all the 36 local government offices of the commission in the two states,” the statement read.

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Olumekun said INEC was deploying additional registration machines to areas with challenging terrains or communal issues to facilitate the process.

“More machines will also be deployed to areas identified to have peculiar needs such as difficult terrain or communal issues.

“Like the ward registration centres, detailed information on the names and location, addresses of the LGA offices have also been uploaded to our website and social media platforms for the guidance of registrants in the two states,” Olumekun said.

Speaking on the 120,458 new voters, the electoral body said the figures were preliminary, adding that the final statistics would be released after the completion of the exercise and a data clean-up using the Automated Biometric Identification System.

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“Meanwhile, the exercise is progressing well in the two states. As of yesterday, Monday, 3rd June 2024, eight days after the commencement of the CVR, a cumulative total of 120,458 new voters have registered.

“Of this figure, 55,861 (46.4 per cent) are male while 64,597 (53.6 per cent) are female. The majority of the registered voters (82,003 or 68.8 per cent) are youths (18 -34 years). In terms of occupation, 43,419 or 36.8 per cent) are students while 812 (0.67 per cent) are persons with disability.

“The public should please note that these are preliminary figures. The final figures will be published on a state basis and for all categories of registrants at the end of the exercise and after data clean-up using the Automated Biometric Identification System,” Olumekun said.

The commission urged all eligible voters to take advantage of the extension to register, transfer, or correct their personal information on their Permanent Voter Cards, adding that no further extensions would be granted.

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“The commission once again appeals to eligible voters to seize the opportunity of the extension to register, transfer or correct personal information on their PVCs as provided by law. No further extension will be granted by the commission,” the statement read.

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I Can’t Feed My Family Again; I Make N20,000 Daily But Spend N17,000 On Fuel — Taxi Driver Laments

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Despite earning N20,000 daily, Ajibaye says he takes home only N3,000 after fuel expenses, leaving him unable to cater to his children and wife.

A commercial driver identified as Wahab Ajibaye based in Ilorin, Kwara State has expressed frustration over the rising fuel prices, saying it has left him struggling to provide for his family.

Despite earning N20,000 daily, Ajibaye says he takes home only N3,000 after fuel expenses, leaving him unable to cater to his children and wife.

He said: “I am buying fuel for N1100 and I make N20,000 (daily) but I take only N3,000 with me to my house (after work). I am the owner of my car but I am no longer making enough to cater to my children and my wife. The All Progressives Congress (APC) government will not end well. Nigeria is becoming worse and we pray God takes away this set of current leaders.”

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Ajibaye blamed the ruling APC government for the hardship faced by Nigerians, saying, “Their government is bringing more suffering. They’re not ashamed, despite many Nigerians cursing them. They should rethink.”

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) had recently agreed that the policies initiated by President Bola Tinubu resulted in growing economic hardships in Nigeria.

The party in a statement issued by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Barrister Felix Morka had said this, while responding to a former national vice chairman (North West) of the party, Salihu Mohammed Lukman.

Recall that Lukman had berated the party for bad governance, adding that former President Muhammadu Buhari and incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu have failed to deliver on their campaign promises.

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Lukman, therefore, urged opposition leaders to unite and work hard to defeat the APC-led government in 2027.

But reacting, Morka in a statement on Tuesday argued that President Tinubu was taking bold measures to reset the country’s “long broken economy”, explaining that his reforms had increased economic hardship in the country.

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LASG shuts down Idera market over ‘environmental pollution

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By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) says it has sealed off the Idera market in the Oshodi metropolis.

In a statement on Thursday, Ajayi Lukman, LAGESC spokesperson, said the agency sealed the market due to unhygienic practices and indiscriminate dumping of refuse, which contravened the environmental law of the state.

He said the measure was taken to enforce adherence to environmental cleanliness across registered markets in the state.

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‘‘Our operatives stationed across the Oshodi division during routine market monitoring identified the filth, unhygienic practices, and indiscriminate dumping of refuse around the Idera Market area, which prompted us to seal off the market until further notice,” the statement reads.

Lukman quoted Olaniyi Cole, the corps marshal of the agency, as decrying the level of hygiene at the market, which could lead to an outbreak of diseases.

He said Cole frowned at the inability of the market leadership to provide a valid waste collection contract, which resulted in the heaps of refuse in the facility.

He added that the display of wares for sale on road setbacks, lay-bys, medians, verges, kerbs, street trading, and hawking remained banned in the metropolis.

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The LAGESC corps marshal reiterated the ban on the sales, distribution, and usage of styrofoam in the state, noting that anyone found culpable would be punished decisively.

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Hours to Edo guber polls, major opposition candidate crumbles structure for Ighodalo

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By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Hours to the Edo State governorship election, the guber candidate of the All Peoples Party (APP)Amb Osalumese Areloegbe on Thursday morning collapsed the structure for the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Asue Ighodalo and his running mate, Osarodion Ogie Esq.

Addressing journalists at the party secretariat in Benin City, Areloegbe said his decision to collapse the structure for the PDP candidate was because he believed that Ighodalo had all it would take to govern the state to greater heights.

According to him, I urged all my followers and supporters to disregard any information that I have aligned with the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo.

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“I am supporting Asue Ighodalo because he is competent, not that I am not competent but I believe Asue is on the forefront. That is my reason for supporting his candidacy.

“My party is aware because they have been having a series of negotiations for us to align with the APC, and I told them categorically that I am supporting PDP. My eighteen local government followers are in full support of my decision, I mean 100 per cent supporting the PDP candidate, Barr. Asue Ighodalo and his running mate, Barr. Osarodion Ogie in this election.

“My choice for Asue Ighodalo is because, apart from myself, I see him as the next better candidate that I can support and I can put my weight on because he has the capacity, mentally, physically and otherwise to pilot the affairs of Edo State to greater heights.

“The national secretariat of my party, APP – they are in Abuja and I am in the state, and know much more of what is happening in Edo State. They are not here and don’t know what is going on here in Edo. And I am in a position to tell them what will be better for the Edo people.

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“There is a parable that says, ‘You cannot shave a man’s head when he is not present’. I am here in Edo State and I know who to support and why I am supporting him. The national leadership might have taken a different tone, but this is what I and my followers have chosen.

“We had a series of other politicians who had made such decisions before. That is why I agreed with the support of my supporters to collapse my structure for the governorship candidate of the PDP Barr. Asue Ighodalo and his running mate, Barr. Osarodion Ogie.”

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