News
INEC explain why Enugu State constituency rerun election was postponed
By Francesca Hangeior.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says that the rescheduled rerun election for the Enugu South 1 State Constituency was postponed due to security reasons.
The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Dr Chukwuemeka Chukwu, told journalists in Enugu on Sunday that the postponed election was cancelled earlier last week due to security considerations.
Chukwu disclosed that the rerun election, which was fixed after stakeholders’ engagements to hold on June 8, would hold on a further date to be communicated by the commission.
“Last week, the scheduled rerun election was postponed and duly communicated to all stakeholders with a clear reason for the postponement.
“But I am surprised some misguided people are taking up all sorts of unfounded falsehoods and rumours against the commission that it seems the election had been held in secret even as I am speaking to you,” he said.
Mr Bright Ngene, the Labour Party (LP) candidate for the State House of Assembly, was declared winner of the March 18, 2023, election and was sworn in, but the election was nullified by the tribunal for being inconclusive.
This is the third attempt by INEC to hold the election.
As early as 7 a.m. on Saturday, voters had converged in the affected polling units, but no official of the INEC was seen at the venue.
The LP candidate for the election, Mr Ngene, who was at the polling centre, expressed dismay over the development.
He told journalists that there was no information available to him and his party that the election would not hold.
On his part, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Mr. Sam Ngene, said the postponement was duly communicated to his party.
According to him, such financial mishandling not only disrupts critical public services and projects but also results in major losses to the nation’s purse—resources that could have been channelled into crucial services and developmental efforts, as laid out in Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution.
Speaker Abbas, thereafter setup a Special Committee to be chaired by Rep. Chinedu Martins to immediately launch a probe into the “Utilisation of take-off grants, bailout funds, and interventions allocated to MDAs, government institutions, and GOEs from 2015 to present.”
The FCT Minister, Mr. Nyesom Wike, expressed satisfaction with the progress on the Abuja light rail project, reaffirming its May 29 delivery as sacrosanct.
He made these assurances after inspecting the ongoing construction of access roads to the train stations on Wednesday, from Metro Train Station in the Central Area to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
Reassuring journalists accompanying him, the minister reiterated that President Bola Tinubu would commission the rail project on May 29 to mark his second year in office.
The visited stations were Wupa station near Idu and Bassanjiwa station near the airport.
“This is part of our routine inspection of ongoing projects to see the contractors’ progress,” Wike explained.
“We are working day and night to fulfill our promise to President Tinubu and FCT residents. By May, Mr. President will ride on the Metro line.”
Gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen are currently invading some communities in the Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State.
According to sources, the herdsmen armed with AK-47 rifles stormed the community around 04:15pm on Thursday.
“Our lives are in danger this evening, armed Fulani herdsmen, about 600 in numbers have taken over our communities this evening,” a resident told SaharaReporters.
“They’re currently moving around towns in Ukum Local Government Area of Benue state. No security personnel at all, Governor Alia didn’t send security, they said operation will start soon once they (herders) have observed the place.”
The insecurity situation in Benue has been alarming in recent weeks with attacks from gunmen suspected to be herdsmen.
The media had reported that suspected herdsmen again unleashed terror in Benue State, attacking three communities in Otukpo Local Government Area (LGA) on Wednesday, just a day after 11 people were killed in a deadly raid on Otobi community.
The latest victims of the escalating violence were Emichi, Odudaje, and Okpamaju, communities that had previously suffered an attack in February, which left five people dead.
However, the renewed attack has created fear and mass displacement among residents, with women and children fleeing to safety.
Local sources say the death toll from the fresh attack remains unclear, but several casualties are feared.
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