Connect with us

News

Electoral laws alone wont guarantee credible elections, says Omo-Agege

Published

on

Spread the love

By Gistflash News

Aug 31, 2021

Deputy President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, has said that a sustainable electoral process was only possible if it was founded on an adequate electioneering culture.

Represented by Dr Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser on Legal and Constitutional Matters, the deputy senate president said this at the public presentation and inaugural meeting of the Electoral Hub, in Abuja, on Tuesday.

Advertisement

According to him, no matter how good the clauses were in the electoral laws, if the other aspects of the electioneering process were flawed, the electoral process itself will ultimately be flawed.

“While there have been many more issues in our electoral history, it seems to me that if we have had adequate and unambiguous  clauses, plus adequate advocacy, understanding and the will to comply, we would have had less controversies, fewer post-election court cases and generally, a more credible electoral process.

“This is to say that we need adequate and generally acceptable rules of engagement in the electioneering process.

“I refer to how candidates emerged on party platforms, campaign rally rules and generally political actions toward a fair and credible political participation by voters.

“I am glad, for instance, that the National Assembly is now dealing with the issue of direct primaries’’, Omo-Agege said.

Advertisement

He added that the obvious preference for direct primaries, for example, would have more than a salutary effect on the challenges of dealing with select delegates at primaries, which had been a sore point in our electioneering process, citing the ongoing electoral reform process, therefore, as a responsibility for all.

The deputy senate president said that there was need to join hands to work out an electoral system that would not only agree with global best practice, but would make Nigeria a stronger nation.

Mrs May Agbamuche-Mbu, National Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said that the launch of the forum would enrich knowledge and enhance understanding of the electoral process in Nigeria as well as serve as a reference point for both political parties and voters.

Agbamuche-Mbu assured Nigerians that the commission would continue to improve on its processes for more transparent, credible elections, urging all eligible voters to utilise the Continuous Voter Registration to get voter cards, transfer their cards, among others.

“Nine weeks into the exercise, we have witnessed 2,485,770 online registrants and 3,325,741 in total. These figures are encouraging and of the online registrants 2,160,292 are youths between ages 18 to 34,’’ she said.

Advertisement

She added that recently, INEC expanded polling units by creating additional 57,023 units across the country, bringing the total units to 176,996, with the aim of bringing the voting process closer to the people .

Prof. Adebayo Olukoshi, Chairman, The Electoral Forum and Professor, Wits School of Governance, in South Africa, commended the forum for the initiative to gather veterans with knowledgeable insights on the electoral process.

Olukoshi said that the world over it was believed that interacting with such a class of people would help in improving the quality of governance, elections and democracy.

He said that issues of electoral integrity had continued to plague Nigeria, so, there was need to commit to working at ensuring electoral integrity, so that citizens could reap the dividends of democracy .

Ms Princess Hamman-Obels, Director, IRIAD, The Electoral Hub, said that the Hub conceptualised the Electoral Forum as a way to pool resource persons from electoral management bodies together with other electoral stakeholders.

Advertisement

This, Hamman-Obels said, was to find solutions to the unique problems facing the electoral process in Nigeria .

“With the support of OSIWA, the forum has been established under the chairmanship of Prof. Adebayo Olukoshi, and other high-calibre practitioners.

“We believe that by facilitating discussions among different stakeholders, we hope to deepen understanding of the electoral process in Nigeria, as well as provide solutions to improve electoral integrity and credibility,’’ she said.

Hamman-Obels said that the aim of the forum was to facilitate systematic electoral reforms, promote evidence-based law-making, policy and advocacy on elections in Nigeria.

She added that another objective of the forum was also to advance strategies to improve capacities and credibility of electoral management bodies in Nigeria.

Advertisement

Today’s public launch and inaugural meeting’s objective was to formally launch the forum, determine its operations, produce understanding of members and review the Electoral Amendment bill, she said.

Ms Catherine Angai, Programme Coordinator, Democracy and Accountability, OSIWA, said that the support  to Electoral Hub, spoke to OSIWA’s priority for evidence-based electoral reforms.

Angai added that it targeted those factors that impacted on electoral integrity, particularly the administrative barriers, and that the project had a research component which would critically analyse Nigeria’s election management system.

She said that the research would create a compelling evidence-based narrative that presented a clear picture of the strengths and limitations of electoral bodies.

“We believe that the project fills a major knowledge-gap and provides an expose into the structural issues that have impacted on the work of electoral management bodies over the years,’’ she said.

Advertisement

NAN

Comments

Spread the love
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Gunmen Attack Anambra Police Station, Kill Four Officers

Published

on

Gunmen Attack Anambra Police Station, Kill Four Officers
Spread the love

Unknown gunmen in the early hours of Wednesday attacked a police station located in Atani, the headquarters of Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.

It was gathered that the gunmen launched the attack on the police facility around 1:30 am on Wednesday.

A further report had it that four police officers were killed in the attack.

Since the emergence of Charles Soludo as the Governor of Anambra State there had been series of attacks on police and government facilities in the state.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, the spokesman of the state police command, DSP Toochukwu Ikenga, has confirmed the development.

He said, “The hoodlums came around 1 a.m., and unlucky for us, four police operatives paid the supreme price.”

“The Commissioner of Police, CP Echeng Echeng on hearing of the attack immediately mobilized men of the command from various units to the area.

“The hoodlums were still there when the CP personally led men of the command to the affected area, and the timely arrival saved the day and the hoodlums were successfully repelled, and the facility was saved.

“We have commenced intelligence already, and we hope to unravel the persons behind the attack.”

Advertisement
Comments

Spread the love
Continue Reading

Crime

Supreme Court Affirms Six-Year Jail Term For Former Director Of Pensions, John Yakubu

Published

on

Supreme Court Affirms Six-Year Jail Term For Former Director Of Pensions, John Yakubu

Supreme Court Affirms Six-Year Jail Term For Former Director Of Pensions, John YakubSupreme Court Affirms Six-Year Jail Term For Former Director Of Pensions, John Yakubu

The Supreme Court has affirmed the six years imprisonment imposed on a former Federal Director of Pensions, Mister John Yakubu, and also ordered him to refund the sum of N22.9b to the Federal Government.

The N22.9b was part of the police pension fund he admitted before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to have been misappropriate

Justice Tijjani Abubakar in a judgment in an appeal filed by Yusuf upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal which in 2018 sent him to six years imprisonment in addition to the refund of the sum.

The apex court held that Yusuf and others engaging in fraudulent practices must be told through court judgments that it is no longer business as usual.

Advertisement

Also Read:

Media Intelligence agency Marks Six years of Operation in Nigeria

Taliban leader says not less than 200 people in panjshir surrendered weapons

Sept 26, 2021A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mallam Yusuf Ali, says it is not to late for members of the  National Assembly to revisit the issue of  electronic transmission of election results to ensure credibility.Ali, who made the remarks while speaking in an interview with newsmen on Sunday in Osogbo, said the more credible elections were, the less litigations they will attract.The  News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports  that the Nigerian Senate had on July 16, passed the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021, after division among its members on the electronic transmission of results.

The clause 52(2) of the bill gives the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the discretion to determine when, where and how voting and transmission of results will be done.

Advertisement

The Senate had ruled out the possibility of having results transmitted electronically when it voted that the NCC, with the National Assembly’s approval, would determine whether INEC could transmit results electronically or not.

Similarly, the House of Representatives, on July 16, passed the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, maintaining the controversial Clause 52(2) as presented amidst protests, especially by members of the minority caucus.

iNEC insists have adequate structures to successfully e-transmit election results

Electoral Bill: PDP governors urge NASS to set up conference committee

PDP expresses shock over Senate rejection of e-transmission of election results

Justice Abubakar said that the appeal of the former federal pension director seeking to set aside the six years jail term against him was frivolous and devoid of merit.

He further held that victims of the convicted director deserve restitution which can only be achieved through justice.

Yusuf had dragged the Federal Government before the apex court seeking to overturn the six years imprisonment slammed on by the Court of Appeal.

Advertisement

The former pensions director, who is serving the six years jail term at the Kuje correctional facility, also asked the Supreme Court to set aside a whopping sum of N22.9 billion he was ordered to refund to the government treasury by the Court of Appeal in a 2018 judgment.

He was sent to prison in 2018 by the Court of Appeal in Abuja upon being found guilty of defrauding the Federal Government to the tune of N22.9 billion through police pensions.

Comments
Continue Reading

News

Stakeholders task Nigerian youths on good governance, leadership advocacy

Spread the love

Dr Odiakpo Obire, the founder of Good leadership for Africa, an Abuja based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) said the aim of the awards were to encourage African leaders to take their place as leaders among world leaders.
He said the youths of Africa had what it takes to elect the right leaders into offices as this was fundamental to their future and the success of the country.


Spread the love

Published

on

Stakeholders task Nigerian youths on good governance, leadership advocacy
Spread the love

Abuja Nov 5, 2021 (NAN) Stakeholders in governance have urged Nigerian youths to be advocates of good governance and leadership in order to make Nigeria a better place.

They gave the advice in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the second global good governance awards and summit held in Abuja on Friday.

The theme for the award is “ Good governance mentality for global impact.

Dr Odiakpo Obire, the founder of Good leadership for Africa, an Abuja based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) said the aim of the awards were to encourage African leaders to take their place as leaders among world leaders.

He said the youths of Africa had what it takes to elect the right leaders into offices as this was fundamental to their future and the success of the country.

According to him, good governance and leadership are achievable and controllable by the youths.
“ Good governance and leadership make strong institutions.

“ The Africa and Nigeria of our dreams cannot be achieved if youths neglect accountability and advocacy of good leadership’, he said.

Obire stated that everyone appointed into a leadership position could help achieve a great Nigeria if they put the needs of the masses first and do what was expected of them.

YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK THIS ARTICLES;

“ From the Federal Government to the local government, to the appointees to the least held office, everyone has the responsibility to do the right thing, ” he said.

He said democracy in Nigeria is over 22 years and youths had to rise to the responsibility of advocating for good leadership and accountability.

“ Good governance starts from selecting good leaders by the youths, ” he said.

Amb. Louis Temisan, Mayorking Ultimate International Magazine said a lot of people, institutions and NGOs are worthy of celebration because they advocate good governance.

“ People, institutions and NGOs who are staff minded, support youth empowerment, community development deserve all the celebration and recognition, ” he said.

According to him, advocating for and publicising good governance will challenge other lacking leaders to do better in their respective communities.

Amb. Anthony Nwangwu disclosed that good governance should be measured by good directions and steps taken by a leader to ensure life was easy for people.

ALSO READ:

He said good governance is not measured by the number of cars a leader has or how much cash they throw around.

Nwangwu said good governance affects every facets of life.

NAN reports that about 30 people from the private and public sectors were recipients of different awards.

Some category of these awards include, award of Excellence in Human resource, award of best security outfit and award of best youth empowerment. (NAN)

Comments


Spread the love
Continue Reading
Enhance your Brand Visibility

LET’S REVAMP YOUR BUSINESS

Let’s keep you updated

Advertisement

HOW TO BUY FOLLOWERS FOR ALL YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

Gorgeous Bride rocking one of Beyonce’s Hit song

Most Viewed Posts

Trending

Enable Notifications OK No thanks