By Gistflash News

Sept 13, 2021

By Gistflash News

July 7, 2021

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says 203,497 eligible Nigerians had completed online pre-registration as fresh voters, seven days after the commencement of the exercise.

Mr Festus Okoye, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, disclosed this in an update on the CVR issued on Tuesday, in Abuja.

He said that the figure was recorded as at 7a.m on July 5, as the commission met on Tuesday to discuss the CVR exercise, which commenced on June 28.

“As at 7a.m on July 5, one week after the commencement of the exercise, 203,497 eligible Nigerians have completed the online pre-registration as fresh voters.

“The figure rises to 259,713 if applications for voter transfer, requests for replacement of Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs), update of voter information record are included”, Okoye said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that of the 203,497 applications received, Osun state had the highest figure of freshly registered voters with 67,772 applications, followed by Lagos with 30,338 and FCT with 12,160.

States with the least fresh voter applications, within the period, were Ebonyi with 350, Kebbi 624, Abia 626 and Jigawa with 679.

NAN also reports that the distribution of the figure by gender, according to INEC, had indicated that of the total registered, males constituted 166, 712 of the number while 93,001 were female.

The age distribution for the first week also showed that the number of newly registered youth (18 to 34 years) was 175,8047; middle age (34 to 49 years) is 64,141; the elderly ( 50 to 69 years) is 17,644; while the old (70 years and above) was 2,079.

The occupation distribution included artisans-15,414; Business-44,478; civil servants-11,022; farming/fishing-7,720 housewives-2,516, traders-18,865; public servants-7,269; students-66,143 and others-83,283.

In the meantime, Okoye stated that the full details of the exercise for the first one week had been uploaded on the Commission’s website and social media platforms.

“For emphasis, the physical or in-person registration is scheduled to commence in all our state and local government offices nationwide on Monday, July 19.

“Eligible Nigerians who wish to register physically and those who have scheduled their appointments to complete their online pre-registration will have the opportunity to do so.

“Both online pre-registration and the physical registration will go on simultaneously, throughout the duration of the CVR.

“Further details of the schedule of activities and locations for the physical exercise will be made available next week”, he added.

He urged every eligible Nigerian to seize the opportunity of the online pre-registration or the in-person option to register as a voter, saying that the update was inline with the commission’s promise to update Nigerians after one week of the exercise.

Henceforth, INEC would be providing weekly updates that would include a detailed breakdown of the distribution of registrants by State, occupation, gender and age, Okoye said.

NAN

By Gistflash News

July 1, 2021

The All Progressives Congress (APC), North Central Critical Stakeholder Forum, has called on the party’s leadership to ensure that those defecting from opposition political parties abide by its progressive ideology.

The forum made the call at a news conference on Thursday in Abuja.

It added that the party should be careful not to lose its ideological focus in the wake of the defection.

Mr Sani Salisu, speaking on behalf of the forum, said as opposition governors and chieftains continued to defect to the APC, there was the need for it to be mindful of those joining its fold.

“The influx of opposition governors and chieftains into our party has no doubt bolstered our base and the Caretaker and Extra-ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) deserves a pat on the back for this.

“But we must be careful not to lose the ideological focus of our party in the wake of defection.

“Defectors must be willing and made to abide by the progressive ideology of the party rooted in good governance and accountability, for which it is renowned,’’ Salisu said.

Salihu, who is a former Commissioner for Information in Kogi, commended the party’s CECPC for the success of its recently concluded nationwide membership registration and revalidation exercise.

He noted that the exercise that culminated in registering about 40 million APC members nationwide was an unprecedented development in the country’s political history.

He, however, advised the CECPC to resist temptations to shift dates of the congresses from ward to the state level as announced in the released timetable, under any guise.

On the recent extension of the tenure of the CECPC by President Muhammadu Buhari, Salihu said there was need for the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) to meet to legitimise its operations.

“Though the extension of the tenure of the CECPC has become imperative, we make bold to say it can only be legitimate by a resolution of the NEC.

“Therefore, we call for an immediate convening of a NEC meeting to ratify the extension of the committee’s tenure and approve the timelines for congresses and national convention.

“It is imperative for this to be done so that our party does not face any legal conundrum over the conduct of the congresses,’’ he said.

He also urged the CECPC to summon a meeting of the party’s National Caucus, as a prelude to the NEC meeting in line with Article 12.5 of the APC amended Constitution.

According to him, it is the tradition of the APC to hold an expanded national caucus meeting before the NEC meeting.

He said that all hands must be on deck to forge a common ground ahead of the party’s proposed National Convention.

Salisu also said that considering the contributions of the North Central to the fortunes of the APC, the position of the national chairman of the party should be exclusively zoned to the region.

“The North Central is a bridging region between the North and the South, more so, such will be a signal of all-inclusive governance in the party.

“After wide consultations, we have zero in on Sen. Umaru Al-Makura, Senator representing Nasarawa-South in the National Assembly and two-term Governor of Nasarawa State, as our consensus candidate for the position,’’ he said.

He described Al-Makura as a candidate with impeccable administrative credentials and astute political pedigree, a unifier with requisite qualities and temperament.

He said that the senator had the experience needed to lead the APC, not only to victory in 2023 but to consolidate on the achievements of the CECPC as well as to deepen the party’s progressive ideology.

NAN