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Melaye’s Recall: Petitioners Shun Signature Verification Exercise

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The Independent National Electoral Commission cannot be held responsible for the poor turnout of petitioners in  Saturday’s verification of signatures for the recall of Sen. Dino Melaye, an official has said.

The INEC Federal Commissioner in-charge of Kogi, Kwara and Nasarawa states, Alhaji Mohammed Haruna, made the statement in Lokoja shortly after the end of the exercise.

Haruna said that the main concern of INEC was to ensure transparency in the process, insisting that the organisation was neutral in the bid to recall Melaye from the Senate.

“Turnout is not our problem; turnout is the problem of parties concerned, ours is to ensure transparency,” Haruna said.

Commenting on insinuations that INEC might tamper with the wish of the people, the commissioner said that nothing like that would happen, stressing that the agency had no interest in who won or lost in the matter.

“Nothing untoward will happen, I assure you. Whatever happened at the polling units is what INEC will announce,” he stated.

Commenting on the mix up in the list of petitioners, Haruna said that mistakes in such exercise was normal but gave an assurance that the mistakes would be corrected.

He lauded the peaceful conduct of the people before and during the exercise.

News Agency of Nigeria reports that in Koton Karfe and Lokoja, the people conducted themselves well, although the turnout was poor.

At Ukwo polling unit in Koton Karfe, 18 out of 440 petitioners came for the verification, while at Oworo polling unit in Felele area of Lokoja, none of the 815 petitioners showed up.

Also at polling unit 004 of Ward 3 in Lokoja, 32 out of the 1,251 petitioners showed up.

During the exercise, there was no case of malfunctioning of card reader machines while security personnel adequately manned the polling centres.

Melaye, representing Kogi West in the Assembly, has been struggling to retain his seat following a petition by some of his constituents in 2017 that he was not representing them well.

The senator’s accusers gathered signatures to demand his recall but Melaye, who accused the state Governor, Mr. Yahaya Bello, of being the mastermind of the plot,  mobilised his supporters to resist the move.

He subsequently approached the court to stop the process but could not get the relief he sought at the Court of Appeal.

(NAN)

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Glo Festival of Joy Promo: Civil Contractor Emerges Toyota Prado Winner

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It was a moment of joy and excitement in Lagos on Thursday as the second prize-presentation event in Glo ‘Festival of Joy’ promo took place at Gloworld, Adeola Odeku Street, with a civil engineering contractor, Ayobami Adejumobi, going home with a brand new Toyota Prado.

The key to the jeep was presented to 42-year-old Adejumobi, who was accompanied by friends and relatives by the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat.

Speaking at the event, Osun State-born Adejumobi thanked Globacom immensely for the prize. He said, “I still can’t believe it. A call came from Globacom and the news was too good to believe. I doubted it. Could it be fraudsters? However, I remembered the promo and how I joined when it was launched, and I immediately proceeded to the Gloworld on Adeola Odeku where the Glo officials were expecting me. I thank Glo for this prize. I will use the jeep personally; it will enhance my status and help me to get more jobs as a civil engineering contractor”.

Other winners at the event also commended Globacom for providing a platform for many Nigerians to win prizes. Bukola Olatunji, from Ijebu-Ode who won a Keke Napep said, ”I have always been a faithful participant in various Glo promos and have never lost hope that I would one day become a winner”. She promised to continue participating in all of Globacom’s promotions in future.

A generator winner, 33-year-old Ayodeji Olukunmi, also said “it’s indeed a joyful period, winning a brand new generator means a lot to me, God bless Globacom”, while Daniel Eleh from Benue State, who won a sewing machine, said, “I was shocked and surprised when I got the call. Glo has always been good to Nigerians.”

The Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, who was the special guest of honour commended Globacom for such thoughtful reward schemes. “The good thing is that this is happening at a difficult time in the country. We must thank Glo for this and just pray that next year, it will be bigger. We would love the Chairman, (Dr Mike Adenuga), to make it twice this size next year. May God continue to bless the company,” he said.

Globacom’s Divisional Head, West, Lawrence Odediran, who also spoke at the event stated that new and existing subscribers can participate in the Festival of Joy promo by dialing *611# to opt into the promo and to keep recharging (voice and data) during the promo period, in order to be eligible to win the prizes on offer.  He explained that new subscribers can participate immediately by purchasing a new SIM, registering it and dialing *611#.

Dignitaries at the event include Deputy Majority Leader, Lagos House of Assembly, Honourable Adedamola Richard; Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Biodun Ogunleye a representative of the Nigeria Communications Commission, Mrs Ijeoma Bassey; Iyaloja of Sura Market, Alhaja Raliat Adebayo, and nollywood trio of  Uche Jombo, Adeolu Saga and Broda Shaggi.

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Senate Summons Keyamo, NCCA Boss, Others over Flight Delays, Cancellations

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The Senate, on Wednesday, mandated its Committee on Aviation to summon the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.

The upper chamber also resolved to summon the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA); Captain Chris Najomo, airline operators as well as other relevant stakeholders over incessant flight delays and cancellations.

The Committee on Aviation is mandated to investigate the increasing frequency of flight delays and cancellations by airline operators in the country.

The resolution followed a motion presented by Senator Buhari Abdulfatai (Oyo, APC) during plenary, highlighting the negative impact of these disruptions on Nigeria’s socio-economic growth and public confidence in the aviation sector.

The investigation will aim to uncover the root causes of the persistent disruptions and propose lasting solutions to improve the reliability and efficiency of air travel in Nigeria.

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Makinde Commissions Osun Road Projects, Endorses Gov Adeleke for Second Term

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Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde has endorsed Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke for second term in office, stating that he as delivered dividends of democracy to the people of Osun State through the landmark achievements recorded within two years in office.

The governor made the announcement while commissioning Stadium – Testing ground – Okebaale – Ilesa garage road projects which was completed by Gov Adeleke’s administration, in Osogbo.

According to him, “I congratulate Governor Adeleke for delivering dividends of democracy to the people of Osun State. The reward for hard work is more work, so give him more work to do for another four years.”

While rejoicing with Governor Adeleke for the landmark achievements recorded within two years in office, Gov Makinde promised full support for the battle ahead to secure victory.

Gov Makinde urged the people of Osun not to allow darkness to return to the state, adding that the road projects would boost the economy of Osun.

He described himself and Gov Adeleke as true progressives in the southwest who will continue to lead the path and provide good leadership for the people.

Speaking earlier, the Governor of the state, Ademola Adeleke, paid tribute to the former Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, who started the road projects, noting that Aregbesola will be happy about the final completion of the projects.

The governor reiterated his administration’s commitment towards completing all abandoned projects by previous administrations since inception, stating that they are public assets that must be managed for the benefit of the people.

He added that the completion of the dualization within record time will expand the economic growth of the city, state and save people from untimely death and injuries.

“I must also pay tribute to my brother, former Governor Rauf Aregbesola. His administration started the Osogbo Ring Road project before it was abandoned by the previous government. Today, Ogbeni Aregbesola must be happy at the final completion of the project.

“At the inception of our administration, I had promised my God and the people of Osun state that I would not abandon projects inherited from my predecessors. It is my considered view that public projects are public assets which must not be wasted on the altar of political vendetta. I followed my conviction by directing my team to compile a list of all abandoned projects and submit a plan of completion.

“Based on the plan of action, our administration has completed several projects across the sectors. In under 100 days, we completed the Osogbo – Ikirun road dualisation with full solar street lights. It has been open to use since then. We expanded the inherited reconstruction of Iwo – Osogbo road to include dualisation of a major internal road inside Iwo. We completed several abandoned projects inside Osun State University including the one at Isale Osun which was neglected for almost eleven years.

“As I earlier promised our people, the commissioning of several completed projects continues to mark our two years in office. From over 150 kilometers of completed roads, the commissioning crew moves to Iresi town next week to be followed by other towns,” he concluded.

The Governor advised against reckless driving and breaching of driving safety protocols, affirming that most road accidents recorded were caused by over-speeding and one-way driving, while appealing to road users to be safety conscious.

He directed security agencies and road safety authorities to enforce safety codes on the roads, calling on the Ministry of Works to construct speed breakers where necessary.

Source: sahelstandard.com

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