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Attacks On INEC Offices May Affect 2023 Elections-Chairman

Published

3 years ago

May 19, 2021

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has stated that the series of attacks on the Commission’s facilities may undermine capacity to organize elections and dent the nation’s electoral process.

Yakubu, who decried the attacks, said “these attacks are no longer freak events but appear to be quite orchestrated and targeted at INEC.”

He expressed worry that the attacks may affect its preparations for elections.

Checks by The Nation revealed that the number of offices of the Commission that have been torched is now 23.

A breakdown of the incidents showed that the most affected states include Akwa Ibom (four), Abia (three) Anambra (two) and Imo (two).

Other states that witnessed fire incidents between February 2019 and May 2021 are Borno, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Kano, Ondo, Plateau and Rivers. Abuja was also affected.

Yakubu in a statement shared by INEC’S official twitter handle @inecnigeria, lamented that the spate of arson and vandalisation targeting the Commission’s facilities and property has become profoundly worrisome.

The statement reads in part; “Unfortunately, some events in the recent past have challenged the Commission and adversely affected our commitment to continue to improve the electoral process.

“The spate of arson and vandalisation targeting the Commission’s facilities and property has become profoundly worrisome

“Unfortunately, this has been on the rise since the 2019 General Election but has now developed into a crisis. In the last three weeks or so, three of our LGA offices in Essien Udim in Akwa Ibom State, Ohafia in Abia State & Udenu in Enugu State have been set ablaze by unidentified persons.

“Last Sunday, 16th May 2021, our State office in Enugu suffered yet another arson and vandalisation in which parts of the building were ransacked and several vehicles razed. And more of our facilities are being systematically targeted and attacked.

“Just last night, Tuesday 18th May 2021, two more offices in Ebonyi and Ezza North Local Government Areas of Ebonyi State were burnt down.

“Although there were no casualties, the damage to the physical infrastructure and electoral materials was total. Nothing has been salvaged from ballot boxes and voting cubicles to generating sets and office furniture and equipment.

“The facilities of the Commission are there to serve the local communities for the most fundamental aspect of democratic governance, which is elections.

Therefore, targeting such important national assets and repositories of electoral materials that took time and enormous resources to procure cannot be justified.

“Replacing these facilities in the prevailing economic circumstances will indeed be a tall order, thereby adversely affecting electoral services in the same communities.

“These facilities are not only limited to voting but also used for other critical electoral activities such as voter registration, the coordination of stakeholder engagements and voter education and sensitisation.

“The Commission will certainly work with the security agencies to deal with the perpetrators of these heinous crimes according to the law. To this end, a meeting with all the security agencies is holding on Monday 24th May 2021.

“However, it has become imperative to call on all and sundry, particularly communities where these assets are located, to see themselves as owners and custodians of these facilities and assist the Commission in protecting them,” the statement added.

The NATION.

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Sports Minister Signs Three Groundbreaking MoUs in Quest to Bolster Sports Development and Funding

Published

6 days ago

April 20, 2024

The Gleamer

..Says the Renewed Hope Agenda offers best opportunity for sports development

Joel Ajayi

Driven by his undiluted resolve to boost sports development in line with the Renewed Hope mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Honourable Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh signed three Memoranda of Understanding, on Friday in Lagos.

Senator Enoh announced that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed with GTI Asset Management and Trust Limited to relaunch the Challenge Cup as the President Federation Cup in collaboration with the NFF to reignite interest amongst fans and elevate it to global standards. The renamed competition will involve grassroots teams, create employment for approximately 500,000 Nigerians, engage over 100,000,000 football enthusiasts, and showcase our country’s greatness globally. The President Federation Cup will become President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s legacy championing Nigerian football.

The Minister stated thus “our groundbreaking agreements with key private sector players like GTI are indications of our resolve to revolutionize sports in Nigeria, leveraging innovation, technology, and human expertise.” He thanked Mrs Tinuke Watti, the Permanent Secretary of the Sports Ministry, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, President of the NFF, and Mr Abubakar Lawal and all members of the GTI team for their invaluable contributions.

For the second deal, the Federal Ministry of Sports signed a landmark agreement with top lottery company Yanga Games to raise the revenue profile of the Ministry and ensure a new deal for the welfare of athletes. The Sports Minister stated that “we are partnering with YangaGames to bring maximum benefits to the athletes and all critical stakeholders.We shall give institutional encouragement and support to the Management of Yanga Games to succeed in this onerous task of rebuilding our sports sub sector.”

Chairman/CEO of Yanga Games Mr Derrick David Kentebe said” We are so super excited by this opportunity to work with the Ministry of Sports Development to change the narrative about Sports in the country. We see opportunities for marketing our athletes and sports generally.” He also added that “we shall raise about 34 Billion in the next four years to assist athletes and improve sports in the country. We shall help to develop grassroot sports and sustain youth involvement through raffle draws, fundraisers and other avenues.” Senator Enoh said that he strongly believes President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda offers the best opportunity to promote systemic development in Nigerian sports and the collaboration aims to make sports more attractive to private investors so that it can receive meaningful investments from the private sector.

For the third agreement, the Federal Ministry of Sports Development joined forces with EFFA Management for specific purposes that will enhance various aspects of the sports ministry’s strategic six-point policy framework. When Senator Enoh took office, the Ministry developed a six-point agenda named W.A.I.F.A.R. This agenda includes the welfare of our athletes, activation of sports as an industry, infrastructure development, funding for sports development, activation of grassroots sports, and the reorganization of sports federations to ensure effective delivery. Senator Enoh said that the sports sector is currently experiencing a surge in efforts to improve its performance and the Ministry is fully prepared to establish partnerships that will facilitate this much-needed transformation.

With these three groundbreaking agreements, Nigerian sports is at the cusp of phenomenal development that will further propel athletes and federations towards greater success. Senator Enoh thanked all parties for keying into the vision of the Ministry and stated that the Ministry will continually pursue causes that will lead to strategic positioning for greater development.

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