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Nigerians Must Reject Electoral Act Without Electronic Transmission Of Votes – NCFront

Electoral Act

As the National Assembly prepares to debate on the new electoral act, the chairpersons of the  National Consultative Front (NCFront), former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Ghali Umar Na’Abba and former SDMP presidential candidate, Professor Pat Utomi, have called on Nigerians to reject the bill as it has been fashioned to perpetrate electoral fraud in the 2023 general elections.

They are of the opinion that any electoral bill without the provision for electronic transmission of votes will play into the whims and caprices of the powers that be and further propagate their ploy to steal the ballots through the imposition of an unpopular Electoral Act ahead of the 2023 elections’.

According to the Leaders of Conscience, if this electoral act is allowed to be passed into law, it will expose Nigeria’s already fragile democracy and plunge the country into another fours years, maybe, eight years of imposed leadership by the cabal. They are therefore calling on Nigerians to stand up and reject the bill and any electoral act that does not support the transmission of election results electronically.

To step up the rallying call, the NCFront is undertaking a massive sensitization while also consulting with national stakeholders in the country to thwart this ploy by the ruling class to enslave Nigeria further by super-imposing an unpopular candidate in the citizen through the passing of this toxic electoral act into law.

Read Also: 2023: INEC Launches An Online Portal To Aid Voters Registration

In a statement which they put out, the NCFront has asked the National Assembly to make the proposed electoral act public and allow Nigerians access to the bill before passing it to law. The statement read in part:

“NCFront is compelled to address the Nation again on the new plot of the ruling powers in Nigeria to entrench the rigging of Nigeria’s Democratic System through the imposition of an unpopular electoral act ahead of the 2023 elections.

“As a concerned Pan Nigerian Platform, the NCFront has decided to undertake broad mobilization and consultations with national stakeholders and leaders of thought, as it has become incumbent on the Front, as the emergent political third force in the country, to provide the required leadership for the exploited masses of Nigeria appropriately in preventing the electoral sham to be passed for the conduct of the 2023 elections.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the said document to be passed as the new electoral law of the country does not embrace key concerns and yearnings of Nigerians, which includes, electronic accreditation using the card reader, electronic counting of votes, electronic transmission of results, electronic collation of results.

“These are provisions that Nigerians believe will help overcome and reduce electoral malpractices drastically, while also taking care of electoral violence and intimidation during elections, to the extent of enhancing the credibility and integrity of our electoral system, while boosting public confidence in our elections.

“The proposed document to be passed into law by the ruling political powers is regarded by the majority of Nigeria’s political stakeholders as heavily riddled with half measures and loopholes at a time when political office holders nomadically move from one political party to another and still maintain their seats.

“This new imposition is totally unacceptable to us as it is targeted at rigging the 2023 elections and to put Nigerian Democracy in danger. Therefore, we wish to call on all well-meaning Nigerians to come out en mass to challenge this unacceptable electoral act to be imposed by the national assembly.

“We wish to state that we are vehemently opposed to this proposed document and therefore will rather implore the national assembly to make public before passing it into law the documents that it intended to pass into law so that every Nigerian or at least majority of Nigerians will agree to that document that says it represents the interests of the Nigerian.

“We demand a popular document that can give Nigeria credible, free and fair elections in 2023 and to produce credible and competent leadership as anything short of that will further put the country in danger. Already political tension is very high as the country lacks credible leadership and good governance and although INEC has improved in the last two elections in Edo and Ondo this must be sustained to grow our democratic stability.

“Finally, we wish to appeal to all Nigerians to remain calm and prayerful in the interest of the peace, harmony, and stability of our dear Country as the ongoing consultations among leaders of conscience across the six geo-political zones are expected to yield a formidable intervention.”

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Donald Trump Wins US Presidential Elections, defeats Kamala Harris

Donald Trump has won the US presidential election after securing the over 270 Electoral College (EC) votes required to emerge victorious.

As of this report, Trump has secured 279 EC votes, while his main challenger, incumbent Vice President Kamala Harris, has secured 223 votes.

Mr Trump is also ahead in the popular vote count, securing over 71 million votes to Mrs Harris’s over 66 million.

This election is the first since 2004 in which a Republican presidential candidate will secure more popular votes than a Democratic Party candidate, indicating Mr Trump’s solid performance and Mrs Harris’s sub-par performance.

“America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate,” Mr Trump told a jubilant crowd in Florida Wednesday morning.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Mr Trump had already won in four of the seven crucial Swing states – North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – and was ahead in the remaining three – Michigan, Nevada, and Arizona – BBC reports.

Apart from winning the presidential election, the Republican Party also took control of the US Senate for the first time in four years and maintained its hold of the House.

Several world leaders, including Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, have congratulated Mr Trump on his victory.

According to President Tinubu, Mr Trump’s victory reflects the trust and confidence the American people have placed in his leadership, the president’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, wrote in a statement.

President Tinubu believes that, given President Trump’s experience as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, his return to the White House as the 47th president will usher in an era of earnest, beneficial, and reciprocal economic and development partnerships between Africa and the United States, he added.

“Together, we can foster economic cooperation, promote peace, and address global challenges that affect our citizens,” the Nigerian leader was quoted as saying.

Many other leaders posted their congratulatory messages on X, the social media platform whose owner, Elon Musk, was one of the main campaigners for Mr Trump.

“Ready to work together as we did for four years. With your convictions and mine, with respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X.

“For a long time, Germany and the U.S. have been working together successfully promoting prosperity and freedom on both sides of the Atlantic,” wrote German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on X. “We will continue to do so for the wellbeing of our citizens.”

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Nigerian Chief Of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja Dies At 56

Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, has died at the
age of 56, according to a state house press statement. Lt. General Lagbaja passed away on Tuesday night in Lagos following an illness, as announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

President Tinubu expressed profound sadness over the loss of a “dedicated servant
of the nation” whose military career spanned over three decades.

Lt. General Lagbaja, born on February 28, 1968, was appointed Chief of Army Staff on June 19, 2023. His service history includes numerous leadership roles in critical security operations such as Operation ZAKI in Benue, Lafiya Dole in Borno, and Forest Sanity across
Kaduna and Niger States. A distinguished alumnus of the U.S. Army War College with a Master’s in Strategic Studies, Lt. General Lagbaja was recognized for his strategic acumen.

Lt. General Lagbaja is survived by his beloved wife, Mariya, and their two children. President Tinubu expresses his heartfelt condolences to the family and the Nigerian Armed Forces during this difficult time. The president wishes Lt. General Lagbaja eternal peace and honors his significant contributions to the nation.

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EFCC Detains Former Governor Of Delta State Ifeanyi Okowa

okowa sacks Latimore Oghenesivbe

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have detained a former governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, for the alleged diversion of N1.3 trillion of the 13 percent derivation fund from the Federation Account between 2015 and 2023.

A source close to proceedings says that Mr Okowa was detained on Monday, 4 November, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, when he reported at the Port Harcourt Directorate of the EFCC on the invitation of investigators handling his matter.

The former governor allegedly failed to account for the funds and another N40 billion he allegedly claimed to have used to acquire shares in the UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas.

Mr Okowa allegedly bought N40 billion worth of shares in one of the major banks in Nigeria, representing eight percent equity, to float the offshore LNG.

The funds were allegedly used for other purposes. The anti-graft agency is also investigating the former governor’s alleged diversion of funds to acquire estates in the nation’s capital, Abuja, and Asaba in Delta State.

He is being held at the EFCC holding facility in Port Harcourt.When contacted on Monday evening, the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, confirmed Mr Okowa’s detention but declined to give details.

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