Religion a huge issue in upcoming polls

Lagos – Ethnicity, regionalism and religion are going to be very prominent factors in the upcoming elections, Academic Abubakar Kari of the University of Abuja has said.

Speaking in a video posted on YouTube, Kari said religion and ethnicity would be on the minds of voters when they go to cast their ballot.
The country is set to vote in a crucial election on 14 February.

The elections are expected to be the most closely contested since the end of military rule in 1999.
Kari said it was clear that the two leading candidates, President Goodluck Jonathan and his rival Muhammadu Buhari, were going to perform "very well" in their immediate homelands.

The reason for this, according to political analyst Chris Ngwodo could be explained in a psychological and material sense.

"What we have is a situation where identity is the access key to social and economic opportunities. So it matters in a psychological and material sense when someone looks to the presidency and sees someone of his faith or someone of his ethnicity there," said Ngwodo.

The elections come at a time when it is widely feared that Boko Haram insurgents will disrupt the voting process, as the Islamist group continues with its assaults in the north east.

INEC distributes millions of PVC's in Niger

Minna - The Independent National Electoral Commission in Niger on Tuesday said it had distributed more than 1.4 million out of the 2.1 million Permanent Voters Cards (PVC) meant for registered voters in the state.

INEC’s spokesman in the state, Alhaji Mohammad Wase, made this known in Minna.

Wase said that 34, 000 PVCs were distributed to the electorate in Suleja on Monday, adding that 24, 000 more would be distributed to complete the needed number of cards for registered voters in the area.

He said that the commission would ensure that the remaining 700, 000 PVC's for the state was shared before the end of the exercise next week.

''We are having large turnout from people and our staff are ready and fully mobilized to attend to people at all times. We shall continue with the distribution until the last day of the exercise,'' he said.

NAN reports that the state government has declared Thursday and Friday work-free days to allow registered voters, especially workers, who had not collected their PVCs to do so.

- NAN

Buhari rejects riding in bullet-proof jeeps

Bauchi - The presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari reportedly rejected riding in any of the two Bullet-Proof Jeeps given to him by the Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda during his campaign rally in the state on Saturday, reports NewsDay.

The incident occurred at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport, Bauchi, when Buhari presidential campaign team visited the state.

The two bullet-proof vehicles were stationed at the airport, waiting for Buhari’s arrival from Ilorin, Kwara State.

When Buhari finally arrived at the airport and was told of the availability of the jeeps for his use , he turned down the request and refused to ride in any of the jeeps.

He rode in an armoured Coaster bus provided by the APC presidentialcampaign office.

Read more at NewsDay.

Patience Jonathan denies looting NDDC

2015-02-03 13:36
Abuja - Wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, on Monday denied media reportthat she was paid N3bn by the Niger Delta Development Commission to facilitate the agency’s 2015 budget, Daily Post reports.

The report had claimed that apart from the sum, Patience Jonathan collaborated with a former Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, in a number of schemes that enabled them to loot the resources of the NDDC.

But the President’s wife, in a statement by her media assistant, Ayo Adewuyi, described the report as a hoax.

Adewuyi claimed that the report was intended to portray his principal as an overbearing and intrusive woman contrary to her well known passion for peace and advancement of the cause of women and children in Nigeria.

Read more at Daily Post

Assailants cut off woman's private parts

2015-02-03 13:36
Lagos - Unidentified assailants strangled a woman to death and cut off her private parts in the Mile 12 area of Ketu area of Lagos State, Punch reports.

The corpse of the woman was laid in front of a shop and was covered with clothes according to residents living in the area.

It was discovered that the corpse had no bullet wound, or stab injury on the body, except that she was dead and her body part cut off.

The corpse was said to be decomposing as the incident happened on Saturday which made residents appeal to the appropriate government agency to carry the corpse away.

Read more at Punch

Jonathan mourns Okoya-Thomas

2015-02-03 14:43
Abuja - President Goodluck Jonathan has joined a host of Nigerians to mourn one of Nigeria’s leading entrepreneurs, philanthropists and sports enthusiast, Molade Okoya-Thomas, Channelstv reports.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the President extended condolences to members of Okoya-Thomas’ family as well as his friends, associates, business partners within and outside Nigeria, and the people of Lagos where he held the traditional title of Asoju-Oba.

Okoya-Thomas was said to have died on Sunday night at the upscale Reddington Hospital in Victoria Island, Lagos.

As news of his death spread, many sympathisers thronged his residence in Victoria Island to condole with his family.

Read more at Channelstv

UN condemns continued attacks by Boko Haram

2015-02-03 14:43
New York - UN Security Council has condemned the continued escalation of attacks perpetrated by Boko Haram terrorists, including the Sunday attack in Maiduguri, Nigeria.

The 15-Member body, in a statement issued on Tuesday in New York, also condemned the increasing attacks in the Lake Chad Basin region, against the Chadian army deployed to fight Boko Haram.

The members were quoted in the statement as extending their condolences to the families of the victims and their sympathy to the injured in those heinous attacks, as well as to Governments of Nigeria and Chad.

Recalling Presidential statement s/PRST/2015/4 of January 19, the Council members reiterated their deep concern that the activities of Boko Haram are undermining the peace and stability of the West and Central African region.

Members of the Security Council urged the region to enhance regional military operations and coordination to more effectively and immediately combat Boko Haram.

In this regard, Council members commended the Chadian army's swift assistance in the fight against Boko Haram in Cameroon, during which 123 Boko Haram combatants were neutralised and others captured.

They reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including the actions of Boko Haram constitute one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.

"Any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whosoever committed,’’ the statement noted.

The members of the Security Council reiterated their determination to combat all forms of terrorism, in accordance with its responsibilities under the Charter of the UN.

They underlined the need to bring perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of acts of terrorism to justice.
They also urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate with the relevant authorities in this regard.

The Council members reminded States to ensure that measures taken to combat terrorism comply with all their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law.

- NAN