Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmoud Yakubu, has revealed that ad-hoc staff recruited for the conduct of the 2023 general elections will have to swear an oath of neutrality before they will partake in the job.
Yakubu, who made this known on Saturday while inspecting ongoing training for Supervisory Presiding Officers in Abuja, said the Commission’s focus on conducting one of the best elections in Nigerian history, is desirous of ensuring the integrity of polling officers which will have a significant impact on election outcomes, whether positive or negative.
He insisted that to achieve the aims set out by President Muhammadu Buhari in the upcoming elections, INEC must ensure that its ad-hoc staff owe no allegiance to any political party or candidate, but rather to the citizens, and must thus remain neutral.
“You are going to supervise the Presiding Officers who are actually going to conduct the elections in all the polling units for Nigeria,” he said, while addressing the trainees.
“It is important to bear in mind your commitment to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and what counts most is your integrity as Presiding Supervisory Officers.
“You have been carefully selected by the commission to perform a very important responsibility for the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“You are doing this for Nigeria and you are going to swear to an oath of neutrality. Your loyalty is to Nigeria, your allegiance is to the people of Nigeria and not anybody,” he added
The House of Representatives Ad hoc committee on the Naira redesign and currency swap policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has summoned the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to a meeting on Thursday.
The committee headed by the House Majority Leader, Ado Doguwa, also invited the National Security Adviser Babangana Monguno, as part of its investigations into the scarcity of naira votes and the country’s preparations for this month’s elections.
The invitation came a few hours after the Supreme Court stopped the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from implementing the February 10 deadline for the use of old naira notes in the country.
Nigerians have continued to keep vigil at banks and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) posts as the scarcity of the naira notes hits many homes across the country.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced an investigation into the circumstances that led to the endorsement of a post that criticised the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on its Twitter handle.
An unknown person on INEC’s official Twitter account – @inecnigeria, had clicked “like” on a post in which Seun Kuti, the son of late afrobeat maestro, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, criticised the LP candidate.
Kuti had in an interview with an online platform, Mic On Podcast hosted by Channels Television’s Seun Okinbaloye described the former Anambra State governor as an opportunist that can’t deliver Nigeria.
The commission had come under fire following the incident with many accusing it of partisanship.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, INEC reassured Nigerians of its neutrality in the election and promised to deal with anyone behind the act.
The statement read: “The attention of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been drawn to a post on its Twitter handle, liking a post relating to one of the 18 presidential candidates.
“The Commission is an independent electoral body and does not have a preference for any candidate or political party. The Commission assures all Nigerians of its neutrality and will conduct a general election that is free and fair to all. The allegiance of the Commission is to the people of Nigeria.
“In the meantime, the Commission is investigating the circumstances that led to the liking of the said post and will take appropriate disciplinary actions if an infraction is established.”
A human rights group, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Intersociety, has demanded the removal of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, in charge of Lagos State, Olusegun Agbaje.
The group made the demand in a letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood.
Intersociety anchored its stand on claims that the REC was taking actions capable of inciting genocide and ethnic cleansing targeting Ndigbo in Lagos.
The letter was signed by Emeka Umeagbalasi, Board Chair, Intersociety, Chinwe Umeche, Head, Democracy and Good Governance Program, Obianuju Joy Igboeli, Head, Civil Liberties and Rule of Law and Chidinma Udegbunam, Head, Campaign and Publicity Department.
This came in reaction to the statement made by the REC while featuring on Channels television’s programme.
Intersociety said it was strongly calling for the immediate removal of the REC based on “live and verifiable video clips which saturated the social media spaces showing systematic and orchestrated plots by the REC to deprive the Nigerian citizens of South-East resident in Lagos their PVCs and rights to participate and vote in the Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll.”
It said, “apart from genocidally referring to them as ‘South-East migrants’, the REC did not hide his hatred of the South-East residents in Lagos by denying them PVCs under frivolous circumstances.
“As if these were not enough, the REC ended up vicariously, if not directly, inciting native residents preparatory to unleashing ‘Election Day and Post-Election Day’ ethnic cleansing against the South-East residents in the State.
“He also hatefully lied unpardonably by describing the decades-old South-East residents in Lagos as ‘those that migrated and settled in Lagos to escape insecurity in the South-East’.”
The group further claims that “not long ago, batches of carefully sorted out PVCs with ethno-religious marks bearing Igbo and other Eastern names were carted away from INEC custody and scattered and dumped in large numbers inside gutters and streets along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
“In 2015 and 2019, organized group violence was unleashed on Igbo citizens’ resident in Lagos by loyalists of the leading political actors in Lagos for conscientiously voting for candidates of their choice.
“In the 2019 Presidential Poll, Igbo properties including homes and market stores as well as polling units in their areas were targeted, attacked and wantonly destroyed, including being razed or set ablaze; and as if these were not enough, millions of South-East voters were denied PVCs by INEC under the Lagos REC in the just conducted PVC distribution in the State.
Totality of these is, therefore, tantamount to ethnic profiling with intent to instigate incitement, genocide and ethnic cleansing against the South-East residents in Lagos State. “Intersociety hereby makes bold to say that the Lagos REC is unfit to continue as Lagos REC and must be redeployed as a matter of uttermost immediacy.
“INEC must also thoroughly investigate REC Olusegun Agbaje including looking into massive denial of PVCs to South-Easterners in Lagos State, including Igbo residents in Oshodi-Isolo, Mafoluku-Oke Afa, Ijora Badia, Amukoko, Alaba, Surulere, Orile, Itire, Ijesha, Cele, Okota, Ajegunle, Olodi Apapa, Coconut, Ojokoro-Ijaiye, Agbara, Ojo, Okoko, Satellite Town, FESTAC, Mushin, Ojuelegba, etc.”
— Sign Up For 𝕹𝖔𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝕸𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖆 —
Global Coverage Newsletter
Global Economy, Politics, Business, Education, Multiculturalism, Geopolitical Rise — we bring you the stories that matter.
Meanwhile, Intersociety has cried out that there was a massive poll rigging plan ahead of the presidential poll through disenfranchisement of citizens of voting age on the grounds of their ethnic identity, religion, place of work, gender and class.
It claimed that there were also estimated four million fake names compiled from booklets of passport photographs, posters of dead persons and fake names and images from outside the country presently stored in the National Register of Voters.
“What concrete measures are being put in place by INEC to ensure that the deployment of IReV, BVAS and PVC accreditation/voting technologies, processes and procedures are done across board in the 36 States and the FCT on Feb 25, 2023 Presidential Poll without discriminatory recourse to dual policies of sticking to or insisting on IReV, BVAS and PVC accreditation/voting technologies, processes and procedures in the South and substantially collapsing same and allowing manual voting in the North, especially in the States of Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara in North-West; Borno, Bauchi, Yobe and Adamawa in North-East; and Niger State in North-Central,” it queried.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) claimed on February 1 that some politicians in the country are plotting to manipulate the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of next month’s elections.
The INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, stated this when he featured on Channels Television’s programme, Sunrise Daily.
He said: “There are some politicians who want us to open the brain of the BVAS [machine] so they can see inside the BVAS [machine], to see how it functions and for them to also see whether there’s a possibility for them to clone it or manipulate it and the commission will not do that.”
A group of aggrieved voters in Borno vowed to drag the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to court to force the organization to release their Permanent Voter’s Cards, PVC.
The group which briefed the media in Maiduguri through its spokesperson Ishiaku Yakubu said that all attempts to get their PVCs from INEC office less than three weeks before the elections have been fruitless.
Speaking about their ordeals with INEC in Maiduguri, Yakubu said: “The persons you see here this afternoon and a host of others have not been able to collect their Permanent Voters Cards having duly registered and found our names in the INEC official Electronic Voter Register.”
He continued: “Some may wonder why we waited till now to raise this concern, we appreciate the obvious effort of INEC and have given them all the trust in hope that we would get our PVCs before the deadline, but sadly, today is the official deadline for collection of PVCs with no announcement regarding any extension, but INEC in Borno state is still telling people to go and come back.”
He insisted: “We have people in their thousands (including myself) who have been going to the INEC offices for the collection of their PVCs, registered under the most difficult situations and inconvenience but are yet to get it.
“INEC has previously announced to the media that all PVCs are ready for collection and lament how Nigerians are not coming out, meanwhile we queued up at their offices and ward levels to get PVCs only to be told “your PVC is not ready, come back in 3 days, come back in one week” and stories like that.
“We have reasons to believe that there is a sinister plan to disfranchise thousands of people as there appears to be no reason for holding up the PVCs. All of us here and many others who registered, [including transfer of request for replacement of lost/damaged cards] particularly last year between May and July, have not been given their PVCs. Today is the final deadline according to INEC and people are being asked to go and come back.”
The group demanded that INEC make a public declaration that all PVCs duly registered which they claim have not been printed will be given to their owners.
“This should not end at just a promise; those cards should be printed and distributed as appropriate,” Yakubu insisted.
The group also demanded that the deadline “should not affect those who for no fault of theirs have not been able to get their cards.”
— Sign Up For 𝕹𝖔𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝕸𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖆 —
Global Coverage Newsletter
Global Economy, Politics, Business, Education, Multiculturalism, Geopolitical Rise — we bring you the stories that matter.
Responding to the challenge, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Mohammed Ibrahim said: “Most of them without PVC may have registered more than once. That is why they did not get them.”
He however revealed that there was a window reserved for them to get their cards which can happen only when they write to his office for redress.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, Kwara State, on Saturday conducted a mock accreditation of eligible voters for the 2023 general elections in the state, using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, in preparation for the elections in six selected local government areas of the state.
A statement by the Public Affairs Officer INEC, Kwara State, Abdulkadir Bolaji Ibrahim, said the exercise took place in selected polling units in the state’s three senatorial districts.
According to the statement, the exercise occurred in Irepodun local government headquarters in Omu Aran local, Ayetoro Ijomu Oro, Market Centre Eruku, and Magistrate Court Osi, in Kwara South Senatorial District of the state.
In Kwara Central, the venue included Adigbongbo LGEA School, AFON Area Court, Adeta LGEA School and Ode Bayero in Baboko.
In Kwara North, the exercise took place at a viewing centre in Bode Saadu, Oloru LGEA School Oloru, Patigi Central school and Ebu LGEA school Kpada.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) did not fail during the last Osun State governorship election.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this in an interview with reporters while monitoring the BVAS mock accreditation exercise in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Saturday.
𝕹𝖔𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕽𝖊𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖘 𝕸𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖆 reports that the Osun State Governorship Election Tribunal had sacked Governor Ademola Adeleke for over-voting at over 700 polling units in the 16 July 2022 governorship election in the state.
Speaking on the matter for the first time, Yakubu who clarified that the BVAS machine was not on trial as being insinuated in some quarters, however said the commission had learnt some lessons from the judgement.
According to him, though it is improper to comment on the matter as it is still in court, the commission would use the lessons learnt from the Osun judgement to improve the process for the general elections.
“The BVAS never failed anywhere and as you have seen here, the machine actually never failed. I wouldn’t like to comment on a matter in court as it is subjudice but in every situation, the commission learns and carries the experience from what has happened to improving the processes for the next election. We have learnt some lessons from what happened and one of the lessons is to be able to transmit the accreditation data.
“During this mock exercise, we have assembled result sheets that will transmit the accreditation data but there is no results sheets here because people have not voted. So on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal, we have created a new URL for those of you that are on the IReV portal. And if you go home after 2.30pm, you will see the result of the mock transmitted from the 437 polling units (PUs) nationwide, including the details of accreditation and we are going to transmit both the results on election day and the accreditation figures so that the two will rhyme,” Yakubu said.
He said the commission has given Nigerians assurance that on election day, both the accredited data and the actual votes cast will be transmitted simultaneously and accurately.
On the mock accreditation, Yakubu described the process as seamless, saying the commission decided to conduct the exercise to further test the integrity of the machines that would be deployed on election day.
The polling units visited by the INEC chairman were PU018, Post office, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Area 10, and PU03, Near Chief Palace, Bwari Council Area.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Saturday, staged mock biometric accreditation for voters ahead of this month’s presidential and parliamentary elections.
Nigerians go to the polls on February 25 to elect a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari who steps down after the maximum constitutionally-permissible two terms in office.
State governors and lawmakers will be elected two weeks later.
On Saturday, INEC held a mock voter accreditation process in selected polling stations nationwide to test the system’s operation.
In Lagos, the commercial capital and Nigeria’s largest city, the exercise was staged in a handful of polling stations.
Excited voters presented their poll cards and had their biometrics taken by INEC officials who said they hoped the test would improve preparations for the general elections.
A former Lagos governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of the ruling All Progressives Congress, ex-vice president Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party and ex-governor of southeastern Anambra State Peter Obi of Labour Party are the frontrunners.
A civil society group, the Enugu Good Governance Group, E-3G, has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to sanction the Enugu State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), its governorship candidate, Chief Uche Nnaji, and the State Chairman, Chief Ugochukwu Agballah.
The group hinged its petition on the claim that the party is deceiving Enugu people with ‘a fake deputy governorship candidate’.
It said the final amended list of candidates for the 2023 governorship election published by INEC on its website on 30th January 2023 had further confirmed that the Enugu APC was parading a fake deputy governorship candidate in George Ogara.
The group said the reason for parading Ogara, who hails from Enugu North zone as the deputy governorship candidate, was to hide the fact that the real governorship candidate of the APC, Chief Robert Ngwu, and the governorship candidate, Uche Nnaji, hail from Enugu East senatorial zone.
In a statement issued on Thursday by its National Coordinator, Comrade Odinaka Okechukwu, the group said it petitioned the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, to stop what it called “fraudulent governorship campaigns by the Enugu State chapter of the APC”.
“The INEC published the final list of candidates for Governorship and State House of Assembly elections on 4th October, 2022, which had the name of Uche Nnaji, serial number 277, as the governorship candidate of the APC in Enugu, and Robert Ngwu, serial number 778, as the deputy governorship candidate.
“On 30th January 2023, INEC published the ‘Amended List of Final Candidates Pursuant to Court Orders, Death, and Corrections of Errors Made by Political Parties’ in line with Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution.
“We observed that the changes did not affect any political party in Enugu, hence Robert Ngwu remains the deputy governorship candidate of the Enugu APC.
“We, therefore, wonder why the Enugu APC has continued to deceive the electorate by parading a fake deputy governorship candidate in the person of George Ogara.
“We hold that it is fraudulent, ignoble, anti-democratic, and must be immediately sanctioned by the INEC”, the group stated.
Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State said yesterday that some elements in the Presidency were working assiduously to ensure the failure of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in ths month’s presidential elections.
He also said the same forces were responsible for the current crisis created by the petrol subsidy, which is making the country waste over N6 trillion annually.
But the Federal Government in a swift reaction yesterday, said it is not aware of any element working against the ruling party, insisting that President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to ensuring that the forthcoming elections are free, fair and credible and wil not favour any presidential candidate.
But speaking in an interview on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, Governor el-Rufai said most of those working against APC’s chances in the presidential election are not even members of the party.
He said they are embittered because their preferred candidate didn’t win the party’s presidential ticket.
The governor said: “Nigerians should stick with the APC because they should see what we have been able to achieve in the last eight years in very difficult circumstances.
’We were sabotaged on subsidy’
“This fuel subsidy requires a national conversation. It is not a partisan thing, it has been going on for years, we tried to solve it under the Buhari administration but we were sabotaged and we are where we are.
“To be honest, we have had the conversation at the level of the National Economic Council, NEC, chaired by the vice president and we all agreed it should go, it was Buhari himself that took the decision that this subsidy will hurt the poor and he won’t do it.
“That is why our presidential candidate in the same party is saying he will remove it. It is not a party position but the personal position of the president.
“For the past three to four years, I have stopped trying to understand how the Federal Government works. I just focus on trying to make my state work because that is my primary responsibility.
‘We didn’t promise subsidy, Naira re-design’
“There are some things we sit and agreed with the president to get done and it doesn’t get done. And those that refused to get it done don’t get punished.
“If you were at our party, we didn’t promise that we were going to keep fuel subsidy or redesign the currency. It isn’t in our manifesto. You need to separate the personal decisions of some people in the villa from the manifesto of the party. It is important to understand that.
“Most of the people in the villa are not members of our party. I believe there are elements in the villa that want us to lose the election because they didn’t have their way.
“They had their candidates, and their candidates didn’t win the primaries and I think they are still trying to get us to lose the election and they are hiding behind the president’s desire to do what he thinks is right.”
Speaking further on fuel subsidy, Governor el-Rufai said: “The problem is not the APC government but the people of Nigeria who are not willing to face the truth. People are paying N300 to N500 per litre in parts of the country and they have to queue for hours to get fuel because of this unsustainable and broken down subsidy regime that we have chosen to maintain for the past 50 years. It has not worked.
“It is not an APC problem, it is a Nigeria problem because today, if President Buhari said remove subsidy, the NLC will be out on the streets protesting. We have had that anytime the price slightly increases.
‘Next govt must remove subsidy, or else…’
“It is a national conversation. The presidential candidates, including Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and Bola Tinubu have said they will remove fuel subsidy. They have to, unless the country will go bankrupt. The next government must remove it, otherwise the country will collapse.
“This fuel subsidy requires a national conversation. It is not a partisan thing, it has been going on for years, we tried to solve it under the Buhari administration but we were sabotaged and we are where we are.
“To be honest, we have had the conversation at the level of the National Economic Council chaired by the vice president and we all agreed it should go. It was Buhari himself that took the decision that this subsidy will hurt the poor and he won’t do it.
“That is why our presidential candidate in the same party is saying he will remove it. It is not a party position but the personal position of the president.
“If you were at our party, we didn’t promise that we were going to keep the fuel subsidy or redesign the currency. It isn’t in our manifesto. You need to separate the personal decisions of some people in the villa from the manifesto of the party. It is important to understand that.
‘’These elements are hiding behind the President’s desire to do what he thinks is right. I will give two examples: this petroleum subsidy, which is costing the country trillions of naira, was something that we all agreed would be removed.
“In fact, I had a discussion with the President and showed him why it had to go, because how can you have a capital budget of N200 billion for federal roads and then spend N2 trillion on petroleum subsidy?
“This was a conversation I had with the President in 2021 when the subsidy thing started rising. He was convinced. We left. It changed. Everyone in the government agreed, and it changed.
‘Don’t blame CBN gov on Naira re-design’
“The second example I will give is this currency redesign. You have to understand the President. People are blaming the governor of the Central Bank for the currency redesign, but No.
‘’You have to go back and look at the first outing of Buhari as military head of state. He did this; the Buhari-Idiagbon regime changed our currency and did it in secrecy, with a view to catching those that are stashing away illicit funds.
“It is a very good intention. The President has his right but doing it at this time within the allotted time does not make any political or economic sense.”
Denies knowledge of presidency official working against APC
Replying the Kaduna governor yesterday, the Federal Government denied knowledge of Presidency officials working against the APC in the forthcoming presidential election, insisting that President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to ensuring that the forthcoming elections in the country are free, fair and credible and will not favour any presidential candidate.
The government also dismissed Transparency International’s, TI, report that placed Nigeria on 150 on the Corruption Perception Index ranking from the previous 154 out of 180 countries.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, while fielding questions from State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting on the claims by Governor el-Rufai, maintained that President Buhari, being the main occupant of the presidential villa, had stressed severally that he wanted his administration to deliver a credible exercise.
The Minister said if there are elements within the seat of power working against the victory of the ruling party, it had not been brought officially to his notice.
He said: “On a more serious note, one thing I can assure you is that no matter what, this administration is focused, determined to ensure free and fair elections.
“But I think with this administration, the most important person is Mr President, and I think he has shown by words and deeds that he is committed to a free, fair and credible election. And fair, free, credible elections actually mean not favouring anybody or disadvantaging anybody.
“Everywhere he goes, he makes that very clear, even as recently as last Friday when he was in Daura (Katsina State), he said the same thing. If there’s anybody working against a candidate, we don’t know officially.”
Also responding to the latest ranking of Nigeria dropping from 154 to 150 out of 180 countries by the Transparency International on Corruption Perception Index ranking, the Information Minister said maybe TI was using a template that was oblivious of the war against corruption in the country.
He said: “We are not fighting corruption because we want to impress Transparency International or any organization whatsoever.
“We’re fighting corruption because we believe if we do not fight corruption, there’ll be no growth, either in terms of the economy or even political. Therefore, what we do and what we’re putting in place to fight corruption is not because we want to be rated by anybody.
“If, for instance, what we’re doing catches the attention of Transparency International and they improve and give us better marks, we’ll go. However, I can assure you that we do not know what template TI is using.
“Whatever template they’re using is clearly oblivious of what this administration is doing, to fight corruption.
“Corruption fighting is not just by how many people have you arrested? How many people have you tried? How many people have you convicted? Of course, even in that respect, we have a very impressive record. Is it the EFCC or is it the ICPC?
“You see, if you look at what we’re doing, even to make corrupt practices, almost impossible or difficult.
‘’I’ll just give you two examples. For instance, this administration, when funds were returned from the Abacha loot and other funds were recovered from the USA, the UK and Europe, what this administration did was that rather than pay these funds into the treasury and face the possibility of it being stolen or relooted, the administration decided that we will put this money into a separate account and ask the National Sovereign Investment Fund to manage these funds, and we used the money for specific projects.
“Some of our legacy projects today actually are being financed from our money that have been stolen, which were returned and which we have kept. To me, this is one example of how to fight corruption, an example of how to ensure that people do not steal what has been recovered again.
“I make bold to say that we have been more proactive in fighting corruption and people are not willing to see what we have put in place in fighting corruption. And that’s why I gave that example of putting money aside and how those funds are being used.
“Again, the courage of this administration even to expose high ranking officials of the administration who have run foul of the law, is evidence of our determination and courage to fight corruption.
“So, we are not really worried or bothered about rating of the TI, because we know that everything we do is to ensure that we fight corruption the best way we know how to do.
“Like I said, if TI is not seeing this, then again, I think they have to change their template. But again, we’re not fighting corruption to impress them.”
Following the continued scarcity of fuel across the country, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday, raised the alarm that the development could hamper election day logistics.
While the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC, Limited assured the electoral commission of an adequate supply of fuel during the election, the three major presidential candidates also expressed hope that the scarcity would be resolved before the polls.
Speaking at a consultative meeting with officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the meeting was to put finishing touches to the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed between the commission and the union on December 20, 2022.
He noted that the issue of logistics had been a perennial problem in election administration in Nigeria.
His words: “The commission shares your concern about the fuel situation in the country and its impact on transportation on election day. The truth is that our arrangements may be negatively affected by the non-availability of products.
“For this reason, the commission will this afternoon (yesterday) meet with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, to look into ways to ameliorate the situation.
“I wish to assure Nigerians that we will continue to engage every national institution for the success of the 2023 general election.
INEC includes MWUN for maritime transportation
“That is why for three electoral cycles now, INEC has collaborated with the road transport unions to address the problem. For the 2023 General Elections, the Commission has included the Marine Workers’ Union of Nigeria, MWUN, for efficient maritime transportation.
“The time has come to stop all excuses and provide effective logistics to ensure hitch-free logistics on Election Day. Nigerians should not wait for the arrival of personnel and materials at the polling units. Rather, we should be there waiting for the arrival of voters. We believe that this is achievable. Recent elections have shown that by working in partnership with the unions and other stakeholders, we can achieve the objective. This is a patriotic duty and we should make the necessary sacrifice in the national interest.
“The commission is aware that this is an enormous task. An election is the largest deployment a nation periodically undertakes and mobilisation of vehicles for election is a large and complex exercise. However, this comes only once in four years.
‘’What is critical here is planning. We have presented to the union the number and specifications of the vehicles required for the election. We have also indicated to you the locations where the vehicles are needed.
“Happily, your members are spread across the country. Therefore, vehicles conveying personnel and materials will not travel long distances. All movements should be within a state and preferably within local government areas.’’
NNPC assures INEC of adequate supply
After a separate meeting with the INEC boss, the NNPCL, on its part, assured INEC of adequate fuel supply, noting that the current scarcity would not affect election day logistics.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, who gave the assurance after the troubleshooting visit by the INEC Chairman, Prof. Yakubu, said: “We know that logistics is a major component of electoral duties.
“NNPC has always supported INEC, not in this direct form, in making sure that fuel is made available to all vehicles that are involved in the electoral process. “Needless to say that there was no formal framework for that, and there were no even formal requests for this. All the same, we are always conscious of the necessity to provide support to INEC whenever elections take place.
“Today’s very different, Mr Chairman, it’s not just an honour to NNPC, it’s also a challenge for us, to come into the equation in making sure that we have a stable political system in our country and we’ll be happy to contribute to this.
“Having said this, we are the largest downstream company in the country today. Six months ago, it was not so but today, we have acquired huge assets since our incorporation into a limited liability company and we have spread across the country.
‘’That is not to say that we are in every city and every town, it is possible that there may be some locations where we may not be present.
“We will work with your logistics team to identify those areas where we may not have a presence so that we can bring in other marketing companies into the conversation so that the products are made available to all the 100,000 vehicles you have indicated.
“There will be no difficulty doing this, Mr Chairman, we have a presence, we are everywhere. But where we are not, we will provide commercial conversation between the commission and other marketing companies so that when you need this product, you will have it.
“Also in addition to this, we are the only company that has floating mega stations in the country. We will also look at this and see how we can make it available for marine operations in the riverine areas of our country.’’
Earlier, Prof. Yakubu noted that the commission is mobilizing about 100,000 vehicles and 4,000 boats for the deployment of personnel and materials to 176,846 polling units spread across 8,809 registration areas (or electoral Wards) in 774 local government areas nationwide.
While he conceded that NNPC had taken steps to ease the current situation in earnest, Yakubu proposed the use of NNPC land and floating mega stations nationwide to service INEC’s election duty vehicles and boats.
His words: “We will bear the cost of the products. By doing so, there will be a guaranteed supply for elections.
“We want a special arrangement with other marketers in locations where the NNPC may not have dedicated stations; and, consider other options to support our seamless operations on election day.”
Things‘ll change before polls —Tinubu’s spokesperson
Reacting to the concerns raised by INEC, the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, expressed optimism that the situation would change for the better before the polls.
Chief Spokesperson of the Council, Mr Festus Keyamo, SAN, in a chat with Vanguard, said he had engaged with the top hierarchy of the NNPCL on the issue and had extracted commitment that the matter would be reversed.
Keyamo, who is the Minister of State, Labour and Employment, said: “I have had personal interactions with the top hierarchy of NNPC and I am confident the situation will ease significantly before election day.”
INEC should double-check transport unions — LP
Also reacting, the Labour Party, LP, yesterday, urged the electoral body to make arrangements to properly fund transporters on election duty.
The party noted that while it identified concerns raised by the election management body over challenges with the supply of petroleum products and how this might affect the elections, its fears laid more with the open allegiance some transport unions had with political parties.
Chief spokesman of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Yunusa Tanko, said: “We will advise INEC to seek more funds and properly fund transporters engaged for Election Duty.
“I’m in Gombe at the moment, the product is available, the only thing is that the cost is exorbitant. A litre of petrol here is between N300 and N320.
“We will advise INEC to make money available to properly fund transporters on election duty.
“Our only worry is that in some of the states, the transport unions are under the direct control of political parties and godfathers who are known.
“INEC must be extra vigilant to ensure that the allegiance to these godfathers does not override national interest.”
It’ll be brought under control — PDP Campaign
On its part, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, expressed confidence that the scarcity of petroleum products would be brought under control before the presidential election.
Atiku, who spoke through his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Mr Phrank Shaibu, hinged his confidence on the commitment given by President Muhamadu Buhari to do everything possible to ensure a free, fair and credible election.
He said: “We believe that with the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari to the conduct of a free, fair and credible election, the fuel scarcity will be brought under control before the elections.
“This is because allowing the fuel crisis to persist will be antithetical to the commitment of Mr President to ensure the conduct of credible polls.”
All is now set for a Federal High Court in Abuja to deliver a landmark judgment on January 30 in a suit seeking the removal of President Muhammadu Buhari from office on account of alleged illegalities in the 2019 presidential election.
The judgment billed to be delivered by Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo will also resolve a request seeking to stop the conduct of the 2023 Presidential election.
A notice for the judgment delivery just sighted by our correspondent at the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja indicated that the verdict would be handed down by 9 am on Monday by Justice Ekwo.
The notice was directly served on the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice as the Chief Law Officer of the Federation for President Buhari.
A Presidential candidate in the 2019 election on the platform of the Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Ambrose Albert Owuru instituted the legal action against Buhari and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Among others, the Presidential candidate wants the court to determine the legality or otherwise of INEC’s decision in 2019 during which it shifted the election from February 16 to March 23, 2019.
He claimed that INEC acted against the constitution in illegal and unlawful ways and manners the presidential poll was shifted and the declaration of Mohammadu Buhari as a winner of the unlawful act should be declared null and void and of no effect.
Owuru, a British-trained constitutional lawyer and called to the Nigerian Bar in 1984, however, asked the Federal High Court to declare him the winner of the poll.
The ground of his claim was predicated on the fact that the petition he lodged against Buhari had not been adjudicated upon by the Supreme Court as required by law.
The politician claimed that his petition at the Supreme Court was unjustly dismissed following his absence from the Apex Court occasioned by discrepancies in the hearing dates conveyed to him.
He, therefore, prayed the court to remove Buhari and declare him (Owuru) the authentic President and that Buhari should be compelled to refund all monies he collected as salaries, emoluments and security votes.
The HDP Presidential candidate also asked the court to order his inauguration for a four-year tenure of office upon removal of Buhari from office and that the Federal High Court should stop INEC from conducting the 2023 presidential election.
Justice Ekwo had on November 4 last year fixed January 30 as the judgment date following the adoption of final addresses by President Buhari, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the plaintiff, Chief Ambrose Albert Owuru
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has announced the extension of the deadline for collection of Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, nationwide.
During its meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, from the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on Friday, the Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, indicated that the Commission will not hesitate to consider additional measures to ensure that all citizens have ample opportunity to collect their PVCs ahead of the general election.
Having reviewed reports from all the states of the Federation, the Commission said it was encouraged by the progress made so far as more Nigerians troop out daily to collect their PVCs.
The Commission, therefore, announced the collection of PVCs in all its local government offices by one week.
“The ongoing collection of PVCs nationwide will therefore continue and end on 5th February 2023,” a statement signed by Festus Okoye National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, said
To celebrate his victory, Adegboyega Oyetola led a jubilation procession with large number of supporters after he was declared winner of the July 16, 2022 governorship election on Friday.
The Osun Governorship Election Tribunal had earlier in the day nullified the election of Ademola Adeleke as governor of Osun.
The tribunal nullified the election on the basis of over-voting and violation of the Electoral Act by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Thousands stormed the street in Iragbiji, Oyetola’s hometown to celebrate the tribunal’s verdict. He also joined them in the process as he drove in a convoy in the road procession.
Four weeks to the general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has resolved to conduct mock accreditation on Saturday, February 4, 2023, in 436 polling units nationwide.
This, according to the electoral body, was to test the functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, before the full deployment on election day.
INEC National Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made this known Friday at a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, held at the national headquarters of the commission in Abuja.
He said the purpose of the meeting was to put the finishing touches to the preparations for the 2023 general election.
Yakubu further revealed that 12 polling units had been designated in each state of the federation and four in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, on the equality of the country’s 109 senatorial districts for the exercise.
Yakubu said: “As you are already aware, the Commission has taken delivery of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines for the election. We have also dutifully tested each machine in our offices nationwide to ensure its functionality.
“The next step is to conduct field tests across the country involving actual voters. For this reason, and in readiness for nationwide deployment, the Commission is conducting a mock accreditation of voters similar to what was done ahead of the recent Ekiti and Osun State Governorship elections.”
He said a comprehensive list of the polling units, including their names and PU Code numbers, as well as their distribution by State, Senatorial District, Local Government and Registration Area (Ward), would be uploaded on the Commission’s website.
The chairman said at the end of the exercise, the 436 BVAS machines involved would be reconfigured before they are deployed for the General Election.
He appealed to registered voters in the affected polling units to appear on the scheduled date with their PVCs for the mock exercise.
Yakubu noted that doing so would help to reassure the public of the robustness of the system and to strengthen our processes ahead of the general election.
He said civil society organisations, the media and the general public are welcome to observe the process
Deeply concerned about the upcoming 2023 election, Nollywood actor, Willams Uchemba has called out officials of the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, over their attitudes towards Nigerians seeking to collect their voters’ cards.
He lamented that the electorates are being subjected to difficulties in their quest to collect their cards at INEC centres across the country.
There have been videos of eligible voters crying out over how they are being treated by some staff of INEC who go as far as collecting money before releasing the cards.
The Abia State-born actor via his Instagram account shared one of the videos of some Nigerians protesting not being able to pick up their Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVCs, from their respective zones.
Uchemba lamented that most registered voters are told by INEC officials that the PVCs are either “not ready or cannot be found” stating that, INEC cannot disenfranchise people and expect a free and fair election.
According to him, he “hopes INEC is ready for what is coming.”
He urged the electoral umpire to do the needful in order to resolve the matter
Deeply concerned about the upcoming 2023 election, Nollywood actor, Willams Uchemba has called out officials of the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, over their attitudes towards Nigerians seeking to collect their voters’ cards.
He lamented that the electorates are being subjected to difficulties in their quest to collect their cards at INEC centres across the country.
There have been videos of eligible voters crying out over how they are being treated by some staff of INEC who go as far as collecting money before releasing the cards.
The Abia State-born actor via his Instagram account shared one of the videos of some Nigerians protesting not being able to pick up their Permanent Voters’ Cards, PVCs, from their respective zones.
Uchemba lamented that most registered voters are told by INEC officials that the PVCs are either “not ready or cannot be found” stating that, INEC cannot disenfranchise people and expect a free and fair election.
According to him, he “hopes INEC is ready for what is coming.”
He urged the electoral umpire to do the needful in order to resolve the matter
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, on Thursday in Abuja insisted that no eligible voter in Nigeria will be allowed to cast vote in the forthcoming general elections without a Permanent Voter Card, PVC, even as he gave an assurance that the Bimodal Voter Registration System, BVAS, is highly secured, intact and cannot be compromised or hacked into by overzealous persons.
Fielding questions from participants after presenting a paper on “INEC and the Challenges of ICT- The Way Forward,” Yakubu insisted that technology will be deployed to actualize a credible, fair and hitch-free general election.
“As with every aspect of our national lives, adopting technologies into the electoral process is always met with challenges.
“One major challenge was the lack of a clear-cut legal framework supporting the deployment of technology by the Commission especially in the accreditation of voters and the voting process.
“The deployment of the Smart Card Readers in 2015 and its use was faced with various challenges such as resistance to use in some isolated instances, snatching and destruction of devices, attempts to manipulate the use of the devices, and most prominently various judicial pronouncements on the legality of its use,” Yakubu said.
Represented by Dr Lawrence Bayode, Director ICT, the INEC chairman said: “Another very disturbing trend is the misinformation and disinformation on technological deployments by the Commission in the social media space and some media houses picking up news bulletins from social media platforms to discuss on their morning shows and political programmes without reaching out to the Commission for its stance on such issues.
“One of such is the recent viral assumption that PVC is not required to vote on Election day.
Let me reiterate the Commission’s stance that, Section 47(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 clearly states that, a person intending to vote in an election shall present himself with his voter’s card to a Presiding Officer for accreditation at the polling unit in the constituency in which his name is registered.”
INEC, he insisted, is legally bound to only accept the accreditation of a voter on presentation of a valid voter’s card.
Emmanuel Owah, Assistant Research Fellow, National Judicial Institute, Abuja, presented a paper on “The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Election Management and Agenda Setting.”
Similarly, there was a paper presentation on “The Role of the Media in Election Reportage” by Adebimpe Elizabeth Olorunfemi, Assistant Research Fellow, National Judicial Institute, Abuja
Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has spoken on the 2023 elections.
The INEC chairman on Thursday in Abuja insisted that no eligible voter in Nigeria will be allowed to cast vote in the forthcoming general elections without a Permanent Voter Card, PVC, even as he gave an assurance that the Bimodal Voter Registration System, BVAS, is highly secured, intact and cannot be compromised or hacked into by overzealous persons.
Fielding questions from participants after presenting a paper on “INEC and the Challenges of ICT- The Way Forward,” Yakubu insisted that technology will be deployed to actualize a credible, fair and hitch-free general election.
“As with every aspect of our national lives, adopting technologies into the electoral process is always met with challenges.
“One major challenge was the lack of a clear-cut legal framework supporting the deployment of technology by the Commission especially in the accreditation of voters and the voting process.
“The deployment of the Smart Card Readers in 2015 and its use was faced with various challenges such as resistance to use in some isolated instances, snatching and destruction of devices, attempts to manipulate the use of the devices, and most prominently various judicial pronouncements on the legality of its use,” Yakubu said.
Represented by Dr Lawrence Bayode, Director ICT, the INEC chairman said: “Another very disturbing trend is the misinformation and disinformation on technological deployments by the Commission in the social media space and some media houses picking up news bulletins from social media platforms to discuss on their morning shows and political programmes without reaching out to the Commission for its stance on such issues.
“One of such is the recent viral assumption that PVC is not required to vote on Election day.
Let me reiterate the Commission’s stance that, Section 47(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 clearly states that, a person intending to vote in an election shall present himself with his voter’s card to a Presiding Officer for accreditation at the polling unit in the constituency in which his name is registered.”
INEC, he insisted, is legally bound to only accept the accreditation of a voter on presentation of a valid voter’s card.
Emmanuel Owah, Assistant Research Fellow, National Judicial Institute, Abuja, presented a paper on “The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Election Management and Agenda Setting.”
Similarly, there was a paper presentation on “The Role of the Media in Election Reportage” by Adebimpe Elizabeth Olorunfemi, Assistant Research Fellow, National Judicial Institute, Abuja
Speaking at the 20th Daily Trust Dialogue in Abuja, Mary Beth Leonard, U.S ambassador to Nigeria said they’ve got no favourite candidate but are only seeking a peaceful and transparent election in Nigeria.
Leonard said;
“The United States supports credible and transparent elections that will reflect the will of the people in a process that will be conducted peacefully. We have confidence in INEC to conduct the elections.
“2023 is an opportunity for Nigeria to claim its place as the democratic leader in Africa. We favour no candidate. We favour open and transparent elections conducted in a peaceful process. This is the foundation of democracy and legitimate transfer of power.
“It’s good that we reflect on the fact that since 1999, Nigerians voters have successfully exercise their democratic rights. For more than two decades, Nigeria has demonstrated to Africa and the world its strong commitment to peaceful and transparent elections.”
The U.S ambassador added that while democracy is being tampered with in many places in Africa, the practice is deepening in Nigeria
The Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan, the Oyo State on Monday reinstated Biyi Otegbeye as the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Ogun State.
The court set aside the judgement of the Federal High Court in Abeokuta, which initially ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to expunge other 23 Ogun ADC Assembly candidates from its list.
The court, in a unanimous judgement delivered by Justice M. A. Adumein held that the lower court has no jurisdiction to adjudicate on the suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the trial court challenging the primaries conducted by the ADC.
The court subsequently set aside the decision and all the orders made by the trial court for want of jurisdiction.
The court awarded the cost of N50,000 in favour of the appellants
A civil rights group has raised alarm over an alleged secret plan by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to disenfranchise and exclude a whopping 76m citizens from participating in February 2023 presidential polls.
The group, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Intersociety, also alleged that INEC is hell-bent on flooding the 2023 Presidential Poll with magic hinterland “votes” from 12 major poll-rigging Northern States.
This was disclosed in a statement jointly signed by the group’s Board Chair and Head, Democracy and Good Governance, Emeka Umeagbalasi and Chinwe Umeche, respectively, on Monday.
The Intersociety said the Electoral Commission is frustrating southerners from getting their PVCs through unavailability of PVCs, accusing INEC staff of extortion.
The group alleged that the number of PVCs distributed per State since Dec 12 2022, out of 29.5m uncollected PVCs remains unknown and undisclosed.
The statement partly read: “As it stands today, no fewer than whopping 76m Nigerians of constitutional voting age, excluding estimated 20m ineligible identities or illegal voters comprising underage age children, illegal migrants, fake names and stolen identities/PVCs, have undemocratically and dangerously been disenfranchised and excluded by the Independent National Electoral Commission from voting and participating in Nigeria’s Feb 25, 2023, crucial Presidential Poll.
”Also, out of the so-called “93.5m registered voters for 2023 general elections only 44m genuine PVC holders exist, out of which 10m have compromised their PVCs and VINs and sold their consciences to the devil.
“INEC has also been found to be unwilling and unable to prioritize the PVC distribution, including the Commission’s monumental failure to give daily and weekly national updates, especially the State by State breakdown of the total number of PVCs distributed so far and the number of pre-2019 and 2022 PVCs remaining; in addition to gender and ethnic and religious components of the newly distributed PVC recipients.
“INEC has further failed woefully to disclose how many of its claimed “newly printed 9.5m PVCs for newly registered 9.5m voters, 4m newly printed PVCs for transferred voters” and “pre- 2019 20m uncollected PVCs for those registered between 2011 and 2018” have been given or issued to their rightful owners. ‘ ‘It was also found that INEC woefully failed in its constitutional and statutory duties by not properly disclosing or publishing the names and locations of the country’s 8,809 electoral wards, which the Commission claimed to have designated as “PVC collection centres”.
”Found, too, are general complaints of PVC collectors being frustrated or forced to back out of the collection exercise following sundry hitches deliberately and discriminatorily created by the Commission, including unavailability of PVCs/INEC staffers and lateness of the concerned INEC staffers to work.
‘Reported, too, are difficulties in locating PVC collection centres and organized group violence or threat of the same targeted at non-native PVC collectors (i.e. non-native areas of Lagos State).
”The INEC PVC collection exercise is further characterized by reports of long queues in the South-East, South-South and major non-native parts of the South-West and FCT, etc, involving nursing mothers, the old and pregnant women queuing under scorching sun and heat for half a day in addition to sundry extortion at collection centres, especially in Anambra, Enugu and Imo States.
”The above disclosures are in addition to “magic hinterland presidential votes” strongly feared to have already been pencilled down by INEC from the North-West States of Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara; the North-East States of Bauchi, Yobe, Borno and Adamawa; and the North-Central State of Niger.
“Disenfranchisement of Nigerian citizens of full blood and those of legitimate naturalization by INEC and their exclusion from voting and participating in national or sub-national and local council polls especially the coming Presidential Poll of Feb 25, 2023, is ‘lubricantly’ inflaming Nigeria or any part thereof and pushing the country into complex uncertainties
The Abia State Government has declared Monday and Tuesday as public holidays to enable residents of the state collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
The Secretary to Abia State Government, Barrister Chris Ezem, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.
“Consequently, all public offices and markets are to be closed as all are enjoined to use this opportunity to visit the INEC offices or collection centres where they registered to collect their PVCs ahead of the 29th January 2023 deadline by INEC for closure of PVC collection,” the statement read.
“The Executives of the various markets in the State are directed to ensure strict compliance on the closure of their various markets or be prepared to face appropriate sanctions.”
According to the SSG, banks and those on essential duties are not affected by the government’s directive
With the 2023 general elections on the horizon, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says there are neither considerations of nor plans for postponement.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this on Tuesday afternoon, while delivering a lecture at Chatham House on the topic ‘Nigeria’s 2023 Elections: Preparations and Priorities for Electoral Integrity and Inclusion’.
“We believe that by forthrightly sharing our experiences and discussing the challenges openly, we can surmount the challenges and ensure that our elections in Nigeria continue to get better.
“May I, on this note, once again reiterate our position that the commission is not contemplating, let alone planning, to postpone the 2023 general election. We are going ahead to conduct the election as scheduled,” he said at the London-based policy institute.
Advertisements
Diaspora Voting Yakubu also disclosed that the electoral body has concluded a policy on diaspora voting.
The Federal Government, in 2017, put the number of Nigerians in the diaspora at 17 million. However, many more citizens have since left for foreign countries in a wave commonly referred to as japa.
Addressing the recurrent issues around legalising diaspora voting, the INEC Chairman expressed hope that the legal obstacles preventing foreign-based Nigerians from voting will be cleared eventually.
“We have actually completed the policy as far as the commission is concerned and we identified two categories of Nigerians living outside the country,” he said.
“We have the OCV (out-of-country voting), mainly by service personnel and other Nigerians engaged in, say, foreign service, and those who are engaged in technical manpower.
“There is assistance organised by the Nigerian government for other countries, particularly in our sub-region. For now, they don’t vote. But the other leg of it is for Nigerians permanently resident outside Nigeria, that is, the diaspora voting.”
![Portable announces new nickname, says he’s no longer an upcoming. [Video]](https://newsworthy3news.files.wordpress.com/2023/02/screenshot_20230209-080939-01-01.jpeg?w=400&h=300&crop=1)
Noble Reporters Media 