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78% Of Nigerians Don’t Trust INEC, Says Report

Published

1 year ago

February 4, 2023

Editor

Only 23 per cent of Nigerians say they trust the Independent National Electoral Commission “somewhat” or “a lot,” while more than three-fourths (78 per cent) express “just a little” or no trust at all in the election-management body, a joint report by NOI Polls, Afrobarometer, and CDD Ghana has shown.

The report titled, “Nigerians want competitive elections but don’t trust the electoral commission,” and published on Dispatch No. 598 of Afrobarometer, also revealed that trust in INEC had declined by 12 per cent since 2017.

The Afrobarometer team in Nigeria, led by NOIPolls, said it interviewed a “nationally representative, random, stratified probability sample” of 1,600 adult Nigerians between 5 and 31 March 2022.

According to the research network, a sample of this size “yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-2.5 percentage points at a 95 per cent confidence level”.

Previous standard surveys were conducted in Nigeria in 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2020 by the organisation.

The PUNCH reports that the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, has continuously promised Nigerians that their votes will count at the 2023 polls, assuring them that the season of rigging is over.

“In addition to reservations about election quality, one red flag for Nigeria’s upcoming elections is citizens’ weak trust in the Independent National Electoral Commission,” a part of the report read.

The report headlined by NOIPolls’ Head of Social Research, Raphael Mbaegbu, and Afrobarometer’s Coordinator for Anglophone West and North Africa also showed that trust in INEC had been “fairly weak throughout the past two decades” and had “declined by 12 percentage points since 2017”.

“Popular trust in the INEC is a central issue, and distrust is a major concern, especially in the southern states. The upcoming election is an opportunity for the electoral management body to regain the trust of the electorate by proving itself independent, credible, and competent,” the report added.
PUNCH

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Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger Finalise Regional Alliance Project

Published

2 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

Junta-run Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have finalised plans to form a confederation after turning their backs on former colonial ruler France to seek closer ties with Russia.

Their foreign ministers met Friday in Niger’s capital Niamey to agree on a text establishing the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

“The objective was to finalise the draft text relating to the institutionalisation and operationalisation of the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)”, said Niger Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangare as he read the final statement late Friday.

He said the text would be adopted by the heads of state of the three countries at a summit, without specifying the date.

“We can consider very clearly, today, that the Confederation of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) has been born,” Malian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Diop said after meeting General Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of Nigerien military regime.

The third foreign minister at the meeting was Burkina Faso’s Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore.

The Sahel region has been subject to deadly jihadist violence for years, which they accused France of not being able to curb.

The three countries said late January they were quitting The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which they said was under French influence, to create their own regional grouping.

AFP

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Paul Kagame, Chimamanda Adichie, Aig-Imoukhuede, Other Africans Make Top 100 Influential Global

Published

7 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

Combo of Paul Kagame, Chimamanda Adichie, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede,Remi Dairo.

Rwanda President, Paul Kagame, Nigeria’s Chimamanda Adichie, and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, have been listed among top 100 influential global voices 2023/24.

Others list are president, the president , Institute of Productivity and Business Innovation, Africa and the Chief Operating Officer of Productivate Plus LLC, headquartered in Houston, Texas, Mr Remi Dairo; Adebayo Ogunlesi; Jumoke Adenowo, Ibukun Awosika; Malala Yousafzai, Strive Masiyiwa, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.

In recognition of this groundbreaking record, Dairo was honoured by the Leaders Without Borders Development Centre at the event which took place on 19th April at House of Lords, Palace of Westminster, United Kingdom in recognition of being a global voice.

Commenting, Dairo said, “I feel so excited and motivated for the journey of my efforts and contribution to productivity in the community is globally recognized. The journey started in Nigeria as the School of Productivity in 2007 and metamorphosed into the Institute of Productivity and Business Innovation (IPBiM) in 2017.”

Remi Dairo is the president of the Institute of Productivity and Business Innovation Management (IPBIM), a distinguished African institution with global outreach that globally focuses on African institutions of productivity and innovation learning. The institution is in partnership with some of the world’s best institutions around the globe.

Headline

Disregard Claim Of Me Bringing Investors To Nigeria – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Published

18 hours ago

May 18, 2024

Editor

The Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has denied sending a WhatsApp message claiming she’s bringing investors to Nigeria due to Tinubu’s “commendable policies”.

A message had been circulating on Whatsapp alleging that former Minister of Finance has been contacted by President, respected instutitions and investors who congratulated her because Nigeria has finally found a “focused leader.”

Anything forwarded to you purporting to be a WhatsApp message from me is fake – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala debunks news claiming she?s bringing investors to Nigeria due to Tinubu?s ?commendable policies?

Reacting via her X handle, Okonjo-Iweala described it as fake. She wrote;

‘’It’s been brought to my attention that another FAKE message has been manufactured and is being forwarded on WhatsApp in my name. I want to make clear that this fake message is not from me. I am pleased that those who know me instantly recognized this as fake.

“Thanks to friends who brought this to my attention. Please be aware that I do not use WhatsApp broadcasts, thus anything forwarded to you purporting to be a WhatsApp message from me is FAKE.

“This is a bad example of the use of social media. I want to warn those in the business of manufacturing FAKE messages, that they will not succeed.”