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Again, INEC Speaks On PVC Collection Deadline

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With just about 15 days to the presidential election scheduled to be held on Saturday, February 25, the Independent National Electoral Commission has dismissed the possibility of extending the period for the collection of Permanent Voter Cards.

Speaking on Channels TV’s ‘The 2023 Verdict’, the INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, said while INEC did not intend to disenfranchise any Nigerian, it was impossible for the period of PVC collection to be extended.

Okoye, who noted that the presidential election is just about 15 days away, said the commission needed to move its staff from the responsibility of PVC distribution to focus on preparations for the election.

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READ ALSO: JUST IN: Again, INEC Extends PVC Collection

Unfortunately, this commission can no longer extend the period of collection of the PVCs,” Okoye said, “this is because we have just 15 days to go” for the presidential election.

He added, “…our staff who are in the local government (areas) and who are the issuance of these PVCs have to move back to what we call regular programming. They have to begin to receive the non-sensitive materials and match these non-sensitive materials in accordance with registration areas and wards and getting them ready for the D-day.”

Okoye further said the staff of the commission needed time to ready for the collection of sensitive materials “required for the conduct of this particular election.

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“They have to also make arrangements for the places where we are going to house the ad-hoc staff overnight before they are deployed at the first light to the various polling units. They have to also inspect the various polling units to make sure that the polling units are fit for purpose and ready for the 2023 general election.

“So, we have so much to do and we need to get our staff ready for this exercise,” adding that the staff were also responsible for the “configuration of the BVAS” machines in readiness for the election.

Admitting that there are possibilities that some Nigerians might have not been able to collect their PVCs “due to no fault of theirs”, the INEC commissioner, who said it was “unfortunate and is not the intention of the commission to disenfranchise any Nigerian”, noted that the commission’s staff’s responsibilities were more than issuance of the PVCs, adding that a “tabulation or summary” of the already collected PVCs in polling units, electoral wards, local government areas and states must be obtained by the commission to enable it make the figures available to Nigerians.

READ ALSO: Why We Extended Deadline For PVCs Collection – INEC

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The PUNCH reports that INEC had extended the deadline for the collection of the PVCs two times after the first deadline. The commission first set January 22, 2023, as the deadline for the PVCs collection before it extended it by one week to January 29. After much pressure and fearing that many Nigerians might not be able to collect their PVCs within the first extended deadline, INEC again extended the deadline for the collection of the PVCs to February 5, 2023.

In order to make the collection seamless, the commission had moved the collection of the PVCs from local government offices to the ward level and back to the local governments.

 

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2023: Why INEC Servers Failed To Work – Peter Obi

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The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi has explained why the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, servers failed to work during the 2023 presidential election.

He said the ‘establishment of criminality’ made the INEC servers not work during the last last general elections.

Obi stated this, while addressing the issues of the 2023 elections, including the IREV servers, in Canada during the weekend.

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READ ALSO: Underbridge Tenants: Lagos Govt Uncovers Identity Of Ring Leader

The Labour Party flagbearer in 2023 said people must intensify engagement with all the stakeholders to make the system work.

The former Anambra State governor explained that Amazon testified there were no glitches recorded globally on the day of the presidential election.

He said: “Where did we go wrong in the last election? We didn’t go wrong anywhere. We did the right things.

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“But as I can always tell people: when you bring a change, you fight all those who live off the old order. They don’t go away; they gang up. And don’t think it’s a straight race to remove an establishment.

READ ALSO: PDP Crisis: Why Party Members Are Resigning – Sule Lamido

“It’s a long-distance journey anywhere in the world. Go and check anywhere, whether you are looking at what happened in India, with Mandela in South Africa, or America. No change has happened overnight, it takes time.

“I urge all of you, if you really want change, we have just begun. We just have to continue from where we are.

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“Yes, there might be one or two things we will correct, those things we will correct. I assure you we are correcting them without naming them.It’s not going to be easy.”

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INC Vows To Internationalise Ijaw Struggle

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The Ijaw National Congress (INC) says time has come to internationalise the “Ijaw struggle” beyond rhetoric.

Prof. Benjamin Okaba, President, INC, said this in a communique of the 2024 edition of the Ijaw National Day celebration held in Bayelsa.

Okaba said that the vexatious factors that provoked grievances between the late Maj. Adaka Boro and the federal government in the improper management of the oil political economy of Nigeria, have remained unmitigated.

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He noted that the situation had worsened with its attendant impunity.

READ ALSO: Ijaw Not Biafra, Count Us Out Of Your Planned Attack Military, INC Warns IPOB

According to him, the Ijaw environment continues to bear the brunt of petroleum resources exploitation-related pollution without concomitant remediation or reparations of the heavily despoiled ecosystem.

Instead, Ijaw communities still face the adverse effects of uncontrollable spills, perennial flooding, ocean encroachment and so on,” he said.

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The INC president noted that at different forums, it had been made clear that the Ijaw agenda of self-determination was premised on resource and environmental justice.

“What all Ijaw people seek is for a fair, just and justifiable reward for our resources and sacrifices.

“The Ijaw Congress has articulated a set of prescient conditions for its continuous commitment to the Nigerian project and these include restoration of true federalism (fiscal federalism).

READ ALSO: Ijaw Group Tackles OPC, CSO Over Call For Review Of Tompolo’s Surveillance Contract

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“Devolution of power and repel of all obnoxious and discriminatory environmental and resource related laws (Land Use, PIA), as well as restoration of Ijaw Territory as non-balkanised, administrative and politically generated unit(s).

“This is for the reassurance and promotion of Ijaw developmental pursuits by creating at least two additional states, more local government areas and wards for the Ijaws.

“Remediation of our massively polluted and endangered environment and the enforcement of adherence to international environmental best practices by IOC’s operating in Ijaw territories,” he said.

Okaba also demanded for the relocation of the administrative headquarters of all oil companies and their subsidiaries to their operational bases in Ijaw territory and Niger Delta.

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READ ALSO: Ijaw Demand Environmental Clean-up Before IOCs Exit Niger Delta

He further called for proper funding and management of the Interventionist Agencies such as the Presidential Amnesty Programme and Niger Delta Development Commission.

We call for the promotion of modular refineries owned by our people.

“We also want a balance in appointment at the federal levels (the civil service, military and oil companies) as well as equitable distribution of critical infrastructure, to reflect the true principles of federal character.”

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He said it was against this backdrop that the theme of the 2024 Ijaw National Day “Re-Invigorating Our Resolve to take the Ijaw struggle for Self-determination beyond Rhetoric” was derived.

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Drake Gives Condition To Quit Music As Feud With Kendrick Lamar Thickens

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US rapper Drake has vowed to quit his music career if allegations regarding a secret daughter are substantiated.

The controversy started when rival artiste Kendrick Lamar, in his diss track ‘Meet The Grahams,’ levied accusations suggesting Drake’s involvement with an 11-year-old secret daughter.

Lamar branded the Canadian rapper a “deadbeat” for purportedly neglecting his paternal responsibilities

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Renowned American media personality Akademiks, however, disclosed rapper’s response to the allegations during a recent broadcast.

According to Akademiks, Drake denied the claims, going as far as promising to leave the music industry and work for Akademiks if any evidence of the alleged secret daughter emerged.

During his Saturday night show, Akademiks shared the rapper’s direct message, stating, “Drake hit [texted] me, he said, ‘Ak, if you or anybody can prove that I have an 11-year-old daughter, I’ll quit rapping and come work for you.’”

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