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Stop Making Yourself Stumbling Block At The Tribunal, Neo Africana Centre Tells INEC

Published

11 months ago

June 8, 2023

The Neo Africana Centre has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to stop constituting itself into a stumbling block at the Presidential Election Petitions Court but should, instead, act in ways and manners that can redeem its battered image.

The Centre’s admonition came in the wake of complaints by the lawyers of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, as well as those of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, to the effect that the commission has been blocking them from having full access to the electoral materials that they need to tender at the tribunal in support of their petitions.

The public policy think tank said that having mismanaged an election that would have been a watershed in Nigeria’s electoral history, INEC still has an opportunity to redeem its image by ensuring that it cooperates with all the parties concerned in the matter.

In a statement by its Director of Public Affairs, Jenkins Udu, the Centre called on INEC to stop playing the hide and seek game that it is currently playing at the tribunal. It equally charged the commission to shun the temptation of persevering in its grievous sins.

The statement reads in part:
“We have noted with concern the recalcitrance and uncooperative attitude of the Independent National Electoral Commission on matters relating to the petitions filed at the Presidential Election Petitions Court by aggrieved parties.

The commission, from the outset, betrayed its biases and left no one in doubt that it would not allow those contesting the outcome of the presidential election it conducted to have their way. This open partisanship is most unbecoming of a public institution such as the electoral commission.

“We recall with regret that lawyers to the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25 presidential election, Mr Peter Obi, have severally complained of evident lack of cooperation by INEC in their bid to have access to relevant electoral materials in support of their petition. A few days ago, one of the lawyers to Peter Obi told the tribunal that INEC is yet to grant them full access to the BIVAS machines.

“The following day, the legal team of the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, also had reason to complain to the tribunal about the uncooperative attitude of INEC, even after collecting a whopping N6.69 million from them. The Atiku team said it was unable to tender certain documents in court because INEC was yet to release those vital documents to them. The tribunal was forced to adjourn abruptly on account of this.

“These developments are worrisome. They portray INEC as partisan in a matter in which it ought to be neutral. Even though its integrity has seriously been called to question by the mess it made of our elections on February 25, the commission still has an opportunity to redeem its image from the barrage of condemnations flying all over Nigeria. Rather than constitute itself into a stumbling block, INEC should give the petitioners all the necessary access they deserve. It is within their right, and the commission owes them this basic obligation.

“It is bad enough that INEC messed up the 2023 general elections. It will be worse if the commission leaves the public with the impression that it is bent on frustrating genuine efforts at righting its own wrongs.”

Related Topics:#INEC presidential election Tribunal

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Grammy Winner Found Dead In Her Apartment

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49 mins ago

April 19, 2024

Editor

Grammy-winning singer Mandisa, who rose to fame on season five of “American Idol,” has died.

She died on Thursday, April 18 at the age of 47, her representative said Friday.

“We can confirm that yesterday Mandisa was found in her home deceased,” her representative said in a statement. “At this time we do not know the cause of death or any further details.”

“We ask for your prayers for her family and close knit circle of friends during this incredibly difficult time,” the statement concluded.

A post on the artist’s Facebook page said early Friday: “Mandisa was a voice of encouragement and truth to people facing life’s challenges all around the world. She wrote this song for a dear friend who had passed in 2017.”

“Her own words say it best. I’m already home / You’ve got to lay it down / ‘cause Jesus holds me now— / And I am not alone.”

Born and raised in Citrus Heights, California, Mandisa studied music in college before auditioning for Idol in 2005.

Mandisa’s shot to stardom after placing ninth on “American Idol,” alongside favorites like Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Chris Daughtry, Paris Bennett, Elliott Yamin and eventual winner Taylor Hicks.

After her Idol elimination, Mandisa went on to release her debut album, True Beauty, in 2007. The LP debuted at No. 1 on the Top Christian Albums charts, a historic feat that made Mandisa the first new female artist ever to debut on the top of the chart’s 27-year history.

True Beauty was the first six albums Mandisa would release throughout her career, including an acclaimed 2008 holiday record, It’s Christmas, and her most recent offering, 2017’s Out of the Dark.

She went on to win a Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album in 2014 for her album “Overcomer.”

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Man Sets Self On Fire Outside Trump Trial Venue

Published

3 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Editor

A man set himself on fire Friday outside the court where Donald Trump is standing trial in Manhattan, with officers rushing to extinguish the flames.

Burning clothes were strewn in the park, which was locked down by authorities, while ambulances lined up nearby on standby, an AFP correspondent at the scene saw, describing a strong smell of burning chemicals.

The scene unfolded moments after the full panel of 12 jurors and six alternates was selected for the trial of the former president in a hush money cover-up case.

“A male did light himself on fire outside of the Supreme Courthouse. We’re still gathering details from the field,” said a New York Police Department spokesman.

The fire department did not respond to a request for comment, but media reported the man had been taken away for medical treatment.

The incident happened in a park opposite the 100 Centre Street courthouse, which has been used by authorities to corral protesters, both pro-Trump and anti-Trump, as well as by some members of the media.

The park, which is close to several courthouses and other buildings, is a popular local lunch spot.

Trump’s criminal trial, the first of a former president, is being conducted amid tight security in a 15th-floor courtroom swarming with Secret Service officers as well as court police.

New York’s police department had promised a major deployment to ensure the trial passes off safely, with the force’s head of intelligence John Hart calling it a “major challenge.”

AFP

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Police Storm Iranian Embassy In Paris After Man ‘In Suicide Vest’ Threatened To Blow Himself Up

Published

8 hours ago

April 19, 2024

Editor

A man has surrendered to police after he reportedly threatened to blow himself up at the Iranian consulate in Paris with a suicide vest.

According to Mail Online, the man gave himself after 2pm, walking out of the consulate with his hands in the air and giving himself over to police at the scene.

‘He had no explosives or weapons on him,’ said a security source. ‘He was placed under arrest immediately and taken away to a secure police station for questioning.’

Specialist BRI officers continued to swarm around the area, together with sniffer dogs, just in case explosives had been hidden in the area.

‘The security perimeter will be maintained for a while yet,’ said the source.

The individual was for a time holed up inside the building in the French capital’s 16th arrondissement in a room with the ambassador, one report said.

He was said to be wearing an explosive belt and equipped with an object that resembled a grenade, Europe 1 and other sources reported earlier.

The area was cordoned off and evacuated, with a police source saying that an ‘intervention was imminent’.

This suggested officers had been preparing to storm the building.

‘A witness saw a man enter carrying a grenade or an explosive belt,’ a source told France’s AFP news agency, adding that an elite police unit had been mobilised after the consulate requested an intervention.

‘The man presented him at the consulate, and then removed his coat, to show off an alleged explosives vest,’ another security source said at the scene.

‘He said he was carrying a grenade, and then placed a national flag on the floor. He said he wanted to avenge his brother.’

Police ordered the city’s Metro Line 6 to be interrupted as a safety measure.

Europe 1 reported that the embassy contacted the police requesting assistance, reporting that the man was inside the building. It said he was holed up in a room inside the consulate ‘in the presence of the ambassador’.

There were no reports of an explosion.

The incident came amid increasing tensions between Israel and Iran, with the Jewish state today launching strikes against the Islamic Republic.

This was in response to Iran launching over 300 missiles toward Israel on Saturday, 99 percent of which were intercepted by Israel and its allies.