Photos From The On-Going APC Protest At The INEC Office In Abuja (MASSIVE CROWD)

The All Progressive Congress is presently staging a protest at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission to protest the scheduled election of the inconclusive election head in Anambra last weekend.
It would be recalled that INEC announced last week it would hold a supplementary election in some parts of the state on November 30.  The protest is coming two days before that election, if it holds.
The INEC announcement further infuriated the stakeholders, leading some of the candidates and political parties to call for a mass boycott of the exercise.

See the photos below:

National Identity card to become ATM, travel card

The new national identity card can be used as Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card anywhere there is MasterCard logo in the world, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has said.

NIMC’s Director of Technical Services, Mr Emmanuel Ogungbe, told Journalists  on Thursday in Abuja that the commission had already signed an agreement with MasterCard.

“As opposed to just being an ID card, the card is also a cash card. What that means is you can also use it the way you currently use your ATM card.

“So if you put money on the card, you can withdraw this money anywhere in the world.

“Two, it’s also a travel card. What that means is that very soon, especially within the West African sub-region, you can travel passport-free as long as you have this card with you.

“So this card has multi-purpose use and that is why we are calling it a general-multi-purpose card, it’s not just an ID card.”

According to him, all that a holder of the card needs to do is to present it at the point of entry of any country where it will be swiped.

He said the information about the person, similar to the ones on passport, would come out and the country would allow entry.

Ogungbe said that the new card was error-proof and would enhance the security of the country.

“We have a system called automated biometrics identification system in our data centre that checks information of newly registered people coming into the database against what we already have in the database.

“If there is a hit, that means that person was registered before and of course this means we will deny new registration.

“So, there is no way of beating that system for now; I’m very confident of that. That will ensure that you can only register once.

“What the bad elements do is to hide in a way that you won’t be able to capture them. But we are saying with this (ID) we know who they are and we will be able to very easily locate them,’’ he said.

According to him, if there is a crime and the police are able to lift finger prints from the crime scene and send to NIMC, the commission will be able to give the full details of the criminals.

He also said that the card would reduce incidences of bank frauds as fraudsters would be easily detected and apprehended.

“Talk about even fraud in the banks, where someone will obtain a loan in a particular bank, move on to the next bank without servicing the previous loan to obtain another loan; that will become a thing of the past.

“Because once the bank takes your national identification number, it can see all your various transactions, all various businesses that you have with all the other banks.”

He said that government had asked the commission to “register every single Nigerian and legal residents” but warned the aliens against any attempt to use the card to commit crimes.

“If you are an alien and you think you can continue doing that and go scot-free, then the person’s time is numbered because very soon, we will get to him or her,” he said.

InformationNigeria

APC PROTEST LETTER TO INEC

28th November 2013

The Chairman,
Independent National Electoral Commission,
Plot 436 Zambezi Crescent,
Maitama District,
FCT, Abuja,
NIGERIA

Dear Sir,

Re: ANAMBRA STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION: A CALL TO SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY.

The above subject refers. On the 16th November 2013, the good people of Anambra State woke up with great aspiration and expectation to cast their votes to elect a new Governor for the state.

Prior to the date for the Election, the ominous signs of an election that was pre-determined to favour specific interests against the run of the electorate support were already clear.

When our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) noticed these foreboding signs; we immediately drew the attention of the electoral umpire and the whole world to them.

The issues, which our party complained about through official correspondences and various press releases, are several. These include:

The unholy conspiracy between the electoral umpire (INEC) and the presidency/PDP to rig the Elections to rig the election in favor of APGA.

Mass disenfranchisement of voters through use of multiple voters registers,

Deliberate delay in the distribution of electoral materials in the opposition strongholds,

The disappearance of electoral officials and result sheets meant for opposition strongholds,

The sudden creation of about 3,00 voting units, of which our polling Agents did not receive Tags,

The unconstitutional 22-hour curfew, which was a ploy to give the riggers the leeway to actualize their rigging plans while the vigilance of the Electorate was inhibited by the curfew already in place.

The unlawful deployment and use of the military during election and purely civil activities.

Our complaint about the Anambra Resident Electoral Commissioner, Professor Chukwuemeka Onukogu and other Federal Commissioners who had proven to be biased through his conduct in previous elections.

Despite INEC getting information of our complaints, we were doubly assured that our fears were founded.

The elections that were superintended over by your commission was grossly below any acceptable standard, whether local or international. The deliberate tactic to prevent democracy and serve the two parties’ interests, PDP and particularly APGA in this case cannot be democratic and in the voters’ interest.

And the only face saving decision for you and your commission in this circumstance is to cancel the charade, which you want to reinforce of the electorate as a credible election.

We cannot gloat over the dangerous signs and the gathering storms that portend a coup d’etat against the yearnings and aspirations of our people.

The reasons why we cannot accept this infamy of your commission as regards the Anambra election are as follows.

The Manipulation of the October 12th Delta Central Senatorial District bye- election.

The refusal of INEC to conclude the election started since July 29th 2013 in the re-run election to the Imo State of Assembly in Oguta, in spite of the fact that there was a clear winner.

The abnormality displayed in the State House of Assembly by-election in Ringim Constituency of Jigawa state.

The danger that the shenanigans, the conspiracy and the subversion of the will of the people signifies to our democracy.

The question our generations’ yet unborn will ask and their judgment if we refuse to do what is right to arrest the drift of our nation to the straits of destruction which have dire consequence for our people.

A flashback into our political history has revealed that the subversion of the will of the people has always ended in a catastrophe for our nation, thereby drawing back our quest for development.

The collapse of the first and second republic political experiments are pointer to the dangerous path we are treading once again.

We, in the All Progressives Congress (APC) cannot be cowed, for this is a time that calls for all brave men and women to rise to the desperate call of the silent majority to rescue our nation from the assured perdition of a PDP led government at the Federal level.

If you recall, the 2011 National Assembly Elections were cancelled due to the failure of your commission to achieve the right parameters for a credible election. Our position is that if you could cancel an election that has already commenced and voting was ongoing due to flaws in that electoral process, your assertion that you do not have the authority to cancel an election that you have acknowledged as flawed and “messed up and sabotaged” cannot be sustained.

The observed flaws in the election were deliberately planned as a strategic conspiracy of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rig the Anambra Governorship election in favour of their surrogate party, the PDP faction of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).

With your acknowledgement of these far reaching vitiating factors, your grandstanding to uphold the outcome of the flawed election and your haste to conduct what you call a supplementary election, without first correcting the innate flaws in the electoral process is unacceptable.

We have lost confidence in the ability of INEC as it stands today to organize a free, fair and transparent election anywhere in Nigeria if the Anambra style is repeated.

OUR REQUEST
An outright cancellation of the Anambra Election, having been marred by serious irregularities and non-compliance with the Electoral Act.

INEC should discard the present fake multiple voters register and produce one authentic voters register that will not disenfranchise any voter and be published 30 days before any election can take place in Anambra state.

The suspension and prosecution of all officials of the commission who have ever been indicted for electoral perfidy to purge the commission of such compromised officials.

The immediate redeployment and investigation of the current Anambra Resident Electoral Commissioner, Professor Chukwuemeka Onukogu.

We, as a party, we demand honesty and transparency! If our requests above are not acceded, it will confirm that Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is deliberately (by either gross incompetence or more suspicious means) interfering in democracy.

Finally, we demand for the outright cancellation of the manipulated November 16th Gubernatorial election in Anambra State.

Yours Sincerely,

Chief Bisi Akande,
National Chairman,
All Progressives Congress (APC)

Amaechi laments insecurity, oil theft; says Nigeria needs a competent person as president

By Wale Odunsi

 

Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, on Thursday stated that insecurity in the land and crude oil theft were caused by poverty.
He spoke in London during a presentation on “Security and Human Rights in the Niger Delta.”
“We need a Nigerian president who will rule the country as a nation, someone who can take full charge. For instance, the issues of Boko Haram, kidnapping and oil theft are poverty related,” he said.
“When people are not meaningfully engaged, they become willing tools for destruction.”
“Government has to create opportunities for people to be educated and engaged,” he said.
The governor further lamented government’s inaction in bringing culprits of the menace to book, saying “we are talking about oil theft and nobody has gone to jail”.
“If we deal with the issues of impunity and poverty, oil theft will reduce, kidnapping and other crimes will be on the decline; this we can do by collaborating with the local and international communities,” Amaechi added.

He explained that his administration had achieved a lot in agriculture, health and education, noting that under his administration, 500 primary schools with ICT facility were built.
According to him, providing social security through basic amenities is vital to Nigeria’s development.
Reacting, a cross section of the audience, including some members of the British House of Commons, suggested the use of surveillance aircraft as a better means of tackling incessant cases of oil theft and bunkering in Nigeria.
The raised the issue of increased level of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, saying that the development had made it difficult for seafarers to go to West Africa.
The event was attended by some Nigerians in the Diaspora and Rivers State students on scholarship scheme in the United Kingdom.

DailyPost

INEC and Jega’s Declining Performance

Professor Attahiru Jega

The INEC chairman’s admission of electoral gain reversal following the Anambra State governorship election is a confession that he may have lost steam ahead of the critical 2015 general election, writes Vincent Obia

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Professor Attahiru Jega, has been on the spot since the generally condemned Anambra State governorship election. He has been hard-pressed to explain INEC’s failure to deliver a credible election in the South-east state on November 16, despite all the time, money, and personnel that went into the conduct of the poll.
On Wednesday in Abuja, Jega admitted during a dialogue with a civil society group, the Nigeria Civil Society Election Situation Room, that the Anambra election was flawed.

“Anambra is an election we fully prepared for. We worked more than we had ever done in any state. Regrettably however, what we saw was evidence of reversal in Delta and Anambra. We are disappointed with the reversals,” the INEC chairman said. “But we are not leaving any stone unturned at unraveling what actually transpired. We will investigate Anambra thoroughly and meticulously. We will do a thorough enquiry in Anambra. We cannot afford to lose hope. We will do better in the future.”

Virtually every person or group that monitored the Anambra State governorship poll had concluded that the exercise was flawed. Jega merely echoed the verdict on many lips.
Yet Jega’s remarks have sparked debate, as it is pored over for deeper meaning. With the admission of gain reversal after the controversial Anambra State election, many think that he has either lost control over the all-important electoral body as an umpire or is now incapable of warding off a systematic plot to defraud the Nigerian electorate.
The question many asked after Jega’s admission of the flawed elections was, “Is he just learning about the monumental flaws?”

The INEC chairman had apologised to Nigerians regarding the Anambra election before now. But he had also, prior to that apology, complained on television on the election day about some worrying logistic lapses that he had noticed.

Some Nigerians had expected Jega to cancel the Anambra election after observing the curious logistic hitches that had tended to be concentrated in the opposition strongholds, many of which were less than 30 minutes’ drive from the state capital. Interestingly, in areas controlled by the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance in the state, materials and personnel were available in good time, even though many of the areas were about three hours’ drive from Awka.

Rather than discontinue the election, as he had done in April 2011 during the National Assembly elections, Jega chose to carry on with the flaws. A decision to take the same recourse as he did at the National Assembly poll would have saved the country the ignominy that is now threatening to erase whatever gains that have been made in the past in efforts to resolve the crisis of election.
The popular feeling is that Jega might have been minded to call off the Anambra election, but there were voices at his elbow that warned him not to let the thought cross his mind. The INEC chairman certainly failed the popular expectation.

Jega knew that whatever the outcome of yesterday’s supplementary election will not change the result of the governorship election or heal its defects. He has tended to stylishly push the responsibility for any decisive action on the poll to the judiciary and play safe.
The public admissions of flaws regarding the Anambra election and the apologies by Jega are okay. But the seemingly serial nature of the flaws and apologies are indications that the INEC chairman may be overwhelmed by pressure to do the wrong thing.  It is a sign of declining performance.  Jega should be wary of acts that can sully his hard-won integrity.  

ThisDay

FG Wades into Problems of New Power Investors

 Afam Power Plant

Text Box:   Says teething issues unavoidable

Major Complaints

•Load allocation below assumptions in MYTO model

•Confusion over when electricity consumers will start to pay bill

•Lack of Gas and the attendant poor power delivery

•Erosion of public confidence on the capacity of new investors in power firms.

Festus Akanbi

The Federal Government at the weekend responded to the tale of woes by new investors in the power sector, saying it was not under any illusion that the new dispensation in the sector won’t face some challenges before the return of stability in the operation of the new owners of power firms.

The clarification came on the heels of a harvest of complaints by new investors in the sector barely 27 days after taking over the operations of successor generation and distribution companies of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

The investors, who spoke at a meeting in Abuja, last week, disclosed that their reality checks on the power systems they took over indicated that the system seemed to be “upside down.”

But responding to the complaints of the new investors, Chairman Presidential Taskforce on Power Mr. Beks Dagogo-Jack explained that every major sector reform exercise was bound to face teething problems.

“No one in government gave an impression that the minute we handed over, all our electricity problems would vanish,” he said, adding that a reform program was akin to a pregnancy.

“For nine months, you focused on the mother and after the baby is born, you shift more attention to the nurturing of the baby who is more vulnerable than the mother.”

Dagogo-Jack said “the business of nurturing the reform to maturity is not a casual responsibility and rests squarely on the Ministry of Power, with the invaluable support of the regulator and the Bureau of Public Enterprises.”

And according to him, the Presidential Task Force remains on hand to provide the much-needed technical support for risk anticipation dimensioning as well as solution generation.”

Asked about the way forward, he said: “A well-integrated proactive progress management team structure under the leadership of the Honourable Minister of Power, which meets for two hours daily, at least to resolve critical issues and sustain market confidence, is a sine qua non for ensuring steady progress during this teething period.”

The aggrieved power sector investors made their complaints known to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) at the meeting, which was the first, since they physically took over their electricity assets by the federal government on November 1.

One of such investors who expressed his discovery is the Managing Director of Kano Electricity Distribution Company, Dr. Jamil Gwamna.

He said the market rules, especially with regards to the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO-2), had been turned upside down.

Gwamna had said: “In terms of complying with rules especially those in MYTO, the reality on the ground in Kano Disco is that all the assumptions in the MYTO model have been turned upside down. Load allocation to Kano is so bad that for the last three days we are getting as low as 40 megawatts (MW) to cover Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states. Not only is that so, about 20MW gone to Niger Republic.

“How on earth will I make money? We are not even near the assumption of MYTO because MYTO says I should be allocated eight per cent of the total generation capacity, which means if the generation is 2,000MW, Kano should be allocated at least 160MW. Yesterday, our allocation was 80MW and out of that 25MW is going to Niger Republic. So, I think these are serious issues, which we have found on the ground and they should be addressed urgently.”

Also, the Managing Director of Benin Distribution Company, Funke Osibodu, said: “There is confusion in the public and we have to as a group address the confusion in the public.

For instance, the public believe that they are not supposed to pay their bills until January, they believe that the debt they owed before should be written off and that they should stand in front of you and collect free meters.

“In the past couple of weeks, there have been problems nationwide. The public now believe that when they don’t have power, the new owners do not know what they are doing when in reality it is because of lack of gas.”

Other officials who spoke on behalf of Egbin and Geregu power plants accused the Market Operator (MO) and System Operator of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) of not adhering to the MYTO-2 agreements and provisions in the interim rules, stating that the MO does not use the official rate stipulated in the interim rules.

However, the Chairman of NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, in his response, assured them that the regulator would address all the issues raised, adding that the essence of calling the meeting was to bring the operators together to craft out interventions that will address the problems.

He said Yola and Kano distribution companies had perennially low power allocation problem, stating that although the MYTO-2 provides for a particular allocation to all distribution companies, they were not getting enough power to supply.

Part of the reasons, he said, was based on transmission while some were based on capacity of the distribution companies to receive.

He said the regulator would look at the commercial framework and find ways of ensuring that the concerned distribution company that is receiving less power is also to have their revenue to service their operation.

ThisDay

Understanding Pimples

Pimples in face
My usual approach to a discussion on Pimples (medically termed Acne vulgaris) is that having pimples is an universal experience, most people had it at one time in life. As a matter of fact, it is one of the commonest signs of ‘growing up’.
In the the same vein, some women, having pimples is a monthly event; “crops” of pimples is a sign that the menses is fast approaching or that she is “on” her menses.
Pimples occur when the oil-secreting glands in the skin are clogged and become inflamed or infected. Ninety percent of teenagers get acne, although this can still persist into the middle age, particularly in women during their reproductive years.
Causes
Pimples are caused by inflammation or infection of the oil glands in the skin and at the base of hairs called the sebaceous glands. In the teenage years, hormones stimulate the growth of body hair, and the oil glands secrete more oil. The skin pores, through which nourishing oil passes to the body hairs, become clogged and bacteria grow in the clogged pores.
Such that as the body defense mechanism works to kill the bacteria, whiteheads, blackheads, and pustules form in these areas.
Symptoms
Whiteheads: these are closed plugged  oil glands in the skin at the root of the body hairs.
Blackheads: these are open plugged oil glands (the oil turns black when it’s exposed to the air).
Pustules: these are red, inflamed, infected plugged oil glands, sometimes filled with pus. Pustules could turn out to be complications of futile effort at pressing out the content of a pimple.
• Some pimples may be painful. In severe cases, cysts (large fluid-filled bumps) may develop under the skin.
Signs
Usually, this is often self-evidenced in that a skin elevation can be seen or felt, which could come in the various forms outlined above. However, a professional guide by a doctor or better still a specialist dermatologist is better encouraged.
The health care provider will check the skin to assess the existing problem (such as whiteheads, blackheads. pustules or cysts). The provider will look to see where the problems are located, for example, the face or back.
It is also important for the provider to want to know how long the problem has been on, or if there is a cyclical nature to it occurrence as it might be the case in menstruating ladies.
In the same vein, the doctor will also certainly be interested in what treatment methods have been previously applied.
Treatment options
Treatment is aimed at keeping oil and dirt out of the pores and reducing inflammation. The knowledge of how one has been taking care of the pimples is important here, in order to know how to advance the treatment.
On a conservative approach, what is required is a simple soft toilet soap that will keep the body less oily and hence, discourage the plugging of the skin pore by excess oil.
The best approach is, when having ones bath, to allow the lather of the soap to remain on the skin for some time, say for five to ten minutes, before rinsing off with water. This is to allow sufficient time for the soap to penetrate the skin pores and to dissolve out the potential plugging oil substance in the pores.
Meanwhile, several products are available to help prevent pimples or blackheads.
Treatment usually begins with putting products containing “benzoyl peroxide” on the areas of skin with acne.
If benzoyl peroxide alone is not effective, then one may also need to put antibiotic medications on the skin, as contained in some medicated soap. In some situation of stubborn pimples, the health care provider may prescribe antibiotics to be taken by mouth. Usually, for good result this medication may have to be taken for several weeks.
Similarly, an affected individual may also need to use a special skin cream or gel containing tretinoin (Retin-A).
In some instance, the health care provider may have to inject large cysts with special medication so that there will be better resolution and less scarring.
Expectations
As mentioned above, new whiteheads usually stop appearing after 4 to 6 weeks of treatment, but one may probably need to continue the treatment for several months.
If an affected person is taking antibiotics, at some point the doctor will ask the person to stop taking them to see if they are still needed. Sometimes acne treatment must be continued for several years.
Factors that Worsens Acne
Many factors may worsen acne temporarily. For example, women may notice that their acne gets worse before each menstrual period. So even with proper treatment, results may vary over time. It is, however, important to try to discover and change, when possible, the factors in ones environment or lifestyle that make the pimples worse.
Tips for Helping out the Pimples
In addition to following the full treatment prescribed by the health care provider, the tips below might also assist with helping out the pimples:

   Wash the face 2 times a day with a gentle soap.
    Change your washcloth every day (bacteria can grow on damp cloth).

    Have your bath as soon as possible after exercise or a sweaty physical activity.
Wash the hands more frequently and avoid touching your face unnecessarily.
Don’t squeeze, pick, scratch, or rub your skin. Scars may form if you   squeeze pimples.
Don’t rest your face on your hands while you read, study, or watch TV.
Any Food to Avoid?
Although researchers have not been able to show that any foods cause acne, some people have found that certain foods seem to worsen their acne.
The idea here is to keep a record of the foods an affected person eats and see if the food appears to make the pimples worse. And subsequently avoid these foods.
Other Measures
For those with fragile skin to sun as in whites and albinos, they should try not to get sunburned.
Avoid extreme stress if possible. Practice stress reduction strategies such as exercise, meditation and counseling if stress is extreme.
Exercise Regularly
It is important to keep follow-up appointments with the health care provider. Keep a record of the treatments received and tried and also how they have worked or otherwise.
Even if the ongoing treatment protocol fails, don’t get depressed or give up easily, knowing that there are many other treatment options.

ThisDay