News
Electronic transmission: Shame on them! *LP slams Senate *Okorie raises battle-cry
To the Labour Party (LP), nothing could be more shameful than the decision of the Senate to truncate the dreams of Nigerians who had hoped that the mandatory electronic transmission of results would save Nigeria from the nightmare of electoral fraud.
Ken Asogwa, Special Adviser to Nenadi Usman, Interim National Chairman of the party, who made known the position of the party hours after the development was quoted as describing the rejection of the proposal, which had earlier been passed by the House of Representatives in 2025, as a shameful betrayal of Nigerians by persons elected to represent them.
Reports in Vanguard, quoted him as saying: “The decision of the Nigerian Senate to reject the electronic transmission of election results from polling units to the INEC server is one of the most retrogressive and anti-people decisions taken by the Nigerian legislature since the return to democracy in 1999.
“Since the 2023 general elections, the singular and consistent clamour of the Nigerian people has been for the electronic transmission of results, as a means of checking the irregularities and hiccups witnessed during the last polls.
“What, then, are lawmakers amending in the 2022 Electoral Act if the very clause required to improve transparency and credibility in our electoral process is deliberately rejected? Only those bent on rigging the process would scorn reforms aimed at strengthening electoral integrity.
“What makes the present lawmakers think they would always be beneficiaries of a flawed system? Those who refuse to do the right thing today for narrow partisan interests may ultimately become victims of their own actions tomorrow. A defective process spares no one.
“That said, we will continue to urge Nigerians not to waver in the face of setbacks such as this. With sustained vigilance and collective resolve, the outcome of the 2027 elections can still reflect the true will of the Nigerian people.
“Through determination, unity, and alertness at the polls, the people can still defend their mandate and our democracy.”
Chekwas Okorie, founding National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), described the Senate action as an affront on the sensibilities of Nigerians, wondering why the National Assembly chose to live in the Stone Age while the rest of the world is making steady progress towards technology and modernisation.
His words: “I’m not surprised but disappointed that the Senate has decided to be a cog in the wheel of Nigeria’s democratic progress. This National Assembly has since its inauguration in 2023 left no one in doubt that it swore an oath to be a rubber stamp of the current executive.
“While they are at it, they must bear in mind that Nigeria is better than all of us, it is bigger than the ruling party and every trick it is plotting to use to deny Nigerians the right to freely elect their leaders come 2027.
“This is a call for all Nigerians to be vigilant because vigilance is the eternal price we must pay to protect our democratic rights. We will mobilise, organise and ensure that the sanctity of our votes is protected from the polling booths to the units, wards up till the collation centre. No glitch will be allowed to deny Nigerians the right results.”
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, announced the approval of the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats and ordered the immediate release of ₦10 billion as emergency intervention funding.
Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesman, who conveyed the development to the public, said the fund would strengthen the operational preparedness of the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and support critical national public health emergency response activities.
To be chaired by Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President, the committee with membership drawn from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and state representatives is also expected to get briefings on their plans to contain the disease.
Onanuga, stated that Tinubu also specifically directed all states hosting international airports and international border corridors, as well as relevant MDAs, to submit their plans, funding requirements and intervention needs for consideration and coordinated implementation.
Stating that the President’s move followed a stakeholder meeting convened under the CoS to review Nigeria’s preparedness and develop strategies against the possible importation of Ebola into the country., the statement informed that the Task Force would also intensify passenger screening at all international airports through enhanced temperature checks and crowd-control protocols.
Other measures would also include enhanced monitoring of passengers arriving through high-risk airline routes, including Air Uganda, Rwanda Air, Air Tanzania, Air Angola, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines; and the immediate activation of referral and isolation centres at the Lagos and Abuja international airports, with other airports to follow.
Other measures include the mandatory activation of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for passengers originating from or transiting through designated high-risk countries, as well as the disinfection of departure halls, cargoes, baggage areas and airport facilities as precautionary environmental measures.
The President also directed the advisory group to consult with security, diplomatic and aviation bodies on regulating flights from affected and designated high-risk countries and mandated the task force to designate specific airports or terminals for high-risk flights to enable controlled screening and isolation procedures, and to consider adjusting flight schedules to minimise interaction between high-risk passengers and other travellers.
Justice Akintoye Aluko of the Federal High Court, Lagos on Tuesday ordered the remand of Paul Jibrin Oweleke in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) over alleged cybercrime offences linked to social media broadcasts that allegedly called for overthrow of President Bola Tinubu.
Specifically, Oweleke, in a two-count charge was accused of publishing posts on his online platform known as “Oweleke TV”, urging the Nigerian military to remove the President from office in a manner similar to takeovers in some West African countries, an act the agency said bordered on incitement and the use of a computer system to disseminate content considered prejudicial to national security and constitutional governance.
Oweleke’s broadcasts, the agency stressed, were capable of inciting public disorder and promoting disaffection against the government, which will undermine the country’s democracy.
Legal argument had ensued immediately after Oweleke, pleaded not guilty to the charges, with his lawyer kicking vehemently against the prayer of the agency that the court should order his remand pending the commencement of trial, on the ground that a bail application had already been filed and served on the prosecution.
But Aluko, who was persuaded to grant the prayer, went with the DSS, while adjourning the matter to June 16 for the hearing of the bail application, stating that Oweleke, would remain in the facility of the agency pending the outcome.
By June 29 all medical doctors in public hospitals in Nigeria will drop their stethoscopes and other instruments of healthcare, unless the Federal Government settles all unpaid allowances, salary arrears, delayed training funds, and worsening welfare concerns of its members across the country’s health sector.
This was the notice served to the government on Monday, through The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), the umbrella under which the doctors operate, after rising from Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) held in Kano.
In the 21-day ultimatum to the government, the doctors warned that it would not be able to guarantee industrial harmony if the issues remain unresolved within the 21-day period.
In the resolution conveying their position, signed by Mohammad Suleiman, President, Shuaibu Ibrahim, Secretary-General, and Abdulmajid Yahya Ibrahim, Publicity and Social Secretary, on Friday, the body regretted that government had failed to fulfil several commitments to doctors despite repeated assurances and engagements.
“The association hereby declares an industrial dispute with the federal government of Nigeria on the outlined matters above and cannot guarantee industrial harmony after the 21-day window period given to address all the demands,” the communique reads.
The association said it is giving the federal government the 21-day window to commence concrete actions towards the development and implementation of a national healthcare workers assault prevention and response protocol
and the initiation of the necessary legislative process to address the menace.
NARD also demanded the release and payment of the 2026 medical residency training fund (MRTF) to all eligible resident doctors nationwide within the next 21 days.
The association questioned the unpaid salary and promotion arrears in several federal and state health institutions, as well as discrepancies in professional allowances reflected in members’ May 2026 salaries.
It highlighted the welfare issues affecting house officers, including salary delays, unpaid arrears, and difficulties with internship placement and onboarding processes that remain unresolved.
It also accused Motunrayo Omidiran, executive chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), of delaying the issuance of letters of compliance to federal health institutions, noting that the delay has hampered recruitment efforts, manpower shortages, and brain drain in the sector.
NARD expressed worries about the increasing assaults, harassment, intimidation, and violent attacks against doctors while on duty, demanding the arrests, investigation, and prosecution of perpetrators.
It called for the establishment of a national healthcare workers’ assault prevention and response protocol within 21 days by the federal government and security agencies.
-
News4 weeks agoTinubu to African leaders: Copy Nigeria, produce your way out of poverty
-
News3 weeks agoBREAKING: US-Nigeria troops slaughter 175 ISWAP fighters
-
Columns3 weeks agoDear General Gowon: That apology you’re running from is your nemesis
-
News1 week agoBREAKING: Terrorists strike Ibadan again! Abduct ex-Minister’s sister, twin children
-
News4 weeks agoWhy we pegged presidential ticket forms at N60million – NDC
-
News4 weeks agoGowon on civil war: My book is to put records straight, remove falsehood
-
News3 weeks agoBREAKING: Wait over! Arsenal are CHAMPIONS! Win EPL after 22 years hiatus
-
Columns2 weeks agoSee Tinubu’s terrible damage on Option A4 and its precious memories