FCT Senate: Aduda moves to reclaim seat from Labour Party’s Ireti at tribunal • Faults announcement of result before end of collation

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

Barely three weeks after the conduct of Presidential and National Assembly elections, which produced Ireti Kingibe as Senator - elect for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), her closest rival, Senator Tanimu Aduda has vowed to challenge the result of the election at the tribunal.

Senator Aduda, who doubles as the Minority Leader of the 9th Senate, told journalists at the National Assembly on Thursday that his plan of litigating against result of the election arose from the fact that result was announced when collations at the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) were yet to be completed and even with utter disregard to results cancelled in other polling units across the 62 wards in Six Area Councils.

“The election as guided by the extant laws used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), supposed to have been declared inconclusive.

“Pointedly in substantial numbers of the polling units, there were over voting which led to cancellation of results that supposed to have been revisited by INEC through rescheduled election but from nowhere, we had that results were declared. We are going to challenge it”, he said.

On capacity and service delivery to FCT residents over the years, Senator Aduda said “Within my twelve years in the Senate and eight years in the House of Representatives, a lot of development - driven projects

Ogbomosho South Constituency: NYCNKeffi youth canvass votes for Ayodeji Adegoke

By Musa Baba Adamu

TheNational Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Keffi local government chapter, has urged the people of Ogbomosho South Constituency in Oyo State, to vote for Ayodeji Adegoke, the APC state assembly candidate coming Saturday.

Alhaji Mohammed Idris, Chairman of the Council, who made the call in a statement, yesterday in Keffi, described Ayodeji as the most competent and deserving candidate among all the candidates vying for the seat.

Idris said it was time for the people of the constituency to reciprocate the contributions of Ayodeji’s father, Dr Adewale Adegoke-Maigida, a philanthropist, to the development of the area by voting massively for his son.

The youth leader stated that it was on record that AdegokeMaigida devoted all his energy and resources to empowering the people of Ogbomosho South throughout his career in public service.

According to him, there is no other time better than now for the people to show solidarity to Adegoke-Maigida’s family by giving their block votes to his son.

Idris said “Dr AdegokeMaigida popularly known as Maigida, had in the past touched many lives through his Charity Foundation by taking care of people, both the privileged and underprivileged, within and outside Ogbomoso.

“And by extension to the Northern parts of the country where he works. During the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, have been facilitated by me across the 62 wards and Six Area Councils, many of which are still ongoing”.

He said “I believe it is the person declared as the winner of the election that has no capacity because if she has the capacity, google will show her what I have done.

“It will show you that I led a protest to this place. On the floor of the Senate, I had to discuss about this issue of naira redesign and other motions on issues of urgent national importance.

“We have a road we are constructing in Kubwa, Over N1b, another one in Nyanya, over N1b, we have the ones we are doing in Bwari, if I don’t have the capacity and cannot represent the people, I don’t think I can attract those projects to the various communities or Area Councils. I am not talking of Gwagwalada or Kwali or Kuje, I am only talking about the urban center, the environment here.

“These are aside very important bills sponsored by me, passed by the National Assembly and assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari, like the one on the Federal College of Education, Zuba that has been there for over 17 years without graduation until we passed that bill.

Other bills are: Federal Capital Territory Area Councils (Administration & Political Structure) Bill, Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, Bill, Federal Capital Territory University of Science & Technology Abaji, Bill, Federal Capital Territory Hospital he distributed palliatives in Ogbomoso to reduce the untold hardship occasioned by it.

Management Board Bill, Federal Capital Territory water Board Bill, Federal Capital Territory Transport Authority Bill, FCT Civil Service Commission Bill, Federal Capital Territory College of Nursing and Midwifery bill, FCT Health Insurance agency Bill etc.

He added that he put on ground infrastructure in various areas like provisions of classrooms, Primary Health Care centers, Provision of portable water, Provision of Rural electrification, Construction of roads across the area councils in the FCT, Small & Medium Scale empowerment programmes and Provision of student bursary to over three thousand (3,000) beneficiaries drawn across the sixty two (62) electoral wards of the six (6) Area Councils.

“The distribution of the palliatives in Ogbomoso brought unprecedented joy to the less privileged who said it was not only timely, but also effective.

”The palliatives were also extended to those providing essential services such as the Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Road Safety Corps, State Security Service and media establishments.

“In the light of aforementioned, therefore, Ayodeji deserves to be elected by the people of Ogbomosho South because of the antecedents of his father.”

The youth leader said that it was gratifying that Ayodeji had emulated his father in the area of youths empowerment and provision of basic social amenities such as boreholes to communities in the area.

NNPP asks Nigerians to vote party’s guber, Assembly candidates on Saturday

By Christiana Ekpa

The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has urged the electorate to vote for the Party’s governorship and State Assembly candidates in the Saturday’s general election.

In a statement issued yesterday by the founder and chairman of Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party, Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam, NNPP charged voters to go out united and determined to provide leadership for Nigerians whom he said desire and deserve a new Nigeria.

According to him, “As we head to the polls this weekend to elect State Governors and State Houses of Assembly members, there is need for us not to lose focus despite the obvious financial constraints. We must go into the election united, determined and committed to provide leadership for Nigerians who desire and deserve a new Nigeria.

“We must go out to vote for all NNPP candidates, we must position our agents to ensure that our votes are well policed and the votes cast count. We must ensure free, fair, credible, transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections.

“The people’s will and mandates must be respected in the spirit of sportsmanship which NNPP is known for. The unity of the country is sacrosanct, Nigerians are urged to eschewed violence and electoral malpractices as we come out en masse to be discharge this crucial civic duty that will redefine the destiny of the nation.

“NNPP, 21 years old is a very peaceful party and we should demonstrate that as we go into this second round of elections nationwide this weekend. The candidates are expected to go in and do their best, our polling agents are expected to discharge their duties with sincerity, commitment and absolute loyalty to the party.

“We are optimistic that our great party will emerge victorious in these elections that will restore hope to our long-suffering compatriots. A vote for NNPP is a vote for a better, greater and prosperous Nigeria”.

The party added that though the presidential election has come and gone, the experience gained is the tonic needed to ginger supporters for the next round of elections coming up this weekend, urging voters not to look at the negative aspects of the problems encountered in the exercise but the positive lessons learnt from it.