INEC inaugurates election logistics committee for 2023 poll
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has inaugurated the Electoral Logistics Committee (LOC) for the 2023 general election with the objective of ensuring a hitch-free poll.
The INEC Chairman, who did this on Friday in Abuja, said that the committee was critical to the successful conduct of the 2023 election.
He said that the idea behind the creation of the committee was to ensure that all logistics needed for the smooth conduct of the election were in place at all times.
Yakubu said that flights conveying essential election materials for the 2019 poll couldn’t land easily in some airports due to poor visibility, thereby hampering the smooth conduct of the election.
“I urge you to commence your meeting immediately and be submitting periodic reports through the chairman of the committee, who is an INEC National Commissioner.
“In this way, we will be tracking progress and knowing well in advance potential weak links in the logistics chain.
“We will also be updating Nigerians on the progress we are making on a regular basis. We are determined that never again should elections be postponed at the eleventh hour on account of logistics.
“That is why we are mobilising every national asset and starting the engagement early. On this note, it is my pleasure to formally inaugurate the Electoral Logistics Committee for the 2023 general election,” he said.
Read also: 2023: Experts call for multiple testing of electoral devices, training of INEC officers
Electoral Violence: Stakeholders want effective implementation of Electoral Act
Some stakeholders representing the Southeast geopolitical zone have insisted on an effective implementation of the Electoral Act. They believe that its implementation would help in checking electoral violence in the 2023 general elections in the country.
This call by these stakeholders was a reaction to a survey carried out by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on preventing electoral violence ahead of the 2023 general elections in the country.
Nelson Nwafor, the Executive Director of the Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy, and Development (FENRAD) in Abia, said that electoral violence was a “serious threat” to the achievement of sustainable democracy in Nigeria.
According to him, the menace has become detrimental to the sustainability of democracy in Nigerian politics and requires swift action toward addressing the issue.
Nwafor said that politicians and the electorate were jointly responsible for the continued occurrence of electoral violence recorded during electioneering periods.
He commended the Federal Government for the Electoral Act (2022), adding that it would play a vital role in guiding the conduct of the politicians and electorate during the elections.
He charged political parties to ensure that the campaigns of their candidates were issue-based to enable them to build a work plan that would facilitate the delivery of the democracy dividend to the citizenry.
Some of the respondents urged INEC to partner with the security agencies to ensure that the general election is conducted in an atmosphere devoid of rancour and manipulation.
Edo, GIZ partner on harmonised incentives for investors
The government of Edo State has said that it is putting plans in place to make the state the preferred investment destination in the country.
The government said that it was putting in place a unified incentive package to attract investors.
It said that it was collaborating with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) on the Pro Poor Promotion, Growth, and Employment in Nigeria (SEDIN) programme.
Kevin Uwaibi, the Managing Director of the Edo State Investment Promotion Office, said this at a workshop on the Compendium of Investment Incentives in Edo, held in Benin on Friday.
Uwaibi argued that having a harmonised incentive package at this critical moment in the country is not right but seriously needed.
“We do have incentives, but what we are doing today with the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) is to be able to harmonise the incentives and ensure that they are properly documented.
“We have seen that the state is attracting a lot of investors, so we want to categorise the incentives that we have for businesses so that they can be easily accessed.”
Trump says he will “very, very, very probably” run in 2024
According to greekreporter, the former U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce his candidacy for the 2024 U.S. presidential election this month after he nearly confirmed his intention to seek the White House again in Iowa late on Thursday.
“And now, in order to make our country successful, safe, and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again, OK,” Trump said at a rally in Sioux City.
“Very, very, very probably—VERY, very, very probably,” he repeated, pausing to listen to huge cheers and a chant of “Trump! Trump!”
“Get ready, that’s all I’m telling you. Very soon. Get ready,” he added, later sharing a clip to his Truth Social account.
On Thursday, Axios, CNN, and The New York Times reported, citing unidentified sources, that an official announcement of a presidential run by Trump may come as early as November 14.
Elon Musk says Twitter suffering a ‘massive drop in revenue’ on activist group pressure
Elon Musk wrote Friday that Twitter has suffered a “massive drop in revenue” in recent days after activist groups pressured advertisers to stop using the platform.
The new owner of Twitter wrote that “Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists.”
“Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America,” he added.
Musk did not name the groups. Nor did he name the advertisers or companies.
Musk had reported some days ago that he met with the heads of several left-wing groups, including the NAACP, the Anti-Defamation League, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Color of Change, Free Press, The Bush Center, and the Asian American Foundation, in an attempt to resolve the issues.
“Twitter will not allow anyone who was de-platformed for violating Twitter rules back on the platform until we have a clear process for doing so, which will take at least a few more weeks,” Musk wrote around the same time.
The microblogging company is likely to suffer more loss of revenue following the suspension of advertising by some Fortune 100 companies such as Pfizer, General Mills, Volkswagen, and Audi.
Musk did not address whether those companies specifically departed Twitter, which he purchased for $44 billion last week.
