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Tinubu urges youth to shelve planned protest, await his response

Published

4 months ago

July 23, 2024

Tinubu urges youth to shelve planned protest, await his response

President Bola Tinubu has appealed to organizers of a nationwide protest to shelve their plans, assuring them that he is listening to their concerns and working diligently to address them.

The protest, being scheduled to hold across the country between August 1 to 10, is said to be a way of registering the impact of food scarcity and the inability to afford common needs.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, conveyed the president’s message while speaking to journalists at the State House on Tuesday, July 23, after a routine briefing of the President on developments around his ministry.

Idris said President Tinubu takes the protesters’ grievances seriously and is committed to ensuring a better future for Nigeria.

The minister highlighted the swift passage of the National Minimum Wage Bill by the National Assembly as evidence of the President’s commitment to swift action.

He urged young people to give the President more time to implement his plans, emphasizing that a protest is unnecessary as the government is already responding to their pleas.

“We also discussed the issue of the country generally and Mr. President has asked me to again inform Nigerians that he listens to them, especially the young people who are trying to protest, Mr. President is listening to them, he takes what they say seriously and he is working assiduously to ensure that this country is good, not just for today, but also for the future.

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“The issue of the planned protest, Mr. President does not see any need for that, he’s asked them to shelve that plan and he’s asked them to await the government’s response to all their pleas. He has listened to them, like I said, and a lot is happening.

“Only today, the National Assembly has expeditiously passed the Bill on National Minimum Wage, you can see how the President is working. It was transmitted only yesterday, today it has been passed.

“A lot of other interventions that the President has put in place are also going to be looked at expeditiously, in the interest of Nigerians. So there’s no need for a strike, the young people out there should listen to the President and allow the President more time to see to the realization of all the goodies he has for them.

Idris also reeled out more of the interventions being pushed to the public, aimed at supporting vulnerable Nigerians, students, and young graduates.

According to Idris, the government is committed to ensuring that its interventions reach the intended beneficiaries directly, without intermediaries.

He highlighted the recent approval and delivery of grains and rice to state governments as a first step in this direction.

“For example, you saw that the federal government approved grains and rice for state governments, it was delivered to them expeditiously also.

“Like I said the other time, it is just the necessary first step, the government is going to continue in that direction, supporting them and ensuring that whatever interventions the federal government has put in place go to those that should benefit. It is very important that is being put out.

“The federal government is looking at strategies that every intervention would go directly to those who benefit from those interventions, not middlemen intervening along the way”, he said.

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The Minister also emphasized President Tinubu’s passion for the newly launched Student Loan Board, which aims to ensure that every eligible student can access tertiary education regardless of financial constraints.

“Number two, you heard about the student loan board that was launched by the President, Mr. President is very passionate about deepening that. Everyone that should go to school will have the opportunity to go to school.

“It is no longer a time for all of us to stay back and see our young able-bodied men and women that have passed the examinations to go to tertiary institutions that have not been able to do that because their parents are not able to pay for their fees.

“This is a thing of the past, the government is very desirous of ensuring that happens. You know the provision that was made to the NELFUND, already we have in excess of what is required today, and the more the people are requiring that the more the President will also give”, the Minister said.

Furthermore, the government is perfecting a scheme to support young graduates who are yet to secure employment after completing their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program.

This initiative is part of the administration’s commitment to leaving no one behind in its quest for progress, according to the Minister.

“There is also the intervention the President is working out for those young men and women who have finished school, but who are yet to get employed, post-NYSC for example, there is a scheme the government is perfecting now and that is also going to be pushed fast so that all those young men and women who have finished school, graduates of universities and polytechnics that are unable to get jobs, they will continue to be supported by the government until such a time that those jobs are offered to them.

“The whole idea is that no one is left behind, it’s an all-inclusive government and the President is determined to ensure that no one is left behind in this his attempt to march Nigeria towards progress”, Idris said.

Speaking on his reason for visiting, Idris said: “It’s a regular meeting that all ministers hold with the President, I met with him and discussed with him, especially in areas under my supervision; the issue of NTA, for example, FRCN, NAN and VON. We have discussed all that and we have also arrived at situations that will help their position as public information platforms of the country.

“They should be in the forefront and they are, we are doing everything possible to make sure that they are being repositioned so that they can serve Nigeria very well”, he said.

Tinubu urges youth to shelve planned protest, await his response

Related Topics:Featured protest Tinubu youth

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[UPDATED] [Breaking] APC’s Lucky Aiyedatiwa wins Ondo governorship election

Published

2 hours ago

November 17, 2024

Trends Admin

Ondo governorship election final result

[UPDATED] [Breaking] APC’s Lucky Aiyedatiwa wins Ondo governorship election

Lucky Aiyedatiwa, the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, has emerged victorious in the Ondo governorship election.

Olayemi Akinwumi, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) returning officer, disclosed the results in Akure, Ondo’s capital, on Sunday.

Aiyedatiwa, the incumbent governor, secured 366,781 votes, surpassing Agboola Ajayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who garnered 117,845 votes.

Nejo Adeyemi, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, trailed behind with 4,138 votes.

The APC dominated the election, winning all 18 local government areas, while the PDP failed to secure any victories.

The off-cycle election in Ondo, contested by 17 candidates, took place peacefully, with minimal violence reported.

Prior to the election, Aiyedatiwa expressed confidence in his victory, citing his impressive record in office.

Aiyedatiwa emphasized that he was the sole candidate to have visited all 18 local government areas, adding that he’s willing to concede defeat if the election is free from manipulation.

Ajayi, Aiyedatiwa’s closest rival, expressed concerns regarding INEC’s capability to ensure a fair electoral process.

The PDP candidate also criticized the commission’s sluggish pace, alleging that it constitutes a “deliberate attempt to rig the polls”.

ONDO STATE GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION RESULTS (UPDATED)

1– Akure North

APC 14, 451

PDP 5, 787

2–Okitipupa

APC 26, 811
PDP 10, 233

3—Akoko Northeast

APC 25, 657

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Ondo election: Again, INEC shifts collation of results to noon

Published

7 hours ago

November 17, 2024

Trends Admin

Ondo election: Again, INEC shifts collation of results to noon

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has shifted the collation of results for the Ondo State governorship election from 5am to noon.

The Returning Officer, Prof Olayemi Akinwunmi, had earlier announced that collation of the remaining five council areas will resume by 5 a.m. (Sunday), but later said it commences by noon.

Prof Akinwunmi is the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Lokoja.

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Akinwunmi, who announced the recess, said it is to give room for the arrival of results from the remaining council areas.

He said: “We have five more local governments but we are going to take our recess now until 5am to receive some receive from Akure North, Okitipupa and Odigbo, then Ilaje and Eseodo. We resume 5am for these local governments.”

According to results from 13 of the 18 local government areas announced so far by INEC, Aiyedatiwa has polled 259,851 votes ahead of his closest rival and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Agboola Ajayi, who scored 81,031 votes.

Ondo election: Again, INEC shifts collation of results to noon

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Ondo gov: PDP, APC bought votes, says rights group

Published

17 hours ago

November 16, 2024

Trends Admin

Ondo gov: PDP, APC bought votes, says rights group

The Centre for Democracy and Development West Africa (CDD-West Africa), through its Election Analysis Centre (CDD-EAC), has said that the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) bought votes from the electorate for as low as N3,000 and N5,000 respectively during the Saturday’s off-cycle governorship election in Ondo State.

Prof. Victor Adetula, Lead, CDD-EAC Observation Mission Ondo 2024; and Dr. Dauda Garuba, Director, CDD-West Africa, said this in CDD’s EAC preliminary statement on the conduct of the 2024 Ondo State governorship election, presented by Ms Oluseyi Awojulugbe, a member of the CDD-EAC.

The report also said that the election recorded lower incidents of disinformation and information manipulation, also referred to as fake new compared to the recently concluded off-cycle September 21 governorship election in Edo State.

“CDD-EAC notes a lot of instances of vote buying. In Okitipupa LGA, Ward 09, Unit 003 (Irowa, Ilutitun 3), voters were solicited for their votes, with APC allegedly offering ₦10,000 per voter and PDP ₦3,000.

“In Odigbo LGA, Ward 01, Unit 001 (Oja Baale, Agbabu), reports of vote-buying were noted, with APC allegedly offering ₦10,000 and PDP ₦5,000 per voter.

“Our observers also noted that some party agents started transferring money to voters to circumvent having to hold cash. In Ese-Odo, Ward 07, Unit 013 (Tari Ama Zion Ugo Community, Arogbo Ward 2), Vote-buying was observed at this polling unit, with PDP offering ₦3,000 and APC offering ₦5,000 to voters.

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“CDD observers watching the process in Ward 5, PU 001, located at St Johns Primary School, Iba Akoko South East spotted APC leaders writing down the names of those who voted for their candidate.

“Subsequently, a card was given to them and they were instructed to converge at an agreed location where cash would be disbursed to them.

“In Ward 005, PU 001, St Barnabas Primary School, Ifon, CDD-EAC observers saw policemen arguing over money shared by a party stalwart.

“The policemen reportedly frowned that about 10 of them were given N100,000 while only one official from another branch of the armed services allegedly got N15,000,” the report said.

The CDD-EAC said that the vote buying incidents and behaviour of party agents sparked multiple conflicts during the voting process, listing Idanre LGA, Ward 06, PU 004 (Methodist High School), where APC agents were accused of strategically monitoring voters’ choices, a move initially defended by security officials but later curtailed after protests.

The report, however, commended the prompt arrival of electoral officials at polling units (PUs), with 99% of CDD-EAC observers reporting that the INEC officials were at their stations before 8:30am.

Observers also reported cases of rowdiness in the polling environment with some youths disagreeing in some cases about the initiative by poll officials to allow elderly voters to cast their ballots first, leading to the disruption of the process, despite the intervention of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) at Post Office Premises, Akungba Akoko, Akoko South West.

On disinformation and information manipulation, the report said that the numbers of false narratives, claims and counter claims in the Ondo State governorship election have been relatively low, compared to other recent polls.

It said, “In the campaign period, and on Election Day, 13 claims have so far been reported and fact checked by CDD War Room.

“This is low, compared to the 61 claims reported during the same period in the Edo election, representing a 79% increase between the two elections. While 12 of these claims have been assessed to be either false or misleading, the sole claim peddled on voting day was adjudged to be true.”