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Hardship: As more northern youths push for mass protest, elders divided
Hardship: As more northern youths push for mass protest, elders divided
As some groups and individuals continue to push for the planned mass protest from August 1, youths from the North appear to be excited about it and have begun to warm up to the mass action.
There are therefore fears mostly from the government that it might disrupt social and economic activities.
A report by Daily Trust notes that a prominent tiktoker, Junaidu Abusalma Abdullahi, has been reported as one of those instrumental to promoting the idea among northern youth through the social media.
Only last week, another youth in Kano, Bashir Abubakar was accused of producing the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria T-shirts.
Other than that not much is known about the organisers of the planned protest.
Even the government seems uncertain about where the idea is coming from as its organs point at different directions.
While presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, accuses opposition elements, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) says it is the work of some fifth columnists in the Diaspora.
The Directorate of State Service (DSS) said in a statement that it knows the organisers, but did not provide details.
The reaction in the North has led to the involvement of clerics in the issue.
But rather than douse tension, their involvement has served to divide opinions on the proposed action.
While prominent clerics such as Sheikh Kabiru Gombe, Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir, Sheikh Aliyu Sokoto and Sheikh Aminu Ibrahim Daurawa are rallying against the planned protest, the likes of Sheikh Ahmad Gumi and Ibrahim Khalil Danshagamu have insisted there is nothing wrong with it if done in a peaceful manner.
Sheikh Gumi supports the idea of a peaceful protest as he views it as a means of conveying the grievances of the citizenry to the government.
Sheikh Jingir, on the other hand, is against it, saying the idea is conceived to make the Muslim-Muslim ticket of President Tinubu look bad.
“Just because there is hunger now in Nigeria, Christians against a Muslim-Muslim ticket, and Shiites and hypocrites who don’t like the Muslim-Muslim ticket are now calling for you to come out and protest. May Allah undermine all planned protests,” he said.
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Danshagamu said he is in support of the protest because it is an opportunity for people to claim their rights from the government due to the hunger and insecurity in the land.
Leader of Hisbah in Kano, Sheikh Daurawa, said he is against protest because Nigeria cannot allow what happened in Syria, Sudan, Libya and Iraq, where, according to him, protests were hijacked.
“There are people that want the country divided and have stockpiled arms and money waiting for the right opportunity. That’s why we are trying to prevent protests, not that we are afraid,” he stated.
As expected, the government is doing all it can to ensure that the protests do not hold, taking measures that include appealing to citizens to refrain from actions that could lead to anarchy, and involving the security agencies to caution against breaching the peace.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the president has listened to all concerns and assured that efforts are on to address the challenges.
He said, “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 that are trying to protest.”
Opposition figures like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, have, however, criticised the federal government and its agencies for trying to abort the planned nationwide protest.
Atiku said it was ironical that those who protested against the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012 are the ones trying to stifle other peoples’ rights to protest now.
But the government has said on several occasions that it is not against protest, but against the violence that may follow it if it is hijacked by certain elements.
An opposition lawmaker, who prefers not to be named, said given the ease with which the people were mobilised to join the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) strike a few months ago, the fear of government that the protest may be hijacked is not out of place.
“Remember that even the Endsars protest was hijacked while lives and property worth billions were lost,” he said.
It, however, remains to be seen if the protest would hold given the sharp division among major stakeholders.
Hardship: As more northern youths push for mass protest, elders divided
News
[UPDATED] [Breaking] APC’s Lucky Aiyedatiwa wins Ondo governorship election
[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
News
Ondo election: Again, INEC shifts collation of results to noon
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
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.”
Ondo gov: PDP, APC bought votes, says rights group
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