The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has urged the Nigerian government and the citizens to ensure that the country’s election is transparent and peaceful as a model to other countries in the region.

The Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Dr. Sidie Mohammed Tunis, made the call at the closing of the fifth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament Extraordinary session in Guinea Bissau.

Dr. Tunis urged the country to uphold the spirit and tenets of sportsmanship, transparency, and accountability in the polls.

“Permit me to reiterate my earlier calls on our brothers and sisters in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and other Member States, who are going into major elections this year, to uphold the spirit and tenets of sportsmanship, transparency, and accountability”, Dr. Tunis stated.

“Let us bear in mind that election is not a do or die affair, rather it provides a golden opportunity for our citizens to cast their votes to elect credible leaders of their choice and not disrupt the electoral processes through violence and destruction of lives and properties.

I appeal to all the citizens of these countries to uphold the principles of democracy and respect opposing opinions. Let´s be guided that the days of violence and wanton destruction of lives and properties after the declaration of the election results, will no longer be tolerated and the wish of the majority must prevail. In addition, any candidate, who feel otherwise should seek redress in the court of law and follow due process.

“I urge all stakeholders in charge of organizing and conducting elections, especially Heads of Electoral Commissions, Security Agencies and Non-State Actors to ensure that the outcome of the elections is rooted in transparency and social justice.”

Dr.Tunis also urged everyone to put hands on deck to ensure that West Africa moves in the direction of progress. “I want to task and equally encourage all and sundry to remain focused and resilient towards our common goal of ensuring that our region prospers”.

“Remember that our destinies are in our hands, and we can determine the means to arrive at our desired success. I am hopeful that at the end of this year, we will be on the positive and bright side of life,” he added.

The Speaker said the parliamentary session enabled them to hold qualitative discussions and adopt workable conclusions on pressing issues affecting the people in the region. “It is therefore hoped that the recommendations made during this Session will form the basis for policy formulations, implementations and produce outcomes needed to transform the standard of living of the people.

“The year 2023 presents a huge opportunity for us to re-evaluate issues militating against the shared developments of our Member States.”

Convergence Criteria
Resolutions from the ECOWAS Parliamentary seminar were also adopted, with recommendations for ECOWAS Member States to intensify efforts to meet the related convergence criteria stipulated between 2022 and 2026, in order to be adequately prepared for the launch of the single currency threshold program by 2027.

Honourable Kebba Barrow from Gambia, who read the recommendations further called for reinforcement of the political will and commitment towards the successful implementation of the ECOWAS Monetary Cooperation Programme; improvement of regional transport and communication and other infrastructure projects, such as power; development of higher education and training institutions and programs, particularly science and technology education; improved information and Communications Technologies and Content; promotion of Regional Capital Markets Development; and the development of required financial markets infrastructures, establishment of prudential regulations across Member States.

The ECOWAS Member States were also encouraged to harmonize the regional settlement and clearing system and credit rating standards, as well as harmonize the activities in the regional capital markets; reduce national financial regulations, as a result of harmonized regional financial policy enhances transparency and a positive shift in international markets’ assessment of an economy and may act as a disciplinary device as well.

To the ECOWAS Commission, the seminar participants recommended the organisation of investment to mobilize the funds required; and in consonance with WAMA, support capacity building programs for Member States and other relevant Stakeholders, such as the ECOWAS Parliament on every topic towards the realization of the single currency agenda; Undertake joint Sensitization missions with WAMA and ECOWAS Parliament to banks, Private Sector Operators, and the Political Authorities, on the necessity and importance of implementing the ECOWAS Payments and Settlement System (EPSS) with a plan to integrate it with the PAPSS.

Seminar participants also made recommendations for Members of Parliament to review and endorse international Agreements affecting the Community Institutions (Non-Mandatory Referral); review and give Assent to all Community Acts relating to Economic and Monetary Integration including Trade, Customs, Free Movement of Persons, Goods and Services and Monetary Cooperation (Mandatory Referral); exercise Parliamentary oversight over activities of Programs implementing Institutions /Bodies of the Community and adopt appropriate Resolutions (including interpellations etc.); Collaborate with the Council of Ministers and ECOWAS Commission to propose Model and Uniform Laws to the Community that would facilitate the establishment of a single currency and central bank; Proposal for the amendment of the sections of the Revised Treaty that have an impact on the monetary union arrangements; Undertake high level Missions to Member States to advocate on specific issues relating to the implementation of EPSS; and ensure all duties and responsibilities relating to EPSS are being fulfilled through Parliamentary Sessions or Committee meetings.

Formally declaring the Parliamentary Seminar on Sequencing ECOWAS Monetary Cooperation Towards Single Currency, under the theme ‘’The ECOWAS Common Currency and Inter-Bank Payment System as Promoters of Regional Trade’’ closed, the 4th Deputy Speaker, Hon. Adja Pinto Camara, expressed great admiration and appreciation to the Experts for the clarity and quality of their presentations and thanked the participants for their commitment and contributions that ensured fruitful discussions.

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The Supreme Court in Abuja, Nigeria has nullified the election of Senator Emmanuel Bwacha as the Gubernatorial candidate of All Progressives Congress APC for Taraba state in the March 11, 2023 elections.

In a judgement on Wednesday, Justice Adamu Jauro affirmed the decision of the Federal High Court Jalingo Taraba State capital that nullified the election of Bwacha as the APC governorship candidate in the state.

The Apex Court set aside, the judgement of the Court of Appeal Yola Division, which had on November 24, 2022, reinstated Emmanuel Bwacha as governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the forthcoming general elections.

A 5-man panel of the Supreme Court upheld the judgement of the trial court which had ordered for a fresh primary election within 14 days.

The Apex court said, there was no valid APC Primary elections conducted in Taraba state.

The Court agreed that the results of the primary election were purported and fraudulently allocated to the candidate.

The Apex court said “the appeal is allowed and Parties bear their respective cost”

It would be recalled that the Court of Appeal, Yola division had reinstated Senator Emmanuel Bwacha as the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Taraba state.

In a unanimous decision, the three-man panel led by Justice Tani Yusuf Hassan set aside the judgment of the trial court and ruled in favour of Bwacha.

A Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo, Taraba State capital had nullified the election of Bwacha as the APC governorship candidate in the state.

The court also ordered that a fresh primary election should be conducted by the party to elect a new governorship candidate.

The High Court ruling followed a petition filed before the court by one of the aspirants, David Sabo Kente.

Kente had told the court that no governorship primary election was held in Taraba. Justice Simon Amobeda subsequently nullified Bwacha’s election and ordered a fresh primary within 14 days.

The judge also ordered the electoral commission, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to stop recognizing of Bwacha as the candidate of the party.

Reacting to the Judgment in an interview, the appellant who was also an aspirant Mr. David Kente described it as land mark judgment that brought hope to the people of Taraba state.

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The Nigerian government says it is not true that some people in Aso Rock Villa are working to frustrate the victory of All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu in the February 25, 2023 presidential elections.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, made the clarification in Abuja on Wednesday, while reacting to the allegations made recently by Kaduna State Governor, Nasiru El-Rufai.

The Minister was speaking at the end of this week’s cabinet meeting Chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Reacting to the allegation, Mohammed said officially, government is not aware of anyone within the presidential villa that is working against any candidate in next month’s presidential election

Mohammed said the government has been fair to all candidates regardless of party affiliation and that President Buhari has consistently demonstrated that he is for free, fair and credible elections.

He said: “On a more serious note, one thing I can assure you is that no matter what, this administration is focused, determine to ensure free and fair elections. But I think with this administration the most important person is Mr. President and I think he has shown by words and by deed that he is dedicated to free, fair and credible elections.

“And fair, free, credible elections actually mean not backing anybody. And everywhere he goes he makes that very clear even as recently as Friday when he was in Daura, he said the same thing. If there’s anybody working against a candidate we don’t know officially.”

Kaduna State Governor, Nasiru El-Rufai, who was a guest on Channels Television breakfast programme Sunrise Daily on Wednesday, blamed some of the government policies including the naira redesign and persistent fuel scarcity in the country on 5th Columnist, saying that naira redesign and persistent fuel scarcity may cause unrest in the country.

According to him, the policy of currency redesign at this moment is the idea of few people in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, adding that it was never the policy of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said: “The policy of currency redesign is the idea of a few people in the Presidential Villa. APC never promised Naira redesign. This is not the right time to embark on such an exercise because most of the areas in Nigeria have no banking facilities.”

The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) alleged that the naira redesign and fuel scarcity across Nigeria is the handiwork of the 5th Columnist, to bring down the government of APC.

“I must say that the naira redesign and fuel scarcity is the handiwork of 5th Columnists because they want to bring the country down, otherwise why must redesigning naira be the priority of the federal government at this time.” he added.

El-Rufai who is a prominent member and co-founder of APC also alleged that most of the people in the Presidential Villa are not APC members hence some of the policies they are churning out from time to time are those that will hurt APC.

Asked if he was not using his close relationship with President Buhari to make suggestions on how to solve some national issues, El-Rufai dismissed it with the wave of the hand, saying that he cannot remember when he has made suggestions that were accepted.

“I stopped going to Presidential Villa a long time ago. What is the use when every suggestion you bring will not be accepted.

”I rather stayed back solving the problems of my state (Kaduna) which I believe will be more important to me and my people. I don’t go to the Presidential Villa anymore,” he said while appearing on the programme.

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With 24 days to Nigeria’s Presidential Election, the Presidential Campaign Council of the governing All Progressives Congress, APC has launched an app named “Thinking Caps”.

The app is aimed at informing young Nigerians of the achievements and potentials of the APC Presidential Candidate, Mr. Bola Tinubu and his running mate Kashim Shettima, as well as educate them on the actions of other Presidential candidates contesting the election.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, the Campaign Council’s Director of Strategic Communications, Mr. Mohammed Idris explained that the “Thinking Caps” will also have a quiz feature which will be aimed at educating youths on different matters and winners of the quiz will get a reward.

Mr. Idris added that the app which also has a newsfeed and gallery features has the capacity to engage 93.4 million registered users.

“The demographic analysis of our population shows that the youth aged 35 and below constitute over 60% of our population. It means Nigeria is a very young country – too young to know that there was a world without computers and GSM phones, not to talk of internet and social media. As far as these youth are concerned, End-SARS protest was the biggest civil disobedience and fight for citizens’ rights that has ever happened.

“They cannot understand what the older population mean when they talk about military rule and how rights and privileges of citizens were curtailed. They have no idea that some people came face to face with gun-wielding soldiers and some paid the supreme price fighting for democracy.

“They are not familiar with what it means to be pro-democracy activists, and the sacrifices they made that culminated in the democracy we enjoy today.

“So, it suffices to say if 60% of our population did not witness these events and have no knowledge about them, they are not able to make informed choice amongst the front-runners in this race, with particular reference to the candidature of Asiwaju Tinubu.

“This is where the “Thinking Caps” app comes in, to bridge this knowledge gap amongst the Gen Z and millennials and rally majority of this demography behind the Tinubu-Shettima ticket.

“When we say Tinubu’s Lagos for instance, they wonder what we mean, when they were either unborn or too young to know the hitherto decrepit nature of Oshodi, Mushin, Obalende, Ojuelegba, CMS, amongst others.

“They don’t know what Lekki was or the existential threat that Victoria Island faced because of the ocean surge. They have no idea of the state of the Lagos infrastructure or the general quality of life of Lagosians before Tinubu became Governor, same way they have no idea about the great achievements of Sen. Kashim Shettima as Governor of an insurgency-ridden Borno State.

“We have a responsibility to fill this knowledge gap and educate this critical demography with facts about our opponents. This app educates the youths about the 16 years of misrule under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). With the launch of the app today, we are poised to uniquely tell our story and market our candidate as the best amongst the rest.

“With 24 days to the elections, the time to convince the electorate to secure an emphatic victory cannot be more auspicious. “The Thinking Caps” is our innovation to get this done so that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu can install “Renewed Hope” to the benefit of all Nigerians.”

He expressed hope that the app would lead young Nigerians to vote for the APC Presidential Candidate.

Mr. Idris said that the Think Caps application is on playstore and app store.

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in Oyo State, says it has proposed to hold a mock voters’ accreditation/verification exercise in the state.

The Oyo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Adeniran Tella, who said this during a stakeholders meeting held at the INEC Office, Ibadan, revealed that the exercise would be held in twelve of the polling units in 6, out of the state’s 33 local government areas namely, Akinyele, Atiba, Iseyin, Ogbomoso North, Ibadan North and Ido, of the three senatorial districts in the state.

Tella revealed that the Commission had taken delivery of and tested each of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines for the elections in the state to ensure their functionality on Election Day, noting that the purpose of the mock exercise, to be held on Saturday, 4th February, 2023, is to conduct field tests.

He said: “The Commission therefore wishes to appeal to registered voters in the affected Polling Units to appear on the scheduled date with their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) for the mock exercise. No doubt, the exercise will help to reassure the general public of the robustness of our system and further strengthen our processes ahead of the General Elections in the state.”

The REC affirmed that the 12 BVAS machines used for the exercise would be reconfigured before they are deployed for the General Elections in the state, noting that the Commission was fully ready for the elections as series of trainings had been and would still be conducted for both staff and 37,000 ad-hoc staff members of the Commission, in order to have seamless elections in the state.

Tella stated: “The Commission is to deploy technology for the conduct of the forthcoming elections through the use of BVAS for accreditation/verification of voters ad uploading Polling Units results through INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) on Election Day.”

He disclosed that the collection of PVCs at INEC offices in the state had been extended by 8 days, to end on Sunday, 5th February, 2023, with additional 2 hours, from 9am to 5pm daily, saying the Commission had distributed over 402,321 PVCs, with over 800,000 uncollected PVCs at the various Local Government Area offices in the state.

The REC, therefore, urged citizens to go out and collect their PVCs as their PVC is their power on Election Day.

On his part, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Williams, representated by DCP Garba Ahmed, urged the electorate to come out en- masse for the mock exercise, noting that the exercise would provide an avenue for the Commission to test run the equipment for optimal performance during the General Elections.

Other stakeholders at the meeting were representatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), National Orientation Agency (NOA), Inter-party Advisory Council (IPAC), the Army, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), political parties and the European Union election observers, among others.

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