General
INEC Seeks More Women In Electoral Process
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The need for more women to be involved in electoral process in the country has been emphasised by Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Yakubu Mahmood.
This, Prof Mahmood said, the Commission has been working hard to achieve.
However, the INEC boss has commended political parties for the increasing opportunities given women to participate in the electoral process and contest elective positions.
He also commended women for their increasing interest in the electoral process and encouraged their greater participation.
Prof Mahmood gave the commendation when the newly elected executive of the National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS), led by its National President, Gloria Laraba Shoda visited the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
He said INEC takes the issue of women participation very seriously, explaining that the Commission, soon after the FCT elections, was displeased about the absence of women in the 6 Chairmanship seats and 62 Councillorship positions contested.
The INEC Chairman disclosed that the Commission raised the issue with political parties in their last meeting and was pleased that there were visible changes in the forthcoming elections.
“We appealed to Political Parties to consider women in all forth coming elections. I am happy to report that the political parties have listened to our plea.
“In the forthcoming governorship election in Edo state, one Political Party has fielded one woman as governorship candidate, and eight Political Parties out of the 19 contesting in the Edo governorship elections have also picked women as their deputy governorship candidates. And we expect the political parties to extend the same understanding in the forthcoming Ondo governorship election and in all the subsequent elections,” he said.
On the issue of violence against women in elections, the INEC Chairman said: “the issue of violence across the board is a source of concern for the Commission but most especially against the disadvantaged groups and the women. We shall continue to work with you to remove all the obstacles to the participation of women in politics including the issue of violence”.
He added that: “As mothers, you also bear the brunt of some of the violence in some of the elections, we unfortunately lost some of our ad-hoc staff and these ad-hoc staff were your children, young graduates who have only recently graduated from the university and in the course of national service lost their lives”.
The INEC Chairman reassured the Commission’s guests that the Commission would always encourage women in every respect to actively participate in the electoral process, not just as voters but also as candidates. “That is why we have a whole Division dedicated to gender issues. When we talk about gender, we are basically talking about our women,” he said.
Earlier, the National President of NCWS, Gloria Laraba Shoda, said the purpose of their visit was to express appreciation for INECs work with women’s issues and to see where both organizations could continue to collaborate to continue to push for a better deal for women, as far as politics was concerned.
She commended the Commission for its commitment towards gender mainstreaming and its continued dialogue with Political Parties on the subject of gender balance within party hierarchy. “Through our collaborative work, we can achieve gender parity in political structures and further build women’s political participation,” she said.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Bola Tinubu on Saturday, January 11, 2025, left the shores of Nigeria for the United Arab Emirates to take part in the 2025 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW 2025).
He was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Yusuf Tuggar, and other senior government officials.
A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, disclosed that Mr Tinubu was invited for the event by his UAE counterpart, Mr Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
He will attend the programme starting from today, Sunday, January 12 to Saturday, January 18, 2025.
However, President Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria before the end of the summit on Thursday, January 16, 2025.
The event, themed The Nexus of Next; Supercharging Sustainable Progress, is expected to bring together global leaders to accelerate sustainable development and advance socioeconomic progress.
In addition, it will enable policymakers, business, and civil society leaders to explore pathways to fast-track the transformation to a sustainable economy and evolve a new era of prosperity for all.
ADSW, a testament to the power of collaboration, has been held annually for over 15 years. It provides a global platform to foster multi-stakeholder cooperation in addressing global challenges and accelerating growth.
It has birthed high-value agreements and strategic partnerships between governments, industry leaders, and clean energy pioneers worldwide, driving impactful alliances and advancing the sustainability agenda worldwide.
At the event, President Tinubu will stress his administration’s reforms, including those related to energy sufficiency, transportation, public health, and economic development.
The Nigerian leader and his entourage will also meet with the emirate’s leadership to discuss issues of interest affecting the two nations.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, remains at the centre of a storm of corruption allegations that have plagued his tenure.
Critics, anti-corruption groups, and opposition leaders have accused him of financial mismanagement, extravagant spending, and abuse of office, yet no substantive action has been taken against him.
Recent reports by People’s Gazette revealed that the 40-member Lagos State House of Assembly, under Mr Obasa’s leadership, spent over N43 billion on “back-up vehicles for honourable members” between January 2023 and the third quarter of 2024.
This expenditure, part of a larger N90.5 billion disbursed for questionable projects, has raised concerns among Lagos residents about the state’s priorities amid widespread economic hardship.
Budget documents showed the Assembly spent about N30.1 billion on vehicles in 2023 and about N13.3 billion in the first three quarters of 2024. Critics argued that these sums, which equate to roughly N1.1 billion per lawmaker, were frivolous.
Mr Obasa has faced allegations of corruptions since early in his tenure, including reports of owning over 60 bank accounts used to misappropriate public funds. In 2019, People’s Gazette reported that the lawmaker conducted suspicious foreign exchange transactions totaling $2.4 million (N1.1 billion). These funds were allegedly funneled through personal accounts and mutual fund investments.
In October 2020, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) invited the Speaker for questioning over allegations of fraud. Despite evidence of financial impropriety, including allegations of inflated contracts and misappropriated Assembly funds, the EFCC has yet to take decisive action. Protests led by civil society groups like the Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CISNAC) demanding accountability have yielded little progress.
Mr Obasa has consistently denied these allegations. Speaking at a recent plenary, he dismissed claims of spending N17 billion on constructing a gate as “spurious and funny.”
He also refuted allegations of spending N200 million on a nonexistent thanksgiving service, attributing the accusations to political fear-mongering ahead of the 2027 elections.
However, critics have dismissed these defenses as self-serving. A 2020 House panel, composed of Mr Obasa’s allies, cleared him of wrongdoing—a decision labeled a “kangaroo judgment” by anti-corruption advocates.
Prominent anti-corruption campaigner, Mr Olanrewaju Suraju, has urged the EFCC to act on the mounting evidence against Mr Obasa, warning that his actions undermine legislative independence and public trust.
“These revelations justify the urgent need for mechanisms to enforce probity and accountability in public office,” Mr Suraju said.
Despite the scandals, Mr Obasa appears unperturbed and untouchable, with analysts attributing his survival to political connections and an entrenched culture of impunity.
As Lagos State prepares for the 2027 elections, the Speaker’s continued tenure symbolizes a broader challenge of corruption and governance in Nigeria’s political landscape.
Observers now await further developments as pressure mounts on anti-graft agencies to act decisively.
For Lagos residents, however, the scandals highlight a troubling disconnect between political leadership and the needs of the people.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Residents of Nigeria experienced a power outage on Saturday, January 11, 2025, after the national grid collapsed.
It was the first that occurred this year and it happened at about 3 pm today, according to information gathered by Business Post.
Last year, the nation recorded about 12 grid collapse that almost embarrassed the government, which later set up a team to look into the causes of the frequent collapse of the grid.
It was later that today’s incident occurred after power generation went down from 2,111.01 megawatts at 2:00 pm to about 390.20 megawatts by 4:55 pm.
This development caused a cut in power supply in most parts of the country, but the situation has been brought under control, with electricity restored in most affected areas.
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