Voters Rejoice As Army Shoots Thug Dead In Benue

 A THUG HAS JUST BEEN SHOT DEAD @ GBOKO-SOUTH, BENUE FOR ATTEMPTING to disrupt Elections at polling unit 0026 and 00

NDLEA Arrests Party Agents With Money Cards In Ogun

 

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Saturday morning, arrested some party agents in Ogun State.

Operatives on election duty intercepted four men during a stop and search. One was seen with a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, tag. 

The quartet had hundreds of money credit cards to be used to “buy votes” at the Ibara Housing Estate area.

The NDLEA revealed each card contains N10,000 that can be activated and turned into cash with a code. 

The spokesperson Femi Babafemi said the anti-narcotics agency would hand the suspects over to the police for prosecution.

Results Won't Be Uploaded At The Polling Unit - INEC Official Tells Voters

 INEC officials at Victor olaiya/idahosa aguda polling unit in Surulere, Lagos, insist that results won’t be uploaded at the polling unit.

She said results will only be uploaded at the “center” where they claimed there’s network.

No Oro Festival In Lagos On Saturday, Electoral Process Not Threatened – Police

 The police have assured voters in Lagos State say there won’t be Oro festivities in the state on Saturday, maintaining that there is no threat to the governorship and state assembly elections billed for that day. 

Reports on social media claimed that the Oro festival in some parts of the state will take place on Saturday – on the same day as the elections. The development triggered reactions from Nigerians most of whom lamented the situation.

But speaking on Channels Television’s election show The 2023 Verdict on Friday, the Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said it is only one part of the state that conducted Oro which he confirmed ended on Friday.

“When the news went viral that there will be Oro between Wednesday and Thursday, the major city that is concerned is Ikate land where we have Kabiyesi Oba Elegushi and I personally put a call to Kayesi to find out what is the situation.

“I am a Yoruba man, and I know what it is when they say they will have Oro cult or Oro festival. I know definitely many people will not be allowed to move particularly women and he clarified and said the Oro festival will end today (Friday). So, this means it’s not a threat to the electoral process in any way because the election is tomorrow (Saturday).

“I think if the Oro is over today, that settles it. So, according to the information I have from Lagos State, the Oro ends today Friday and the election is tomorrow. So, I don’t think it is a threat to the electoral process in any way,” Adejobi said.

He said he is not aware that there are other communities in the state planning on doing the Oro festival on election day and as such, there is nothing to worry about. He, however, said that if some people insist on going on with such activity on election day, the police will also deal with the situation.

Orò Festival is an event celebrated by towns and settlements of Yoruba origin. It is an annual traditional ceremony that is patriarchal in nature, as it is only celebrated by male descendants who are paternal natives of the specific locations where the event is taking place.

During the festival, females and non-natives stay indoors as oral history has it that Orò must not be seen by women and non-participating people.

Youths Playing Football In The Street Of Okota, Lagos On Election Day

 

Olumide Oworu's Name Missing On INEC List

The name of the Labour Party candidate for Surelere 1 Constituency, Olumide Oworu, is missing on the final list of governorship and House of Assembly candidates.

Reports on social media especially Twitter had insinuated that Oworu’s name was missing.

A Twitter user @StFrankingKezy in a tweet said “This guy is not even a candidate of LP in the forthcoming Gov & HoA elections oooooo because his name is not even on INEC list. Wonders shall never end. Who started the narrative?”

Daily Trust obtained the final list of gubernatorial and state House of Assembly candidates and found that Oworu’s name is indeed missing from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) list.

In his place, INEC listed 47-year-old Adebayo Bode.

Last Thursday, Olumide Oworu and his supporters were attacked by suspected political thugs around Bode Thomas Street Junction in Surulere when they were about to kick off a campaign rally.

Oworu is contesting against the All Progressives Congress’s (APC) Desmond Elliot, a fellow Nollywood actor.

 

If This Election Is Not Credible, I Will Fight To The End – GRV

 Governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour says he will fight to the very end, if the polls are not free, fair and credible.

Speaking to newsmen at his polling unit, Ward A 045 Oshifila/Abule Igbira, Anifowoshe in the Ikeja area of Lagos, Rhodes-Vivour said he will “fight to the end” if the election does not turn out the way it should.

“We need a credible election, we do, its about time; how long are we going to hold people as slaves in Lagos State?” he asked rhetorically. 

The LP governorship candidate further stated that Lagosians deserve a good life, adding that “Lagos has the money for a good life”.

“Lagos has the money to provide enough infrastructure for people not to sit in three hours traffic everyday, Lagos has the money for our young men to get employment; so much unemployment and then they use this weakness to perpetrate evil against their own people,” Rhodes-Vivour lamented.

He noted that a full scale monitoring process is already in place to ensure that the elections are not not hijacked by politicians who do not have the people’s best interest at heart.

Meanwhile, Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Saturday cast his vote in the governorship and state assembly elections, saying that the electoral process is not supposed to be violent.

Sanwo-Olu voted at Eiyekole, 006 polling unit, St. Stephens Nursery and Primary School, Adeniji Adele, Lagos Island around 10:30am.

The governor also praised the staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for arriving early to the polling unit as well as the turnout of voters.

He said, “My wife and I are happy with the turnout. We are happy with the turnout at this polling unit. I am told that they came right on time and voting is on. I think it is time for us to see and understand that this process is not meant to be a process of violence.

“Election that leads to a democratic process is the best form of validation of what true democracy should be about. And so I want to reiterate again that this contest is about peace, it’s about progress, it’s about prosperity for our state and country at large.”