Attahiru Jega condemns vote buying in Nigeria

A former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commissioning (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega, has condemned the act of vote-buying in the country.

Jega made the condemnation on Thursday, July 19, in Abuja, when he spoke in a lecture titled, Democracy and the Challenges of Nation Building in Africa.

The ex-INEC chairman asked voters to shun such politicians who entice them with cash to get their votes. He however urged voters to vote their conscience in instances where they are unable to reject the money due to poverty.

He has said that Nigerian politicians are more interested in winning elections than in governance, adding that such an attitude was not good for the country and its people."In most African countries, certainly it is true also here in Nigeria, many politicians spend a lot of time trying to win an election and very little time comparatively in preparing for what they would do when they come into office," he said“The best of them will now only begin to appoint a committee, an advisory committee to prepare for them what to do after they have been elected.

“Frankly, for me, this is a major challenge of leadership all over Africa, but most especially for us here in Nigeria.

“If you want to be elected, you have to be very clear from the begin mint on what you want to do for the people and you should hit the ground running from day one.

“If leaders come into office unprepared, a lot of time is taken before they can get up to speed in delivering their mandate.”

Meanwhile, the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, has threatened that his party will not participate in the 2019 general elections if the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies in the country refuse to display impartiality during the polls.

Secondus issued the threat on Thursday, July 19, at the PDP the national secretariat when hosting a combined delegation of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI).

The party chairman alleged that INEC manipulated the result of the just concluded Ekiti governorship election in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

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Jonathan congratulates Ngozi-Iweala on new appointment at Twitter

Former president, Goodluck Jonathan, has congratulated Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for her appointment into the board of twitter.

Okonjo-Iweala served as minister of finance during the administration of Jonathan.

Jonathan in a message to the former minister congratulated her on her appointment noting that she performed excellently in her capacity in Nigeria.

He also expressed confidence in her ability to perform well in her new appointment.

"I am not surprised that Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala has been appointed into the board of Twitter. If anyone merits such an appointment, it is definitely a woman who helped her nation manage its finances most prudently and was instrumental to pulling many millions out of poverty. Ngozi, I am proud of you.

"You served Nigeria most meritoriously and I am more than certain that you would do the same at Twitter. Congratulations. GEJ".

The Social media giant, Twitter Inc, has announced the appointment of Nigeria’s former minister of finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as a member of its board of directors.

According to reports, the announcement was made by the company’s executive chairman, Omid Kordestani, on Thursday, July 19.

Former President of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, was also appointed to the board.

An excited Okonjo-Iweala had responded to the appointment in her twitter.

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Fear in Nasarawa as new Islamist sect known as Hakika emerges

The emergence of a new Islamist sect known as Hakika operating in Toto local government area of Nasarawa state has generated fear in the state.

The group is currently occupying a large expanse of the forest in the area. Its members are claiming to be Islamist saints.our source stated.

The Emir of Lafia, who is also the chairman of the state traditional council of chiefs, Alhaji Isah Agwai, cautioned residents to be wary. He expressed dismay over the activities of the new sect.

Condemning the doctrine of the group, the secretary general of the state Ja'martu Nasil Islam, Ahmed Ali, said the doctrines are not Islamic.He said: "They have the kind of religious belief which I think is not Islam; they don’t believe in Quran, they don’t believe in any of the doctrines that Allah talked about in the Quran.”

The senior special assistant to the governor on security matters, Brigadier General Muhammad Adika (retd), said: “It is believed that some of them are those running away from Zamfara state as a result of the pressure and have concentrated themselves in an expanse of land which is highly forested.”

The development was confirmed by the state police command, which said that investigation has commenced on the emergence of the new sect.

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