Phrank Shaibu, the Special Assistant on Public Communication to the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has accused President Bola Tinubu of planning to reward the immediate past Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike with a ministerial appointment.

Shaibu said the ministerial appointment was to appreciate Wike for rigging the presidential election in Rivers State to favour Tinubu.

He insisted that the results in states like Rivers showed that the last presidential election was far from credible.

In a statement he signed, Shaibu said it was tragic that Tinubu was planning on rewarding Wike with a ministerial portfolio despite the pending petition against the former Governor which has attracted nearly 300,000 votes.

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The statement reads partly: “The Presidential election in Rivers State was clearly rigged as evidenced by what INEC has uploaded on IREV.

“So far, nearly 300,000 Nigerians have signed a petition on change.org demanding visa bans against Governor Wike.

“Tinubu is now on the verge of appointing Wike as a minister as a reward for that disgraceful election.

“What a shame. And this is the character who claimed to have fought for the actualisation of June 12?”

Recall that few days after resuming office as Governor, Peter Mbah of Enugu state had on June 1 declared “No more sit-at-home in Enugu ” effective from Monday, June 5. He asked individuals and corporate organizations to resume business activities on Mondays, promising safety and security.

Despite the directives and subsequent cancellation, Monday sit-at-home seems to remain in Enugu.

Daily Gazette correspondent who  monitored the situation observed that schools, banks and business premises did not open, while the markets which opened were empty as many were under lock and key.

At ESBS junction, WAEC roundabout, New Haven market, Kenyatta market and Ogui Junction, there were scalatal bus movements while shops were under lock.

At Ogbete Market, despite the heavy presence of joint security operatives, traders and transporters did not come out as major businesses in the area were shut.

Why the fear?
A passersby who spoke on the condition of anonymity told our correspondent that residents seem not confident in the government’s assurance of security.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which initially ordered the sit-at-home, had cancelled it, but a splinter group headed by Simon Ekpa has continued to threaten residents who come out on Mondays with violence.

The Presidency has rejected the report of the European Union on the outcome of the 2023 general elections.

In its final report on the Nigerian elections, the globally acclaimed body said trust in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had been severely damaged, especially as a result of the failure to upload the result of the presidential election electronically.

But responding in a statement on Sunday, Dele Alake, Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, described the report as a product of a poorly done desk job that relied heavily on few instances of skirmishes in less than 1000 polling units out of over 176,000 where Nigerians voted on election day.

He said the report relied more on rumours, hearsay, cocktails of prejudiced and uninformed social media commentaries and opposition talking heads.

Alake said the 2023 general elections, most especially the presidential election, won by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu/All Progressives Congress, were credible, peaceful, free, fair and the best organised general elections in Nigeria since 1999.

The presidential spokesman said there was no substantial evidence provided by the European Union or any foreign and local organisation that was viable enough to impeach the integrity of the 2023 election outcomes.

He said: “We strongly reject, in its entirety, any notion and idea from any organisation, group and individual remotely suggesting that the 2023 election was fraudulent.

“Our earlier position that the technology-aided 2023 general elections were the most transparent and best organised elections since the return of civil rule in Nigeria has been validated by all non-partisan foreign and local observers such are the African Union, ECOWAS, Commonwealth Observer Mission and the Nigerian Bar Association.

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“Unlike EU-EOM that deployed fewer than 50 observers, the Nigerian Bar Association that sent out over 1000 observers spread across the entire country for same election gave a more holistic and accurate assessment of the elections in their own report.

“NBA, an organisation of eminent lawyers and an important voice within the civic space, reported that 91.8 per cent of Nigerians rated the conduct of the national and state elections as credible and satisfactory. Any election that over 90% of the citizens considered transparent should be celebrated anywhere in the world.

“It is heart-warming that INEC, through its National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Mr. Festus Okoye, has come out to defend the integrity of the election it conducted by rejecting the false narratives in the EU report.

“It is also gratifying that the electoral umpire, as an institution that is open to learning and continuous improvements, has also committed to taking on board more ideas, innovation and reforms that will further enhance the integrity and credibility of our electoral process.

“As a country, we have put the elections behind us. President Tinubu is facing the arduous task of nation-building, while those who have reasons to challenge the process continue to do so through the courts. In just one month in office, Nigerians appear satisfied with the decisive leadership of President Tinubu and the manner he is redirecting the country to the path of fiscal sustainability and socio-economic reforms. We urge the EU and other foreign interests to be objective in all their assessments of the internal affairs of our country and allow Nigeria to breathe

“Sometimes in May, we alerted the nation, through a press statement, to the plan by a continental multi-lateral institution to discredit the 2023 general elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission. The main target was the presidential election, clearly and fairly won by the then candidate of All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“While we did not mention the name of the organisation in the said statement, we made it abundantly clear to Nigerians how this foreign institution had been unrelenting in its assault on the credibility of the electoral process, the sovereignty of our country and on our ability as a people to organise ourselves. We find it preposterous and unconscionable that in this day and age, any foreign organisation of whatever hue can continue to insist on its own yardstick and assessment as the only way to determine the credibility and transparency of our elections.

“Now that the organisation has submitted what it claimed to be its final report on the elections, we can now categorically let Nigerians and the entire world know that we were not unaware of the machinations of the European Union to sustain its, largely, unfounded bias and claims on the election outcomes.

“It is worth restating that the limitation of EU final assessment and conclusions on our elections was made very bare in the text of the press conference addressed by the Head of its Electoral Observation Mission, Barry Andrews. While addressing journalists in Abuja on the so-called final report, Andrews noted that EU-EOM monitored the pre-election and post-election processes in Nigeria from January 11 to April 11, 2023 as an INEC accredited election monitoring group.

“Within this period, EU-EOM observed the elections through 11 Abuja-based analysts, and 40 election observers spread across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. With the level of personnel deployed, which was barely an average of one person per state, we wonder how EU-EOM independently monitored election in over 176,000 polling units across Nigeria.”

Sierra Leone’s main opposition, All People’s Congress (APC), has rejected the results of the 24 June 2023 general elections and called on Sierra Leoneans “to play their part in resisting tyranny and fight for the restoration of democracy, civility and good governance” in the country.

Sitting President Julius Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) has since been sworn in for a second term of five years after the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone (ECSL) declared him the winner of the presidential poll with 56.17% of the votes.

The commission said Dr Samura Kamara, the APC candidate, came second with 41.16%.

In its latest statement issued in Freetown, “the APC unequivocally rejects the announced results of the recently concluded multi-tier elections in Sierra Leone, given the glaring irregularities and violations of established electoral procedures.

“We demand the resignation of (Chief Commissioner) Mr Mohamed Konneh and all the other commissioners of the ECSL based on demonstrated bias and failure to conduct their duties impartially,” the APC said, adding: “We insist on a rerun of the elections within six months to be overseen by credible individuals and institutions that will ensure a fair and transparent process.”

The party further “demands the resignation of the following: Fayia Sellu, the Inspector General of Police; Major General Patrick Lavahun, the Chief of Defence Staff; Abdulai Caulker, the National Security Coordinator; Francis Langumba Keili, the Chief of Staff of the Office of the ONS; and Desmond Babatunde Edwards, the Chief Justice.”

The party alleged that, “These individuals have shown a clear disregard for their constitutional duties and have instead aligned themselves with the undemocratic aspirations of (President) Julius Maada Bio.”

Dr Agbu Kefas, Taraba state governor, on Sunday, declared a 24-hour curfew on Karim town and its environs in the Karim Lamido Local Government Area of the state.

The curfew followed renewed communal clashes between the Wurkuns and the Karimjos in the LGA, allegedly resulting in the killing of at least 50 people while many houses were burnt on Saturday.

The spokesman for the Taraba State Police Command, Usman Abdullahi, said the crisis started at about 3am on Saturday, adding that the exact casualty figure had yet to be ascertained.

Abdullahi said, “In the last few days, there have been pockets of guerilla attacks in some communities in the area where the Karimjos attack the Wurkuns, and the Wurkuns also attack in return, or the Wurkuns attack the Karimjos, and they also attack in return.”

Imposing a curfew on the LGA on Sunday, the governor directed security agencies to ensure strict compliance.

A statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Yusuf Sanda, also quoted Kefas as directing “all ward heads, village heads, traditional rulers, and stakeholders in Karim Lamido Local Government Area” to take note and ensure compliance.

The Nigeria Labour Congress is set to engage President Bola Tinubu on the agitation for extension of civil servants’ retirement age to 65 years.

The National President, NLC, Joe Ajaero, on Sunday, said that labour was not relenting on the agitation, which started under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

NLC had during the 2023 May Day celebrations appealed to Buhari to extend the retirement age for civil servants.

But then Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, told our correspondent that Buhari, in the twilight of his administration, would not be able to deal with the matter.

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“The process to effect that change to 65 years (if it is accepted by the Federal Government) is a process that cannot be completed before the end of the tenure of Buhari. So, I guess the new administration will have to deal with that,” Keyamo had said.

Already, teachers under the employment of government at all levels, are enjoying the implementation of a new retirement age.

When asked on Sunday, if the congress would meet with Tinubu on the matter, the NLC President said, “Yes. Only few other establishments, including the core civil service, are now left out.

“We are, therefore, demanding that the age of retirement and length of service in the entire public service, including the civil service, be reviewed upward to 65 years of age and 40 years of service.”

Also speaking with our correspondent, the National Treasurer, NLC, Hakeem Ambali, said, “Yes, we are going to negotiate that, to avert the imminent crisis and suffering of our members whose Contributory Pension Deduction were not remitted to their PFAS by a large percentage of labour employers.

President Tinubu

“So that they (workers) are not pushed to premature death and penury, such window of five years is expected to form a transition period of normalising the scheme.”