Today’s Headlines: Election Challenges, Failure Of Governance—Amaechi; Currency In Circulation Now N982bn–CBN
Election Challenges, Failure Of Governance — Amaechi
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Immediate past Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said the shortcomings being experienced in the election are a complete failure of governance in the country.
This is as he said the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has no power to declare anybody wanted.
Amaechi spoke after casting his ballot in Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State on Saturday.
Wike had declared 27 politicians of opposition political parties wanted over an alleged plot to disrupt the elections, but Amaechi faulted the directive.
He stated that at the beginning of the February 11, 2023 elections, people were commending the Independent National Electoral Commission but that in the end, the election was roundly defective.
He said, “That was how we praised INEC at the beginning of the election on the 11th and it turned out to be one of the worst elections in the history of Nigeria.
“Now again look at what is going on… Total failure of governance in the country. Complete failure.
Currency In Circulation Now N982bn–CBN
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The currency in circulation in the country dipped by a 235.03 per cent to N982.09bn at the end of February from N3.29tn at the end of October 2022, on the back of the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Figures obtained from the CBN revealed that N2.3tn was mopped up from circulation during the period under review.
According to the CBN, the currency in circulation moved from N3.16tn to N3.29tn and N1.38tn in November 2022, December 2022 and January 2023 respectively.
The Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, had in October 2022, announced plans to redesign the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.
Emefiele also announced deadlines for Nigerians to swap their old notes with the new notes.
The governor decried the challenges associated with currency management, including the hoarding of banknotes by members of the public, with statistics showing that over 80 per cent of currency-in-circulation was outside the vaults of commercial banks.
Other challenges, he added included a shortage of clean and fit banknotes with an attendant negative perception of the CBN and increased risk to financial stability and increasing ease and risk of counterfeiting evidenced by several security reports.
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Buhari, Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu, Others Win Polling Units
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THE National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Adamu, and the governorship candidate of the Labour Party in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour lost their polling units in Saturday’s governorship and state House of Assembly elections.
Adamu, who hails from Keffi Local Government Area in Nasarawa State, lost to the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, David Ombugadu at his GRA (A1) – PB 010 polling unit.
According to the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission Presiding Officer, Okoh Everest, the PDP candidate polled 158 votes to defeat the state Governor, Abdullahi Sule, who scored 129 votes, while the Social Democratic Party’s candidate garnered one vote.
Recall that the APC national chairman also lost his polling unit in the February 25, 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections to the LP.
The situation was, however, different in Katsina and Lagos states as the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and the incumbent governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, won their various polling units.
The results announced by the collation officer for the President’s polling unit, Hamza Yusuf, showed that for the governorship election, the APC scored 261 votes, while the PDP got 32 votes.
Similarly, the APC scored 240 votes in the State House of Assembly election, while PDP scored 50 votes.
APC Yet To Zone NASS Leadership Positions – Adamu
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The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, on Saturday, described as fake news reports that the party had adopted a zoning arrangement for the leadership of the 10th National Assembly.
Adamu stated this while addressing journalists after voting at his Keffi, Nasarawa State, country home during the governorship and House of Assembly elections.
He was reacting to reports that Senator Barau Jibrin was being favoured to emerge as the Senate President because the APC had allegedly zoned the position to the North-West.
The report claimed that the zoning decision was reached on Friday night by the leadership of the APC after consulting with the president-elect, Bola Tinubu.
But Adamu said, “The report about the zoning arrangements for the 10th National Assembly is fake news. We have not done any zoning.
“I have said it several times since Monday. I am still saying the same thing. No zoning has been established and agreed to.”
Tinubu’s Cabinet Ready 30 Days After Inauguration – Alake
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There are indications that the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, will form his cabinet within 30 days after his inauguration.
Reports emerged on Friday that part of the bills signed into law by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), as part of the fifth amendment to the Constitution was that presidents-elect and governors-elect should submit the names of their ministerial and commissioner nominees within 60 days of taking the oath of office for confirmation by the Senate or state House of Assembly.
Many Nigerians had in 2015 lamented the delay in the appointment of ministers by the Buhari regime.
Speaking with one of our correspondents on Friday, the Special Adviser to the president-elect, Mr Dele Alake, disclosed that it would not take Tinubu up to 60 days to assemble a team of competent hands for his government.
He said, “I told you in an earlier interview that it didn’t take Asiwaju more than three weeks to form his cabinet as governor. That was as at that time. I think 60 days is even too much. A month, maximum, is enough for any serious government to form its cabinet and put a structure of government in place after the swearing-in.”
YAHAYA (
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