Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, has said that the government of the United Kingdom is supporting Nigeria to ensure credible elections in 2023.
Laing, who disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said the UK would monitor the elections closely.She expressed the UK government’s optimism that Nigeria would deliver free and fair elections in 2023 once the amended Electoral Act was implemented.She said the UK government had been supporting the electoral process in Nigeria by ensuring that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) got the processes right and working with Civil Society Organisations to carry out advocacy.
“What I have just said now – the advocacy – is showing Nigerians that we care about their democracy and we are watching it.“In a practical way, for many elections we have been supporting INEC – your electoral body – to ensure it has got the necessary systems and processes in place. And in each election we have seen INEC improve its processes.
We were the partner who supported the passing of the Electoral Act. It was a project that we funded through legal advisors to help you actually write that Electoral Act and looking at best practice globally.“And it has been absolutely instrumental. So, with the passing of that, then the possibility for electronic transmission of votes, the young people feel much more confident that their votes will count.
“So we provided that support, we support civil society, the YIAGA not too young to run campaign alongside US partners, we support that and we have been supporting women groups in particular, to encourage young women, more women to try and stand for political offices.“We are supporting voter education, encouraging voters to understand the importance of going out to vote. So we are involved in a number of different ways.“I should say we always say that each election alongside our US partners that we will have eyes on; we will be monitoring this election closely on the ground and through other means.
And if we understand that an individual has been involved in violence, either directly or through inciting violence, we can use our visa programme to ensure that that person is not allowed to travel to the UK.“So we do have some negative levers as well as our positive levers,” Laing said.The high commissioner emphasised that the visa sanctions on electoral offenders remain a very effective mechanism for deterring people from engaging in electoral violence.
She added that the political parties are supportive of the policy.“They (visa sanctions) absolutely do work. Obviously, I cannot talk about individual names, but I can assure you we have used it and the whole point of it is to deter people.
“The political parties tell me that they think it does work. In fact, during the last election, both APC and the PDP told me they welcomed it.“We are completely neutral and we would apply this to whoever may be engaged in violence,” she said.The British envoy described Nigeria’s democracy as critical to the growth of democratic rule in African continent hence the need for the country’s leaders to set the pace especially for the sub-region where democratic transitions are being threatened,
“Nigeria is the biggest democracy in Africa and in your part of the world where democracy is backsliding.“Looking at what is happening in Mali, Guinea and others, the coup’s, and the presidents who are refusing to step down when their term ends, as well as Nigeria’s journey to democracy since 1999, you know, it’s been rocky at times.
“But you have continued on that pathway and that sends a very, very important signal to Africa, that if Nigeria can do it – the biggest democracy in Africa with all the challenges you have with 36 states, and with the complexity of ethnicity and religion, and so on – they can do it too. “No election in the world is perfect, nevertheless, the journey continues. And I am really hopeful that the next election will be credible,” Laing added.
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Founded on January 22, 1995, THISDAY is published by THISDAY NEWSPAPERS LTD., 35 Creek Road Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria with offices in 36 states of Nigeria , the Federal Capital Territory and around the world. It is Nigeria’s most authoritative news media available on all platforms for the political, business, professional and diplomatic elite and broader middle classes while serving as the meeting point of new ideas, culture and technology for the aspirationals and millennials. The newspaper is a public trust dedicated to the pursuit of truth and reason covering a range of issues from breaking news to politics, business, the markets, the arts, sports and community to the crossroads of people and society.
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Breaking News
History as Buhari Supervises Crude Oil Drilling in the North
Breaking | 12 hours ago
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
For the first time in history, President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to officially kick off the drilling of crude oil in the north on Tuesday, about two years after the mineral resource was discovered in the region.
This is a major boost to the efforts by the federal government to ensure that the region produces crude oil in commercial quantities.Specifically, the president will conduct the ground-breaking ceremony of the Kolmani Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 809 and 810 at the Kolmani field site located in Bauchi and Gombe states.
The president is expected to carry out the historic exercise with the support of the Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Timipre Sylva and the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mallam Mele Kyari, among others, THISDAY gathered.It was further learnt that the oilfields in Bauchi and Gombe states will be developed by Sterling Global Oil, New Nigeria Development Commission (NNDC) and the NNPC Limited.
“The ceremony will be held on Tuesday, November 22, and will be attended by Mr. President himself together with most of his cabinet members including the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva,” said an official of NNPC, who spoke off the records.Last year, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) issued a request for expressions of interest (EoI) on the development of the two licences in Nigeria’s North-east.The integrated development of OPLs 809 and 810 in the Gongola Basin, in the Upper Benue trough extends about 1,000 km from the Bight of Benin to Lake Chad.
Before then, the NPDC said it had discovered “huge commercial quantities” of oil and gas in the Kolmani River, adding that the blocks were more than 700 km from the coast, posing challenges to export options.It also proposed an onsite midstream refinery and power plant, saying that this would allow it to use these resources for local needs as well as “create an industrial hub” to provide economic benefits and employment.At some point in the development of the facilities, in the midstream, the plan would involve a 150 MW power plant and a 50,000 barrel- per day condensate refinery.
The NPDC, as it was then called, had drilled the Kolmani River 2 well in 2019 and the Kolmani River 3 in early 2021.Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, had also recently said the oil and gas exploration at Kolmani River in Alkaleri Local Government Area of the state by the NNPC would ‘reverse the narrative of poverty and underdevelopment’ in the state.NNPC Limited has over the years expended monies on frontier exploration, but the spending has now been statutorily ingrained in the new Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
The new piece of legislation has now raised funding for frontier exploration to 30 per cent, which implies that the NNPC Limited would have more funds to develop oil fields around the country.
According to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigeria currently has crude oil reserves of about 37 billion barrels.Kolmani fields could hold as much as one billion barrels crude oil reserve, which could significantly raise Nigeria’s oil reserve.The oil discovery in the north is coming at a time crude oil production has dropped to around one million barrels per day in the country, as a result of oil theft and vandalism, thereby hobbling the ability of the country to earn foreign exchange.
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Founded on January 22, 1995, THISDAY is published by THISDAY NEWSPAPERS LTD., 35 Creek Road Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria with offices in 36 states of Nigeria , the Federal Capital Territory and around the world. It is Nigeria’s most authoritative news media available on all platforms for the political, business, professional and diplomatic elite and broader middle classes while serving as the meeting point of new ideas, culture and technology for the aspirationals and millennials. The newspaper is a public trust dedicated to the pursuit of truth and reason covering a range of issues from breaking news to politics, business, the markets, the arts, sports and community to the crossroads of people and society.
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Breaking News
Atiku: PDP Will Win at First Ballot Tinubu: Delta Not ATM for Politicians
Breaking | 10 hours ago
*Ortom insists only a southerner should succeed
*Buhari, Wike challenges Atiku to start restructuring from PDP
*Asks N’Delta govs to account for 13% derivation backlog paid by Buhari
Chuks Okocha in Abuja, Sylvester Idowu in Warri and Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt
Following a revelation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it was planning to print extra 93.5 million ballot papers for a possible presidential election runoff, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has said he will win on the first ballot.On his part, Atiku’s counterpart in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, yesterday, chided the PDP for failing to develop Delta State in spite of the huge resources accruing to the state, stressing that state is not an ATM for migratory politicians.
National Commissioner and Chairman of Voter Education at INEC, Mr. Festus Okoye, had on Friday told journalists that the commission was planning to print 93.5 million presidential ballot papers for a possible runoff in next year’s presidential election.But the Spokesperson of Atiku/Okowa Campaign Organisation, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, advised INEC not to worry, expressing the confidence that Atiku would win in the first ballot.
According to Ologbondiyan, “our campaign counsels INEC not to listen to diversionary narratives by apologists of the deflated APC who are ostensibly seeking ways to derail the election, having realised that their party has been rejected.”He urged INEC to deploy its resources towards conducting a free, fair, transparent and credible election that would be generally accepted by majority of Nigerians.
He said: “Our campaign is confident that by every indices and data available, our candidate, Atiku Abubakar, will win the presidential election of February 25, 2023 at the first run.”Ologondiyan said the APC has seen defeat ahead as Nigerians are quickly reaching a consensus on the fact that the ruling party’s presidential candidate, Tinubu, is not electable.He urged Nigerians to remain resolute in their determination to vote for their choice, Atiku, and take every step necessary within the ambit of the law to protect their votes.
Tinubu: Delta Not ATM for Migratory Politicians
Meanwhile, Tinubu, while addressing the mammoth crowd that thronged the Warri Central Stadium in Delta State to have a glimpse of him during the inauguration of governorship campaign of the APC in the state, promised to clean up Niger Delta region just as he accused the PDP of abandoning infrastructure development in the state.
“Delta has all it takes to be great and help lead the nation forward. Yet, for the past 23 years, those governing your state have taken you for a hard and long ride by selling you short. They have not done the things they should have and could have done for you.“The infrastructure in the state was better 30 years ago than it is now. The state has recorded historic debts run up by the incumbent yet the infrastructure and other things still remain lacking because of under investment and neglect.
“The money is much, but it does not have legs. Where did it go? Not to your welfare. Perhaps, it has found a home with a certain presidential candidate who loves Dubai more than Nigeria. But Delta State is not an ATM for migratory politicians. It is a place where good and hardworking people reside and work to create decent and peaceful lives for themselves and their families,” he said.
Tinubu accused Atiku of fighting President Olusegun Obasanjo when he served as vice president between 1999 and 2007.“Our rivals do not have shame. They are fighting in the public, how can they think of governance?” the former Lagos State governor told the gathering.“When Atiku was there, he was fighting his boss in public. They were telling us how they spent money to buy cars for their girlfriends. Do they have shame? Will you vote for them again?”He told the crowd of supporters that the APC would deliver its promises to Nigerians if the party wins next year’s elections as he redoubled his accusation that the PDP failed the country.
“I will commit to your progress and fulfill all the promises made to you. You are the future of this country and the heart and soul of Nigeria,” Tinubu added.“Your environment is as important as gold mining. Your health, welfare, and dream will be realised for a stable and prosperous Nigeria.”On his plans for the state, Tinubu promised to re-activate the gas revolution industrial park, while also seeking the clean-up of the whole Niger-Delta region to ensure that the host communities do not suffer for building the nation’s economy through their oil.
“We will step up and clean up the operations of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and the Ministry of the Niger Delta. The NDDC will be improved. Greater cooperation with communities which have suffered the environmental degradation will be my policy.On infrastructure development in the state, which he affirmed had been in a sorry state, Tinubu said: “We will help develop the infrastructure of your state. The deep sea port project and the Omadino-Escravos Road project will be revisited. We will rehabilitate Warri, Koko, Sapele and Burutu ports, creating yet more jobs in the state.”
He also promised to make the state safe for all, noting that no business can thrive in an unsafe environment.Addressing the rally, Omo-Agege said the state governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, who is also PDP vice presidential candidate, had failed the state and should step down.Omo-Agege accused Okowa of betraying Southern Nigeria by accepting to be the running mate to Atiku.He said a southerner should succeed President Buhari after his eight-year tenure next May.
Ortom Insists Only a Southerner Should Succeed Buhari
Meanwhile, despite moves to reconcile Atiku and five governors, who were elected on the platform of the PDP, led by Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, the Benue State Governor, Dr. Samuel Ortom, yesterday remained unrelenting in his opposition to the presidential aspiration of the former vice president, insisting that only a southerner should succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.Speaking at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium during the inauguration of the PDP state-level campaign in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, Ortom, who is one of the governors in Wike’s camp, insisted that only a southerner should succeed President Buhari in 2023.
He said he was the first governor from the North to back the southern presidency, which he said is in the interest of fairness and justice.“Nigerians, for the sake of equity, fairness and justice, expect that after eight years of President Buhari, the next President should go to the South irrespective of political affiliation and that is the right thing to do. We are Nigerians and we must ensure that all of us work together,” Ortom said.
He added that Wike was the right candidate to succeed Buhari, but “enemies of progress” ensured he didn’t win the party’s presidential primary in May.Stressing that the enemies of progress also denied Wike the running mate ticket, the Benue State governor, however, urged the party’s supporters in the state to work with him and ensure victory for all PDP National Assembly, state assembly and governorship candidates in Rivers.
Atiku Should Start Restructuring from PDP, Says Wike
Also speaking at the event, Wike argued that Atiku must start a government of inclusion and national unity from the PDP.He insisted that he believed in the party as well as in equity, fairness and justice.He argued that if Atiku believed in restructuring, and devolution of power and that President Buhari appointed 17 northerners as heads of security chiefs, he should correct it from the party by asking the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, to step down for a southerner.
He boasted that none of the G-5 governors would lose their governorship. “Not one of the states of PDP integrity governors will lose their governorship. Not one. No amount of gang-up will make us lose Abia, Enugu, Benue and Oyo states and who is that that will come and win Rivers State? I do not understand human beings; some people want to be governor of Rivers State since 2003 till now.”Wike again alleged that Ayu pocketed funds realised by the party from the sale of nomination and expression of interest forms for primaries in May.He challenged the PDP national chairman to head to court to see if he is innocent. “You cannot fight Rivers State and go free,” he added.
Speaking earlier on Friday night during a banquet organised by the PDP in the state for the G-5 governors, Wike challenged his counterparts in the Niger Delta to account for the huge sums of monies received by them as a backlog for the 13 per cent oil derivation since 1999, which was paid by Buhari.The governor told attendees at the banquet that while he could point to the projects executed by his administration with the monies in Rivers State, some of his colleagues cannot show any proof.He said: “I am not an apostle of Buhari; he is not my friend but I have no regret to appreciate him for paying the money meant for the Niger Delta states. He has paid. Let everybody come and account for it.”
Wike said he is unfazed by threats of being sacked by the PDP.He dared the party to carry out the threat, stating he would respond appropriately.The governor insisted that his state would no longer work for anybody, who refuses to embrace justice, fairness and equity.
He said he was only committed to working for PDP, Rivers State chapter, adding that all his candidates in the state would win their elections.The governor said after he had praised Buhari for releasing the money owed to some Niger Delta states of Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta and Bayelsa, some persons sent him messages that he should not have commended the president.
“Just like all of them here, you have not won the election and you want to jail the Benue governor. You have not won the election and you want to jail the Enugu governor. You have not won the election and you want to jail the Oyo governor. God will not allow you.“Because they stand for the truth and say they will support Wike; therefore all of them will come down. They will never come down. They cannot be governors again. Only Seyi will still be governor. He has worked for Oyo State and you cannot threaten him.
“What have we done? We say by our party’s constitution, the President should go here and the chairman should go here. But you say no you will take everything, we also say no we won’t allow that. History will be on our side that we are saying the truth and nothing but the truth.“There is one man who married 20 wives and because we say no, you can’t extort states of over $400 million – one man. He said he did work. Which work? But we say we won’t allow him to take that money,” Wike added.On his promise to give logistics support to the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, Wike said he had no regret. He promised again to release vehicles and security for Obi’s campaign in Rivers State.
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