The All Progressives Congress has become a thing of mockery in the media following the erection of a giant broom.

Fanny
 
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari and his party the All Progressives Congress have been mocked by a foreign journalist who took a swipe at the President over the Giant Broom’ monument constructed at the city gate in Abuja.
 
The female reporter identified as Fanny Facsor who works for DW News (German international channel, Deutsche Welle), visited the location of the giant broom, where she shaded the ruling party ahead of the election.
 
In her words, “This giant broom is made of metal and has always been the symbol of the APC party, Buhari’s party.” The symbol means nothing else than they are trying to sweep away corruption but that did not happen”.
 
The APC had said that the party is not responsible for the ‘Giant Broom’ monument mounted at the city gate.
 

 
APC publicity secretary, Mallam Lanre Isa-Onilu, said the ‘Giant Broom’ was erected by Nigerians who support the Buhari-led administration.
 
In reaction to the Peoples Democratic Party PDP’s condemnation of the structure, the APC spokesman told the opposition party to erect its own symbol.

A suspected thug and brother to a top politician in Delta state has been arrested with a pump action.

Security operatives have arrested the younger brother to a serving Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Member, Delta State House of Assembly, Hon. Uviejorobor, representing Udu Constituency.
 
Information gathered revealed that the suspect allegedly tried to break into the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters, Asaba while armed late last night.

A pump action rifle was recovered from him.
 
The suspect is currently in police custody as investigation into the matter is underway.

Controversial Nigerian senator, Dino Melaye has said that he has escaped another assassination attempt on his life.
Dino Melaye has announced that he has managed to survive an assassination attempt on his life yet again. The controversial senator made the revelation on his Twitter page.
 
According to Melaye, the incident happened on 15th February.
 
Melaye revealed that some armed thugs clothed in camouflage fired at his convoy in the city of Lokoja. However, he manged to escape death by the help of God.
 
He wrote: "I thank the God of all Generations 4 surviving another assassination attempt yesterday. Hired thugs in camouflage fired at my Convoy in Lokoja.
 
"But yet again God proved Himself God. We shall not keep quiet, the Mal-administration and perfidy going on in Kogi and Nigeria must stop"

Some thugs imported from another state to Akwa Ibom to cone and vote for a candidate have been apprehended by security operatives.
It is the end of the road for some political thugs after being arrested by the police.
 
The thugs had stormed a community in Akwa Ibom state ahead of the 2019 election which was supposed to hold yesterday after they had been promised huge sums of money.
 
The men (about 7 in number) revealed that they were brought from Calabar, Cross River state by the Akwa Ibom state Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Monday Uko, the owner of Monty Suites in Uyo and Calabar.
 
The suspects who were arrested yesterday, claimed that they invited by the commissioner to “peacefully” monitor the election and notify him whenever they notice any corrupt practices such as bribing electorates.
 

 
They said they were going to a community for “peaceful” demonstration when they were approached by the youths who beat them up and dragged them to the police.
 
One of the suspects revealed that he was promised N15,000 for the exercise.
 

A Kenyan Governor who left her country and arrived Nigeria as election observer has express disappointment following the last minute postponement of the election.
Charity Ngilu
 
The Governor of Kitui in Kenya, Charity Ngilu among international observers for the Nigerian General Election left stranded after the exercise which was kick off on Saturday, February 16, was postponed has expressed deep dissatisaction with the Independent National Electoral Commission.
 
Ngilu who had arrived at a polling station was caught off guard by the last minute cancellation of the exercise by the electoral commission just five hours to opening of the polls at 6am.
 
The governor expressed shock at how the populous West African nation triviliased an important occasion as a presidential election.
 
“Ready at 6am for our observer mission but alas, the election was postponed at 2am. Five hours to opening of the polling stations. Really sad for Nigeria and democracy in Africa,” she lamented.
 
The electoral agency chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, said they reached the decision to postpone for the public good premised on free and fair polls.

Femi Fani-Kayode, the former minister of aviation has condemned the postponement of presidential and governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Saturday morning announced the shift of the 2019 presidential and governorship election by a week.

Mahmood attributed the postponement of all the scheduled elections to logistic and operational problems.

The decision by INEC to postpone the polls has been met with shock and scorn across the country.

Fani-Kayode, reacting to the development said President Muhammadu Buhari will still be unseated no matter how many times INEC postponed election.

The former minister on his Twitter page. Wrote; “Postpone the election as many times as you like, you are on your way out! And after you have been unseated you will be bundled to the International Criminal Court at the Hague to answer for mass murder, ethnic cleansing, genocide and crimes against humanity. Glory halellujah!”

dailypost

The Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP, has raised the alarm over an alleged plan by President Muhammadu Buhari to suspend the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu.

CUPP also alleged that President Buhari wants to replace Yakubu with Amina Zakari as Acting Chairman under the guise of INEC inability to conduct the presidential and National Assembly elections today.

According to CUPP, Buhari wants to sack INEC Chairman for refusing to conduct staggered election today.

In a statement to DAILY POST on Saturday, by its National Spokesperson, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, CUPP said the Buhari-led APC sabotaged INEC distribution of materials and turned back to condemn the electoral umpire.

The political parties, however, warned that the move to sack INEC chairman will throw Nigeria into full electoral and constitutional crisis.

The statement reads:
“The Coalition of United Political Parties is alerting the world of plan and decision by President Muhammadu Buhari to announce the suspension of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, from office.

“The President has also pencilled down Amina Zakari for appointment as the Acting Chairman citing her experience as the oldest and most experienced National Commissioner of the Commission.

“The President is planning to use the excuse of inability to hold election today as a reason for the imminent suspension.

“Feigning ignorance of the real reasons behind the shift, the President in his earlier statement today did not have just a word for the shameful and despicable actions of security forces and the central Bank staff who in obedience to Presidency directives deliberately sabotaged the distribution of sensitive materials in selected states.

“We are aware that his hurried return to Abuja today from his home state, Katsina is to sack the INEC boss. But this should be resisted by all well meaning Nigerians and the international community.

“The sin of the INEC Chairman is that he refused to conduct staggered elections that will allow the President and his men to manipulate the process.

“The Presidency had mounted pressure on the Commission to conduct election today in states where there were no issues and postpone only the states with materials distribution issues. The INEC Chairman insisted on conducting the election at the same time hence warranting the postponement of the entire election.

“We hereby warn President Buhari that the position of the INEC Chairman is independent, hence, he cannot be removed from office via suspension. The 1999 Constitution in Section 157(1) states that the Chairman and members of the Commission may only be removed by the President acting on an address supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate that the person be removed for inability to discharge the functions of the office (whether arising from infirmity of Mind or body or any other cause) or for misconduct

“We are aware that the government itself sabotaged INEC distribution of materials and he is turning around to suspend the Chairman of INEC illegally.

“We are warning that any attempt to sack or suspend the INEC Chairman will only lead to electoral and constitutional crisis. The nation is still grappling with the illegality and unconstitutionality of the removal of the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the President wants to go down this ignoble path again.

“If the President has ears, let him hear.”

dailypost

Elections are here again, and like it has been since 2013 when he lost his mother, it is also a period when a dark memory from his past keeps flooding back. Over the years, Olusegun Adewumi, a serving lawmaker and former Deputy Speaker of Ekiti State House of Assembly, has hoped that time will help to reduce the feelings of loss and regret he has, but he has come to realise that time cannot heal all things after all.
 
Today, Adewumi will be performing his civic duty by casting his votes in the presidential and National Assembly elections but even as he does that, he is sure that the pain of losing his mother prematurely will once again settle upon him, as it has done several times before. Like a tape, he has replayed the events of March 30, 2013 in his head many times, wishing he could turn back the hands of time to change a few things, but each time, he has failed.
 
Now he knows that like time, wishes can also be useless.
 
On that fateful day, Adewumi had a close shave when political thugs launched an attack on him at their family house at Erijinyan Ekiti, but his mother, Chief Julianah Adewumi, 76, was not so lucky.
 
She did not survive the rain of bullets that fell on her. His family friend, Ayo Jeje, died instantly from gunshot injuries he sustained during the attack.
 
His father, Gabriel Ojo Adewumi, 82, survived the attack but did not survive the heartbreak. He died about two months later, which family members blamed on the shock he had following the death of his dear wife.
 
The lawmaker, who said his family had not recovered from the traumatising experience, recalled the events that led to the attack, which he described as the height of intolerance.
 
According to him, the unfortunate incident happened on the eve of his planned defection from one party to another.
 
“The defection was scheduled for March 30, which was a day before we were to celebrate Easter that year. But at about 12 midnight, my family house at Erijinyan Ekiti was attacked by some political thugs from the community.


“The attack was like visitation of hell. I escaped the attack and came within a whisker of being killed. The attack claimed the life of my mother. At Federal Medical Centre (now Federal Teaching Hospital), Ido Ekiti, where my mum was rushed to, 35 shotgun pellets were removed from her body.
 
“One pellet was removed from her breast, while three were removed from her spinal cord. By the time they removed all the pellets, it was apparent she would be permanently deformed. She was 76 years old at that time, and unfortunately we lost her.


“It was a harrowing experience. My mother was in the hospital’s intensive care unit for three months, and nobody could tell what would happen to her in another 10 minutes. To stay with her, we had to do shifts. My brother would be there in the morning and I would take over from him in the afternoon; that was what we did all through. My elder sister was forced to relocate from the United States of America to Ekiti State. But we lost her despite all our efforts to keep her alive.
 
Few months after the death of my mother, my father died from the heartbreak and the shock he experienced during the attack. They had been married for over 50 years so we could understand that my father was seriously heartbroken. They had their first child in 1960, so you should know the kind of relationship they had enjoyed during their life.


“People from far and near visited the scene. It was like a war zone; only that it did not occur to them to set the whole building on fire. The house is still there till today with bullet holes in the walls. We deliberately left it that way and only replaced the windows that were shattered,” he said.
 
According to him, Jeje, his friend, who was about 43 years old, was also killed during the attack.
 
Adewumi described Jeje as a graduate, who had, in his quest for further studies, just secured admission to study law.
 
“Ayo Jeje was killed simply because he knew everybody that participated in the attack. They killed him to cover their tracks. In the course of conducting postmortem on the late Jeje, about 25 pellets were removed from his body.


“I was subjected to all manners of agonising experience which I don’t pray for anybody to go through because of political aspiration. Political offices are not permanent. Change is the only permanent thing in life. The 2014 governorship election, which was the reason for the attack was won by someone and the winner has even left the office. No position is worth anyone’s blood. The immediate former President Goodluck Jonathan once said his aspiration was not worth the blood of the masses.


“The matter was reported to the police, who conducted their investigation. The matter was eventually taken to court and some of the culprits ran away, while some were arrested. They were tried for two years or thereabouts,” he said.
 
Similarly, Dr Sobomabo Dokubo, a media and human resource consultant, from Abonnema, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, relives recent election periods with all the accompanying trauma of the loss of his son, Iminabo, 30, during the 2015 general elections.
 
In an encounter with Saturday PUNCH, Dokubo looked up, then down, and up again, before his face finally settled on one of our correspondents’ face, in a manner suggesting that he was hoping that some divine power would bring his lost child back to him.
 
But after some moments, he sighed as if to say he had once again grudgingly resigned his fate to a superior power.
 
“I lost my first son in the last general elections; Iminabo Dokubo had three lovely children before he was killed. He was just about 30. He had a Higher National Diploma in computer engineering,” he said.
 
He continued, “It is so painful to lose a child to such a horrible circumstance, and it is also annoying. Prior to the elections of 2015, I was not in the country, but on the eve of the elections, I returned to Nigeria and went straight to Buguma in Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, where I met my uncles and brothers before some persons came shouting that Iminabo had been shot dead.


“I went to the scene of the incident, recovered my son’s corpse and deposited it at the mortuary. It was a very painful experience. My late son had earlier come to meet me. He greeted me and his uncles and told us that he was going to his grandmother’s house to eat; that was the last discussion I had with him. He left with his friend, only for information to come to us about 30 minutes later that my son and his friend had been shot dead.


“The news devastated me. I lost my first seed in his prime. The situation has demoralised me up till date; it has also affected my family very much.


“In the past three years, I have attended about six seminars, where I have urged politicians and youths to shun violence.


“Even before my son’s death, I had been participating in politics, but always hated violence. I believe in politics of ideology, for politicians to tell people what they have for them because life is not all about one’s pocket but what you are able to give back to the society.


“Politicians have to be contributors to the betterment of the society and not only know about self aggrandisement and pocket politics. So I continue to beg our youths to stay away from violence.


“I have been a coordinator, even at the governorship level and I have been preaching against violence, but despite my efforts, I have not clearly seen improvements in the system; that’s why I will continue to talk and preach against electoral violence.”
 
Dokubo also recalled an incident that happened in the state about 12 years ago where some people were killed over chieftaincy issues.


“The issue happened about 12 years ago and over 30 youths were gruesomely killed over squabbles that had to do with chieftaincy matters; some of the youths were disemboweled and thrown into the creeks.


“I took it upon myself to exhume some of the bodies that were buried in the sand and reported the matter to the police because I frown on such things.


“I am pleading with our elders and politicians not to cut short our tomorrow by misguiding our youths because if they live only for today, then our future is doomed. I urge our youths to disassociate themselves from gruesome and horrible politics and engage themselves in beneficial ventures and resist evil,” he said.
 
Damilola Ogunpate, an IT consultant, lost his father on August 18, 1983, during the crisis that followed the country’s entry into the Second Republic. The National Party of Nigeria’s Shehu Shagari had been declared as the winner of the controversial presidential election at the time, leading to fights between some supporters of the NPN and those of the rival Unity Party of Nigeria.
 
Ogunpate’s father was an agric extension worker in the old Oyo State and was returning home from work in Ife one day when some suspected political thugs shot him dead, along with some others.
 
“I was in primary 6 going to Form 1 at the time; I was just 11 years old. My father was not a politician but there was a political crisis at the time involving supporters of NPN and UPN. On his home from work that day, there was pandemonium as they heard that some political thugs were attacking people in the area.


“We heard that he also ran for safety, along with many others. Some of them, including my father, hid in a house. But unfortunately for them, it was a time when political thugs used to burn the houses of political rivals in that region of the country. Maybe the assailants thought that the house belonged to a rival party member; so they burnt the house and those who tried to escape from the fire were shot dead. My father was one of them. People believed the killers were supporters of either the NPN or the UPN. My mother never recovered from the loss of her husband.


“Incidentally, we (children) were living in Ibadan and had planned to use our holiday to see our father. So my sister and I left Ibadan two days after our father was killed, not knowing that he was dead. And in those days, there were no mobile phones. The area was still hot when we got there.


 “On getting there, we realised that everywhere had been burnt and unknown to us, some thugs were still around. Immediately they saw us, they began to shout so we ran away. As we were running away, we could see the bodies of dead people. We ran for our lives as those people ran after us. Then eventually, we ran into a bush and were able to escape from them. We were in the bush for about three hours until we saw some people who later rescued us.


“So we went to my father’s friend, but apparently, he didn’t even know that the incident had affected my father. We slept in his house till the next day. Then later, through people in the community, we were able to know that our father was dead. They had even taken his body to our hometown but we didn’t know.


“My mother could have a heart attack if I tell her that I want to join politics. She has told all her children not to join politics. I can never forget that experience, especially during election periods like this.


“I have four siblings and losing our father at such young age affected all of us. Growing up was very tough and everyone had to struggle for themselves. The last child of my parents was only eight months old at the time and didn’t know anything; it was our mother who struggled hard to provide for the family. My mother used to sell pap and I used to hawk food till I was in Form 3. I used to assist my mother.


“My elder sisters began to work after their school and when one of them got married; she took in the last child to take care of him. That reduced the financial burden on my mother. Eventually my mother moved to one of my father’s farms to continue farming; this was where she raised money to train us.


“It was really sad and it affected me a lot. After the experience, coupled with the dead bodies I saw, as I had never seen anything like that before, I was ill for three weeks. It was really traumatic for me. We were in the bush for three hours without seeing a single soul,” he said.
 
For Kehinde Ojewale, the sad incidents of 2007 general elections are burnt indelibly in her memories as her husband, Tunde, was killed over matters relating to the polls.
 
Tunde, an indigene of Oba, a town in Olorunda Local Government Area of Osun State, died eight days after Kehinde was delivered of their second child.
 
According to Kehinde, Tunde became a marked man following the roles he played during the state governorship election held on April 14, 2007. Tunde was killed few weeks after the poll.
 
On the day he was killed, Kehinde said Tunde was lured out of church and killed with a sword in a secluded place along Osogbo Road.
 
“Election season always brings back memories of my husband’s death. Since his death, life has not been the same. The baby I had for him eight days before his death died exactly one year after my husband’s death,” Kehinde said tearfully, adding that she could not continue with the interview.
 
***
Source: Punch Metro

According to a Punch Metro report, the Coalition of United Political Parties has claimed that the desperation of President Muhammadu Buhari and his men to win the presidential election, by all means, was responsible for the last minute postponement of the election.
 
The coalition’s spokesman, Imo Ugochinyere, made the allegation in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja on Saturday morning.
 
He said, “In their bid to once again foist an unpopular government on Nigerians, they threw caution to the winds and started setting electoral materials on fire in states that are well known to be strongholds of opposition.


“These acts of sabotage, no doubt, ruined the preparations of the Independent National Electoral Commission for the elections.


“We have raised the alarm many times that agents of the government were working hard to ensure that elections are not held or are declared inconclusive in areas they know that the All Progressives Congress will never win. We have been vindicated.


We blame the international embarrassment this last minute postponement has caused the nation on the President, the desperate leaders of his party, APC, and the nation’s security agencies who failed woefully in their duties to protect electoral materials and INEC offices from attacks by these enemies of the nation.”
 
Ugochinyere added that with the postponement, “President Buhari’s judgement day with the people has just been shifted.”
 
He, however, said the INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, displayed courage by shifting the election.
 
He said the postponement averted what he could have resulted to “national bloodshed because we are aware that APC wanted to proceed with election after compromising distribution and destroying materials in over 15 states.”

 
As the impact of the postponement of the 2019 elections continue to revebrate across Nigeria, Miss Rita Osawende, a bride-to be has lamented its impact on her marriage plans.
 
In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Benin, she said her marriage was shifted from Feb. 16 to Feb. 23 because of the elections.
 
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) postponed the dates for 2019 elections from Feb. 16 to Feb. 23 and from March 2 to March 9 for the Presidential/National Assembly and the Governorship/House Assembly/FCT Area Councils elections.
 
Osawende said that all arrangements for her big day had been concluded for next week.
 
“INEC please help me revisit this issue.
 
“The original date was fixed for February 16, but as soon as I knew it’s elections day, it was postponed to February 23rd.
 
“What do I do; all arrangements have been made.
 
“I have printed and distributed my invitation cards for the wedding. I am so confused,” she said.

While you were probably in the comfort of your home awaiting the verdict of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the general election, corps members deployed as ad hoc staff were abandoned to their fate in various parts of the country. While some managed to sleep on benches, others were “packed like sardines” on bare floor.
 
The corp members, numbering hundreds of thousands, were deployed to each of the 36 states for the presidential election initially scheduled for Saturday, as well as the other polls. Like has always been the tradition, they were to assist official staff of INEC in election activities, usually acting in supervisory roles in the various polling units.
 
But while INEC held a meeting that lasted well over five hours to decide on the way forward regarding the elections, members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) deployed as ad hoc staff were unattended to in some parts of the country, forcing them to find solace wherever they could: in cars, benches and even open fields.
 
 
LACK OF PROPER ACCOMMODATION, COLD, HUNGER — ALL IN THE DARK
 
Checks by TheCable across the country revealed that a good number of the corps members were not given accommodation where they will all stay before commencement of their duties the next day (Saturday). A good number of the offices they reported to also did not have lights, forcing them to staying the dark.
 
In Lagos, for instance, corps members who spoke to TheCable said some of them were at the INEC office in the local government as early as 6pm.
 
“Some of us even came earlier than 6; we were there till rumours about the postponement started filtering,” a corps member deployed to Etiose 3 LGA in Lagos Island and who gave his name as Michael told TheCable. “Till I left some minutes ago (at about 4am), there was no sign of any INEC official at the office. Some people even left in anger.”
 
The situation is not any better in Ankpa, Kogi state. Corps members had to manage a canopy provided outside the INEC office as their accommodation, while grappling with cold and mosquito bites.
 
 
A corp member deployed to the area told TheCable “people are furious” and that most of them did not come with adequate clothing to keep cold away. “The worst part is no INEC official is around to address us,” he said, declining to give his name.
 
In Ogun, the situation is even more pathetic. A Twitter user by the name Adedoyin shared pictures of the corps members in the state, sleeping in an open field, beside buses.
 
AT WHAT COST?
 
This might give you some headache: each of the corps members on election duties are to be paid N35,000 as duty allowance, according to the NYSC management; for the cold and mosquito bites; the frustration and danger they are exposed to; and transport fare as some of them came from far places.
 
It is not clear why things turned out the way they did but INEC had repeatedly said adequate arrangements have been made for the welfare of those that would be involved in election duty, corps members inclusive.
 
In fact, in its N143 billion budget for the elections, N22.6 billion was budgeted for “election administration including payment of insurance of properties, insurance of officials involved in the electoral process including ad hoc staff, procurement of items, stationery, among others”.
 
 
HISTORY REPEATING ITSELF?
 
The welfare of corps members has always been an issue of serious concern in Nigeria’s elections. In some cases, they are caught up in situations where either adequate security is not made for them or proper accommodation given to them. This usually leaves them at the mercy of hoodlums and bandits.
 
In 2016, a corps member, Okonta Samuel, was killed during the Rivers rerun election in Ahoada west local government area of the state. Back in 2011, about 10 youths partaking in the NYSC and serving as INEC ad hoc staff also reportedly lost their lives to violence.
 
OUTRAGE, ANGER
 
Nigerians have taken to social media to condemn the act, while calling on INEC to put necessary measures in place to ensure the welfare of the corps members involved in election duty. It is a tale of outrage and anger.
 
Rotimi Oyekanmi, INEC spokesman, was yet to TheCable’s enquiry when this report was filed.
 
 
***
Source: TheCable

Nigerians woke up to a rude shock earlier today when they learnt that the presidential and national assembly elections which were scheduled for the day, would no longer hold.
 
The decision by INEC to postpone the elections was surprising since no one expected it to come so abruptly only hours to the commencement of the voting.
 
Upon the postponement, many Nigerians criticized INEC for the action and questioned the integrity of the entire process. Now, popular singer, Davido, has joined the others in reacting.
 
Davido took to his Twitter page to make his point. In his comments, the singer insinuated that Buhari was behind the postponement because he knows he will and so wants to enjoy being president for one more week.
 
He went on to ask his followers to defend their vote.
 
He wrote: "There’s nothing wrong in wanting to be President for one more week .. the seat sweet 
 
"#DefendYourVote"

According to a Punch Metro report, the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party has alleged that the plan to postpone today’s Presidential and National Assembly elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission was hatched inside the Presidency.
 
It alleged that the idea actually came from the Presidency, but warned that President Muhammadu Buhari’s defeat was merely a few days away.
 
The main opposition party also said that the Presidency was allegedly still planning to put some unnamed impediments on the way of the Independent National Electoral Commission in order to make sure that the election would not hold in a single day.
 
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, stated these at an ongoing press briefing while reacting to the postponement of the election by the electoral body.
 
Details later….

According to a report by Vanguard, the dreaded terrorist group, Boko Haram, has bombed a Mosque in Maiduguri, killing eleven persons. 
 
The commissioner of police in the state, Damian Chukwu, who confirmed the incident, said it happened around 5:40am. 
 
He said two suicide bombers, accompanied by a gunman, infiltrated the mosque located at Kushari village behind old CBN quarters in the ancient city. 
 
His words: “On-the-spot assessment at the scene revealed that at about 0540hrs gunmen suspected to be BH terrorists & suicide bombers infiltrated Gwozari/Kushari in Polo general area, Maiduguri shooting sporadically & detonated IEDs strapped to their bodies.


“Eleven people including three bombers died while fifteen others sustained injuries and are currently hospitalized at the State Specialist Hospital Maiduguri.”

President Muhammadu Buhari has arrived in Abuja from Katsina, where he had gone to vote in the 2019 presidential and other elections.
 
The elections have since been postponed by a week.
 
The news of President Buhari’s arrival in Abuja was conveyed in a tweet by his Special Assistant on New Media, Bashir Ahmad, via his verified Twitter handle, @BashirAhmaad.
 
He wrote: "President @MBuhari has returned to Abuja from Daura, Katsina State after a sudden postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections by the INEC, scheduled to hold today. #NigeriaDecides"


 
 
See more photos below:
 

According to TheCable, Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says there were attempts to sabotage the commission during preparations for the elections.
 
He said this in Abuja while explaining the reason for the postponement of the general election.
 
The presidential and national assembly elections had been shifted by seven days, while the governorship and state assembly polls were slo shifted by a week.
 
Yakubu said the postponement was not as a result of incompetence, security lapse or political interference.
 
He listed the fire incidents in Abia, Plateau and Anambra states, saying the commission did its best to make sure that the challenges were tackled.
 
“About thirteen hours ago, I conveyed to Nigerians the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to reschedule the 2019 general elections by one week. Presidential and National Assembly earlier scheduled for 16th February 2019 will now hold on Saturday 23rd February 2019 while Governorship, State Assembly and FCT Area Council elections scheduled for 2nd March 2019 will now hold on Saturday 9th March 2019. The one-week adjustment was a painful one for lNEC but necessary in the overall interest of our democracy,” he said.


“Nigerians will recall that when this Commission was appointed in November 2015, we promised Nigerians two cardinal things. First, we shall work hard to consolidate the improvements made in the management of elections in Nigeria since 20”. Secondly, we shall always be open, transparent and responsive. We have strived diligently to keep these promises in very trying circumstances.


“Apart from these logistical challenges, we also faced what may well be attempts to sabotage our preparations. In a space of two week, we had to deal with serious fire incidents in three of our offices in Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State, Qu’an Pan Local Government Area of Plateau State and our Anambra State Office at Awka. In all three cases. serious disruptions were occasioned by the fire, further diverting our attention from regular preparations to recovery from the impact of the incidents. In Isiala Ngwa South, hundreds of PVCs were burnt, necessitating the reocompiling of the affected cards and reprinting in time to ensure that the affected voters are not disenfranchised. I am glad that all the cards were quickly reprinted and made available for collection by their owners.”

Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), took on Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), over the postponement of the elections, TheCable reports.
 
Oshiomhole said this at the press conference the commission held to explain the reasons for shifting the polls by a week.
 
The APC chairman described the action of the commission as an embarrassment to the country, demanding that INEC should tender an apology.
 
“Why at 2am on the day of the election? Why? You have explanations to do. If you had told us since, we would have planned,” he said.
 
“Why didn’t you tell us 48 hours ago? You must apologise to Nigerians because you have embarrassed us as a nation.”
 
More to follow…

In what will come across as a really miraculous development, a driver who was involved in a crash with a truck had a narrow escape after his car was almost completely crushed against a motorway’s central reservation on Sunday.
 
The incident happened in Ohio, USA.
 
The fire department for Bethel Township in Ohio in the United States, shared images of the incident, which they described as a “significant entrapment”, after an accident in heavy snow on the I-70 highway.
 
 
Pictures show the rear of the car lofted high into the air while the roof, including the area where passengers and driver would be seated, was almost flattened between the truck and concrete wall.
“There were no serious injuries and weather did play a significant role in the crash,” the fire department reported in a later post.
 
Local media said the driver was taken to hospital but is expected to be OK.
 
Many people on social media have questioned how the motorist had made it out of the crash alive.

A new mum is in good health after giving birth to septuplets in an incredible natural birth, with all the children reportedly in perfect condition and doing well.
 
The startling birth occurred at a hospital in the Diyali Province of eastern Iraq in what is believed to be the first septuplet birth in the country.
 
 
Spokesman for the local health department Firas Al Izzawi said in a statement that the unnamed 25-year-old mum had a natural birth and was perfectly healthy after the procedure.
 
The seven newborns, six girls and one boy, are said to be in good health after receiving medical check-ups and images show four of the tiny babies lying in a bed together.
 
 
Other images show two of the tots lying together shortly after the remarkable birth which local media report is the first case of septuplets being born in Iraq.
 
***
Source: The Sun UK

A corps member identified as Christy Augustine, took to the platform to share a photo of the love letter she got from a student at the school she was deployed to.
 
The corps member who took to social media to share the love letter, revealed that the student who gave it to her is in J.S.S 2. She took to a popular platform to ask if she should punish or advice the student.
 
Read her post below;
 
"Imagine this fa!
 
My fellow ranters...
 
This is one of my students in school, the worst part he is in jss2
 
And the funniest thing was that,
 
He walked up to me directly saying...Corper I have a letter for you.
 
After reading this am still confused either to punish him or advice him."
 
The letter reads:
 
"Good day Corpa Christy,


I love your teaching


I love the way you smile


I love the way you teach


Am in love with you for everything. How I wish you will be coming to our class everytime."
 

 
The police in Niger State have arrested four suspected kidnappers terrorising Fota village in Lapai Local Government.
 
The suspected kidnappers, Mohammed Abubakar, Mamuda Mohammed, Mohammed Mohammed and Amadu Garba, confessed that the ransom they got from their victims made them to live big.
 
The suspects met their Waterloo after one of their kidnapped victims, Sani Dakuma, escaped from their den.
 
It was learnt that the suspects had kidnapped the father of Sani and collected N1.5 million as ransom before his release.
 
Speaking to reporters when paraded in Minna by the police, one of the suspects, Mamuda Mohammed, said they made a lot of money from kidnapping, adding that they used the ransom to marry many wives and live big.
 
“We have been making a lot of money from our victims. Whenever we kidnapped them, the ransom paid was quite rewarding to the extent that we could compare ourselves with directors in the ministries.


“We swim in cash, marry many wives and lavish money on our girlfriends. Honestly, we never knew that our cups would become full until we found ourselves in the police net,” he said.
 
Police spokesman Muhammad Abubakar said the suspects were trailed and apprehended following a tip-off by officers attached to Lapai Divisional Office.
 
He said the suspects have admitted to committing the offence, adding that the matter has been charged to court.

 
The Kaduna state government, Friday evening, disclosed that 66 persons were killed by unknown gunmen in Kajuru local government of Kaduna state, less than twenty four hours to the conduct of the presidential and parliamentary elections.
 
A statement issued by the spokesman to the governor of Kaduna state, Samuel Aruwan, said already, security agencies are on the trail of the assailants.
 
The statement however did not provide details about where or how the incidence happened but said among the victims were 22 children and 12 women.
 
Details shortly.

There are millions of people who are eligible to vote in the homestate of President Muhammadu Buhari which is his stronghold. 

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Resident Electoral Commissioner of Katsina State, Jibril Ibrahim Zarewa, said 3,187,988 Permanent Voters Card, PVCs were distributed in the state.
 
Zarewa said the 3,187,988 representing 98 per cent collection were out of the 3,230,000 registered voters in the state. The Commissioner also said that 63,939 PVCs were yet to be collected and would be taken to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN for safe keeping. 
 
His words: “In Katsina State, there are 3,230,000 registered voters out whom 3,187,988 representing 98 pcollected the Permanent Voters Card, PVC. The balance yet to be collected is 63,939 representing two per cent. We have housed it and kept it till after the elections.”

The abductors of the APC member were said to have called a friend of the victim and demanded a ransom of N30m before she could be freed.
Unidentified gunmen, have abducted an All Progressives Congress women leader in Delta State, identified simply as Margaret.

Margaret is said to be a staunch supporter of the member representing Delta Central Senatorial District in the Senate, Mr Ovie Omo-Agege.

It was learnt that Margaret, a politician and trader from Efurun in the Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, was abducted on her way back from a campaign rally at Orogun, in the Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the 50-year-old woman, who contested the councillorship of her local government recently, was in a vehicle belonging to the unnamed director-general of Omo-Agege’s campaign team with three other party faithful.

While the other three occupants of the vehicle escaped from the abductors, Margaret was said to have been unlucky and was whisked away to an unknown destination.

The abductors of the APC member were said to have called a friend of the victim and demanded a ransom of N30m before she could be freed.

Explaining the plight of the victim, her friend and an APC faithful, who gave his name only as Commander, told our correspondent that Margaret’s captors had called him many times regarding the ransom payment.

Commander, an ex-naval officer, who said the abductors demanded N30m ransom, said he initially did not know that the women leader had been abducted until he called her telephone on Tuesday.

He stated, “When I called her number, a man picked the call and I asked him to give the phone to the owner.

“But the man identified himself as a kidnapper. He told me that he would give me two minutes to speak with the captive for me to know that she had been abducted. I was taken aback when I heard him say that. Anyway, I still called the line to speak with Margaret. She told me that it was true that she had been kidnapped.

“After the two minutes, they collected the phone from her and started negotiating with me. They told me to go and bring N30m to secure her release or they would kill her the next day, being Wednesday. I started begging them not to kill her and that they should allow me to contact her people to let them know of the development.”

Commander said the abductors still called him to find out how far he had gone to raise the ransom.

He noted that when the abductors called him again on Thursday, he begged them to spare her and that he was making frantic efforts to reach Margaret’s family and the party hierarchy in the state to handle the matter.

Commander added, “I went to her house on Ogbon Street in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area, but did not find anybody in the place. I also reached out to our party ward chairman, Desire Odjebibo, but he told me that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege was aware of the abduction.

“I went further to reach out to the senator himself; he told me that he was aware of the incident and was working to ensure that the woman is released.”

He appealed to the abductors to spare Margaret, describing her as a simple and easy-going woman incapable of hurting anybody.

Efforts to get the Delta State Police Command to react to the development were futile as several calls made to its spokesman, Andrew Aniamaka’s telephone were neither answered nor was a message sent to him responded to as of the time of filing this report.

He promised that the administration of the party's presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, would be youth-driven.

The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, has described Saturday as a date with destiny.
 
He therefore urged the youth to seize the opportunity of the elections to move Nigeria forward.
 
Saraki, who is the Director-General of the Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation, spoke at a town hall meeting organised for Kwara Central youths in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Thursday.
 
He promised that the administration of the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, would be youth-driven.
 
He said, “Saturday is a date with destiny. You should not be intimidated by presence of security agents. They will be there to provide security and protection for you. With your support, we will win and cause a turnaround in our national life.

“In 2015, number of unemployment people was 10 million, and it’s now 23 million. The present administration does not understand how to cause change in people and economy.

“Don’t make a mistake of voting for those that do not understand the dynamics because wrong choice can spell doom for the country.”