|
ANEEJ NEWS REEL - February 28, 2023
|
|
|
UPDATE ON NIGERIA’S PRESIDENTIAL AND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTION - ANEEJ
Nigeria held its presidential and national assembly elections on Saturday, February 25, 2023. The governorship elections in 28 of the 36 States in Nigeria as well as the States Houses of Assembly have also been scheduled for Saturday, March 11 2023. A total of 15,331 candidates will be vying for various positions during the general elections comprising 18 presidential aspirants from 18 different political parties, 420 governorship candidates, 4,223 candidates contested for National Assembly seats and 10,232 candidates for the State House of Assembly. The major contending political parties for the presidential election were the; People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with Alh. Atiku Abubakar as their presidential candidate, the All Progressive Party (APC) with Bola Ahmed Tinubu as their presidential candidate, the Labour party (LP) with Peter Obi as their presidential candidate and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) with Rabiu Kwakwasor as their presidential candidate. Read full update here
|
|
200 CSOs Task INEC, Political Parties, Security Agents on Vote-buying, Peaceful Polls
Ahead of the Saturday Presidential elections which heralds the commencement of the 2023 general elections across all polling units in Nigeria, over 200 Civil Society Organisations have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Security Agencies, Political candidates and their supporters to ensure peaceful, violence-free polls devoid of vote-buying and other malfeasance. Co-convener of the group and Executive Director of Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, the Rev David Ugolor while welcoming participants at a pre-election conference in Gelegele, Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State called for zero tolerance to electoral violence from all political parties and their agents as well as voters even as he warned against vote-buying the politicians and their supporters. Read more See Gelegele Declaration here
|
|
ANEEJ tasks Buhari, Presidential candidates on Plans for $3.5 billion SDR allocated to Nigeria by IMF
As Presidential candidates of the various political parties round off their campaigns across the country ahead of Saturday’s general elections, the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), has called on President Muhammadu Buhari and all the Presidential candidates planning to take over from him to tell Nigerians their plans to utilize the $3.4billion Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocated to Nigeria by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since August 2021. Executive Director of ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor revealed that the $3.5billion allocated to Nigeria since 2021 is lying idle unutilized! He wondered why Nigeria’s SDR allocation by the Fund to cushion the impact of Covid-19, global economic crunch and Climate crisis on citizens of the country is unutilized. He equally expressed concern that since the allocation in 2021, the Minister of Finance, Hajia Zainab Ahmed has not told Nigerians anything about the utilization of the country’s $3.5billion SDR allocation from the IMF. Read more
|
|
Nigeria’s bid to overturn a “sham” $11 billion arbitral award to P&ID
One of the biggest arbitral enforcement disputes kicked off in London last week, as Nigeria seeks to overturn an award worth $11.1 billion obtained by a small offshore company following a failed gas project. The court is confronted with two conflicting versions of events. Nigeria claims that Process & Industrial Developments (P&ID) not only procured this lucrative gas contract through bribery, but then corrupted Nigeria’s legal team to cash out its ill-gotten gains through sham arbitration proceedings. But P&ID told the court this allegation of a “vast premeditated fraud” was “a conclusion in search of facts”. The company claims the real reason Nigeria lost the arbitration is not because of collusion by its lawyers, but rather because of its own incompetent handling of the case. Read more
|
|
Presidential Poll: Intensify crackdown on Vote-buyers, ANEEJ Urges EFCC
The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice ANEEJ has lauded the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the interception of the sum of N32,400,000 in Lagos, allegedly suspected to be used for vote buying in tomorrow’s presidential and National Assembly polls, urging the anti-graft agency to intensify its efforts in this regard across the country. ANEEJ Executive Director, Rev David Ugolor made the commendation today shortly after confirming that the anti-graft agency actually tracked the money allegedly planned to be used to undermine tomorrow’s elections in Lagos State, noting that the EFCC’s action resonates with the Gelegele Declaration by over 200 Civil Society Organisations on Wednesday which called on the Anti-Corruption agencies to go after vote-traders bent on undermining the 2023 polls. Read more
|
|
|
|
|
