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INEC begins review of the 2023 General Elections

By
Mana Balagbogbo
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The chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, yesterday began meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on the just concluded general election. The meeting is a weeklong meeting taking place at the INEC headquarters, Abuja.

At the meeting, INEC Chairman made it known that since the conclusion of the election, diverse opinions have been expressed by political parties, candidates, observers, analysts and the general public on aspects of the elections that took place in February and March. On remarks about the election, he stressed that it was necessary to look at the entire process before, during and after the election to make an informed assessment:

  1. Compared to some previous elections, INEC believed that the 2023 General Election was one of the most meticulously prepared for in recent times.
  2. The security challenges which threatened to derail the elections did not materialize.
  3. Despite currency and fuel challenges and widespread attacks on our personnel and facilities nationwide, the Commission proceeded with the election as scheduled.
  4. The first set of elections, the Presidential and National Assembly, held as planned for the first time in the last four General Elections conducted in the country.
  5. Accreditation of voters using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System BVAS has generally been scored very high by voters. (BVAS accreditation Success rate stood at 98% compared to the Smart Card Reader’s 29.2% at the 2019 Election).
  6. Overall outlook suggests that it was a fair reflection of a complex multi-party democracy.

Justifying INEC’s stance on the elections:

  1. Five political parties produced State Governors
  2. Seven parties won Senatorial seats
  3. Eight are represented in the House of Representatives and nine in State Houses of Assembly.

Clearly, the 10th National Assembly is certainly the most diverse in party representation since 1999. On Challenges, he acknowledged that they were:

  1. Structural, infrastructural and human in nature.
  2. There was evidence of infractions during the election, including the prosecution of offenders.
  3. RECs were not managing their briefs as expected, adding that administrative actions have already been taken against such officials.

Issues for review include:

  1. The operational processes for Continuous Voter Registration CVR and general elections, including planning, organization, coordination and evaluation of activities, focusing particularly on such specific issues as the issuance of voters’ cards, logistics, delivery of materials, deployment of personnel, etc.
  2. The legal framework for the conduct of elections with a view to addressing any key legal challenges that may have arisen prior to the 2023 General Election which was not envisaged before the election.
  3. Technologies deployed in the electoral process, including the INEC Voter Enrolment Device IVED; INEC Result Viewing Portal IReV; Bimodal Voter Accreditation System BVAS; party nomination portal; observer, media and polling/collation agents’ accreditation portals etc., focusing particularly on their performance.
  4. Effectiveness of overall administrative procedures and channels within the Commission in the coordination and execution of pre-election, election and post-election activities.
  5. Political party registration, party primaries and nomination of candidates for the 2023 General Election, as well as monitoring of the processes.
  6. Process of recruitment, training, deployment and performance of all categories of ad-hoc staff during CVR and the General Election.
  7. Strengthening the Commission’s cooperation and relations with other bodies such as MDAs, NGOs etc. and any other issues in the electoral process that are likely to impact the work of the Commission in future.

On Electoral offenders:

“I can also confirm that we have received 215 case files from the Nigeria Police following their arrest and the conclusion of the investigation into electoral offences arising from the 2023 General Election. We are working with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to prosecute the alleged offenders. Already, the NBA has submitted a list of 427 lawyers across the country who have volunteered to render pro bono services to the Commission.“

Similarly, he said INEC was working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) on the prosecution of cases relating to vote buying and associated violations. The next few weeks, several internal debriefing meetings will be held, culminating in engagements with stakeholders, which will see RECs lead the discussions on all aspects of the election from preparations, conduct and aftermath.

Wuhan Virologist Admits Covid Was Engineered As a ‘Bioweapon’ To Depopulate the World

By
Henry Williams
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0

A senior researcher from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology has blown the whistle on the origins of the Covid virus, admitting the U.S. taxpayer-funded lab “engineered” the COVID-19 virus as a “bioweapon.”

Wuhan researcher Chao Shan made the bombshell claim during an interview with Asian News International (ANI) reporter Jennifer Zeng.

Shan, also known as Shao Chao, provided Zeng, a member of the International Press Association, with first-hand information and unique insights about the role played by Anthony Fauci and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Zeng characterized Shan’s claims as “shocking” and “astonishing,” while providing a detailed account of his “explosive admission.”

According to Shan, he and his colleagues at the Wuhan lab were assigned the task of determining the most effective strain of coronavirus for transmission among different species, including humans.

He stated that in 2019, his superior in Nanjing City provided him with four strains of coronavirus to assess which one was the most potent and easily transmissible.

Shan conducted tests on human ACE2 receptors, bats, and monkeys using the virus.

During the 26-minute interview, he also mentioned that a number of his colleagues went missing during the 2019 Military World Games held in Wuhan.

Subsequently, one of his colleagues revealed that they had been dispatched to hotels where athletes from various countries were staying in order to “inspect health and hygiene conditions.”

Since the inspection of hygiene does not typically require virologists, Shan suspected that they were sent there with the intention of spreading the virus.

Zeng has posted a video on Twitter where she describes what Shan told her.

Shan further alleged that in April 2020, he was dispatched to Xinjiang to evaluate the well-being of Uyghur individuals detained in “re-education camps.”

He implied that he was given either instructions to intentionally propagate the virus or to observe its impact on human subjects.

During his disclosure to Zeng, Shan underscored that the information he has revealed merely constitutes a small piece of the broader puzzle concerning the origins of the Covid pandemic.

As The People’s Voice reported, Dr. Anthony Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) was funding dangerous gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab with American tax dollars.

Fauci, Democrat President Joe Biden’s former chief medical advisor, has desperately worked to change the Wuhan lab leak narrative because he was involved in conducting dangerous coronavirus research in the Chinese laboratory.

After Covid first emerged, top scientists from around the world contacted Fauci to warn that their own research indicated that the virus had come from a lab, as The People’s Voice reported.

However, they all publicly U-turned on their theories after speaking with Fauci and receiving millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded grants from the then-director of the NIAID.

WEF Demands Govt’s Urgency Abolish Cash and Introduce Social Credit Scores

By
Henry Williams
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0

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has called on Western nations to “urgently” ban cash and implement a Chinese-style social credit score system amid growing and widespread public skepticism against the globalist agenda.

The WEF urged world leaders to begin fast-tracking the implementation of CBDC’s during the “Summer Davos” event this week.

CBDCs are digital versions of national currencies, touted to bring about an efficient, secure, and accessible monetary system. However, in reality the digital currency will hand total financial control of people’s live over to central banks and governments.

Infowars.com reports: In a report, timed for release with the event this week, the WEF listed “advancing cashless societies” as one of the strong motivations for introducing CBDCs. “Focusing on reducing cash use, promoting digital payments and enhancing financial literacy to drive economic growth and increase efficiency, while balancing privacy concerns,” the report states.

Though it doesn’t say exactly how “balancing privacy concerns” will be addressed.

The conference this week brought attention to the stark reality of physical money becoming a relic, as Eswar Prasad, a Cornell University professor, emphasized during his speech.

Prasad enlightened the audience on the duality of CBDCs. He marveled at their potential benefits but also cautioned against the possible perils. One of the intriguing aspects of CBDCs, according to him, is their programmability. Governments could engineer these digital currencies with the ability to expire and to dictate what they can or cannot be used for.

“We are at the cusp of physical currency essentially disappearing,” said Prasad, thereby underlining the gravity of the situation.

Imagine a world where your money has an expiration date or is tailored to permit the purchase of certain goods while explicitly prohibiting others. Prasad expressed his concerns by saying, “You could have a potentially … darker world where the government decides that units of central bank money can be used to purchase some things, but not other things that it deems less desirable like say ammunition, or drugs, or pornography, or something of the sort.”

He warned that this level of control could be a double-edged sword, with the government’s ability to guide economic and social policies through currency itself. The integrity and independence of central banks could be severely undermined if digital currency is manipulated in such a way.

EU Authorizes Bill Gates To Help Them “Block Out the Sun” To Help Combat Climate Change

By
Henry Williams
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0

The European Union has asked Bill Gates to help them in their efforts to combat climate change by blocking out the sun using controversial geoengineering technology owned by the globalist billionaire.

The EU will unveil their plans on Wednesday for the implementation of re-engineering the atmosphere.

“These technologies introduce new risks to people and ecosystems, while they could also increase power imbalances between nations, spark conflicts and raise a myriad of ethical, legal, governance and political issues,” the EU states in a document.

Straitstimes.com reports: Embarking on this research pushes the EU into the debate over whether so-called climate geoengineering is good science or just a science-fiction distraction with potentially dangerous implications for the planet and its atmosphere. The bloc would like to see international discussions on creating rules for the fledgling sector.

“The EU will support international efforts to assess comprehensively the risks and uncertainties of climate interventions, including solar radiation modification,” according to the document.

Such large-scale interventions have emerged alongside scientific advances and growing concern that nations will overshoot their target to limit global warming to 1.5 deg C. The potential options include stratospheric aerosol injection, which involves increasing the concentration of particles in the atmosphere to reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface.

Critics say such efforts, at best, distract attention from addressing the primary trigger of global warming: wars that are exported to other countries by global powers and 80% of bush fires man made not, according to reports.
At worst, these massive interventions may have unforeseen side effects, such as altering vital rain patterns, they warn.
Some scientists have called for an international non-use agreement on such solutions.

BlackRock Set To Rake in $1 Trillion Rebuilding the Destruction They Financed in Ukraine

By
Henry Williams
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0

War-profiteers BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase are set to reap a trillion dollar windfall in securing no-bid contracts to rebuild Ukraine – after years of financing and prolonging the conflict.

According to the Biden administration and mainstream media, the two globalist financial titans, BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase, are leading the charge in a “humanitarian effort” by helping to establish the Ukraine Development Fund, a reconstruction bank designed to steer public seed capital into projects that can attract hundreds of billions of dollars in private investment.

However, as those who are familiar with the words of Gen. Smedley Butler might ask, is this really an altruistic endeavor, or just another face of the long-standing war racket?

TFTP reports: The echoes of Halliburton’s billion-dollar contracts during the Iraq war are deafening. These corporations, the backbone of the military-industrial complex, have found a golden opportunity in mass murder.

The strategy is as lucrative as it is grotesque: profiteering from death, destruction, and then the subsequent taxpayer-funded reconstruction of the rubble they helped to create — all while maintaining a veneer of benevolence.

When we delve into the intricacies of the Ukraine Development Fund, the disturbing reality begins to surface. The World Bank estimates that Ukraine would need a whopping $411 billion to rebuild after the war.

Here, BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase see a bountiful harvest. The roles they will play in leveraging taxpayer funds provide them with the potential for astronomical profits that would easily dwarf any of their alleged “donated” services.

The chilling parallels between Ukraine and the Iraq war are impossible to ignore. Halliburton reaped billions from no-bid contracts to rebuild what had been shattered by war. Tens of thousands of lives were lost, and a nation grappled with the fallout of a foreign intervention, while Halliburton and others cashed in on the chaos.

The more the dust of devastation settles over Ukraine, the clearer the profit margins become for BlackRock and their ilk. War and its aftermath create an ideal breeding ground for opportunistic corporate parasites. The brutal dance of destruction and reconstruction is a double-edged sword, inflicting deep wounds on humanity while filling the coffers of these corporations.

The financial giants’ noble facade of assisting Ukraine overlooks the brutal truth: the longer the war rages, the more they stand to gain. This harsh reality epitomizes Butler’s assertion that “war is a racket,” with the likes of BlackRock, JPMorgan, and the broader military-industrial complex reaping significant profits from the suffering and despair of millions.

What we witness here is not just war profiteering but the transformation of war itself into a highly profitable venture for corporations. These entities have a vested interest in prolonging conflict. The more extensive the destruction, the higher the potential for profit during the reconstruction phase. This dynamic serves to reinforce a system that feeds off conflict, creating an environment that incentivizes the perpetuation of war, despite its catastrophic human cost.

This perverse reality reveals the essence of Butler’s statement that “war is a racket.” The very entities that profit from war also stand to gain from the peace that follows. Until we break this destructive cycle, the suffering, the loss, and the injustice will continue to proliferate under the guise of reconstruction and recovery.

It is crucial to scrutinize the underlying motives of those who claim to assist in rebuilding war-torn nations. Are they truly benevolent benefactors committed to helping countries rise from the ashes, or are they shrewd racketeers capitalizing on the chaos of war? The answer, as history has shown us time and time again, is as evident as the grim aftermath of any battlefield — and it will never be found under a Ukraine flag emoji in your Twitter profile.

War is indeed a racket, and it is one that BlackRock, JPMorgan, and the like play with chilling efficiency. As Ukraine braces for a period of rebuilding, it is not just the physical scars that need attention but the underlying, systemic rot that feeds off such conflict.

Retired generals set agenda as Tinubu meets Service Chiefs

By
Mana Balagbogbo
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0

Retired generals on Monday set an agenda for the new service chiefs on how they can overcome the security challenges confronting the country. Speaking against the backdrop of the insurgency in the North-East, banditry in the North-West and other criminal activities and killings across the country, the former military officers admonished the security chiefs to study their predecessors and improve on their weaknesses.

The ex-servicemen handed down the advice hours after the security chiefs held a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa where he charged them to work with the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu and the acting Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, as a team to address insecurity. Monday’s meeting was Tinubu’s first known in-person engagement with the security heads since their appointment on June 19.So This Happened (108) reviews Yoruba Nation Rally, Prince Charles’ promotion of | Punch

They include the Chief of Defence Staff, Maj. Gen. C.G Musa; Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen. T. A Lagbaja; Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral E. A Ogalla; Chief of Air Staff, AVM H.B. Abubakar; the Chief of Defense Intelligence, Maj. Gen. EPA Undiandeye and the Acting Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun. Tinubu assured them of his 100 per cent support, considering the enormity of the work expected of them.

Presidential Tribunal Admits EU’s Election Report Against INEC, Tinubu

By
Mana Balagbogbo
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0

The final report of the European Union Election Observer Mission in Nigeria, which criticized the way the February 25 presidential election was conducted, has been accepted by the Presidential Election Petition Court. Yesterday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, submitted the paper to a five-member judicial panel chaired by Justice Haruna Tsammani, who accepted it. The document’s admissibility was contested by the attorneys for President Bola Tinubu, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), the All Progressive Congress (APC), Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN).

According to the EU mission’s report, only 31% of the results of the presidential election were posted on IREV, indicating that INEC’s conduct of the election lacked credibility, fairness, and transparency. Director of Information Technology (IT), Dr. Lawrence Bayode, testified for INEC as a witness, and PDP counsel Chris Uche (SAN) only mentioned the report during cross-examination. Uche had previously argued that Tinubu and APC attorneys should have conducted a cross-examination of the INEC witness first because to their shared opposition to the PDP lawsuit. The judge agreed and instructed them to cross-examine the witness first.

Dr. Bayode confessed in his main testimony that the electoral authority does not have an electronic system for collating election results, hence the presidential election result was not collated electronically. In particular, the INEC witness acknowledged that the electoral body’s presiding officers manually collated the results of the presidential election. The witness acknowledged, when being cross-examined by Chief Chris Uche (SAN), the lead attorney for Atiku Abubakar, that not all of the presidential election results had been uploaded into the INEC’s IREV as of March 1, 2023, when Tinubu had been proclaimed and confirmed as the victor of the February 25 presidential election.

ven though the witness testified in court that a technical issue prevented the uploading of the presidential election results, the witness conceded during cross-examination that the INEC did not notify Amazon Web Services (AWS) of the issue. The witness testified in court that form EC8A served as the foundation for the election results and that data and network service were necessary for the upload of the images of the results captured by the Biomodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) device. The witness was being cross-examined by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), lead counsel for President Tinubu.

While under cross-examination, the witness acknowledged that the INEC did not notify Amazon Web Services (AWS) of the technical issue that prevented the uploading of the presidential election results as the witness had claimed to the court. The witness testified in court during cross-examination by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), lead attorney for President Tinubu, that form EC8A served as the foundation for the election results and that data and network service were needed for the upload of images of the results taken by the Biomodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) device.

He further stated that election integrity will not be compromised by photos taken using BVAS, whether they are communicated electronically or manually, particularly in light of the fact that results entered into form EC8As were disclosed in front of and with the knowledge of party agents. When the Labour Party (LP) and its presidential candidate Peter Obi filed their appeal, INEC was unable to respond until counsel for the commission, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), informed the court that one of the three witnesses due to be called was attending to family matters. The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

PDP Cautions APC Against Meddling in Contest for Minority Leadership

By
Mana Balagbogbo
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0

The All Progressives Congress (APC) was asked yesterday by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to refrain from interfering in matters pertaining to the selection of the Senate minority leadership. The PDP added that it is collaborating with its senators and seeking input from many people in order to present a uniform front for the Senate.

Debo Ologunagba, the PDP’s national publicity secretary, declared to reporters after the NWC meeting with senators yesterday in Abuja that the party was dedicated to a strong and stable opposition in the Senate. The PDP and the Senators have continued consultations on the emergence of the minority leadership in the Senate and are resolved to jointly present a unified leadership after due and conclusive considerations, the senator stated. In light of this, the PDP will keep supplying the required leadership in this area.

The meeting resolved that the PDP NWC communicates to the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on the ongoing consultation in the Minority Caucus to the effect that the nominees into the minority leadership positions in the Senate has not been concluded and that, upon conclusion, the nominated list will be formally conveyed to him appropriately for necessary action. The PDP NWC commends the members of the PDP Caucus in the Senate for their cohesion, perseverance, party loyalty, and dedication to maintaining and strengthening democracy in our nation.

Insecurity: We’ll secure Nigeria – Nuhu Ribadu

By
Mana Balagbogbo
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0

Yesterday, President Bola Tinubu and the entire nation received assurances from the national security adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, that security services will successfully secure the country and restore peace and stability. Ribadu was reacting to the President’s admonition that they should work together to fulfill the mandate of addressing the nation’s ongoing security concerns.

His accusation was made in light of the insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, and other violent crimes that have endangered the nation’s ability to conduct business. After the President’s first meeting with the security chiefs at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, the NSA, Mallam Ribadu, briefed State House reporters, saying: “The President urged them to operate as a team and deliver on their mandate.

Speaking on the outcome of the meeting, he said: “We’re here to thank Mr. President for the opportunity he gave us to serve our country and to serve his own government. We also pledged our loyalty to him, Nigeria and Nigerians. “We believe the choice he made is the right one, the correct one, and we know what he wants for this country. ‘’We’re going to work tirelessly to ensure we accomplish that objective of securing our country, establishing peace, stability and let’s get our lives back. ‘Work as a team and deliver.’

“He gave us the assurance that he’s with us one hundred per cent. He told us we must work as a team and that there’s work to be done, he’ll expect us to deliver and we’re grateful for the opportunity. That’s why we are here.” Asked what the starting point of the new heads of security would be, Ribadu said: “Where we are today and you can see already, things are improving in our country.

 “If you see the record of crimes and activities of criminals are going down, it will continue to go down. We’ll secure this place.  “Nigerians have seen the quality of the people that are given opportunity, they are probably some of the bests we have, and they are not going to fail you, they’ll certainly deliver. Thank you very much.” Apart from the NSA, others in attendance were the Chief of Defence Staff, Major-General Christopher Musa, Chief of Army Staff, Major-General Taoreed Lagbaja, Chief of Naval Staff, Rear-Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar, and the Acting IGP, Kayode Egbetokun.

Recall that Tinubu cautioned the immediate past service chiefs against working against one another if the fight against insecurity was to be successful. In order to avoid repeating past mistakes when there was inter-agency rivalry, which allowed rebels, bandits, and kidnappers the space to grow and jeopardize the country’s corporate existence, he had emphasized that the security chiefs must cooperate.

EU’s report can’t delegitimize Tinubu’s govt – Keyamo

By
Mana Balagbogbo
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0

Festus Keyamo, a former minister of state for labor and employment, stated that the EUOM’s 2023 general election report cannot invalidate President Bola Tinubu’s administration. On Monday, Keyamo made a statement via his verified Twitter account.

However, several Nigerians, like Keyamo, have responded negatively to the EU study. There isn’t a single election anywhere in the world without irregularities, according to Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN. He clarified that the question is whether the alleged irregularities had an impact on the election results.

He claims that the EU report does not reveal who won or lost an election. Only the judiciary has the power to legitimize or delegitimize President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, according to Keyamo, a representative of the disbanded Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council.

He stated, “It is only a forensic examination of the entire process by the judiciary that can determine the extent to which the supposed ‘irregularities’ affected the outcome of the elections. And there are legal rules already laid down to achieve this.

“The EU report is NOT (and cannot be) a document that tells you who won or lost an election. It only reports the ‘irregularities’ noticed and recommends improvement in future elections. “Therefore, all the hoopla over that EU report is neither here nor there when it comes to legitimizing or delegitimizing the government of the day. That power or responsibility belongs to the Judiciary,” he said. 

Recall Tinubu had been named the victor of the presidential election by INEC. However, Tinubu’s victory is currently being contested at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal by Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party.

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