INEC Announces PDP’s Kefas Agbu Taraba Gov-Elect

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March 21, 2023

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Kefas Agbu the winner of the Taraba State governorship election.

Taraba Guber Aspirant Vows to Prioritise Education

Agbu, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), scored 257,926 votes to edge out the candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Muhammad Yahaya, who polled 202,277.

In third place, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Emmanuel Bwacha, garnered 142,502 ballots.

The state Returning Officer Prof M.A. Abdulazeez declared Agbu the winner at 12:30 am on Tuesday, after finding his win in fulfilment of the requirements to be named the governor-elect.

Abdulazeez called on all contestants to “forgive each other” adding, “We are doing this ensure that democracy has gone a long way in Nigeria.”

BREAKING: PDP’s Lawal Defeats Incumbent Matawalle In Zamfara

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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March 21, 2023

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Dr. Dauda Lawal Dare of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP as the winner of last Saturday’s Governorship election in Zamfara State

Dr. Dauda Lawal polled 377,726 votes to defeat his closet rival who is also the Incumbent Governor, Bello Matawalle of the APC who polled 311,976
and Dr. Hashim of the ADC who came distant 3rd with 1178 votes.

Zamfara Governor Matawalle Tasks Northern Leaders On Unity

The Zamfara Governorship results were declared by the returning office for the Professor Kasimu Shehu Kalla, the Vice Chancellor Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto.

Agents of the APC rejects the results of the last two local governments collated, saying they will challenge the outcome in court

Political party agents at the Collation Centre accepted the outcome of the results and have all signed the results sheet to authenticate their acceptance.

This is the second time an incumbent Governor in Zamfara state is been defeated by an opposition Political party

Former Governor Mamuda Shinkafi of the then PDP was defeated by Fmr. Governor Abdulazeez Yari of the ANPP in 2011.

Police Arrests 26 Election Offenders In Benue

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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March 21, 2023

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The Benue State police command says it arrested about twenty six (26) suspects during the just concluded Governorship/State Assembly elections.

A statement by the police public relations officer Sewuese Anene says the offences include political thuggery/ illegal possession of firearms, snatching of ballot boxes and intimidation of voters.

Exhibits recovered from them include; three (3) locally made pistols, cutlasses, knives and wraps of weed suspected to be indian hemp.

Hoodlums Destroy Voting Materials In Bayelsa, Police Arrest Suspect

While condemning these acts, the Commissioner of Police, Benue State CP. Wales Abass ordered detailed investigation into these case and promised to deal with suspects in accordance with the laws.

The CP enjoined the good people of Benue State to go about their normal activities and be assured that the command is committed to protection of lives and property during and after elections.

Elections: 23 Suspects Arrested In Lagos – Police Spokesperson

He added that, the command has special deployments for post election security management.

Imo Assembly: PDP Tells INEC to Review Results

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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March 21, 2023

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The People’s Democratic Party, PDP in Imo State has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to review the State House of Assembly results held on Saturday.

The party’s Publicity Secretary in Imo, Collin’s Opuruozor revealed this in a press briefing on Monday.

PDP stated that the party won in many council areas but results were rigged to suit the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC in the state.

According to Opuruozor, various riggings and result manipulations in the State were carried out through the full and active involvement of some top corrupt officials within INEC, including the Resident Electoral Commissioner, and the security agencies in Imo State.

Bellow the full statement:

March 20, 2023

Text of World Press Conference by Imo PDP on the Fraud, Travesty and Intolerable Rape of Democracy in Imo State during the Last Saturday’s House of Assembly Elections

Gentlemen of the Press, we welcome you once again to this briefing. It has been a dark moment for democracy in Imo State. Each day brings a new sorrow. Our Party, therefore, deeply appreciates you, our media partners, for standing by Imo people through these perilous times and remaining on the side of truth despite the threats, harassments and attacks from those who control the reins of power in Imo State.

On Wednesday, March 15th, 2023 our Party alerted Nigerians to a grand design by the Governor of the State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, to commit widespread electoral fraud during the House of Assembly elections in the State by writing results and declaring his Party, the APC, winner across all the constituencies in the State. We took a protest to the State Headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) here in Owerri to register our concerns and get the Commission to assure us of a free and fair process. Unfortunately, that was not to be, and we have now be justified.

Last Saturday, Imo people went out to vote their choice candidates for the House of Assembly seats across the State. It was supposed to be a seamless and brotherly exercise. For our Party, the wishes of the people must be respected, and so we properly trained all our field workers in the best practices in democratic electioneering.

Earlier, we had presented competent, credible and roundly qualified candidates, and we also campaigned vigorously and spoke to the real issues of concern to Ndimo. Above all else, our unrivaled performance in all the sectors of the State when Imo people massively elected us in 2019 made PDP the darling of the people. So, we went into the elections fully prepared for victory.

By the time voting ended on Saturday and over eighty percent of the results declared at the polling units, it had become clear that PDP won landslide in majority of the twenty-seven constituencies of the State.

Then, the the APC regime of Senator Hope Uzodinma returned with the only option which they know how to do, namely the use of state violence to abduct INEC officials, cart away election materials, falsify results and impose their lackeys on Imo people as winners. This administration of Senator Uzodinma which foundation is rooted in immorality, treachery, usurpation of popular mandate and debasing of democratic institutions and values has finally set Imo State on fire!

At about 9pm in Isu LGA on Saturday, when collation was done by over 90% and PDP had convincingly won the election, well-known APC leaders came in a convoy of over fifty vehicles, two armoured personnel carriers conveying armed military men, Police, Ebubeagu militiamen and thugs. They began to shoot heavily, directly attacking PDP leaders and agents, and in the process Chief Magnus Uzoma, who is the Chairman of Isu LGA Campaign Council of our Party was shot and left badly injured in a pool of blood.

Mr. Charles Osakwe, PDP Collation Agent in the LGA, was also beaten to pulp with guns and machetes and left half dead by APC-backed militiamen. Two PDP youths, Mr. Chigozie Izunwanne and Comrade Chinonso Onwezi, were also attacked and brutalized by APC militiamen, and it is still miraculous that they are alive today. In this way, APC hijacked the results and falsified them just to upturn our victory.

Imo PDP totally condemns this brigandage and brazen robbery of the people’s mandate in Isu LGA. This will never stand!

In Onuimo LGA, where PDP had also won landslide, the same thing was done. Appointees of Senator Hope Uzodinma stormed the collation center with armed thugs, soldiers, policemen and Ebubeagu militiamen, and unleashed mayhem on everyone present at the venue and rewrote the results to give undue victory to the APC.

In Aboh Mbaise, where PDP also recorded landslide victory, APC leaders, top police officers, military personnel and Ebubeagu militiamen struck again at the middle of the night and took away the INEC officials with election materials to Owerri where they rewrote the results for the APC.

In Ideato North, Ihitte Uboma, Oguta, Ohaji-Egbema, Owerri West, Isiala Mbano, Nwangele, Ehime Mbano, Nkwerre, Ezinihitte Mbaise and Njaba, the midnight raids also occured and the electoral mandates freely given to PDP Candidates by their constituents were violently snatched away.

For Orlu LGA, voting materials and INEC officials were not deployed to over sixty percent of the area. Instead, INEC delivered the materials to APC leaders, who congregated at the Orlu LGA Headquarters, and, aided by armed thugs, security agents and Ebubeagu militiamen, they thumbprinted the ballot papers and wrote results for the APC. This also happened in most parts of Orsu, Oru West, Oru East and Okigwe, where elections could not hold because of insecurity. However, in all the relatively safe places where elections held in these LGAs, PDP won convincingly.

In Ahiazu Mbaise, PDP was in a clear and matchless lead when Senator Uzodinma’s agents came with violence and electoral fraud which made the exercise to be declared inconclusive. Yet, these same godless characters in APC are still fighting to get INEC to announce the result in their favour. This is a shame!

PDP Ihedioha, LP Chairman Criticise Imo Assembly Results

It must be stated very clearly that these atrocities against Imo people were committed through the full and active involvement of some top corrupt officials within INEC, including the Resident Electoral Commissioner, and the security agencies in the State. Imo PDP finds this really disheartening!

Our Party, therefore, demands that INEC should in line with the extant provisions of the Electoral Act immediately review the falsified House of Assembly results across Imo State and, without any delay, uphold the authentic results from the polling units and declare PDP candidates winners.

Our Party thanks Imo people for coming out en masse to overwhelmingly elect our candidates. We shall not take for granted your love for PDP and your abiding faith in us. So, we appeal to Imolites to remain calm and law-abiding, as not even a single seat won by PDP shall be stolen from us.

Signed:

Collins Opurozor
State Publicity Secretary
Imo PDP.

Katsina Election: PDP Accuses Buhari, Heads to Court

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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March 21, 2023

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The Katsina State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has described March 18 Governorship election as intelligently rigged and full of malpractices and vowed to challenge it in court.

Director-General of the PDP campaign council, Dr Mustapha Inuwa who said this while briefing journalists condemned its conduct in totality and accused president Muhammadu Buhari of failing to write his name in the good book of democracy by conducting the worst election ever in Nigeria.2 Terrorists Killed in Katsina For Snatching Electoral Materials

According to Inuwa, the election was marred by voter apathy, intimidation of civil servants, traditional rulers, directing of local government chairmen to return the APC back to power or risk their offices, inducement in all ramification

Inuwa further alleged that the election results were intelligently rigged with votes allocated different from that which was obtainable during the presidential and National assembly elections.

The PDP campaign DG aso expressed fears that with the outcome of the election in katsina, democracy is dead as president Buhari has failed to write his name in the good book of democracy.

Inuwa therefore said, the PDP is rejecting in totality the outcome and the conduct of the election saying, they are heading to court to reclaim their mandate.

On his part, the PDP Governorship candidate in the just concluded election, Senator Yakubu Lado outrightly expressed sadness over the outcome of the election describing it as a rape on the nation’s nascent democracy.

INEC Declares APC’s Sani Governor-Elect In Kaduna

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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March 21, 2023

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Senator Uba Sani, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate was on Monday declared the winner of the 2023 governorship election in Kaduna State.

He was declared the winner by the Returning Officer for Kaduna State and Vice Chancellor of the Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, Professor Lawal Suleiman Bilbis.

Sani polled a total of 730,002 votes to defeat his closest rival, Isa Ashiru of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 719,196 votes.

Labour Party Candidate Defeats Sitting PDP Reps Member In Kaduna

The Labour Party (LP) candidate, Jonathan Asake, came a distant third after polling 58,283 votes while the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) candidate, Suleiman Hunkuyi scored 21,405 votes.

Before the winner was declared, the Kaduna State PDP Collation Agent, Danjuma Sarki, opposed the results, claiming the number of votes gotten from its situation room was 713,157 while the APC had 709,561.

He argued that the collation did not follow the Electoral Act 2022 and asked INEC to refer to the results uploaded on the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

However, the returning officer objected, saying the results announced were based on the collation done which was not subjected to by party agents.

The PDP agent, therefore, refused to sign the final results sheets, describing the exercise as marred by irregularities.

Before the announcement, there was tension across the state as residents and Supporters stormed INEC Office in protesting, demanding the electoral empire to announce what they described as authentic election results

The protesters were carrying various placards, chanting and demanding the right result be announced.

Exploring Long Sault Parkway, Canada

By

Angel Gimalo

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March 20, 2023

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The Long Sault Parkway is a group of 11 islands that were artificially created with the creation of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, and they are located in the southern part of the Province of Ontario, within Canada.

Located more precisely in the vicinity of the border with the USA, the Long Sault Parkway creates a unique opportunity for adventurous people to hop from one to another island and experience the uniqueness of each and every one of them.

As all of them are the highest ground of what was once dry ground, today, all of them are connected with roads and bridges, and even some local villages were unfortunately flooded.

As the Saint Lawrence River is a major transportation route that flows into the Atlantic Ocean, in 1958 the seaway was created and the movement of ships was much easier allowing for the region to have an extra source of revenue.

The parkway is also known as a provincial park, and there are two beaches, three campgrounds with plenty of picnic areas for the visitors to enjoy in the marvelous nature that was “carved out” by the humans.

From the local communities that once thrived in the area, the only proof of their existence is on Macdonell Island where a very fascinating story is captured , better known as the Lost Villages.

Even though Long Sault Parkway is not well known among the visitors of Ontario, the area is definitely an alluring place that shall attract all those who are eager to experience the different side of Canada which is mixed with something what the man has created.

Once Upon A Time – March 20 – 2016 – Barack Obama Becomes 1st US President To Visit Cuba Since 1928

By

Angel Gimalo

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March 20, 2023

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1602 United Dutch East Indian Company (VOC) forms

1800 Alessandro Volta reports his discovery of the electric battery in a letter to Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society of London

1815 Napoleon enters Paris after escape from Elba, begins 100-day rule

1900 US Secretary of State John Hay announces that all nations to whom he sent notes calling for an ‘open door’ policy in China have essentially accepted his stand

1933 Dachau the first Nazi concentration camp, is completed

2016 Barack Obama becomes the first US President to visit Cuba since 1928, arriving for a 3 day tour

Historical Events Today Events in 2023

Today in Film & TV

1952 24th Academy Awards: “An American in Paris”, Humphrey Bogart & Vivien Leigh win

Today in Music

1991 Michael Jackson signs $65M deal with Sony Records to produce 6 albums

Today in Sport

1973 Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Roberto Clemente elected to Baseball’s Hall of Fame, 11 weeks after his death in a plane crash

1852 Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” published in Boston

2017 Indian rivers Yamuna and the Ganges declared “living entities” by court in the state of Uttarakhand

Famous Weddings

1848 King Louis I of Bayern abdicates to marry dancer Lola Montez

1878 53rd UK Prime Minister Archibald Primrose (31) weds heiress Hannah de Rothschild (27) at the Board of Guardians in Mount Street, London

1934 Vietnam emperor Bảo Đại (20) weds empress Nam Phương (19) at the imperial city of Huế

td.

JAMB Sets New Guidelines As DE Registration Resumes

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Rhoda Onuzulike

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March 20, 2023

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Monday announced that it had resumed the 2023 Direct Entry registration nationwide.

The Registrar of JAMB, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, who made this known at a press briefing on Monday in Abuja, said that the DE registration would come to a close on April 28, 2023.

2023: JAMB Announces UTME Registration

While lamenting the high level of forgery of A Level certificates used for the registration, Oloyede said the board had introduced new guidelines to check such acts.

He said, “You will recall that the board commenced the 2023 Direct Entry registration on Monday, 20th February, 2023, but had to immediately suspend it following the discovery of the plethora of devices and machinations to circumvent and compromise the standard of A’ Level qualifications required from DE candidates.

“Recall that recent joint operations of the Federal Ministry of Education and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission on DE qualifications brought to light some of these unsavoury and nefarious activities.

“Bayero University, Kano has also consistently brought to the fore the high rate of forgery of A’ Level qualifications for DE.

For instance, it was discovered that in previous years, some candidates used unacceptable and forged A’ level certificates/qualifications to register for Direct Entry and eventually got admitted. For example, out of 148 candidates verified by BUK, only six were found to be genuine. By implication, 142 of the results were forged.

“The Board, concerned stakeholders and institutions are working assiduously to detect such and the ones already found are being dealt with according to the provisions of the law.”

Speaking further, Oloyede said the Board would only accept 13 qualifications/certificates for the 2023 Direct Entry registration, which include; first degree, university diploma, Higher National Diploma, Ordinary National Diploma /National Diploma and Nigeria Certificate in Education.

Others are Interim Joint Matriculation Board A’ Level, Joint Universities Preliminary Examination Board A’ Level,
NABTEB Advanced National Business Certificate, NABTEB Advanced National Technical Certificate, NABTEB GCE-A’ Level (2015 – 2021), Higher Islamic Studies Certificate by NBAIS, International Baccalaureate and the National Registered Nurse /National Registered Midwife.

He, however, said that the 127 candidates who had earlier registered for the 2023 DE before the exercise was suspended would be requested to return to the registration centres and update their applications.

The JAMB boss also revealed that the data bank put in place to address challenges associated with the A’ Level qualifications
had now been renamed as ‘Nigeria Post-secondary Education Data System’.

On the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, Oloyede said JAMB had introduced new measures in the conduct of the exam and called for understanding.

“The Board has instituted some measures which are to be deployed during the 2023 UTME exercise. Despite the fact that the innovations have been tested and certified, yet it is not unlikely that some hiccups might spring up when the new technology is deployed live and nationwide. We therefore solicit your support and understanding as we promptly address any unforeseen circumstances.

“One major feature of the new dispensation is that no examination would be allowed to take place after one hour of its scheduled start time because the Board has discovered that some of the problems reported at the centres are contrived to delay the commencement of a session in some centres with a view to securing undue advantage for the delayed candidates.

“Consequently, any session that, for whatever reason(s), could not take off within one hour of its schedule is automatically rescheduled. When such occurs, affected candidates are expected to file out of the examination hall into the waiting hall and await the new scheduled time and place which most likely would be the same or following day,” he said.

26-year-old woman elected to the Kwara Assembly

By

Jamima Joseph

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March 20, 2023

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A 26-year-old lady, Rukayat Shittu, has been declared the winner of the Kwara State House of Assembly election.

Shittu is a former Senate President of the Congress of Students at the National Open University of Nigeria.

In the result announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission’s returning officer, Professor Hakeem Ijaya, the 26-year-old, who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress polled 7,521 votes to beat her Peoples Democratic Party rival, who polled 6,957 votes in the Saturday House of Assembly election.

Rukayat will represent Owode/Onire Constituency in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara.

The INEC has also declared the Kwara House of Assembly Speaker, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, of the APC winner of the Ilesha-Gwanara state constituency after edging out his main contestant, Usman Abubakar, of the PDP.

Declaring the result at the collation center for the Ilesha/Gwanara constituency at the Gwanara LGEA primary school, the Return