Ninety-five ECOWAS Observers were charged to be neutral and carry out their responsibilities with a high sense of professionalism in Sierra Leone’s 16 electoral districts where they are deployed for the presidential and general elections on Saturday, 24^th June 2023.

“Elections continue to represent the preferred mode by Africans for choosing or changing their leaders and our presence as observers will add value and give confidence to the electoral commission, political parties and the public at large to play their parts for a peaceful and credible electoral process,” Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Head of the ECOWAS Observation Mission told the observers on Thursday in Freetown, the nation’s capital.

He said that Sierra Leone, having gone through four electoral cycles with two peaceful transfers of power from the ruling party to the opposition had crossed the critical 20-year threshold for irreversible progress towards democratic consolidation.

“Our role is to support and accompany our brothers and sisters on the path for the consolidation of democracy,” said Dr Chambas, a former ECOWAS Commission President and current African Union Special Envoy on Silencing the Guns.

He noted that Sierra Leone “has a lot going for it, but at the same time, it must preserve and guard what has been achieved, by minimising or eliminating negative tendencies such as violence, personalisation of democracy, use of thugs, vote-buying and the instrumentalization of the judiciary” to avoid a relapse to conflict.

Commending the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) for its impact in standardising some aspects of the electoral process across the region, Dr Chambas called for caution regarding contestations of the transmission of election results.

He thanked the observers for their spirit of volunteerism and urged them to persevere and discharge their duties with vigilance and professionalism.

In his welcome remarks, Amb. Abdel-Fatau Musah, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security, commended Sierra Leone’s political leaders and stakeholders for working across the aisles in spite of the apparent political differences in the country.

“Everything might not be smooth,” he said, but he, however, expressed optimism that “residual issues could be resolved to enable uninterrupted march towards deepening democracy.”

Noting that ECOWAS made its name in peacekeeping in the Mano River Union (MRU) region through the successful ending of the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, Amb. Musah, who had served as ECOWAS Director of Political Affairs and a Director at the UN in charge of West Africa, expressed the hope that the “shift from bullet to ballot,” should be sustained for the entrenchment of democracy in the entire ECOWAS region.

Welcoming the Observers, Mr Serigne Ka, Acting Head of the ECOWAS Electoral Assistance Division (EAD), enjoined them to give their best as worthy ambassadors of the regional organization.

In continuation of its engagements with key political stakeholders, the Dr Chambas-led ECOWAS Observation Mission met on Thursday with officials of Sierra Leone’s Office of National Security (ONS), which issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the violence in some parts of the country. It reassured the citizens of their safety and security noting that Saturday’s elections would go ahead as planned.

The ECOWAS delegation, which includes the Deputy Head of Mission, Ambassador Ansumana Ceesay, and the ECOWAS Special Representative to Sierra Leone Amb. Moussa Harouna had earlier met with officials of the Electoral Commission for Sierra Leone, the Political Parties Regulation Commission, the Early Warning and Response Coordination Center and also exchanged views with the leaderships of the African Union and Commonwealth Observations Missions.

Thirteen of Sierra Leone’s seventeen registered political parties are fielding candidates in Saturday’s presidential election with sitting President Julius Maada Bio, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), and Samura Kamara of the opposition All People’s Congress (APC), as the two frontrunners.

A candidate requires 55% of valid votes cast to win the presidency in the first round, otherwise the two frontrunners will go into a run-off vote two weeks after the official announcement of the first-round results.

Some 135 Parliamentary and 493 Mayoral and Local Council seats are also in contention on Saturday.

The Electoral Commission registered 3,374,258 voters for the 2023 elections out of Sierra Leone’s estimated population of 8.7 million.

Voting will take place in 11,832 polling stations within 3,630 polling Centers across the 16 electoral districts nationwide from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations for Tinubu/Shettima 2023 has called on the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi to withdraw the case against President Bola Tinubu and join hands with him in the proposed national unity and all-inclusive government.

Both Atiku and Obi are in court challenging the declaration of Tinubu of APC as the winner of the February 25 presidential election.

The group’s National Coordinator, Lilian Ogbole made the call while addressing a press conference on Thursday in Abuja, saying the call became imperative because the Tinubu-led administration has shown that it was ready to work assiduously to install peace, development and progress in Nigeria.

Ogbole noted that it was no news that well-meaning Nigerians all over the world and the international community at large are applauding and giving the president ovations for his decisiveness in tackling and containing serious national issues, and the transformational reforms and socio-economic policies and initiatives he has brought to the table in less than 30 days in office.

She stressed that the bold steps are gradually resulting in accelerated relief and reassurance of hope in the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda for not just Nigerians but the entire African continent.

Ogbole added that as stakeholders in the Nigerian project, they deemed it imperative to call on all selfless, well-meaning Nigerians and patriots across party lines to shield their swords and embrace this transformational government of national unity and all-inclusiveness.

She stated: “We resolved to say unequivocally loud and clear, here and now that the victory in the last presidential election is a victory for all Nigerians regardless of their political affiliation and alignment, religion or tribe, it is indeed a victory for Africa, the entire black race and of course victory for the entire world and humanity at large; it was a no victor no vanquish election.

“President Bola Tinubu’s government has thus far proved beyond every reasonable doubt to be transformational in nature with huge potential to reunite, revitalize, renew and reposition Nigeria for a breakthrough to an uninterrupted era of progress and prosperity, hence the need for all hands to be on deck.

“Even though we are aware that it is the fundamental right of all aggrieved candidates to seek for redress in the court of law, in the national interest we wish to use this avenue to crave the indulgence of all aggrieved candidates who are seeking redress in the tribunal to withdraw their litigations against the president and join hands with him in the proposed national unity and all-inclusive government.”

The coalition noted that it was certain that the priority of all candidates of other political parties was to do same selflessly in the national interest, since Tinubu was playing out their intentions they could and should go a step further to synergize with him to achieve the same patriotic purpose,

The coalition stressed that this was the only way to prove to the world that indeed, their struggles are not personal and selfish but rather in the national interest and quest to restore the dignity of man through the initiation and implementation of people-friendly policies and programmes.

It further urged all elder statesmen across the country to invite all aggrieved parties to a round table meeting and appeal to them not to subvert the will of the people through distractions but join hands with the government that was willingly elected by Nigerians to change their story.

Newly reinstated chairman of the Kano State Public Complaint and Anti Corruption Commission, Barrister Muhuyi Magajin Rimin-Gado, has pledged to reopen the investigation against former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on some controversial videos.

Daily Nigerian, an online publication, had released some videos of Ganduje allegedly collecting kickbacks from contractors.

The ex-Governor had denied the allegation, saying the videos were doctored.

But speaking on Trust TV’s Daily Politics, Rimin-Gado, who was removed by Ganduje after some altercation, but was reinstated by Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, said the probe was necessary.

Reminded of what he said on the dollar videos in a previous interview, Rimin-Gado said, “I mean every word I said when I was in office. We opened an investigation but there were certain limitations then because he was the incumbent governor.

“Every incumbent governor, deputy governor or president has immunity. Now that limit is no more. The commission will do what is necessary.”

He also spoke on a wide range of issues, denying that he was used to remove Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi as Emir.

He also defended some policies of the incumbent governor.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has said there is no presence of ethylene oxide or its metabolite in noodles and their seasonings produced in Nigeria.

The Director General of NAFDAC, Prof. Mojosola Adeyeye, made this known during a press conference in Lagos on Thursday after an extensive investigation by the agency.

Naija News reports that NAFDAC’s investigation was based on the alarm by the Ministries of Health in Malaysia and Taiwan that Indomie Instant Noodles ‘Special Chicken Flavour’ contains the presence of ethylene oxide, a compound associated with an increased risk of cancer.

The NAFDAC boss said samples drawn from production facilities and trade were properly packaged and delivered in good condition to the agency’s Central Laboratory in Lagos for analysis.

Adeyeye said the findings of the investigation into the presence of ethylene oxide or its metabolite in noodles and seasoning produced in the country show that they are safe for consumption.

She said: “Samples of chicken-flavored instant noodles of various brands and the seasonings were drawn from the production facilities across the country.

“This was to ensure that the investigation was robust, covering other instant noodles brands manufactured in Nigeria, besides Indomie, the implicated brand.

“The Post Marketing Surveillance Division also visited markets/retail outlets in the major cities of Lagos, Abuja, and Kano and drew samples of instant noodles for laboratory analysis.

“The market visits served as surveillance for the presence of the Taiwan and Malaysian special chicken noodles in the Nigerian market. The level of Mycotoxin and heavy metals was within the internationally acceptable limit. Therefore, the noodles made in Nigeria are very safe to eat.

“Samples drawn from production facilities and trade were properly packaged and delivered in good condition to our Central Laboratory, Oshodi, Lagos, where analytical activities commenced immediately in accordance with international standards and methods of analysis.”

Adeyeye said NAFDAC deployed the technique using Gas Chromatography with a Mass Spectrometry detector and a total of 114 samples of instant noodles and seasonings were received.

She said the agency did not only analyze for ethylene oxide and its derivative 2-chloroethane in the noodles and seasonings but also analyzed for other contaminants such as mycotoxins and heavy metals in the samples.

Adeyeye said the delay in the analytical activities in the laboratory was not deliberate as they had to place orders for the procurement and supply of certified reference materials, reagents, and chemicals from overseas.

The President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo says government officials have not demonstrated cost reduction as they still go about with “endless convoys” despite the effects of fuel subsidy removal on the masses.

“For example, the convoys. You see governors, they are still going about, business as usual. You see the new legislatures, you see their convoys, it’s endless,” Osifo said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday.

Osifo also decried the cost of governance while drawing attention to the dwindling capital expenditure

“Today, we still import all manner of cars from different parts of the world but you have some cars that are being manufactured in Nigeria. Why can’t you create policies that would encourage the manufacturing sector and also reduce the cost of governance?” he queried.

Osifo said Labour proposed N200,000 as the new minimum wage from N30,000 because it anticipated that the government would float the naira and allow market forces to determine the exchange rate of the national currency.

He argued that the value of N30,000 five years ago when the minimum wage was last reviewed has so far reduced with mounting inflation rates, soaring food prices and transport fares, amongst others.

According to him, the only commodity that was subsidised for the people was taken away. describing the people as the easiest target.

“Nigerians are facing a lot of hardship all across, it is really hard and it is really terrible. You are asking the people to tighten their belts but at the end of the day, what have you brought to the table? What is the contribution of the political class to this economic logjam that we are today as a country?

“What we are saying is that if the Federal Government was not able to fund subsidy, at whose expense? What were the things they were doing with our funds? All the money that they have borrowed, the ways and means that went over 23 trillion naira – what did they do with it?” he asked.

The Labour leader stated that the Federal Government must offer explanations to Nigerians on what the monies borrowed have been used for as well as why the country has a huge debt profile

“They need to also offer explanations to Nigerians, not that at the slightest provocation, they push Nigerians to the streets and they tell them that we must tighten our belt meanwhile they are loosening theirs,” he said.

The TUC boss noted that these issues are the basis of conversations the union is having in the sub-committees to come up with a position that will ameliorate the pains of Nigerians.

The Federal Government had on Monday resumed negotiations with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the TUC on measures to alleviate the impacts of the removal of the petrol subsidy on Nigerians.

On June 5, the labour unions suspended their planned strike to protest the removal of petrol subsidy after a meeting with representatives of the Federal Government.

SOME of the girls, recently rescued from a brothel by security operatives and officials of theAnambra State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare, have claimed that they pay their madam N40,000 daily to remain in business.

The sex slaves said they were forced to pay the money before they were given out to men to sleep with.

The victims, aged between 15 and 25 years, also claimed that they were mandated to make returns of N10,000 to N15,000 each night, while each man they slept with paid them a paltry N1,000.

One of the girls claimed that she was forced to sleep with 50 men in a week to be able to make enough money for the returns.

According to some of the victims, they were brought to Awka by two women, whose names they gave as Ifeoma and Chika from their places in Izza, Ebonyi State on the promise of securing jobs for them, not knowing that they were being lured into prostitution.

One of the girls said: “The women who brought us to the brothel seized our phones and other belongings before handing us over to another woman called Ezenwannyi, who notified us that before we will be released, we must bring N150,000 or serve her for a period of one year.

“We were able to use a whistleblower’s phone to get across to our families, who in turn, notified the Women Affairs Ministry, which with the help of the police, raided the brothel.”

One of the parents of the victims, Mrs. Uchechi Friday, said immediately her daughter got missing, she lodged a complaint at the Police station in Abakaliki, adding that she was shocked when she received a call from her daughter, which made her to seek help from the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in Anambra State.

She commended the Anambra State Commissioner, Mrs. Ifeyinwa Obinabo, for her prompt response and urged parents to always be mindful of their children’s welfare and whereabout.

In her reaction, Obinabo spoke of the state government’s resolve to end all forms of child kidnap, trafficking and sexual slavery in the state.

She warned that hotel owners, who use underaged girls in running their businesses would face the law, assuring that the current case of sex slavery in the state was already receiving the attention of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, who has vowed not to treat the matter with levity.

Obinabo said she had since contacted the victims’ family members after taking them to hospital for medical examination and possible treatment.

She also explained that the case had since been transferred to State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Awka for comprehensive investigation and possible prosecution.

There are reports that the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa has been asking questions about his principal, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu’s earnings and spendings in running the affairs of the state.

The development has been greeted with criticisms by government officials loyal to Akeredolu, Vanguard reports.

Vanguard earlier reported that Akeredolu embarked on medical treatment abroad and transmitted power to his deputy, as he is billed to return to the country on July 6.

But, sources revealed that Aiyedatiwa has reportedly been “Undermining the authority of the governor’s office through his actions and decisions.”

A source who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, “We are not concerned about the political turmoil within the government. Our priority is ensuring due process. The governor’s office does not directly instruct us to release funds.

“There are established procedures for financial disbursements in the government, and all approvals must go through the Ministry of Finance.

“Aside from the running grant accruing to the deputy governor’s office monthly, he has also demanded that the governor’s running grant and other emoluments attached to the office of the governor be handed to him as acting Governor.

“In the past week, the deputy governor has summoned and threatened two of our officials. He has inquired about the governor’s spending and demanded to know how funds allocated to the governor’s office are disbursed.

“He believes he is entitled to two streams of funding, insisting that the governor’s office allocation should be included as part of his role as acting governor.

“During the encounters with our officials, they kindly explained that even the governor’s office route its approvals through the Ministry of Finance.

“However, the deputy governor remains obstinate, repeatedly demanding immediate funds. Despite our attempts to educate him on proper financial protocols and the responsible use of public funds, he persists.

“He has been confrontational and demanding. We see this as executive recklessness. While we understand tensions may be high, we would prefer not to be involved in any reckless activities.”

The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has explained why it recommended an upward increase of the basic salary for public office holders by 114 percent.

Naija News reports that there have been a series of controversies following reports that the federal government had approved the increment of salaries of political office-holders, judicial and public office holders by 114 percent.

A Federal Commissioner in the RMAFC, Rakiya Tanko-Ayuba, was quoted to have announced the salary increase while representing the commission’s chairman, Mohammad Shehu, at the presentation of the reports of the reviewed remuneration package to Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, in Birnin Kebbi, on Tuesday.

In a subsequent statement, however, RMAFC Public Relations Officer, Christian Nwachukwu, denied the viral reports stating that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has yet to approve any such increase.

He added that the trending claim of a salary increase for some public office holders did not emanate from him or from the RMAFC Chairman.

Speaking, however, on Thursday while appearing live on Arise TV programme, the Federal Commissioner, RMAFC, Hassan Mohammed Usman, noted that the remuneration review had been due since 2007 but has not been done for specific reasons.

According to him, for 15 years, the salaries for the political, judicial and public office holders have not been reviewed by the government.

Usman added that the review premised on the fact that the consumer price index, from the year 2008 to 2022, has increased scientifically by 371 per cent.

Watch the interview below:

A digital forensic expert, Mr. Hitler Nwala, on Thursday, narrated before the Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, sitting in Abuja, how he uncovered that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, wiped off results of the presidential election that held on February 25.

Mr. Nwala mounted the box as the 25th witness of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who is challenging the declaration of President Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, as winner of the presidential election.

Testifying before the Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel, the witness, alleged that the results that were deleted, were contained in the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, machines, that were deployed for the conduct of the elections.

Atiku and his party had insisted that data from the BVAS machines which were used for the accreditation of voters and uploading of polling unit results, would establish their allegation that the presidential election was rigged in Tinubu’s favour.

Meanwhile, led in evidence by lead counsel for the petitioners, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, Mr. Nwala, said he was summoned through a subpoena, to appear as a witness in the case.

He told the court that he specifically inspected and conducted forensic analysis on 110 BVAS that were deployed for the conduct of the presidential election in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.

According to him, upon his enquiry, the electoral body maintained that it had to wipe off the information in the BVAS to be able to redeploy them for the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections that held on March 18.

However, during cross-examination of the witness, counsel to INEC, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud, SAN, faulted report of the witness, stressing that 110 BVAS devices used for the election, was not sufficient to establish that there was any irregularity on the part of the Commission.

Mahmoud, SAN, while contending that the sample size the witness relied on to write his report, was small, noted that a total of 3, 263 BVAS devices, were deployed during the presidential election.

He argued that the sample the witness based his report on, represented only about 3.5 percent of the total device the INEC deployed in FCT and and 0.06 percent of the total BVAS that was used for the presidential election, across the country.

It will be recalled that INEC had disclosed that it needed to “re-configure” all the BVAS machines that were used for the presidential poll so as to be able to use them for the next round of elections.

On their part, both President Tinubu, whose legal team was led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, and APC’s legal team led by Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, urged the court to reject the report of the witness which they said was laced with manifest errors.

Nonetheless, the petitioners’ counsel, Uche, SAN, described the evidence of the witness as very vital to the case of his clients “considering that it was the first that we had a technologically driven election in this country,” he added.

Shortly after the witness was discharged by the court, the petitioners, tendered from the Bar, bundles of certified copies of INEC’s Forms EC8A from 20 Local Government Areas, LGAs, in Ogun state.

The documents were tendered through a member of Atiku’s legal team, Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, SAN.

Equally tendered in evidence by the petitioners, were certified copies of polling unit results (Form EC8A series) from 17 LGAs in Ondo state, 27 LGAs in Jigawa as well as from 20 LGAs in Rivers State.

INEC opposed the admissibility of the documents in evidence, saying it would give its reasons in its final written address.

Likewise, the other Respondents- President Tinubu and the APC- equally raised objections to the admittance of the electoral documents in evidence.

Despite the objections, the Justice Tsammani panel accepted the documents in evidence and marked them as Exhibits in the matter.

The court subsequently adjourned its proceedings till Friday to enable the petitioners to close their case, after which the Respondents will open their defence.

Cost of international flights have increased by at least 15 percent following the recent depreciation of the naira on the back of the Federal Government’s convergence policy.

Vice president of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Yinka Folami, told newsmen that the cost of international flights from Nigeria is dependent on what the cost of the dollar is at the I and E window at every given time.

“Some days ago, naira sold for N680 to one dollar and yesterday it sold for over N700. The foreign airlines then fix the prices based on what is available from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“However, despite our repeated plea, foreign airlines have adamantly refused to unblock lower inventories and it is making the cost of tickets very expensive,” he said.

In the past, an economy ticket from Lagos to London used to cost about N400,000 in 2021 but had increased to about N1.2 million in 2022 and 2023.

Also, business class ticket has risen to about N6 million during the same period, depending on the airline and time of booking.

With this development, a N1.2 million economy ticket may rise to N2 million and above, while for the business class, the fares may rise to N7 million or more.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) had few weeks ago warned about the inability of international airlines to repatriate their ticket sales for over a year, saying the blocked funds have contributed to the high airfares on Nigerian routes.

IATA also said that blocked funds belonging to foreign airlines trapped in Nigeria had hit $812.2 million, warning that rapidly rising levels of blocked funds are a threat to airline connectivity in the affected markets.

The industry’s blocked funds have increased by 47 per cent to $2.27 billion in April 2023 from $1.55 billion in April 2022.

The top five countries that account for 68.0 per cent of blocked funds are Nigeria with the highest trapped funds ($812.2 million), Bangladesh ($214.1 million), Algeria ($196.3 million), Pakistan ($188.2 million), Lebanon ($141.2 million)

IATA’s Director General, Willie Walsh said, “Airlines cannot continue to offer services in markets where they are unable to repatriate the revenues arising from their commercial activities in those markets. “Governments need to work with industry to resolve this situation so airlines can continue to provide the connectivity that is vital to driving economic activity and job creation.”