Day: March 18, 2023

Two Nigerians granted permission to vote using their Temporary Voter Cards, (TVC) have urged Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) to obey the court order and allow them to vote in the March 18 governorship and parliamentary elections.

The News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) recalls that

the Federal High Court, Abuja on March 9, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) to allow two Nigerians, Mr Kofoworola Olusegun and Wilson Allwell to use their TVC to vote in the governorship and houses of assembly elections.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu who delivered the judgment said the order was made on the grounds that the plaintiffs had fulfilled all necessary legal requirements to register and had been captured in INEC’s central database and manual, printed paper based record or hard copy format of INEC’s maintained register of voters.

Briefing newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, counsel to the plaintiffs, Mr Victor Opatola wondered why in spite of the judgment, INEC was adamant in not allowing his clients to vote.

“As citizens of Nigeria and the world, we believe in the power of democracy and the importance of every voice being heard through their votes.

“Inspite of fulfilling all legal requirements, including registering to vote, my clients were denied their Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC), and INEC has refused to comply with the court’s judgment which compels INEC to allow them vote using their Temporary Voter’s Card (TVC); in Kofoworola & Anor v. INEC suit no: FHC/ABJ/CS/180/2023.

Opatola said that INEC had filed an appeal against the court’s judgment to mislead the public that the judgment was no longer applicable.

“We have only just received their notice of appeal and application for stay of execution of the judgment and we have five days (starting from today) within which to reply to them and be heard in court.

“It is the law that stay of execution and filing of notice of appeal does not invalidate the existing judgement of Federal High Court in this matter.

“We will respond within time and they would have their day in court to move their motion for stay.”

He, however, held that INEC was mandated by law to comply with the subsisting judgment of court until the appellate court decided otherwise.

“It is also trite law, that the judgment of court is valid until set aside and takes effect immediately upon pronouncement by the court, and that as soon as the court makes the order, that order takes immediate effect.

“It is pure travesty of justice that INEC, the very institution charged with the responsibility of ensuring free and fair elections, has deliberately chosen to disenfranchise millions of Nigerians by refusing to issue them their permanent voter’s card.

“This is even after they have fulfilled all legal requirements and have been issued temporary voter’s cards.

“It is unacceptable that INEC, an institution that is meant to serve the people, has become an obstacle to democracy in Nigeria.

“This is not just a violation of the law, it is a violation of the fundamental rights of Nigerian citizens to participate in the democratic process of freely electing their leaders.”

The plaintiffs expressed concerns that even though the right to vote was a fundamental pillar of democracy, this was was being violated.

“Every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of the distinctions mentioned in article 2 and without unreasonable restrictions:

(a) To take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives;

(b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections.

“Yet, in Nigeria, we are seeing a gross violation of this right, as INEC continues to willfully disobey a court judgment and disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.

They called on the international community to condemn INEC’s actions and to stand with the people of Nigeria in demanding that it complied with the subsisting court judgment until if it was upturned as it had appealed it should.

They also called on all Nigerians who had been disenfranchised by INEC to unite in a call on INEC to obey court judgments.

“This is not just about an election; this is about the future of our democracy, we cannot allow INEC to undermine the very foundations of our society.

” We must stand together, united in our commitment to democracy, and demand that INEC respect the rule of law and the rights of Nigerian citizens.”

He said should the electoral umpire fail to obey the subsisting judgment when an appeal had not been heard, it would amount to contempt of court.(NAN) www.nannews.ng

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

A forum of international guest speakers on Friday adjudged China’s strategy for common prosperity to be a model for other countries.

The forum held in Beijing, China was organised by the Chinese Global Television Network (CGTN), in furtherance of the 2023 national two sessions on “Modernisation toward common prosperity for all people.”

The event with the theme, “China Agenda”, centered on China’s modernisation masterplan and its significance to the world in general.

It examined the outcomes of this year’s two sessions and how they fit into China’s blueprint for modernisation

According to the speakers, China’s adherence to common prosperity is people-oriented.

They said the results were of benefit to the whole world, adding that such benefits were worth referencing.

A guest speaker, Alessandro Teixeira, a former Brazilian Minister of Development Industry and Foreign Trade, said China’s development over the past few decades had proven to be feasible for the realisation of common prosperity for all people.

“China’s modernisation focuses on universal issues such as poverty eradication and climate change response, which not only benefits China itself but its neighbours and the entire world as well.

“China’s modernisation has universal significance and value, which is expected to be a paradigm for realising humanity’s common prosperity,” Teixeira said.

Another speaker, John Ross, a British Senior Fellow at Renmin University of China, said that the Chinese-style of modernisation involved many aspects such as society, education, culture, and health.

“It has truly improved people’s livelihoods and well-being. Compared to China, the social development of the U.S. is severely imbalanced with a huge gap between the rich and the poor.

“Yet it still tries to dominate the world with its own values,” Ross said.

Also speaking, Geoffrey Hawker, Head of Politics and International Relations at Macquarie University, said the world was faced with various difficult challenges.

Hawker commended Chinese-style of modernisation to have coped well with various risks and challenges that enabled people achieve prosperity.

Michael Powers from the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University said there were notable differences between common prosperity and pure welfare society.

According to him, China’s common prosperity provided opportunities for all people to join the economic development.

“It not only relies on the traditional model of subsidising low-income groups and taxing high-income groups to narrow the gap between rich and poor.

“It is a more proactive strategy that tries to give a fair share of the interests of economic development to people in all regions and areas, which is worth learning for many, including Europe and the U.S.,” Powers said.

On his part, Peter Chai, Deputy Director of the Institute of China Studies of the University of Malaya defined common prosperity to mean inspiration to the world.

Chai said, “The idea of common prosperity is an inspiration to the development of the Global South, taking the imbalanced development between coastal and inland areas, urban and rural areas in its own country, Malaysia as an example.

“Common prosperity as proposed by China can effectively manage the huge gap between the rich and the poor. It is a very far-sighted development strategy. Developing countries can learn from China’s experiences.”

Meanwhile, Li Yong, Chief Researcher at D&G Thinktank, also commended China’s clear plan for realisation of common prosperity, suggesting efforts should be made to include all people in development processes.

“Individuals, governments, and enterprises should play an active role in promoting economic development, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a good example.

“The BRI connects China with its partners by bringing vitality to the economic development of every country.

“Enabling China and partners to thrive in cooperation, ultimately helps achieve common prosperity in all of BRI’s partner countries,” Li said.

The forum which was part of the serial activities about Chinese modernisation and the world attracted politicians, academicians, and Chinese experts from across the United Kingdom, U.S., Australia, Malaysia, Brazil, and other countries to discuss the subject.

The event attracted media organisations from 20 countries along the BRI including Kenya, Egypt, Pakistan, and the Philippines, the U.S., Brazil, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, India, among others. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has assured Oyo state residents of their safety during and after the governorship and houses of assembly elections.

Mr Michael Adaralewa, Oyo State NSCDC Commandant, gave the assurance during a security patrol at polling units 1 and 2, ward 9, Omi Adio St. Andrew in Ibadan, Oyo state.

He also encouraged the residents to come out en masse to vote for candidates of their choice without fear.

The Commandant said he had observed low voters turnout at most of the polling units visited by his team and other security agencies.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that senior officials of NSCDC, Department of State Services, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Federal Fire Service and the Nigeria Police Force observed several polling units in the state.

Adaralewa said that some of the polling units visited were ward 9 polling unit 003 Hope Central Omi-Adio, Ward 9 polling unit 1 and 2 Omi Adio St. Andrew, Ward 10 polling unit 15 and 16 Baptist secondary school, Liberty.

“Oba Akinbiyi model college 2 ward 17, Oba Akinbiyi model college ward 17, ward 10 polling unit 17 and 18, Liberty Stadium road, ward 7 Queen Cinema Dugbe, ward 6 polling unit 6 Adamasingba Okeisu,” he said.

He said that security operatives, election observers and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission were available to ensure voters cast their votes peacefully.

The Commandant decried the situation where INEC officials sits idle without voters coming out to exercise their franchise.

He commended those who had come out to vote, adding that their votes would surely count as assured by the Federal Government.

One of the INEC officials, who pleaded anonymity, at Oba Akinbiyi Model College 2 ward 17, said that the electoral team arrived on time but most eligible voters failed to turn up.

A resident of Agodi area in Ibadan, Mrs Mary Segun, said she was happy to have voted for the candidate of her choice without chaos in her polling unit.

She said people failed to turn up for voting because of fear of intimidation by political thugs as witnessed in the past.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Manama, Mar. 18 (BNA): Chairman of Jordan-based Arab Thought Forum (ATF), His Royal Highness Prince Al-Hassan bin Talal, paid a visit today to the Economic Development Board (EDB) headquarters at Bahrain Bay.

On arrival, HRH Al-Hassan bin Talal was received by mainly Deputy Prime Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance and National Economy, Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, and senior officials.

The Deputy Prime Minister welcomed HRH Prince Al-Hassan bin Talal and his accompanying delegation, stressing strong fraternal relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan thanks to the care and support of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein.

The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out Bahrain’s unwavering keenness on boosting cooperation with Jordan to serve the interests of both countries.

HRH Prince Al-Hassan bin Talal was briefed through a presentation by the Minister of Finance and National Economy about the work mechanism of the Bahraini government. He was also briefed about the kingdom’s economic performance, the economic recovery plan and the measures taken to enhance economic development according to Bahrain Economic Vision 2030.

HRH Prince Al-Hassan bin Talal was also informed about the investment opportunities in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the role of EDB in promoting investments in vital sectors.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Manama, Mar. 18 (BNA): The National Medical Taskforce for combatting COVID-19 has announced a set of updated regulations following a review of the current health situation in the Kingdom, and the occupancy rates for COVID-19 cases in hospitals and Intensive Care Units.

Supreme Council of Health Chairman and head of the National Medical Taskforce Lt. General Dr. Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, stated that as of Sunday March 19, 2023, a positive rapid test will be considered the diagnostic tool of choice for confirming infections at local health centers, while PCRs can be performed when indicated as per medical evaluation.

He added that the new regulations also stipulate that mandatory self-isolation will no longer be in effect, while advising active cases to isolate for five days and avoid contact with others.

Dr. Shaikh Mohammed stressed the need for all members of the society to continue following precautionary guidelines, including taking the booster shots of the vaccine and testing when developing any symptoms such as fever, cough, or difficulty in breathing.

Source: Bahrain News Agency