Bayelsa State: Sylvia Picks Form, Joins Governorship Race

According to reports, friends of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipire Sylvia, have picked the N50 million All Progressives Congress (APC) Nomination and Expression of Interest form on his behalf. The group of friends reportedly picked up the nomination form for the governorship election of Bayelsa state at the National Secretariat of the APC in Abuja on Monday.

Election Will Not Hold In 240 Polling Units, INEC Reveals

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has revealed through its Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, during a meeting on 13th February 2023, in Abuja with political party leaders, that election will not hold in 240 polling units across the country in the forthcoming election. Yakubu recalled that in 2021, with the support of political parties and other critical stakeholders, the Commission successfully expanded voter access to polling units 25 years after the last delimitation exercise in 1996.
Yakubu said consequently, the number of polling units increased from 119,973 to the current figure of 176,846.

INEC Plans To Decongest Overcrowded Polling Units

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced on Sunday its plans to decongest overcrowded polling units in the upcoming elections, adding that the aim of the decongestion was to ease the voting process. The electoral umpire also urged eligible voters to visit its website to confirm their names on the voters’ register and the location of polling units.

FG Unveils 22-Man Presidential Transition Council

The Federal Government (FG) has unveiled a 22-man Presidential Transition Council to facilitate the smooth transition from the present administration to the incoming government ahead of the handover on May 29, 2023. This was made known on Tuesday during the inauguration ceremony by the chairman of the Council, Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

DSS Summons Fani-Kayode Over Coup Allegation

The Department of State Services (DSS) has invited a spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Femi Fani-Kayode, over allegations of a coup plot ahead of the February election. Fani-Kayode confirmed the invitation by the DSS in a statement on Monday, promising that he would be honouring the invitation this morning, Monday. The statement reads “Unlike cowards like Emefiele, Atiku and their strange bedfellows, I do not fear my own shadow and neither do I shiver and shake when I am invited by the security agencies. I always honour their invitations when properly invited because that is the right and proper thing to do. “This is all the more so when it touches and concerns matters of national security which I take very seriously & when it involves agencies like the DSS who are professional and thorough in their methods and approach.

Military Debunks Claim Of Plotting Elections Disruption, Coup D'etat  

Military high command of the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) yesterday denied speculations that some serving officers met with one of the presidential candidates of the forthcoming elections. Also, they debunked claims that the officers were planning to disrupt the elections, destabilize the country, incite chaos and violence, as well as provoke a coup d’ etat. These were contained in a statement on Saturday by the acting Director, Defence Information, Brigadier General, Tukur Gusau. Gusau stressed that those who engage in fabricating and spreading unfounded misinformation about the military will henceforth be invited by the appropriate law enforcement agencies to substantiate their claims.