Fayemi hails voters' turn out - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has hailed voters turn out in Saturday's Presidential and National Assembly elections, saying the postponement of the  elections from last Saturday has not affected the turn out of the electorate in the State as the people trooped out en-masse to exercise their franchise, reports ITREALMS.

Speaking in Isan Ekiti after voting at Ogilolo unit 09, the governor also said that he was not aware of any incident of vote-buying in any part of the State; adding that reports he got showed that the election was without violence in virtually all parts of the State.

Dr Fayemi however noted that there were a few reports of card reader malfunction in a number of areas but added that INEC officials rose to the occasion. .

He added that in his polling unit at Isan Ekiti, the card reader did not malfunction as the process has been relatively smooth.

“In my polling unit, everything has been relatively smooth, the card reader worked perfectly. The process was smooth. The officials were disciplined and the voters were orderly in their conduct. The report I received from across the state so far, at least one can say that things are okay. There have been a few repots of card reader not working in a number of points across the state. I believe INEC is trying to correct those incidents of card reader malfunction but by and large, things are smooth so far. 

"Of course we are not at the end of the process yet and it will be too hasty to give 100% pass mark to the electoral management body. But for us here in Isan Ekiti where I voted, things are going relatively smoothly, he said.

Speaking on last weeks postponement of the election, Fayemi said the postponement did not discourage voters in Ekiti State as the electorate thronged the various polling units across the State.

He urged Nigerians not to hastily discredit INECs efforts but encourage the electoral commission to improve on its efforts in order to enable the nations democratic experience progress.

“Last week we were very disappointed when the process could not go as expected but I believe INEC should have learnt its lessons and done relatively well in its conduct but we all have a duty to strengthen our institutions and we must support our institutions to be strengthened. We must be very careful not to dismiss at every opportunity efforts that are made available by the institution responsible for this process. I think what happened last week was something that most Nigerians were unhappy about but if it enables INEC to address their own shortcomings and improve on the system to ensure that the votes of our people count, we would have cause to give INEC pass mark and give democracy a positive progress in our country, Fayemi said.

The governor and his wife, Erelu Bisi Fayemi who had arrived at the polling unit at 11:17am and queued up to be accredited before voting were honoured by the voters who unanimously asked them to leave the queue and cast their votes. They voted at 11:25am.

Ayo Midele/Editor

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St. Augustine Catholic Church, Benin dedicates new complex - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

... As Bishop Akubeze admonishes Christians

The Catholic Archbishop of Benin Metropolitan See, and President, Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), His Grace, Most Reverend Augustine Obiora Akubeze, has admonished Christians to avoid being used as agents of destabilisation, violence in order not to undermine this weekend's election.

Rather, he said they should go out and exercise their franchise without fear of intimidation and harassment.

He also advised parents to counsel their children and wards to avoid any act that would lead them to becoming thugs for any politician or political party, but support candidates of their choice and those they believe would better their lives.

The archbishop gave the advice in Benin City, capital of Edo State at the inauguration and dedication of St. Augustine Catholic Church.

In a homily, he told Christians to always spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to people of all nations as instructed in the Holy Bible.

Archbishop Akubeze noted that Christians must learn to be together in the house of God, saying that "when Christians gather together in one Church, the barrier created by society and tribe is broken down".

According to him, the house of God is a place to worship and pray and not a place to trade. The alter, he stated, is a place of sacrifice and should be treated as a holy place where only sacramental objects of worship are allowed.

"We must therefore treat the church of Christ, and the altar with respect. And as you do so, may the Church be an avenue for you and your family to have spiritual comfort. May this building being dedicated be a house of salvation and praise to you."

In his vote of thanks, chairman, St. Augustine Church Dedication Committee, Dr. Jackson Gaius-Obaseki, said the journey towards the inauguration of the church was a tortuous one, but thanked God that at the end of what was thought to be an endless venture, the Archbishop came to dedicate the church.

He also thanked God for those who helped the parish through their generosity, to get to where it is today.

His words: "The journey is tortuous. But today, we have the Archbishop dedicating the church. We owe a lot of thanks to those who, through their generosity, piloted us to this very achievement.

"His Grace, no matter how many persons, we owe you a lot of thanks. For your kindness, inspiration and most of all, as the highest single donor to this church project.

"We cannot also forget all those who helped us get to where we are today. We have through the generosity of Oba Akenzua II, Oba of Benin of blessed memory, who gave out the land, Emeritus Archbishop Patrick Ekpu, who urged us as we progress and saw the need to erect a modern church building after 23 years of the old church.

High point of the ceremony was the offering of thanksgiving by parishioners who came in their numbers to thank God for His mercies and grace bestowed on them to build a new ultra-modern house of worship.

The parishioners also went into wild jubilation when the Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, through his Chief of Staff, Mr. Taiwo Akerele, announced the delivery of a tarred road leading to the church by end of March this year.

Uboshe Uboshe/Editor

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Pix: *R-L: Former GMD, NNPC and Chairman, Brass LNG Ltd, Dr. Jackson Gaius-Obaseki; his wife, Mrs. Roxana Jackson Gaius-Obaseki; Chief of Staff (CoS) to Gov. Godwin Obaseki and a female parishioner at the Church Dedication ceremony of St. Augustine Catholic Church, Benin City, Edo State. ... recently.

Hoda Muthana: Experts insist she must return to face consequences – ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The now trapped Hoda Muthana, needs to return to United States of America (USA) to face the consequences of her action by joining Islamic State fighters, says expert and senior fellow, Foreign Policy at the Centre for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institution, Mr. Daniel L. Byman, reports ITREALMS.

Reacting to the recent ban placed on the 25-year old Hoda by the Trump administration’s decision not to allow her back into the United States after she went to Syria to join the Islamic State, Byman described the decision as “short-sighted.”

According to him, it is an abrogation of U.S. leadership and discouragement to other countries from taking the hard steps needed to handle the threat from thousands of returning Islamic State fighters.
ITREALMS recalls that Muthana, then a 20-year-old student, apparently left Alabama in 2014 to join the Islamic State at the height of the Caliphate. She equally reportedly served as a recruiter and urged attacks on the West. Along with 12 other Americans, Muthana is held by U.S. Kurdish allies in Syria, who are mostly women and children and claimed she regretted her decision to join the group and is ready to face the consequences, which will not exclude jail term over her act.

Byman noted that although Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed she has no grounds for citizenship, which he disagreed, arguing that Hoda was born in the United States and holds a U.S. passport.

“The administration’s approach is at odds with traditional U.S. interpretations of who is a citizen,” he declared.

In addition, Byman said that the United States has well-resourced police and federal law enforcement services and strong counterterrorism laws, stressing that “If Muthana returns for trial, she will not pose a threat. If Muthana voluntarily joined the Islamic State, as seems likely, she should be allowed home, given a trial, and serve the appropriate penalty under law for providing support to a terrorist organization and other crimes. It is tempting to fall into the trap of assuming that, as a young woman, she was ‘lured’ to the Islamic State by male masterminds or was not otherwise responsible for her actions.”

He pointed out that hitherto, women have played an important role in the Islamic State as recruiters, enforcers, and otherwise bolstering the caliphate, hence Muthana, like other volunteers, should be held fully responsible for her own actions.
ITREALMS recollects that the Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC with a mission to conduct in-depth research that leads to new ideas for solving problems facing society at the local, national and global level.

Chuks Egbune/Editor

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Is the future of the internet in Africa fractured? - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

At its founding, in the late 80s, the internet promised to democratize information, level uneven grounds, and the destroy barriers associated with distance, space, and time. Through promoting communication, coordination, integration at a pace and scale beyond the ability of any government to halt, the connectivity set a foundation for dichotomies so often aligned with colonialism, imperialism, and globalization.

Today the internet is not just about inscrutable abstracts on the potential merits of its ubiquity but rather its impact and probable effects on a global scale. If anything, the weaponization of algorithms, speech, objectivity, and people has been pronounced in the recent past. For example, Facebook and Cambridge Analytica have accepted responsibility for abetting electoral malfeasance in America and other states by enabling the manipulation of electorates through an à la carte of sensational news and unsubstantiated political advertising only meant to swing and tilt public opinion.

That is why it might be hard to assess whether governments will continue to sit back and watch powerful technology companies from the west continue to prowl over strategic industries in their backyards, or whether they will take to the ‘commanding heights’ to steer the internet’s governance, at the expense of an open and decentralized internet, within their jurisdictions.

But how did we get there? An Xiao Mina’s instructive take on the potential effects of censorship on the future of the global internet and the attendant effects on the public sphere predicts not only deeper digital divides but also bolder and even more daring abuses to democracy by nation-states. She’s not alone, Google’s former chairman, Eric Schmidt, and internet theorist and scholar Evgeny Morozov have made similar pronouncements: the internet is splintering due to policy dilemmas in the realms of sovereignty and globalization.

In spite of all; bad laws, technical upheavals, spam, and disruptions, the popular narrative is that we could not kill the “global” internet even if we tried. However, through technical disruptions (covert and overt) and an array of legal and regulatory guises, governments in Africa have institutionalized attacks on the internet at a level not experienced before.

Censorship is arguably one of the leading factors threatening the future of the internet. And China is the pariah. It has been particular to institutionalize censorship through remodelling its own internet reality in what the Communist party president, Xi Jinping, calls ‘internet sovereignty’. The Republic augmented her stringent controls on free speech and tightened media regulations in the real world onto the internet through even tighter controls on content, privacy and security. Through ambitious projects like the infamous “Great Firewall” and the more recent proposal to create a dystopian future where citizens are assessed for the good and bad through a “national social rating system”, China has asserted her position on her internet governance despite the internet’s original ideals on openness and decentralization. Indeed, China’s ethos on “internet sovereignty” are being evangelized and promoted in fragile, and weak nation-states. Zimbabwe is reported to be in the process of adopting a Chinese sanctioned facial recognition system to surveil high traffic areas such as airports and malls. For its renowned poor human rights record, such surveillance capabilities pose a danger to a free society.

Further, African governments have been renown for clandestinely shutting down the internet for all sorts of reasons—twice in Uganda during the 2016 presidential elections and over three months in the English-speaking region of Cameroon—usually in defence “national security”. Such censorships have been arbitrarily executed despite the punitive economic costs associated. Some governments have even flirted with the idea of developing local alternatives to popular social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter so as to have full control over the knobs of social media must the need arise.

But also the censorship has been effected through particularly prohibitive laws meant to derail social media use and charge social critics and other dissenting voices. For example, the cybercrime laws of countries such as Tanzania give the police the mandate to arrest anybody they deem in breach of cyber laws without the necessary legal oversight. Tanzania has introduced a $900 tax for bloggers, Uganda has slapped a “gossip tax” on social media use and other OTT services, Zambia has levied a cost on internet voice calls. If the feel of the contours is anything to go by, censorship has taken unique and complex forms. It seems like many African governments are operating from the same template.

Meanwhile, if we might on what the future of the internet might look like, despite the attacks, we know it will largely be multimedia and highly, rather unsurprisingly, localized. The internet in the past faced severe infrastructural deficits. For example, before the first landfall of transatlantic fibre optic cables at the coast of East Africa in 2009, the internet was not only accessed through more expensive options such as satellite links, generally suffered lower speeds and was inaccessible with the greater part of the region.

The global interconnection through the fibre and terrestrial optic cables enabled further access and connectivity within the region. Most remarkably, local peering and Content Delivery Networks (CDN) increased internet capacity. Loosely defined, local peering means that instead of a webpage directly loading from some server located in an obscure location in North Carolina, a local copy of the same data would be stored on servers hosted locally, in Africa. This bolsters the user experience and also enables the reduction of costs associated with extending the internet to the last mile.

Of course, such developments are welcome but technology companies and giants predominantly from Silicon Valley have taken over these alternative connectivity methods to further affordable internet access to the “last mile”. However, they also have deep financial and corporate interests at heart. In fact, content companies such as Facebook are laying more fibre optic cables than traditionally renowned telecommunications carrier/infrastructure companies. Facebook has laid its first fibre in sub-Saharan Africa, in Uganda at a cost estimated at $100 million. Google had previously done the same in Uganda and Ghana. Overall, major countries seem to have some sort of connectivity experiment going on involving the use of low frequency, wifi hotspots, rockets and other novel technologies—again, spearheaded by Western tech giants. Such moves have raised concerns on issues regarding net neutrality, data protection and privacy, local content, among others. Technology companies seen through the lenses of benevolence might appear as benign catalysers of internet access. Yet by mere ownership of the plumbing that powers the internet effectively makes their services synonymous with the open internet itself. Indeed, it would not be surprising to find people who think Facebook is the internet. Technology companies could not only influence the internet’s direction but also act as a chokepoint, especially when deciding what geographical areas or income groups to serve or not.

While globalization was mostly lauded for is the discovery of previously unchartered territories and the opening of new frontiers, a lot of how it happened was characterized with pillage and violence—often at the expense of conquered states’ sovereignties. The globalization of the world through the internet promised trade and commerce, education and research, government and service delivery through instantaneous communication, on levelled grounds. But many of the paradigm shifts have enabled good use of the internet insofar as they have enabled abusive, problematic use. Now governments seem to have taken centre stage in steering what directions their internet takes, powerful corporations, on the other hand, have grown so powerful since they can algorithmically control and mediate the internet’s content, and emotions, that they threaten democracy and other virtues of good governance, especially in fragile states. As for the users, disparate realities of the internet look not so far away, some Facebook (through Free Basics) is touted to better than no Facebook (or internet) at all. Balkanization of the internet is at rather happening at an unprecedented pace. Is the future of the internet in Africa fractured?

*Contributed by Daniel Mwesigwa and was first published on December 19, 2018, African School on Internet Governance

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Tinubu denies Act Technologies, says no relations, no interest - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has condemned SaharaReporters for incorrectly linking him with a company called Act Technologies Limited, ITREALMS.

Asiwaju has absolutely no relation to, or interest in, Act Technologies Limited, a statement by Tinubu Media Office on Friday, made available to ITREALMS, pointed out.

“He had never even heard of the company until the PDP (and its cronies in the media) started this campaign of calumny a few days ago.

“Moreover, Asiwaju has never been involved in the supply of card readers, voter registration and accreditation frameworks or any other materials or services to INEC. Never,” the statement added.

According to it, SaharaReporters’ story is but an unfortunate and crude attempt to malign Asiwaju’s name.

The statement titled “Response to Allegations in Saharareporters” reads:

“Our attention has been drawn to a false and reckless story published online by Sahara Reporters wrongfully accusing Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of electoral malpractice and incorrectly linking him with a company known as Act Technologies Limited.

“If lies were sand, this story would be a desert. Perhaps the only thing this story manages to get correct is the spelling of Asiwaju’s name. However, the story is but an unfortunate and crude attempt to malign Asiwaju’s name. Asiwaju has absolutely no relation to, or interest in, Act Technologies Limited. He had never even heard of the company until the PDP (and its cronies in the media) started this campaign of calumny a few days ago.

“Moreover, Asiwaju has never been involved in the supply of card readers, voter registration and accreditation frameworks or any other materials or services to INEC. Never.

“Let us be clear in this matter. If any political party was in control of INEC’s procurement practices in 2014/2015 it would have been the one in control of the federal government at that time. Asiwaju never asked for, nor did he receive, anything or any contract from Jonathan’s government. As incompetent as his administration was, even President Jonathan would not have sat idly by while important electoral contracts were being handed over to his most implacable political foe. As often happens with fiction concocted by amateurs, the application of a little common sense causes the entire story to fall apart.

“Even the technological aspects of the report are fantastical and unfounded. The whole thing simply makes no sense from a technical point of view.

The report only makes sense as part of a concerted effort to attack Asiwaju. Why the PDP and their media boosters fear him so much, we leave for them to answer. But it is odd that they expend so much time and energy manufacturing falsehoods against someone whose name will not even appear on any ballot.

“This story is simply another effort by those opposed to President Buhari and the APC to justify their plans to distort the elections by alleging that the APC government is illegitimate and was rigged into office. “The only problem being that the facts do not support their claims nor their rationale for cheating. These people are incurable. They do not rig because they were once victimized by rigging. They rig because rigging is not only in their blood, it is their blood.

“Such errant nonsense has no place in our national discourse. Sahara Reporters has descended to a new low. To publish such an unfounded report is more than shoddy journalism, it is malicious. The publication and its editors should be ashamed.”

Ayo Midele/Editor

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Just In: INEC complies with Appeal Court ruling on Zamfara - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has decided to comply with the Appeal Court ruling on accommodating candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara on the ballot, reports ITREALMS.

Disclosing this Friday, the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Voter Education Committee, Mr Festus Okoye, said they took the decision following a ruling delivered on Thursday by the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja.

A press statement from INEC available to ITREALMS, the Commission said that with this development its restoring the APC on the ballot in the National Assembly, Governorship and State House of Assembly elections scheduled for 23rd February and 9th March, 2019.

He explained that the commission had refused to allow the candidates of the party in Zamfara to participate in the polls because of the “conflicting orders” of the Federal High Court, Abuja and the Zamfara State High Court on the primaries conducted in the state.

The National Commissioner noted that the court in Abuja had restrained the party from fielding candidates in the general elections, stating that it did not conduct primaries.

On the other hand, he said a later ruling by the court in Zamfara cleared the APC to go ahead and participate in the polls having held valid primaries.

Okoye added that the appeal court, thereafter, set aside the judgement of the Federal High Court, Abuja for lack of jurisdiction.

*Ayo Midele with addition report from Channels TV/Editor

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pix: Festus Okoye, INEC Commissioner, Voter Education

OELA music drops second single, video ‘It’s My Life’ - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

OELA, a Nigeria’s music brand is challenging the youths to take their rightful place in the present and the future with its new single titled It's My Life, reports ITREALMS.

The song written and composed by Segun Adeleye, the OELA brand promoter featured three amazing talents - Timmy Pumpin, Mirakul and Exceptional Dan.

The song, coming after first single of last year ‘Suffering No More’ was simultaneously dropped with its video which was shot in Lagos, Nigeria.

According to the brand, the idea of the song is to challenge our youth across the world on the need to be at the driver seat of their destiny.

“Things are tough, but it will be a tragedy if we allow the future to remain hopeless when we can in any little way add our voice to rescue the world from mental slavery,” the brand said in a statement.

“So passionate about the project because it was conceived to touch lives, for the youth to stop on their tracks and reflect on who they are, why they are here and to show belief that they can do it!”

Uj. N. Dominic/Editor

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Pix: A scene in It’s My Life video

ALTON denies face-off with NCAA, laments regulators turning revenue collectors - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has lamented that most regulatory agencies in Nigeria have turned themselves into tax collectors, just as it denied any rancor with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), reports ITREALMS.

According to the Executive Secretary, ALTON, Mr. Gbolahan Awonuga, denied there is any face-off between ALTON and NCAA as reported in some sections of media.

"We have read with interest some reports in the media on ALTON meeting with NCAA and wish to state that there was no face-off between the two bodies," he said.

A press statement available to ITREALMS, Thursday afternoon in Lagos, ALTON decried that most regulatory bodies in the country have now turned into revenue generating bodies which gave rise to multiple taxation.

"We have witnessed in Nigeria today that most of the regulatory bodies have left the regulatory functions and now turn to revenue generating bodies and this brings about Multiple taxation and regulation," he said.

ALTON also disclosed that they merely held a meeting with NCAA to seek clearance on some statutory charges.

According to ALTON, "The issues of Aviation mast height clearance was discussed at the meeting because our members are being charged across the nation being it close to the airports or not and the agency tried to increase some of the charges as reported to us by our members and we took it up with NCAA. ALTON and its members were informed that the essence of the Aviation Height clearance is purely for safety, because they have to identify the routes to guide the Pilots in navigation. We were informed that there are categories of aircraft, big, medium and small, also the choppers and the drones are part of their responsibilities and these are not limited to telecoms infrastructure but to banks, radio stations and high rise building. The Director General said there are lots of Airstrips and helipads the reason for charging across board.

"On the annual renewal, the D.G. informed ALTON that the reason for the renewal is because the earth shift base occasionally and the co-ordinates also changes, as the one taken a year ago may be different from the one taking this year. The earth moves.

"There was no face-off between NCAA and ALTON and its members, though we need clarification on the charges and this led to the agreement at the meeting to form an Advisory Committee which comprises of NCAA and ALTON representatives. Our members are responsible corporate citizens of the country and natural partners in progress that follows due processes.

"We have witnessed in Nigeria today that most of the regulatory bodies have left the regulatory functions and now turn to revenue generating bodies and this brings about Multiple taxation and regulation. Please don't forget that telecommunication operations is not isolated to the ecosystem, the cost of running business in Nigeria, especially telecoms is triple the cost of running same in Ghana and neighboring countries. Almost all agencies of government are after telecommunications, why? We cannot afford to have crisis in the industry because we operate one network in all networks.

"We call on the Federal Government to look into the issue of Tax and Levy Amended Order 2015 signed by the former Minister of Finance in the last administration, Mrs. Ngozi Okonji-Iwaela. This order has created lot of confusion in the taxes and levies regime and making the environment hash for business, not minding the Government Ease of Doing Business programme.

"The telecommunication industry has been the best customer centric sector, where issue pertaining to subscribers are taking very seriously by both the operators and the regulator and despite all challenges there has not for once be an outage compare to other sectors, where you are put on estimated bills and inconsistence in flight schedules that has made several people missed appointments and valued meetings just to mention few.

"We are talking about Smart State initiatives and last mile penetration but some States demands on Right of Way (RoW) are outrageous. The States supposed to provide infrastructure for operators to lease but telecoms spent about 70% of their Capex on Right of Way leaving the remaining 30% to build, this is not fair.

Chuks Egbune/DoP

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FG declares Friday, February 22 public holiday excluding banks - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Federal Government has declared Friday, February 22nd as public holiday, reports ITREALMS.

Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, ITREALMS gathered had on Wednesday, it is a form of encouragement to electorates who will be travelling from one part of the country to another to exercise their franchise, just as the holiday however excludes bank officials.

”Federal Government declares Friday 22, February 2019 as work-free day. Those providing essential duties and bankers are excluded,” part of the a statement read.

Uboshe Uboshe/Editor

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WANEP urges politicians to promote agriculture - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Ahead of the 2019 General elections in Nigeria, the West Africa Network for Peace Building (WANEP) has urged relevant stakeholders in the  socio-economic and political sphere of the country to mainstream agricultural sector as a means of addressing the emerging security challenges and agitations for sustainable development.

This was contained in a report made available on Wednesday by the Programme Manager, Conflict Prevention/Early Warning, WANEP, Ms. Osariemen Amas-Edobor, as the outcome of the sensitisation workshop on Farmers Manifesto conducted between 29-31, January 2019, in Bauchi State with the support of OXFAM.

A total of 312 participants: 117 female and 173 male (including 17 Political Party Aspirants) were represented at both the sensitization workshop on the Farmers Manifesto to Small Scale Farmers (SSFs) and Engagement with Political Parties in Bauchi State.

Edobor noted that it has been recognized that enhanced agricultural performance in the country is key to growth and poverty reduction through its direct impact on increasing job opportunities, especially for women and youth; food security and improved nutrition.

According to her, SSFs in Nigeria make up the greater number of the country’s workforce population and produce over 80 percent of the food consumed in the country. 

She stated: "The Nigerian agricultural sector is second largest contributor (about 24%) to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Nonetheless, these farmers appear to be the poorest constituency in Nigeria. As shown by statistics, smallholder farmers constitute over 75% of the electorates, thus making the constituency the largest voting population in Nigeria, so therefore it becomes imperative for the specific needs of smallholder farmers to be of priority to Policy makers. 

"It is in recognition of the challenges faced by SSFs in Nigeria that Small Holder Farmers Groups (SHFGs) now rises to organize and link up with relevant national platforms with a view to enhancing their voice and increasing their capacity to influence policies in and out of the agricultural sector resulting to the development of a MANIFESTO."

Edobor explained that Farmers’ MANIFESTO is a documentation of the specific needs of Nigerian farmers as a basis for a bargain between farmers and political office seekers, prior and after elections.

 In view of this, she said, WANEP-Nigeria with support from OXFAM conducted several activities in Bauchi State including; Advocacy/Courtesy visits to Traditional Rulers, Federal/State Ministry of Agriculture and the Private Sector; Sensitization workshop with SSF and Political Party aspirants in the State. 

With the aim to finding lasting solution to the challenges affecting the smooth operation of the local farmers, she said the Non-Governmental Organisation has expressed its readiness to boost production capacity of Small Scale Farmers in Bauchi State for food security in the country.

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NUJ/NAWOJ Housing Fraud: Court summons Tunji Ogunwusi, Ifeyinwa, Deji, Tosin Odusola - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

... Adjourns to March 13th, 2019

The case between some Lagos journalists and other claimants versus NAWOJ's National President, Ifeyinwa Omowole, Deji Elumoye, Tosin Odusola, Primewaterview Holdings and NUJ came up for hearing today at the Lagos Multidoor ADR, Igbosere-Lagos with the mediator, Mrs. Dupe Ogunsanwo urging all interested parties to appear at next sitting in their own interest in order to find amicable resolution to the case, reports ITREALMS.

Out of the six defendants, only NUJ was present while the duo of Omowole and Elumoye were represented by Barrister Yinka Kalejaye with no one from Primewaterviews Holdings of Tunji Ogunwusi an elder brother to Ooni of Ife, under whose chairmanship, the project began.

When Mrs Ogunsanwo advised that the presence of the key individuals involved is very important, Kalejaye claimed that Ifeyinwa and Deji cannot appear in person because they are now working in Abuja.

Mrs Ogunsanwo strongly advised that it will be in their own interest to appear in person on March 13th, 2019, on the case filed by the Oluyinka Olujimi Chambers.

Lawyer to the petitioners, Oladimeji Olowu of Oluyinka Olujimi chambers also reiterated the need for respondents to appear in person if the case must be settled as soon as possible.

Just as he maintained that since the transactions were done in Lagos, victims reside in Lagos, the issue of jurisdiction has no value aside that the case can be file anywhere most convenient for the applicant.

Meanwhile, at the last sitting in January, Deji, speaking to the case manager on phone, promised to make himself available at today's hearing while Ifeyinwa's phone went dead immediately the caller introduced herself.

Also, the lawyer to Primewaters Holdings who chose the date for today's hearing did not show up again.

Parties present at today's hearing agreed on March 13th, 2019 at noon for the next hearing.

Following the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ's directive at its inaugural meeting held in Abuja recently, the Lagos State Council of NUJ today started the reallocation of plots of land to its members.

Speaking on behalf of other allottees, Alhaji Sulaiman Ajayi of Lagos Ministry of Information commended the Akinreti-led executive for taking the giant stride of letting people have access to their lands. "It is a big relief and a major step forward."

The NEC also directed that every legal step should be taken to recover the money not accounted for out of the several millions paid to the Primewaterview Holdings Limited in five instalments between July 2016, and April 2017. The money should be returned to Subscribers.

NEC directed that Lagos State Council must take steps to verify the N4million returned from the conversion of the said “expired dollars” claimed by Mrs. Ifeyinwa Omowole which they are yet to do.

NEC however deferred any sanction on erring members pending the outcome of the case before EFCC.

Ayo Midele/Editor

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TenticP Communications unveils Nigeria Corporate Services Conference 2019 - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The TenticP Communications, a 21st-century innovative and multi-sectoral media company, has unveiled plans to hold the maiden edition of the Nigeria Corporate Services Conference (NCSC) on Thursday, April 4, 2019 at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, reports ITREALMS.

The event with the theme: “Building a Sustainable Economic Growth through Quality Corporate Services Delivery” is designed to be an annual event targeted at driving best practices and innovations in the delivery of quality corporate services by businesses, organisations, entrepreneurs and government agencies in Nigeria for economic growth.

The highpoint of the Conference will be the Nigeria Corporate Services Awards (NCSA), where notable Nigeria achievers in the corporate services world such as Mr. Akintola Williams, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who is chairing the conference, would be honoured with distinguished recognition awards for their positive contributions to the corporate service ecosystem.

Other organisations that would be honoured with different Corporate Services award categories at the NCSA include MTN Nigeria, Airtel, Main One, Red Star Plc., Royal Exchange Assurance Plc., Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), among others will be honoured with different categories of Corporate Services Awards.

“There is need to create platforms aimed at reinforcing due diligence and injection of best practices in corporate services delivery,” said Mrs. Nahimah Ajikanle-Nurudeen, who is the Lead Strategist of TenticP Communications and Convener of the NCSC. 

“In this direction, Nigeria Corporate Services Conference, complemented by Nigeria Corporate Services Awards, will set new tone for application of due diligence at workplaces and best practices in our business environments in Nigeria."

She said, “TentiP Communications hopes to use the unique platform to raise and highlight imperatives of quality public conversation on standard business practices, global best practices and doing things right within our corporate and public-service space. This, no doubt, will go a long way in building enduring openness, profitability and big-time trust around our business space.”
According to her, key stakeholders in the business ecosystem made up of the government/public, businesses, research and development institutions, among others would be brought together under the same roof to dissect the theme of the conference.

National Project Coordinator, NCSC 2019, Adeyinka Adewusi, listed key features of the conference to include: keynote presentations and panel discussions from industry/business thought leaders, government, investors, international organisations, entrepreneurs, CEOs across different sectors of the economy.

"Our goal is that we come together across industries and sectors, learn from outside perspectives and engage, connect to develop strategies that work for our country through building a culture of quality corporate services driven by technology, innovation and entrepreneurship,” Adewusi said, stressing that “with over 1,000 targeted delegates, the NCSC 2019 offers great opportunity through sponsorship, partnership, products and services showcase as well as discuss ideas."

Nenye Dom/Editor

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Centenary Celebration: Lagos Anglican Diocese alters programme for 2019 election - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Diocese (Anglican Communion), has announced a slight alteration in its year-round centenary celebration, to accommodate the schedule as announced by the the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2019 general elections, reports ITREALMS.

This development, according to a press release by the public relations unit of the Church, was occasioned by the sudden default in the earlier schedule of national elections.

As part of the Centenary celebrations of the Diocese, a long list of events has been planned to last through the year, 2019.

It started with a 14-day fasting and prayer programme from 2nd - 15th of January, which was held daily at the parishes; culminating into a Mega Prayer convocation at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina Lagos on the 15th, with the Church filled to overflowing.

Following that was the unveiling of the Centenary Logo at a memorable dinner held at the City Hall, Catholic Mission street Lagos on the 26th of January, 2019.

According by the release, the next event on the schedule, is the Mega Rally meant to bring together all members of the Church, both young and old from the length and breadth of the Diocese of Lagos.

The Rally was earlier slatted for February 23, 2019.

However, the shift in the election dates has necessitated a reschedule of the rally to the 2nd of March, 2019 even as the venue remains the Main Bowl of Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.
Every archdeaconry within the diocese is expected to come in various floats, radiant dresses and decorations to make the event quite colorful. 

"It is our prayer that the programme will go hitch-free as we also remember our nation in prayer, especially this election season."; the release enthused.
Banji Boye

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Increased complexity to push IT security spending in Africa - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The latest insights from International Data Corporation (IDC), spending on IT security in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META) is set to cross the $2.7 billion mark this year, up 10.2% on 2018, reports ITREALMS.

The global technology research and consulting firm attributes this growth to the fact that security incidents are becoming far more complex and persistent, with a new breed of stealthy attackers using vulnerabilities in systems and even the Internet of Things (IoT) to bring down services.

"Digital transformation is becoming increasingly mainstream across the region, with emerging technologies such as cognitive systems, virtual and augmented reality, robotics, and IoT gaining traction," says Megha Kumar, IDC's research director for software in the META region. "Running alongside 3rd Platform solutions like cloud, mobile, social, and big data analytics, these innovation-accelerating technologies are creating a complex ecosystem that is beset by new IT security challenges. In this new era, security must become more pervasive. Organizations can no longer settle for standard solutions; they must move forward by embracing a proactive approach to the issues of defense, protection, mitigation, compliance, trust, and risk."

The region-wide IDC Security Roadshow 2019 will address these issues and more when it gets underway in Istanbul on February 28. Spanning nine countries across the META region, the roadshow will present expert insights into the security metrics, threat vectors, and solutions that organizations should be scoping as they look to develop a sustainable security. Running under the theme of 'Business Security: Risk & Resilience', the IDC Security Roadshow 2019 has been designed as an information-sharing forum and networking platform for select groups of 80–100 senior security decision makers from the most prominent enterprises in each country.

Combining informative keynote speeches, interactive panel debates, and extensive peer-to-peer networking opportunities, the events will explore the latest security threats and challenges, with a host of respected industry analysts and thought leaders on hand to provide answers to the following questions:

Nenye Dom/Editor

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INEC achieves 98% card reader reconfigurations - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared its readiness to hold the rescheduled presidential election among the general elections with a recorded 98 per cent reconfiguration of card readers, reports ITREALMS.

Revealing this, the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said the commission has attained some 98 per cent reconfiguration of its smart card readers nationwide, stressing that INEC is ready to conduct the rescheduled general elections in the country.

According to him, “Last Saturday, the Commission, after extensive review of our preparedness for the 2019 general elections, decided that it was necessary to reschedule the elections by one week.

“As I explained to stakeholders, we were constrained to shift the polls due to severe challenges and lapses we experienced with arrival and distribution of sensitive materials, as well as the fires that gutted some of our offices in quick succession, destroying several election materials.

“In order to achieve its set objectives, INEC had identified six areas covering three broad areas like deployment of materials, movement of personnel and reconfiguration of Smart Card Readers. Let me therefore present to you the level of implementation so far achieved as follows:

“By 4pm yesterday, all issues relating to the delivery of the materials were identified and virtually addressed. Ballot papers, result sheets and a host of non-sensitive materials are now in location across the 36 States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory FCT.

“Our State offices commenced the process of inviting stakeholders to the Central Bank of Nigeria to examine the retrieved materials deployed last week and to witness the batching of materials according to Local Government Areas LGAs. This is ongoing at the moment and is expected to be completed today Tuesday 19, February 2019.

“The movement of materials to LGAs for batching according to Wards and Polling Units shall take place on Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st February, 2019. All Registration Area Centres RACs are to be activated by 9.00m on Friday 22nd February 2019.

“Personnel and materials should be at the RACs by mid-day on Friday 22nd February 2019. “Refresher training for ad hoc personnel should take place at the RACs on Friday 22nd February 2019. Personnel and materials must arrive at the Polling Units latest 7am on Saturday 23″ February 2019. Opening of polls nationwide will take place at 8am on Saturday 23rd February 2019.”

According to him, “You would recall that in my address to stakeholders, I mentioned that we intended to reschedule the elections for just 24 hours to enable us to deliver the final batch of sensitive materials for the elections.

“However, our ICT team notified us that it would require more time to reconfigure the Smart Card Readers in time for the elections. Let me explain why. The Smart Card Readers (SCRs) are configured to only open for use at 8am on election day, and to automatically shut down by 10 pm. This is designed to forestall any illegal use of the SCRs before the appointed time of elections. There are roughly 180,000 SCRs to be deployed for the elections and the ICT team said that they would require 5-6 days to complete the configuration.

“I am glad to say that as at today, about 98% of the SCRs have been reconfigured and we are confident that by tomorrow all would be ready, which is a day earlier than scheduled. ”

He said that following requests by some stakeholders last Saturday and further consultation with political party leaders, the commission has approved that campaigns by political parties and candidates can resume immediately for the first set of elections. Consequently, campaigns for the Presidential and National Assembly elections shall now end at midnight on Thursday 21st February 2019 while campaigns for the Governorship, State Assembly and FCT Area Council elections shall end at midnight Thursday 7th March 2019. Accordingly, media organizations are at liberty to accept, publish, broadcast and circulate campaign materials until the specified end of campaigns.

“Preparations for Governorship, State Assembly and FCT Area Council elections are well underway. Already, the sensitive materials for the elections have started arriving at various locations for onward movement to various Central Bank branches across the country. Indeed, some of these materials arriving through our airports have been erroneously construed by some people as materials for the elections holding this weekend. I want to reassure you all that all materials for the rescheduled Presidential and National Assembly elections next Saturday are already in the States ready for deployment to LGAs, Ward and Polling Units.

“We have learnt a lesson from the preparations for the elections holding this weekend. For this reason, we shall start the movement of materials for the next elections early to ensure that nothing disrupts our process. “While we fully understand the disappointment and even anger that followed that rescheduling of the elections on 16th February, I wish to appeal to stakeholders to be more dispassionate and circumspect in their comments in order not to overheat the polity.

“The commission is focusing on the elections to be held on 23rd February and 9th March 2019 to ensure that they are free, fair and credible. We urge all Nigerians to participate fully in the elections, notwithstanding the disappointment caused by the rescheduling of dates.”

The commission will continue to speak to Nigerians daily to let them know the extent of readiness of the commission, he said.


Uboshe Uboshe/Editor

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NUJ Housing fraud: Action Subscribers vs Deji Elumoye, Ifeyinwa Omowole case for hearing @Igbosere

ITREALMS:

The Concerned ACTION Subscribers of Abaren Land-PenJewel case against the former chairman of Lagos Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and incumbent President, Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Mrs. Ifenyinwa Omowole & Co will come up for hearing tomorrow, Wednesday, February 20, 2019, at the Igbosere High Court, Lagos, reports ITREALMS.

Mr. Elumoye, Mrs Omowole and gang were dragged before the court over a multi-million Naira fraud orchestrated by them on members in the name of housing estate alongside Primewaters, even as Wednesday session will be the second hearing on the case.
ITREALMS recalls that the duo and their partners defrauded members of the Lagos NUJ council several millions of Naira and dollars in the name of providing housing scheme for them and relatives who subscribed in the project.

The counsel handling the case, Barr. Olayinka Olujimi confirmed this, assuring his team is prepared for Wednesday court session.

He charged all members of ‘Action Subscribers’ and entire affected members of NUJ to turn up enmass for the hearing.

Meanwhile, the aggrieved stakeholders of the Mowe-Abaren Land at the weekend in Alausa-Ikeja, urged members whose money were misappropriated by Mr. Elumoye and Mrs. Omowole under the guise of housing scheme to mobilise and attend the Alternative Dispute Resolutions at the Lagos High Court, Igbosere-Obalende with placards and later visit the ThisDay Newspapers and News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) managements where the two lead fraudsters currently work.

In addition, the ‘Hall of shame’ issue to be revisited on those responsible for the mismanagement of the funds at the February Congress.

Ayo Midele/Editor

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Pix: Ifeyinwa Omowole+Deji Elumoye, accused of defraud Lagos Journalists with fake housing scheme

PDP now self-appointed protector of ballot box snatchers - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Presidency has reiterated President Muhammadu Buhari's comment that anyone who dares to snatch ballot boxes during next weekend's elections will be doing this for the last time, saying it should be seen as a strong message against the long history of savagery associated with elections in the country, reports ITREALMS.

Speaking to State House Correspondents, presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, recalled some past elections in parts of Nigeria, during which innocent voters lost their lives while ballot boxes were being snatched by armed thugs. 

"Snatching ballot boxes often entails putting the lives of innocent Nigerians at risk. About 10 years ago, evidence was brought before an election tribunal from one of the states in North Central of the gruesome killing of 26 prospective voters by ballot box snatchers. Their modus operandi is well known. They storm election venues in commando style, overwhelm the law-enforcement agents and seize ballot boxes leaving a trail of death and injury,” Shehu said. 

According to him, "Anyone who dares to put the lives of innocent citizens at risk in their desperation to rig elections, must be prepared for the possibility of losing their own lives because our security agents will certainly not stand by, clap for them and watch them kill and maim."

He added that President Buhari had the safety and security of Nigerians uppermost in mind when he made the comment, and should be praised rather than criticised for issuing this stern warning to potential ballot box snatchers. 

Shehu further expressed concern about those attacking the president's comment, and their worry over the fate of anyone caught snatching ballot boxes. 

"This sounds like members of the opposition, specifically the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP who have perfected plans to rig the elections and to snatch ballot boxes. They can tell that President Buhari is not prepared to tolerate their antics this time around, and they are afraid. They have shown their intent,” he said.

The presidential spokesperson noted that no one had anything to fear from the President's comments if their conscience and intentions are clear. 

"Let's just have free and fair elections and no one need worry about anything," he said. 

Uboshe Uboshe/Editor

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AFRINIC has launches survey Internet measurement in Africa - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC) has launched a survey with the aim of assessing the current status of Internet measurement in Africa, reports ITREALMS.

The Centre is the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for the African region and responsible for the allocation and management of Internet numbers (IPv4, IPv6 & ASNs)  to name a few.

 AFRINIC, ITREALMS reports, said that the available measurement infrastructure on the continent as well as the gap in the infrastructure and the relevant skills needed to be filled. 

Also AFRINIC revealed it would use the responses as guide in building Internet measurement programmes to train network operators, regulators, end users, and other stakeholders in the forthcoming summits, conferences, and *nog meetings across the continent.

The survey, ITREALMS gathered is  available in both English and French, even as the deadline for filling the survey is 28 February 2018.

Chuks Egbune/DoP

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7 UN entities partner WEF, WBC to address e-waste challenges - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Seven UN entities have come together, supported by the World Economic Forum, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) to call for an overhaul of the current electronics system, with the aim of supporting international efforts to address e-waste challenges, reports ITREALMS.