Lagos state governor, Babatunde Fashola has expressed his displeasure with INEC about the distribution of the permanent voters card. But he has no reason to complain anymore since he can now vote.
The incumbent governor today picked up his form at Polling Unit, Ward G3 Unit E002, State Junior Grammar School, Itolo Street, Surulere.
He can now finally vote for his preferred candidate come March 28th and April 11th.
Wife of former Super Eagles captain and former beauty queen Adaeze Yobo is expecting her second child with the clubless football star.
Ada who kept mum on her pregnancy until recently is yet to unveil the sex of the baby she is expecting.
Her bump looks to be expanding by the day.
Rock it girl.
Award winning Nigerian music producer and singer Cobhams and his wife Ojuola Asuquo are currently in Los Angeles.
The happy couple are getting set to attend the 57th annual Grammy award which will begin within the next hour.
Cobhams is one of the few Nigerians that will be attending the biggest music award in the world.
Despite having a lot on their hands to do, business partners Kenny Ogungbe and Dayo D1 Adeneye ensured they are not missing out on their annual festival of attending every Grammy award pre-event.
Keke rolled out photos yesterday of the two of them in Los Angeles, California as they spoke with different celebrities including Deborah Cox amongst others.
The 57th Grammy awards holds tonight.
Their coverage will air on their program Primetime.
TV Host, Eku Edewor attended an event yesterday it appears.
At the gig the twin delivered her almost-perfect Shoki dance routine.
For the event, Eku rocked a green body fitting ankara dress.
Eku looked yum-yum in her outfit though. Pic below
We gotta wait for a new heat coming from music stars Olamide, Phyno and Patoranking.
The music stars rolled out photos from a video shoot on Sunday as they appear on a boat cruise.
We can't say who the songs belong to for now, but Patoranking is the suspect as the 2014 next rated works on his debut album under his record label Foston Music.
We look forward to the video.
The video shoot looks like fun though.
Who goes on vacation in January? Tania Omotayo does.
The socialite who has been dating Wizkid for more than a year shared few snaps as she goes on what looks like a vacation in the middle east.
Wizkid cannot be spotted on sight but we all know Wizkid likes his trips lowkey sometimes.
Look like she is having fun though... But not alone we bet.
The private jet is/was used as the official campaign jet for the 2015 campaign for the party as they toured all the 36 states of Nigeria to seek for votes.
The photos were supplied by Tolu Jinadu Images
Dencia stays winning...... The beautiful singer and businesswoman was at the Roc Nation Pre-Grammy event which had Jay-Z, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West and other top U.S celebrities in attendance.
One of our favourite girls, Dencia was live at the event and she shared some photos she took with us. She spoke about her goodies taking over this photo of her with Kanye and Kim...and we think its somewhat true. She also shared another photo with Paris Hilton... you go girl!
Beautiful actress Empress Njamah shared with us a photo from 'her sister's' wedding yesterday and she definitely looked good in the lovely traditional outfit.
The actress is seen in this photo posing behind a smoked cow that was used for the wedding and some of her fans have chastised her for taking a photo beside the smoked animal while some stressed that she enjoys food a whole lot.
Rapper Eva decided to take it all out and we're feeling it.
The rapper yesterday revealed her new bald look months after saying in an interview she'll still go bald.
She shared a photo yesterday which got mixed reaction. Eva has rolled another one out from her Sunday look and it looks so much better.
Team Natural hair.
Funke Akindele is one actress that loves to look really beautiful each time she steps out and she's been the admiration of fashion lovers each time she steps out. The delectable actress shared the photo of herself looking all made up as she stepped out for a concert. She rocked a cleavage revealing outfit which had a shiny blend from the waist downwards. We likey... do you?
Bruce Jenner has been involved in a vehicle accident, which has left one person dead. The 65 year-old was involved in the crash Saturday, 7th February afternoon and three vehicles were involved in the crash in all. According to TMZ, Bruce seems to be ok, but again, 7 survivors sustained some injuries, ranging from minor to moderate. The accident was caused when Bruce rear ended the white car and that car then went into oncoming traffic and was struck by the Hummer.
Former U.S track and field athlete, Bruce Jenner has been involved in a vehicle accident, which has left one person dead. The 65 year-old was involved in the crash Saturday, 7th February afternoon and three vehicles were involved in the crash in all.
According to TMZ, Bruce seems to be ok, but again, 7 survivors sustained some injuries, ranging from minor to moderate. The accident was caused when Bruce rear ended the white car and that car then went into oncoming traffic and was struck by the Hummer.
Dammy Krane is definitely one spontaneous singer and he has what it takes to attract just about any hot lady around. We've seen photos of MBGN winner but we've not spotted her with any celebrity, especially in this kind of pose. We think these two look good together and we are quite sure their friendship is platonic at least for now.
Following their announcement last week as brand ambassadors of premium vodka line Ciroc by Diageo, Banky W and D'Banj hit the club straight up to pop some bottles of vodka.
The two music stars were joined by their friends to celebrate their latest business dealing.
Congrats to them.
Nigerian soccer star, Obafemi Martins is one of the se-xiest Nigerian footballers and he isn't shy to flaunt his well ripped abs.
He shared this selfie with his baby-mama and his female fans have been gushing about how ripped his abs are.
Made Men Music Group artist, Tekno has opened up on his relationship status in a new interview with Punch NG. The 'Holiday' crooner speaks about his relationship and what he thinks about getting married and raising kids. Read excerpts from the interview below.
When asked if he was dating, he said:
I don’t have a girlfriend.
On musicians are raising children outside wedlock, he said:
Yes, I can. Marriage is beautiful but I have seen people marry and divorce. Irrespective of the fact that my parents have an amazing union, I don’t want to get married now. I will get married between the ages of 35 and 38 but I want to have a child now.
Basketmouth Live In Concert' was scheduled for February 14th in London, U.K and several fans chastised him for setting his date to the same day that co-incides with the Presidential elections.
Basketmouth has now taken to instagram to share a post that makes mockery of those who initially chastised him, because the elections which were originally set for Feb. 14th have been postponed. He captioned a photo of himself with a grin coupled with the caption
MMMG Boss and singer, Iyanya in an up-close interview with Kemi Lanre-Aremu of PUNCH NG made some interesting revelations about himself, what he wants and other things. He spoke on dating a female celebrity and revealed it comes with too much drama. Read excerpts from the interview below.
What kind of woman do you want to settle down with?
A good woman is a good woman. You can’t just sit and say this is the kind of woman I want. Some people think the best place to get a girl is in the church; meanwhile, you can get the wrong girl in the right place. Sometimes, I am worried about getting the right woman to marry because of my status. I have had one or two women come into my life and act like they are something. The safest thing to do is marry someone you have known before you became a star.
After Yvonne Nelson, would you date a celebrity in the future?
Yvonne Nelson is an amazing person, but I would never ever in my life date or have anything to do with a female star. I am not cut out for that kind of drama.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced a new date for the 2015 elections.
International Media agencies had ealier mentioned the body will postpone the election, however INEC earlier denied the report.
The election has now been officially rescheduled for Mach 28th and April 11th 2014.
Statement released on the timetable for the 2015 general elections by thr chairman, INEC, Prof. Attahiru M. Jega at a press conference on Feb. 7th, 2015.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We invited you here today to make known the position of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the timetable for the 2015 general elections. Let me state from the outset that the Commission’s position was reached after carefully weighing the suggestions from briefings held with different stakeholders in the electoral process.
The conduct of elections in a country like Nigeria is invariably a collective venture that involves not just the Election Management Body (EMB), but also a diverse range of stakeholders, notably security agencies, political parties and their candidates, voters, as well as interest groups, such as the civil society organizations and the media.
To guarantee successful conduct of elections, there are things that are wholly the responsibility of the EMB. But there are other things critical for the success of elections, which fall outside the control of the EMB.
In other words, while INEC must work hard to perfect its systems and processes for conducting elections, and take responsibility for any imperfections thereof, whatever the Commission does may not by itself be sufficient to guarantee the success of elections. There are a number of issues in the preparation and conduct of an election, the most critical of which is security, which is not under the control of INEC.
Current State of INEC’s Preparedness
On Thursday, February 5, 2015, I was invited to brief the National Council of State, which is the highest advisory to the President comprising past and present leaders in Nigeria, on the level of preparedness of INEC to conduct the 2015 general elections. I made a presentation to the Council titled ‘Preparations for the 2015 General Elections: Progress Report,’ in which I gave a detailed account of what the Commission has been doing in readiness for the national elections (National Assembly and Presidential) scheduled for February 14th, and the state elections (Governorship and State Assembly) scheduled for February 28th, 2015.
The summary of my presentation to the National Council of State meeting is that, for matters under its control, INEC is substantially ready for the general elections as scheduled, despite discernible challenges being encountered with some of its processes like the collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) by registered members of the public.
In addition, INEC has been doing everything it can to facilitate the collection of the PVCs by registered members of the public. As at 5th February 2015, the total number of PVCs collected was 45, 829, 808, representing 66.58% of the total number of registered voters.
In the delivery and deployment of electoral materials, INEC is also at a comfort level in its readiness for the general elections as scheduled (see the presentation to the Council of State). The Commission’s preparations are not yet perfect or fully accomplished. But our level of preparedness, despite a few challenges, is sufficient to conduct free, fair and credible elections as scheduled on February 14th and February 28th. Compared with 2011 when, within a short time, we conducted general elections that were universally adjudged free, fair and credible and the best in Nigeria’s recent electoral history, our processes are today better refined, more robust and therefore capable of delivering even better elections.
Other Variables
But as I mentioned earlier, there are some other variables equally crucial for successful conduct of the 2015 general elections that are outside the control of INEC. One important variable is security for the elections.
While the Commission has a very good working relationship with all security agencies, especially on the platform of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) since its inception in 2010, it has become pertinent for it to seriously consider the security advisory presented to it by the Security and Intelligence Services. I would like to reiterate here that INEC is an EMB and not a security agency. It relies on the security services to provide a safe environment for personnel, voters, election observers and election materials to conduct elections wherever it deploys. Where the security services strongly advise otherwise, it would be unconscionable of the Commission to deploy personnel and call voters out in such a situation.
Last Wednesday, which was a day before the Council of State meeting, the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) wrote a letter to the Commission, drawing attention to recent developments in four Northeast states of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and Gombe currently experiencing the challenge of insurgency. The letter stated that security could not be guaranteed during the proposed period in February for the general elections.
This advisory was reinforced at the Council of State meeting on Thursday where the NSA and all the Armed Services and Intelligence Chiefs unanimously reiterated that the safety and security of our operations cannot be guaranteed, and that the Security Services needed at least six weeks within which to conclude a major military operation against the insurgency in the Northeast; and that during this operation, the military will be concentrating its attention in the theatre of operations such that they may not be able to provide the traditional support they render to the Police and other agencies during elections.
INEC’s Decision
We have done wide ranging consultation to enable us have as much input as is necessary before taking an informed decision. In the series of consultations that we held with stakeholders, the questions consistently posed to them for consideration are:
(i) In view of the latest development, should INEC proceed with the conduct of the general elections as scheduled in spite of this strong advice; and if so, what alternative security arrangements are available to be put in place?
(ii) Or, should INEC take the advice and adjust the schedules of the general elections within the framework of Constitutional provisions?
The Commission held a meeting after the consultations, and decided to take the advice of the Security Chiefs and adjust the dates of the elections. We have done this relying on Section 26(1) of the Electoral 2010 (As Amended), which states thus: “Where a date has been appointed for the holding of an election, and there is reason to believe that a serious breach of the peace is likely to occur if the election is proceeded with on that date or it is impossible to conduct the elections as a result of natural disasters or other emergencies, the Commission may postpone the election and shall in respect of the area, or areas concerned, appoint another date for the holding of the postponed election, provided that such reason for the postponement is cogent and verifiable”.
INEC not being a security agency that could by itself guarantee protection for personnel and materials, as well as voters during elections, the Commission cannot lightly wave off the advice by the nation’s Security Chiefs. The Commission is specifically concerned about the security of our ad hoc staff who constitute at least 600,000 young men and women, together with our regular staff, voters, election observers as well as election materials painstakingly acquired over the last one and half years. This concern is limited not just to the areas in the North-eastern part of Nigeria experiencing insurgency; the risk of deploying young men and women and calling people to exercise their democratic rights in a situation where their security cannot be guaranteed is a most onerous responsibility. Under such circumstances, few EMBs across the world, if any, would contemplate proceeding with the elections as scheduled. No matter the extent of INEC’s preparedness, therefore, if the security of personnel, voters, election observers and election materials cannot be guaranteed, the life of innocent young men and women as well the prospects of free, fair, credible and peaceful elections would be greatly jeopardised.
Consequently, the Commission has decided to reschedule the 2015 general elections thus: the national elections (i.e. Presidential and National Assembly) are now to hold on March 28th, 2015; while the state elections (Governorship and State Assembly) are to hold on April 11th, 2015. It should be noted that this rescheduling falls within the constitutional framework for the conduct of the elections, notably, Sections 76(2), 116(2), 132(2) and 178(2). See also Section 25 of the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended).
For the avoidance of doubt, we will under no circumstances approve an arrangement that is not in line with the provisions of our laws. Our hope is that with this rescheduling, the security services will do their best to ensure that the security environment needed for safe and peaceful conduct of the 2015 elections is rapidly put in place.
We in INEC reassure all Nigerians and indeed the international community of our commitment to do everything within the law and to conduct free, fair, credible and peaceful elections. We call on the security agencies to honour their commitment to restore sufficient normalcy for elections to take place within the period of extension. We also call on Nigerians, political parties, candidates and all other stakeholders to accept this decision in good faith and ensure the maintenance of peace.
As for us in INEC we’ll endeavour to use the period of the extension to keep on perfecting our systems and processes for conducting the best elections in Nigeria’s history. In particular, we believe that we would resolve all outstanding issues related to non-collection of PVCs, which agitate the minds of many Nigerians.
Finally, we wish to call on all Nigerians to accept our decision, which is taken in good faith and the best interest of deepening democracy ion our country.
Thank you.
Professor Attahiru M. Jega, OFR
Chairman, INEC
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced a new date for the 2015 elections.
International Media agencies had ealier mentioned the body will postpone the election, however INEC earlier denied the report.
The election has now been officially rescheduled for Mach 28th and April 11th 2014.
