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2019: Ohaneze Raises Alarm, Says INEC Deliberately Disenfranchising Ndigbo

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The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of using “deliberate effort” to disfranchise Igbo in the 2019 general elections.

President-General of the organisation, Chief Nnia Nwodo, who stated this yesterday when the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Enugu State, Mr. Emeka Ononamadu, paid him a courtesy visit, alleged that virtually all states in the South-East zone have recorded shortage of registration materials in the ongoing Continuous Voters’ Registration exercise.

Nwodo stated that he had visited many registration centres and had come to the conclusion that the South-East might be disenfranchised in the coming elections.

“I am of the conclusion that INEC has deliberately denied registration materials in order to ensure that we are under-registered. I say this not because I am the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo but I say this as a lawyer who respects evidence,” he said.

He said that the machines deployed to the zone for the registration exercise were slow, obsolete and inadequate and would not compare with the ones deployed to northern part of the country for the ongoing exercise.

Using Ukehe in Igbo-etiti Local Council as an instance, Nwodo said: “The booth has between 18 and 20 polling booths which are registration booths. Now, there was only one machine in my ward; that one machine is in my registration area and unlike the machines I saw in the North, which captures five fingers instantaneously. The machine in my registration area can only capture one finger at a time and it is two polling booths in one side and therefore it should be two registration centres but there was only one registration machine.

Nwodo added that Ohanaeze was prepared to give logistics to INEC to register people who turned out for the exercise.

Meanwhile, Ononamadu said the visit was part of the organisation’s outreach to critical stakeholders in election process, which Ohanaeze Ndigbo was part of.

He said: “But we need a lot of opportunities to do more before 2019 elections. One of our major objectives is to build trust among critical stakeholders and also to create that openness of sharing of information so that every stakeholder can be on the same page before, during and after elections. This we have tried to do using the party structures, the traditional leadership, the president-generals of which we held numerous meetings with before now to enable us understand the key problems and the challenges that will confront us now and in 2019 so that we begin to work on them as early as possible.” (The Guardian)

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King Charles Reportedly “Really Unwell” And Funeral Plans Are Currently Being Reviewed

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King Charles III’s health is causing concern for friends and the palace as he continues to battle cancer.

“Speaking to friends of the king in recent weeks about his health, the most common response is … ‘It’s not good,’” Tom Sykes of the Daily Beast reported Thursday, April 25.

A friend of the monarch claimed Charles “is determined to beat it and they are throwing everything at it,” adding, “Everyone is staying optimistic, but he is really very unwell. More than they are letting on.”

Royal writer Tina Brown also hinted at the monarch’s health struggles, writing recently that Charles’ cancer has put Prince William and Kate Middleton “in frightening proximity to ascending the throne just when they had hoped for a span of years to parent their children out of the public eye.”

“The prospect of it, I am told, is causing them intense anxiety.”

Sykes also reported that the king’s funeral plans, codenamed “Operation Menai Bridge”, are currently being reviewed.

A separate document that states what went well at Queen Elizabeth’s September 2022 funeral and what could be done better the next time a monarch dies is also circulating, according to the Daily Beast.

All the sources emphasized that royal funeral plans are constantly in review. However, one former staffer in particular conceded that Charles’ health woes have given his plans a different urgency.

“The plans have been dusted off and are actively being kept up to date,” the former staffer explained.

“It’s no more than what you would expect given the king has been diagnosed with cancer. But the circulation of them has certainly focused minds.”

Buckingham Palace announced in February that after undergoing surgery for a benign prostate enlargement, it was discovered that the king has cancer.

We hope the king gets well soon.

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EFCC: New Documents Extracted Shows Yahaya Bello Allegedly Paid School Fees To The Tune Of $845,852,84 For His Family Members

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Still on the EFCC trailing on Ex Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, Documents serving as exhibits have shown how he allegedly paid school fees in advance for his family members already in the school and even those to be enrolled in future with hundreds of thousands of dollars withdrawn from the state coffers.

A letter from the American International School of Abuja to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has shown the school admitting that Bello, the former governor of Kogi State, paid $845,852,84 into their bank account since September 2021 as advance school fees for 4 family members from the present class until they graduate.

Payment was also made for any future student to be enrolled by the family.

The document alleges that the payment was made by Mr. Ali Bello, alleged to be the eldest son of Yahaya Bello.

In the document, the school stated that they have deducted the fees for the educational service already rendered to the Bello children in the institution and what is left is $760, 910, which would be refunded to an account provided by the EFCC as the commission continues investigation into alleged money laundering levelled against Yahaya Bello.

the school fees documented payment

The school also added that from the Bello family kids, “no further additional fees are expected in respect of tuition until they graduate from ASIA.”

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Niger State Prisoners Run From Facility After Rainstorm Brings Down Part Of Fencing

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Many prisoners serving time at the Suleja Correctional Centre, located in Suleja Local Government of Niger state, fled the facility after a rainstorm brought down a part of the inner fencing.

This incident happened as a result of the heavy rainfall which fell on Wednesday night. This led to a cell being torn down, providing incarcerated individuals with a chance at freedom.

Reporters gathered that security forces fired many shots in the air, attempting to scare the inmates out of hiding.

While the State Comptroller of Prisons declined to speak to the press, it has been noted that security has been beefed up on the Minna-Suleja and Suleja-Kaduna roads, including the Madalla axis to Abuja road, which is a likely escape route out of the state for the inmates.

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