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Elections: INEC admits irregularities, pledges to make amends

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BY: Ikenna Oluka

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Imo, Prof. Francis Ezeonu on Tuesday expressed regrets at the challenges and irregularities witnessed at the Feb. 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections in Imo.

Ezeonu made his view known at the Imo INEC Interactive Meeting with Stakeholders in Owerri.

He noted that the meeting afforded the commission an opportunity to X-Ray what happened during the Feb. 23 election in the state.

The REC explained that there were a few hitches which impeded the early deployment of materials on the election day.

“There were deliberate efforts to frustrate the use of Registration Area Centres (RACs) and in some places, our water tanks were carted away soon after delivery and wires used in reticulation of the centres were removed and taken away.

“In a few places, the community members disrupted activities at the RAC centres.

“Out in the field, there were too much turmoil, we battled with thugs for INEC materials, corps members were hijacked and returning officers harassed and intimidated and in a few places forced to declare results that were obviously concocted under duress.

“Some other staff were obviously compromised. The maxim was either to play along or be battered.

“Our materials were destroyed and our office at Isiala Mbano burnt down by irate mob. At Isiala Mbano alone where the office was burnt, we lost 204 Smart Card Readers and over 600 ballot boxes among others.

“In Ohaji-Egbema we lost more than 30 Smart Card Readers. Our ballot boxes and other electoral materials were destroyed with impunity. This obviously is not our idea of an election.

“I regret that the election did not turn out as good as we planned,” the REC said.

Ezeonu explained that the most painful was that highly respected members of the society, who were supposed to demonstrate leadership allowed emotion and muscle to displace reason.

“For me, it is not a palatable experience. I had earlier warned that in this journey each one of us had a role to play.

“As the Resident Electoral Commissioner, I take responsibility for all the shortcomings during the last election and I pledge to make amends. However, there are issues for which I cannot be held liable,” he said.

The REC said that there was the need for Nigerians to create an amiable environment for the ad hoc staff to do their work urging those who claimed to be honourable, distinguished and Excellencies to exhibit honourable conduct.

“The experiences of the last election have sent shock waves; so much so that some ad hoc staff have given notices that they would not wish to participate in the next election.

“Even corps members are threatening to withdraw.

“The way things are going, we may come to a stage where no person will be willing to officiate during elections. The situation is that bad, but we can all work together to change it,” he said.

He however, declared that strategies would be employed to ensure the experiences of last election did not repeat.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some of the stakeholders drawn from the civil society groups, party agents, party candidates, party chairmen and others expressed their dissatisfaction with the last election.

They advised INEC to ensure they put modalities in place to check the discrepancies.

Mrs Juliet Okayi, Programme Officer Development Dynamics while commenting, reeled out all the challenges and anomalies experienced during the election and called for correction.

Mrs Ijeoma Onwubuariri, Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) Secretary urged INEC to opt for the use of electronic voting to curb the challenges.

She said that observers and other staff that participated at the election experienced hardships, while the election started very late in most polling units in the state. (NAN)

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The Peruvian Government Has Officially Classified Transgender, Nonbinary And Intersex People As “Mentally ill”

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According to the country’s ministry of health, the controversial decision was made to ensure the country’s public health services could “guarantee full coverage of medical attention for mental health” for the trans community.

It also categorises “dual-role transvestitism,” “fetishistic transvestism,” and “other gender identity disorders” under the same bracket of mental illness.

The new law will change language in the Essential Health Insurance Plan (PEAS) to reflect the view of trans and intersex people as a mental health disorder.

Trans groups across Peru have loudly condemned the decision as a step backwards for the country’s already complex relationship with LGBTQ+ rights.

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Math Teacher Accused Of Having Sex With 2 Students And Getting Pregnant For One Tearfully Reveals The Baby Was Taken Away From Her

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The UK teacher who had a baby with an underage student while on trial for having sex with another teenage boy broke down in court after revealing her newborn baby girl had been “taken away” from her.

Manchester math teacher Rebecca Joynes, 30, sobbed to jurors over how her baby was taken “24 hours after being born” this past January — and now she only sees her for nine hours a week, Joynes told jurors on Monday, May 13, according to the Manchester Evening News.

“At the moment I have contact with her three times a week for three hours and that’s it,” she said through tears.

Joynes was arrested and released on bail on orders not to have unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 after allegedly grooming her pupil, known as Boy A in court, by buying him a $430 Gucci belt before bringing him to her apartment for unprotected sex.

She was suspended from school and eventually fired, but soon after, she began having a relationship with a 15-year-old boy, known in court as Boy B, whom she had a baby with in January.

Joynes, who has denied having sex with either boy when they were underage, told the court that when she learned of the allegations against her she had gone to the second boy in a “panic” and he deleted all of her phone’s content.

The former teacher denied having a sexual relationship with the second boy until after he turned 16 and she was already suspended from teaching.

According to her narration,

She said he had added her on Snapchat twice, which she only accepted the second time because she thought he “wanted to tell her something.”

Joynes said a friendship developed and he quickly became her “best friend” even though the boy would make flirtatious and sexualized comments toward her when he was drunk.

She told jurors that it wasn’t until after his 16th birthday that he messaged her saying “I’ve left school now” with a winky face.

After she received notice that she had been dismissed from her job, he went to her apartment, where following an emotional conversation, they had sex.

The two then entered a relationship that Joynes described as “quite toxic” telling the court how the teenager was “very controlling.”

After discovering she was pregnant, Joynes hid love notes for the boy to find around her apartment.

The notes eventually led to a piece of baby clothing that had the words “I love my daddy to the moon and back” written on it.

The court was told that she gave birth to their baby girl in January, but following an emergency court hearing, the newborn was taken away from Joynes.

Joynes has denied two counts of sexual activity with Boy A; two counts of sexual activity with Boy B; and two counts of sexual activity with Boy B while being a person in a position of trust.

Her trial is ongoing.

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First Man To Receive Pig Kidney Transplant Has Died

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The first Man to receive a genetically modified pig kidney transplant has died two months after the operation.

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), which carried out the procedure in March, announced Sunday, May 12, that Richard “Rick” Slayman, 62, has died.

They said there was no indication his death was a result of the transplant.

Transplants of other organs from genetically modified pigs have failed in the past, but the operation on Mr Slayman, who was suffering with end-stage kidney disease, was hailed as a historic milestone.

In addition to kidney disease, Mr Slayman also suffered from Type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

In 2018, he had a human kidney transplant, but it began to fail after five years.

Following his pig kidney transplant on March 16, his doctors confirmed he no longer needed dialysis after the new organ was said to be functioning well.

“Mr Slayman will forever be seen as a beacon of hope to countless transplant patients worldwide and we are deeply grateful for his trust and willingness to advance the field of xenotransplantation,” MGH said in a statement.

Xenotransplantation is the transplanting of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another.

MGH said it was “deeply saddened” at his sudden death and offered condolences to his family.

Mr Slayman’s relatives said his story was an inspiration.

“Rick said that one of the reasons he underwent this procedure was to provide hope for the thousands of people who need a transplant to survive,” they said.

“Rick accomplished that goal and his hope and optimism will endure forever.

“To us, Rick was a kind-hearted man with a quick-witted sense of humour who was fiercely dedicated to his family, friends, and co-workers,” they added.

While Mr Slayman received the first pig kidney to be transplanted into a human, it is not the first pig organ to be used in a transplant procedure.

Two other patients have received pig heart transplants, but those procedures were unsuccessful as the recipients died a few weeks later.

In one case, there were signs the patient’s immune system had rejected the organ, which is a common risk in transplants.

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