Sambo, Aremu, others hail el-Rufai

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Vice President Namadi Sambo on  Monday hailed Kaduna State Governor-Elect, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, for his victory in the Saturday’s governorship poll in the state.

A statement by the Kaduna Council’s spokesman for the All Progressives Congress, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, stated that the state governor, Mukhtar Yero, had written officially to congratulate the former minister even after the telephone call on Sunday, when he conceded defeat to el-Rufai.

Also, Secretary-General of the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, Alhaji Issa Aremu, has  congratulated  el-Rufai.

According to Aruwan, the Vice President  wished el-Rufai a successful tenure in office and urged him to use his wealth of experience for the peace and development of the state and Nigeria at large.

Sambo also appealed to the citizens of the state to give maximum support and cooperation to el-Rufai. Aremu hailed governor Yero for conceding defeat and accepting the outcome of the Saturday poll.

Aremu said, “On behalf of the National Executive members of the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, we congratulate the new Governor-elect of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, on his victory at the Kaduna State Governorship election held on Saturday April 11, 2015.

“Given his antecedent in governing a cosmopolitan FCT, we have no doubt that the Governor-elect will deepen the peace process in Kaduna, traumatised through avoidable blood-letting in recent times. Peace process must go hand in hand with sustainable development, which must start with urgent re-industrialisation of Kaduna State and mass employment of the army of the youths.

“We will partner with the incoming administration to take necessary steps to revive the ailing industries in Kaduna State, especially the textile industries, with a view to creating jobs for the mass of unemployed youths in the state.

“As a private sector union and affiliate of Nigeria Labour Congress and a critical stakeholder in the development of the state and the country in general, we wish to pledge our support and cooperation in the great task of moving Kaduna State and indeed Nigeria to a greater height.”

Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Chapter of League of Veteran Journalists has congratulated el-Rufai on his victory at the poll as Governor of Kaduna State.

In a statement by its Secretary, Alhaji Tajudeen Ajibade, the veteran journalists urged the incoming administration to respond positively to the yearnings and aspirations of the people.

Man United Fans Deserve Derby Win – Van Gaal

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Louis van Gaal says every Manchester United fan deserves to enjoy the derby victory over City, insisting he is delighted the supporters can “walk through the streets without being embarrassed.”

The Reds boss hailed the Old Trafford faithful for their unbroken backing through his first season in charge, citing the great support given to the team in both the good times and bad.

Over 75,000 fans inside the stadium witnessed a superb come-from-behind victory over the Blues and van Gaal was in buoyant mood when he spoke exclusively to MUTV after the win.

“We have showed that [strength of character] often,” he said, after being asked about United’s powers of recovery, having gone behind to an early goal from Sergio Aguero. “I have more than once given compliments to my players about that because, in all the matches, we are going until the end with a great spirit and we have shown that against City.

“I am very pleased for the fans of course, because they have supported us when the results were not so good and now they are very good. I’m very happy for the fans that they can walk through the streets without being embarrassed! They can go on the streets, hat up, and they can say now ‘we are, this year, the better team’ because goal difference is in our favour.”

Van Gaal took time to praise Sky Sports’ Man of the Match, Ashley Young, after he netted the equaliser and set up two of United’s other three goals, and had a special mention for another goalscorer in Marouane Fellaini.

“Ashley was Man of the Match and I think that was right. If I had to choose, I would have chosen him,” he revealed. “Also Fellaini is very important in our game-plan and I’m very pleased that he plays for Manchester United and no-one else.

“At Liverpool, it was about the first half but we didn’t start so well, Manchester City had the better start,” added van Gaal as he continued his assessment of the match. “But then we came back into the game because of the assist of David De Gea, more or less, for the first goal for Ashley Young. Then we gained confidence and we performed our game-plan much more. In the second half, we played very well with a lot of pace in our game. I was very pleased with the second half.”

Edo: INEC Declares Election In Orhionmwon II Inconclusive

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The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared the Edo State House of Assembly elections for Orhionmwon Constituency II inconclusive on account of alleged violence during the polls.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in the State, Mike Igini who announced this on Monday said elections in 12 polling units were cancelled.

These units accounted for over 4,000 votes, a number in excess of the margin by which one of the candidates was leading in the polls.

Mr Igini also said the Commission will conduct elections there on or before Saturday, the 18th of April, 2015.

Of the 24 constituencies in the state, APC candidates have been declared winners in 20, while PDP led in three.

EU Observers, Civil Groups Seek Probe Of Alleged Electoral Manipulation

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The European Union Observation Mission and some civil society groups have expressed concern over the severe cases of violence and alleged manipulation in some states in Saturday’s governorship and House of Assembly elections.

In its 2nd preliminary statement on the 2015 general elections, the EU Observer Mission urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to launch investigations into these cases.

The EU Chief Observer, Mr. Santiago Fisas said despite lack of evidence of centralised systematic fraud at the elections, some attempts at manipulations were observed which necessitates further investigations by the electoral body.

Mr. Fisas, however, noted that the overall process during the April 11 elections was more efficient compared to the presidential and parliamentary elections but lamented the rise in violence and attempted manipulation of the process in some states.

The spokesman for the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, Mr. Clement Nwankwo said multiple cases of electoral misconduct in Abia State, violence in Rivers State and partisan interference in Akwa Ibom State call for scrutiny of final collated results from the three states.

The groups also condemned the involvement of prominent public office holders, politicians and INEC officials in what they termed ‘organised misconduct and disorderly behaviours’ in the April 11 elections.

They noted that steps must be taken to investigate all such cases and prosecution of those found culpable.

APC, PDP Call For Cancellation Of Anambra State Assembly Elections

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State on Tuesday called for the cancellation of the just concluded governorship and state house of assembly election in the State.

Both parties are alleging that the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) colluded with the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission to rig the election.

Both parties made this claim after several complaints have trailed the House of Assembly election in the state.

In a world press conference in Awka, the state capital, the Anambra State APC Chairman, alongside some of the candidates, condemned the exercise which he said was characterized by violence and massive rigging.

He accused the ruling APGA of masterminding the entire alleged fraudulent act and called for the immediate cancellation of the election.

The PDP on their part accused the state governor, Willie Obaiano, of hijacking the entire process through deployment of the entire security agencies.

However, all the accusations were dismissed by the National chairman of APGA, Victor Umeh, who alleged that the APC and PDP have long expired in the state, adding that the victory of APGA in the state was well deserved.

Similarly, the Anambra State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Edwin Nwatarali, maintained that results of 25 seats announced had no issues but the five remaining seats had been rescheduled for the 25th of April.

The APC has also threatened to register its grievance with the Election Petition Tribunal (EPT), if the elections are not cancelled.

The Victor Umeh-led APGA won in 25 constituencies while INEC declared the remaining seats inconclusive.

2015 Governorship Election Winners

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2015 GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION WINNERS 

STATE	GOVERNOR-ELECT	PARTY
Abia	Stalemated
Adamawa	Jibrilla Bindo	APC
Akwa Ibom	Udom Emmanuel	PDP
Bauchi	Mohammed Abubakar	APC
Bayelsa
Benue	Samuel Ortom	APC
Borno	Kashim Shettima	APC
Cross River	Ben Ayade	PDP
Delta	Ifeanyi Okowa	PDP
Ebonyi	Dave Umuahi	PDP
Enugu	Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi	PDP
Gombe	Ibrahim Dankwambo	PDP
Imo	Inconclusive
Jigawa	Badaru Abubakar	APC
Kaduna	Nasir El Rufai	APC
Kano	Umar Ganduje	APC
Katsina	Aminu Masari	APC
Kebbi	Atiku Bagudu	APC
Kogi
Kwara	Abdulfatah Ahmed	APC
Lagos	Akinwunmi Ambode	APC
Nasarawa	Tanko Almakura	APC
Niger
Ogun	Ibikunle Amosun	APC
Oyo	Abiola Ajimobi	APC
Plateau	Simon Lalong	APC
Rivers	Nyesom Wike	PDP
Sokoto	Aminu Tambuwal	APC
Taraba
Yobe	Ibrahim Geidam	APC
Zamfara	Abdulaziz Yari	APC

Police Satisfied With Performance During 2015 Elections

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The Nigeria Police on Tuesday gave itself a pass mark on its performance during the just concluded governorship and state houses of assembly elections, maintaining that the security arrangements “met its expectations”.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Emmanuel Ojukwu, said even though there were pockets of violence across the country, it did not have any effect on the police security arrangements

Mr Ojukwu told Channels Television that arrests have been made in Rivers State and other parts of the country where there was violence.

He further noted that prosecution has commenced in some cases, but refused to speak on the number of deaths recorded during the polls.

The police commended Nigerians for their conduct and information provided during the polls, but like Oliver twist, they asked for more cooperation with security agencies beyond the polls.

Malala Seeks More Action To Free Abducted Chibok Girls

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Nobel Peace Prize winner and girls education activist, Malala Yousafzai has called for more action on the release of the schoolgirls abducted by the Boko Haram terrorist group in Nigeria, a year ago.

In an open letter to the girls, Miss Yousafzai criticised Nigeria’s authorities and the international community for not doing enough to secure the release of the girls.

The Boko Haram militants caused global outrage after abducting the girls from Nigeria’s north-eastern Chibok town in Borno State.

According to estimates by the UN, the insurgency has displaced 800,000 Nigerian children.

In an open letter to the abducted girls, Yousafzai said: “We cannot imagine the full extent of the horrors you have endured. But please know this: we will never forget you”.

The young Nobel Peace Prize winner added that there were reasons for “hope and optimism”, after recent successes by Nigeria’s military in recapturing territories from Boko Haram.

“I look forward to the day I can hug each one of you, pray with you, and celebrate your freedom with your families,” Ms Yousafzai said.

In the mean time in Nigeria, the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) campaign group is encouraging people to remember the girls ahead of the first anniversary of their abduction on Tuesday. As part of the week-long activities to mark one year of the girls’ abduction, a vigil and candlelit procession is due to be held in the nation’s capital, Abuja, on Tuesday as well.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), said the abduction of the schoolgirls from Chibok was “only one of the endless tragedies being replicated on an epic scale across Nigeria and the region”.

In a report, UNICEF has said that the number of children fleeing the Boko Haram insurgency has doubled in the past year and more than 1.5 million people have now been displaced in the six-year conflict.

APC, PDP Call For Cancellation Of Anambra State Assembly Elections

Channels Tv

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State on Tuesday called for the cancellation of the just concluded governorship and state house of assembly election in the State.

Both parties are alleging that the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) colluded with the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission to rig the election.

Both parties made this claim after several complaints have trailed the House of Assembly election in the state.

In a world press conference in Awka, the state capital, the Anambra State APC Chairman, alongside some of the candidates, condemned the exercise which he said was characterized by violence and massive rigging.

He accused the ruling APGA of masterminding the entire alleged fraudulent act and called for the immediate cancellation of the election.

The PDP on their part accused the state governor, Willie Obaiano, of hijacking the entire process through deployment of the entire security agencies.

However, all the accusations were dismissed by the National chairman of APGA, Victor Umeh, who alleged that the APC and PDP have long expired in the state, adding that the victory of APGA in the state was well deserved.

Similarly, the Anambra State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Edwin Nwatarali, maintained that results of 25 seats announced had no issues but the five remaining seats had been rescheduled for the 25th of April.

The APC has also threatened to register its grievance with the Election Petition Tribunal (EPT), if the elections are not cancelled.

The Victor Umeh-led APGA won in 25 constituencies while INEC declared the remaining seats inconclusive.

Kenyan university in deadly stampede after explosions

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At least one student dies and scores suffer injuries as they jump out of their hostels after transformer explodes.

One Kenyan student has died and 141 others have suffered injuries in a stampede on the campus of the University of Nairobi when students mistook several accidental explosions for an attack, according to an official.

The victim in Sunday's stampede was identified as a male third-year student, according to the Associated Press news agency, which cited Peter Mbithi, the vice chancellor of the University of Nairobi.

The injured students have been taken to hospitals for treatment, Mbithi said.

He said an electrical transformer exploded and students thought it was an attack like the April 2 assault by Somalia's al-Shabab rebels on Kenya's Garissa University College in which 148 people were killed.

"It was around 5am local time and the transformer at the campus exploded about four or five times which made students mistake it for an attack," said Mbithi. "Most of them jumped out of their hostels thinking it was an al-Shabab attack."

Sharon Mutual, a student of the university, told the Reuters news agency: "Some students rushed through the doors, others jumped through the window from the fifth floor, others on the fourth floor. Most of them were unconscious after falling." 

Al-Shabab has killed more than 400 people on Kenyan soil in the past two years, including 67 during a siege at Nairobi's Westgate mall in 2013, damaging tourism and inward investment.

Kenya responded to the latest attack with air strikes on al-Shabab targets in Somalia and closure of informal financial firms suspected of involvement in the funding of the rebels.

It has also said the UN refugee agency should relocate hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees sheltering in the Dadaab camp in the remote northeastern region.

Kenya's ultimatum: Does it punish Somali refugees?

aljazeera.com

Kenya's government demands UN close Dadaab refugee camp in the wake of Garissa University College killings. Kenya has responded to an attack by Somalia's al-Shabab fighters that killed 148 people with an ultimatum to the United Nations.

It is calling on the UN to close its sprawling Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya and relocate 500,000 refugees to Somalia. Kenya accuses al-Shabab fighters of hiding in the camp and using it as a base for attacks, such as the assault on Garissa University College earlier this month.

Deputy President William Ruto says the UN has three months to make alternative arrangements - or Kenya would "relocate them ourselves". In a statement from his office, Ruto also said: "The way America changed after 9/11 is the way Kenya will change after Garissa".

And he added: "We must secure this country at whatever cost".

The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, responded by saying: "Kenya has an international obligation to protect the refugees and that includes no forceful repatriation to the country of origin". So is Kenya's stance a justified security response – or collective punishment?

 Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault

Guests:

Macharia Munene - author and professor of History and International Relations at the United States International University in Nairobi

Afyare Elmi - Somali affairs analyst and professor of International Affairs at Qatar University

Gerry Simpson - senior researcher and advocate of the refugee programme for Human Rights Watch

Against predictions, APC wins Plateau governorship seat

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The All Progressive Congress gubernatorial candidate for Plateau State, Simon Lalong, has been declared winner, having scored 564, 913 votes.

Declaring the results in the early hours of Monday, the returning officer for the governorship election, Emmanuel Kucha, who is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Agriculture Makurdi, said Mr. Lalong scored the highest number of votes cast in the Saturday election.

Plateau State has been a stronghold of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party since 1999. The party won in the state in the presidential election of March 28.

Mr. Lalong defeated the PDP candidate, Gyang Pwajok, a serving senator representing Plateau north in the National Assembly, who polled 520,627 votes.

The APC candidate won 11 out of the 17 council areas of the state.

Mr. Lalong defeated Mr. Pwajok in his home council area, Jos north, scoring 117,443 votes; while Mr. Pwajok’s kinsmen gave him 61,391 votes in Jos north.

Other council areas that gave the APC victory were Mikang local government, hometown of Mr. Pwajok’s Director General of Campaign Daniel Kumi, Bokkos, Mangu, Kanam, Jos east, Langtang north, Quanpan and Wase Local Government Area.

Mr. Pwajok also won in Barkinladi, Riyom, Bassa, Kanke Langtang south and Jos south, which is the council area of incumbent Governor Jonah Jang.

Following the announcement of the results, which gave opposition political party victory, security has been stepped up in most flashpoints within Jos metropolis.

The governorship and states House of Assembly elections in Plateau State claimed the life of a voter in Jos north council area, who allegedly attempted to create commotion at a polling unit, and was shot dead by a security agent.

Meanwhile, the elections were adjudged peaceful, however characterized by low turnout of votes, with a few cases of irregularities recorded in some polling units; particularly cases of over voting in most polling units, which APC agent refusing to sign results sheets from Riyom, Jos south and Bassa local government areas where the PDP was victorious.

Okorocha says Imo supplementary election unnecessary; claims victory

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The governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has faulted the independent Electoral Commission for declaring the state gubernatorial election inconclusive and announcing supplementary elections in some wards across the state.

Mr. Okorocha, who spoke to journalists at the Government House in Imo State early Monday, said the supplementary election would have been unnecessary if INEC had considered the number of Permanent Voters Card distributed in the affected areas instead of the number of registered voters.

The INEC Returning Officer of the State, Ibidapo Obe, announced that the election was inconclusive because the margin (79,529) between the frontrunner, Mr. Okorocha and his contender, Emeka Ihedioha of Peoples Democratic Party, was less than the number of registered voters (144,715) in wards across the state where elections did not hold or were cancelled due to violence.

He said a new date would be announced for a supplementary election.

Though Mr. Okorocha recognised the provision of the electoral law in respect of the number of registered voters, he said INEC should have considered distribution of PVC in the affected areas instead of registered voters as only voters with PVC can vote.

“The electoral act has talked about registered voters and in the workings of that act and in the spirit of the law, you cannot not make use of number of registered voters, you have to make use of number of PVC collected.

“When you look at the number of PVC collected you find out that there is no need for this supplementary election because the number of PVC collected will be less than the 79,000 votes difference between me and the PDP candidate. But now they are basing on the number of registered voters. Number of registered voters do not cast the vote; it is the number of PVC collected that does,” he explained.

He, however, said he was ready to participate in the supplementary election and in fact went ahead to claim victory in the election.

“You can only change the date of a burial but you cannot change the burial. From the results available, the fact speaks for itself, we have won this election despite all the irregularities,” Mr. Okorocha with a contented smile.

Beaming with confidence, Mr. Okorocha said he was in fact ready for the total re-run of the election if INEC deemed it necessary and guaranteed that it would be conducted fairly. He insisted that his contender cannot defeat him in a free and fair election.

“Let me say that there is no basis for comparison when I’m told that I’m in contest with the PDP candidate and he scored some votes it is not true. I think I’m in contest with more unseen elements than the candidate himself. If this election is conducted in the way it should be conducted in a free and fair manner, my opponent would have up to 100,000 votes. Never. Not in Imo State; not at all,” he boasted.

Mr. Okorocha said he would have won the election with a landslide if his contender, abetted by men in security uniform, had not perpetrated widespread electoral fraud.

“If you look at what has happened in his areas of jurisdiction and his local government, Mbaise local government, Ahiazu, Ezinnite, Aboh Mbaise, where he gave himself almost 80,000 votes. Can you imagine in Aboh Mbaise, you have 51,000 voters when the actual PVC collected is about 60,000 and in Mbaitoli where you have over 100,000 PVC collected the total votes there is about 30,000 so that tells you the manipulation. What we saw in those areas was simply the militarisation of the entire process – snatching of ballot boxes and violence and what have you.

“But because of these manipulations and writing of results and taking result sheets and going to somebody’s house – escorted by security agencies- to write the result and come in the private car to INEC headquarters, that is why many people think there is a contest. So I’m not in contest with that gentle man, I’m in contest with the entire manipulation of the system and the election,” he said.