INEC: Mahmood Yakubu To Handover To Acting Chairman On November 9

The outgoing Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, will on Monday hand over to an acting Chairman who will pilot the affairs of the commission till the Senate confirms his re-nomination or otherwise.

While President Muhammadu Buhari has re-nominated Yakubu and sent his name to the Senate for confirmation, his first tenure expires on Monday November 9.

He is expected to hand over to one of the National Commissioners, among those whose tenure has not expired.

Five other commissioners have served two terms and are not eligible for re-nomination or appointment.

The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Rotimi Lawrence Oyekanmi, confirmed the development.

“The Hon Chairman’s (Yakubu) handing over ceremony to be held on Monday 9th November 2020 at the Conference Hall, INEC Headquarters,” Oyekanmi said.

Decision on bye-elections 

Meanwhile, the commission said that it will meet with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on Thursday, 12th November 2020 to decide on a date for the conduct of the 15 by-elections.

National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Festus Okoye, said this Thursday night after the management meeting of the commission.

He recalled that the commission met on 22 October with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) to deliberate on the 15 outstanding bye-elections in 11 states of the Federation earlier scheduled for 31st October 2020.

According to him, due to the security situation in the country at the time, the commission decided to suspend the bye-elections and meet in two weeks to review its decision.

“The commission suffered extensive damage to and vandalism of its local government offices and facilities, including the areas where the bye-elections are scheduled to hold.

“It is important to consult all the critical stakeholders in the electoral process before deciding on a definite date for the conduct of the bye-elections,” Okoye said.

He said that the commission would consult with political parties and civil society organisations on Tuesday 10 November 2020 and then with the media and Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) on Wednesday 11 November 2020.

He said: “The commission will thereafter meet again with the RECs on Thursday, 12 November 2020 to decide on a date for the conduct of the bye-elections.”

The postponed 15 bye-elections in 11 states, earlier slated for October 31, were postponed over the #endsars Nationwide protests.

The affected districts and constituencies are Bayelsa Central Senatorial District, Bayelsa West Senatorial District; Nganzai State Constituency, Borno State; Bayo State Constituency, Borno State; Cross River North Senatorial District; and Obudu State Constituency, Cross River State.

Others are; Imo North Senatorial District; Lagos East Senatorial District; Kosofe II State Constituency, Lagos State; Plateau South Senatorial District; Bakura State Constituency, Zamfara State; Ibaji State Constituency, Kogi State; Isi-Uzo State Constituency, Enugu State and Bakori State Constituency, Katsina State.

#vanguard

Donald Trump Junior Calls For 'Total War' Over Presidential Election 

Donald Trump Jr. on Thursday fired off a tweet calling for his dad to wage “total war over the election” — while parroting the same allegations of voter fraud that his father has used to explain away his dwindling hopes of staying in the White House.

Twitter quickly hid the message from view for spreading false information about the election.

Trump Jr., who has a long history of using Twitter to fuel conspiracy theories, hit the send button amid a flurry of lawsuits filed by his father’s campaign to turn the election — including one in Pennsylvania that sought to stop vote counting.

“The best thing for America’s future is for @realDonaldTrump to go to total war over this election to expose all of the fraud, cheating, dead/no longer in state voters, that has been going on for far too long,” Trump Jr. wrote, repeating several conspiracy theories about the election and seemingly calling for Americans to go to war with one another.



“It’s time to clean up this mess & stop looking like a banana republic!” he added.

Twitter flagged the tweet minutes after it was posted for violating its “Civic integrity policy.”

A number of key battleground states have not been called since the 2020 presidential election wrapped Tuesday night, including Pennsylvania and Georgia, which Trump needs to carry to get to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.

His campaign has filed a number of lawsuits in both states, including one in Chatham County Georgia, which was tossed by a judge Thursday.

#nairaland #uselection

CBN: Rising Debt Servicing Cost Can Impede Growth 

The Central Bank of Nigeria has expressed concern over the rising cost of debt service being incurred by the Federal Government.

The CBN, in its half-year 2020 economic report, said the trajectory of Federal Government’s debt further constrained fiscal policy during the period, as interest payment obligations amounted to N1.15tn in the first half of 2020.

“This suggested that, despite the subsisting revenue challenge, which was exacerbated by COVID-19, the larger proportion of FGN revenue was devoted to debt service,” it said.It said at 19.2 per cent, the debt-to-GDP ratio indicated a solvency position of the government.

“However, the rising cost of debt service underscores a precarious liquidity position that could impair the government’s fiscal space, as well as its growth objectives,” the central bank said.

It said total public debt outstanding was driven by rising fiscal deficits and associated borrowings, induced by low revenue inflow in the face of relatively high expenditure.

It noted that total public debt, constituting both the federal and state governments’ external and domestic debt, in the first half of 2020, stood at N31.01tn or 22.3 per cent of GDP, a sizeable increase of 20.6 per cent over its level at the end of June 2019.

The CBN said the increase was attributed to the receipt of budget support loan from the International Monetary Fund and new domestic borrowing to finance the revised 2020 Appropriation Act.

According to the report, the Federal Government owed 81.5 per cent of the total outstanding debt, while state governments accounted for the balance of 18.5 per cent.

“Regardless, given that the FGN guarantees external borrowing by states in line with section 47 (3) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, the latter’s share of external debt (13.5 per cent of total external debt) was a contingent liability to the FGN,” it said.

The CBN said in the first half of 2020, domestic debt comprised 57.6 per cent of the total, while external debt accounted for the balance of 42.4 per cent.

#nairaland

Sanwo-Olu: I Haven’t Bought An Official Car So I Can Reduce Cost Of Governance 

Armed with the belief that the cost of governance can be reduced if frivolities are cut, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has revealed that neither he nor anyone in his cabinet had purchase personal or official vehicles with taxpayers’ money since they assumed office.

He made this revelation on Thursday, in his address at the 22nd Annual Tax Conference, on the theme ‘Taxation and Economic Competitiveness: Imperatives for National Development’.

While harping on the need to reduce the cost of governance, Sanwo-Olu said: “We need to look at the expenditure of our state.

“As the Chief Executive of our state, I ask myself where can I cut the excesses from?

“What can I do away with in order to increase the revenue of our state, and make available a lot of money for my state for them to do well?”
Sawo-Olu added: “So what have I done, and this is the first time I will be saying this publicly, I have not purchased a single official vehicle for myself or any of my direct staff, or any of my family members since I became the governor.

“So if you see me have a convoy of 10 vehicles, what you are seeing are all vehicles that I have been using since my campaign time.
“And because we are in Lagos, being your governor, I have also been opportuned to receive two or three brand new cars from very highly-spirited Lagosians.

“So I said to my people that it is not a practical thing that any governor would want to begin to buy brand new vehicles when you don’t need too.

“So because of this decision, millions are brought back into the pocket, and it simply means we can develop the state very well.
“So this is just one of several things in Lagos State that we have committed to, just to reduce cost of governance and improve on the development of our state,” Sanwo-Olu added

#nairaland

4 Ways Joe Biden As United States President Will Affect Nigeria 

The US presidential election is as tight as tight can be, and though there's no ruling out the hope that a miracle could occur that would give President Trump the win, it is clear that Joe Biden, the Democrat candidate, will win the elections and become the new president of the US.
Without further ado let's begin.

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1) Nigerian Immigrants to the United States.
When Donald Trump was in office, he was famous for his love for anti-immigration. His major campaign promise in 2016 was to build a wall along the border between the United States and Mexico. He was even quoted once as using racist words against African countries (something President Buhari should have addressed when he visited Donald Trump in the White House), calling them sh*thole. With Joe Biden, I guess we will see a more relaxed policy on immigration. Maybe Nigerians would get visa on arrival to the US! (Just kidding).

2) I really don't know how Joe Biden plans to aid Africa like China is doing right now. China has contributed billions to the development of Africa (and Nigeria) with loans and grants, and it pales in comparison to what America has been giving. Joe has not been clear on his stance there.

3) Joe Biden's policies on the economy might be described as a little bit socialistic in nature. In fact, an analysis (and I think they got it wrong) shows that his policies will increase the US national debt by at least $5.6 trillion, when it stands at $20 trillion at the moment. Joe will increases taxes in the US in order to generate income, but he also advocates massive federal spending because of the coronavirus pandemic, to aid SMEs. How would this affect Nigeria? Simple! I foresee a dollar collapse due to his policies (I don't have the time to explain deeply), and it would affect the Nigerian economy in a negative way.

4) Joe plans to expand on his former boss, Barack Obama's policies like Obamacare. Maybe that means he would also expand on Obama's Africa policies too, like Power For Africa. Maybe he can rescue Power For Africa from the failure that it became.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I know that whatever happens in the United States will one way or another, affect every country in the world, so I couldn't help wonder how a Biden presidency would affect Nigeria. Although Joe Biden has never been president before, he has held the Vice Presidential office during the tenure of former President Barack Obama. Maybe the policies of his former boss would give us a clue to what he would have in store for Africa in general, and Nigeria in particular.

#uselection

Donald Trump's Supporters Pray & Speak In Tongues At Clark County

President Trump's supporters kneel to pray outside the Clark County Election Department in Nevada as votes continue to be tallied nationwide.

One of the supporter was seen speaking in tongues.

#uselection

Watch The Video Below:

US Election: Joe Bidden Takes 917 Votes Lead In Georgia 

Georgia election results: Biden takes lead in count for crucial state for first time with nearly all ballots counted
State has not turned blue since 1992, but would be enough to give Biden the presidency if he can also hold onto Arizona

Joe Biden has taken a dramatic late lead in the vote count for Georgia, having trailed president Donald Trump in the crucial swing state since polls closed on election day. 

CNN and MSNBC reported that Mr Biden went ahead by a margin of 917 votes at 4.30am local time

Georgia would provide enough electoral college votes to take the Democrat above the crucial threshold of 270, if he can hold onto his lead in Arizona. Arizona was declared for Mr Biden early on by several networks, but is now being watched closely.

Election officials say more than 99 per cent of the vote has now been counted in Georgia, with both candidates on about 49.4 per cent of the nearly 5 million votes cast in the state.



Mr Trump won Georgia by a sizeable 5 points in 2016, taking 51 per cent to Hillary Clinton’s 46 per cent.

Georgia has been reliably Republican since 1972, except when a southern Democrat was on the ticket – Georgians sided with native son Jimmy Carter in 1976 and 1980 and Bill Clinton in 1992.

#uselection

Six States Results To Decide US Presidential Poll Winner

As the counting of the ballots entered the second day on Thursday, anxiety and tension have heightened in the United States as results from six states held up the emergence of the election winner .

As of Thursday night, results from Arizona ( 11 votes), Nevada ( 6 votes) , Georgia ( 16 votes) , Pennsylvania ( 20 votes) Wisconsin ( 10 votes) and Michigan ( 16 votes) were being awaited .
While Biden has scored 253 points, President Donald Trump is trailing behind with 213 points. The winner has to score 270 points in the Electoral College system to emerge president.

If Biden gets Nevada , Arizona and Wisconsin in addition to Michigan , he gets his 270 votes.
Trump , however , will need Pennsylvania ’ s votes and win three states out of Georgia , North Carolina , Nevada or Arizona .

The Trump campaign has attacked the integrity of the voting process with lawsuits in three key states of Pennsylvania , Michigan and Georgia where the race has not been called and votes are still being counted .

Election officials had cautioned that the winner of the presidential election might be unknown days after the election is over.

Rules in some states don ’t allow election workers to begin the labour-intensive work of processing mail -in ballots until Election Day . And with a record number of voters casting their ballots by mail, the influx could delay final tallies for days.

On the allegations by the Trump campaign team , election law experts and state election officials had overwhelmingly said there had been no sign of widespread or even sporadic voter fraud.

They said counting votes just took more time than in past years because the coronavirus pandemic had changed the way people go about it .

But the Trump campaign said the lawsuits were necessary.
Meanwhile , Biden ’s campaign attorney, Bob Bauer, said the suits had no merit and were meant to spread a false narrative about the electoral process.

He said it’ s more about “ Trump ’ s own effort to discredit the election . ”
Trump campaign loses legal fights in Georgia, Michigan
President Donald Trump ’s campaign lost court rulings in the closely-contested states of Georgia and Michigan on Thursday, even as it vowed to bring a new lawsuit challenging what it called voting irregularities in Nevada.

In the Georgia case, the campaign alleged 53 late -arriving ballots were mixed with on- time ballots.

In Michigan , it sought to stop votes from being counted and obtain greater access to the tabulation process.
State judges tossed out both the suits on Thursday.
Judge James Bass, a superior court judge in Georgia, said there was “ no evidence ” that the ballots in question were invalid .

In the Michigan case, Judge Cynthia Stephens said : “ I have no basis to find that there is a substantial likelihood of success on the merits .”

Trump allies alleged that there had been voting irregularities in Nevada’ s populous Clark County, which includes Las Vegas. A Trump campaign spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment by Reuters on the Michigan and Georgia rulings .

#punchng #uselection

Sunday James: Why Modupe Odele's Passport Was Seized 

The Nigeria Immigration Service says the passport of #endsars promoter, Modupe Odele aka Mochievous, was seized as part of a routine border assignment.

The Spokesman for the NIS, Mr. Sunday James, told The PUNCH on Thursday night that whenever a restriction has been placed on any individual, the immigration service is duty-bound to enforce it.

James said immigration did not seize Odele’s passport because of her #endsars activities but because it was enforcing a restriction order.

He said, “When there is a directive from any agency of government not specific, we have to enforce either entry or restriction of entry by anybody who has been directed not to be allowed exit or entry and as a matter of fact, we cannot as a border management agency, allow anybody who has been restricted from leaving the country to go out and we cannot allow anybody who has been restricted from entry to enter.

“So, it is a routine assignment and it has nothing to do with End SARS. We are the lead agency for the security management of the border. It has to do with the restriction order which we are duty-bound to enforce.”

#punchng

US Election: Police Find Vehicle With Guns As Men Plan To Attack Election Centre 

Two armed men are arrested for driving from Virginia to Philadelphia in a Hummer and 'planning to attack convention center' where ballots are still being counted

Trump, who held a 675,000-vote lead early Wednesday but by Friday morning there was just 22,000 votes separating the two candidates [/b]

Philadelphia police have arrested two men who were allegedly involved in a plot to attack the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Thursday night.

Police were tipped off, possibly from a concerned family member of one of the men, who had driven the 300 miles from Virginia in a Hummer.

It's thought the plan was to possibly carry out an attack at the convention center where votes from the election are still being counted.

Police have taken both men into custody during which point a weapon was found according to 6ABC.

Inside the Convention Center, workers have been tallying hundreds of thousands of votes cast by Philadelphia residents.

In Philadelphia, 358,644 absentee and mail-in ballots have been returned so far. 84 percent of those have been counted, and 58,642 more need to be counted.

Pennsylvania is among a handful of battleground states Trump and Biden are narrowly contesting as they seek the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. 

Trump, who held a 675,000-vote lead early Wednesday, prematurely declared victory in the state. 





'We're winning Pennsylvania by a tremendous amount. We're up 690,000 votes in Pennsylvania. These aren't even close. It's not like, 'Oh, it's close,' ' Trump said during an appearance at the White House.

But by early Friday morning his lead had slipped to about 22,000 votes, as mail-in ballots from across the state continued to be counted. The late counted ballots were overwhelmingly in Biden's favor. 

One reason for the tightening race: Under state law, elections officials are not allowed to process mail-in ballots until Election Day. It's a form of voting that has skewed heavily in Biden's favor after Trump spent months claiming - without proof - that voting by mail would lead to widespread voter fraud.

There's a possibility the race won't be decided for days. If there is less than a half percentage point difference between Biden and Trump's vote total, state law dictates that a recount must be held.

Democrats had long considered Pennsylvania a part of their 'blue wall' - a trifecta that also includes Wisconsin and Michigan - that for years had served as a bulwark in presidential elections. In 2016, Trump won each by less than a percentage point.

Biden, who was born in Scranton, claims favorite-son status in the state and has long played up the idea that he was Pennsylvania's 'third senator' during his decades representing neighboring Delaware.

#uselection

He's also campaigned extensively in the state from his home in Delaware.