Chacha Eke: "Years Of Abuse Will Make You Think You Are Crazy" - Victoria Inyama

Veteran Nollywood actress, Victoria Inyama does not believe that Chacha Eke did not suffer domestic violence in her marriage.

IgbereTV reported that Chacha Eke made a video yesterday, saying she has been diagnosed of Bipolar Disorder after examinations from psychiatrists, days after she came public with the crash of her seven-year marriage to her husband, Austin Faani. She said she never suffered domestic violence in her marriage, thereby refuting some people's insinuations that she suffered domestic abuse from her husband.

See video below.

Akerodolu Vs Jegede: Who Performed Better In The Ondo Governorship Debate? (Pix)

People's view on the ondo state channels TV governorship debate between Rotimi Akerodolu (APC) and Eyitayo Jegede (PDP) on channels TV website as at 7:26 am


#channelstv

EFCC To Increase Surveillance In Cross River

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said it was stepping up surveillance activity in Cross River state and therefore charged citizens to give information on corrupt practices that would help in holding people, particularly elected leaders, accountable.

The Director of the Commission, Uyo Zonal office, Edeh Akpa Uchenna, made the remarks at the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Press Centre, Calabar, during an interactive and awareness session with media practitioners in the state.


Uchenna, who led other senior officers of the zone to the media forum, explained that the zonal office in Uyo covers both Cross River and Akwa Ibom states but regretted that awareness of their proximity to citizens and residents in Cross River State had been minimal.

Harping on the evils of corruption, the EFCC Director said corruption has caused both an ordinary citizen in particular and the nation in general a lot in terms of denial of public amenities and benefits, and disclosed that the zonal office has, in the past few months, achieved over 18 convictions, covering various financial crimes.



He restated the importance of information from the public, adding, “We investigate and if the substance of fact of information so given is secure, the prosecution will be initiated. At the point where a case is charged to court, the charge sheet is a public document and at that point, the media may get involve to publicize proceedings”.

On the need for citizens to hold elected leaders accountable, Uchenna noted that “contracts for various projects are awarded year in and out but commensurate projects are not seen, yet people have information and they don’t report to EFCC nor rely on the federal government whistleblower policy.

“EFCC has been on the frontline in both the prevention and fight against corruption, but this does not mean we can do this alone without the collaborative effort of the media and other stakeholders, including the citizens.

“We must make anti-corruption fight work because our collective reputation is at stake. No nation attends prosperity and greatness when corruption has a stronghold on her citizens. This means that we must all make a deliberate decision to disentangle ourselves and Nigeria as a whole from the clawing grips of this hydra-headed monster called corruption and the impending doom called the economic and financial crime”.

He appealed to Journalists to give EFCC activities the needed publicity to also serve as a warning to fraudsters, and noted, “The media remains very crucial in this fight because it is the media that can drive the message and sensitization that is required to achieve prevention and also ensure that the old order of celebrating morally bankrupt individuals and known fraudsters is completely dislodged”.

#orientdailynews

Awka, Capital City Of Squalor


Awka of today, as a city and a people, is denigrated, despised, and dishonoured. This is an absurdity, when compared with Awka of three decades past and before; even when the town was a city-state. Awka, with a rich history of enterprise and industry, craftsmanship and statesmanship is, today, a shadow of its old self. The town is abased by powers that ought to uplift it, leaving it in ruins and a deep state of physical and environmental stupor, festering in opprobrious decay. Awka of the days gone by was well organised; its people well-respected, and the town ranked high among the leading urban cities of the old Eastern Region, as well as in the Igbo nation.

Ndi Awka once peregrinated even to the remotest parts of Nigeria’s littoral region and the Benin, Yoruba and Igala kingdoms, spreading their influence, power and authority, exporting its commerce and industry, fostering socio-cultural affinities across foreign lands. Unfortunately, they are, today, ineffably humiliated due to a meltdown arising from an apparent interplay of contemporary forces, meddlesomeness and attritional damage. Awka has been comatose for nearly thirty years, ridiculed and betrayed, by all the administrations that had superintended over it since 1991, when it became capital of Anambra state.


This sad situation has been foisted on Awka by narrow-minded, parochial and myopic leaders in control of the apparatus of state power who deliberately refused to see anything good about the city and have consciously left it bare, hollow, and undeveloped. While the indigenous population of the capital city wished for a Messiah, to take the capital out of the woods and shackles of physical backwardness, the so-called Awka Capital Development Authority (ACDA), now rechristened Awka Capital Territory Development Authority (ACTDA), was looked upon as the fulcrum for this purpose. Sadly, this organ of government is not only a mockery of good intentions, it is unequivocally a sham, façade, charade or whatever word one wishes to describe it. ACTDA, to our minds, is an unbridled rape on democracy, lacking the astuteness to deliver the goods. It would, therefore, not be misplaced to refer to it (ACTDA) as deceit of the highest order, intent to pull the wool over the eyes of Awka indigenes and well-meaning Anambra citizens.

Presently, the capital city is devoid of notable infrastructure. The few bitumen-paved roads, put together in the days of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), are in a horrible state of disrepair. Wherever one goes within the city, the earth roads are dilapidated and impassable. The entire city is ravaged by floods, especially during the wet season when the two major arterial roads, the Nnamdi Azikiwe and Arthur Eze Avenues, become mere flood channels, more or less. The same is true of the entire inland town. It is usually a sorry sight to behold, as the deluge of flood and the loads of shifting sands and rubbish they carry, are nauseatingly emptied on the roads; silting the drains and leaving the entire place in a horrendous state of filth and dirt. Many have had to lose their lives and properties in the floods, just as homes have been sacked, and the people rendered homeless.



In like manner, the cacophonous state of Awka’s main market (the Eke Awka) deserves a mention here. The market is an embarrassment to the ethics of good urban planning and organisation, a gross abuse of the sensibilities of decent people. The place is squalid and an eyesore, to say the least. Housing a conglomeration of sellers and buyers, bottled together in a suffocating chamber of perilous structures, poorly planned, and very poorly laid out, the place is a similitude of an apparently dormant volcano, waiting to erupt.

During rush hours or peak periods, it could be daunting, if not disgusting to enter or leave the market. At such times, especially in the evenings, the vicinities of the marketplace are usually turned into a staccato of activities. Hawkers and small-time traders who, in a last-ditch effort to make sales for the day, take up almost every available space on the main thoroughfares of Zik and Arthur Eze Avenues, around the roundabout, the intersection of both roads, spanning tens of metres down both roads, and causing a terrific traffic bottleneck. Both roads, thus, become so constricted that vehicles and other road users, even including pedestrians, have to endure to disentangle themselves from the gridlock. This debilitating situation is even more so on weekends – on Saturdays, in particular; not even less so, on Sunday mornings.

Much more nauseating is the activity of all kinds and manner of governmental and nongovernmental apparatchiks, some to control traffic and quite a number of others, to enforce the orders prohibiting street trading. However, as is their wont, members of these agencies harass and intimidate, and extort money from desperate hawkers, coercing them into submission. They, no sooner after collecting monies, ‘look the other way’, allowing defaulters to infringe on the rules and carry on their businesses unfettered. As far as the matter pertains to Eke Awka, the government of the day is henpecked, as it were. It is incontrovertible that the touts, the agents, and the apparatchiks are the foot soldiers of, or fronts for people in high places, mandated to collect market stall and ground fees and rates and levies, all in the name of internally generated revenue. However, it is also unequivocal that those monies find their ways into private pockets. It is, therefore, doubtful how much of these monies ‘enter’ government coffers.

Finally, we think that it is time that the government came out of its shadows of deceit, to attend to the problems that, daily, stare it in the face, insofar as the Awka capital city is concerned. It would also be necessary for it to rejig and sanitise its revenue collecting mechanism, for the optimal good of the state.

The Anambra state government should wake up to its responsibilities. A stitch in time, they say, saves nine.

P. Hezekiah Dike is of the Awka Elders Consultative Forum and writes from Awka.

#orientdailynews

Anambra Guber: APC Don’t Need Violence To Wrest Power From APGA – Muoghalu


A chieftain of All Progressives Congress (APC) and managing director, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Dr. George Muoghalu, has appealed to party faithful to eschew violence in their quest to ensure victory for the party in the 2021 governorship election in Anambra state.

Muoghalu stressed the need for them to be resolute in their sensitisation and mobilisation exercise.


Speaking during inauguration of coalition of youths and women support groups for the realisation of his gubernatorial aspiration, Muoghalu insisted that the party did not need to deploy violence to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). “Although we seek victory, we must go about it in a peaceful manner. We must try to avoid any act of violence; but we must be resolute in our bid to regain the state from APGA,” he added.




George Muoghalu governorship campaign vehicle
Muoghalu expressed gratitude to the leaders of the various groups, said to be from all over Anambra state, for their show of love towards him.

Chairman at the occasion, Chief Okey Chidiogo, said the interest of the youths remained one of the major reasons Muoghalu was offering himself to serve the state as governor.

He urged the youths to support Muoghalu, describing him as an experienced leader and administrator who would not undermine their interests or mortgage their collective future and that of the state, adding that “Anambra state needs a governor who will protect the interests of the youths on issues such as marginalisation and unemployment.”

#orientdailynews

Enthusiasm As Anambra Goes For Another LFCs, FA Board Elections



On Oct. 29, stakeholders in the Anambra State Football Association (FA) will make a second attempt at elections that could mark a watershed in the history of the association in the space of three months.

The elections which will be supervised by the Caretaker Committee set up on Aug. 3 by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) to bridge the leadership gap created by the Ifeanyi Ubah-led board which expired on the same date after statutory four years and three months of extension.

The electoral committee, initially headed by Jude Anayadufu, had conducted a virtual Local Football Councils (LFC) and state FA Board elections, which going by the silence of NFF on it and subsequent constitution of a Caretaker Committee looks jinxed.


It will be recalled that the election process which started on June 1, was suspended on July 25, by Anambra Government on the grounds that it violated the COVID-19 laws and protocols extant in the state at that time.

The committee, however held the elections via virtual means but the NFF was silent on it and its outcome. But instead, it set up a caretaker committee originally led by Emeka Okeke to hold sway for three months and organise elections following the expiration of Ubah-led board.

Okeke resigned his position two months into the tenure of the committee after a brilliant stint following which the Vice-Chairman, Victor Nwangwu, a long time secretary of the FA and veteran administrator took over as chairman of thee committee.

Following the resignation of Anayadufu, Rev. Fr Obinna Dike, a sports technocrat, who was the vice-chairman of the Electoral Committee was unanimously elected by members to assume the position of chairman.

After series of consultations between the caretaker committee and electoral committee, an official timetable for the elections was made public on Oct. 2, after the caretaker committee released a guidelines for the election on Oct. 1.

According to the guidelines signed by Nwangwu, chairman of the caretaker committee, the election will start with fresh electoral guidelines and participants in the 2019 Gov. Willie Obiano Community Shield will make up the list of LFCs delegates.

It says sale of nomination forms should be open for more stakeholders and the election process duration be abridged for the constraint of time and that all the elections must be held on or before Nov. 1.

“The electoral committee has the authority of the caretaker committee to the electoral process immediately,” it said.


Rev. Fr.Coach Obinna Dike
The Dike-led committee subsequently announced that sale and return of nomination forms will run from Oct. 2 to Oct. 12, and the list of nominees will be published on Oct. 13, while screening of nominees for LFCs will be done on Oct. 15 and Oct. 16 at Bishop Obiefuna Retreat Centre, Awka.

The nominees for the FA board election will be screened on Oct. 17 and the list of all successful candidates for the elections will be published on Oct. 19, while appeals and hearings if any will be entertained between Oct. 19 and Oct. 24.

According to the programme, all things being equal, elections and swearing-in ceremonies into LFCs and FA board are expected to hold on Oct. 29 and Oct. 30 respectively at the Bishop Obiefuna Retreat Centre, Awka at 9 a.m. each day.

With the timetable out, speculations on the possible renewal of the caretaker mandate for another three months or setting up of a normalisation committee has been put to rest, therefore every stakeholder should join the process or be shut out.

Speaking on the coming elections, the electoral committee chairman says the new process is not in any way a carryover of the previous process or connected to it in terms of nomination forms and delegates lists.



He says anybody who wished to be part of the election, including those who participated in the immediate past one should purchase new nomination form to be eligible to participate.

He noted that all who participated in the 2019 Obiano Community Shield should form part of those who would elect the 3-man LFC executives from where the chairmen that would form delegates of the board election would emerge.

Dike said activities had shifted to the councils already as more people had become interested in the process, while assuring that his committee would organise an open, all inclusive and transparent elections.

Mike Umeh, a former chairman of the FA board in his contribution called on stakeholders in the process to play by the rules as the state could not afford to get it wrong the second time.

Umeh, who was a former Vice-President of NFF, said there was much to do in terms of repositioning football in Anambra and warned against actions that would subvert the wish of the Anambra football community.

“I hope it will be an open contest, people should play by the rules and I call on the electoral committee to insist on doing the right thing.

“Many things have gone wrong in Anambra football, we have no facilities, no clubs because government is not interested, so, we need a new lease of life.

“I am confident that those involved, including Nwangwu will do a good job, though I am not on ground to assess the electoral committee; I am sure that they will give Anambra football community an election that will reflect the minds of the people,” he said.

On his part, Odi Ikpeazu, a veteran football administrator, said the explicit nature of election guidelines and precision of the timetable table issued by the electoral committee was an indication that it was willing to conduct a transparent election.

Ikpeazu said the caretaker committee had succeeded in awakening the consciousness of the people and set a standard for football administration in Anambra which the next set LFCs and board should uphold.

He said though activities are not as boisterous as during festivals, the build up to election in the council is at high pitch because those who should be involved were working to achieve an expected outcome.

“Activities are going on, people who should be part of it have demonstrated enough interest and they are working ahead of the election, this is unlike before.

“I hope it will be free, fair and civil, all we need is a leadership that will do things the right way. Anybody can win even the former people can come provided they can sustain the current tempo, for me, I am not running for anything,” he said.

With the level of interests so far shown by football enthusiasts from within and outside the state, the Oct. 29 and Oct. 30 election will go down as one of the most participatory FA elections in Anambra apart from the botched Aug. 2 elections.

This is a departure from the past when a strong clique used to nominate themselves, share forms to themselves and elect themselves before the clash of interest that opened the way to Ubah in 2016.

Opinion molders are of the view that the primary interest of those going into the election should not be limited to producing a preferred chairman but dismantling the cabal that have dominated the FA for a long time.

They want those eligible to participate and ensure that all sections of the game, including club owners, players union, the media, national league and referees are fairly represented at all level in order to check undue dominance of any particular group. (NAN)

#orientdailynews

EFCC Convicts 18 Scammers In C’River, A’Ibom In 2 Months


The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Uyo Zonal office, says it convicted 18 Cybercrime suspects in the last two months.

Mr Uchenna Edeh, the head of the zone comprising Akwa Ibom and Cross River, said this on Wednesday in Calabar during a media interaction.

“I resumed on Aug.10, just about two months ago. As I speak, we have investigated various Cybercrime cases.


“We have also convicted 18 offenders and seized exotic cars from them,” he said.

He also said that a chief executive officer of a company in Uyo (names withheld) was in the EFCC custody and that he would be charged to court after the commission must have concluded its investigations.

The zonal head added that there were some high profile cases under investigation from Cross River.

He said that the commission was in Calabar to seek partnership with the media.



The media would sensitise the public to take advantage of the EFCC to check fraudulent activities by highly placed public officers and cyber criminals, he said.

According to him, the commission can achieve little or nothing without collaborating with the media.

“EFCC cannot fight crime alone without an active collaboration with the media. How successful we are depends on the publicity given to our activities by the media.

“We have come to terms with the fact that the actual people to fight fraud is the media because they are the watchdog of the society.

“So, being the watchdog, the media has a pivotal role in partnering the EFCC. That is why we feel there is the need for continuous interaction with the media,” he said.

Edeh advised journalists and other Cross River citizens to approach the commission whenever they have evidence of financial impropriety against public officers in the state.

He said that the commission would do thorough investigations of such cases and all that is needed to secure conviction of such individuals. (NAN)

#orientdailynews

Anambra 2021: Group Endorses Ekwunife For Governor



A socio-political group, Authentic Anambra South Stakeholders and Leaders Forum, has given Sen. Uche Ekwunife of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) its endorsement to run in the 2021 gubernatorial election in Anambra.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the endorsement was announced at a meeting of the group in Nnewi on Wednesday.
Ekwunife had on June 18, declared her intention to run for the governorship position of Anambra in 2021.


Anambra will in November 2021 be going to the polls to elect a successor to Gov. Willie Obiano who was sworn in for second term in 2017.
Mr Ejike Nwosu, one of the Conveners of the Group, said the meeting was to critically discuss the stakeholders’ choice of the best of the aspirants to endorse.



“The forum will back a PDP aspirant who has the strength, connectivity, means and programmes to win the election for the party so that the current wave of PDP victories sweeping across Nigeria will not elude Anambra.
“We are unanimously endorsing Sen. Uche Ekwunife in her aspiration to win the primary of PDP, and also win the governorship election in 2021,” he said.




Another leader of the group and PDP Chieftain, Chief Azuka Okeke, said that the zoning favoured Ekwunife more than anyone else in the party.
“Sen. Ekwunife has the rights, both constitutional and affiliates, as a true daughter of Igboukwu in Aguata Local Government Area, to contest for the next governor of Anambra state,” he said.

In his address, the Convener of Old Aguata Peoples Parliament, Dr Kenneth Anozie, said that it was time for PDP to take over Anambra.
He also said that Ekwunife possessed the needed credentials and the winnable attributes to represent the party.
Anozie commended other PDP aspirants for their bold steps and contributions in building and making PDP a formidable party in the state.
“The build up toward 2023 is taking shape and Anambra will not lose out in the equation for the next political era.


“We believe that Ekwunife is a credible aspirant and team player who will positively transform the state to a very enviable height,” Anozie said.
Also speaking, Mrs Bridget Obi, a woman leader from Ihiala LGA and former Commissioner for Women Affairs, said that Ekwunife had all it takes to totally transform Anambra state.


According to her, Ekwunife is a home breed and thus deeply understands the very peculiar circumstances and needs of the state.
Another Woman leader from Orumba North LGA, Dr Rose Nwankwo, commended Ekwunife for the empowerment schemes and employment opportunities for the youth of the state, irrespective of their places of origin.

“Ekwunife is a well known and successful political player with great and excellent qualities required for our party to win in the next election,” she said.
Prayers were said in support of Sen. Ekwunife’s aspiration. (NAN)

#orientdailynews

Senate Passes 2021-2023 MTEF/FSP Documents


The Senate on Wednesday passed the 2021-2023 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) for the fiscal years.
The passage followed the adoption of the recommendations of the report of its joint committees on National Planning and Finance, on the 2021-2023 MTEF and FSP documents.


The documents were submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Senate for consideration on July 21.
Chairman of the joint Committee, Sen. Solomon Adeola (APC-Lagos), while presenting its recommendations said there was need for the National Assembly to ensure effective collaboration with the executive to ensure effective implementation of the MTEF and FSP.


Following the presentations and contributions by some senators on need to cut cost of governance, reduce borrowing, reduce waste and shore up government revenue, Senate approved the 20-point recommendations of the committee.
One of the recommendations was that the Federal Government retained revenue of N7.89 trillion of the total proposed expenditure of N13.08 trillion in the 2021-2023 MTEF/FSP.



The Senate also approved the fiscal deficit of N5.19 trillion and borrowings of N4.28 trillion, including foreign and domestic borrowings.
Others are statutory transfers, totalling, N484.4 billion, debt service estimate of N3.12 trillion, while sinking fund to the tune of N220 billion was also approved.


It also approved pension, gratuities and retirees benefits of N520.6 billion and Federal Government aggregate expenditure of N13.08 trillion.
The expenditure is made up of total recurrent (Non-debt) of N5.66 trillion; Personnel Costs of Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of N3.05 trillion.




It includes capital expenditure (exclusive of Transfers) of N3.58 trillion, Special Intervention (recurrent) amounting to N350 billion and special intervention (capital) of N20billion.
The Senate also approved daily crude oil production of 1.86mbpd for 2021; 2.09mbpd for 2022; and 2.38mbpd for 2023.


This it said was to ensure greater budget realism and disruptions due to attacks, sabotage in the Niger-Delta which had substantially abated for a while.
The Senate also approved that the benchmark oil price of 40 dollars per barrel should remain because of the clear evidence of wide consultations with key stakeholders.


It also approved the exchange rate of N379 dollars proposed by the executive for the 2021-2023.
This it said was based on the determination of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pursue unification around its rate over the medium term, where investors and exporters transact dollars at market determined prices.
It also approved the projected Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 3.00 per cent, given the Federal Government’s response via fiscal policies adapted to contain the damage of COVID-19, including the N500 billion stimulus fund.


It also approved the projected Inflation rate of 11.95 per cent among other recommendations.
President of the Senate Ahmad Lawan, in his remarks, said that the Senate Committees via its oversight must ensure that revenue generating agencies meet their targets of revenue to the federation account.
“When it comes to revenue generation and remittances, we need to work so hard to meet our expectations especially for funding of development projects in the budget.


“Now that so many more agencies of government have been added, there is need for our committee on finance to closely monitor the revenue meeting of targets for these agencies.
“We should explore other options of funding the budget and minimise borrowing but we cannot eliminate borrowing totally.”(NAN).

#orientdailynews

Communication Takeaways From Edo Elections


The recent gubernatorial election in Edo State which Governor Godwin Obaseki won convincingly over his rival, despite running on a new party platform that he joined only a few months earlier, gives a glimpse on how interactions around politics create deep favours or intense dislike for key political personalities in Nigeria.

Human activities of significance provide insights to confirm existing norms, indicate new ones as they appear, and above all yield pointers to managing future similar or related activities. The recent gubernatorial election shows communicative characteristics. This article explores some of the communicative expressions and offers comments. It is a glimpse into how the interactions of the gubernatorial candidates and their political parties with the electorate and public in general might have shaped the final outcomes.


An important point about the turbulent campaigns and rallies in Edo State is that voters’ interest did not increase despite the strong characters of the candidates and the high stakes. Obaseki scored 307,955 votes, which are slightly lower than 319,483 votes that he garnered in 2016 when he ran for his first term. His opponent, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, received 223,619 votes this time, also lower compared to his 253,173 votes of 2016 when he was also the chief opponent to Obaseki.

It is indeed surprising that what appeared as serious mobilization around the elections did not create high enthusiasm for voters’ turn out. Why?

The results of the state elections, won handily by Obaseki despite running within a new party, pointed to the strong likelihood that voters’ decision was based on personalities and not allegiance to political parties. Obaseki on one side versus Ize Iyamu, tightly supported by former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole on the other side, were the key characters. The last two formed a union that failed to convince voters. Obaseki was ajudged the better choice. The decision confounded those who had relied on Oshiomhole’s apparent popularity, based largely on his major victory for his second term as Edo governor in 2012.

Election campaigns present an opportunity to throw missiles of all types at opponents. The two major political parties and others were responsible for the brickbats of accusations, allegations, and blames that featured in audio and video messages of all types. One of the videos showed a candidate as homosexual and therefore undeserving of being Governor of Edo State. The video did not explain how it knew the sexual orientation of the candidate, nor how being homosexual would affect his performance. It was a just-use-anything attempt to bring an opponent down.

The time is past when established media organizations exclusively report on election campaigns, votes and results. No matter the rules that guide news and media organizations, they do not apply to most of the popular and citizen media. Everyone who has a telephone or any communication device uses them to record and disseminate information. There were any number of reports, purported news and information on the elections. The public and audience had to struggle to sift wrong from right information, often an impossible task.

Popularity of video and audio recordings by individuals and groups has greatly increased the availability of raw information materials on the present and the past. Gone are the days when valuable footage of important events and actions are kept in institutions or organized locations. When a leading public figure makes a claim, just about anyone could do a Google search, for example, and dig into several archival materials available through social network services online to provide verification.



It is still possible that politicians can manipulate or influence the media by force, using money, position or their power of coercion. In this manner, adversarial information or news may be prevented from spreading or being known to the public. Wrong. It is no longer easy to stop unfavorable information or news. Information of all types can be generated and spread by anybody using social media and online network services.

The major traditional media do occupy some pride of place and can be very influential in formation of public opinion. But they no longer stand alone and can sometimes be less powerful in shaping public agenda than the small media or social network services. Increasingly, the separation of media platforms is becoming less distinct. Most of the large established media organizations use social media as much as they use information that may originate from social network services.

A politician facing an election in the future, or one who does want to maintain great influence in his or her community should keep in mind that staying on the correct path in public and private is sound advice. If something should not be known, then it is much better that it does not happen. Once it happens, be prepared to explain, or face the consequences and accept the blame.

Politicians often use attendance at their campaign rallies as a gauge of support that the public accord them. In the new sophisticated environment, opinion polling is another measure of what people do and how they will vote. Opinion polls also inform politicians on how to orient their audiences and steer people to support an agenda. However, heavy turn-out at political rallies have become a very uncertain gauge of support as many people turn up at events for many reasons including to collect gifts, monies, or in expectation of material assets. At times the turn-out is just another social outing in communities where nothing much happens.

Opinion polls are useful though not necessarily effective sources of information. Hilary Clinton led in most results of opinion polls in 2016 and she lost the election, although she won the majority votes. That was not sufficient to get her access to the White House. A serious search for reliable means of measuring political support and voters’ interest is still wide open.

The total number of voters in Edo State during 2020 gubernatorial elections is 537,407 out of about 2.2 million registered voters. In 2016, a higher number of voters – 613,244, was recorded out of about 1.9 million registered voters. The 2012 gubernatorial election of Oshiomhole versus Mr. Solomon Airhiarvbere recorded still higher number of 630,099 voters out of about 1.5 million registered voters. The significant reduction in voting in Edo State over the past 12 years deserves more scrutiny. It may be due to several barriers such as apathy, social or economic reasons, and perceived insecurity.

In the apparently religious society that is Nigeria, political campaigns use faith terminologies, labels and ingredients to colour their “preachings” for political support or conversion to their own side. It is not unusual to begin bitter and divisive political rallies with prayers. Speeches are filled with allusions to the almighty and his powers to deliver victories to the candidates. Spiritual songs are used to lift up enthusiasm, just as thugs dress up for violent confrontations to mail or even kill. Yet aspirants to political offices try hard to convince the public that they belong in the spiritual kingdom.

Whether overtly or subtly, political campaigns and processes around elections remain vital in forming public opinions and making decisions on voting.

Bunmi Makinwa is the CEO of AUNIQUEI Communication for Leadership.

#orientdailynews