Friday, 10 March 2017
Edo election: INEC’s hypocritical submission
Is it not absurd that INEC, the first respondent or rather, defendant, in the Edo State 2016 Governorship Election Petition trial would want to play judge before the Tribunal? What else can one infer from its counsel’s assertion that they are relying on the oral evidence of the petitioners’ witnesses as their defence, and for which reason they decided not to call any of their witnesses from the pool of over 500, as determined by the deposition of the petitioners’ witnesses?
Is it not a demonstration of crass hypocrisy for INEC, through its counsel, to predicate their defence on their vain declaration of contradictory evidence of the petitioners’ witnesses? This is more so for the simple truth that they hid their own witnesses to avoid making them contradict themselves under the cross examination of the petitioners’ counsel.
Can we then not conclude that INEC’s position from the point of law, is lacking in equity and smacks of hiding under one? Is it not obvious that this is an attempt at covering up their perceived mistakes made by their staff or personnel?
At any rate, who made INEC the judge in this matter, that it would attempt to make a judicial pronouncement on the performance of the witnesses of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and the PDP? By what parameters did the INEC Counsel arrive at the prejudicial conclusion that the petitioners’ witnesses’ evidence is inclined in favour of the respondents?
Nonetheless, in spite of the funny attempt by INEC to play judge and jury, we should not lose sight of the fact that INEC is the first respondent in this case, accused of having manipulated or rigged the conduct and results of the Edo State 2016 Governorship Election, through its proxies, the electoral officers, in favour of Mr. Godwin Obaseki, candidate of the APC, and the APC. To prove this allegation, the petitioners have gone the length to provide evidence with deposed election materials, oral testimonies of its election-day agents and of course, the recounting of the ballot papers of some seriously compromised polling stations. Therefore, irrespective of what INEC would want us to believe of the oral presentations of the petitioners’ witnesses, the stark reality is that the documented evidences, made up of certified true copies of INEC voters registers and result sheets examined, indicate unfortunate discrepancies. And knowing very well that it has been found out, INEC, in its response admitted that their documents are faulty, but tried to justify them on the grounds of “honest mistakes” which it presumes is not sufficient to discredit the election.
From the foregoing, it is obvious that INEC could not have put in the witness stand, agents that would invariably have been forced to admit to committing “honest mistakes”, alien to the Electoral Act, or to have disowned the INEC documents. Either way, INEC risked ridicule in open court; thus it opted to keep its witnesses away from scrutiny.
INEC closed its case on a no witness submission. While doing that, it presented to the Tribunal, the election results already tendered by the petitioners and a booklet containing Election Guidelines for 2015 General Elections, upon which it probably seeks to justify its flawed accreditation and voting processes.
Now, if INEC believes that the accounts of the witnesses in court are relevant to resolving the petition, as it wants us to believe that the petitioners’ witnesses had done in its favour, regardless of the documented evidence, why did it not present its own witnesses to disprove the allegation of their complicity in the alleged electoral fraud? INEC cannot do that for obvious reasons. However, its behaviour in the instant case is as of a yam thief in the market who tries to hide the stolen yam by keeping his hands behind his back.
It is the more irritating that INEC indulged in wasting everybody’s time within the framework of the ten days allocated to it to present its case. Instead of submitting on the first day that it was not going to present evidence, it pretended to be mobilising its witnesses. It only ended up, as stated before, tendering result sheets from the wards, local government areas and state collation centres, while conveniently omitting the polling units result sheets.
Could it be said any other way than to say that INEC failed to put up a credible defence? According to its counsel, they adopted the petitioners’ defence. What a way to argue against an accusation.
If it is taken for granted that INEC, by its abdication, has tacitly admitted guilt as charged, to what intent and purpose would the evidence of the second and third respondents be? Perhaps, it would be to prove that INEC did not compromise the election to benefit them? The question then would be: in whose interest did INEC act? We should leave that to the impartial members of the Tribunal to determine, even though the answer is not farfetched. INEC clearly abandoned her pleadings before the Tribunal and hiding under the impression that they need not call witnesses because of the cross-examination by their counsel of the petitioners’ witnesses. The allegations in the petition are actually against INEC who conducted the election without substantial noncompliance with the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) and the Manual for Election Officials. 2016, with particular reference to none accreditation and over-voting, and for which reason the implicated polling units ought to be discounted. It is only INEC that should debunk these allegations of substantial noncompliance but they failed to do so and therefore left the 2nd and 3rd respondents in the dark.
Consequent upon the foregoing, the relief sought by the petitioners is explicit. It is, that Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu ought to, and should be declared the winner of the election, having scored the majority of valid votes cast by Edo people in the September 28, 2016 Edo State Governorship Election. Could we not be right to say that INEC by its hypocritical stance has given justification to this claim? Well, the ball, in the practical sense, is in the court of Justice Ahmed Gbadamasi and his honourable companions. Let justice be done.
Mr. Nosa Omorodion , a public affairs analyst, wrote from Benin City, Edo State.
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Follow the Vanguard Economic Discourse live
Some of Nigeria’s finest will gathered today at Vanguard Economic Discourse to proffer solutions to the nation’s economic problem, especially in view of current declining price of crude oil which has fallen to below $50, the first fall since December.
This is against the backdrop of recent economic reports indicating a light at the end of the economy tunnel.
Follow the Vanguard Economic Discourse here live!!!!
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Monday, 6 March 2017
Onukaba, ex Daily Times MD, is dead
Onukaba died at about 6pm on Sunday at a village near Akure , Ondo State capital . The spot is said to be about ten minutes to Akure.
He was on his way back to Abuja from Abeokuta , Ogun State, where he had joined other dignitaries to attend the inauguration of Obasanjo Presidential Library .
One of his relations, Mr Yusuf Itopa confirmed his death to the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) in Lokoja on Monday.
He said that late veteran journalist turned politician was knocked down by an oncoming vehicle while running into a nearby bush to escape an armed robbery attack.
Itopa who is devastated by the death of Onukaba said that three of them, including his driver were traveling when they ran into a blockade mounted by armed robbers.
He said Onukaba’s ‘s corpse was later deposited at a mortuary in Akure from where it will be brought for burial today in his hometown, Ihima , Okehi Local Government area of Kogi State.
The late Onukaba who was Senior Special Assistant on media to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had earlier lost his first wife , Rachael about five years ago.
He, however , remarried in 2015 to Memunat
Onukaba is survived by three children, two girls and a boy.
He started his journalism career in The Guardian in 1983 and made his mark covering the airport in Lagos.
Onukaba struck friendship with many Nigerian dignitaries on this beat, including former head of state, Olusegun Obasanjo. The relationship with the latter blossomed into Onukaba writing the first biography of the retired General, titled In the Eyes of Time.
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Tuesday, 21 February 2017
Wenger relieved to beat ‘astonishing’ Sutton…See full details
Sutton United's English midfielder Craig Eastmond (L) vies with Arsenal's English defender Rob Holding during the English FA Cup fifth round football match between Sutton United and Arsenal at the Borough Sports Ground, Gander Green Lane in south London on February 20, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Glyn KIRK /
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said his team would have faced FA Cup humiliation against non-league Sutton United had they shown less application in their fifth-round victory.
Arsenal won 2-0 in Monday’s tie at Sutton’s 5,000-capacity Gander Green Lane ground, but they were given a real run for their money by a team ranked 105 places below them in the English league system.
Goals from Lucas Perez and Theo Walcott, his 100th in Arsenal’s colours, earned the visitors victory, but Sutton pushed them until the end, even hitting the bar through ex-Arsenal trainee Roarie Deacon.
Asked if it had merely been a case of ‘job done’, Wenger replied: “Yes, against a side that was astonishing.
“It is basically division five and they are 17th out of 24. I will never go down there (to manage) because it is too difficult!
“We had to keep our focus. I must give credit to the players who were professional and kept their focus.
“If we had come here in a relaxed mood, we would have gone out tonight because they produced quality.
“They kept going and we were never really in a position where we could afford to have a little breather in the game.”
Wenger made seven changes from last week’s 5-1 drubbing by Bayern Munich in the Champions League, which has left his long-term future at the club in doubt.
But the blending of several full internationals with a handful of fringe players betrayed his eagerness to avoid yet more negative headlines.
“We couldn’t afford to go out tonight. We can never afford it,” said Wenger, whose team will host another non-league side, Lincoln City, in the quarter-finals.
A bottle appeared to be thrown towards the dug-outs at the final whistle, as fans launched a mass pitch invasion, but Wenger played down the incident.
“I don’t know if it was at me or someone else or the referee, but there was a bottle thrown, yes,” he said.
– Wenger memories –
Sutton manager Paul Doswell condemned the unruly scenes.
“It disappointed me at the end,” he said. “They don’t support Sutton. Absolute idiots.”
Nevertheless, he said it had been “a dream” to watch his players play against Arsenal and professed himself “very, very proud” of their efforts.
Sutton had previously overcome Cheltenham Town, AFC Wimbledon and second-tier Leeds United, all of whom are ranked above them.
The club estimate the cup run has been worth £1 million ($1.27 million, 1.18 million euros) to them, which will be used to renovate the Gander Green Lane clubhouse.
First and foremost, however, Doswell wants to make sure his side, currently ranked 18th in the fifth-tier National League, avoid sliding even further down the English football pyramid.
Asked what the cup run meant to Sutton, he told reporters: “A legacy for the club, that allows them to go and put right all the things they wanted to put right.
“We’ve got to get safe in the National League to have really had a good season. If we finish 18th, with what’s happened (in the cup)… It’s a remarkable thing that’s happened.
“Everything inside, all the toilets, everything you’d want your house to look like, we’re going to put our house in order. It won’t be spent on players.”
Arsenal have pledged to put £50,000 towards two community classrooms, which Doswell said was “an amazing gesture”.
Wenger, meanwhile, said Sutton’s humble ground had put him in mind of his formative football years at the tiny village club of Duttlenheim in northeastern France.
“I come from a club that is smaller than that, so it reminds me of my childhood,” said the Frenchman.
“The changing rooms for me were fantastic. The closer you are, the more united you are when you go out there.
“When you are too far from each other in the dressing room with everybody having a chair, it is not so good. I prefer that –- much more together.”
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Monday, 6 February 2017
Gunmen kill policeman in Ondo
AKURE—Gunmen, yesterday morning, shot dead Corporal Michael Olujimi, a policeman attached to the Okitipupa Police Division in Ondo State.
The policeman, when found in a pool of blood around 5:30a.m., was still battling for life before he was rushed to an undisclosed hospital in the town.
It was gathered that the policeman left his home early to resume duty, but the gunmen opened fire on him and took off immediately.
One of the sympathisers, who preferred anonymity, revealed that the gunmen mistook the policeman for someone else and opened fire on him.
The source said: “He was going to the station to resume duty this morning (yesterday), when the incident happened. We met him in a pool of blood and quickly called the station.
“He was not dead when we found him and rushed him to an undisclosed hospital.
“Robbers have invaded this town and I think the police should step up strategies to bring these culprits to book.”
The Okitipupa Divisional Police Officer, DSP Oluwole Ojo, when contacted on telephone, said that he could not comment on the matter as he had not been adequately briefed.
“I cannot comment on the matter now, thank you,” he said.
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Give Ajaokuta to Russians, steel workers’ scribe urges FG
By Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief & Gabriel Ewepu
ABUJA—THE General Secretary of Iron and Steel Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, ISSSAN, Mr. Titus Orimijupa, has urged the Federal Government to give the Ajaokuta Steel Company to the Russians, who designed and constructed it with a view to making it operational, in the shortest possible time.
He spoke against the backdrop of alleged moves by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to hand over the completion of the project to the Chinese, a move that drew protesters to Abuja, last week.
Orimijupa told Vanguard in a telephone interview that the government should show commitment by doing what will revamp Ajaokuta Steel Company and must be transparent about it because the multi-billion dollar asset belongs to the Nigerian public.
He said: “Our position is this, it was designed and built by the Russians and we believe that Russians should be made to come and complete it if they have the financial wherewithal. You may have the technical wherewithal but not have the financial wherewithal. If they have both it is better for them to come and complete it and it is cheaper.
“It was said that it should be given to the Russians that initially designed and built it but there are a lot of politics up there and this regime also is complaining of money but from the beginning, the same regime has shown that it wants to be a rent collector rather than an investing regime.
“We prefer that the Russians come and complete it because when they say the Chinese will come, are they going to bring new technology? But if the Russians don’t have the financial resources and the Chinese have the financial resources, they could go into a joint venture agreement so that the original builder can complete it, then the Chinese will finance and they agree on the profit sharing formula. But the most important thing is that government must do everything possible to complete Ajaokuta Steel Company.”
“Ajaokuta is a national asset and anything concerning Ajaokuta should be made public, these issues of secrecy concluding things and deceiving Nigerians half way because they do not want Nigerians to be indebted perpetually so this is the only way out.
“During the time of Goodluck Jonathan, there was this public debate everywhere in the town hall and the stakeholders were involved. Even before this regime, they set up committees and they involved professionals but now, things are being done in such a way that nobody will have any knowledge how it is going.
“Everything has been concluded. We were not carried along. We have tried, been to National Assembly, they have held public hearing and many things have happened but yet we are in the dark.”
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Sunday, 29 January 2017
US raid on Yemen kills 30 Qaeda suspects, 10 civilians: official (Read full details)
A US raid in Yemen at dawn on Sunday killed 30 suspected Al-Qaeda militants, including three prominent figures, and 10 civilians, a provincial official said.
The military operation was the first attributed to the United States against jihadists in Yemen since President Donald Trump took office on January 20.
Seven women and three children were among those killed in the raid on Yakla district in the central province of Baida, said the official, who did not want to be named, and tribal sources.
Earlier, tribal and sources in the region said the raid targeted the houses of three tribal chiefs linked to Al-Qaeda, adding that a number of civilians were also killed.
But the provincial official said Apache helicopters targeted also a school, mosque and a medical facility used by Al-Qaeda militants.
Under Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, the United States stepped up its use of drone strikes against suspected jihadists in Yemen, as well as other countries including Afghanistan.
The United States considers the extremist group’s Yemen-based franchise, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to be its most dangerous.
But although it only sporadically reports on a long-running bombing campaign against AQAP, it is the only force known to be operating drones over Yemen.
On January 14, the Pentagon announced the killing a senior Al-Qaeda operative in Baida the week before in an air strike.
Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State jihadist group have exploited a power vacuum created by the two-year-old conflict in Yemen between the government and Shiite Huthi rebels, especially in the country’s south and southeast.
US raid on Yemen kills 30 Qaeda suspects, 10 civilians: official
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New wave of robots set to deliver the goods (Read full details)
Henry Harris-Burland explains the operation of the Starship Technologies delivery robot on January 26, 2017 at the Washington Auto Show in Washington, DC. The robots of the future will be coming soon, rolling along at lumbering pace, with those goods you just ordered. The six-wheeled, knee-high robots from startup Starship Technologies are part of a new wave of automated systems taking aim at the "last mile" delivery of goods to consumers.<br />MANDEL NGAN / AFP
The robots of the future will be coming soon, rolling along at a lumbering pace with those goods you just ordered.
The six-wheeled, knee-high robots from startup Starship Technologies are part of a new wave of automated systems taking aim at the “last mile” delivery of goods to consumers.
Starship is launching a pilot project of robotic deliveries of parcels, groceries and prepared foods in early February in the US capital Washington, with a similar test taking place in Redwood City, California.
The startup, created by two of the founders of Skype, Ahti Heinla and Janus Friis, has already begun testing in several European cities as part of an effort to bring new efficiencies to local delivery.
The goal is to enable delivery within a radius of two miles (three kilometers) within 15-30 minutes of an order, for $1 or less, with the autonomous robots traveling on sidewalks and alerting consumers of their arrival via smartphone app.
Starship spokesman Henry Harris-Burland said the founders were looking to “disrupt” an industry which had seen little efficiency improvement from new technology.
“We’re trying to solve real social and economic problems,” Harris-Burland said during a demonstration of the delivery bots in Washington.
“This will take cars and vans off the road. We can also provide deliveries to the elderly and handicapped who have difficulty getting around.”
The company, which has its business office in London, engineering in Estonia and some 90 employees, announced in January it had raised $17.2 million, led by Daimler AG with other investors as it moves to expand its testing and partnerships.
While the Starship robots roll at a modest pace of around four miles (six kilometers) per hour, Harris-Burland said they offer a more efficient and economical delivery model than drones, which are being tested by online retail giant Amazon and others.
The rolling robots are far less expensive to build and operate than drones and face fewer regulatory issues.
He said drones might be better-suited to remote and rural areas, while the Starship bots are designed for cities and suburbs, where they can roll along on sidewalks. “We don’t see these as competing with drones, we see it as complementary,” Harris-Burland said.
The Starship robots, which look like high-tech plastic picnic coolers, can carry about 20 pounds (nine kilograms) of goods, suited to three to four grocery bags. They do not offer heating or chilled compartments because rapid deliveries would not need them, according to Harris-Burland.
They will not have the capacity to leave items on doorsteps, he said, because “customers will get delivery within 30 minutes, when they are home” and collect the goods at the door.
Mapping sidewalks
Starship has agreements for testing with the delivery firm Postmates in Washington and DoorDash in California, as it works toward a commercial model with other partners and retailers.
When the pilot begins in February, consumers will be able to order pizza, toothpaste, milk or eggs through the services which may use humans or robots.
Starship is not the only robotic delivery startup looking to disrupt the sector.
California-based startup Dispatch has raised $2 million in venture funding to begin testing of its rolling robots. Another California firm, Savioke, has agreed to provide delivery bots to hotels and apartment complexes.
Starship says one of its strong points is its “visual localization” technology that allows for real-time mapping using nine cameras on each robot to help navigate along sidewalks and circumvent obstacles, people and pets.
“We can see every crosswalk, every traffic light, every pothole,” Harris-Burland said.
“A lot of companies have mapped roads but no one has mapped sidewalks.”
The navigation is done by artificial intelligence, and the bots are “99 percent autonomous,” according to the spokesman.
“We want a human being able to oversee the robot’s journey and to intervene whenever there is a problem,” he said.
Harris-Burland said the company’s tests so far in Europe have shown the system works, with no problems related to theft or vandalism.
The lids of the devices are locked until the customer opens it with a smartphone. If anyone tries to steal it, an alarm will sound, and if it is hijacked the company can track it “to the nearest inch,” he said.
New wave of robots set to deliver the goods
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