The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission has warned that Nigeria cannot afford not to conduct peaceful and credible elections in 2023 as a lot is at stake.

The ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ambassador Abdel-Fatau Musah, who was represented by ECOWAS Commission Programme Officer on Mediation, Directorate of Political Affairs, Dr. Brown Odigie, said today, January 17 that countries within the African sub-region would be greatly affected if Nigeria fails to conduct acceptable elections this year.

He spoke at the ongoing Dialogue and Mediation Training for political actors as Tools for Preventing and/or Mitigating Election Related Disputes and Violence, held in Jos, Plateau State.

Abdel-Fatau Musah advised that  Nigeria must create space for inclusiveness in the electoral processes and ensure a peaceful election because of its very strategic position in the region. He noted that Nigeria’s enormous population is working tirelessly to ensure that the electoral processes are done peacefully to avoid anything that can lead to conflict, warning that the region cannot contain potential refugees

According to him the interactive engagements by political actors and stakeholders are critical in electoral processes and the ECOWAS commission prioritizes creating opportunities for such interactions to be held as well as equipping stakeholders with the necessary skills and competence for dialogue and mediation.

He called on all candidates and political parties, including IPAC to always uphold the contents of the signed peace Accord and the electoral guidelines which are imperative to ensuring a peaceful and credible general election.

“With the hope of ensuring that all stakeholders play their role, including the police and INEC in ensuring a peaceful, free, fair, and credible election that will be acceptable to all Nigerians. Creating space for dialogue and inclusivity in the electoral process is key; because once you deny that inclusivity factor; it creates an opportunity for people to resort to violence. Grievances can be brought out and collectively, we look at the contentious issues and find common ground. We are doing it specifically for Nigeria because Nigeria is strategic in ECOWAS.

“Nigeria has an enormous population; elections are a period that can generate conflict and if not effectively managed, have the potential of snowballing into violence. And when violence occurs, with the enormous population of Nigeria, it can spill over to other neighboring countries. And I can assure you, no member country within ECOWAS will have the capacity to accommodate refugees from Nigeria.

“That is why, we do all we can, to encourage stakeholders to dialogue, by looking at contentious issues and seeking ways to amicably resolve them to have a peaceful outcome. It is in this regard that the ECOWAS Commission developed a Dialogue and Mediation handbook, elements of which will be used in the course of this training workshops, and with this, participants are expected to acquire practical techniques and skills for dialogue and mediation as important tools for the management of electoral disputes and conflicts through role-plays and simulation exercises.”

He said that the specific goals for the engagements include creating the opportunity for participants to appreciate the ECOWAS normative principles and frameworks for transparent and peaceful elections as espoused by the 2001 supplementary protocol on democracy and good governance; sustaining and enhancing ECOWAS’ strategic engagement with the political process in Nigeria and also as an indication of our commitment and preference towards using dialogue and mediation in resolving electoral disputes and violence.

On his part, the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Oliver Agundu said that the ECOWAS commission has taken a very unique and very commendable step that will no doubt help to strengthen channels of information and deepen relations amongst the stakeholders and promote widespread collaborations on common issues faced during elections.

Represented by the commission’s Head of Voters’ Education, Mr. Otokpa Egwurube, the REC said, “We also urge stakeholders to act and behave responsibly even in the face of defeat or when the victor is victorious because in an electoral contest, there must be a loser and there must be a winner.

In the same vein, the representative of the United Nations Office in West Africa and Sahel (UNOWAS) Liaison Office in Nigeria, Mrs. Sa’adatu Shuaibu noted that the training falls within the framework of UNOWAS joint efforts with ECOWAS to support member states in their efforts to conduct peaceful, inclusive, and credible elections and entrench democracy.

“As part of its efforts to ensure peaceful, credible, and inclusive elections in Nigeria, UNOWAS has conducted various engagements with national stakeholders to the formal special representative of the secretary-general (SRSG), Mr. Mahamat Annadif, who used his good offices last year to engage with Nigeria authorities, school parties, some presidential candidates, civil society organizations, the Independent national electoral commission (INEC), the inter-party advisory council (IPAC) and members of the diplomatic corps on the need to strengthen peace, democracy, development and good governance in Nigeria.”

Also speaking, Plateau State Commissioner of Police, CP Bartholomew Onyeka said that the nation’s recent history of pre and post-electoral violence is the reason many Nigerians are very apprehensive.

Onyeka, who was represented by ACP Ejike Ochiabotor, said: “Plateau state police command under my watch as the prime law enforcement agency in the state has involved various workable strategic measures to ensure that the forthcoming general elections are conducted peacefully without any hitch all over the state, adding that the command has carried out effective sensitization of its officers and critical stakeholders in the state to virtually all rules guiding the conduct of the elections.

“We have made golden plans on how best to make deployments, protect the integrity of the electoral process, and make sure elections are credible to all, taking past elections as a case study. All prisoners have been properly educated on how to secure the electorates, INEC officials, and materials, and escort INEC staff and materials to the polling units and back to the collation centers.

The same vein, the National Secretary of IPAC, Alhaji Yusuf Dantalle, in his remark, said the free, fair, credible, transparent, inclusive, peaceful, and acceptable election is the beauty and bedrock of democracy, noting that the forthcoming general election is critical for sustainable democracy in Nigeria.

“The success of the elections will be a defining moment for our fellow compatriots who desire and yearn for transformational, visionary, progressive, purposeful, and resourceful leaders who will restore Nigeria as the great arsenal of democracy in Africa.”

The 4-day training and interactive workshop, which is the third in the series, is geared towards violent-free 2023 general elections in Nigeria with the enhancement of participants’ dialogue and mediation tools and platforms for addressing contentious issues, thus contributing to the prevention and mitigation of election-related conflicts and violence before, during, and after the polls.

It has participants from the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) cutting across the North-Central and North-East geopolitical zones of the country.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has suggested an ethical revolution in Nigeria for the purpose of producing the highest quality individuals to run the most efficient governments and private institutions.

To ensure the success of the revolution, Professor Osinbajo, said, there is an urgent need to teach the right values, not only in our institutions of learning, but also imbibe national ethics of hardwork, honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, among others.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who spoke today, January 17, in Abeokuta, Ogun State while delivering the Centenary Lecture of Baptist Boys’ High School (BBHS), asked the governments to lead this ethical revolution, by rewarding ethical behaviour and ensuring speedy punishment for misconduct.

He emphasized also that there is need for a national consensus, especially among the political, religious and business elite, in accepting and implementing minimum ethical standards, “where we establish a national work ethic, of honesty, hardwork, thrift and the deferment of gratification.”
Speaking on the topic “Values: the difference between success and failure,” Professor Osinbajo insisted that an ethical revolution is necessary to fast-track the country’s development towards becoming a great nation.

“It is what is taught and learned that shapes the character of individuals and nations. But it is not just teaching, governments must lead this ethical revolution, by rewarding ethical behaviour and ensuring speedy punishment for misconduct.
“The religious elite must reinforce the ethical direction agreed by showing that wealth, and influence is built by hardwork, diligence and the deferment of gratification and not just by miracles. The religious elite must also reject and ostracize public officers and persons whose wealth cannot be explained or is clearly from shady or suspicious sources. Every modern society has had to deal with corruption, and enthrone minimum ethical standards to succeed, we must do the same.”
The Vice President observed that the same values of integrity, hard work and trustworthiness are what make individuals, institutions and nations great.
“The difference between men and women who attain significance and those who do not is values. So, it is also the case that the difference between successful societies or countries and failed or failing countries is values.”
He referred to the examples of countries in Asia and Africa with huge deposits of natural resources and human talents, adding: “while geography plays an important role in the success of people and communities, they are not defining features; otherwise, the countries with the largest deposits of mineral wealth would be the most prosperous.”
Professor Osinbajo defined values as ethical principles by which individuals and communities live, work and interact, including honesty, integrity, trustworthiness, perseverance, hard work, diligence, discipline, respect, etc., even as he said: “it is values that determine the success or failure of individuals or societies.
“Venezuela has one of the largest oil deposits in the world but the UN estimates that 94% of its citizens are poor. The Great Lakes region in Africa has some of the world’s richest mineral deposits, yet the countries in the region are some of the poorest in the world. On the other hand, some of the wealthiest countries in the world and those that have the most companies listed on the Nasdaq are Israel, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, South Korea and Singapore — none of which have any natural resources.
“Every one of the great and successful economies of the world share the same characteristics, they emphasise hardwork, integrity.”

Oby Ezekwesili, who was minister of education in the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has asked the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar to stop telling Nigerians that he ever headed the Economic Management Team of that government.

Ezwkwesili, who was once the President of the World Bank, in a series of tweet posts on her official Tweeter today, January 17, insisted that Atiku never headed the economic management team but was just the Chairman of the National Economic Council, which he was constitutionally empowered to head.

She wrote: “Dear former Vice President Atiku, please ask the handlers of your Twitter account to stop misleading the public. You were never the Head of the Economic Management Team. This absurd Lie does you no good at all. Please ask your Team to stop it. Happy New Year. Wish you well.

“The National Economic Council which former Vice President Atiku constitutionally chaired and now by Professor Osinbajo is really an advisory organ that provides an opportunity for the Federal Government and States of the Federation to discuss our Economy for coordination purposes.

“The 1999 Constitution also has the Vice President as the Chairperson of the National Council on Privatization. In that capacity, it is the duty of the Vice President to supervise the work of the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) on behalf of the President.

“Let me end on the note that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his supporters should appreciate this elucidation and sincere clarification of the distinction between the Presidential Economic Management Team on the one hand, and the National Economic Council on the other…..

‘’Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar can delete the tweet I reacted to and duly lay claim to having chaired the National Economic Council at which he and State Governors met monthly. “Do not confuse this anymore with the Economic Management Team. I hope others also learned something.’’

She was reacting to Atiku, who she said, together with his supporters have always claimed that he was in charge of the economy between 1999 to 2007, and was responsible for most of the economic progress made under that administration.

Ezekwesili quoted Atiku as saying: “as head of the economic management team while I was Vice President, I was instrumental in designing a private sector revival strategy and advocated for the opening of the economy for private sector investments in several sectors. And we made tremendous progress.”

Source: Nairametrics.

The Department of State Security Services (DSS) has described the news making the rounds that its operatives invaded the office of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele and arrested him as pure fake news.

In a statement today, January 16, the Spokesperson of DSS, Peter Afunanya, said that the alleged invasion and arrest of the CBN Governor is also quite misleading.

The statement reads, “the attention of the Department of State Services (DSS) has been drawn to the false news making the rounds that its operatives invaded the Central Bank of Nigeria and arrested its Governor, today 16/1/23. This is fake news and quite misleading.”

An online medium had reported that “the operatives of the State Security Service, SSS invaded the headquarters of the CBN and took over the office of the governor of the apex bank.

According the medium, the operatives of the Service arrived at the CBN headquarters Monday noon (today, January 16) in with about 20 vehicles with armed personnel.

“The operatives also barred all staff of the bank from gaining access to Mr Emefiele’s office.”

The medium added that there had been a running battle between the Service and Emefiele over alleged terrorism financing. It said that the secret service had earlier sought a court order to arrest Emefiele but had been out of the country for his annual leave.