Akpabio asks INEC to – Akpabio asks INEC to…

Akpabio asks INEC to – Senate on Wednesday at…

Senate on Wednesday at plenary held a valedictory session for Edo Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, who represented Edo-Central under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Okpebholo was a member of the 10th Senate until he was elected Governor of Edo, on September 21, 2024.

Speaking at the valedictory session, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, (APC-Edo) described Okpebholo as a humble, resourceful, committed and intelligent man.

“We’re happy that in 30 days, Edo people are aware that there is a new governor in town, humble, resourceful, committed, intelligent, few words but maximum action,” he said.

Senator Danjuma Goje (APC-Gombe), described Okpebholo as a man of good character, honest and a committed Nigerian.

Goje advised the Edo governor to continue with his good traits, adding that his good disposition was a great asset for the state.

Okpebholo said his involvement in the legislative session was to drive good governance, especially in infrastructure development, security, education, and health, among others.

The governor, who described the plenary as an emotional one for him, expressed his gratitude to his colleagues, especially those who stood by him during his campaign period.

“Distinguished colleagues, this is quite emotional for me. From the moment I joined the 10th Senate in June 2023.

” Every moment at the red chamber has remained memorable. We saw ourselves as forerunners of democracy and we wanted the best for the nation.

“Thank you for standing by me throughout the campaign exercise,” he said.

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio urged Ethe do governor to keep his legacy of good works as he carried out his duties in Edo state.

Meanwhile, Akpabio has officially declared the Edo Central Senatorial seat vacant, directing the Independent National Electoral Commissioner, INEC to organise a new election to fill the vacant seat.

Akpabio made the declarations after a valedictory session for Okpebholo.

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Ghana Elections: Electoral commission – Ghana Elections: Electoral commission…

Ghana Elections: Electoral commission – The Chairperson of the…

The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs. Jean Mensa, on Monday declared H.E. John Dramani Mahama as President-Elect of the Republic of Ghana following the Presidential Election that took place on 7th December, 2024. The former President won the Election with 56.55% of valid votes cast.

The Declaration was made by the Chairperson of the Commission, who addressed a major press conference together with her deputies as well the rest of the members of the 7-Member Commission.  Addressing Ghanaians, members of the media, agents of presidential candidates, local and international observers, members of the diplomatic corps and directors and staff of the Commission, the Chairperson declared former President John Dramani Mahama President-Elect, saying:

“I have the singular honour as the Returning Officer of the 2024 Presidential Election to declare His Excellency John Dramani Mahama as the winner of the 2024 Presidential Election and the President-Elect of the Republic of Ghana, with a total percentage of 56.55%. Congratulations, Sir. It is finished!”

Votes from 9 Constituencies Outstanding

The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission today declared former President John Mahama as winner of the 2024 Presidential Election with 56.55% with results from 257 Constituencies. The Chairperson explained that results from 9 Constituencies are still outstanding due to political party supporters amassing at various collation centres and causing damage to election materials as well as obstructing the work of Election Officials. Nevertheless, the EC Chairperson explained that even if all the registered voters in the 9 constituencies cast their ballots for Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who came second with …%, that would not change the result of the Presidential Election. Therefore, the Chairperson of the EC went ahead to declare former President John Dramani Mahama as winner of the Presidential Election and President-Elect of the Republic of Ghana.

Former President John Mahama wins Presidential Election with 56.55%

Former President John Mahama was today declared winner of the 2024 Presidential Election and President-Elect with 56.55% of valid votes cast. His closest challenger, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia obtained 41.61%. Below are the full results for all candidates in the order in which they appeared on the ballot paper:

Mahamudu Bawumia (NPP)  – 4,657,304 (41.61%)

Daniel Augustus Lartey, Jnr. (GCPP) – 16,673 (0.15%)

Christian Kwabena Andrews (GUM) – 16,461 (0.15%)

Kofi Akpalu (LPG) – 5,219 (0.05%)

Mohammed Frimpong (NDP) – 4,413 (0.04%)

Nana Akosua Frimpong (CPP) – 23,397 (0.21%)

John Dramani Mahama (NDC) –  6,328,397 (56.55%)

Hassan Ayariga (APC) – 17,461 (0.16%)

Kofi Koranteng (Ind) – 3,320 (0.03%)

George Twum Barima Adu (Ind) – 3,091 (0.02%)

Nana Kwame Bediako (Ind) – 84,478, (0.75%)

Alan K. Kyeremanten (Ind) – 31,202 (0.28%)

With the results declared, John Dramani Mahama will become the 9th President when he is sworn in on 7th January, 2025.

The 2024 Presidential Election witnessed a low turnout of 60.9% based on results from the 267 constituencies. The breakdown is as follows:

• Total Valid Votes Cast  – 11,191,422

• Total Rejected Ballots – 239,109

• Total Votes Cast – 11,430,531

• Total Registered Voters – 18,774,159

• Turnout based on 267 constituencies – 60.9%.

Elections were credible, fair, transparent and peaceful – EC

The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs. Jean Mensa, has said that the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections were “credible, fair, transparent and peaceful”.

“As a commission, we have fulfilled our vowed aspiration to imbibe transparency, accountability, inclusiveness and responsiveness at the heart of all our missions. (1:29) And I can confidently say that with the help of God, we have fulfilled these aspirations and the expectations of the citizenry. We have conducted elections that are credible, fair, transparent and peaceful; Elections that have ensured that the will of the people as expressed at the polls; Elections that have guaranteed that every vote counts,” the Chairperson stated.

The Chairperson further stated that, 

“As a country, we take pride in the fact that our electoral processes initiated since 1992 uphold and guarantee the voters’ choice. We take pride in the fact that the voters’ choice as expressed at the polls is sacrosanct.”

According to her, the last four years have been spent in injecting and infusing four key elements into every aspect of the Commission’s work, citing those elements as transparency, accountability, responsiveness and inclusiveness. 

She said, the Commission started the year poised and ready to conduct credible elections, saying the Commission was conscious that elections were a process, not an event. This resolve, she said, led the Commission to undertake several transformational decisions, including the re-exhibiting of the Provisional Voters Register for the first time in Ghana’s electoral history, when concerns were raised about the credibility of the provisional voters register, as well as opening up IPAC meetings to the citizenry by allowing live coverage of all IPAC meetings.

She further stated that, the decisions to re-exhibit the Provisional Voters Register to allow a further review by political parties and the citizenry, as well as the demystification of the IPAC meeting, had helped defuse the tensions that were brewing around the Provisional Voters Register. 

Describing those two decisions, the Chairperson said the two decisions helped to restore the confidence of the citizens in the Voters Register and cemented Ghana’s peace. 

“Again, in the spirit of responsiveness, when complaints were made about the 50 Pesewas charged voters for the verification of their registration details online, the Commission waived the fee and allowed voters to verify their details at no cost,” the Chairperson added.

Moreover, she said that in line with the Commission’s determination to ensure the credibility of the 2024 election, when the Commission received information of the leak of a single defaced ballot paper, it acted swiftly and destroyed ballots for both Western and Eastern regions. This bold decision, she said, was based on the Commission’s determination to uphold the integrity of the election at all costs. 

Commission grateful to staff and stakeholders

Concluding her remarks, the Chairperson showed appreciation of the Commission to staff and stakeholders, saying:

“To our staff, both permanent and temporary, we say Aiko, you have worked hard, put in long hours, ploughed the field and done the spadework at the risk of your own lives to bring us a successful outcome. Our hearts go out to our staff who were manhandled during this time. We wish you well and we ask the good Lord to bless all of you. (8:32) To our media partners who have journeyed with us and enabled us to bring the Commission to the doorstep of every Ghanaian, we say thank you. To the Ghana Police Service and to our partner the National Peace Council, we say Aiko. We thank all of you, the good citizens of Ghana, who have believed in us and allowed us to save you. To our dear families and friends who have journeyed with us every step of the way, we thank you for your support, your prayers, your encouragement and your advice. We are conscious that we could not have achieved this success without the help of the Almighty God, our uncle, without whom we could have done nothing.”

Seamless Voter Experience on Election Day

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PDP accuses Kebbi govt – PDP accuses Kebbi govt…

PDP accuses Kebbi govt – The Peoples Democratic Party…

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kebbi has berated the State Government for allegedly shortchanging Local Government workers after they were paid their November salary with the new minimum wage.

The PDP Spokesperson in the state, Alhaji Sani Dododo, made this known in a statement issued to newsmen in Birnin Kebbi on Friday.

“PDP has been keenly following trends of minimum wage payments since its formal announcement in Oct. this year.

“It will be recalled that Governor Nasir Idris, made a formal declaration to pay the sum of N75,000 as the new minimum wage effective October 2024, for both State and Local Government Workers,” he said.

He added that unfortunately, due to some administrative limitations, local government managers and trade unions solicited two weeks grace to harmonise their documentation.

“To our greatest dismay and after persistent delays, the local governments and teachers’ minimum wage was finally released this month but was grossly far from the approved amount of N75,000.

“This development was testified by several teachers and LG workers from across the 21 LGAs of the state,” Dododo alleged.

He also wondered why the state and local government employees would have a new minimum wage contrary to the one announced by the governor.

“We challenge the state government to dispute the fact that despite agreed minimum wage figure, the state Is still paying less than N40,000 to almost all categories of staff on Grade Level 3, 4 and 5,” he said.

The PDP image maker urged the state government to fulfil its promises to teachers as they played a crucial role in reshaping the future of society.

Reacting to the development in a chat with newsmen, the State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Alhaji Faruk Abubakar-Sadiq, called on any staff with issues relating to payments to formally lodge complaints with the Ministry for Local Government.

“Any staff with complaints regarding omission or underpayment should lodge his/her complaints to the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs through their respective Directors of Finance and Supply.

“These complaints will be forwarded to the ministry for necessary action,” the chairman assured.

The NULGE boss expressed deep gratitude to Governor Nasir Idris for his timely approval and implementation of the new minimum wage for all staff in the State Local Government Service.

Abubakar-Sadiq described the gesture as a testament to Gov. Idris’ unwavering commitment to improving the welfare of workers across the state.

He assured the members of the unions that the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs was committed to addressing any reasonable complaints arising from the payments.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NULGE chairman spoke on behalf of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and Medical Health Workers of Nigeria.

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