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Nigerians to Experience a New Normal as INEC Prepares to Kick Start Voters Registration in Q1 of 2021

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Voters’ Registration to Commence 18 Months Ahead of 2023 General Election

It is the new normal in Nigeria as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu informed the media about the commission’s plan to commence voters’ registration in the first quarter of 2021.

This was stated on Wednesday in Abuja after Prof. Mhamoodu appeared before the Senate Committee led by Senator Kabiru Gaya, APC Kano south, to defend the commission’s budget for 2021.

For continuous voter registration, the commission will resume voter registration in the first quarter of 2021”, Prof. Yakubu affirmed.

He said “Once we resume, it will be continuous for one and a half years, at least until six months to the next general election. In other words, the commission is not going to resume voters registration for a week, two weeks or a month but we are working out the details.

The commission chairman, Prof. Yakubu is also advocating for diaspora voting, he employed the national Assembly to amend the Electoral Act to accommodate Nigerians in diaspora and adopt early voting system.

The commission is desirous of giving Nigerians living abroad the right to vote, after all, all our neighboring countries do so. But it requires the amendment to the constitution and the Electoral Act for that to happen.

“We have already worked out the document. Once the law is amended today, we can roll out. We are ready. We have had several meetings with the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, but we can’t go beyond what the law provides,” Prof Yakubu stated.

He also called the attention of the committee to the inability of some groups to vote. He believed that an amendment to the Electoral Act should allow the group such as security personnel, INEC staff, journalist and others the right to vote even as they carry out their job activities during the election period.

Prof. Yakubu said the amendment should allow Nigerians with Permanent Voter’s Card the right to vote irrespective of their location within the country at the time of the election.

He said, “It’s not just those in the armed services, the police involved in election duty, journalists, INEC adhoc staff and some INEC staff don’t vote. The reason is that you are posted for election duty to places other than where you are registered, and the law says you vote where are registered”.

“So, if you pass some amendments to the Electoral Act to enable people to vote, two solution perhaps, early voting, so that those involved in election duty can vote early or major reform of electoral legal framework to allow people to vote wherever they are,” he added.

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Education

FG Abolishes 18-Year Age Benchmark For Admission Into Tertiary Institutions

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The new Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has abolished the controversial 18-year admission benchmark for tertiary institutions in the country.

This is coming as the minister indicated interest in reviewing the nation’s education policy.

However, Alausa stated that there would be no reversal of the Federal Government’s decision to void over 22,700-degree certificates obtained by Nigerians from some “fake” universities in neighbouring Togo and the Benin Republic.

Alausa spoke on Tuesday at his inaugural ministerial press conference in Abuja.

He stated that practical education will help to address the unemployment situation in Nigeria, as tertiary institutions will not continue to churn out graduates every year without providing jobs for them.

He disclosed that the Federal Government will collaborate with private sector operators to train students in order to discover and unleash their potential.

Alausa added that universities of agriculture will be empowered to adopt commercial farming practices to combat food insecurity.

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Outrage in Equatorial Guinea: Government Restricts WhatsApp Multimedia Sharing Amid Scandal

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There is outrage in Equatorial Guinea as the government restricted its citizens from downloading and sharing multimedia files using mobile data on WhatsApp.

This decision followed the guidelines that the country’s government gave to telecommunications operators when it urged them to implement measures to restrict access to inappropriate content.

The country’s Director General, National Financial Investigation Agency, Baltasar Engonga, has been involved in a sex scandal involving the wives of notable people in the nation.

The scandal emerged in the course of a fraud investigation against the 54-year-old economist which resulted in the search of his house and office on impromptu notice by ANIF officials who came across several CDs that later revealed his sexcapades with different married women.

It was reported that the over 400 videos include encounters with high-profile individuals, such as his brother’s wife, his cousin, the sister of the President of Equatorial Guinea, the Director General of Police’s wife, and about 20 of the country’s ministers’ wives, among others.

The footage, discovered in his office, was said to have been recorded with consent and has since been leaked online, causing a media uproar.

But, in a new development on Tuesday, it was reported that the citizens have been lamenting their inability to share photos, videos, and audio when using a mobile data connection, leading users to rely exclusively on WiFi networks to share such content.

Sources revealed that the restrictions have been affecting business and academic activities in the country.

Citizens wonder why the actions of a few individuals would result into holding thousands of other innocent ones hostage.

Earlier, the Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, Teddy Nguema, announced plans to install surveillance cameras in all state body offices.

This sweeping measure is part of an ongoing effort to ensure strict adherence to public service laws and combat misconduct among officials.

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NCC Confiscates ₦23 Million Worth of Pirated Books During Bookstores Raid In Uyo

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The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) on Saturday, November 2, confiscated ₦23.1 million in pirated books from local shops, including Academic Needs and Zion Bookshop during a raid in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The raid was by the Deputy Director of Operations, Mr Macfoy Akachukwu, representing the NCC Director General, Dr. John Asein.

Akachukwu, who stated that the raid was a significant operation to combat the rampant sale of pirated books, listed the books seized during the raid to include: Basic Civic Education by Dr Merry Ukaegbu, Spectrum New Further Mathematics by T.R. Moses and Essential Christian Religious Study for Senior Secondary Schools by Orovwuje B.O and Okolie E.U.

Other books included Macmillan Brilliant English for Junior Secondary Schools by Wale Ossianwo, New General Basic Science for Junior Secondary Schools by S. Ajayi, New Oxford Secondary English Course for Secondary Schools by Ayo Banjo and New Concept Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools by H.N. Odogwu among others.

Major publishers affected by the raid included Evans, UPL, Lantern, Longman, TONAD, and Pearson among others.

According to Asein, the operation is important as it was part of a nationwide initiative to protect authors’ rights.

“What we have done is part of the commissions mandate to protect and promote the rights of authors and other genuine investors in the copyright book industry,” he stated.

He reaffirmed that the NCC is committed to “eliminating the sale of pirated works and to establish a robust copyright framework in Nigeria”.

Asein emphasized that authors deserve to benefit from their creative work and not run into financial losses because of piracy.

“It is our duty to ensure that authors get rewards for their creative work. I have under my watch, zero tolerance for piracy and infringement of Copyright Laws,” Asein said.

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