INEC to publish final list of presidential, NASS candidates as campaign begins 28 September; N11.9bn stolen from Kwara treasury between 2011-2019 – Audit reveals | 5 Things That Should Matter Today

  • INEC to publish final list of presidential, NASS candidates as campaign begins 28 September
  • N11.9bn stolen from Kwara treasury between 2011-2019 – Audit reveals
  • Arrested Ogun Speaker sleeps in Abuja EFCC custody
  • Jigawa vaccinates 1 million people against cholera
  • Seven dead in Ekiti auto crash

Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldnt miss:

INEC to publish final list of presidential, NASS candidates as campaign begins 28 September

Prior to the election in 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would release the final list of candidates for the positions of president, senator, and member of the House of Representatives on September 20.

At the “Expert Meeting on Conducting Nigeria’s 2023 General Elections in Volatile Security Environment” on Thursday in Abuja, INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu made this statement.

The Center for Democracy and Development (CDD) and INEC collaborated to plan the event.

Mr. Yakubu stated that the publication of the final list was in accordance with Section 32(1) of the Electoral Act of 2022 and the commission’s Timetable and Schedule of Activities.

“This will be followed on October 4 by the publication of the final list of candidates for state elections (Governorship and State Houses of Assembly).

”Campaign in public by political parties will officially commence on September 28 as provided for by Section 94(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022.

”As campaigns commence, we appeal to all political parties and candidates to focus on issue-based campaigns.

“This is the best way to complement our efforts to ensure transparent elections in which only the votes cast by citizens determine the winner,” he said.

Mr. Yakubu said activities for the 2023 General Elections would enter critical stages this month from the next 19 days onward.

N11.9bn stolen from Kwara treasury between 2011-2019 – Audit reveals

According to a forensic audit study, N11.9 billion in public funds were illegally removed from the Kwara state treasury between 2011 and 2019 without being connected to any projects or programs.

Among other mind-boggling facts, the forensic audit study uncovered alleged misconduct during the time period.

This information can be found in a statement made on Thursday in Ilorin by Mr. Rafiu Ajakaye, the governor’s chief press secretary.

The audit also revealed that in February 2019, with only one month till the general election, N2 billion in cash withdrawals that were unrelated to any projects or official expenses were done in a span of eight days.

Presenting the report to AbdulRazaq on Thursday, Prof. Anthony Iniomoh, said the report is in two volumes covering Internally Generated Revenue; Capital Receipts; Internal and External Loans; Recurrent/Overhead Expenditure; Personnel Cost (Salaries and Wages); Capital Expenditure; Assets Disposed; Kwara State Internal Revenue Service; Infrastructural Fund Kwara (IFK); and Harmony Holdings Limited, among others.

Iniomoh said that the report saw instances of companies receiving significant public funding without any documentation of the work they had completed.

The report also disclosed a case where a public official received years’ worth of pay from two different sources.

Iniomoh revealed that N2.06 billion in cash was removed in eight days in February 2019 without any supporting documentation being made available to verify the reason for the transaction.

He said that the audit team was unable to verify a number of other large-scale cash withdrawals made by the state over the time period, totaling billions of naira.

The audit, in his opinion, proved that loans were received by the Kwara government throughout the time period under consideration.

While some matters are to be sent to an administrative panel of inquiry for some persons to explain their roles in the numerous transgressions, the report recommended to the government that it prosecute some individuals and corporations accused in the two-volume report.

Arrested Ogun Speaker sleeps in Abuja EFCC custody

The Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Olakunle Oluomo, who was detained by agents of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Thursday morning at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport and transported to Abuja, is still in their custody as of Thursday night.

According to reliable information, the embattled politician is currently being held by the anti-graft commission in Abuja for alleged financial mismanagement and embezzlement.

As a result of his repeated refusal to accept the EFCC’s invitation, he allegedly appeared on the commission’s wanted list.

Oluomo and others (yet to be named) were accused of forging signatures and financial documents belonging to the Ogun State House of Assembly.

Jigawa vaccinates 1 million people against cholera

According to the Jigawa State Ministry of Health, more than a million people in three local government areas of the state have received cholera vaccinations.

Last year, the illness outbreak was most severe in the local government regions of Dutse, Birnin Kudu, and Hadejia.

Salisu Mua’zu, the ministry’s permanent secretary, revealed this during a press conference on Wednesday.

According to the official, vaccination efforts have been stepped up with the introduction of rotavirus vaccines, in contrast to the previous year, when the state reported 595 deaths from 21,877 cholera cases.

He said that his ministry has put up a reaction mechanism to lower the number of deaths from the sickness in 2022 in order to avert the high mortality rate observed from the ailment last year.

“We have vaccinated over a million people against cholera outbreak, raised surveillance parameters, and trained people on how to identify the cases of cholera. As a result of this, the state is yet to record a case,” he said.

Seven dead in Ekiti auto crash

In a collision involving two automobiles on Wednesday night in Ekiti State, no fewer than seven people perished.

According to sources, the incident between an 18-passenger bus and a Toyota sedan on the Iluomoba-Aisegba route resulted in fatalities for all parties involved.

According to a source, one of the cars lost control while trying to avoid a pothole and crashed into the approaching car that was heading in the direction of Ado Ekiti.

The Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps in Ekiti State, Mr. Olusola Joseph, who confirmed the accident, said, “The number of passengers in the two vehicles was 17. Seven passengers lost their lives, and the victims had been deposited in the morgue”.

The FRSC boss, who said that other passengers who sustained varying degrees of injuries were at present being treated at a tertiary hospital in the state capital, warned motorists against over-speeding, which he described as the reason for unwarranted road accidents.

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