Senate Approves E-Voting, Passes Amendment To Electoral Act

The Senate, Thursday, passed amendments to the Electoral Act 2010, approving the use of electronic voting in future elections.

It also approved that election results should be electronically transmitted to collation centers.

The passage of bill followed the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on a Bill for an Act to amend the Electoral Act No. 6, 2010 and for other related matters (SB 231 and SB 234).

Major highlights of the new bill include provision for the use of electronic voting by INEC during future elections, use of Card Reader and also gives INEC power to modify the voting process if there is a challenge.

The Senate also approved a provision to enable INEC transmit the result of elections electronically in an encrypted and secured manner to prevent hacking.

To address the incident that happened in Kogi State, during last gubernatorial election, the amended Electoral Act provides that if a candidate dies before results of elections are declared, the results will not only remain valid but belongs to the political party that lost its candidate.

It also added that in such a scenario, the INEC should suspend the elections for 21 days during which period the affected political party will conduct fresh primaries to choose a new candidate.

The Bill also gives political parties power to adopt direct or indirect primaries in choosing their flag bearers, while qualification of disqualification of candidates for elections will be solely based on the Constitution.

In his comments after the adoption of the report by the Red Chamber, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, thanked his colleagues for a job well done and expressed optimism that the Bill would further improve the nation’s electoral system and also contribute to good governance. Saraki said: “Distinguished colleagues, let me thank all of you for this job well done.

“I want to particularly thank the members of the Committee on INEC and particularly the former chairman of the Committee, Abubakar Kyari, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and all the members of the committee who have worked very hard to ensure the passage of this very important bill which addresses our electoral process and goes on to strengthen our democracy.

“We have touched on new areas which I believe will improve the credibility of our elections and by so doing, definitely improve our democracy and good governance.
“Most importantly, I think, are some of the new sections we have added, in the area of technology, the smart card reader, and particularly the area of collation which has been an area of great concern.

“Collation of results after the polling units and some of the additions we put on the electronic way by which the compilation of results can be done, I think will go a long way to reduce some of the irregularities we have seen before.

“This is a great work you have been able to put together today and I want to commend everybody. I am also happy that we have passed the amendments very early. My concern has always been that if we don’t do it now, it will get more difficult as we get blowed to the 2019 elections.

“We hope that with this Bill that we have passed, very soon, we will sit together with the House of Representatives to be able to get the copy to the President for assent. “I think when signed into law, it will enable INEC to have something to work early enough. I think what we have done today will really put our electoral law among the best that we have and it will go a long way in improving our electoral process,” he said.

Senate Gives 5 Conditions For Peace With Buhari

The Senate has reacted to the setting up of a committee by the Federal Executive Council to settle the rift between it and the National Assembly with five conditions that must be met for peace to reign. The Senate through a ranking senator (name withheld) who is close to the leadership of the senate identified five conditions for peace to reign between the executive and the legislative arm of government, Daily Trust reports. He said for peace to prevail between the presidency and the senate, the trial of the senate president, Bukola Saraki should be discontinued forthwith. “The trial of Saraki is central to the crisis because it is believed that they came up with it because he ‘violated’ the interest of the presidency and the party (APC) to emerge the senate president. If his trial is stopped, there would be peace,’’ he said. He added that irrespective of the peace moves by the executive, the camps within the presidency must be united, otherwise they will continue to use the senate against each other. “A camp in the presidency is using the senate against another. This is the second issue that must be addressed for peace to reign. Buhari should dissolve the camp, otherwise no serious progress would be made,” he added. He also said, the head of government agencies including ministers must be made to respect senate resolutions. “If a resolution is passed, the executive doesn’t respect it, there is general contempt against us. This must stop,” he said. He said there was urgent need for the president to engage the leadership of the APC for proper coordination of the party’s caucus at the senate. “The president must be talking to the party for it to be talking to caucus. If the president is bringing anything to the senate, the party should be involved. “The fifth one is that there is no personal communication between the senators and the president. There is need for this,” he said. When Daily Trust contacted the spokesperson of the senate, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, he said: “You are just telling me now. I’m not aware of such committee and I don’t know its terms of reference.” Another source disclosed that there are issues between the presidency and the two chambers of the National Assembly, not only the Senate. “Frankly speaking, there are issues with both chambers. Yes, that of the Senate may be pronounced, but there are issues with the House as well. How can you increase the budget of the judiciary by N30bn without increasing that of the legislature? The lawmakers are not happy with this. “Again, the president doesn’t see them as anything. He treats them with disdain, and it’s the fault of his aides. He doesn’t meet lawmakers privately to discuss issues, which wasn’t the case in the past. They’re only managing to work with him. “There were instances that the president would travel to a place with the Senate President and the Speaker, but he would be distanced from meeting the National Assembly leaders. All these things may be small, but they’re important as far as their relationship is concerned. The House is only managing the relationship, while that of the Senate seems to go out of hand. “As I speak with you, there are lawmakers that are not principal officers, but they have unfettered access to the Villa, while principal officers don’t. If anything comes up, those lawmakers that are just committee chairmen can’t do anything to defend the president. “For me, the way out is for the president to open up and make himself accessible to the lawmakers. He should know that it’s not a one-man show. He should respect them the way they respect him,” the source said. But another lawmaker said there are no serious issues between the House and the presidency but that the attitude of some heads of government agencies toward the lower chamber was unbecoming. “There are no real issues that one can say are pronounced. The issues we have mostly have to do with heads of agencies. Sometime when we invite them, they don’t want to appear until we now summon them. “As a parliament, we have powers to invite anybody to appear before us on an issue, but they give flimsy excuses here and there. That notwithstanding, we don’t have issues with the presidency currently. “The real issues are in the Senate. In fact, at some point, the speaker was trying to mediate between the Senate and the presidency, that’s to tell you we don’t have issues with them. May be the presidency sensed that the suspension of Ndume may lead to other things, that is why they quickly swung into action,” the lawmaker said. Meanwhile, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is to head the committee set up by the presidency to resolve the rift with the lawmakers. Other members of the committee include all ministers who were former senators. These are Chris Ngige (Labour), Udoma Udoma (Budget and National Planning), Heineken Lokpobiri (State, Agriculture), Hadi Sirika (State for Aviation) and Aisha Alhassan (Women Affairs). Other members are the Senior Special Assistants to the President on National Assembly Matters, Ita Enang (Senate) and Samaila Kawu (House of Representatives). Members of the committee met at the vice president’s office after the cabinet meeting. Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, told reporters that the cabinet expressed concern over the strained relationship between the executive and the Senate in particular. He said: “The executive is also concerned that the relationship between the two arms of government is not as smooth as it is supposed to be. “In any democracy, it is a continuous struggle for balancing between the executive and the legislature because each of them is a creature of the law. “We must strive at all times to ensure that there is that balance, amity and smooth relationship. “Just today (Wednesday) at the Federal Executive Council meeting, the issue was discussed and a committee is already working on ensuring that we resolve all these outstanding issues,” the minister said. The Senate Tuesday put off the confirmation of 27 Resident Electoral Commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission for two weeks. It took the decision to protest continued presence in office of the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu, even though his nomination was rejected twice by the senate. The upper chamber had also expressed displeasure at the refusal by the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Hameed Ali, to wear uniform. The Senate had earlier this year called for the removal of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, following allegation of misappropriation of funds meant for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in the northeast.

Common Habits That Damage Your Eyesight

There are a number of habits that pose a threat to a healthy vision. Jumia Travel shares 8 of the most common habits that damage eyesight...

Rubbing Your Eyes
This, especially when done forcefully or vigorously, can break the tiny blood vessels under the skin’s surface causing dark circles, puffy eyes or drooping eyelids. Using your hand to rub your eyes when you feel something in your eye can also scratch and permanently damage the cornea. In addition, if your eyes are itchy rubbing them tends to release more of the allergens responsible for the itch, making the itch feel worse.

Exposing your Eyes to the Sun or High- Energy Visible (HEV) Rays
This can prematurely age and damage your eyes and eyelids. To avoid this, it is advisable to wear a good pair of sunglasses to block these rays. Sunglasses help to minimize the effect of bright lights which include headaches, blurred vision, or red eyes, and prevent you from excessive squinting which can lead to eyestrain and pain.

Eating Poorly
Eat less fast food meals and more foods, fruits and vegetables like carrots, leafy greens, fish etc. that are good for the eyes. They will help provide the necessary vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids for optimum eye health.

Not Drinking Enough Water
Not drinking enough water daily, alongside eating a high-sodium diet can cause dehydration which eventually causes the eyes not to produce enough tears to keep the eyes moist and properly nourished. This in turn leads to dry eyes, redness and puffy eyelids.

Too Much Screen Time
Too much screen time tends to slow your blinking rate which eventually causes dry eyes and smeary vision. It can additionally make the eyes burn and water. Make it a point of note to look away from your screen regularly.

Straining Your Eyes
Straining your eyes to read tiny texts either in a book or on your phone can make your eyes start to hurt, especially if you do it for long hours. It can lead to blurred vision, dry eyes, dizziness and nausea. Try to avoid reading tiny fonts, but if you must do so take breaks in between reads to give your eyes a break.

Misusing Eye Makeup
You should be careful in your application of eye products like mascara, eyeliner, eye shadow, and eye creams. Try to apply the makeup far away from your lash line so you don’t block the oil glands of your lids because buildups here can cause infections. Also, you should change your eye makeup after every three months because after this time, especially if not stored in a cool place, they can become breeding ground for bacteria.

Not Getting Enough Sleep
A lack of sleep eventually hurts your eyes. Sleep deprivations causes symptoms like twitching, dry eyes, blurry vision and pain in the eyes. Try to get a minimum of seven to eight hours of sleep each night to help maintain a healthy vision.

Three Things I Did While In Prison — Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Sunday narrated his prisons experience and declared that he did three things while he was in Yola and Kirikiri prisons serving a jail term for a phantom coup charges by the late military dictator, Sani Abacha.

He also said there should be no position that a man should find himself in life where he should not be useful to God.

He also posited that the major challenge in life was not how to stay alive but “what to live for and what to live with.”

Obasanjo said this while recalling his experience as an inmate in Yola Prison where he said he met a hardened armed robber and serial murderer, Baba Ali, who he preached to and later sent to the bible school and who has today become a pastor over a Baptist Church.

The ex-President spoke at Shepherdhill Baptist Church, Obanikoro, Lagos, where the Lagos State Baptist Conference held a thanksgiving service to mark his 80th birthday.


The programme was tagged, “Special Commemorative, Commendation and Congratulatory Birthday Service.”

Recalling his time as an inmate, Obasanjo said he did three remarkable things, which were that he built a church while in prison; started a farm, converted Baba Ali to a Christian and served as prison pastor.

He narrated, “There’s a difference between joy and happiness. In prison, I had joy but it will be madness for me to say that when I was in prison I was happy. How can you be in prison and say you are happy? But I was having the joy of God with me, not for one day was I sad. And I am grateful to God for the experience that I had in the prison.

“I will mention three things that God made me to do when I was in Yola Prison. One, God made me to build a church. It’s very unusual, I asked the authorities for land, they were reluctant, but eventually they gave me land and immediately, we started getting donations. It was started before I left Yola. Wherever you are, you can still be useful to the work of God.


“Secondly, there was a parcel of land, which was not being used for anything, so, I told the prison authorities that I wanted to farm. They were reluctant but eventually they granted me the permission to farm and I grew enough beans to feed all the inmates and the warders. Don’t remain idle, get something doing.”

The third thing he did, Obasanjo said, was at Kirikiri Prison in Lagos where he took over as the prison pastor.

He said he took over as prison pastor because the prison authorities banned preachers from coming in after some white garments preachers who came to preach had helped some inmates to escape by dressing them in white garments.

He said, “They made sure we did not receive anybody from outside to come and preach to us or fellowship with us. So, I took over as the prison pastor. And there was a boy whom they had introduced to me, his nickname was Baba Ali. Baba Ali was the head of the armed robbers in the North. And if you were an armed robber and you came to the prison, you must first of all go and pay homage to Baba Ali. If you were going out, you must go to Baba Ali and ask him for instruction on what you had to do next.


“So, I called Baba Ali one day and said, ‘You are not coming to fellowship; I want you to be coming to the fellowship.’ He said, ‘Baba, don’t worry me; don’t worry me at all because God can never forgive me. I have killed so many people in my life; I have drunk the blood of so many people; I have eaten the flesh of so many people and God will never forgive me, so, don’t waste your time about me.’

“I left Baba Ali on that occasion, and I waited for some time before I went back and said, ‘Baba Ali, you know all you said that you are a murderer, whether you killed only one person or a thousand people, you are a murderer; but have you forgotten that Moses was a murderer but God used him to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt? David was a murderer but God called him a man after my heart.

“By the time I was leaving the prison, I told Baba Ali that if he was able to make it and he would like to go to bible school, I would send him to bible school. Baba Ali came out of prison two years after me. By the time he came out I had become the President of Nigeria. It took him two years to get through to me, when he got to me, I reminded him of our agreement and he said he was ready to go to the bible school. So, I sent him to the seminary. Baba Ali spent two years in the seminary, today Baba Ali is the pastor of a Baptist Church. What is more? Baba Ali’s junior brother took after him and has also become a pastor.”

The church presented Obasanjo with a bible, a bell and a bottle of olive oil.

He was accompanied by his wife Bola, Senator Olorunnibe Mamora among others.

Senate Probes Buhari, Obasanjo, Yar’adua, Jonathan Over N4tr Customs Revenue

The Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff has revealed plans to investigate how over N4 trillion was lost due to revenue leakage in the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). The period under review will cover 2006 and 2016.

In the investigation, the Senate committee will look into the tenures of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan. Also, President Muhammadu Buhari’s government will be probed.

The probe is coming amid a yet-to-be resolved face-off between the Senate and the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (retd). The committee has, however, condemned the inability of the technical committee on the implementation of comprehensive import supervision scheme to ensure that the provisions of the Act are followed to the latter.

Disclosing this to journalists in Abuja, Chairman, Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariff, Senator Hope Uzodinma, said the committee would stop at nothing in recovering any money lost due to lapses and infractions.

According to him, preliminary investigations by the committee revealed that the N4 trillion leakage was as a result of various forms of infractions, including abuse and non-implementation of Foreign Exchange forms.

He added that other factors responsible for the leakage were wrong classification of cargo under Harmonised System Codes, non-screening of cargoes coming into Nigeria and lack of adequate ICT infrastructure for revenue collection, stressing that cancellation of pre-arrival assessment reports and abandonment of single goods declaration were equally responsible for the leakage.

Uzodinma said: “The committee frowns at the quantum of revenue losses and it will stop at nothing in ensuring that those involved in this ugly act would return all recoverable monies with them.

“The committee also frowns at the level of collusion and corruption within the Customs Service. At the end of our current investigation, all these will become a thing of the past and Customs revenue will be enhanced and non-oil revenue will be improved upon.

“What we are investigating is not money spent. It is the leakages. For instance, I am supposed to pay XYZ amount of duty. I will abandon the documentation, go get fake documents, collude with Customs, pay, maybe, a fraction of it and carry my goods. With that, the true import circle is not closed.

“Another instance is that assessment is abandoned or I fill the Form M, for example, with a pro forma invoice, apply for foreign exchange in Central Bank, XYZ amount of money is allocated to me, money moves in but no goods shipped. I will then go get fake documents, collude with Customs and then retire the allocation.”

The lawmaker said the sharp practices, which include round tripping and false declarations, had over time led to increase in the exchange rate.

He stressed that in most cases, the amount of money spent was not commensurate with the number of goods being imported, adding that the committee had started investigating activities of companies and banks indicted in the matter.

He said: “We will not mention the companies involved because we are also very careful of the integrity and public perception of some of these companies, being that some of them are in the stock market. We will be diplomatic in carrying out this investigation.

“This is to the extent that little or damage will be done to the integrity and image of such companies provided that government revenues in their hands will be recovered.”

On the retrospective policy on payment of Customs duties on old vehicles, the lawmaker expressed dissatisfaction with the service for over-stepping its bounds by making policies rather than implementing them.

According to him, the power to make policies for the service was vested in the Ministry of Finance, adding that having gone through the legislations and books available, relating to the administration of the Customs Service, I discovered that the Customs only implemented policies made by the Ministry of Finance.

Uzodinma said: “It sounds very strange to hear that Customs gets up and says they are making a policy. That is what I am yet to understand and there is no way to fathom that before the law.

“The referral is already before us. I was waiting for him to appear before the Senate before we commence a full-blown investigation into some of those issues that have been referred to us.

“Concerning the suspended policy on payment of Customs duties on old vehicles, the committee will continue to interface with the service to ensure that the policy is cancelled, not suspended.

“The whole idea is about governance and governance is about the people and nobody is licensed or entitled to talk about the people more than the elected representatives. In my view, there is no hullaballoo. We will discuss with them and wise reasoning will prevail.”