The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday extended the deadline for the collection of Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs). In a statement by INEC’s National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, the Commission extended the PVC collection deadline until Sunday January 29, 2023. “The Commission is determined to ensure that registered voters have ample opportunity to collect their PVCs ahead of the forthcoming election. “For this reason, the timeframe for the collection of PVCs is extended by eight days. “Instead of ending on Sunday 22nd January 2023, the collection of PVCs will continue until Sunday 29th January 2023. At the moment, the period of collection is 9.00 am – 3.00 pm daily (including Saturdays and Sundays),” INEC’s statement reads in part

  Ahead of the 2023 general elections, President Muhammadu Buhari has renewed calls to foreign government representatives not to meddle in Nigeria’s internal affairs. The President made this known when he received Letters of Credence from Ambassadors of Switzerland, Sweden, Republic of Ireland, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Republic of Senegal and the Republic of South Sudan at the State House. President Buhari further stated that Nigeria is working closely with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to deal with insecurity in the region and also implement strategies to contain the spate of unconstitutional changes in government in the sub-region. He called for cooperation and collaboration from the countries to overcome challenges in West Africa.   President Buhari invited friendly countries to support efforts to address the challenge of insecurity, fight against corruption, diversification of the economy, and our efforts in promoting good governance. President Buhari had in February 2022 asked foreign diplomats not to meddle in Nigeria’s politics.

  The police in India, on Wednesday, arrested two Nigerians who allegedly posed as “love gurus” to dupe an Indian doctor of N6.6 million (Rs 12.45 lakh). The police said the duo promised to cast a love spell on the victim who was going through a rough patch in her life and fell prey to the fraudsters after searching on Google for a “love spell caster,” Indian Express reported. According to the local news platform, the officers identified the arrested persons as Okwuchukwu, 41, and Obiwuru Jonathan Uzaka, 35, both residents of Uttam Nagar in Delhi. The police were on the hunt for two other accused, Michala Ajunda and Daniel. According to them, the complainant, an ophthalmologist, said the accused informed her that they were “love spell casters” from Uganda and would perform some prayers for her love. The accused also sought Rs 1 lakh to be transferred initially and collected up to Rs 12.45 lakh citing various reasons. Reacting to the issue through a statement, the police said, “The complainant who was seeking a solution to her love life problems and professional success had searched online for “love spell caster” and got the phone number of the fraudsters, she told police in her complaint. “Based on her complaint, the police registered a case and collected technical evidence. A special team led by Inspector J Narender Goud rushed to Delhi, arrested the accused and brought them to Hyderabad on transit remand. “The accused have been remanded in judicial custody,” the statement added. However, the police found that the four accused arrived in India for a cloth business and hatched a plan to cheat gullible citizens and earn money after suffering losses in business. The police further stated that the accused persons opened bank accounts through brokers and posted advertisements on social media platforms and Google. “Along with their phone numbers, they gave ads offering services in astrology, love spell cast, and solutions for life’s problems,” they added.

  At least five people have been confirmed dead following an accident when a man rammed a car into a crowd in Guangzhou, China on Wednesday. According to BBC, the accident which also injured 13 others has sparked widespread outrage as people accused the man of deliberately targeting people. The report said videos of the accident posted online showed the driver getting out of the car and throwing banknotes into the air, shortly after the crash. Police have then swung into action by detaining the 22-year-old man that drove the car. An investigation has also been launched. The crash occurred during the evening rush hour at a busy junction in the southern city of 19 million. “He deliberately drove into the people who were waiting for the traffic light. He rammed the car into them maliciously. After that, he made a U-turn and hit people again,” an eyewitness told local outlet Hongxin News. “He wasn’t driving too quickly, but some people couldn’t run away in time because they wouldn’t have known he was hitting people deliberately.” The man also reportedly drove into a traffic police officer and his motorcycle, but the officer managed to escape. Another circulated clip showed a young girl lying on the ground at the scene of the incident, while a woman said to be her mother wailed by her side. Another eyewitness described the chaos of the aftermath on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter. The person said that an hour after the incident, the site was still filled with ambulances and traffic police “and they had not moved all the injured and the bodies from the scene”. “The scene was too tragic and I couldn’t bear seeing it. I felt so sad that I wanted to throw up whenever I heard the siren of the ambulance,” the person said. The incident has sparked public anger, with many expressing sorrow that it happened in the lead-up to Chinese New Year, a time for family reunions. “The victims could be a girl who dressed up meticulously to go on a date… It could be a food deliveryman who earned five yuan after rushing an order. It could be a father who wanted to go home and have dinner with the children. It could be a child who was happily shopping,” one Weibo user wrote.

  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday said the decision to redesign N200, N500 and N1,000 notes, was long overdue, saying that it followed the law and due process in its decision to redesign some of the Naira notes. The Ogun State branch Controller of the apex bank, Wahab Oseni, who said this at a sensitization programme on the newly redesigned Naira notes, held at Kuto in Abeokuta, said the decision was in the overall interest of every Nigerian. While pointing out that the standard practice globally was for Central Bank to redesign, produce and circulate new local legal tender every five to eight years, Oseni noted that the N1,000 has been in circulation for 15 year, while N500 and N200 had spent 16 years and 20 years respectively. He said, hoarding of significant sums of banknotes outside the vaults of commercial banks should be discouraged by anyone who means well for the country. He clarified that the decision to redesign the Naira notes was taken by the CBN and heads of all commercial banks in the country. He added “the introduction of the new Naira notes will help check counterfeiting. The redesign is also expected to strengthen the economy, reduce the expenditure on cash management and enhance the CBN’s visibility of the money supply” He clarified that the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria to redesign the three denominations of the Naira is not targeted at any group or persons. “The global standard period for redesigning a country’s currency is five to eight years, which means that the Naira is long overdue for redesigning. Also, having a considerable amount of money currently outside the banks back into the financial system may help ease inflationary pressures, deepen financial inclusion and enhance cashless policy”. He advised Nigerians to cultivate the habit of saving money in banks, saying that when people safe in banks it is secured. Oseni said, “data have shown that a large volume of banknote hoarding by the public, which has led to shortage of clean and fit banknotes. Increase in the rate of counterfeiting in the country and the long span of re-designation of Naira notes, which according to best practice, should be undertaken every 5 to 8 years”. Look