The National Peace Committee led by former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, on Thursday, decried cases of violence, intimidation, and vote-buying, among other practices during last Saturday’s off-cycle governorship elections in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa states. In a statement on Thursday, the peace committee said, “We are not unaware of the glitches recorded during the elections. Sadly, we have noted that some of the old ways remain and ordinary people continue to collude with corrupt members of society to stall the processes of our elections. “The persistence of the culture of vote-buying, intimidation, and voter apathy, among others are disturbing. A democratic culture will only grow if we participate in cleaning up the process of our elections because, in the end, we are the victims. The corruption of the process will lead to the emergence of corrupt leaders if we collude with merchants of corruption.” The body, however, said was “grateful to all critical stakeholders who worked round the clock to ensure that the elections are free, fair and credible.” It said, “Our appreciation goes to the staff of INEC, security agencies, traditional rulers, leaders of political parties, non-governmental organisations, civil society groups, the media and others who ensured the success of the elections in the three states. “We express our gratitude to voters in the states for defying obstacles and threats by performing their civic duties. We encourage our people to remain resilient and to use our experiences to correct the mistakes in the process of our elections.”

  The Jigawa State House of Assembly has suspended three local government council chairmen for allegedly travelling outside the country without seeking permission from the state executive or legislature. The suspended chairmen are Mubarak Ahmed of Yankwashi LGA, Rufai Sunusi, Gumel LGA and Umar Baffa of Birniwa LGA, who was said to have travelled to Rwanda. The House took the decision after the Chairman, Committee on Local Government Affairs, AminuTsubut, presented a motion for the suspension of the affected council chairmen. He explained that prior to their trip, the House had given an order for the local council chairmen in the state not to travel anywhere due to the preparation of the 2024 state appropriation bill and its presentation to the Assembly by Governor Mallam Umar Namadi.   Tsubut said, “This is an act of insubordination and nonchalant attitude to the primary responsibility which must be investigated immediately.” The members representing Malam Madori and Guri constituencies, Usman Abdullahi Tura and Hamza Guri, respectively, seconded the motion moved by Tsubut. The House then unanimously approved the suspension of the three local government chairmen and directed the vice chairmen of the affected councils to take over. Meanwhile, the House had constituted a committee under the chairmanship of the Majority Leader of the House, Lawan Muhammad Dansure to investigate the matter and report back to the House within four weeks for further action.

  The African Development Bank (AfDB) has kicked against the assault of its staff in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital. According to a statement released by the bank on Thursday, two staff members were “unlawfully arrested, physically assaulted, and detained for many hours by elements of the security forces without any official explanation” on October 31. AfDB said it has since lodged a formal complaint with the Ethiopian government which addressed the incident promptly. “We are pleased that the Prime Minister of Ethiopia immediately acted when he learnt of the incident, ordered the immediate release of the affected staff and promised to order an immediate investigation into the incident,” the statement reads. “This is a very serious diplomatic incident, and the African Development Bank has since lodged a formal complaint with the Ethiopian authorities. “For their part, the government has formally acknowledged our complaint, recognised the gravity of the incident, and reassured us that all those involved in breaking the law will be thoroughly investigated and brought to justice, ensuring transparency and full accountability.” The statement added that the Ethiopian government reassured the AfDB that its staff and those travelling to the country on mission would continue to enjoy full respect of their rights, privileges and diplomatic immunities under the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations as well as the bank’s host country agreement with Ethiopia. The African Development Bank values its excellent relations with the government of Ethiopia and is currently engaged with the authorities, through diplomatic channels, concerning the incident,” the bank said. “The African Development Bank’s management would like to reiterate its commitment to the safety, security, rights and privileges of all its staff in all countries where the Bank operates.” AfDB assured its partners that its operations in Ethiopia continue and have not been affected by the incident.

  At least two people are feared killed in the Kaduna state capital on Thursday as police operatives attempted to disperse the proscribed Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) otherwise known as Shittes, during a protest over the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian war. Pandemonium broke out following the alleged killing of two passers-by as security operatives tried to disperse the IMN members who were holding a procession along Waff Road in the Kaduna metropolis. An eyewitness told Channels Television that the Shittes holding banners with the photograph of their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, were marching towards the office of the National Human Rights Commission to submit a letter in support of the people of Gaza in Palestine when they were resisted by security operatives, and during the process, a commercial motorcyclist and another passer-by were reportedly killed. Commenting on the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mansir Hassan, blamed the IMN members for the crisis, accusing them of killing an innocent motorcycle operator, Sani Aliyu. Hassan explained that the Shittes had unlawfully blocked the road during a protest, and refused motorists from passing. He said upon the arrival of policemen to the scene, the Shittes who were armed with dangerous weapons including locally made guns, catapults, and arrows, opened fire on the police. The police spokesman stated that two policemen were injured by the rampaging Shitte members who also shot a 40-year-old motorcycle operator, Sani Aliyu to death. Hassan further disclosed that an investigation into the incident has commenced with a view to arresting and prosecuting those behind the crisis.

  Banks now owe telecommunication firms N200bn for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data services. This is following a slowing of negotiations between the banks and telcos. Telecom operators disclosed this on Thursday at the Nigerian Communications Commission industry interactive session with the new Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the commission, Dr Aminu Maida. The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, on behalf of telcos, stressed that the debt will not be forgiven. ALTON Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo in his goodwill address to the EVC said, “The banks owe us money. The debt is now over N200bn. It won’t go away, no one will forget the debt if the money is not paid.” He highlighted that the debt is negatively impacting the financial technology economy. He continued, “If that problem is not solved, it will continue to haunt progress in the sector. I ask you today to please look at this issue on the debt owed to us by the banks. There is no discussion about forgiving the debt, payment needs to be made.” Adebayo further clarified that while telcos and banks are still engaged in ongoing discussions concerning the matter, it is slow-paced and may not have the required effect when done. Adebayo’s new revelation indicates that USSD debt has jumped by about 66.67 per cent from the N120bn it was earlier in the year. Since 2019, banks and telcos have been at loggerheads over the repayment of USSD debt. As of 2020, the debt was N17bn, but since then its resolution has been besieged by many twists. Earlier in the year, telcos issued disconnection notices to banks after getting approval from the NCC to stop banks from accessing USSD services. Later the NCC through the immediate past EVC of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, noted that banks had agreed to pay telcos following the actions of regulators and stakeholders. Industry insiders, however, told The PUNCH that conversations pertaining to repayment plans were still ongoing. In October, telcos threatened to seek redress in court since there was no resolution in sight. At the time, Adebayo, declared, “I think is just best to withdraw the services. On this issue of USSD debt, if parties have to go to court to get a final resolution, so be it. “This is because every effort that is being made by everyone, where we move one step forward, several steps backward, is not going to work.” USSD is crucial to improving financial inclusion in the country because of the high population of feature phones in the country. The continued quagmire surrounding the payment for this service will threaten digital financial inclusion, the NCC once stated. Meanwhile, Adebayo also revealed that telcos now pay 52 different taxes and levies, making them one of the most taxed in the country. He highlighted that these taxes are impacting how they operate and impeding growth in the sub-sector. Prior to now, telcos paid a little over 41 different taxes. He said, “Today we checked the number of taxes and levies that we face across the country, it is now 52. We are one of the highly taxed sectors of the economy. And it is not just these taxes that are the issue; it is the behaviour of public actors when collecting them. These things have a ripple effect on the things that we want to do. Quality of service and co are all interlinked here too.” While charging the telcos on Thursday, Maida, declared that quality of service and quality of experience must improve in the sector. He noted that telecoms consumers must begin to enjoy the services they pay for. He tasked telcos to be more innovative despite the challenges in their operating environment and hinted that the commission was in talks with Original Equipment Manufacturers to boost job creation in the country.

  The Appeal Court, Abuja Division, on Friday, affirmed the victory of Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State in the March 18 governorship election.   The panel of three justices were unanimous, awarding no cost as the court ruled that each party to the matter should bear their costs. Details shortly…