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The Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria has announced that it is poised to begin a nationwide strike on Tuesday, February 27.

In a statement on Monday announcing the strike, the National President of AMBCON, Mansur Umar, said unless the Federal Government honours the agreement made with the association in 2020, the strike would commence.

It also called for the temporary suspension of all types of taxation on the bakery industry at the federal, state, and local government levels.

“The Association of Master Bakers and Caterers of Nigeria have critically accessed the state of our business operation, consequently demand the liberalisation of flour and sugar importation, reduction or total removal of import duties on major baking materials such as flour, sugar, butter, yeast, etc as applicable to other commodities as have recently been done by the Federal Government and provision of concessionary forex exchange to flour millers and other stakeholders as well as reduction of tariff on imported wheat and sugar,” it said.

It also called for the setting up of a price control and monitoring committee as allowed by the constitution as amended and other conditions that will enhance the ease of doing business in the country.

The private residence of the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, has been completely razed down by fire on Sunday afternoon.

Information gathered suggested that nothing was salvaged from the building located at No. 9, Justice Roseline Ukeje Close, Asokoro district of Abuja, as response was slow to arrive at the location.

Though no official statement has been released on the incident, the Media Aide to the Minister, Mr. Austine Elemue, who confirmed the incident, said the cause of the fire outbreak was being investigated.

Details Later….

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that the glitch experienced in uploading the scanned images of Polling Unit (PU) result sheets in the February 25, 2023 presidential election was “due to the inherent complexity within the system which was difficult to anticipate and mitigate.”

The commission revealed that while the uploads for the National Assembly election results succeeded because the application identified the respective states and built folder hierarchy for the results organisation process for the elections, attempts to upload the presidential election result sheets, which does not belong to or mapped to any state on the database, failed.

It added that this failure was attributable to the inability of the application to create and build a folder structure to organise the uploaded images of the result sheets of the 2023 presidential election.

This is was disclosed by INEC in a 500-page 2023 Post-Election Report released on Friday.

The report further noted that the first presidential election result sheet was successfully uploaded at 8.55pm on February 25, 2023, after interventions to resolve the error.

The commission, nonetheless, insisted that the glitch in the upload of the presidential election result sheets to INEC Result Viewing portal (iREV) did not affect the credibility of the election, adding that agents of political parties and security agents were given copies of polling unit results after they were announced in public.

Recall that the failure to upload results of the presidential election in real-time had caused major concerns in the course of the election process. While INEC explained that the failure was caused by a technical glitch, the opposition parties rejected the excuse, alleging a foul play in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

However, in the report, which chronicled all activities before, during and after the 2023 general election, INEC stated: “during the troubleshooting process, it was established that there was no issue in uploading the PU result sheets of the Senate and House of Representatives elections through the Election Result Modules.

“However, there was a problem with uploading the presidential election results to the system. Attempts to upload the results were generating internal server errors, which refer to a significant impairment that usually originate from within an application due to problems relating to configuration, permissions, or failure to create or access application resources correctly.

“Further interrogation of the Election Result Modules indicated that the system is encountering an unexpected configuration problem in mapping the presidential election results uploaded into the system to the participating Polling Units.”

The report added that due to the complex, sensitive and critical nature of the systems and the real potential for malicious cyber attacks, the commission immediately put in place several strict security and audit control measures to prevent any unfettered or elevated access to the Result Upload System.

The report added that in the process of resolving the challenge, it was discovered that the backend system of the IReV was able to query and detect the base states for uploading the PU result sheets based on the mapping of all Senatorial District and Federal Constituency elections to the respective 36 States of the Federation and the FCT as established in the database structure deployed within the system.

“In configuring and mapping the election results for the presidential and NASS elections, the Commission created Four Hundred and Seventy (470) election types consisting of one presidential constituency covering the entire country, 109 Senatorial Districts and 360 Federal Constituencies.

Each Senatorial District and Federal Constituency election on the database was mapped to their respective States.

“However, the presidential election result is a single, countrywide constituency and therefore, does not belong to any one State.

Consequently, while the uploads for the NASS elections succeeded as the application was able to identify the respective State and build the folder hierarchy for the results organization process for the election, attempts to upload the presidential election results sheets, which does not belong to or mapped to any State on the database, failed. Instead, it returned a HTTP server error response.

“This failure is attributable to the inability of the application to create and build a folder structure to organize the uploaded images of the result sheets of the presidential election.

“Having identified and established the source of the problem, the Commission quickly created and deployed “Hotfixes” which are software updates for fixing a bug or any vulnerabilities in a system. The deployed hotfixes eventually resolved the HTTP error on the system and the first presidential election result sheet was successfully uploaded at 8.55pm on the 25th of February 2023.

“After the problem with the upload was resolved, the Commission noticed a high volume of uploads on the queue. All results that scanned but could not be uploaded due to the error were queued waiting to be automatically processed. Due to the large volume and high traffic from the queue, the system was running slower, even though it tried to scale up automatically to handle the unanticipated heavy traffic. The density of the traffic that slowed the uploads was one issue.

“Another was that the offline queue requires the BVAS devices to be switched- on and connected to the internet for the upload. However, some of the POs had at the time left their PUs, and the devices had either been switched-off, or were out of internet coverage. Switched-off devices could not connect and upload the results sheets. The Commission had to reach out to the POs of affected areas to switch-on their systems and ensure internet connectivity for the uploads to continue. This accounted for the delay, with some of the results coming in the next day.

“By and large, the glitch experienced in uploading the scanned images of PU presidential election result sheets on 25th February 2023 was due to the inherent complexity within the System, which was difficult to anticipate and mitigate.

“Thereafter, the Commission has made improvements on the IReV and taken additional steps to build more resilience and undertook additional checks to ensure the stability and optimal operation and performance of the IReV portal. Additional quality assurance checks are now done to complement the end-to-end testing of the entire result upload ecosystem before the conduct of any election.

“However, the glitch in the upload of the presidential results sheets to iREV did not affect the credibility of the election. Agents of political parties and security agents were given copies of polling station results after they were announced in public.

“The results were also displayed at polling units for scrutiny by voters. So when they were eventually uploaded, it was easy to compare them with the copies displayed at polling centres and given to party agents and party officials.

“The 2023 General Election produced the most diverse outcome in recent Nigerian electoral history in terms of party representation in executive and legislative elections nationwide. Thus, four (4) political parties produced State Governors, seven (7) secured Senatorial seats, eight (8) won federal constituencies and nine (9) in State seats.

“A granular analysis of the results and performance of the leading parties across the country affirms this diversity. The performance of the four (4) leading political parties – APC, LP, PDP and NNPP – in the presidential election across the 6 geopolitical zones in respect of the required 25% threshold to win a state in a presidential election is shown in Table 9.6 below.

“Clearly, across the zones, the performance of the four (4) leading parties shows the diversity and subtlety in the results, attesting to the integrity of both the process and outcome,” the electoral umpire stated

The immediate past national chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olumide Akpata, has emerged as the governorship candidate of the Labour Party for the September governorship election in Edo.

Akpata, who was a senior partner and the Head of the Corporate and Commercial Practice Group at Templars law firm in Nigeria until his resignation on 31 August 2023, won the primary election held in Benin City, the state capital, on Friday.

Akpata was declared the winner of the primary having scored the highest number of votes.

In declaring Akpata the winner of the exercise, the election chairman said Akpata scored 316 votes to defeat his co-contestants in a landslide victory.

There was jubilation at the venue immediately Akpata was declared as the winner of the primary.

Some Nigerians living in Lagos State have trooped out in their numbers to buy bags of seized by the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS).

Recall that the NIS had announced its willingness to distribute bags of rice seized by its officers to members of the public amid the current economic hardship and high cost of food.

In a video shared on X (Twitter) on Friday, dozens of Lagos residents were seen standing on a long queue to buy the rice.

According to them, a bag of 25kg rice was being sold for N10,000 as against the price of N26,000 in some local markets.

“A bag of rice (25kg) is reportedly being sold for #10,000. The Customs Service says it secured approval from the government to dispose of the seized food items to needy Nigerians at discounted prices,” one of the buyers said.

The Independent National Electoral Commission has released the 2023 general elections report.

Its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, disclosed this in a statement on Friday.

The report was released almost a year after the 2023 general elections.

Some Nigerians had expressed disappointment over the delayed uploads of the presidential election results to the INEC result viewing portal.

However, Olumekun said the election report was reviewed and approved for publication at the commission’s weekly meeting held on Thursday.

He noted that the publication was done in keeping with the commission’s tradition over the last four electoral cycles, and its commitment to transparency.

Olumekun said the “comprehensive 526-page document, structured into 13 chapters and enhanced with 60 tables, 14 boxes, and 10 graphs, offered an in-depth analysis of the election’s key processes, achievements, and challenges, along with valuable lessons learned.”

Giving more insights, the national commissioner stated “The report showcases the election’s unparalleled diversity in party representation, demonstrating significant democratic progress.

“This election saw four political parties winning gubernatorial races, seven parties winning senatorial seats, eight in federal constituencies, and nine in state legislatures, illustrating a broad shift in political representation across Nigeria.

“The report underscores the pivotal role of technological advancements, particularly the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, in enhancing electoral integrity and reducing fraud.

“Furthermore, it addresses public concerns about the INEC Result Viewing portal, explaining the technical issues encountered during the upload of polling unit results for the presidential election.”

He added that other aspects covered in the report include logistics, security arrangements, staff recruitment and training, inclusivity measures, and the electoral framework,” he said.

Olumekun further stated that the commission would welcome feedback to inform future electoral reforms and improvements.

The Oluwole Market in Ogba, Lagos, witnessed a disruption of commercial activities as clashes erupted between Yoruba and Hausa communities.

The clash, which began on Thursday night and escalated into Friday morning, resulted in the tragic death of a young man, further fueling tensions between the two groups.

Daily Trust reports that the clash reportedly started when a Yoruba man, identified as Abbey, intervened in a quarrel between two Hausa men.

In the course of the intervention, Abbey was allegedly stabbed by an unidentified assailant, leading to fatal injuries.

The aftermath of Abbey’s death triggered a reprisal attack between Yoruba and Hausa residents in the area.

The reprisal attack resulted in the destruction of property, particularly food items such as peppers, onions, and other commodities sold by Hausa traders in the Oluwole Market.

The clashes led to a standstill in commercial activities, causing significant disruption and concern among residents.

Eyewitnesses reported a heightened police presence in the market area, with patrol vans attempting to control the situation and restore normalcy.

Corpses in mortuaries within some barracks of the Nigerian Army are rotting away over power outage.

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, disclosed this when he visited Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, to seek intervention.

Recall that the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) had given 83 MDAs in its franchise area a 10-day notice to pay the N47.1bn debt they owed the company or risk or risk disconnection.

Aso Rock was listed among the debtors, but President Bola Tinubu waded in immediately after the notice was issued.

The president had ordered that the debt be cleared.

During his visit to the minister, Lagbaja regretted that some barracks and cantonments have been in darkness since January.

“Debt owed is loaded on the meter, so no matter the amount of credit we put, the meters pick it automatically… Corpses in the Army mortuaries are decomposing and the owners of the corpses are protesting,” he said.

He further stated that it was impossible for the Army to raise funds to pay the entire debt and solicited for liquidation as was done in 2005 by the then President.

He assured the Minister of the army’s unflinching support towards developing intelligence strategies in curbing the menace of electricity infrastructure vandalism.

Adelabu assured the Nigerian Army of his readiness to dialogue with DisCos to find a way out of the problem.

According to the Special Adviser, Strategic Communication and Media Relations to the minister, Bolaji Tunji, Adelabu reiterated the importance of liquidity and funding in the sector, adding if the debts could not be written off, he would intervene in order to restructure the debt payment if there was assurance of regular payment by the Nigerian Army.

Recall that the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) had given 83 MDAs in its franchise area a 10-day notice to pay the N47.1bn debt they owed the company or risk or risk disconnection.

Aso Rock was listed among the debtors, but President Bola Tinubu waded in immediately after the notice was issued.

Only accountable judicial system’ll strengthen democracy – Tinubu
The president had ordered that the debt be cleared.

During his visit to the minister, Lagbaja regretted that some barracks and cantonments have been in darkness since January.

“Debt owed is loaded on the meter, so no matter the amount of credit we put, the meters pick it automatically… Corpses in the Army mortuaries are decomposing and the owners of the corpses are protesting,” he said.

He further stated that it was impossible for the Army to raise funds to pay the entire debt and solicited for liquidation as was done in 2005 by the then President.

He assured the Minister of the army’s unflinching support towards developing intelligence strategies in curbing the menace of electricity infrastructure vandalism.

Adelabu assured the Nigerian Army of his readiness to dialogue with DisCos to find a way out of the problem.

According to the Special Adviser, Strategic Communication and Media Relations to the minister, Bolaji Tunji, Adelabu reiterated the importance of liquidity and funding in the sector, adding if the debts could not be written off, he would intervene in order to restructure the debt payment if there was assurance of regular payment by the Nigerian Army.

He further revealed that debt owed by distribution and Generating Companies (GENCOs) is not the only challenge bedevilling the Power sector, adding that vandalization of power infrastructure which often lead to National grid collapse, theft, inefficiency in billing and collection process, poor metering gap, liquidity, shortage in gas supply, transmission stations being blown up with explosives in volatile areas are all part of the issues being experienced in the Power sector.

“The fundamental issues in the power sector value chain could be traced back to the last 50 years and a government which is barely eight months cannot use a magic wand to proffer solution. There is a saying that you won’t know what is happening in Rome until you get to Rome,” he said.

The Minister who acknowledged that Power outages is not peculiar to army barracks but a national issue said the DISCOs and GENCOs are profit-oriented organizations.

“We can only plead with them to adopt a repayment plan on a monthly basis instead of embedding the whole debt in their meter,” he said.

While encouraging the Army to continue assisting the Ministry in safeguarding power facilities across the nation, the Minister pledged to seek collaboration for the Army through any of the development partners for installation of Solar PVs and Battery Energy Storage System(BESS) as alternative power supply in Army barracks and cantonments.

Earlier, the Chief of Army Staff disclosed that the main reason for the visit was to discuss the consequences of the power outage in army formations and the way forward.

Youths affiliated with the Nigeria Civil Society Forum (NCSF) are currently at the Unity Fountain in the Business District Centre of Abuja for a massive rally endorsing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his administration.

The rally, organized to counter what participants perceived as inaccurate narratives about the government, saw enthusiastic youths adorned in white T-shirts and Fez caps with the resounding message, “Jagaban is working.”

The rally attracted a diverse group of young participants who arrived as early as 9 am; all united in their support for President Tinubu.

The attire, marked by the symbolic white T-shirts and Fez caps, created a visually striking and cohesive expression of their endorsement for the administration’s policies and initiatives.

Carrying an array of placards, the participants conveyed their messages of support through impactful slogans and statements.

Phrases such as “Jagaban is working” were boldly displayed by the youths.

The organizers of the solidarity rally explicitly stated that their primary objective was to challenge what they considered to be incorrect portrayals of the current state of affairs in the country.

They asserted that President Tinubu’s administration is steadfast in its pursuit of various programs and policies aimed at national development.

During the rally, several participants expressed their perspectives on President Tinubu’s leadership and the importance of countering misinformation.

Many echoed their belief that the administration is making significant progress in various sectors, and the rally served as a platform for them to voice their support openly.