NIGERIAN WATCH

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NIGERIAN WATCH
facebook.com/NigerianWatch 28 Aug - 10 Sept 2015
9
It was the APC UK that helped
win the Presidency for Buahri
The UK chapter of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) party has received high
praise for the campaigning role it played
in Nigeria’s recent Presidential elections
– in the form of a letter of thanks
from State House, signed by the Vice
President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo,
GCON, SAN.
The APC UK led by Mr Ade Omole
dedicated huge resources to ensure that
the message of change resonated with
Nigerians in the diaspora and at home in
Nigeria.
This was done via a series of initiatives,
such as the “Make A Call – Make a
Change” campaign – where Nigerians in
the UK were provided with phone cards
to call their families back home to vote
for change – running television adverts
and staging rallies.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria State
House letter, which highlighted “the
successful part the UK team played at
the 2015 polls,” was sent and personally
signed by Vice President Osinbajo on behalf
of President Muhammadu Buhari
and the entire party in Nigeria.
Osinbajo noted the work done by APC
UK and stated that he was very “grateful”
for it.
The national coordinator, Mr Ade
Omole, who received the letter on behalf
of the executive members of APC UK expressed
his “delight at receiving such
letter,” from the Vice President.
He continued, “Despite the postponement
of the election in March, APC
UK continued to lead many Nigerians in
the diaspora in the fight for change and
the effect of our efforts, manifested
positively in the election when President
Muhammadu Buhari and several APC
candidates were duly elected in the April
elections,” Mr said.
He added, “It’s a massive honour and
huge privilege to have been recognised
for the work done. We will no doubt
continue to support our leaders as they
forge ahead with the plan for change.”
On the campaign trail (l-r): VP Osinbajo
with Mr Ade Omole at a pre-election
rally in London.
PMB dampens hopes of
diaspora getting the vote
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari
(PMB) has told the Nigerian
diaspora that they will have to
wait a while longer before they
can participate in Nigerian
elections – because a lot still needs
to be put in place before voting
from overseas can take place.
There are believed to be as many as
17m Nigerians living in diaspora, with
the UK being the largest community
with a two million strong population,
and they have long agitated for the
right to participate in Nigerian
elections.
Voting has been a key issue at the
ongoing 2015 Diaspora Day
Conference currently taking place in
Abuja and speaking at the event on
Tuesday (Aug 25), PMB said a lot of
logistics are required to be put in
placed before diasporans can vote.
Speaking at a seminar entitled,
Diaspora and Nigeria’s Change
Agenda, President Buhari,
represented by vice president Yemi
Osinbajo, said legislation, huge
finance and confidence in the
electoral system were required before
diaspora voting can commence.
He continued, “We are also aware
of the importance of voting rights of
Nigerians abroad but to achieve this,
the National Assembly will have to
legislate. Diaspora voting is in
Nigeria’s future.
"There is a lot to be done,
including building confidence in the
Nigerian electoral process as the skills
and planning required for a national
election in an atmosphere of
continued suspicion of each party is a
major challenge by itself. Our
electoral process is evolving and as
greater confidence is built in the
institutions and processes associated
with it, we may then create voting
opportunities for our citizens abroad
in the not too distant future.”
However, the president said his
administration was building a new
Nigeria that required the support and
participation of all, including
Nigerians in diaspora. He said that
part of his administration’s long term
strategy as a government was to build
an economy led by a strong and
responsible private sector.
According to President Buhari, the
government’s intervention would
come in the provision of physical and
economic infrastructure and social
policies that provide opportunity and
succour for the 110m extremely poor
Nigerians. He added that the
administration was targeting
consistent generation of 5,000MW of
power daily by early 2016, describing
it as a modest target from what is
already available.
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