Osun Election: Governor Aregbesola Winning In Osogbo, While Omisore Of PDP Is Leading In Ife

So far, the election results are characteristically showing that the APC candidate Governor Rauf Aregbesola is leading in Oshogbo and environs and may be leading in overall results so far seen by SaharaReporters, while the People’s Democratic Party candidate, Iyiola Omisore appears to be leading in Ife area.

The Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD cddwestafrica.org, duly accredited by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to observe the Osun State Governorship Election on August 9, 2014, observed the election in 20 local governments in the state.
For the purpose of the gubernatorial election, INEC deployed 10,432 electoral officials to administer the election. INEC also accredited national and international observers for the polls. There is heavy security presence in the state. However, the security agents have conducted themselves in an orderly manner as at the time of filing this report.
INEC deployment of logistics is commendable as election materials arrived ahead of accreditation in most of the polling units across the state. The accreditation process commenced timely in majority of the polling units across the state and ended around 11.30-11.45 a.m. There were few cases of missing names on voters register but we commend the INEC Situation Room for the prompt resolution of reported cases.
CDD observed that voting commenced around 12.30 p.m. in most of reviewed local governments; however there were few reported incidents of disagreements over folding of ballot papers before handing out same to voters by the electoral officials. For instance, in Ward 2 Polling Unit 14 in Ejigbo local government, this led to a disagreement and delayed timely commencement of voting.
CDD also observed that in some polling units, electoral officials refused assistance to the aged and persons living with disabilities contrary to the INEC guidelines.
CDD observed that party agents representing Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressive Congress (APC), Progressive People’ Alliance (PPA), Peoples’ Democratic Movement (PDM), Labour Party ( LP) and National Conscience Party (NCP) were present in most polling units despite the fact that about 20 political parties contested in the election.
CDD also observed that political parties did not comply with the electoral laws and INEC guidelines on the removal of posters across the state as campaign posters and billboards were seen littering polling units on the day of election.
CDD witnessed an average voter turnout during the gubernatorial election. The atmosphere in the state is calm and peaceful and results have started trickling in as at the time of filing this report.
- See more at: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/166444-cdd-releases-preliminary-report-on-osun-election.html#sthash.Au0xWLRy.dpuf

Diamond Bank Become more dynamic with MTN to unveil Diamond Y'ello account

The era of mobile telephone banking in Nigeria received a huge boost on Friday, August 8, 2014, as one of Nigeria’s leading banks, Diamond Bank Plc in partnership with MTN Nigeria, officially unveiled the “Diamond Y’ello Account” (DYA) in Lagos.

The ceremony which was held at The Wheat baker Hotels, Ikoyi, Lagos was attended bysenior management of Diamond Bank Plc and MTN.

Group Managing Director, Diamond Bank Plc, Dr Alex Otti; Founder of Diamond Bank and Founding Chairman of MTN Nigeria, Dr Pascal Dozie and  CEO, MTN Nigeria, Mr Mike Ikpoki, unveiling the Diamond Y’ello Account.

They include the Group Managing Director(GMD) of Diamond Bank Plc; Dr Alex Otti, CEO of MTN Nigeria; Mr Mike Ikpoki, Acting Chief Marketing Officer (C.M.O) of MTN Nigeria; Mr Usoro Usoro and the Deputy Managing Director of Diamond Bank Plc; Mr Uzoma Dozie among others. Continue...

The ceremony which was held at The Wheat baker Hotels, Ikoyi, Lagos was attended bysenior management of Diamond Bank Plc and MTN. They include the Group Managing Director(GMD) of Diamond Bank Plc; Dr Alex Otti, CEO of MTN Nigeria; Mr Mike Ikpoki, Acting Chief Marketing Officer (C.M.O) of MTN Nigeria; Mr Usoro Usoro and the Deputy Managing Director of Diamond Bank Plc; Mr Uzoma Dozie among others.

From Left: Founding Chairman, MTN Nigeria, Dr Pascal Dozie; comic act, Afeez Oyetoro, a.k.a Saka, and General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN, Mr Kola Oyeyemi at the formal unveiling of the Diamond Y’ello Account on Friday, August 8 2014.

The Diamond Y’ello Account is the outcome of an exciting synergy between Diamond Bank Plc and MTN Nigeria. Diamond Bank will through this product, provide numerous banking services to Nigerians via the robust telecommunications platform of MTN. According to the bank, subscribers on the MTN network will now be able to open an account, save money, make purchases and even apply for loans, all through their mobile phones.

The Diamond Y’elloAccount (DYA) is easy to use, as it completely eliminates the burden and risk of moving around with huge sums of money. Customers who are registered on the MTN network are automatically eligible for the service. To open an account, interested customers will dial *710# and follow the prompts.

Speaking during the formal unveiling of the product, Chairman of MTN Nigeria, Dr Pascal Dozie, who also doubles as the founder of Diamond Bank Plc, paid glowing tributes to both companies for partnering to pioneer a product, which according to him, will change the face of banking in Nigeria.

He described the collaboration between the two companies asa joint commitment to excellence, which also aligns with the current financial policy of the federal government aimed at engendering a cashless society, managing inflation and promoting socio-economic growth.

The GMD of Diamond Bank Plc, Mr Alex Otti described the Diamond Y’ello Account (DYA) as a “novel, earth-shaking product”.He expressed confidence that the product will enable the bank to reach out to the millions of people who do not have a bank account, but are connected on the MTN network, which is the largest in Nigeria with 58 million customers.

Also speaking, MTN’s CEO Mike Ikpoki expressed delight over the partnership with Diamond Bank. He expressed full confidence that the Diamond Yello financial service will ultimately promote a cashless society, create more jobs and ultimately build a vibrant economy, powered by technology.

For more information about the Diamond Y’ello Account, please visithttp://www.mtnonline.com/diamond-yello-account

Borno protest

About 1,000 people gathered to in Maiduguri, Borno State,
on Saturday to protest over alleged abandonment by the
federal and state governments.
Reportedly, the protesters were largely made up of survivors
of Boko Haram attacks on Gwoza, and families of Gwoza
residents who are still trapped in the local government.
According to Premium Times, scores of soldiers and armed
police officers tried to prevent the protesters from
embarking on their rally.
One of the protesters, a young man who is about 26 years
old, was shot allegedly by a police officer, and is at present
in critical condition at the University of Maiduguri Teaching
Hospital.
Despite the presence and actions of the security officials, the
protesters got to the government house in Maiduguri.
The protesters were allowed to go into the deputy
governor’s office, where they insisted on being addressed by
the state governor, Kashim Shettima.
While the protesters waited for the governor, his deputy,
Zannah Mustapha, arrived to address the angry residents.
However, the protesters said they would only listen to the
governor.
“We voted for the governor and not his deputy,” many of the
protesters said in Hausa language.
Some of the protesters yelled while lamenting their
situation: “They’ve burned down the entire Gwoza; emir’s
palace, local government secretariat, police station. Most
people are on top of the Mandara mountains of Gwoza.
They are starving.”
After Boko Haram attack on Gwoza, residents were forced
to go on top of the mountain, which borders Nigeria and
Cameroon. The insurgent group later claimed the town for
itself and mounted its flag.
On Thursday, the Nigerian military said that it has
commenced operations to reclaim Gwoza and other
communities claimed by the insurgents.
One of the protesters, who identified himself as Liman
Ngoshe, addressed journalist, speaking in Hausa: “They are
forced to soak rain water with their clothes and squeeze
them for drinking after the rain stops,” he said.
He said those trapped had been surrounded at the foot of
the mountains by Boko Haram gunmen, while corpses of
those killed while trying to climb the mountain still littered
the floor of the mountains.

Osun state

Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the National Publicity Secretary of
the All Progressives Congress (APC), who was arrested on
Friday in Osogbo, by alleged hooded security operatives,
has narrated his ordeal to Vanguard corespondent.
Mohammed, who said he was arrested for no reason aside
the fact that he belongs to the opposition party, said the
incident shows the level of illegality, lawlessness, anarchy
and intolerance to which the country has descended to
under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan.
Related: APC Leaders Arrested/Released Hours To Osun
Election
This was contained in a statement issued on Saturday in
Osogbo by Mohammed after he was released by his
detainees. The spokesman said he was arrested alongside
Mr. Sunday Dare, the Media Aide to APC National Leader
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and Mr. Afolabi Salisu, Deputy
Chief of Staff to Gov. Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State.
Read the statement below:
"We were being driven to the Government House when we
were stopped at a military check point by men in military
and DSS uniforms, all hooded and armed to the teeth with
AK-47 assault rifles, pistols and other weapons. Since there
was no curfew in Osun state and people were moving
around freely, we felt it was a routine check. Suddenly, the
men, some of them apparently drunk, ordered us out of the
car, took our phones, pointed their assault rifles at our
heads and said ‘you are under arrest’. They herded us into
their bus like animals and drove away. There is no doubt
that they knew who we are because I introduced myself!
"From our encounter with our tormentors, there is also no
doubt that these were not just soldiers and DSS officials,
there were also ex-militants and thugs, all clad in military
and DSS uniforms but apparently lacking in any training!
We also witnessed how men in military and DSS uniform
fired their guns at the gate leading to the residence of
Senator Isiaka Adeleke to force it open! We asked them why
we were being arrested, but they ignored our question as
they drove for close to one hour before veering into a
compound that turned out to be the offices of the DSS.
There, we met people who had been previously arrested
and stripped of their clothing, many of them bloodied from
the beatings to which they must have been subjected.
"We were herded to one side as our tormentors marched
around triumphantly, in what could well have been a scene
from the Ukraine! We were waiting for our turn to be
stripped of our apparels and taken along with those who
were arrested earlier to the DSS cells when a man who is
apparently a senior DSS official intervened and ordered our
release. The men who arrested us, apparently unhappy at
the order to set us free, rejected the order, until the man
asserted his authority and even accompanied us to where
we were arrested from.
"Back there, we discovered that our driver has been badly
beaten and even robbed of his personal belongings by the
same security agents being paid by the taxpayers to protect
the citizens, whose ranks have now been swelled, willingly,
by thugs and ex-militants, armed and dressed in official
uniforms by the PDP and sanctioned by the Jonathan-led
Federal Government!
”This arrest is not about Lai Mohammed, Sunday Dare or
Afolabi Salisu, whoever we may be, but about the
constitutionally-guaranteed rights of Nigerians, ordinary
Nigerians, to move around freely, associate with any party
of their choice and express their opinions without being
molested or arrested.
"The way and manner we were harassed, arrested and
dehumanized on Friday night show that Nigerian citizens
can no longer be sure that the security agents they
encounter on the roads or anywhere else are well-trained
and highly-disciplined men and women in the military,
police, DSS and others that we used to know. What we have
now are Jonathan’s soldiers, policemen and DSS officials
who have since stopped working for the nation but are now
the enforcement arm of the PDP.
Related: Osun Election: APC Lays Huge Allegations
Against Commissioner Of Police
"As we write this, APC leaders and members are still being
harassed and arrested across Osun State. We have just
received reports that our members were arrested in Ifelodun
Local Government Ward 10, Atakumosa East Local
Government and Ife East Local Government, Okerewe
Wards 2 and 3. Over all we have ninety-seven leaders of
our party in detention and the arrest has not stopped. This
cannot be right" the statement reads.

Dr. Kent Brantly

THE

US doctors who contracted the Ebola virus in Liberia, has spoken out for the first time. He released a statement from his isolation room at Emory University in Atlanta where he's being treated after he was flown out of Liberia last week. He is the first Ebola patient that the drug ZMapp was used on. Below is the statement Dr Brantly released to the media yesterday...

“I am writing this update from my isolation room at Emory University Hospital, where the doctors and nurses are providing the very best care possible. I am growing stronger every day, and I thank God for His mercy as I have wrestled with this terrible disease. I also want to extend my deep and sincere thanks to all of you who have been praying for my recovery as well as for Nancy and for the people of Liberia and West Africa.

“My wife Amber and I, along with our two children, did not move to Liberia for the specific purpose of fighting Ebola. We went to Liberia because we believe God called us to serve Him at ELWA Hospital." Continue...

 “One thing I have learned is that following God often leads us to unexpected places. When Ebola spread into Liberia, my usual hospital work turned more and more toward treating the increasing number of Ebola patients. I held the hands of countless individuals as this terrible disease took their lives away from them. I witnessed the horror first-hand, and I can still remember every face and name.

“When I started feeling ill on that Wednesday morning, I immediately isolated myself until the test confirmed my diagnosis three days later. When the result was positive, I remember a deep sense of peace that was beyond all understanding. God was reminding me of what He had taught me years ago, that He will give me everything I need to be faithful to Him.

“Now it is two weeks later, and I am in a totally different setting. My focus, however, remains the same - to follow God. As you continue to pray for Nancy and me, yes, please pray for our recovery. More importantly, pray that we would be faithful to God’s call on our lives in these new circumstances.”

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Osun in war mode

OSUN ELECTION: Two INEC Men Arrested Trying To Move Sensitive Election Materials

One of the officials, An Electoral Officer for the LGA, confessed to being guilty of the crime but did not mention who was behind the operation as he asked for forgiveness.

The car used in the operation had a registration number FG816V01 and was used to move the materials and the suspects, are right now in police holding at the Police Command in Oshogbo.

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