cA former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Timi Frank, on Thursday said the conduct of the 2019 general elections puts a question mark on President Muhammadu Buhari’s integrity.
He said the huge number of petitions being filed before election petitions tribunals nationwide was an evidence of “a sham and badly conducted election in the history of Nigeria under the APC government.”
Frank said this in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja.
He said, “This election puts President Muhammadu Buhari’s integrity into question, except he chooses the path of late President Musa Yar’Adua, who acknowledged that the election that brought him into office was characterised by fraud and apologised to Nigerians.
“When I raised the alarm over plans to militarise the just concluded elections, some people didn’t take it seriously, but Nigerians could see how a government expected to protect them unleashed its institutions on them as video evidence of ballot box snatching, intimidation of voters and massive manipulation of their votes were seen during the elections.
“While I wholeheartedly congratulate the opposition PDP candidates across the country who could not be rigged, especially in Rivers, Bauchi, Adamawa, Oyo, Imo and others, I strongly believe that the judiciary will do the needful in Kano, Nasarawa, Katsina among other states where the will of the people were obviously manipulated.
“I urge all the victorious PDP candidates to strongly determine to better the lot of their people who have reposed confidence in them by massively embarking on projects and policies which will have direct positive bearing on the lives of Nigerians.”
While The Sokoto State House of Assembly, on Thursday, passed a bill to establish a College of Nursing Science in Tambuwal Local Government Area of the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the passage followed a motion moved by the Assembly majority leader, Alhaji Garba Bello (PDP- Yabo) and the adoption of the House Committee on Education report to that effect.
Alhaji Aminu Bala, (PDP- Bodinga South), the chairman of the committee, who presented the recommendations of the committee, said the bill sought to establish a new college of nursing science in the state.
“The reason is not far from the fact that there is the need to bridge the gap that exists as a result of the shortage of the required manpower in the state hospitals, especially in nursing-related fields.
“It is pertinent to note that the College of Nursing Science, Sokoto, cannot provide the needed manpower required in the state.
“This was largely due to the limited number of students allocated to every college in a year by the regulatory council,” he said.
Bala further said that the committee discussed extensively on the content of the bill at a stakeholders’ meeting.
“This is to recommend that the title of the bill be amended to reflect ‘College of Nursing Science’, instead of ‘Midwifery Science’.
“This is to enable broader concept that covers all Nursing Science, including Midwifery rather than limiting it to the provision of training and research in Midwifery.
“That the minimum qualification of the Provost, should be a Master’s Degree in Nursing Science instead of Degree in Nursing; as provided in the bill.
“This was also the new standard adopted by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) in order not to just upgrade the standard, but equally encourage people to go for higher degrees,” he added.
The Deputy Speaker, Alhaji Abubakar Magaji, who presided over the sitting said, “the bill is accordingly read for the third term and passed,” as the members unanimously accepted it in a voice vote.
alling on the PDP supporters to remain calm, Frank assured them that the PDP and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, will reclaim the mandate freely given during the presidential election.
