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*Electoral umpire recognises Akpabio-backed APC faction in Akwa Ibom*Vote-buying may mar Osun governorship poll, say INEC, NSA

Chuks Okocha and Alex Enumah in Abuja

As presidential candidates and other politicians seeking elective offices in the 2023 general election continue to claim that their certificates are missing, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that 216 requests have so far been received demanding the particulars of some of the candidates.

The electoral umpire and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj. Gen Babagana Monguno (rtd) have also raised the alarm on the potential dangers of vote-buying in the forthcoming July 16 Osun State governorship election.

Also barring any last-minute changes, the name of the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio will be on the ballot as the senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Akwa Ibom North-West in next years general election.

This is a sequel to the recognition of the Akpabio-backed Stephen Ntukepko-led leadership of the APC in Akwa Ibom State by INEC.At a meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) held yesterday in Abuja to review security arrangements for the Osun State governorship election, the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, stated that the number of requests by Nigerians seeking a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the particulars of the candidates has risen to 216.

Before I conclude, let me seize this opportunity to once again reassure all Nigerians who applied for Certified True Copies (CTCs) of documents arising from the recent party congresses, primaries and nomination of candidates that all requests are being attended to expeditiously despite the huge quantities of documents involved.

Nigerian election, especially the conduct of primaries for the nomination of candidates by political parties, is one of the most litigated in the world. As of yesterday evening (Friday, July 1, 2022), 216 requests have so far been processed involving the certification of over 1,650,000) pages of documents.Indeed, there are now far more cases challenging the breach of internal democracy within political parties than those involving the conduct of the main elections by INEC. We will continue to work round the clock, including the weekends, to ensure that we attend to all applications received at the headquarters of the commission promptly, Yakubu explained.

According to the documents submitted to INEC, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in an affidavit submitted to INEC, claimed that he changed his name from Siddiq Abubakar as it appears on his West African School Certificate (WASC), to Atiku Abubakar.While Atiku was silent on the primary school he attended, he disclosed his General Certificate Education (GCE) results obtained in 1965 and a Higher Certificate (Masters degree) obtained in 2021.

Also, the presidential flagbearer of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Sani Yabagi, in an affidavit he submitted to INEC, said that the name on his degree and WASC is different from what he currently bears.In the same manner, the Delta State governor and vice presidential candidate of the PDP, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa in an affidavit attached to his particulars, informed INEC that his WASC obtained in 1974 was missing.

Okowa, however, attached a Higher School Certificate obtained in 1976.The presidential candidate of the Young Peoples Party (YPP), Prince Abdul Malik Ado Ibrahim, in the affidavit sworn to at the Federal High Court of Justice, Maitama, Abuja, on June 3, 2022, claimed that his original BSc degree issued by American College of Los Angeles, dated 1988; High School Diploma issued to him by Langley High, Norwich, UK dated 1979 and official degree transcript was missing.

THISDAY had earlier reported that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu was silent on the primary and secondary schools he attended.Meanwhile, with less than two weeks to the governorship election in Osun State on July 16, Yakubu also raised concern over the dangers of vote-buying in the governorship election

Again, arising from the experience in recent elections, vote-buying remains a major area of concern.We appreciate the role played by the anti-corruption and security agencies in apprehending some of the perpetrators of this brazen assault on our democracy.In particular, we are working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to ensure the prosecution of persons arrested in the recent Ekiti governorship election. Action will commence as soon as the EFCC completes its investigation. I appeal to all security agencies to continue to join hands with the Commission to tackle this menace.

The INEC chairman commended the relationship between INEC and security agencies in the Ekiti State governorship election.He announced the readiness of INEC for the Osun State election, saying, on our part, all the major activities that are supposed to be carried out at this stage have been successfully undertaken.

Yakubu added that the commission would keep a close watch on the security situation in Osun State.Also, the NSA, Monguno has raised the alarm that the July 16 Osun State governorship election may be hijacked or sabotaged by politicians through buying of voters.

Monguno who was represented by Sanusi Galadima from his office said: The NSA also urged ICCES members to build on the successes recorded from the Ekiti election as some disgruntled politicians may attempt to sabotage the process for their selfish gains, through vote-buying and other forms of voter inducement as well as political thuggery.

He also commended the INEC for the extension of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise.The NSA said that records from the conduct of the last Ekiti State governorship election indicated an impressive performance by the INEC as well as the security agencies as there were no major incidents of security concern recorded during and after the election.

Electoral Umpire Recognises Akpabio-backed APC Faction in Akwa Ibom

Meanwhile, barring any last-minute changes, the name of the former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Akpabio will be ballot as the senatorial candidate of the APC for the Akwa Ibom North-West election next year.

This is the sequel to the recognition of the Ntukepko-led leadership of the party in Akwa Ibom State.The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Akwa Ibom State, Mr Mike Igini, had stated that the APC cannot field any candidate in next years general election following its alleged inability to conduct a valid primary election for the selection of its candidates in the state and national elections.

Akpabio had participated in the APCs presidential primary and did not feature in any senatorial primary of the APC.His name was however forwarded by the APC to INEC as its senatorial candidate in the February 2023 senatorial election, after he was said to have participated in a senatorial primary conducted by the Ntukepko-led faction, which the electoral body did not recognise.

But in a letter dated June 21, 2022, and signed by the Secretary to INEC, Mrs Rose Oriaran-Anthony, the electoral umpire informed its REC in Akwa Ibom State that it would abide by a court judgment which declared Ntukepko as the authentic Chairman of the state chapter of the APC.

The letter marked: Ref: INEC/L&P/FHC/22/339/84, a copy of which was sighted by THISDAY reads, This is to formally draw your attention to the subsisting Judgment/Order of the Federal High Court, Abuja (Suit No: FCH/ABJ/CS/1635/2021) which recognised Hon, Stephen Leo Ntukekpo as the Chairman of the APC in Awka Ibom State;

The commission is to comply with the content of the judgment, please.While Igini had claimed that the APC in Akwa Ibom State did not conduct any primary monitored by INEC in the state, the APC had claimed that it re-conducted its primary at a rescheduled date wherein it informed the commission.In a letter dated June 15 and cited by THISDAY, the APC accordingly urged the commission to recognise its candidates in the forthcoming general elections in the state.

The letter signed by APCs National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore read in part, Following the judgment delivered in the above-mentioned suit which declared the Stephen Leo Ntukekpo-led state executive as the duly and democratically-elected members of the Akwa Ibom State Executive Committee, our party which has always been law-abiding, elected to obey the courts judgment and swear in Stephen Leo Ntukekpo as the State Chairman of the party in Akwa Ibom State.Our party recently conducted its primary election to nominate the governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State, wherein Mr. Akan Udofia emerged victorious as the candidate of the party.

However, the news making the rounds both in print and electronic media is that the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Akwa Ibom State, Mr Mike Igini has been quoted as saying that our Party does not have a Governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom as no primary election took place to nominate our candidate.We respectfully request that Mr Mike Igini should be called to order and refrain from making statements that are likely to cause political turmoil in Akwa Ibom State and put our party and your commission in a bad light.

Mr Chairman you are aware that political parties have exclusive rights to nominating candidates. We would therefore insist on exercising those rights.We equally request that all rights and privileges should be accorded to the Stephen Leo Ntukekpo-led State Executive Committee in Akwa Ibom State as we do not recognise any other group or faction particularly as there is a court judgment validating the State Executives led by Stephen Leo Ntukekpo.We are confident that you will give the concerns we have raised the much-needed attention they deserve in order not to bring your commission into disrepute and unnecessary embarrassment.

Justice Taiwo Taiwo had in a judgment delivered on March 17, declared Ntukepko as the authentic Chairman of the APC in Akwa Ibom State.An appeal filed against the judgment at the court of Appeal was also dismissed following its withdrawal by the APC.

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2023 Elections: INEC Receives 216 Requests for Particulars of Candidates - THISDAY Newspapers

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 30

The changing geo-political scenario in the Indian Ocean Region had led to international rivalries, clash of interests and competition and it was important for India to protect its interests, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval said today.

Synergy must in maritime domain

Seamless coordination is needed in maritime domain. Theres need to speak same language and have common operational picture that can be actionable. Ajit Doval, NSA

The NSA was speaking at the inauguration of the first meeting of the Multi-Agency Maritime Security Group (MAMSG), held to discuss policy matters impacting maritime security. The MAMSG is coordinated from the office of the National Maritime Security Coordinator (NMSC) under the NSA. Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar (retd) assumed charge as the country's first NMSC in February. The group has members from key central ministries, agencies and security forces dealing with maritime affairs and state maritime security coordinators representing all 13 coastal states and UTs.

Doval said economic interests and costal infrastructure were critical to exploit maritime resources. Investment in technology is needed, he said, listing drug smuggling and piracy as key threats. Keeping out foreign intelligence agencies was another aspect, he said.

Referring to the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, he listed it as a point that necessitated the need for synergy in maritime domain. He called for seamless coordination saying there was a need to speak the same language and have a common operational picture that could be actionable.

A number of policy issues on maritime security were taken up at the sessions, including a review of standard operating procedures for maritime contingencies, security of ports and coastal infrastructure, creation of a national maritime database, capacity building of coastal states and UTs and promotion of blue economy.

Officials explained the meeting was aimed at bringing about synergy among state and central mechanisms to devise common protocols. Some 95 per cent of Indian trade by volume is on the maritime route through 12 major and over 200 non-major ports.

#ajit doval

The rest is here:
Indian Ocean scenario changing, need to protect own interests: NSA Ajit Doval - The Tribune India

Federal spending is careening out of control as Washington bureaucrats fritter our tax dollars away on slots-playing pigeons and zombified cats.

Four months after the US national debt shot past the $30 trillion mark for the first time in history, a new report from Illinois-based nonprofit American Transparency is detailing some of the foolish, fraudulent, and frivolous federal projects that have spent us into an economic ditch.

The federal government isnt just wasting your money. They are literally ripping you off, said Adam Andrzejewski, the groups founder. They are milking taxpayers like dairy cows.

Andrzejewski pointed to a March report from the Government Accountability Office that tallied $281 billion in improper and mistaken payments in 2021 alone without even attempting to count the billions wasted on fraud-ridden COVID relief programs.

What government program is running well? he asked.

In their annual Wheres The Pork? report, Andrzejewski and his team of fiscal analysts crunch the numbers on the exorbitant discretionary spending that has come to light in the last two years. Heres just some of what they found.

Pigeon Slots

Cost: $465,339

Taxpayers are rolling the dice on a high-stakes study that aims to untangle the psychology of gambling addiction by building a casino for pigeons. The National Institute of Health has sent nearly half a million dollars to uber-liberal Reed College in Portland, Ore., where researchers are taking three years to create a self-contained miniature economy for the schools flock of birds. The pigeons receive currency-like tokens that they can earn, accumulate, spend, or gamble on slot machines, Dr. Timothy Hackenberg explained in the projects abstract. But even he admits the practical applications of his work are few. Presumably the eye-popping budget is needed to pay for all the comped rooms, free drinks, and tiny uniforms for feathered cocktail waitresses.

Fake Farms

Cost: $7 million

Giddy-up, pardner, and round up some COVID cash! The pandemic was a bonanza of wasteful federal spending. Case in point: a single loan processing company sent about $7 million worth of Paycheck Protection Program checks to imaginary farms in impossible places, a ProPublica investigation found. Scammers successfully claimed that tiny Beach Haven, NJ, a resort town of bungalows and marinas just north of Atlantic City, was home to phantom agricultural operations like the Beefy King cattle ranch and the Deely Nuts tree nut farm. Theres no farming here, Joe Mancini, the local mayor, told the watchdog group. Were a sandbar, for Christs sake. The ranch, according to the fraudulent filings, operated at Mancinis home address where he keeps three dogs, he said, but no cows.

Leapin Lizards

Cost: $75,000

Harvard biologists turned a leaf blower, a wooden pole, and a lounge of Caribbean lizards into a $75,000 payday. The National Science Foundation, claiming concern about worsening climate-change-induced hurricanes, paid researchers to capture 47 anole lizards in the Turks and Caicos Islands, then blast the animals with leaf blowers. The scientists filmed the critters hanging onto their sticks for dear life in windspeeds up to 108 mph and kept recording as they went flying. The experiment produced some hilarious YouTube footage, plus a theory that bigger toes help lizards survive hurricane-force winds.

Transgendered Monkeys

Cost: $477,121

A Florida lab is dosing male rhesus macaques with feminizing hormones intent on turning them trans. The experiment, funded by Dr. Anthony Faucis National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, aims to figure out why male-to-female transgender humans suffer high levels of HIV infection. HIV/AIDS thrives in the margins of society, reads the uber-woke project description. No population is more affected by these social injustices than transgender persons. The scientists suspect estradiol, the hormone commonly given to transgender women, may weaken the immune system. Next up: drag monkey story hour in your local library.

Cow Surveillance

Cost: $45,000

Wheres the beef? Check the satellite feed. With cash from the National Science Foundation and the DigitalGlobe Foundation, undergraduates at the University of California Santa Barbara spent eight months looking at satellite images of cows, in a project that studied the interactions between livestock and wildlife. Udderly confused students were asked to figure out how cows at Point Reyes National Seashore could coexist with native tule elk without butting heads. Spotting cows from space not your typical student research, admitted ecologist Doug McCauley, who led the project.

Star-studded COVID Handouts

Cost: $14 million

The rich got richer during the coronavirus pandemic, thanks to Uncle Sam. Bold-faced names like Kanye West, Robert Redford, and Francis Ford Coppola collected big bucks in 2020 from the COVID relief Paycheck Protection Program. West, who now has a net worth of about $6.6 billion, received $2.4 million for Yeezy, LLC, his famous sneaker company, which was valued at $2.9 billion at the time. Meanwhile, $3.04 million in loans went to Redfords Sundance Institute. Two of Coppolas companies, Francis Ford Coppola LLC and Niebaum Coppola Estate Winery, LP received a combined $8.5 million. The PPP program was created to help businesses stay afloat and keep idled workers off the unemployment rolls, but for wealthy celebrities, the forgivable loans didnt make any cents.

Zombie Russian Cats

Cost: $549,331

Grisly experiments in a Russian lab turned cute kitties into electrically-controlled zombies with the help of the US government. Researchers at the Pavlov Institute of Physiology in St. Petersburg, Russia were paid by the US National Institutes of Health to decerebrate 18 healthy cats, severing their brain stems to prevent movement while keeping them alive. The ghoulish scientists then used electrical charges to make the cats walk on treadmills, transforming them into the walking kitty dead. Congressional Republicans exploded at President Biden when news of the cruel and wasteful tests leaked earlier this year, just days after Russia invaded Ukraine. Our foreign adversaries, especially ones run by tyrants, should not be given US tax dollars to conduct heinous animal research, they wrote in a March 10 letter to the president.

Cowa-Dung-a!

Cost: $556,584

A smelly study funded mainly by the National Science Foundation measured animal poop to test a mathematical model of defecation. Researchers recorded footage of pandas, elephants, warthogs, and more in their most private moments, then examined and weighed the bowel movements, taking notes on the feces size and shape and recording the duration of defecation. The crappy study collected poop samples from 43 species at Zoo Atlanta, university animal facilities, and farms. The scientists doody: to discover new non-invasive methods of diagnosing animal illnesses. If youve ever wondered just how much dung a lion produces each day (less than one pound, it turns out), your taxpayer dollars have been well spent.

NSAs Never-Used Garage

Cost: $3.6 million

The National Security Agency may be Americas top intelligence-gathering organization, but it lacks the smarts to build a functional employee parking lot. A blistering 2021 inspector generals report shamed the agency for wasting $3.6 million on a hastily built modular parking deck at its Ft. Mead, Maryland headquarters. The finished garage, meant for 250 vehicles, held just 87 costing $34,000 per spot, the IG calculated. Worse, the structures European designers didnt take the size and weight of American cars into account. After a year of safety testing, the agency admitted that the garage was too flimsy to use. The NSA paid $500,000 to demolish the structure which never welcomed a single employee vehicle in 2019.

Toilet Cams

Cost: $6.97 million

Butts up, doc? Scientists from Stanford University used nearly $7 million in funds from the National Cancer Institute to build an artificially intelligent toilet system that films the users nether regions. Just like your fingerprint, the researchers claim, your derriere has up to 37 unique creases that create an individually identifiable analprint. The toilets internal cameras and computers analyze the users urine flow, track time spent on the bowl, and evaluate stool to gauge its owners overall health. The data is regularly uploaded to a secure one hopes internet cloud. However, the Stanford team acknowledges, To fully reap the benefits of the smart toilet, users must make their peace with a camera that scans their anus.

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Watchdog calls out the government's most ridiculous spending - New York Post

The Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today to block Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporations (Booz Allen) proposed acquisition of EverWatch Corp. (EverWatch), a subsidiary of EC Defense Holdings LLC. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, alleges that the merger agreement threatens imminent competition for a government contract to provide operational modeling and simulation services to the National Security Agency (NSA). Unless enjoined, the transaction would eliminate competition for this defense contract, leaving NSA to face a monopoly bidder.

Booz Allens agreement to acquire EverWatch imperils competition in a market that is vital to our national security, said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Departments Antitrust Division. Both the acquisition agreement and the underlying transaction violate federal antitrust law.

NSA periodically issues a contract for the provision of operational modeling and simulation services to support its signals intelligence data missions. As part of the procurement process, it plans to issue requests for proposals for the next iteration of this contract imminently. Prior to the merger agreement, Booz Allen and EverWatch competed head-to-head to win this NSA contract. Shortly before NSA was scheduled to release the requests for proposal, however, Booz Allen decided to buy its only rival instead. The complaint alleges that the merger agreement violates Section 1 of the Sherman Act because it immediately reduced each companys incentive to bid aggressively. The complaint further alleges that the proposed transaction substantially lessens competition, in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act.

As alleged in the complaint, NSA is a leading defense intelligence agency, specializing in cryptology, signals intelligence, and cybersecurity, and is responsible for providing signals intelligence to our nations policymakers and armed forces. Signals intelligence, which is derived from electronic signals and emissions in communications systems, plays a vital role in our national security by providing Americas leaders with critical information needed to defend the United States and to advance the countrys goals and alliances globally.

Booz Allen is a publicly traded professional services company that provides a broad range of services and solutions in management, technology, consulting and engineering. Booz Allen is incorporated in the State of Delaware. It is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, and has an office in Annapolis Junction, Maryland.

EverWatch is a subsidiary of EC Defense Holdings LLC, which is itself owned by the private equity firm Enlightenment Capital. EverWatch provides a range of services to the defense and intelligence community focused on data science, intelligence and cybersecurity. EverWatch is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, and has an office in Annapolis Junction, Maryland.

Read more at the Justice Department

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Citing NSA Contract, Justice Department Sues to Block Booz Allen Hamilton's Proposed Acquisition of EverWatch - HS Today - HSToday

5G core software expert Alepo and Casa Systems announced a strategic partnership that will simplify the deployment of 5G networks and reduce time-to-market and resource requirements for service providers and enterprise customers.

Casas cloud-native 5G Core, combined with the Alepos subscriber data management (SDM) and converged policy control (PCF, PCRF), will deliver an industry-leading low resource footprint that keeps initial investment low. It will give service providers and private enterprises the ability to deploy 4G, 5G, and fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband networks more rapidly and cost effectively.

5G transforms the role of the service provider, opening new opportunities to forge cross-industry partnerships to launch diverse services. The combination of Alepos policy control and containerized SDM with Casa Systems portfolio of open, cloud-native 5G Core network functions, facilitates a smooth transition to 5G. Service providers can shift to a fully virtualized service-based environment using a single solution to support both LTE and 5G.

The solution provides a secure, flexible, scalable, cloud-native architecture with 3GPP standards-compliant network functions, enabling service providers to upgrade to 5G without disrupting their existing services. Service providers of all sizes can swiftly introduce 5G capabilities and support new 5G use cases, including private enterprise networks, for diverse industry verticals.Alepos cloud-native network functions are built to maximize ROI, with compact resource needs, high-performance architecture, and an agnostic approach to deployment infrastructure.

Alepos experience in digital transformation helps modernize operational architecture without service disruption, shifting to a fully virtualized service-based environment as operators evolve to 5G.Multiple field trials and deployments with leading operators in the US, Europe, and Australia are underway, including a leading mobile operator deploying private 5G and a fixed broadband operator deploying a fixed and wireless solution to expand coverage to underserved communities.

Gibson Ang, Vice President, Technology at Casa SystemsAt Casa Systems, we rely on a simple truth: if the network is not built for you, it is not the right network. For 5G to be successful, the network must be tailored to meet each customers specific needs. Thats why Casa built an open, interoperable, cloud-native 5G Core network architecture that allows us to pull in best-of-breed technologies so that we can create cloud-native network solutions that unlock new markets, new services, and new revenues for our customers.

Derrick Gross, President of AlepoAlepo has been at the forefront of 5G, with SDM and policy components that offer among the lowest resource footprints in the industry, and Casas components are the perfect complement for what weve developed. Were thrilled to partner with Casa Systems on our shared mission of enabling global operators to launch and monetize 5G regardless of their size.

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Casa Systems, Alepo Team Up to Deliver 5G SA & 5G NSA Solutions - The Fast Mode