Crime

Lawmaker shot dead; bad news for Matawalle, APC

Published

5 years ago

on

June 30, 2021

By

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A Nigerian lawmaker travelling to his home town in Zamfara has been shot dead by bandits who attacked his vehicle along the Sheme-Funta Road in Katsina.

The Zamfara State Assembly member, Hon. Mohammed Ahmed, was coming from the welcome ceremony the APC organised for the PDP Gov Bello Matawalle who just defected to the APC.

Until his death, Ahmed chaired the House committee on finance and appropriation

His death has been announced by the Clerk of the Zamfara House House of Assembly, Saidu Anka.

Ahmed’s funeral prayers would be performed at Sheikh Ahmed Umar Kanoma Mosque by 11 o’clock on Wednesday.

Related Topics:APC bandits Lawmaker Matawalle PDP Zamfara

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Vote-buying remains a major concern One of the strongest warnings from Osun was the continued presence of vote-buying and voter inducement. Yiaga Africa said the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were consistent with its independent statistical projections, but cautioned that this did not remove concerns about the integrity of voters' choices amid reports of vote-buying and inducement. The concern is particularly significant ahead of 2027, when political competition will take place nationwide and involve presidential, National Assembly and state-level contests. The International Republican Institute (IRI), following a pre-election assessment mission conducted in August, identified monetised political competition, election-related violence, insecurity and declining public confidence in INEC among the structural challenges facing the 2027 elections. IRI recommended stronger investigation and prosecution of vote-buying and voter inducement, urging INEC, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and security agencies to act on credible allegations. Technology improves transparency — but has limits The Osun election also demonstrated how electoral technology can improve transparency. INEC's electronic transmission of polling-unit results through the IReV platform provided observers and members of the public with a mechanism to monitor uploaded results. Yiaga Africa subsequently said the official results were consistent with its independent statistical estimates, describing the outcome as evidence that the announced results reflected the ballots counted at polling units. However, technical problems with BVAS were reported during voting. CDD said difficulties involving biometric verification and slow processing occurred in several LGAs, including Irepodun, Ejigbo, Obokun, Osogbo, Olorunda, Ola Oluwa, Ede North and Ede South. 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