Others discussed at Southern Governors' Forum

At the Southern Governors' Forum Meeting, charired by Ondo state governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu which was well attended by the southern governors, state controlled VAT, anti grazing laws, state security outfit among other points were discussed and outlined. The state of the nation and the progress of implementation of the decisions reached in previous meetings of the Forum were resolved as follows: The governors: 1. Expressed satisfaction with the rate at which the States in the Southern Nigeria are enacting or amending the Anti-Open Grazing Laws which align with the uniform template and aspiration of Southern Governors and encouraged the States that are yet to enact this law to do so expeditiously. 2. Encouraged the full operationalization of already agreed regional security outfits; which would meet, share intelligence and collaborate, to ensure the security and safety of the region. 3. Reaffirmed its earlier commitment to fiscal federalism as resolved at the inaugural meeting of the Forum held on Tuesday, 11th May 2021 at Asaba, Delta State and emphasized the need for the Southern States to leverage the legislative competence of their respective State Houses of Assembly as well as representation in the National assembly to pursue its inclusion in the Nigerian Constitution through the ongoing constitutional amendment. The meeting resolved to support the position that the collection of VAT falls within the powers of the States. 5. Expressed satisfaction with the handling of issues around the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and ownership of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by the larger Nigerian Governors’ Forum. 6. Reiterated their earlier position that the next President of Nigeria must come from the Southern part of Nigeria in line with politics of equity, justice and fairness. The Forum thanked the host Governor, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and chose Rivers State as the next host for the Southern Governors’ Forum meeting in November 2021.

The Electoral Commission’s Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo says the Commission is ready to receive potential voters at registration stations across the country this weekend. According to Mamabolo, a total of 23 151 voter registration stations will be in operation from 08h00 until 17h00 on both Saturday and Sunday. Addressing the media in Pretoria on Thursday, Mamabolo said the registration weekend takes the voter registration service to communities where eligible citizens reside. “Therefore, the essence of the exercise is to create a platform for citizens to exercise their right to vote. Without enlisting on the voters’ roll, taking part in the forthcoming elections is impossible,” Mamabolo said. Mamabolo said a total of 48 899 registration officials have been trained to undertake the registration procedures at the voting stations. “For the first time, registration staff had to complete online training modules as well as a module on the practicalities of the registration process. “The online modules related