NEWS OF THE DAY
Wednesday 4 March 2020
Court suspends Oshiomhole as APC chairman
NIGERIAN EMBASSY, HUNGARY, WIN BEST PERFORMED EMBASSY 2020.
12 December, 2020
The Global Coalition for Security and Democracy in Nigeria (GCSDN), has announced Nigerian embassy in Hungary as the best-performed embassy globally.
This development was revealed in the outcome of the votes cast, where the embassy of Nigeria in Hungary scored the highest votes with 53 per cent.
The Embassy presently has concurrent accreditation in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Also, Nigerian embassy in Austria came second with 48 per cent, while the embassy in Switzerland came third with 42 per cent. Out of the 51 missions were Nigerians participated, the embassy of Italy came last with 1.0 per cent, closely followed by the embassy in Indonesia with 1.1 per cent.
According to the organisers, votes were cast based on certain criteria such as efficiency in service delivery, assess to the embassy, concern for the interest of Nigerians, image building for Nigeria and the attraction of investments to Nigeria.
The result was announced through zoom in the presence of the public relations officer, Prince Ewemade Konkons, Doris Ikeri and other national coordinators of GCSDN.
During his address, the Global Coordinator of the coalition, Frederick Odorige, “as we criticise the failure of government, we must also appreciate government agencies that are performing well. In doing this, we shall be promoting good governance and encouraging others to improve on their services to Nigerian citizens abroad.
“Nigerians in the diaspora have shown dissatisfaction at the poor services of some Nigerian missions and we felt that it was an opportunity to organise a programme that could promote service delivery. There are some Nigerian embassies that are very hostile to Nigerians. In some cases, they promote fraudulent practices in the course of issuing or renewing Nigerian passports which could take as much as six months.
He said: “Unfortunately, out of the 3465 votes cast, 62 were declared invalid because voters attempted to vote multiple times with various email addresses and the same IP addresses. Others used invalid e-mail addresses which the system filtered.
“We hope that INEC will ensure electronic voting system in 2023 where Nigerians could vote with their telephone SIM cards from the comfort of their homes. Such a system will bring an end to the high cost of organising elections, rigging, violence, vote buying and other electoral fraud.
“We also expect that INEC and the national assembly will ensure that Nigerians in the diaspora are allowed to vote from 2023. The Nigerian national assembly should also formulate strategies that could reserve 10 legislatives seats exclusively for Nigerians in the diaspora.
“We have sent a congratulatory message to the Ambassador of the embassy of Nigeria, Hungary, Dr. (Mrs) Eniola Olaitan Ajayi. We look forward to presenting her with the certificate of recognition on behalf of the embassy. The honour goes to the entire staff of the winning embassies. We shall do the same with the embassies in Austria and Switzerland,” he added.
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, Win Best Performed Nigerian Governor, 2020.
The Global Coalition for Security and Democracy in Nigeria (GCSDN), has declared the Oyo State governor Seyi Makinde as the best performed Nigerian Governor in 2020.
GCSDN announced Governor Makinde having claimed the highest vote at the first edition of the voting exercise organised on December 19 by the organization.
Based on the number of votes cast, Governor Makinde scored the highest with 9499 votes, while Governor Benedict Ayade of the Cross Rivers State came second with 7223 votes as Delta State governor Arthur Okowa came third with 4321 votes.
Out of the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory where Nigerians participated, the Governor of Kebbi State came last with 5 votes followed by the Governor of Niger State who scored 11 votes.
Votes were cast based on certain criteria such as infrastructural development, prompt payment of salaries and pensions, respect for human rights, innovation, and level of indebtedness.
According to GCSDN, the live results can be accessed through the website of the organisation (gcsdn.org).
In his address, the Global Coordinator of the Coalition, Frederick Odorige, said that as we criticise the failure of government, we must also appreciate public office holders that are performing well.
“In doing this, we shall be promoting good governance and encouraging others to improve on their services to Nigerians home and abroad. For too long, Nigerians have shown dissatisfaction with the poor welfare and security in the country and we felt that it is an opportunity to organise an annual programme that could promote service delivery.
“There are some Nigerian governors that are very hostile and inaccessible to Nigerians as if they are doing us favour for doing their jobs. In most cases, they siphon monthly security votes which have resulted in frequent kidnapping and killing of our compatriots,” he added.
It was gathered that out of the 41,983 votes cast, 712 were declared invalid because voters attempted to vote multiple times with various email addresses and the same IP addresses. Others used invalid e-mail addresses which the system filter. The system filtered the multiple votes and produced clear results of 41, 271 valid votes.
“We hope that INEC will ensure an electronic voting system in 2023 where Nigerians could vote with their telephone SIM cards from the comfort of their homes. Such a system will bring an end to the high cost of organising elections, rigging, violence, vote-buying, and other electoral fraud.
“We also expect that INEC and the national assembly will ensure that Nigerians in the Diaspora are allowed to vote from 2023. The Nigerian National Assembly should also formulate strategies that could reserve 10 legislative seats exclusively for Nigerians in the Diaspora,” Odorige said.
Odorige on behalf of GCSDN congratulated Governor Makinde for his exemplary performance as shown in the poll, just as he expressed hope that he will improve upon what he has started. “We also hope that the other governors will also improve on what they are doing for the sake of posterity. A certificate of this event shall be delivered to Gov Makinde,’ he added.
GCSDN is mostly made up of Nigerians in the Diaspora with chapters in 40 countries and 21 states in Nigeria as its goals are designed to promote security and democracy in Nigeria