The Senate has passed The Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provision) Bill 2022, also known as the Omnibus Bill earlier passed by the House of Representatives.
The special adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business/PEBEC Secretary Jumoke Oduwole said the Bill, which will now be transmitted shortly to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent was an intervention by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) to consolidate and amend legislative provisions towards deepening PEBEC reforms and removing bottlenecks for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.
The European Union has deployed an EU Election Observation Mission to observe the general elections scheduled for 25 February and 11 March, 2023 in response to an invitation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, has appointed Barry Andrews, Member of the European Parliament, as Chief Observer for the EOM to Nigeria. the EU had previously deployed Election Observation Missions to Nigeria for the 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019 elections.
High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell said that These elections will be crucial for the consolidation of democracy in Nigeria, and for the stability of the region and hoped that Nigerians will be able to cast their vote in a peaceful environment and any challenges or disputes will be solved through dialogue or through available legal remedies.”
The Chief Observer further said that. The forthcoming General Elections are not only a key moment in Nigeria’s democratic development but also important to the future of democracy in West Africa and the continent at large and was looking forward to meeting with electoral stakeholders playing important roles in the ongoing electoral process.”
the EU EOM will provide a comprehensive, independent and impartial assessment of the electoral process based on international and regional standards for democratic elections.
The Core Team of the EU EOM consists of 11 election experts who will arrive in Abuja during the first half of January. Towards the end of January, 40 long-term observers will join the mission to be deployed across the country and follow the electoral campaign. short-term observers from the EU diplomatic community as well as Canada, Norway and Switzerland will reinforce the mission during election day.
The EU EOM will remain in the country until the completion of the electoral process.
In line with the EU election observation methodology, the mission will issue a preliminary statement and hold a press conference in Abuja after the election day.
The final report, which will include a set of recommendations for future electoral processes, will be presented after the finalisation of the entire electoral process. Leadership
Procyon News
