The Nation Newspaper

Category: Election 2019

  • Nigerians set to vote President, NASS members

    Nigerians will today (Saturday) go to the polls to elect their president and 469 members of the National Assembly (NASS).

    This is coming a week after the exercise was rescheduled by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) late Friday night (Feb. 16).

    While the electoral umpire would conduct only the presidential and NASS election this Saturday, the poll for the governorship and State Houses of Assembly as well as the Area Council election for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) would hold on March 9.

    The election will hold at 119,973 polling units across the country, while collation of results will take place in 8,809 Registration Areas or Wards, 774 Local Government Areas, 36 States and the FCT.

    The polling units are expected to open by 8 a.m. and close by 2 p.m. with the last person on the line allowed to vote.

    INEC had said that the use of Smart Card Readers and Permanent Voter Cards were compulsory for the elections.

    The major presidential contenders are incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former vice president Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Demographic Party (PDP).

    Read Also: 12 presidential candidates back Buhari

    Others include Prof. Kingsley Moghalu of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC), Felix Osakwe of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), and Christopher Okotie of Fresh Party.

    For the National Assembly elections, a total of 1,904 are vying for 109 Senatorial seats, while 4,680 candidates are competing for the 360 seats in the House of Representatives.

    Specifically, Nigeria’s NASS is made up of 109 members of the Senate or Red Chamber and 360 members of the House of Representatives or Green Chamber.

    The total number of registered voters in the country is 84,004,084, with 44,405,439 (52.86 per cent) as male, and 39,598,645 (47.14 per cent) as female.

     

     

  • 2019: ‘Security agencies open joint security control room in Enugu’

    The Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Mr Balarabe Suleiman, says that security agencies operating in the state have opened a joint security control room for the general elections.

    “The purpose of the joint security control room is for effective security co-ordination in the general elections,’’ Suleiman told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Saturday.

    NAN reports that security agencies in the state included: Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Nigeria Police and Department of State Security Services (DSS) and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

    Others are Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigeria Prisons Service, Federal Fire Service and State Vigilant Services.

    Suleiman noted that all security agencies in the state are involved in the election security, although, the Nigeria Police remain the lead agency for election security.

    “It has been the directive of the acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, for every command to have a joint security control room for the elections.

    “The joint security control room is fully furnished; for all heads of security agencies or their representatives to be there as long as possible.

    Read Also: Security experts counsel on violence-free polls

    “It is also well furnished with all sorts of communication and information gadgets and stand-by operation vehicles attached to it.

    “This is for security issues during the elections to be attended to with speed in a most coordinated manner,’’ he said.

    According to him, the joint security control room, which is domiciled at the police headquarters in Enugu, will operate 24/7 this elections season.

    NAN reports that the Enugu Police Command distress numbers are: 08032003702, 08075390883, 08086671202 and 08098880172.

    Its social media platforms are: twitter @policeNG_Enugu and Facebook @nigeriapoliceforceenugustatecommand.

    NAN

  • State of The Nation: There will be massive voters turnout – Eriye

    Political analyst and Sunday Editor of The Nation Newspapers, Festus Eriye, joined by Senior Correspondent Dare Odufowokan to discuss, the rescheduled 2019 election, President Muhammadu Buhari, ballot box snatching, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, PDP and APC.

  • Yari congratulates Zamfara APC candidates

    Zamfara state Governor Abdul Aziz Yari has congratulated all candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over their clearance by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to contest the rescheduled general elections.

    Yari, in a broadcast on Friday evening, said their clearance was an indication that the judiciary remains the last hope of the masses.

    Read Also: Buhari never called for violence in Zamfara, says Keyamo

    He urged voters to be peaceful and avoid acts capable of putting them in jeopardy.

    He assured that measures have been put in place to deal with whoever breaches peace before, during and after the elections.

    The governor spoke just as four political parties on Friday night pledged support for candidates of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Zamfara state.

    The parties are NRM, ANRP and ACD.

    One of the chairmen Nasiru Garba said the decision was informed by the developmental projects executed by the APC administration in the state and in the country at large under President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Chairman of the APC in Zamfara state, Lawan  Liman, pledged to make the new parties part of the decision-making mechanisms.

     

     

  • Secondus alleges violation of Peace Accord

     Says FG, APC have declared war on PDP leaders

     

    The National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Prince Uche Secondus has declared the peace accord signed by the two frontline presidential candidates, President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP has been violated.

    In a statement on Friday night, Secondus said all the terms of the agreement for peace have been broken by the ruling APC by deploying the military and police operatives to arrest and detain PDP leaders across the country.

    The party chairman said he expected the Peace Committee and the international community to note the declaration of war on PDP leaders across the country by overzealous security operatives, specially raised for this purpose as they operate in violation of the peace accord.

    He accused the APC and President Buhari of not being disposed to the peace accord, as they have allegedly flagrantly violated the terms of the agreement.

    Read Also: PDP will put food on Nigerians’ tables, says Secondus

    Secondus said reports reaching him from Kwara, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Kano Kaduna and other states showed that PDP leaders are being harassed with arrest and detention by security operatives on flimsy reasons.

    He noted while APC is using military and police personnel to chase PDP leaders across the country while giving protection to APC leaders as they ferry money and election materials to various locations.

    “Private jets belonging to APC leader in Lagos have been stationed at the airports protected by government operatives as money is being moved from the Central bank of Nigeria, CBN, to states,” Secondus said.

    The party chair called on the General Abdulsalmi Abubakar led Peace Committee to take copious notice of all the happenings and note that APC and President Buhari are not disposed to any peace accord.

    He insisted that Prince all the ingredients of peace have been disregarded by the APC operatives who have decided to even run afoul of the Electoral Act in their desperation to cling on to power even when it’s obvious that Nigerians have turned their back on them.

  • Soldiers intercept bus load of thugs

    Soldiers of 4 Brigade have reportedly intercepted for buses loaded with thugs heading for Okada, headquarters of Ovia North East local government area.

    Sources said the buses were in the convoy of Barr. Omosede Igbinedion, the Peoples Democratic Party candidate for Ovia Federal Constituency.

    It was gathered the soldiers stopped the convoy and the occupants said they were on their way to Okada to perform their civic responsibility but they couldn’t provide their PVCs.

    Read Also: Soldiers arrest 40 over cult killings

    Witnesses said the boys were asked to lie on the floor.

    Chairman of Ovia South West local government, Destiny Enabulele, confirmed the arrest of the suspected thugs.

    He praised the soldiers for being vigilant saying what they want in Ovia is peaceful elections.

    Igbinedon could not be reached for comments as calls to her phone went unanswered.

  • PDP accuses INEC of hoarding result sheets

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of withholding sensitive election materials, including collation (form EC8D) and result (form EC8E) sheets in states considered to be PDP strongholds.

    The party said intelligences at its disposal showed that certain compromised INEC officials are working with agents of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to hold back the material so as to pave way for the allocation of fictitious results for President Muhammadu Buhari and APC National Assembly candidates in the affected states.

    A statement last night by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan said, “For instance, in Abia state, no collation forms and result sheets have been received for the Senatorial elections, while no result sheets for all the elections have been received in Delta and various other states.

    “Also in Kano state only 105 Senate result sheets have been received in Garko Local Government Area instead of 144. Rogo LGA has received 106 Senate result sheets instead of 141; Danbatta has received 28 cartons of House of Representatives ballot papers instead of 29, while Tofa LGA has received 18 cartons instead of 19. This scenario is playing out in many other states.

    Read Also: ‘We have confidence in INEC to conduct polls’

    “The PDP charges the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to immediately release the materials to their respective designated points and cautions that it will never allow anybody to use any means to rig it out in this election.

    “Prof. Yakubu must note that this serious infraction is already heightening tension and would eventually lead to serious crisis in affected states ahead of the election, if nothing was done to stem the trend.

    “The PDP recalls that it had earlier alerted that the INEC Chairman is again succumbing to back-channel intimidation by the APC and the Buhari Presidency to accede to their rigging plot, which includes hoarding and in some cases, delay in the distribution of sensitive materials meant for PDP stronghold as well as using APC agents as electoral officers.

    “The PDP cautions the INEC Chairman not to allow the APC to use him to derail the electoral process, particularly after the disgraceful postponement of the February 16 elections.

    “Nigerians are alert. They are noting the trend and will spare no thoughts in standing against any attempt by INEC and the APC to rig this election”

  • One stabbed to death as PDP supporters fight over money

    A supporter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was on Friday’s evening stabbed to death at Umuokorobi Umuobom in the Ideato South Local Government Area of Imo state, following disagreement over the sharing of money released for the rescheduled polls tomorrow.

    According to an eyewitness, the politician simply identified as Chief Uzoma, died on the spot, which prompted other party members to set the house of the assailant ablaze.

    The eyewitnesses informed that crisis broke out over the sharing formula for the money brought for mobilization for the Presidential and National Assembly polls.

    According to sources, the PDP members who had gathered at an unnamed politician’s house waiting for money for mobilisation for the polls started accusing each other.

    Read Also: PDP to voters: don’t be scared by Buhari’s order

    “The politicians had gathered for mobilisation money but some others accused few persons of diverting the mobilisation money.

    “Voices were raised which led one of the disagreeing PDP members to stab one Chief Uzoma to death.

    “The death of the politician angered members of the community which made them to burn down his house.”

    A detachment from the Police Headquarters in Dikenafai has however restored normalcy.

    Efforts to reach the police spokesperson in the state, Orlando Ikeokwu proved abortive.

     

  • The Touchstone: Bad weather saved Nigeria from compromised polls – Sam Omatseye

    Political analyst and Chairman, Editorial Board of The Nation Newspapers, Sam Omatseye, joined by Member, Online Editor, Sunday Oguntola to discuss the 2019 General election, Democracy in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, INEC, PDP, APC, Corruption in Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, Ballot box snatching.

  • APC, PDP in verbal war over chair’s defection

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Yobe State are locked in a verbal war after the PDP chairman in Yobe State, Alhaji Sani Inuwa Nguru, who defected to the ruling party on the eve of the presidential and national assembly elections.

    The PDP fired the first salvo, saying the APC is celebrating a bad product it does not know.

    Speaking to reporters in Damaturu, the state capital, the PDP governorship candidate Alhaji Umar Ilya Damagum said Nguru was more of a liability than an asset to the party.

    He said the former party chairman’s defection would not affect PDP fortunes but rather enhance its chances in this year’s elections.

    His words: “It is a season if cross carpeting. Everyone is changing places that suit them and it didn’t come to me as a surprise because he came through the same process on the eve of last election because he has that antecedent.

    “Of course human behavior is situational. It all depends on what he feels at that particular time.

    “The decision he took at that time was out of certain circumstances Only God knows the offers that he has gotten or what has gone into his mind.

    “I don’t think his defection could affect the fortunes of our party looking at what we have done so far.

    “As I am talking to you, I am going to receive some defectors from Zone C where he comes from, who have been coming en mass.

    “Some of them told me that they left the party because of him and now that he has gone they’re coming back.

    Read Also: APC to Nigerians: reject treasury looters

    “There are people that have been disenchanted in the party because of his presence.

    “Now they have activated their mode to work with the party with his exist less than 24 hours.

    “So if you look at it from that angle his departure has no harm to the fortune of the party  but will only increase our success.

    “We are going to have election God willing tomorrow, we will assess ourselves. When someone does this kind of act at this particular time, then two questions are in place: the question of credibility and the question of sincerity.

    “I am sure those that are receiving him know him more  than us who had received him four years ago. For us, he is a bad product that shouldn’t be celebrated.”

    But the APC governorship candidate in the state, Alhaji  Mai Mala Buni attributed Nguru’s defection to the integrity of President Muhammadu Buhari .

    He said the Buhari’s integrity has been attracting more politicians of note to the APC.

    He said: “The defection of Inuwa Nguru and his supporters is a major political fortune for the party, they will work assiduously for the re-election of President Buhari and the victory of the party at all levels.

    “Alhaji Sani Inuwa Nguru has practically and personally seen the achievements of the President Muhammad Buhari led administration and remains the best option for Nigeria’s democracy.

    “The former chairman was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the re-election of president Buhari and APC was the best option for Nigeria and this informed his last minute decision to abandon PDP for APC.

    “In spite of all persuasions by the opposition party, the former chairman took an independent and honest decision in the interest of the nation and in accordance to the dictates of his conscience.

    “Yobe state has enjoyed major intervention programs including completion of the 330kVA power transmission line, Nguru-Gashua-Bayamari federal highway, Education and healthcare delivery.

    “We are proud to say that at the state level, the APC administration has more than ever provided democracy dividends in road network, healthcare delivery, education, agriculture and economic empowerment to the citizenry.

    “It is on record that while most states could not pay salaries, the APC administration in the state has consistently paid salaries, pension and gratuities to retired civil servants making it as a leading workers friendly state in the country.”

    In another development, the son of the defected PDP Chairman   Lawan Sani Inuwa, popularly known as Mr. LAS who is contesting for the State House of Assembly Election on the platform of PDP said he will not jettison his ambition or follow his father to the APC.

    Inuwa said by phone that he had not spoken with his father since his defection became public.

    He vowed to pursue his ambition to actualize his dreams of becoming a lawmaker in the state.