The Nation Newspaper

Category: Election 2019

  • Supplementary polls: Security operatives restrict movement in Makurdi

    Security operatives have blocked all major streets within Makurdi township as part of measures to enforce the restriction of movement order within the period of the supplementary elections in the state.

    A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) who went round Makurdi township reports that all entry ad exit points in the town were blocked to prevent unauthorised movement of people and vehicles.

    Armed security personnel were seen at the Wurukum, Highlevel, NorthBank, Wadata market and other major streets in Makurdi to ensure compliance with the directive.

    NAN also reports that there was heavy presence of armed security personnel on Makurdi-Gboko road.

    Meanwhile, voting has commenced in most polling units in Makurdi.

    NAN reports that the Governorship supplementary election is holding in 22 of the 23 Local Government Areas of the state, while that of the State House of Assembly is ongoing in 9 local government areas.

    At the Modern Market polling unit, Ternamdoo Primary school, voters were seen on queue waiting to vote.

    The Presiding Officer of the unit, Mr Akinlabi Adebanjo, said all electoral materials arrived on time and accreditation and voting commenced at 8:02 a.m.

    ” Everything is in order, all materials are complete. This election is for the Governorship and agents of the most popular parties are all here,” Adebanjo said.

    Mr Terver Kighir, the All Progressives Congress (APC) agent, corroborated the views of the presiding officer, saying, ” everything is calm, if the elections continue like this, then, there will be no problem.”

    On his part, Mr Bernard Unenge, the agent of the People’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP), commended INEC for the smooth exercise.

    Unenge, who is the commissioner for Lands, Survey and Minerals, also commended the electoral umpire for the smooth commencement of the polls.

    At the All Saints Primary school polling unit, the presiding officer, Mr Japheth Zibo, also said the process was going on smoothly.

  • Supplementary election: LG boss urges mass turnout, warns against violence

    As voters in affected states vote in supplementary elections to determine their governors, Mr Yusufu Machen, Chairman, Bokkos Local Government in Plateau, has cautioned against apathy,

    Machen, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Bokkos on Saturday, also warned against violence and other vices that could mar the electoral process.

    He said that the supplementary election was so crucial to Plateau and “shouldn’t be marred by any form of violence or unruly behavior by the electorate”.

    “All is set for a hitch-free election. Adequate security personnel have been deployed to affected areas to ensure a smooth, successful and credible polls.

    Read also: APC defiant as tribunal voids Oyetola’s election

    “I wish to appeal to the electorate to abhor apathy and come out en masse to exercise their civic rights.
    “We don’t want to experience the apathy of March 9, ” he pleaded.

    Also speaking, Mr Salihu Adamu, Electoral Officer in Bokkos, told NAN that all sensitive and non-sensitive materials had since been deployed to the five affected polling units in the Area.

    “We are fully prepared. All the adhoc staff, including 35 Presiding Officers and their 35 assistants, have been deployed to the polling units and are already waiting for voters,” he said.

  • Ebonyi APC candidate joins PDP hours to assembly supplementary poll

    Mr. Innocent Nomeh, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the Ezza North West state constituency, has withdrawn from the supplementary election contest slated for March 23, 2019.

    The election originally scheduled for March 9 was cancelled because unidentified hoodlums burnt the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Registration Area Centre (RAC) at Umuoghara, Ezza North LGA of the state.

    Nomeh, while briefing newsmen in Abakaliki, said that he withdrew after considering salient issues confronting APC members and candidates after its loss in the presidential and gubernatorial polls in the state.

    “It was my genuine intention to represent my people at the House of Assembly after consulting with my family, friends and political associates.

    “At the borderline of the whole issue is the unserious disposition of the APC in the state towards the election which it ultimately lost to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “The APC was unserious during the electioneering campaigns and elections as its gubernatorial candidate even lost in his polling unit to the PDP.

    “APC received serious electoral battering by the PDP as it substituted genuine candidates from its primaries until the courts reinstated some of them, including myself,” he said.

    He remarked that it was clear that the APC was never serious in the election and ultimately its candidates still in the electoral race, engaging in a ‘wild goose chase.

    Read also: Appeal Court affirms Lulu-Briggs as Accord gov candidate in Rivers

    “We have been made vulnerable and politically incapacitated to win elections as the party leadership mismanaged funds and other logistics that could have enhanced our performances,” he said.

    Nomeh said that after consulting his family and political associates, he decided to withdraw his membership of the APC, withdraw from the contest on March 23 and join the PDP.

    “This decision is entirely mine, made out of my own volition without any coercion as I urge my supporters to take it with great courage.

    “I also enjoin them to support me in this new quest to contribute to the state’s development as present members of the PDP,” he said.

    Mr Eze Nwachukwu, the APC state Chairman however, told NAN that the party did not recognise Nomeh as its candidate for the election.

    “We only recognise Mr Emeka Nnoko as our candidate as Nomeh is on his own.

    “We have not received any court order reinstating him as the candidate of the party and we stand on our decision,” he said. (NAN)

  • PDP accuses APC chiefs of mobilising 125 soldiers to constituency

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised the alarm ahead of the rerun election on Saturday that All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwarts have moved into Otuokpoti in Ogbia Local Government Area with over 125 soldiers.

    The State Chairman of the PDP, Chief Moses Cleopas, accused them of making surreptitious moves to perfect vote buying and voter intimidation ahead of the election.

    Cleopas called on the authorities of the Army to monitor the activities of its men on deployment in large numbers purportedly to protect APC politicians in the state.

    He urged the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, to be conscious of the allegations of murder and rights violation against troops of the Army during the Presidential/National Assembly elections of March 9, 2019.

    Cleopas said that a leader of the PDP, Mr. Seidougha Taribi and a Government House Photographer, Reginald Dei, were killed by soldiers while waiting for results of the election in Oweikorogha, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area òf the state.

    He added that while it was a cheering development the Army authorities had taken a decision to probe the soldiers’ complicity in the brazen acts of violence during the elections in Bayelsa, it was important that the ugly trend was not repeated.

    Cleopas also called on the Indepedent National Electoral Commission to ensure that its guidelines for the conduct of elections in the country are not violated by unscrupulous politicians.

    He said: “The PDP in Bayelsa cannot forget in hurry the complicity of soldiers in the brazen acts of violence, murder, kidnap of electoral officers which marred the elections in Nembe Bassambiri, Brass and part of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

    “The murder of our ward leader  Mr. Seidougha Taribi and the Government House Photographer, Reginald Dei, in Oweikorogha by soldiers is still fresh in our memory.

    “We therefore condemn without equivocation the militarisation of the election in Bayelsa.

    “We are using this medium to call on the Chief òf Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, to ensure that the brazen act of rights violation and intimidation by soldiers is not repeated in the rerun elections.

    “Bayelsans are making preparations to elect their representatives and not representatives of the Army and should be allowed to exercise their civil responsibility.

    “The PDP in Bayelsa is also calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission to guide its guidelines from violations by unscrupulous politicians in collusion with security agents.”

  • 6 parties for Lagos Supplementary election tomorrow — INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) in Lagos State says that only six political parties will participate in the Saturday’s supplementary election at Ibeju-Lekki State Constituency I.

    The INEC Spokesman, Mr. Femi Akinbiyi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos that the commission was ready to deliver its mandate of conducting free and fair election.

    “Six political parties will be participating in the supplementary election at Ibeju-Lekki State Constituency I scheduled for Saturday, March 23.

    “’The political parties are: Accord (A), Alliance for Democracy (AD), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Democratic Party (ADP), All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” he told NAN.

    According to him, the already collated result of the March 9 House of Assembly election in the constituency shows that APC is leading with 8, 525 votes followed by PDP with 1, 786.

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC, Mr. Sam Olumekun, had on Thursday in a statement said that the commission had concluded arrangement to conduct a supplementary election in nine polling units in the constituency.

    Olumekun said that the election was declared inconclusive because of over-voting in the nine polling units covering two Registration Areas (Ward) of the constituency.

    According to him, the affected polling units in Ibeju I Registration Area are polling units 001, 003, 004, 005, 006, and 009, while that of Iwerekun I Registration Area are polling units 002, 004, and 005.

    He said that only voters with valid Permanent Voter Cards within the constituency would be allowed into the polling units to vote.

    Candidates of APC won in all the other 39 constituencies where the House of Assembly election has been concluded by the electoral umpire.

  • PDP cries foul over alleged militarisation in Sokoto

    Sokoto State chapter of the People Democratic Party (PDP) has said that it will not accept anything short of free, fair and credible polls in tomorrow’s supplementary poll in the state.

    Speaking during an emergency press conference in Sokoto on Friday, its state chairman Alhaji Ibrahim Milgoma alleged that All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwarts and serving governors on the platform of the opposition from other states were in Sokoto to work for their governorship candidate and the party.

    “This is unacceptable and INEC must be neutral by upholding honesty in defence of its integrity as an independent umpire.

    READ ALSO: Sokoto re-run: Army extends show of force to six violence-prone LGAs

    “We are also aware that Mrs. Amina Zakari is in town. We are not against her coming if she is here to do the right thing. Otherwise, we will not take it.”

    Milgoma however said the party and its supporters were not also comfortable with the security arrangement, accusing them of seeming partisan.

    “We are calling on security agencies to discharge their duties with all honesty by ensuring a peaceful atmosphere for voters to exercise their franchise.

    “The people of Sokoto state are set to reelect our candidate (Tambuwal) by democratic means.

    “No intimidation, threat or the like can change their choice of Tambuwal.

    “Our votes will be defended to ensure that whoever wins in a free, fair and transparent contest should be given and we will follow him,” he said.

    Meanwhile, in a related outcry, the Nigerian Youth Coalition Against Electoral Violence (NYCAEV) northwest zone alleged massive deployment of security operatives to the state despite peaceful atmosphere.

    “This calls for concern as it is worrisome. The state has been taken over by combined forces of military, police and other security agents.

    “We have uncovered invitation and presence of APC governors and hired thugs camped in hotels in Sokoto to perpetrate acts that would force victory to them.

    “This is a threat to peaceful and credible rerun elections in Sokoto and Kano states respectively,” the coalition stated.

  • Mandate returned, says Davido on Osun tribunal ruling

    Music super star David Adeleke, fondly called Davido, has reacted to the judgement of the Osun State Election Petition Tribunal.

    “Mandate returned,” he wrote on his Instagam page, in reaction to the declaration of his uncle, Ademola Adeleke as the winner of the 2018 governorship election in the state.

    Adeleke was the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the election but Governor Gboyega Isiaka was returned winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

    Read Also: Tribunal declares Adeleke winner of Osun election

    The Davido wrote, “God no dey sleep!!! Mandate returned!!! Imole ti de!! Osun I’m on my way!!”

    On his Twitter handle, he shared a photo from the 2018 campaign trail and tweeted, “Imole ti de!!!!!! Congratulations to the great people of Osun State!”

  • Supplementary polls: APC, INEC conspiracy will fail, says PDP

    The People’s Democratic Party ( PDP ) has said that an alleged conspiracy between the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) to rig Saturday’s supplementary election in some states will fail.

    The states listed by INEC for supplementary election include Kano, Benue, Plateau, Bauchi and Sokoto states, following electoral body’s declaration of the March 9 governorship and state assembly elections inconclusive in the affected states.

    At a media briefing in Abuja Friday, the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan described the alleged alliance between INEC and APC to manipulate the poll as unsavoury.

    The PDP noted that INEC is proceeding to conduct supplementary election in Bauchi without completing the collation of the March 9 governorship election; to enable it determines the margin of lead.

    According to the PDP, the alleged anomaly being created by INEC was geared to cause confusion and muddle-up the Bauchi electoral process and pave the way for allocation of fictitious votes to the APC.

    The party further stated that it was in possession of reports of how the INEC leadership allegedly connived with the APC to delay the collation of results from Tafawa Balewa local government, and then stampeded the courts to halt the process in an attempt to ambush the supplementary election.

    “This informs why INEC hurriedly and shamelessly jettisoned its statutory independence and implemented the unconstitutional Exparte Order to halt the collation of results in Bauchi and Adamawa states, even before the order was enrolled and served on it”, Ologbondiyan said.

    The main opposition party cautioned INEC to note that it already has the figures of votes delivered at the polling units in the first ballot.

    Ologbondiyan continued, “We also have figure of voters with PVCs in the areas where INEC plans to conduct supplementary elections. Therefore any attempt by INEC and the APC to pad the results to favor the APC will be firmly resisted.

    “The PDP is in a comfortable lead in Bauchi and nothing can change this reality, irrespective of supplementary election, in which we are also set to win.

    “In Adamawa, we have also been informed of how the APC and INEC are conniving to cause confusion and alter the figures of already collated results of the governorship election won by the PDP.

    “The situation has become so pathetic that the Adamawa Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) is yet to officially state the commission’s position on whether the supplementary election will hold or not.

    “The PDP reminds INEC that it has the figures of the already collated results in Adamawa and warns that any attempt to tamper with such will be faced with dire consequences.

    “In Sokoto State, the PDP alerts Nigerians to the invasion of the state by heavily armed thugs imported by the APC from neighboring states of Kano and Zamfara to unleash violence, cause confusion and help the APC to rig the supplementary governorship election, under official protection of compromised security agencies.

    “However, the PDP wants INEC, the APC, their thugs and the compromised security personnel to note that the people of Sokoto state are determined to assert themselves in this election and anybody attempting to subvert their will would be doing so at his or her own risk.

    “In Rivers state, our party holds that the shifting of the collation of results by INEC to April 2-5, 2019, without providing any reason, is a calculated attempt to create room for their partners, the APC, to engage in judicial manipulations or abracadabra to scuttle the election already won by the PDP.

    “The PDP cautions that such shenanigan by INEC is highly provocative, especially as the people of Rivers state are already aware of all the results delivered from the polling units, which puts the PDP in clear lead. Any alteration will spell doom for our democracy given the place Rivers State occupies in our national economy.

    “Furthermore, the PDP charges the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure strict adherence to the use of card readers in all the Supplementary elections. Reports abound of how INEC jettisoned the card readers in previous elections, particularly in certain states earmarked for rigging for the APC, thereby leading to all manners of electoral manipulations. This must not be allowed in the supplementary polls.

    “Finally, the PDP states that it is in good stead in Bauchi, Kano, Sokoto, Benue, Adamawa and Plateau states and as such, will use all legitimate means to ensure that nobody rigs out our candidates in the supplementary elections”.

  • Benue Police guarantees security for supplementary polls

    Ahead of Saturday’s March 23rd Governorship and State Assembly elections, Benue State Police Command has assured the polls would be conducted in a violent- free and fair atmosphere.

    The Police Commissioner U.M Muri said adequate security measures have been put in place for the smooth conduct of the exercise.

    He spoke while briefing newsmen on the command’s preparedness for the polls at the command Headquarters in Makurdi.

    READ ALSO: Benue Police Command gets first female PRO

    He stated that all routes and flash points within the State have been fortified with sufficient patrol teams to protect the electorates, electoral materials and INEC staff.

    He also stated police deployment has covered all polling units, collation centres and INEC offices.

    The Police Commissioner warned violators of electoral process that severe consequences await them accordingly.

    Muri urged parents, religious leaders and traditional rulers to prevail on their subjects not to be used to disrupt the electoral process.

    He enjoined voters to come out without fear of harassment or intimidation to exercise their franchise and advised them to conduct themselves in line with the electoral act.

     

     

  • Total restriction of movement in Plateau over supplementary polls

    A Deputy Inspector-General of Police on electoral duty in Plateau, Taiwo Lakanu, has said that there would be total restriction of movement in the state during the supplementary election scheduled to hold on Saturday, March 23.

    Lakunu, who is in the state to supervise the supplementary election, made this known during a lecture for Police personnel ahead of the election in some parts of the state.

    While commending the Police for the success achieved in the last election, the DIG said that no stone would be left unturned toward ensuring adequate peace and security throughout the exercise.

    Read Also: Plateau: Lalong confident of victory in supplementary polls

    He said that adequate preparations had been made to take care of flashpoints, adding that no form of thuggery would be tolerated.

    “We are not going to allow ballot boxes to be snatched; we will not allow card readers to be snatched. We are ready to deal with every electoral misdeed,” he said.

    Commissioner of Police in Plateau, Mr Isaac Akinmoyede, had commended the men of the force for being outstanding during the last election, and called on them to do more during the supplementary polls.