Category: Kogi/Bayelsa 2019

By Mike Odiegwu, Yenagoa

 

The Bayelsa State Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief David Lyon, has described the ongoing election in the state as peaceful.

Lyon, who hailed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct so far, advised the people to remain peaceful throughout the exercise.

Casting his vote at Olugbobiri Ward 4, Unit 1, in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Lyon said nobody should create problems to disrupt the poll.

Read Also; Lyon alerts security agencies on movement of thugs, arms

He said: “Today process is very peaceful. I have seen what INEC has been doing all this while. It is going very peacefully and that’s what we are advising everyone to go peacefully and vote

“Go with your card to your units, vote and leave the place, not to come and create problem, but guide your vote that’s what we are telling everybody.

Lyon, who voted at about 1;18am, said he was sure of victory.

Tony Akowe, Lokoja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured residents of Kogi state of conducting a hitch free governorship election across the state on Saturday despite palpable tension and apprehension.

The Commission asked the people of Kogi state to come out en masse to cast their votes on Saturday, saying there can only be violence when a few people vote.

National Commissioner in Charge of Kogi, Niger and Nasarawa states, Mohammed Haruna, said in an interview in Lokoja said the fear of violence will become a reality only when people fail to turn out to vote.

He said: “Pease as much as possible, people should come out and vote. There are of course apprehensions, the tension is there, it is palpable. But if people come out in enough numbers, even those who wants to perpetrate violence would be afraid.

“It is only when a few people turn up that there would be problem so people should come out in their huge numbers and vote for whom they want to vote to rule the State.”

Speaking on preparation for the election, Haruna said: “To begin with, yesterday the materials were here. The sensitive materials at the CBN by 3pm were deployed to all the 21 Local Government headquarters and a lot of them have arrived their destinations and are moving up to the Registration Area Centers.”

The National Commissioner said so far, security situation across the state has been calm, adding that the police have given assurance that the security situation would remain calm through the period of the election.

Haruna said he was not aware of any challenges surrounding the conduct of the election, saying “Initially, we were a bit worried about the way late court judgements were coming in.

“As it is now, we have two sets of ballot papers, we had already printed them when the court said we must include SDP which we did and then there was one outstanding case and we are not taking chances.

“We printed another set which arrived the day before yesterday. That one includes all the parties and we will only distribute the one that took the two court judgements into account.”

He said the ballot papers that will not be used will remain with the Central Bank of Nigeria, saying “It is the usual practice.
At the end of the election, whatever ballot papers we do not use are collect and returned to the CBN.

“We have a way. We bring in party agents and officials and CBN disposes of them. We have a way of burning them so that nobody would say there is any abracadabra.”

He dismissed speculations that fake ballot papers were in circulation, saying he was not aware of such incident.

Resident Electoral Commissioner James Apam said the Commission has already dispersed voting materials to all the registration centres across the state, adding that they were not bothered by allegations against them.

He said: “We have since gone over that. We are not worried about any accusations. I am doing my work and so far it is fine, we are doing what we are supposed to do. We have trained people, we have sent sensitive materials yesterday and they have been moved to the Registration Area Centres”.

Our Reporter

Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has called for declaration of a state of emergency in flashpoint areas of the state following last Wednesday’s attack on his party members in Ogbolomabiri-Nembe.

Senator Diri expressed doubts over the conduct of free, fair and credible election in violence-prone areas.

The PDP standard bearer, who spoke at a news conference in Yenagoa, expressed condolences to the families of the six persons, including a staff of the state-owned media outfit, Simon Onu, who were felled by the bullets of suspected All Progressives Congress (APC) thugs, said what happened in Nembe was a repeat of a similar incident during the last State/National Assembly elections in the area.

Read Also: PDP masterminded Nembe violence to intimidate voters, APC alleges

Diri said people from the area were on forced exile in neighbouring communities as a result of the mayhem unleashed on them by the members of the rival political.

“What is going on in Nembe axis of the state is synonymous to the activity of the highly dreaded Boko Haram in the northern part of the country. I have raised the red flag on this issue to INEC, security operatives and other concerned citizens of this country.

“Election can only hold in Bassambiri and Ogbolomabiri if INEC is ready for a state of lawlessness as APC members in the area are not ready for election but violence. What they want is victory through a back door.

“The senator representing Bayelsa East and the disqualified  running mate of the APC candidate, Degi Eremienyo, only won one out of the three local government areas but was declared winner by INEC.”

Diri said a ruling on the case brought to the Yenagoa High Court by Senator Heineken Lokpobiri has disqualified the APC governorship candidate, Chief David Lyon, adding that Bayelsans should be aware that by the judgment the APC has no candidate in Saturday’s governorship polls.

He explained that the INEC Commissioner, Festus Okoye, in an interview has said the only reason the APC logo would appear on the ballot paper is because it was too late to change it, noting that a vote to the candidate of the APC would be invalid.

The governorship hopeful berated the Minister of State (Petroleum), Chief Timipre Sylva, for maligning Governor Seriake Dickson over the refusal of the federal government to license the Bayelsa International Airport.

He said the facility was built with the best materials with two flights recorded so far.

He pointed out his antecedents having served as Commissioner, Principal Executive Secretary, member of House of Representatives and currently a Senator unlike the APC candidate, Chief Lyon, who had never served in any capacity.

He appealed to PDP members to be peaceful, law abiding and not to resort to reprisal attacks on APC members over the attack in Nembe but go out to their various units and wards to vote for their party’s candidate in the election.

By Bolaji Ogundele, Abuja

All Progressives Congress (APC) has absolved itself of blames over the violence and killings that attended the People’s Democratic Party’s (PDP) rally in Nembe, Bayelsa State, on Wednesday, accusing the PDP and the state government of being the culprits.

APC, in a statement signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Yekini Nabena, in Abuja yesterday, alleged that the attack on the PDP rally was carried out by armed thugs mobilised to the event by PDP figures, recalling that it had earlier raised the alarm that the ruling party in the state was planning to cause mayhem to create an atmosphere of war in the stronghold of the APC.

According to the party, having realised the strength and popularity of the APC in Nembe council area: “PDP decided to unleash armed thugs, fake military and para-military men in uniforms, to cause unrest in the area; ultimately to create fear in the minds of our potential voters.

“We had alerted the security agencies and the general public on the secret release of about 100 awaiting trial inmates from Okaka Prison in the state capital, Yenagoa, by the state government. We also exposed the plot by the PDP-led government in the state to lure voters with N20,000 each, deploy fake police and military uniforms, clone Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), among others, to allegedly rig the governorship election.

Read Also: Gunmen kill two policemen in Bayelsa

“The manifestations of some of the concerns we raised three days ago seem to have started. If not, PDP will not have mobilised armed thugs to its rally to kill and cause mayhem, having realised that the people of this area had made up their minds to vote the APC.”

While condemning the act of violence in Nembe, the APC, however, called on security agencies to up their game and quickly identity those responsible for the violence and bring them to book.

The party stated: “Just three days ago, we told the world that fake navy, army and police uniforms have been procured to kit political thugs, recruited by the PDP-led government in Bayelsa State. We have been vindicated with the display of desperation at Nembe council area by the PDP.

“It is now clear to all that the outgoing Governor, Seriake Dickson, has become chaotic in the face of rejection of his party by Bayelsans as well as the soaring popularity of the APC in the state and the governor has now resorted to violence.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the APC had peaceful, decent and clean rallies all over the state and nobody was harassed, Bayelsans were not coaxed or forced to attend our rallies, but they did because they have embraced APC. How come the PDP, which is the ruling party in the state, could not be decent in the conduct of its political rally in Nembe?

“We believe that the failed plan is to kill and injure as many as possible of our supporters in some of our strongholds, Nembe inclusive, but we believe that the people of Bayelsa will not fall to the PDP devilish tricks.”

While commiserating with families of those who lost their lives during the unfortunate event in Nembe, the party also called on the international community, local observers and all lovers of democracy “to call Governor Dickson to order not to set the state ablaze for the selfish ambition of his handpicked PDP candidates.”

Victor Oluwasegun, Abuja

Speaker of the House of Representatives,  Femi Gbajabiamila, has urged the electorate in Kogi and Bayelsa states to vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in tomorrow’s governorship elections.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, the Speaker noted that voting for APC would be of immense benefits to the people of both states.

Read Also: Buhari seeks fair, transparent polls for Bayelsa, Kogi elections

Gbajabiamila also urged the electorate in the two states to conduct themselves peacefully before, during and after the elections.

He said there was need for the electorate to know that governance is a serious issue in every society, hence the need for them to come out and exercise their franchise.

He also called on all relevant stakeholders in the elections to be calm and conduct themselves in accordance with the laws of the land.

Gbade Ogunwale, Abuja

National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, has called on security agencies, particularly the military, to allow the people of Bayelsa and Kogi states to vote their choice in tomorrow’s governorship election.

Secondus, while condemning the needless killing of a voter in Nembe, Bayelsa State on Wednesday, urged security operatives not to allow themselves into areas that would lower their professional value in the eyes of well-meaning election observers and watchers.

In a statement on Thursday by his media adviser, Ike Abonyi, the party chairman said the disqualification of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Bayelsa State should send a message to everyone that God did not want continued bloodletting of innocent citizens.

Read Also: U.S calls for peaceful, free, transparent elections in Kogi, Bayelsa

“Nigerians expect all stakeholders in the Bayelsa election to see divine hand in the disqualification of blood thirsty APC from the race and respect it. That is a consequence of impunity and it should send a signal to all,” he said.

Secondus added that the APC knew they were never wanted in Bayelsa State in the first place, but that they continued with the help of security operatives to heat up the state to frighten voters away from the ballot box.

“Even before the voting, God has shown his mighty hands and cleared the violent prone APC out of the race,” Secondus said.

The party chair drew the attention of the security agencies to what he described as deployment by Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State of devious means, including violence, to thwart the will of voters in Kogi State on Saturday.

According to him, it will be disgraceful if the nation’s military allow a civilian governor to sew military uniform and deploy it on election day for the purpose of intimidating voters and swaying election results.

Secondus urged PDP members and supporters in the two states to refuse to be intimidated by coming out in their numbers to vote and defend their votes.

By Our Reporter

People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate Douye Diri has called for a probe of the “brutal killings of no fewer than eight members of our party” during a botched rally in Nembe Ogbolomabiri on Wednesday.

Senator Diri told reporters in Yenagoa that the killings were “barbaric, demonic, undemocratic.”

Among the dead was the driver of the OB Van of Radio Bayelsa, Mr. Simon Onu, who was gunned down beside his vehicle.

Diri accused the brother of a top government official of being behind the killings.

Read Also: Diri better than Lyon, says Dickson

He said there was an unprovoked attack on party members which resulted in the death of some members. The injured, he said are receiving medical attention at the Government House Hospital, Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa and Government Hospital in Nembe.

Senator Diri recalled that similar event occurred in the area during the last National Assembly election.

He stated that many people in the area are still in IDP camps while perpetrators of the dastardly act then are still working on the streets of Yenagoa.

Explaining how the attack occurred, Diri said: “When we arrived at Nembe we saw our billboards on the floor and that was the signal that all was not well. We proceeded to our first port of call at Oluasiri, we got to the water front and kept most of our party members behind since Oluasiri was a riverine journey. We were to return to Nembe for our final rally.

“We arrived Oluasiri only to receive a distress call that our party members were under attack. Some had been gunned down, lives were lost, our vehicles vandalized and we couldn’t hold our rally at Oluasiri, we had to return immediately to Nembe.

On our return to Nembe, from the waterside we got the signal that the soldiers were there and they advised that the shooting was still going on, killings were still going on. For innocent party members who went to Nembe to canvass for votes.

“We were advised to drive slowly and the few security escorts that went with us to Oluasiri also came down with their arms and they were moving while we were advised to be inside the vehicles… we left Nembe and knowing that’s what has happened, we came here straight to the hospital, we’ve gone to the hospital, we’ve seen our party faithful gasping for breath, suffering from gun shots, not one, not two but an uncountable number.

“As we speak, most of our party members are missing, we cannot account for them. We condemn it, it is sad, a thing we never thought will happen, we have been raising the alarm long before today, we call on the security agencies, in particular, the commissioner of police, the director of state security to immediately swing into action and arrest these hoodlums, these killers.

“We also call for justice and that Nembe as we have raised alarm before today, iis a hot spot, and without an immediate action, election in Nembe cannot hold.

“Nembe should be seen as the red flag zone where the security agents must immediately move in to ensure that these killers are arrested.”

Yusuf Alli, Managing Editor, Northern Operation

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Thursday said it will deploy undercover agents to check vote buying during Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections.

It also said those indulging in vote buying would be discreetly marked and arrested after the elections.

ICPC Chairman, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, who made the disclosures at a session with select newsmen in Abuja, said the agency had had talks with the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on plans to check vote buying in Kogi and Bayelsa.

Owasanoye said: “Shortly after the federal elections in May, we did a dialogue on vote buying. We did a rigorous analysis of vote buying, how it happens and what we can do to mitigate it.

“ICPC is closely working with INEC. We are planted within the communities. So, if you go there to do your work there on Election Day as a journalist, you may not necessarily see an ICPC person branded but he or she is there.

Read Also: Vote Buying: EFCC, ICPC to monitor Kogi, Bayelsa campaigns, elections – INEC

“We are trying to understand how this works in order to enforce. So, we have been having meetings with INEC and we will be in the communities. Less visible, ghost but we are there.

“We are also doing some public enlightenment in those two particular states. Just today, I reviewed a radio jingle which would alert people to know that we would be there with them but we will not be seen. It is a fact; I am not just saying it.

“We have had meetings with the chairman of INEC some few weeks back planning the strategy.”

He said ICPC may, however, not arrest those who indulge in vote buying on the spot to avoid the disruption of the elections.

He said the law would take its course after the conduct of the two elections.

The ICPC chairman added: “You know elections are volatile issues. So, if we see you distributing money right now, we may not necessarily arrest you there because it can lead to the end of the election in that place.

“But, we will record whatever goes on and we will come back quietly after the election and take you away.

“We have to evaluate the security situation, evaluate what is happening and then decide whether to arrest you there and then or later but at least we have the information we need.

“If we need to go back to pick up the community leader or whoever distributed the money, then we can do that. So, that is the strategy and we will be there like ghosts. That is all I can tell you.”

 By James Azania, Lokoja with agency reports

Barely 48 hours to the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states, the police have identified possible risks that can constitute threat to the smooth conduct of tomorrow’s elections in the two states.

The police warned that in securing law-abiding citizens during elections, the police would not hesitate to deploy its might to deal firmly and decisively with “electoral deviants.”

Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, Abdulmajid Ali, made this known to newsmen in Lokoja, the state capital, at a news conference.

He said individuals and groups that could pose security challenges to the elections had been identified, classified and placed under surveillance.

Ali said security threat assessment carried out in the two states made it possible for the police to discover all these.

Read Also: Police teargas IGP, INEC chairman, others in Kogi

Calling on the political actors and Nigerians in general to lend support to the police and other law enforcement agencies in sustaining the gains recorded in the nation’s democratic march, he warned that the police could not be held to ransom by those bent on disrupting the process, in the discharge of its mandate during the exercise.

According to him, the outcome of the intelligence-driven assessment was also used as a guide in the deployment of personnel and logistics for the elections in both states.

Ali said the objective was to create a secure and peaceful environment to give citizens in the two states the confidence to freely exercise their franchise.

He explained that adequate security had been put in place for all Independent National Electoral Commission’s personnel, ad-hoc staff, agents, domestic and international observers during the entire period of the elections.

“We have also emplaced adequate security for both sensitive and non-sensitive election materials, both at the voting centres, while on transit and at the various collation points,” he said.

He said that 66,241 policemen would be deployed for election security operations in both Kogi and Bayelsa state tomorrow.

Out of this, he said 35,200 personnel would be deployed in Kogi State, while 31,041 would be deployed in Bayelsa State.

He said that they would be complemented by deployment of Police Mobile Force, Special Protection Unit and Counter-terrorism Unit and other security outfits.

In addition, Ali said that the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, had ordered the posting of Deputy Inspectors-General of Police (DIGs), Assistant Inspectors General of Police, Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners of Police and Assistant Commissioners of Police to all senatorial districts and local government areas within the two states.

He made it clear that the heavy deployment of policemen for the polls was not to intimidate voters but to make the elections a success.

According to him, personnel deployed on the election security operations have been charged to be civil, fair and professional and be guided by the rule of law in the discharge of their duties.

“In so doing, however, they have been additionally instructed to be firm and decisive,’’ he said.

Ali said that all entry and exit points into Kogi and Bayelsa states from contiguous states shall be closed as from 12 a.m. on November 15 to 4 p.m. on November 16.

“There shall also be restriction of movements within the two states as from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. of November 16, with the exemption of those on election duties and essential services,’’ he said.

Ali said the Inspector-General of Police had directed that with effect from Friday, November 15, all security aides attached to political office holders be withdrawn until the conclusion of the elections.

He gave an assurance that the police and other security agencies were fully ready to support INEC in delivering successful elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.

He said that the country had had enough of electoral violence, warning those planning to foment trouble on election day to have a change of mind.

“In securing the law-abiding citizens during the elections, we shall not hesitate to deploy our potent assets to deal firmly and decisively with electoral deviants,’’ he warned.