The Nation Newspaper

Tag: 2015 elections

  • Don’t expect perfect elections in 2015 – Jega

    Don’t expect perfect elections in 2015 – Jega

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, on Monday sounded unconvincing on the 2015 general election.

    Jega said the electoral body was not promising a perfect election come 2015.

    Jega, who spoke during an audience with the United States of America Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle at the INEC Headquaters, Abuja, however said the commission will do its best.

    He said, “We are not promising a perfect election in 2015 but we are confident that we will do our best. We have taken some steps to achieve this, for instance staff training in collaboration with development partners, strategic plans and reorganized staff. We are planning a retreat to finalize the timetable for 2015.

    “We are still on the continuous voters’ register and have held series of meetings with security agencies, CSOs and development partners ahead of 2015. While it is the responsibility of INEC to organize civic and other registration awareness, the commission faces challenges of funding as well.

    “It is our responsibility under the Electoral Act to do civil education and even political education generally. It has always been challenging because the resources available to discharge that responsibility are usually insufficient, given the enormity of the task of dealing with a large illiterate population and to get them really understand what to do not only during voting but the larger issues of choosing good candidates and so on.”

    In his remark, the US Ambassador assured Nigeria of his country’s support.

     

  • Reps committee to propose adequate funding for INEC

    The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, Jerry Manwe, on Sunday said the committee would ensure adequate funding for the Independent Electoral Commission ( INEC ) in the 2014 budget.

    Manwe told the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja that the committee would critically look at the provision for INEC in the budget to ensure that it was adequate for it to conduct the 2015 general elections.

    He said that if it became necessary to allocate more funds to the commission to enable it to conduct free and credible elections, “it will be provided,” he said.

    “If more funding would enable the commission to conduct credible, free and fair elections, the committee would go ahead to propose that,” he maintained.

    He explained that the House “does not give funds to agencies of government but could make proposal.”

    According to Manwe, the committee will also look at the entire operations of the commission to ensure that it is adequately prepared for the task ahead.

    “First, we will look at their budget and invite them and ask them questions on the level of their preparation towards the 2015 elections,” he said.

     

  • Gang up against Jonathan, PDP will fail – Orji

    Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State said the current political gang up against Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and President Goodluck Jonathan, ahead of the 2015 general elections would not succeed.

    Orji said this when he interacted with newsmen on the political manoeuvres by some past leaders to stop Jonathan’s second term presidential ambition in Umuahia on Friday.

    “There will be gang up but they will never succeed. The president remained focused,’’ he said.

    He explained that the party was getting stronger and stronger; there was a lot of re-engineering presently going on in the party.

    Orji expressed the hope that defectors from the party would soon return, adding that new members would also join the party.

    The governor commended the resignation of the former National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, and described it as patriotic and a sacrifice to move the party forward.

    He also commended the immediate past Chief of Army staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, for serving the nation meritoriously.

    Orji said that the president had the prerogative to re-engineer his service chiefs ahead of 2015.

    “President Jonathan has done the right thing, we are nearing election and he has to put his house in order. The president has the prerogative to appoint whoever he likes,’’ he said.

     

  • I will declare my 2015 ambition soon – Alao-Akala

    I will declare my 2015 ambition soon – Alao-Akala

    A former governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, on Friday said that he would soon decide on his 2015 ambition.

    Alao-Akala told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ogbomoso that “I am still consulting.

    “When you want to make such decisions, you must consult and after that the decision will be made public.

    “I will soon make a decision and everybody will be carried along on what I intend to do,’’ he said.

    Commenting on the posters, he said they emanated from his followers who still had confidence in his leadership.

    “The people who are interested in me are the ones behind the posters. They are the ones telling the world that they believe in my leadership and still wants me,’’ he said.

    He said that the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State was united, adding that individual interest could override that of the party.

    Alao-Akala said the party in the state would soon get it right and make its plans known to the people.

    “When the chips are down and the time comes, we will separate the men from the boys or the boys from the men,’’ he said.

     

     

     

  • 2015: TUC tasks government on security

    The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) on Monday called on the Federal Government to address the issue of security in the country to ensure hitch-free elections in 2015.

    This is contained in a statement signed by the President and Secretary General of the Congress, Bobboi Kaigama and Musa Lawal in Lagos.

    The statement urged security agencies to take proactive steps to re-establish total peace and security in the country.

    “We also advise all politicians to desist from using violence and other unlawful means to attain power.

    “It is the prerogative of God, often expressed through the people’s votes, to give power to whomsoever He pleases,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted TUC as saying in the statement.

    It stated that the TUC was disturbed by reports of proliferation of arms and ammunition in the country.

    “We recall reported assertions by Mr. Frank Mbah, Spokesman of the Nigeria Police Force that there are over 10 million illegal arms in West Africa and that about seventy per cent of them are in the hands of Nigerians.

    “He (Mbah) further affirmed that two million guns are in the hands of Nigerian civilians – one million registered and the remaining one million illegally held by criminals and other people.

    “If these claims are anything to go by, it means that nobody is safe in this country.”

    According to the statement if all the security challenges are left unchecked, it will disrupt the country’s hard-earned democracy.

     

  • 2015: Obasanjo calls for prayers

    2015: Obasanjo calls for prayers

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday called on religious leaders to pray and fast for Nigeria ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    Obasanjo made the call when he received the National President of the Pentecostal Federation of Nigeria (PFN), Rev. Felix Omobhude, at his Hilltop mansion in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

    He described Nigeria as God’s project, adding: “it is only God that appoints leaders for a country, notwithstanding the political scheming and campaign promises of politicians.

    Obasanjo described himself as an incurable optimist of the Nigeria nation and expressed the belief that the country would rank among the best nations of the world in no distant future.

    The elder statesman, however, stressed that leadership was pivotal to such a transition.

    Obasanjo recalled that Nigeria had passed through and surmounted difficult periods by the help of God, and “the same God is able to help us again.”

    He, therefore, urged clerics throughout the nation to pray to God over the choice of a leader for Nigeria.

    “I always say that I am an incurable optimist about this country.

    “If there is anything that I will ask of you, it is that you and other clerics should never stop fasting and praying for Nigeria.

    “My short span of life has seen a few unexpected things in this country when we thought that the end would just happen, but God made us to scale through,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the ex-president as saying at the forum.

    Responding, Omobhude described Obasanjo as a special treasure to Nigeria, who would continue to be relevant in every affair of the country.

    The PFN president assured that the federation would not fail in its calling to pray for the peace, unity and progress of Nigeria.

    He noted that one of the major duties of clerics was to pray for the leaders of their countries.

     

  • Ndume cautions politicians on 2015 campaigns

    Ndume cautions politicians on 2015 campaigns

    Senator Ali Ndume, representing Southern Borno at the National Assembly, on Sunday cautioned Nigerian politicians against initiating full blown campaigns now for the 2015 general elections.
    The News Agency of Nigeria reports Ndume gave the advise while addressing journalists in Maiduguri.
    He said rather than engage in full blown campaigns, political office holders should preoccupy their minds with delivering their last campaign promises.
    “It is sad that politicians are already making noise about 2015, when we have just entered 2014.
    “It is really unthinkable for politicians to be making huge noise about 2015 now because it is a great distraction,” Ndume said.
    He expressed shock at last month’s clash between supporters of two prominent Borno politicians during the burial of late Emir of Shani, Alhaji Modu Mailafiya in Shani, headquarters of Shani Local Government Area of the state.
    He said, “ I was personally touched by the sad incident at the burial of the late emir in Shani.
    “How can politicians be fighting in the open for a seat, when we were supposed to be mourning the late emir?”
    He reminded politicians that the Independent National Electoral Commission had repeatedly said that it was not yet time for campaigns.

  • 2015: PDP rules out automatic tickets for NASS members

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Tuesday said it would not offer automatic tickets to its incumbent National Assembly members in 2015 despite the spate of defections from its fold.

    “There will be nothing like automatic tickets for anyone; incumbents and challengers seeking the PDP ticket must go through the normal process to secure it,’’ the PDP Chairman, Zone 3 of Kaduna State, Mr. Joseph Gumbari, told the News Agency of Nigeria.

    Recent reports had quoted some federal lawmakers as insisting on automatic tickets for the 2015 race to stop them from joining others that defected to the rival Alliance for Progressives Change (APC).

    NAN reports that the ruling PDP has lost five governors, some key leaders and 37 House of Representatives members to the APC in the wave of defections that hit the party.

    But Gumbari, a former member of the House of Representatives, told NAN in Jos that conceding to the demand for automatic would “kill the PDP.”

    “No one can blackmail the PDP into making such concessions; we shall give the party’s tickets to only those who deserve it. Those who have performed and are still popular should have nothing to fear.

    “There are many law makers today that cannot visit their constituencies for fear that they could be attacked by their constituents.

    “Such people have abandoned the people and had offered nothing to better their lots. You cannot impose such people on the electorate because that will endanger our chances,’’ he said.

    He expressed surprise at the lawmakers’ demand, instead of working to popularise the party.

    Gumbari said that PDP’s tickets would only be given to members that had been consistent in shoring up its image and strengthening it through effective representation.

     

     

  • PDM to INEC: You can’t disenfranchise Borno, Yobe, Adamawa

    The Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) has warned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against disenfranchising the people of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States in the 2015 general elections.

    The warning is coming on the heels of a declaration by the INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega that election would not hold in the three states where a state of emergency imposed by the Federal Government is still in force.

    In a statement issued on Wednesday by the PDM chairman, Mallam Bashir Ibrahim, the party said INEC should not hide under the state of emergency in the three states to disenfranchise the people.

    Mallam Ibrahim said: “Jega’s latest pronouncement is in tandem with the now familiar strategy of the Federal Government to prolong the insurgency in those states.

    “The plan is to continue emergency rule and use it as an excuse to disenfranchise millions of voters in that zone because the government knows it cannot win a free and fair election in those states.

    “Clearly, there is no love lost between the Federal Government under President Goodluck Jonathan and some sections of the country.

    “It is the constitutional duty of government to cater for the welfare and security of its citizenry. Hence, no eligible Nigerian voter should, on account of insecurity not caused by him or her, be excluded from voting in the 2015 polls.

    “Let the Federal Government resolve the crisis in the North East and all over country in order to have a peaceful, free and fair general election. We will resist any attempt to disenfranchise Nigerians under any guise.

    “Instead of disenfranchising citizens for no fault of theirs, the Peoples Democratic Party-controlled central government should as a matter of urgency, tackle insecurity in the North East.”

    The party also deplored what it described as the deliberate stifling of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which currently has no funds to prosecute corruption cases.

     

     

  • 2015 elections to gulp N92.9b – Jega

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may require N92.9 billion for the conduct of 2015 elections.

    Also the election may not hold in parts of the northeast if insecurity persists in the area.

    The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, gave the hint on Monday at a stakeholders’ forum organized by the Senate Committee on INEC in collaboration with Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) Abuja and United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) Nigeria.

    Jega, who spoke on “Preparations and challenges ahead of 2015 general elections, “ said that it was not true that the cost of the 2011 general elections was high.

    He noted that in preparing for the 2015 elections, one guiding principle for the commission has been to make elections more cost-effective and to give Nigerians better value for money.

    He added, “Our estimate is that the cost of the election per voter, which is an international standard for viewing the cost of election, is coming down in Nigeria.

    “We project that for the 2015 elections this would come further down by almost $1- from $8.8 in 2011 to $7.9, representing almost a 10 per cent drop.

    “This compares favourably with some other African countries. However, we are anxious about ensuring that all our funding requirement being met well in advance of the 2015 general elections.”

    Jega said that Ghana spent $10 per voter during its last election while Kenya spent between $8.5 to $9 per voter

    Currently, Nigeria has about 73.5 million registered voters.

    The INEC boss assured that “preparations by INEC for the 2015 general election are very good and proceeding in earnest.”