The Nation Newspaper

Tag: 2015 elections

  • Gowon wants Electoral College for 2015 poll

    Gowon wants Electoral College for 2015 poll

    …Opposes creation of new states

    Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd) on Wednesday advocated for the use of the Electoral College system in the conduct of future Presidential elections in the country, beginning with the 2015 elections.

    He also asked the National Assembly to end the agitation for new states.

    The former Nigerian leader spoke just as Kaduna State governor, Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa lamented the security situation in the northern part of the country, which according to him, has chased away potential investors who were willing to invest in the Agriculture, mining and solid mineral sectors in the region.

    Speaking at a two- day conference on the north and strategies for sustainable development, the former head of state who was represented by the Chairman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Aliko Mohammed however said that the north must come together to forge a common front in other to enjoy political progress and development.

    Although he did not elaborate further on the Electoral College system, he said, “Unless we come together in the north, we would continue to have problems. I met with the Senate caucus in the north in Abuja last week and I asked them to reconsider the introduction of Electoral College in electing the president.”

    Gowon said the creation of new states will only increase the cost of governance, pointing out that it will not resolve the catalogues of problems bedevilling the country.

    Addressing the gathering, Governor Yakowa said that the north has always remain a catalyst for the unity of the country, adding that despite the current security challenges, the region will remain a rallying point for the unity and development of the country.

    Yakowa said, “The north has been a catalyst for the unity, stability and development of the country. The country has been relying for direction from the north. This is contrary to what some out there would want the world to belief about the region.

    “History has shown that the unity and strength of the north, with a collective sense of purpose and focus has been the bastion for the unity and strength of Nigeria. We must do everything to sustain this responsibility bestowed on us by providence.”

    The governor, who commended the organizers of the conference for their foresight, said it was gratifying that Nigeria has remained a single country despite the security challenges, saying, “we must give credit to Nigerians and to God that Nigeria still remains a country, albeit beleaguered by towering security challenges.

    “In this difficult time, we must work assiduously to adequately address the tolerance level among our people, if we must succeed collectively. Nigeria, as a multicultural and multilingual nation of diverse people, with more than 250 distinct languages and ethnic groups, cannot continue to behave as a group of irreconcilable religious and ethnic nationalities, contrary to the ‘One North One People’ bequeathed to us by no other than the late Sardauna, Ahmadu Bello,” Yakowa said.

     

  • ANPP to restructure party ahead of 2015 elections

    ANPP to restructure party ahead of 2015 elections

    The National Secretary, All Nigeria People’s Party, Alhaji Tijjani Tumsah, said on Wednesday that the party had set up a 21-man committee to restructure it ahead of the 2015 general elections.

    Tumsah, who made this known in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja, said the committee was headed by Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, former Kano State governor and the presidential candidate of the party in the 2011 general elections.

    He said the committee would receive inputs from stakeholders, adding that the aim of the exercise was to take the nation to greater heights.

    The ANPP scribe said that the committee would put the party in a good footing to win the next general elections, adding that Nigerians deserved better dividends of democracy than what the present government had provided so far.

    ‘’The primary focus of any government is the protection of lives and property of its citizens and once that government falls short of this responsibility it is a setback,’’ the ANPP scribe said.

    According to him, any government that is not alive to its responsibility in terms of security of lives and property would not witness rapid development.

     

  • ANPP is repositioning for 2015 elections – Onu

    ANPP is repositioning for 2015 elections – Onu

    The National Chairman of All Nigeria Peoples Party, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, said on Monday that the party was being repositioned to win the 2015 general elections.

    Onu made this known to party faithful during an interactive meeting of Ebonyi chapter of the party at Uburu in Ohaozara Council Area of the state.

    He emphasised that the party had mobilised men and materials in preparation for the nation’s general elections slated for 2015.

    The chairman added that the party would do everything within the ambits of the electoral law to capture political power in the next general elections.

    He urged party loyalists not to lose hope but remain steadfast and committed to the cause of the great party.

    Onu said the party officials had been moving from one geo-political zone to the other canvassing for support and mobilising resources for the party against 2015.

    The ANPP national chairman advised the party supporters to be courageous, dogged and focused, assuring them that the party would sweep the polls in the next election.

    He said that the party was discussing with major opposition parties for a merger in order to wrest power from the Peoples Democratic Party.

    According to him, the party is desirous to entrench healthy political competition in the political arena that will lead to emergence of good leadership.

    He said that the ANPP was not against any political party, but maintained that the party was interested in good governance and welfare of Nigerians.

    “We are not against any political party. What we want is the protection of the best interest of the majority of our people,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted Dr. Onu as saying at the forum.

     

  • 40 million voters’ cards ready for 2015 elections, says Jega

    40 million voters’ cards ready for 2015 elections, says Jega

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday said it has produced 40 million permanent voters’ cards to ensure a smooth conduct of the 2015 elections.

    The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, spoke when he received representatives from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Civil Defence and Nigeria Immigration Services in his office in Abuja.

    He said the balance of 30.5 million cards of 70.5 million registered for the 2011 elections would be ready by February.

    Jega said some people capitalised on the commission’s inability to authenticate genuine holders of voters’ cards in the last poll to perpetrate acts inimical to the success of the election.

    INEC, he said, has introduced a card reader that would be used to identify the holders of the cards in every polling unit before allowing such a person to cast his or her vote. He said this is to curb malpractice.

    He assured that voters would use the permanent voters’ cards to exercise their franchise in 2015 in line with the move by the commission to improve the nation’s electoral system, assuring that the election would be better managed than the last.

    Jega said: “We are working towards our mandate of improving on the country’s electoral landscape. Even as many analysts rated the 2011 elections high, we believe there is room for improvement and this is what we intend to achieve with the 2015 poll because we believe that every election should be better than the previous ones.

    “I know that some people out there were not satisfied with the outcome of the last election. But looking at the various parameters, when you compare the election we conducted in 2011 to the ones before it, you will know that it was better.”

    According to him, there would always be roles for the military to play in collaboration with the civil police, which the people are used to.

    He said without the assistance of the military personnel, the conduct of elections in Nigeria might be difficult because of the peculiarities of the average Nigerian politician, who, in most cases, sees election as more than an avenue to render service to the people.

    Speaking earlier, the leader of the team, Wing Cmdr. Idris Hassan, said they came to the commission in connection with the security challenges it faced in the conduct of elections and to find ways to collaborate with the electoral body to achieve free and fair elections.

    He assured INEC that they are ready to assist in areas where their services would be needed to improve Nigeria’s electoral process.