The Nation Newspaper

Tag: 2019 ELECTIONS

  • Tambuwal wins Sokoto governorship election

    The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) has declared candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and incumbent Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal winner of the Sokoto state Governorship election.

    Tambuwal who polled 512, 002 got reelected after a kin contest with a lead margin of 342 votes to defeat his opponent and former deputy Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto who scored 511,660 emerged victorious following a rerun that was preceded by an inconclusive verdict in the March 9th elections.

    In the earlier results before the rerun, Tambuwal had a total votes of 489,558 with a margin of 3,413 against APC’s Aliyu Sokoto who polled 486,145.

    Declaring the results in Sokoto Sunday morning at the Sultan Muhammadu Maccido Institute for Quranic and General Studies, venue of the collation, the Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the Jigawa state University, Dutse, Professor Fatima Batulli Mukhtar who reeled out the results of the rerun said the APC got 25,515 while the opposition PDP scored 22, 444 from the 22 local governments where the exercise was conducted.

    According to Mukhtar, the total registered voters was 95,022 while those accredited were 50,332 with a total valid vote cast of 48,309 and rejected votes of 1,580 as 49,970 total vote cast were recorded in the supplementary polls.

    Merging the final results, the Returning Officer said PDP scored 512,000 while APC returned 511,660 votes with total registered voters of 1,887,767 and 1,083,413 accredited for the exercise across the state.

    Mukhtar also gave total valid votes as 1,036,336 with 31,662 as rejected votes while 1,067,990 represented total vote cast.

    ” That Aminu Waziri Tambuwal having satisfied the electoral requirements and returned the highest votes is hereby declared winner of the Sokoto state governorship election”, She announced amidst victory ovation by supporters and party agents of the PDP.

    In a swift reaction to the declaration , APC agent and campaign DG f the party, Alhaji Muhammadu Maigari Dingyadi objected to the presentation of the result from Kebbe local government based on two fundamental issues including malfunctioning of the smart card reader and non conduct of the exercise in some polling units, urging INEC to look into that by doing the needful.

    ” We strongly object the result from Kebbe and call on the electoral umpire to do the needful.”

    In its dispassionate response, the electoral body noted the observations and complaints raised by the APC saying that it will be in its record for possible attention.

    Meanwhile, jubilation by PDP supporters and well wishers trailed the announcement of the results with motorcycle riders all over major streets of Sokoto demonstrating their joy as security was tight to proactively forestall attempt to break law and order by miscreants.

    However, the atmosphere in the caliphate remains calm as jubilation continued in all nook and crannies.

  • Sokoto rerun: Party agents, supporters exchange blows

    The supplementary elections at Rijiya “A” 004 polling unit in Sokoto South local government was almost marred by chaotic atmosphere with attendant rowdiness, tension and anxiety resulting to exchange of blows between supporters and agents of the two major political parties.

    It took the presence of the Commissioner of police, Mr Garba D. Muhammad and his men to control the situation.

    A source told The Nation that the situation was sparked by attempt from an agent of one of the major contenders to engage in alleged vote buying.

    ” The agent was negotiating at N10,000 per vote,”c he said.

    Inspite of the tight security, the exercise at the polling unit with no fewer than 405 registered, created a chaotic atmosphere which almost overwhelmed security agents deployed to the unit.

    However, the polling unit was already speculated to be a tough spot where the contest was kin during the general elections.

    Besides, materials and INEC officials were prompt with smart card readers functioning smoothly in most polling units visited.

    It was gathered that voters had filed out since 6am at the polling units with large turnout of women to exercise their franchise.

    The state Commissioner of Finance, Saidu Umar who spoke at the scene of the exercise urged security agents to remain vigilant to ensure the smooth conduct of polls.

    Similarly, Professor Aisha Isah Madawaki said the process commenced orderly and peaceful but at a point, the scenario became tensed and the exercise almost got disrupted.

    However, larger attention by the two contending political parties, security and other stakeholders is shifted to Kebbe and Gada respectively due to the high number of polling units.

    The two local governments have the largest concentration of registered voters unit 35 and 29 polling units respectively totaling 64.

  • 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.

  • El-Rufai: Atiku could only win Kaduna in his dreams

    Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai on Friday said the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar’s claim that he won the presidential election in Kaduna State, could only happen in his dreams.

    He spoke with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa to show that he was alive against the rumour of his involvement in car accident.

    Reacting to the PDP’s claims of winning election in his state, he said: “Well, I heard about that. Initially, I thought it was a joke and when I checked I saw clearly that he said he won Kaduna. It must be in his dreams.

    “Let me say this without any fear of contradiction, since President Buhari started contesting for the presidency since 2003, he has never lost Kaduna.

    “So, PDP has never won elections in Kaduna from 2003, even with a sitting governor in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015.

    “It has never happened. I don’t know what will happen that Atiku will win Kaduna in this election this time.

    “He lost Kaduna, he lost very badly, even though about 100,000 votes he claimed to have got were added because elections conducted without card reader in some parts of the state, that’s how he even got up to the 400,000 that he got.

    “He has lost Kaduna, he will always lose Kaduna. He will lose Kaduna 10 more times because he has never won Kaduna in any presidential elections.”

    When reminded the results were said to have come from the INEC server, he said: “Well, I don’t know about INEC server, it must be Atiku’s server.

    “I don’t know about INEC server, we don’t know how they had access to it. They will tell us during the tribunal proceedings what is this server and how they got access to it and how they got their numbers.

    “You do not go to court in an election petition by quoting INEC server or any other server. Anyone can create a server, I can go and buy it, it is a piece of equipment and call it INEC server.

    “But that does not mean that it amounts to anything, we are guided by the electoral act and the evidence act and other enabling legislation and he has to proof his case.

    “But anyone can make claims, we live in the age of fake news and fake claims. Anyone can make claims but you have to proof it,” he said

  • Breaking: Bauchi Finance Commissioner resigns hours to supplementary poll

    The Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Hon. Garbi Mohammed Akuyam, has resigned his appointment.

    In a copy of the resignation letter obtained by our correspondent, the former Commissioner said he is compelled to resign in view of recent developments and political realities of present day Bauchi State.

    Hon. Garba Saki was the Director General of the campaign team of Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar in 2015.

    Details shortly…

  • PDP makes U-turn on boycott, ready for Bauchi gov supplementary poll

    The Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) in Bauchi state has backed down on its decision to boycott Saturday’s supplementary election.

    The party declared it is more than ready to slug it out with the All Progressive Congress (APC) and its candidate, Governor Mohammed Abubakar at the poll tomorrow.

    The party said it is well prepared as it urged voters to come out en- masse to exercise their civic right.

    Addressing reporters at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat, Bauchi, chairman of the party, Alhaji Hamza Koshe Akuyam said: “We want to tell you of our preparedness to face the All Progressive Congress (APC) guber candidate.

    “We want our voters to come out en masse to exercise their civic right. You know we are leading as it is now, what we want to do now is to cap it up.

    “Insha Allah, by tomorrow, even if the inspector General of police comes to Bauchi, the people of Bauchi will still decide who they want.

    “We are good to go, PDP is not afraid of election and moreso, we have won this election and we will continue to win ”

    Akuyam said the party remained committed to the peaceful conduct of the re-run elections.

    He added the party has no reason to be afraid of the outcome as it is in a good position to win.

    He said further the supplementary election would be taking place in well- known areas where the party had strong showing in the previous exercise, which was declared inconclusive.

    “I want to assure the good people of Bauchi State that we are facing the polls with an open an peaceful mind and we call on all our citizens in the affected areas where re run will be conducted to remain and troop out en masse to exercise their civic responsibilities.”

    The PDP had threatened not to participate in the supplementary election after INEC released date for the rerun.

  • Breaking:Court compels INEC to include Bayelsa units in supplementary poll

    The Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to include omitted units in supplementary election scheduled on Saturday for Brass Constituency 1.

    The court presided over by Justice E. Inyang made the order in a motion ex parte filed by Preye Brodrick and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against INEC.

    The court ruled that INEC should conduct supplementary elections in polling units 11-16; units 1-10 and 17 to 21 of Ward 6 in Brass Constituency 1 of the state on March 23 or any other day determined by the defendant (INEC).

    On grounds for the application, the plaintiff had told the court that elections did not hold in the affected units in line with the guidelines of INEC.

    Read Also: Updated: Tribunal sacks Osun Governor, declares Adeleke winner

    The plaintiff said: “Elections did not hold in units 1-10 and units 17-21 of Ward 6 of Brass Constituency 1 in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly elections which held on March 9, 2019.

    “By the regulations and guidelines for the conduct of the elections in 2019, the elections are deemed to be postponed and supplementary elections ought to be conducted in the said units. It is in the interest of justice to grant the prayers sought”.

    The court upheld all the grounds while making the order.

  • 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.

  • Adamawa elects 2 Assembly members Saturday

    Following a court order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from conducting the supplementary governorship election in Adamawa State on Saturday, all eyes will be on two state constituencies for Assembly members.

    Election either did not take place or was cancelled when governorship and state assembly elections were conducted on March 9 in the constituencies.

    They are: Nasarawo/Biyeri in Mayo-Belwa LGA where State Assembly election was put off on March 9 because a candidate entered for the election died days before thee exercise and Uba/Gaya State Assembly Constituency in Hong LGA where voting was cancelled in some polling units.

    The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Nasarawo/Binyeri state constituency, Adamu Kwanate, had collapsed while campaigning and died in a hospital three days to the election, prompting INEC to hold off the House of Assembly election in the constituency for necessary adjustments.

    The Commission also later announced after the March 9 election, that the House of Assembly election in Uba/Gaya was inconclusive following irregularities in certain polling units.

    Supplementary election in Uba/Gaya would take place in three polling units namely Guw 1, Kumatai and Kurmi Mayolope; while the election in Nasarawo/Binyeri would be conducted in all the 92 polling units of the constituency.

    The head of information and education unit of INEC in the state, Mrs. Rifkatu Duku, affirmed in a telephone interview Thursday night that supplementary election would be held in two state constituencies.

    “Only state assembly supplementary election will hold in Nasarawo/Biyeri state constituency in Mayo Belwa LGA and Uba/Gaya state constituency in Hong LGA,” she said.

    Twenty-three members of the House of Assembly had been elected in the March 9 with ruling APC and main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) having 11 members each.

    One member was elected on the platform of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

    The state assembly has a total of 25 seats.

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

    The Nigeria Army on Friday extended its “Show of Force Exercise” to six violence-prone local government areas in Sokoto State preparatory to the Saturday supplementary elections in the state.

    The affected local government areas are Raba, Kebbe, Gada, Goronyo, Sabon Birni and Isa.

    Addressing the motorcade before taking off from Sokoto, Maj.-Gen. Hakeem Otiki, General Officer Commanding (GOC), 8 Division, Nigerian Army, said the exercise was to arouse public attention to the presence of the military.

    Otiki explained that the exercise was not meant to intimidate the public, but to express army readiness to curtail any form of public disturbance.

    He said further that the exercise would also serve as warning to hoodlums and other disgruntled elements that might plan or intend to disrupt the upcoming supplementary elections.

    The GOC added that similar exercise was conducted for hours in Sokoto metropolis on Thursday and urged the people to cooperate with law enforcement agencies in ensuring peaceful coexistence in the country.

    He, however, cautioned all violators of peace to be wary of the repercussion, stressing that the military were always ready to secure lives and safeguard the nation’s territorial integrity.

    ‘’I urge you to feel free and to come out on that day to exercise your civic responsibility at the selected places within the periods.

    The exercise was conducted in partnership with the Nigerian Air Force, Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Department of State Security Service (DSS), Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC).

    Okiti urged the officers to be disciplined, adding that discipline was the bedrock of achieving success in all aspects of life. (NAN)