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  • Tribunal fixes judgment in Osun governorship tussle for Friday

    THE  Osun State Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Apo, Abuja, has scheduled this Friday for judgment in the petition by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the September 2018 governorship election, Senator Ademola Adeleke.

    PDP and Adeleke are, by their petition, challenging the declaration of Adegboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The date for the judgment was communicated to parties via hearing notices sent to them yesterday to that effect by the tribunal’s secretariat, a copy of which The Nation sighted in Abuja.

    The tribunal chairman, Justice Ibrahim Sirajo, had, on March 7, this year, after parties adopted their final written addresses, announced that judgment in the case would be reserved till a later date.

    Justice  Sirajo said the parties would be informed, at least, 48 hours before the date of delivery of the judgment.

    Wole Olanipekun (SAN) appeared for Oyetola; Akin Olujinmi (SAN) represented  the APC and Lasco Pwahomdi appeared for INEC on March 7. The petitioners’ legal team was led by Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN).

    In adopting their separate final addresses, Olanipekun, Olujinmi and Pwahomdi urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition on the grounds that the petitioners failed to prove their case.

    On his part, Ikpeazu urged the tribunal to uphold the petition and grant all the reliefs prayed by the petitioners.

    Olanipekun, while adopting his final address, noted that the petition was full of confusing claims and betrayed the petitioners’ lack of understanding of the nation’s election petition jurisprudence.

    In identifying what he described as the many contradictions in the petition, Olanipekun noted that “in pages 37, 38 and 39, the petitioners are presenting a different case entirely from their pleadings”.

    “The petition is a bedlam of confusion,” he said.

    Olanipekun noted that the petitioners have admitted breaching the electoral law by seeking that some of their votes be quashed.

    He added: “They are also asking the tribunal to quash some of their votes. A self-confessed petitioner, who has in writing, admitted infringing the law, cannot be asking to be returned as a winner of the election.

    “In their relief seven, they want the court to nullify the certificate of return, but they failed to present the certificate before the tribunal. Where is that certificate? Can the tribunal nullify what is not before it?

    “They said the certificate of return is with us. If it is with us, should they not have given us a notice to produce it? They did not give us notice to produce,” Olanipekun said.

    He relied on a decision of the Court of Appeal in the motion filed by the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and urged the tribunal to decline the petitioners’ prayer to void the guideline issued by INEC for the conduct of the election.

    In similar argument, Olujinmi faulted the evidence given by 63 polling agents called as witnesses by the petitioners.

    He noted that though the petitioners called 80 witnesses in all, 63, who were polling unit agents gave common evidence by saying similar things and using almost exactly the same words.

    Olujinmi also argued the evidence by the petitions’ 74th witness, who was the state polling agent, amounted to hearsay evidence because he admitted getting the information from the documents submitted to him.

    He urged the tribunal to ignore the various documents tendered by the petitioners, which he said they merely dumped on the tribunal without demonstrating their link to the case.

    Olujinmi also noted contradictions in the case of the petitioners and the evidence they led.

    Read also: Ogun APC warns banks over Amosun’s alleged loan requests

    He noted that while the petitioners want the tribunal to declare them winner of the first part of the election held on September 22, 2018 and void the supplementary election held on September 27, 2018, their 74th witness said they have no cause of action as it relates to the election of September 22, 2018.

    Ikpeazu, in his counter argument, urged the tribunal to disregard the issues raised by the respondents’ lawyers.

    He faulted the written addresses by the second and third respondents, which he argued, were not filed as required by law.

    Ikpeazu said there was no confusion as it relates to the case of the petitioners. He said the respondents’ claim of existence of confusion betrayed their misunderstanding of the case.

     

     

     

  • Lawmaker lifts students

    A member representing Epe Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, Abuja, Hon. Tasir Olawale Raji, has given out West African Examination Council (WAEC) forms to students in secondary schools in his constituency.

    The distribution took place in Epe.

    He appreciated parents and guardians for their efforts on the students, saying he was ready to support the future of the students.

    Raji told the students to be up and doing to become great leaders in years to come.

    In addition, he promised to deliver more than these in the office, to cater for all children, youths, adults and non-indigenes in his constituency.

    Read also: 24 states enact CPS

    He promised that the royal fathers will be accorded their due honour and placed in their normal position, adding they would be elevated more than before in this new dispensation.

    He called on all and sundry to support the incoming governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, so that Lagos State will be the best among all other states in the country.

    He commiserated with the families of the collapsed building in Lagos recently, saying: “God will give them the fortitude to bear the loss.”

  • Buhari, service chiefs meet in Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed doors with service chiefs.

    The meeting started at the President’s office in the State House around 11am.

    Discussions at the meeting would likely dwell on the security situation in the country and how to ensure maximum security in states where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is conducting rerun election on Saturday March 23.

    The meeting was still in progress at the time of filing this report.

  • FIRS Arraigns Companies, 3 Others Over Tax Evasion, Assault on Revenue Staff

    The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) on Monday arraigned Fortless Global Concept Limited and Everyday Wine Shop and their representatives at the Federal High Court, Abuja on alleged tax evasion, obstruction of official duty and attack on staff of the FIRS on duty among other charges.

    In the Charge No: FHC/ABJ/CR/48/2019, between the Federal Government of Nigeria (Complainant) and Fortless Global Concept Limited (also known as Federal High Courtand Chukwu Ejike (Defendants), the FIRS proffered a six-count charge bordering on tax evasion and assault on FIRS staff on duty on the defendants pursuant to Section 174 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) and Section 47 of the FIRS Establishment Act No: 13, 2007.

    Similarly, in the Charge No: FHC/ABJ/CR/47/2019, between the Federal Government of Nigeria (Complainant) and Everyday Wine Shop (also known as Everyday Wine Shop &Bar), Mbah Sunday and Epkeha Peter (Defendants), the FIRS preferred a six-count charge also bordering on tax evasion and assault on FIRS staff on duty on the defendants pursuant to Section 174 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) and Section 47 of the FIRS Establishment Act No: 13, 2007.

    A statement from FIRS said “representatives of the two companies who are currently on administrative bail: Mbah Sunday and Epkeha Peter for Everyday Wine Shop and Chukwu Ejike for Fortless Global Concept pleaded not guilty to the charges.”

    Justice Taiwo O. Taiwo of the Federal High Court 10, Abuja granted the application of the leader of FIRS prosecution counsel, James Binang and scheduled March 21, 2019 for the FIRS to prove the charges against the defendants.

    Following undertaking by the counsels of the defendants (Sanya Amos for Everyday Wine Shop and M. A Ejeh for Fortless Global Concept Limited) the Court also granted that the counsels should to bring the defendants to Court on March 21st, 2019 for further hearing.

    The statement said Binang for the FIRS “took the measures to prosecute the defendants to serve as a deterrent for other people who would want to evade taxes or tow the ignoble route of preventing tax officers from carrying out their official responsibilities.

    READ ALSO: CJN’s trial at CCT: prosecution opens case, calls first witness

    We keep your funds in the most secure wallets. We use the most Secure Procedures to keep and move funds; we have Ice Cold storage.

    “We cannot allow this to continue. Our staff were assaulted and their dresses torn. The FIRS wants to prosecute these cases to their logical conclusions to send signals to other people who would want to commit similar offences”, Binang told the Court.

    Charges against Everyday Wine Shop are similar with the charges against Fortless Global Concept Limited.

    Some of the Charges against Everyday Wine Shop are: “That you, Everyday Wine Shop (aka Everyday Wine Shop and Bar) 2. Mbah Sunday and 3. Epkeha Peter on or about the 24th day of January 2019 at the Federal Housing Estate, Lugbe, Abuja, within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, being obliged to deduct and remit Value Added Tax (VAT) in the course of your business, conspired amongst yourselves to participate in Tax Evasion; and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 49(1) and (2) of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, No: 13, 2007.

    “That you, Everyday Wine Shop (aka Everyday Wine Shop and Bar) 2. Mbah Sunday and 3. Epkeha Peter on or about the 24th day of January 2019 at the Federal Housing Estate, Lugbe, Abuja, within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, being taxable persons conspired amongst yourselves to obstruct and assault authorised officers of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in the course of the performance of their official functions; of pasting Value Added Tax (VAT) Non-Compliance Notice on business premises of persons and individuals adjudged by the Service to be Non Tax Compliant; and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 49(1) and (2) of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, No: 13, 2007.

    “That you, Everyday Wine Shop (aka Everyday Wine Shop and Bar) 2. Mbah Sunday and 3. Epkeha Peter on or about the 24th day of January 2019 at the Federal Housing Estate, Lugbe, Abuja, within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, being taxable persons conspired amongst yourselves obstructed and assaulted Miss Funke A. Shodunke, an authorised officers of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in the course of the performance of their official functions; of pasting Value Added Tax (VAT) Non-Compliance Notice on business premises of persons and individuals adjudged by the Service to be Non Tax Compliant; and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 49(1) and (2) of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, No: 13, 2007”, the Charges read.

     

  • Ex-Adamawa Investment Coy MD alleges moves to kidnap him

    A Yola resident and owner of a block of 21 flats in Karu, near Abuja, has cried out that property racketeers are stalking him, apparently to kidnap and force him to sign off the Karu property.

    Malam Abubakar Zira who said he built the Karu block between 2000 and 2003, appealed to security agents to delay no further in addressing his situation.

    He said, “Everyday I have to change  where I sleep, because they are desperately after me. I have found them trailing me in many places. I am not afraid to die but I don’t think that’s what they want. They want to kidnap me and force me to sign a document to denounce my property.”

    Zira who spoke to newsmen in Yola concerning the property, said the battle to keep it had been a long one. “I discovered that some people had cloned or forged title documents to my property situated at Plot MF20 at Karu village extension. They even placed a banner on it in April 2017,” he said.

    He added that he had since then got his lawyers on two occasions to write Abuja Geographic Information System (AGIS) to place a caveat on the property but that AGIS had refused to do so.

    Read Also: Adamawa Assembly results: APC, PDP get 11 seats each

    “Meanwhile, I have been receiving calls from several people threatening me,” he said, following which he said he petitioned the FCT Minister, the Inspector General of Police, the Director General of the Department of State Security Service and the acting chairman of the EFCC.

    He lamented that the petition had not yielded expected result, as the threatening calls to his phone line had continued and attempts had actually been made to abduct him.

    Recalling the incidents, the 69-year-old Abubakar Zira who retired as the managing director of Adamawa State Investment Company, said, “On 16th December 2018, my house (in Yola) was besieged by some people who came to kidnap me on my way to the mosque at 4.45 am. I managed to escape and

    I reported this to the Adamawa State Police Command, the DSS, Brigade Commander, 23 Brigade Yola and the NSCDC and I had peace for a while.

    “On 24th February 2019, another attempt to kidnap me was made while I was returning from Michika after casting my vote, which I reported to the above security agencies and the AIG Zone 3.”

    He expressed the regret that “after making a detailed petition to the Minister of the FCT, IGP, DS DSS, and acting chairman of EFCC about six months now, it is clear that no action has been taken to address my complaint, rather the people who are interested in confiscating my property are left to chase and trail me.”

    Wondering why even AGIS would not act on requests made on his behalf by his lawyers, Abubakara Zira said he was disturbed that he had been made a fugitive for reason that he had been trying to protect a property that he acquired legitimately.

  • FG to implement ECOWAS biometric identity card

    The Minister of Interior, Lt.- Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau (retd), said Federal Government would implement the use of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) biometric identity card.

    He noted that it was part of efforts of the government to curb influx of foreigners into the country.

    Dambazau made this known on Thursday when participants of Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC) 12 of Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Bwari, Abuja, visited him.

    The ministry may sign a Concession Agreement on the Implementation of the ECOWAS Biometric Identity Card with Euphoria Press Limited on Friday.

    READ ALSO: Heritage Bank launches biometric identity card for PMAN

    The minister explained that ECOWAS Free movement protocol would be accompanied by passports and proper documentation.

    He said the action plan of every country in ECOWAS would be presented “and we will ensure to work with it.

    “We will ensure that we implement the ECOWAS Biometric Identity Card in Nigeria. We will launch it three Months after the signing.’’

    He said that the biometric identity card was a prominent feature in the last ECOWAS Summit in December, 2018 in Abuja.

    According to him, nobody can cross our border without the ECOWAS identity card; these are some of the security arrangements Nigeria is making to address border security issues.

    Danbazau noted that border security was a challenge, adding that Nigerian Immigration Service was responsible for manning the nation’s borders and monitoring movement of people.

    “We had to build a good intelligence gathering system so that we can have a good information. This will build our capacity to monitor and respond to these issues,’’ he said.

    He added that Nigeria also shared intelligence with neighbouring countries, saying “we are also partnering other countries, especially our strategic neighbours and other European countries and international organisations.

    “We are installing a system called Midas to help improve on capacity to monitor our borders, and because of the insurgency in the North-East, we had to partner Nigerian Air Force and build their capacity.’’

    He said that Nigeria had provided a number of vehicles for patrol and had established a number of patrol bases across strategic border-States.

    Earlier the Director of ISS, Mr Ayodele Adeleke, who led the delegation, said that the team was on a visit to understudy the operations of the ministry.

    He raised concerns on internal security in Nigeria, stressing on the need to collaborate with neighbouring countries in addressing the issue.

    Adeleke noted that some youths had died in the Mediterranean, while some were stranded along the routes in attempts to move out of the country.

    He pointed out that International Migration had posed a lot of problems for Nigeria, adding that there was need for relevant agencies to collaborate to tackle the challenges.

    The delegation comprised personnel of the Navy, DSS, EFCC, NSCDC, Police and paramilitary organisations.

    NAN

  • Set standards for buildings in Nigeria, APC tells regulatory bodies

    The All Progressives Congress ( APC ) has asked the various regulatory bodies in the building and construction industry to do everything possible to prevent building collapse by ensuring that required standard is met before approval.

    In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja and signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa Onilu, the party described Wednesday building collapse in Lagos as avoidable

    The statement reads: “The All Progressives Congress (APC) is shocked and deeply saddened by Wednesday’s collapse of a building housing a school and residential units in Itafaaji area of Lagos State which led to several deaths and injuries, particularly among children.

    “When we lose our loved ones, it is never easy, particularly when they are children lost to such horrific and avoidable building collapse.

    “We sympathise with the families of the dead victims and pray for the speedy and full recovery of the injured. We also pray for the safe rescue of those still reportedly trapped in the collapsed building rubble.

    “While we commiserate with the government and people of Lagos state over the sad incident, the party is worried that the frequency of these building collapse and its attendant human casualties has become abnormal. Relevant regulatory authorities across the country must do all that is necessary to prevent a reoccurrence of these avoidable building collapses.”

  • 102 elected senators, 338 Reps get certificates today

    WINNERS in the February 23 National Assembly elections are to get certificates of return (CoR) today by at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja.

    According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 102 senators-elect will get their certificates by 10am and 338 would-be House of Representatives members will be issued theirs by 2pm.

    Going by the list of candidates, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has 63 senators, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has 38 and Youth Progressives Party (YFP) has a seat.

    Seven seats have been declared inconclusive and will be contested for during the supplementary election slated for March 23.

    For the lower chamber, the ruling party also has the majority with 211 members.  The PDP has 111 members.

    Other political parties share the remaining 16 seats -APGA (six); African Democratic Congress (ADC), three; Action Alliance (AA) two and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), two. African Democratic Party (ADP), Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) have one slot each.

    Twenty-two seats are still up for grabs where elections were declared inconclusive. Make-up polls in the affected Federal Constituencies (excluding in Rivers State) have been fixed for March 23.

    Elections were suspended in Rivers State for INEC to review. The process that has been wracked by protests.

    The two major parties – APC and PDP – will be slugging it out in six states where elections were declared inconclusive. They are: Sokoto, Adamawa, Bauchi, Kano, Plateau and Benue.

    SOKOTO

    There are 526,892 votes to be contested for in the six states.  In Sokoto, where Governor Aminu Waziri of the PDP, who scored 489, 588, was leading with 3,413 votes, the two leading parties will battle for 75,493 votes in 136 polling units in 22 local government areas. The APC candidate, Aliyu Sokoto, was trailing with 486, 145 votes before the process was declared inconclusive.

    ADAMAWA

    Before the process was declared inconclusive in Adamawa, the PDP, with 367,471 votes as against APC’s 334,995, was leading by 32,476 votes. The candidates of the two parties have 40,998 votes to fight for. Incumbent Governor Jibrilla of the APC and his challenger PDP Umar Fintiri will be slugging it out on March 23.

    BAUCHI

    In Bauchi, it was too close to call. The PDP candidate Bala Muhammed was leading the APC candidate, Governor Mohammed Abubakar with 4,059. There are 139,240 votes to decide the winner. After the first ballot, the PDP had 469,512 and the APC got 465,453.

    BENUE

    Governor Samuel Ortom of the PDP, who got 410, 576, was ahead in Benue with 81,554 votes. He will be slugging it out with his APC challenger Emmanuel Jime for 121, 011 votes. Jime got 329, 022 at the close of the first ballot.

    PLATEAU

    In Plateau, incumbent Governor Simon Lalong of the APC got 583, 255 to lead Senator Jeremiah Useni of the PDP with 44,929 votes. Useni got 538, 326. The duo will be fighting for the outstanding 49,377 votes.

    KANO

    There are 100, 873 votes to decide who wins the election. The PDP, with 1,014,474 votes, was leading the APC, which got 987, 810, with 26,664 votes.

    As at the time of filing this report, the Commission has not received the report from the investigative panel it raised on the disruption of the electoral process in Rivers State.

    Though the committee, which was given 48 hours to turn in its report, has not been able to do so as a result of many factors, it has, however, met with critical stakeholders in the state, including the governor and other governorship candidates.

    The committee was set up on Sunday to review the situation that led to the disruption of the electoral process. Going by the 48-hour time lag given, the panel ought to have submitted its report on Tuesday.

    It was learnt last night that the panel was “wrapping” up its assignment.

    The commission had suspended collation and announcement of results, citing electoral violence and safety of its workers. It therefore raised a fact-finding committee to assess the situation and report back within 48 hours.

    Responding to an inquiry from our correspondent, Rotimi Oyekanmi, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, said the committee may have been bogged down by flight delays and others factors.

    He, however, assured that “immediately the committee turns in its report, the commission will take a decision in respect of Rivers State”.

    Meanwhile, INEC has debriefed all accredited observers on the last polls.

  • Ethiopian Air opens condolence registers in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Enugu

    ETHIOPIAN Airlines, owners of the ill-fated Boeing 737 Max – 8 that crashed on Sunday, have opened condolence registers in Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Enugu.

    There were 157 passengers aboard the plane which was flying from Addis Ababa to Nairobi, Kenya.

    The airline opened the registers at its offices in the four cities for the victims of ET Flight 302.

    The development came in the wake of the global outrage triggered by the crash.

    Two Nigerians –  Ambassador Abiodun Bashau and Prof Pius Adesanmi  – were among the victims.

    The General Manager of Ethiopian Airlines in Nigeria, Mrs. Firihiewot Mekonnen, yesterday received the first set of visitors at the airline’s Lagos Office.

    At the Abuja Airport, the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Saleh Dunomah, was received by Ethiopian Airlines Sales Manager  Tilahun Tadesse.

    Mrs. Mekonnen thanked Nigerians for standing by her organisation “in this moment of grief”.

    “We thank the Nigerian President and the good people of Nigeria for the condolence message from the Government of Nigeria.

    “We have always counted on Nigeria as an African partner and brother and this sad occasion once again proves the bond. We commiserate with Nigeria over the loss to humanity of the two great Nigerians on that flight. We have since reached out to the families involved. Ethiopian Airlines will not abandon its responsibilities to them.”

    Ethiopian Airlines has grounded all B737-8Max airplanes in its fleet. The airline was not flying the B737 Max-8 on its Nigerian routes. The B777, B787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A350 are the aircraft deployed daily to Nigeria.

    The crash has raised questions about the safety of the aircraft type.

    The two crashes involving Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air has further put a question mark on the safety integrity of Boeing 737 Max-8.

    Investigations have been launched into the circumstances leading to the crash but there heightened anxiety among global passengers booked on airline flight for carriers that have Boeing 737- Max 8 on their fleet.

    Britain yesterday led other nations, including Malaysia, Oman, Australia, China and Singapore to temporarily ban the aircraft model in their airspaces.

    A local operator,  Air Peace, which had ordered for 10 units of the aircraft type, said it was not suspending its order.

    It, however, promised to watch ongoing investigations before taking a decisive step.

    Industry regulator Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) gave assurance on the state of aircraft flying in Nigeria’s airspace.

    The NCAA said there was no cause for worry, as no Boeing 737 Max-8 was being operateed in the country.

    Its spokesman, Sam Adurogboye, assured the flying public of their safety, stating that there is no cause for alarm.

    He said in a statement: “Presently, the accident aircraft type, Boeing 737 Max-8 is not in operation in the country. However, the authority, in line with its Safety Oversight mandate enshrined in the Civil Aviation Act 2006, is consciously monitoring the development (s) with a view to take the necessary steps that will enhance the safety of all aircraft in operation within the Nigerian airspace.”

    “This is to assure the public that NCAA will continue to ensure that safety regulations are strictly adhered to for the safety of all in Nigeria. Our heart is with the Airline and families of the victims of the accident.”

    Also yesterday, United States (U.S.) regulators ordered Boeing to make urgent improvements to the model and insisted that they would take action if safety issues are detected.

    But the U.S. demand was not enough to reassure aviation authorities in Britain and four other countries — Singapore, Australia, Malaysia and Oman — who temporarily banned all 737 MAX planes from their airspace.

    China, an important market for Boeing, had already ordered domestic airlines to suspend operations of the plane Monday, same step taken by Indonesia.

    The UK Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement headlined “Boeing 737 MAX Aircraft” that “as a precautionary measure” it had decided “to stop any commercial passenger flights from any operator arriving, departing or overflying UK airspace”.

    Aviation regulators in Singapore, a global air travel hub and popular transit point for long-haul travellers, said they would work with the country’s main airport and “the affected airlines to minimise any impact to travelling passengers”.

    One Singaporean airline, SilkAir, uses 737 MAX aircraft while a handful of foreign airlines operate the planes in the city-state.

    In its statement announcing the 737 MAX ban, Malaysia’s aviation regulator noted the two recent fatal accidents involving the model.

    Britain joined four other countries in banning Boeing 737 MAX planes from their airspace as a growing number of airlines around the world grounded the jets following a second deadly accident in just five months.

    Low-cost airline Norwegian Air Shuttle said Tuesday it would suspend flights of its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft until further notice.

    Norwegian, which operates 18 of the planes, will keep them grounded pending advice from aviation authorities, Operations Chief Tomas Hesthammer said.

     

  • Why votes no longer count, by Onaiyekan

    The outgoing Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Eminence John Cardinal Onaiyekan yesterday frowned at the violence and militarisation of this year’s election.

    He said election is supposed to be an opportunity for Nigerians to choose their leaders, and not a battlefield.

    Rev. Onaiyekan spoke at  the 1st plenary meeting of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria and the dedication of St Gabriel Chapel building at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Durumi, Abuja.

    His words: “Elections are supposed to be an opportunity for us to choose those who will serve us. In many cases, it has been turned into battlefield for warriors fighting to capture power and conquer territory and people. No wonder it has become such a do or die affair- winner takes it all. No wonder the process has been militarised, with armed thugs engaging our security forces, who in their turn are rarely able to be as fair and professional as they claim to be. No wonder votes often no longer count.

    “When this happens, it is not only the losing contestant who alleges fraud. More significantly, it is the people, the voter, who is denied the once in four years opportunity to choose who will serve us as political leaders.

    “If the name of the political game does not change from domination to service, elections will continue to be problematic and the nation will continue to stagnate”.

    He, however urged those who won in the elections to always discharge their duties, having in mind that power belongs to God alone and He would demand for accountability on how power is used.

    “Whatever the outcome of our elections, fair or foul, whoever holds power at the end of the day, even with the fairest of election victory, must remember that power belongs to God and Him alone. He will demand strict accountability on how anyone takes power, and how anyone uses power. God cannot be deceived or challenged”.

    He warned that bad governance would not lead to good governance.

    Onaiyekan also said that the voter apathy and boycott that almost marred the march 9 Governorship and States House of Assembly was as a protest and a vote of no confidence of the electoral process by the electorates.

    According to him: “It would seem that many of the challenges that emerged during the process were as a result of bad laws, which made implementation problematic, and at times offered lacunae for evil-minded people to exploit things to their own advantage.

    “Even where the rules are clear, they were not always adhered to. Those who claim that these elections were wonderful because it worked in their favor should be reminded that bad Election cannot lead to good governance.

    “The massive boycott of the polls on march 9th in many places can well be a loud protest and vote of no confidence in the process that had destroyed their trust in the system.

    “The government that has been declared reelected must listen to the sound of murmurs and protest in the winds and take proactive steps to pull the nation together, even while we are waiting for the outcome of the legal challenge already on course in the tribunals. It is quite unfortunate that in modern era, free, fair, transparent and peaceful election has become so hard to attain.

    “To the extent that the problems are deliberate manipulations, it is time to repent and change ways, for the sake of the survival of our nation, now and for future generations to come”.