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Tag: Adamawa election

  • Adamawa Election Tribunal begins sitting on 19 petitions

    The Adamawa Election Petitions Tribunal began sitting in Yola on Monday with a total of 19 petitions to deliberate on.

    The chairman of the three-member tribunal, Justice Suleiman Akanmbi, pledged at the inaugural sitting held at the High Court complex in Jimeta, that the tribunal would pursue expeditious deliberations and appealed to counsels to avoid ‘undue technicalities’ that could delay the process.

    “We solicit the cooperation of the members of the Bar, the media and the general public to join in ensuring fair and expeditious trial and conclusion of the great task ahead,” the tribunal chairman said.

    The 19 petitions which the tribunal has received so far, according to the Tribunal Secretary, Godwin Ezenwa, comprise two senatorial, seven House of Representatives, and 10 House of Assembly petitions.

    The two petitions challenging the outcome of the senatorial election were filed from Adamawa North and Adamawa South senatorial zones.

    Read Also: Adamawa election petition tribunal begins sitting Monday

    Incumbent Senator Binta Garba (Adamawa North) who is of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is challenging the election of Ishaku Cliff of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Ishaku winner of the Adamawa North senatorial election after he polled 79,337 votes against Binta’s 63,219 votes.

    The petitioner from Adamawa South Senatorial Zone, Mo’allayidi Ahmed, is also an incumbent senator who similarly lost to a fresher and PDP contender, Binos Dauda who polled 144,403 against Ahmed’s 118,209 votes.

  • Adamawa guber poll: Court concludes hearing, fixes judgment for Friday

    The Adamawa State High Court on Thursday concluded hearing on a suit filed against the Adamawa State governorship election and fixed Friday March 29 for judgement.

    The candidate of the Movement for the Restoration and Defence of Democracy (MRDD), Rev Eric Theman, had gone to the court immediately after the March 9 governorship election that he was denied the right to be voted for as his party logo was not on the ballot paper for the election.

    He asked the court for an injunction stopping the conduct of a rerun already announced at the time after the main election was declared inconclusive. He also asked the court to declare the main election null and void for the same reason that he was not duly entered for the election after he fulfilled all requirements for inclusion.

    The court promptly granted his request of injunction against the rerun, which stayed until the same court lifted it on Tuesday, following which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fixed Thursday, March 28, for the rerun which was in progress as this story was filed Thursday afternoon.

    The court Thursday heard arguments for and against the originating motion seeking the annulment of the March 9 election from plaintiff and defence counsels, and adjourned judgement to Friday.

    Counsel to INEC, Bar Stephen Ibian, had argued, among other things, that the MRDD did not get to the ballot paper because the candidate did not nominate a running mate for the election. He said the necessary forms of INEC in respect to the MRDD showed that the party did not sponsor a running mate.

    “The reliefs sought constitute an academic exercise and not grantable,” he concluded.

    Defending MRDD’s motion, however, the counsel, Bar Mustapha Ibrahim, told the court that the MRDD did present a running mate to the governorship candidate but that the documents INEC was tendering had a vital page missing, which he said amounted to withholding of evidence.

    “It is inconceivable for INEC to receive form 001 (as it did) and not Form 002 because they come together,” Bar Mustapha Ibrahim said, urging the court to grant the reliefs his clients sought as the reliefs were well grounded.

    The trial judge, Justice Abdulaziz Waziri, who had been emphatic since Tuesday that the week would not end without him delivering judgement on the case, brought Thursday’s session to a close a little after 1pm, urging counsels who had not provided details of all authorities for the cases they cited in their arguments to do so by midafternoon so he would have time to conclude the writing of his judgement against Friday.

    The judgement could have a telling effect on the ongoing governorship election process. If he annuls the election, it will bring the process to zero level, although the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the election, Rt Hon Umaru Fintiri, who are parties to the case and have always questioned the jurisdiction of the court over the case, will be certain to appeal such a judgement.

  • Adamawa Election: Security beefed up at polling units

    Security has been beefed up at polling units as people in Adamawa trickle out to vote in Thursday’s supplementary governorship election.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the election is going on in 44 units across 29 wards of 14 local government areas of the state.

    Vehicular movement has, however, not been restricted, but armed policemen were seen on roads leading to polling units conducting stop and search on motorists.

    Plain clothes security and unarmed policemen are seen around the polling units observing the exercise.

    Speaking on the security situation, the Adamawa Resident Electoral commissioner, Mr Kassim Gaidam, said that only those with Permanent Voter Cards in the affected units would be allowed access to the polling units.

    Gaidam added that only one agent from each of the political parties was allowed at polling units; but political parties’ monitoring teams would not allowed access to the election venue.

    According to him, the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Zone 3 and the Commissioner of Police in the state are leading other security agencies in monitoring the exercise.

    He said that the National Commissioner in charge of Adamawa, Taraba and Gombe states would be joined by some neigbouring states electoral commissioners to monitor the election.

  • Ngilari: postpone Adamawa election till May

    Adamawa State Governor Bala Niglari has called for the postponement of the February 28 governorship election in the state.

    He argued that with the renewed onslaught of insurgency in the state, it was becoming impossible for election to hold.

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, said he was not properly disposed to give an immediate response to the request.

    Ngilari and Jega spoke yesterday in Abuja at a stakeholders’ workshop on Internally Displaced Persons and the 2015 general elections organised by INEC.

    Ngilari said: “In Adamawa, I can truly tell you that seven local government areas are under siege. The supposed peace we have is just the peace of the graveyard. To say that the security situation in these local governments are sufficiently stabilised so that we can have these elections on the 14th of February 2014, to my mind, is fierce.”

    There were shouts of “no no” from the audience and after pausing for a while and with Jega asking the crowd to allow him finish, the governor continued:”That is my position. Anybody is entitled to his views. I am the chief security officer, even as I speak now, this morning,  Mr. Chairman, there was an attack on Uba on the Borno side, which directly affects us in Adamawa.”

    “Therefore sir, it is my submission with due respect, that we passionately request that before the expiration of this government in May,  it will only be fair if we can consider moving this election to about April.”

    Jega explained that the commission would only do elections in areas that were safe.

    While noting that the turn out might be low, the INEC chair said it would not affect the declaration of a winner.

  • Ngilari: postpone Adamawa election till May

    Ngilari: postpone Adamawa election till May

    Adamawa State Governor Bala Niglari has called for the postponement of the February 28 governorship election in the state.

    He argued that with the renewed onslaught of insurgency in the state, it was becoming impossible for election to hold.

    The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, said he was not properly disposed to give an immediate response to the request.

    Ngilari and Jega spoke yesterday in Abuja at a stakeholders’ workshop on Internally Displaced Persons and the 2015 general elections organised by INEC.

    Ngilari said: “In Adamawa, I can truly tell you that seven local government areas are under siege. The supposed peace we have is just the peace of the graveyard. To say that the security situation in these local governments are sufficiently stabilised so that we can have these elections on the 14th of February 2014, to my mind, is fierce.”

    There were shouts of “no no” from the audience and after pausing for a while and with Jega asking the crowd to allow him finish, the governor continued:”That is my position. Anybody is entitled to his views. I am the chief security officer, even as I speak now, this morning,  Mr. Chairman, there was an attack on Uba on the Borno side, which directly affects us in Adamawa.”

    “Therefore sir, it is my submission with due respect, that we passionately request that before the expiration of this government in May,  it will only be fair if we can consider moving this election to about April.”

    Jega explained that the commission would only do elections in areas that were safe.

    While noting that the turn out might be low, the INEC chair said it would not affect the declaration of a winner.

  • NSCDC assures on hitch-free Adamawa election

    THE Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on Friday in Abuja said that it had concluded preparation to ensure a hitch-free governorship by-election in Adamawa slated for Oct. 11. The Commandant General of the Corps, Mr Ade Abolurin said this while addressing the management team of the Corps. He explained that the deployment of personnel for the election will be done from the neighbouring state Commands to complement the effort of the Adamawa command. Abolurin, however, said that a team from the Headquarters would be deployed to monitor the election.

    “The early deployment of personnel ahead of election is to enable those from the other Commands to get acquainted with the terrain for effective policing,” he said. He assured the people of the state of a credible, fair and violent free election as all security apparatus would be put in place to ensure that the electoral process was not hijacked by hoodlums. He urged the people to make available useful information to nip in the bud any act of sabotage, political thuggery and any criminal activities capable of disrupting the process. Abolurin called on political parties and their supporters to unite in the interest of the people to make the electoral process to be devoid of any unhealthy rivalry that could bring about break down of law and order.