A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to discontinue collation and announcement of Bauchi governorship results.
Justice Inyang Ekwo gave the order following an ex parte application filed by the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar.
Details shortly.
The ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) in Kano state has urged security agencies and Kano residents to hold Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso responsible should there be any breach of the peace before, during and after the March 23 governorship re-run election in the state.
In a statement signed by the state Commissioner of Information, Youth and Culture, who doubles as the Chairman, Publicity Committee, Kano APC Campaign Organization, Malam Muhammad Garba, the APC leadership in Kano expressed worry over inciting comments credited to the former Governor (Kwankwaso) and wondered why he has not been called to order by security agencies in the state, particularly, the police.
He said, “it is no longer secret that Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso has seen the March 23 supplementary election as a war he is not ready to lose. His recent utterances indicate his ability to incite and cause violence in the state before, during and after the elections”.
“It is on record that Senator Kwankwaso has continued to mobilize his followers to cause chaos and mayhem in Kano all in the name of election, even though he is not a candidate in the contest”.
“It is pertinent at this crucial period to draw the attention of the Federal Government and security agencies to recent inciting comments credited to Senator Kwankwaso, calling for war and violence before, during and after the elections.”
The statement added that, “as a responsible party, the APC believes that election is not a do-or-die affair. Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje remains a peace-loving leader who would not want any blood to drop because of election.
“Governor Ganduje believes that power belongs to God and only Him can give and take away power. The modest achievements recorded by his administration are enough to give him victory.
“We wish to call on Kano stakeholders to delve into the situation and call the agents of violence to order. The Ganduje administration since its inception has continued to record and maintain peace. “We have enjoyed peace and development in the state all this while, and it will not be to anyone’s interest to allow few elements to destabilize this peace because of their selfish interest.
“To this end, the ruling APC in Kano remains hopeful of victory at Saturday’s rerun election. We call on all our teeming supporters and the good people of Kano state to remain calm, and continue to maintain peace and order for the overall interest of our dear state.”
Ahead of March 23 governorship re-run election in Benue state, the All Progressive Congress (APC) Elders Councils has called for more security personnel to curtail violence.
The elders council said from reports available there are plans to disrupts the re-run especially in APC strongholds.
Addressing the media in Makurdi, Spokesman of APC elders council Chief Terlumun Akputu said there is need to provide more security for the re- run election to stamp out vote buying and intimidation.
Akputu also advised Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to insist on the use of card readers before accepting any result from polling unit in the re-run.
The Elders Council expressed concerned that in March 9th governorship and State Assembly election APC recorded zero vote in some Local Governments which is not acceptable.
“There is nowhere in Nigeria where the APC recorded zero votes except in Guma Local Area Government area despite having candidates and agents which he said were chased out of the polling units.”
The elders called for the cancelation of elections in places where card readers were not used and declared the candidate of APC Emmanuel Jime as the authentic winner of the March 9th election.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, Adams Oshiomhole and other top government functionaries have commenced preparations for the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term by May 29.
The inter-ministerial Presidential Inauguration Committee was inaugurated on Thursday, after which they began sitting immediately at the SGF conference room.
Inaugurating the committee in Abuja, the SGF recalled that about four years ago, “the Buhari Administration came on board with the promise of Change built on economy, security and anti-corruption.
He said the government has since 2015 committed itself to working hard to achieve sustainable economic growth, as well as a secure and corruption free nation.
He said “preparatory to the inauguration of the new Administration, Mr. President approved the constitution of this Presidential Inter-Ministerial Inauguration Committee (PIC-2019) to plan, organize and execute all approved programmes for the series of activities that would be undertaken”.
While the SGF would serve as chairman of the committee, other members of the committee includes, Chief of Staff to the President, Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Minister of Finance, Minister of Power, Works & Housing, Attorney General & Minister of Justice, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Minister of Transportation, Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development, Minister of Water Resources, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, National Security Adviser, Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Affairs Office and Deputy Chief of Staff to the President who will serve as secretary, respectively.
The Terms of Reference of the committee includes “to plan, organize and execute all approved activities for the 2019 Presidential Inauguration; Co-opt any organization(s)/person(s) relevant towards the successful execution of the programme; document for posterity, all planned activities for the Inauguration; and, carry out any other assignment as may be required towards the successful implementation of the programme.
“Distinguished Members of the Presidential Inauguration Committee, in the course of the implementation of this assignment, several sub-committees to be headed by Ministers will be constituted.
“For inclusiveness however, other members would be drawn from, not just the MDAs, but also from the All Progress Congress (our Party), the Presidential Campaign Council, the Buhari Support Organisation as well as Women and Youth Campaign Council. The mandate of these sub-committees will be clearly spelt out to reflect the purpose for which they have been constituted. Ahead of such constitution, I wish to underscore the need for collaboration and synergy amongst sub-committees while planning and executing the approved programmes.
“Finally, let me remind all members of the importance of this assignment and that no stone should be left unturned to ensure that this 2019 Presidential Inauguration Committee delivers on its mandate. We must therefore deploy our wealth of experience and show unwavering commitment to this exercise”, the SGF stated.
Barring any unforeseen circumstance, the governorship candidate of the opposition People’s Democratic Party, Mr Seyi Makinde will be declared the winner of the 2019 governorship election in Oyo State.
Makinde defeated the candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress, Mr Adebayo Adelabu with about 150, 000 votes.
As at the time of filing this report, the results of 32 out of the 33 local governments of the state have been released by the state Returning Officer, Prof Oluwatoyin Ogundipe.
According to the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, the total score of the 32 LGAs declared so far for the PDP stands at 481, 176 as against the APC’s 339, 826.
So far, the PDP has won 27 while the APC won five LGA
Only the result of the Ibadan Southwest LG is been awaited and yet to be declared as at the time of filing this report.
But despite the non declaration of the final results, hundreds of the PDP supporters were seen gathered out of the Agodi headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Ibadan.
The supporters who thronged the entrance in motorcycles and cars were denied entrance by the stern looking security operatives manning the entrance gate, which made kept about distance of about 100 metered away from the entrance..
The candidate of the All Progressive Congress for Ikom/Boki Federal Constituency of Cross River, Mr Victor Abang, has rejected the announcement of the result by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in which the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Chris Agibe, was declared winner.
INEC had declared Agibe of the PDP winner of the election with 38,456 votes as against Abang who got APC 29,977 votes.
In a statement issued on Wednesday in Calabar by the Director General of Abang’s Reality Campaign Network, Prince Eka Williams, the group alleged the result was false, based on what was gotten from the polling units.
“The attention of the Reality Campaign Network of Sir Victor Abang has been drawn to a purported announcement of the winner for the Ikom/Boki Federal Constituency election by INEC.
“This is inspite of mass irregularities and sharp practices which characterized the election. The announcement was done in contravention of the electoral act and guidelines for the election.
“INEC admitted while presenting the Presidential result that 26,000 votes in Boki Local government area were affected by either cancellation or non-voting.
“While we were expecting announcement for a rerun election, the contrary was done. In view of the above and several other evidences at our disposal, we reject the said announcement.
“We call on our supporters to remain calm as appropriate steps will be taken to ensure that we are not cheated.
“We wish to also thank all the good people of Ikom/Boki for the support they gave to us through their prayers and actual voting,” he said.
He thanked his supporters and urged them not to despair, but to keep hope alive and come out en masse to support the APC in the governorship and state house of assembly elections on March 9.
The DG congratulated all APC members in Ikom/Boki for the overwhelming victory of President Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential election.
At the end of the first session of the collation of results for the presidential elections in Niger, President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress (APC) is leading in 13 local government areas.
The collation, which was suspended at about 3am on Monday morning, is expected to resume 11 am.
Other local government areas are expected to have arrived before then.
The results announced include:
Munya LGA
APC – 13, 717
PDP – 8,530
Edati LGA
APC – 15,961
PDP – 8,168
Bosso LGA
APC – 29,093
PDP – 9,282
Katcha LGA
APC – 16,107
PDP – 5,668
Gurara
APC – 14,377
PDP – 10,210
Rafi LGA
APC – 31,661
PDP – 7,029
Suleja LGA
APC – 30,401
PDP – 17,806
Tafa LGA
APC – 15,176
PDP – 12,778
Agwara
APC – 8,811
PDP – 5,587
Magama
APC – 22,529
PDP – 10,531
Paikoro LGA
APC – 24,690
PDP – 12,494
Chanchaga LGA
APC – 46,886
PDP – 14,220
Shiroro LGA
APC – 29,213
PDP – 10,215
Kano state Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has described as unfortunate the attack on a group of All Progressive Congress (APC) supporters by members of the Kwankwasiyya group of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) while on campaign in Bebeji/Kiru Local Government Area on Thursday.
He called on security agents to fish out perpetrators of the attack, which left at least five persons dead and other seriously wounded.
According to him: “The Kwankwassiyya group has continued to brazenly attack members and supporters of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
“The latest just happened on Thursday when they attacked our members while on a special prayer session in Bebeji local government area which was organised for peaceful conduct of the forthcoming general elections in the country, leaving some party members dead and others with injuries.”
In a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Youth and Culture, Malam Muhammad Garba, Ganduje accused the Kwankwasiyya PDP thugs of being behind the attack.
According to him: “They attacked our peaceful supporters under the watchful eyes of their leader, Rabi’u Kwankwaso, who was on a campaign rally in the area, brandishing all sorts of deadly weapons, attacked the prayer session, which is being organised by member representing Kiru/Bebeji constituency, Hon. Abdulmumini Jibrin Kofa for meanness free polls.”
The attack, the statement, he lamented: “is the latest in series by the Kwankwasiyya ruffians in an apparent attempt to put a clog in the wheel of progress toward ensuring free and peaceful election in the state.”
The Governor lamented: “The group is superficially venting its anger on members and supporters of the APC, having gotten a sign of defeat at the polls, as part of a calculated attempt to scamper peaceful 2019 elections.”
He prayed for the departed souls and condoled with the bereaved families, just as he also prayed for the quick recovery of those injured during the heinous attack.
Ganduje also directed security agencies “to fish out perpetrators of the monstrous blitzkrieg with a view to ensuring that they are dealt with accordingly.”
Security agencies in Imo State on Tuesday politicians ahead of the general elections to desist from acts capable of jeopardising public peace and security.
The warning was coming at the heels of a peace Parley organised for politicians by the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC).
The Security Chiefs warned that any politician caught inciting violence in the state during and after the elections will be severely dealt with in accordance with the law.
Meanwhile the governorship candidates of the Action Alliance (AA), Uche Nwosu; All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator Hope Uzodinma; People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Emeka Ihedioha; Change Advocacy Party (CAP) Ikenna Emmanuel; Young Progressive Party (YPP) Linus Okorie and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Ifeanyi Araraume, among others signed agreement to be of peaceful conduct during the election.
Addressing the candidates shortly before the signing of the Agreement witnessed by security chiefs, officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), religious leaders and journalists, Commissioner of Police, Dasuki Galadanchi, urged the politicians to play by the rules and jettison all forms of violence.
According to him, the state has witnessed relative peace when compared to others Federation, as a result of the “cooperation and support of the people of the state”.
He said: “You will agree with me that this hard earned peace and tranquility we enjoy and experience in Imo State should be guarded jealously, thus, we have no other option than to ensure this endures before, during and after the elections”.
Resident Electoral Commissioner Francis Ezeonu assured INEC is prepared to conduct credible election that will meet the aspirations of all the parties.
He restated his commitment to provide level playing ground for all the political parties participating in the election while pleading with the candidates to abide by rules and regulations guiding the election.
Meanwhile, fake soldiers escorting and unnamed politician were paraded at the event at the State Police Headquarters.
Parading the suspects, who were fully dressed in military fatigue, during a peace parley for candidates, the Commander 34 Artillery Brigade Obinze, Brigadier General H. I Bature, disclosed that fake soldiers have infiltrated the state to cause chaos during the general elections.
He stated desperate politicians have equipped hoodlums with army uniforms and weapons to perpetrate violence in the state, warning all those involved in the ignoble act will be fished out and dealt with.
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed hope that the crisis threatening the inclusion All Progressive Congress (APC) candidates in Zamfara in the coming general elections will soon be over.
The President said this in Gusau during his campaign rally in the state on Sunday.
“I took an oath as the president of this country to preserve and respect the sanctity of the judiciary and I will maintain this so that the right thing can be done.
“Our party decided to go for either direct primaries, indirect primaries or consensus during the last party primaries ahead of the up coming general elections but we experienced challenges in eight states including Zamfara.
“However, since the matter is in the court now, l hope and pray that before next Saturday, the court will resolve the issue so that candidates from our party can participate in all the elections,” he said.
The president maintained that he could not hand out the party’s flag to the candidates in the state during his campaign rally as a sign of respect to the rule of law.
He recalled that he had kept his 2015 campaign promises to Nigerians all the three areas of provision of security, improvement of economy and fight against corruption, noting that all recovered stolen money would be used for infrastructure development.
While calling on the people to come out en-mass and vote for all the party’s candidates in the coming elections, the president urged them to be law abiding throughout the exercise.
Earlier, the state governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari told the gathering that the party in the state had followed its case through the courts of law and pleaded with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to respect the court’s ruling and allow the party’s candidates to participate in the election.
Yari thanked the president over the visit and assured that the party would win all the seats in the coming general elections.
In his remarks, the National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole also urged the leaders, members and supporters of the party to be law abiding assuring that the party would be victorious in the coming general elections.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that at the presidential campaign were Ministers of Defence, Mansur Danali and that of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau as well as former governors of Zamfara, Borno and Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmed Yarima, Alhaji Ali Modu and Aliyu Wammako among others. (NAN)