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Tag: Bayelsa polls

  • Bayelsa polls: Who succeeds Dickson?

    The governorship election in Bayelsa State is gathering momentum. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is calling for continuity. But, the All Progressives Congress (APC) is advocating change. Senior Correspondent MIKE ODIEGWU examines the strengths and weaknesses of the two major parties, their candidates and issues that will shape the poll.

    The die is cast between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State. On November 16, the two dominant parties will scramble for votes from electorate. The PDP has some advantages. The party, led by Governor Seriake Dickson, will be fighting to retain the state.

    The umbrella party has been governing Bayelsa since 1999. Therefore, people believe the party has mastered the political topography since it has a better and more entrenched structures. PDP leaders have always insisted that Bayelsa is PDP and most of them claime that the PDP is an Ijaw party. Besides, PDP is led by Dickson, who is believed to be a political war veteran.

    The governor has been the master of the game and has always shown that he has the magic wand to deliver at every electoral period. The governor sprang a surprise in 2015 to retain the seat against all odds, despite massive defections of PDP leaders to the APC. Observers believe that the governor is set to lead another political onslaught against the APC.

    Though Dickson is not the candidate, he is going to lead Senator Douye Diri, the flag bearer of the PDP, to face the candidate of the APC, Chief David Lyon. The APC will be led by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva. Therefore, it is expected to be Dickson-Sylva show, reminiscent episode when Sylva challenged the second term bid of the governor.

    Apart from the vantage position of the PDP, the party is also running on its scorecard, especially the performance of Dickson in eight years. The PDP has seized every opportunity to boast of transforming the state. Dickson has been presenting his scorecards in education, infrastructural development and health, citing the airport, model schools, particularly the Ijaw National Academy, a flyover and others as examples.  The party believes that with its scorecards, Diri, who represents the Bayelsa Central District at the National Assembly, will win the election.

    Also, PDP is banking on the principles of zoning to defeat the APC. Though the two parties zoned their governorship tickets to the Central Senatorial District, the PDP believes it has a better zoning formula for giving Diri, who hails from Kolokuma-Opokuma, its ticket. Only Kolokuma-Opokuma and Yenagoa have not produced a governor from the centre. Southern Ijaw, where Lyon hails from, produced the first civilian governor, the late Chief Diepreye Alamieyeiseigha.

    The PDP and Dickson hope that, in the spirit of balance and fairness, equity and equality, the people will vote for Diri. PDP is also hoping that in reverence to the foremost Ijaw hero, Isaac Adaka Boro, who hails from Kaiama in Kolokuma-Opokuma, voters will choose its candidate at the poll.

    Apart from zoning, Dickson and the PDP are parading Diri as having the capacity and experience to govern the state. The party described Diri as the only candidate with the capacity and competence to succeed Dickson. The party referred to him as a committed public official with years of exemplary service to Bayelsa, the Ijaw Nation and the country.

    The Secretary Chief Godspower Keku, said the party was happy with the emergence of Diri as its flag bearer after the keenly contested transparent and credible primary. He said Bayelsa was in need of a leader with vast experience in public service, adding that Diri had been a commissioner, a Principal Executive Secretary to the governor, and a member of the House of Representatives and a Senator.

    The PDP scribe commended the other 20 aspirants who contested the election with Diri for their display of maturity and respect for the party. Keku called on the aspirants to support the candidate of the party stressing that the primaries could only produce one candidate out of the 21 aspirants, who indicated interest.

     

    PDP pitfalls:

    In fact, PDP and Dickson must manage the post-primary crisis rocking the party. Members of Dickson’s Restoration Caucus never believed in Diri’s candidature. They worked against his emergence as the flag bearer because they generally viewed him as unpopular. They complained that Diri lacked the capacity to mobilise votes, following his alleged miserliness and lack of acceptance by members of the public.

    While some wanted Dr. Nimibofa Ayawei, who hails from Southern Ijaw, others rooted for a former Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Timi Alaibe. Other PDP members made a case for Keniebi Okoko and Reuben Okoya. But, Diri emerged against stiff opposition from PDP members including close associates of Dickson. Many PDP members said Diri became a candidate because he was the governor’s choice and the delegates only wanted to please Dickson. While some PDP members have decided to work for Diri, others said they are not inspired by his emergence.

    Diri’s kinsman, Alaibe, has continued to criticise the process that led to his victory at the primary. Alaibe is not giving up his claims that the process was not free, fair and transparent. He has asked the court to invalidate the primary. He complained that he was brazenly robbed of victory through flawed processes.

    Alaibe, in the suit filed at the Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, the state capital, demanded the cancellation of the result based on  procedural flaws. The suit sought answers to questions bordering on alleged non-adherence to the constitution, the Electoral Act 2010, the PDP Constitution and Election Guidelines on the conduct of the ward congresses, inclusion of local government council officials in the delegates list and the procedure for inclusion of three ad-hoc delegates.

    Citing specific relevant laws and guidelines, Alaibe asked the court to examine the processes that resulted in the primary and rule in his favour.

    Prior to the primary, the Timi Alaibe Campaign Organisation raised objections to what it described as gross disrespect for legal procedures and party guidelines.

    Despite going to court, Alaibe is said to be exploring another option of contesting the election in another party as he had vowed to be on the ballot. Pundits believe that, if Alaibe succeeds in joining the governorship race, he will be a third force that will further narrow the chances of the PDP at the poll.

    Another setback for the PDP is the general perception that the people are tired of the PDP and will like to align to the centre. Though the governor believes that he has done well for the state, people complain of untold hardship under Dickson. Therefore, they see Diri as the extension of Dickson’s administration and an appendage of the governor. Some critics say unless the PDP candidate owns his campaign and divorces the governor from it, it will be difficult for the PDP to make a statement at the poll.

    More worrisome is the issue of the party’s running mate. Party members, groups and other stakeholders descended heavily on Dickson and the PDP leadership for nominating a senator representing Bayelsa West at the National Assembly, Lawrence Ewrujakpor, as the running mate to Diri.

    The Bayelsa East Forum for Justice (BEFJ) advised the party that, having picked the candidate from the Bayelsa Central, it was natural to select a competent party man with requisite political clout and popularity from the East. Its Chairman, Monday Eribo, described the feelers that the slot for running mate had been zoned to the West as sad and an attempt to deprive the  East.

    Following the emergence of Diri, PDP leaders were said to have asked Speaker of the House of Assembly Tonye Isenah to surrender his position to another lawmaker from Southern Ijaw to enable the party garner votes from the council. But, Isenah insisted that he would not let go of his position before the poll.

    The Speaker in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Aotendeike Boloigha, said he had served the PDP faithfully, adding that resignation is not a priority.

    However, Dickson believes that all misgivings against his party and his preferred candidate will collapse when campaigns for the election begin. The governor also said reconciliation was ongoing to resolve grievances of party members, especially the ones arising from the primary.

    A statement by Dickson’s Chief Press Secretary, Fidelis Soriwei, confirmed that some frontline aspirants met with the governor after the internal poll that produced Diri as candidate. The governor was also quoted as saying that the leadership of the party would make deliberate efforts to contact all the other aspirants, with a view to bringing them back effectively to the PDP family.

     

    Sylva, APC strength:

    Many  people believe that the political dynamics have changed in Bayelsa. Dickson and his party are up against the leader of the APC Sylva, who contested as a candidate against the governor in 2015. This time, Sylva is not a candidate. He is a super minister, who wields a lot of political and economic influence. Sylva understands the importance of winning Bayelsa for the APC, especially in view of giving the party a strong base in the Southsouth for the 2023 presidential election. He is working in tandem with the national leaders of the party to actualise the victory.

    Despite the controversial emergence of Lyon, he has more popularity rating than Diri. Lyon has a mass appeal. They look at him as a philanthropist, who is capable of floating economic policies to mitigate their suffering. Unless there is a sudden shift during campaigns in favour of Diri or the entrance of a third force with a better rating, pundits believe that Lyon will dwarf the PDP candidate at the poll.

    The APC also has some zoning advantages. Its candidate’s Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, which is likened to the Kano of Bayelsa is always a game changer during elections. It has the second largest voter population after Yenagoa, which is notorious for dry voting. It is better than Diri’s Kolokuma-Opokuma, which has the least voter population in Bayelsa. Almost all leaders in the local government are said to be clamouring for the governorship slot and may likely support the Lyon’s ticket.

    The party will further benefit from its gains in the last general election. Going into the November 16th governorship poll, the APC boasts of three members of the House of Assembly, three members in the House of Representatives and a senator.  It is also benefitting from the grievances of the PDP, which is forcing many of its members to jump ship.

    Besides, Lyon, who is a surveillance contractor and oil magnate, has attracted the sympathy of ex-militant leaders in the state. The ex-creek warlords are said to be pushing for the Lyon’s ticket because they have been beneficiaries of his business. Lyon is said to have about 7000 persons in his payroll, including the ex-militant leaders. He runs a scholarship scheme, which cuts across the eight local government areas of the state.

    While crisis is rocking the PDP over its running mate, the APC is calm, following its decision to zone the running mate to Nembe in the Eastern Senatorial District. APC is believed to have sealed a better deal when it nominated the Senator representing the district, Biobarakumo Degi-Eremienyo, as Lyon’s running mate.

    But, the APC has its fair share of post- primary crisis. Lyon was declared the winner of the primary by an electoral committee constituted by the party leadership. The results were announced by a member of the committee, Senator Emmanuel Ocheja, who identified himself as the Collation Officer.  Lyon polled 42,138 votes to defeat five other aspirants. Mrs. Desiye Nsirim came a distant second with 1,533, while Chief Ebitimi Amgbare came third with 633 votes.

    Senator Heineken Lokpobiri was said to have scored  571 votes to come fourth while Prof. Ongoebi Etebu and Prince Preye Aganaba got 564 and 354 votes.

    Senator Ocheja, who was accompanied by the other national and state officers of the party said he was standing in for the Returning Officer and Governor of Yobe State, Mai-Mala Buni, saying the governor  was unavoidably absent.

    Lokpobiri, a former minister, believed to possess the credentials to fly the flag of the APC, felt shortchanged after the internal poll. Lokpobiri vehemently rejected the outcome of the primary. He said he was still trying to get details of what transpired in Bayelsa, adding that he and his team never participated in any primary that declared Lyon the flag bearer.

    The former minister said there was no way he would be defeated in any election in Bayelsa by Lyon adding that the majority members of the APC were supporting him.

    He wondered why a primary was held started in a hotel in Yenagoa and ended in the hotel, instead of sidelining the secretariat of the party.

    He said party members gathered at the secretariat and waited in vain for the arrival of the committee saddled with the conduct of the primary. He also queried why the result was declared by someone other than the Returning Officer and governor of Yobe State, who chaired the committee.

    Apart from Lokpobiri, Aganaba has also rejected the outcome of the primary describing it as a mockery of the democratic process. Aganaba, who referred to the primary as a political hoax and lacking any semblance of credibility, alleged that the results were written in a hotel.

    The aspirant has gone to court to seek cancellation of the poll. Aganaba, a founding member of the APC in Bayelsa, dragged the APC, Lyon and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the court as defendants in a suit he personally filed on  Seprember 12.

    The aspirant urged the court to make a declaration that the primary scheduled for September 4 across the 105 wards in the eight local government areas of the state did not take place. He also asked the court to make a declaration that since there were no primaries, the declaration of results that produced Lyon as the candidate  was illegal, unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect.

    The aspirant demanded an order setting aside the result of the primary, which returned Lyon as the candidate of the party for November 16 election. He asked the court to make an order “restraining the APC from presenting Lyon or submitting his name to INEC  as candidate of the APC.”

    Many party elders have, however, urged the aggrieved aspirants to sheathe their swords and work for the  interest of the state. A stalwart of the APC, Chief Gift Ebiki, urged the aspirants to end their grievances. Ebiki  said in every contest a winner must emerge.

    Ebiki said that the process that led to the emergence of Lyon was free, fair, transparent and credible. He appealed to the aggrieved to put the party first. He commended APC members for electing an oil magnate and businessman to fly the flag.

    He said APC members lined behind Lyon in an orderly and peaceful manner. He described the direct primary as credible and transparent. Thanking the people for their belief in Lyon, Ebiki assured them that the APC candidate symbolised prosperity, development and job creation.

     

  • Bayelsa polls: Dickson’s aide calls for unity

    The Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, has called for unity in Ogbia Local Government Area ahead of the November 16 governorship election.

    Iworiso-Markson, who hails from Opume in the area, advised that his kinsmen should move in one direction to maximise their electoral value.

    Iworiso-Markson, who spoke when he received leaders of the Ogbia Restoration Crusaders (ORC), said the division among the people, especially the political class had dwindled the electoral fortunes of the area.

    He explained that in the past Ogbia was known for unity, love and peace which engendered development, even as he lamented that everything took a negative twist because of the different political interests in the kingdom.

    While commending the ORC for using their oneness campaign to promote unity among the people, Iworiso-Markson noted that a lot still needed to be done. He pledged to partner with them to achieve their campaign objectives.

    The commissioner, who thanked the group for the visit and for always galvanising support for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) advised them to ensure that the party emerged victorious in the coming local government and governorship elections.

    He also commended them for their overwhelming support for the Restoration Government of Governor Seriake Dickson, urging them to continue to stand with the government as it approaches the twilight of its administration.

    Earlier, the Chairman of the ORC Elders’ Caucus, Elabha Azibola told Iworiso-Markson that the ongoing oneness campaign was aimed at bringing about peace, development, progress and growth.

    He said: “The visit, which is a continuation of an ongoing process, is expected to continue in order to reach all political stakeholders in Ogbia.

    Let us seize the opportunity to extend our appreciation to the leadership and stakeholders of the Ogbia chapter of the PDP for organising party processes to the satisfaction of all.

    “We also commend Governor Dickson for being the Ogbia man that he is. We also commend him for appointing our sons and daughters to serve in his administration and for the massive development he has brought to our area.”

     

  • I didn’t praise Army over Bayelsa polls, says Deputy gov

    Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd) has recanted a statement attributed to him on the roles the Army played during the general elections.

    Jonah was quoted at the weekend during the inauguration of projects at the barracks of the 16th Brigade as absolving the army of wrongdoing insisting the soldiers’ conduct during the elections were in line with the directives of the Chief of Army Staff.

    But the Jonah’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Ebi Evinson, in a statement, said his boss was quoted out of context.

    The statement said it was totally incorrect and out of context to say Jonah absolved the military of any blame.

    Read Also: Police arrest suspected robbers in Bayelsa

    The statement said: “Following the Army’s correct admission that its role during elections, is only in support of other security agencies, the Deputy Governor said that it is what his enquiries revealed.

    “The Army should therefore conduct itself accordingly to be shielded from blames during elections as it has always been a stabilizing factor in the polity.

    “The position of the deputy governor is that some over-zealous officers of the Army over-stepped their bounds while discharging their functions during the elections, contrary to the roles in support of civil authority.

    “Given Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah’s robust pedigree as a top Naval officer before retirement, he is quite abreast with the constitutional roles of the military which guides his public utterances”.

  • Kogi, Bayelsa polls: INEC’s inconsistencies foster electoral conundrums

    Kogi, Bayelsa polls: INEC’s inconsistencies foster electoral conundrums

    To OLARINDE YESUFU, a legal analyst with The Nation, applying different rules in deciding the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states amounts to double standard on the part of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). In this analysis, Yesufu says INEC’s inconsistencies have triggered electoral puzzles difficult to unravel.

    On November 21, 2015, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted the Kogi State governorship election. At the end of the exercise, it (INEC) declared the election inconclusive. According to the results declared by the Returning Officer, Prof Emmanuel Kucha, Vice Chancellor, University of Markurdi, Prince Abubakar Audu of the All Progressive Congress (APC) scored 240,867 votes while Idris Wada of the People’s Democratic Party scored 199,514 votes. Prof Kucha said the margin of votes between Messrs Audu and Wada was 41,353; and the election was inconclusive because the number of registered voters in 91 polling units in 18 local government areas where election was cancelled was 49,953. That figure, according to the learned professor, was higher than the 41,353 votes with which Prince Audu was ahead of Mr. Wada. The returning officer further said that by INEC guidelines, no return could be made for the election until a supplementary election was held in the areas where election was cancelled. It is significant to note that Prof Kachu based his decision on INEC guidelines and not on any section of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    The Nigerian Constitutionhas prescribed the conditions to be satisfied in order to win a Governorship election. For the avoidance of doubts, section 179 (2) thereof provides:

    179(2). A candidate for an election to the Office of Governor of a state shall be deemed to have been duly elected where there being two or more candidates –

    (a)        he has the highest number of votes cast at the election and

    (b)       he has not less one-quarter the votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all the local government areas in the state.

    Before the official announcement of the results of the election, many media establishments monitoring the election had declared Prince Abubakar Audu winner of the election. And, on the basis of the final results announced by the returning officer, it became clear that Prince Abubakar Audu already satisfied the conditions stipulated under Section 179(2) of the Constitution. As at the time the returning officer announced the final results and declaration that the election was inconclusive, there was no indication that Prince Audu was dead. In any event, he never mentioned Prince Audu’s death as any reason for the inconclusiveness of the election. Nevertheless, for some inexplicable reasons, it was convenient for the returning officer to close his eyes to the extant provisions of the Constitution and follow INEC guidelines. The consequence of INEC’s decision is the mess into which Kogi State has been thrown. This has been rightly described in some quarters as political and constitutional conundrum. Now, virtually all the political parties that participated in the election, including those that won only 1,000 votes have made their ways to the election tribunal to challenge the thoughtless pronouncement of the returning officer.

    Two weeks after the Kogi election, the Bayelsa election held. It was as keenly contested as Kogi’s. In both states, two ex-governors slugged it out with the incumbents. In Bayelsa, incumbent Governor Seriake Dickson contested on the platform of PDP while the APC featured former governor Timipre Sylva.

    The fate of the first round of election in Bayelsa was the same as Kogi. At the close of the election, the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Baritor Kpagih, cancelled the poll in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area because of violence, excess voting, ballot-snatching and hostage-taking of the officials. Again, a return could not be made because, there was a margin of 33,154 margin of win by Dickson over the runner-up, Sylva. The votes of some 120,827 registered voters in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area were outstanding.

    One clear distinction between the inconclusive elections of Kogi and Bayelsa was that, in respect of Kogi, the results of all the polling units, wards and local government areas were announced, none was outstanding. Even the results of the wards and local government areas of the 91 polling units where supplementary election was slated to hold had been accepted and announced by the returning officer. The local government areas won by Prince Audu were: Ofu, Idah, Kabba/Bunu, Yagba East, Yagba West, Adavi, Kotonkarfe, Ankpa, Okehi, Ajaokuta, Ijumu, Olamaboro, Igalamela, Bassa, Lokoja and Ibaji. Governor Wada was victorious in only five local government areas, namely; Ogori-Magongo, Omala, Okene, Dekina and Mopa-Amuro. The foregoing, on its own, suggested to many people that the election in the state was duly concluded, contrary to the declaration of INEC. The purported supplementary election could therefore be rightly considered unnecessary, needless, wasteful, superfluous and gratuitous.

    As regards the Bayelsa election, the result of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area was not announced and could, indeed, be rightly considered inconclusive. Consequently, not much noise was associated with the decision of INEC to hold a supplementary election in Bayelsa State.

    There is no doubt that the demise of Prince Abubakar Audu was shocking. The decision of INEC to declare the election of Kogi inconclusive undoubtedly complicated the already complex situation. The real point of controversy now is whether or not INEC should have declared the election inconclusive after announcing the results of all the local government areas. It may also be asked: should INEC have ordered fresh elections in the affected 91 polling units? It should be recalled here that from the available records, only 38,000 registered voters had Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) in the 91 polling units out of which only 19,000 were accredited. These facts were not disputed by INEC. It follows that if 19,000 votes were added to Wada’s votes, such votes could not have altered the results of the election in Kogi. The result would still have been in favour of Prince Audu. Nevertheless, INEC insisted in holding a supplementary election in the state. At the end, less than 13,000 persons voted with Yahaya Bello, whom APC used to substitute Abubakar Audu, scoring only 6,000 votes.

    Now, the Bayelsa supplementary election held on Saturday, January 9. The candidate of PDP, Mr. Seriake Dickson polled 134,998 votes to emerge the winner. APC candidate, Mr. Timipre Sylva scored 86,852. A total number of 53,000 votes were said to have been cancelled, while the difference between Dickson and APC is 48,000. In other words, cancelled votes exceeded the difference between the winner and the runner-up. Notwithstanding this fact, INEC proceeded to announce a winner!

    What happened in Bayelsa State has exposed the lies and hypocrisy of INEC. It demonstrates clearly that the decision of INEC on Kogi must have been a product of some political undercurrent or the lack of capacity of INEC. Indeed, Bayelsa’s case has now prompted reasonable men to ask questions.

    * Why did INEC declare the election of Kogi State inconclusive when the results of all the local government areas in the State had been announced by the returning officer and one of the contestants had fulfilled the conditions stipulated under Section 179(2) of the Constitution?

    * Why did INEC insist in holding supplementary election in Kogi when the number of accredited voters or holders of PVCs fell for below the difference between the two leading candidates?

    * Why did INEC not conduct another supplementary election in Bayelsa when it found that the number of cancelled votes exceeded the difference between Dickson (the winner) and Sylva (the loser)?

    * Is it still not possible that the pendulum of victory in Bayelsa’s election swings in favour of Sylva?

    These and many other questions beg for answers and agitate the minds of an objective observer. We may never get answers to these questions from INEC. Hopefully, the tribunals will be up to the task to unravel the mysteries.

  • Bayelsa polls was not credible, says TMG

    Bayelsa polls was not credible, says TMG

    •Group:  INEC, security agencies fail Bayelsans

    THE Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) says the Bayelsa State governorship election, which was concluded at the weekend, fell below the global standards for credible elections.

    Its chairman, Ibrahim Zikirullahi, who presented the final statement on the election to reporters yesterday in Abuja, noted that it witnessed widespread cases of ballot box snatching, damage of ballots and stealing of ballot papers.

    He claimed that the infractions hindered the counting and announcement of results in many polling units in Southern Ijaw.

    TMG expressed disappointment at the inability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agencies to conduct free and fair governorship election in the state, insisting that the election fell below the international standard.

    The December 5 election and the subsequent January 9 supplementary election in the state led to Governor Seriake Dickson’s re-election.

    Zikirullahi said the whole processes of the election were characterised by violence, as the two major political parties – the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – struggled to outsmart each other.

    He added that the electoral umpire and the security agencies failed the people of Bayelsa and called for a comprehensive audit of security operatives deployed for the poll.

    The report revealed that “a total of 135 critical incident reports were received from a combined 55 mobile and stationary observers deployed by the TMG quick count in Bayelsa state”.

    “These incidents are considered serious as they undermined the integrity of the overall process,” Zikirullahi said.

    He maintained that the high-level of insecurity, harassment and intimidation of INEC officials, voters and observers, which resulted in serious irregularities throughout the electoral process, called into question the credibility of the poll.

    “All of these grave infractions clearly show that the Bayelsa governorship election grossly falls below the global standards for elections as enunciated in international instruments on human rights and credible elections,” he added.

    Consequently, the group “calls on INEC to take early steps to assess the unique terrain of every state in order to better anticipate and address logistical challenges, like the late distribution of election materials, which resulted in a delayed start to the election process in Bayelsa”.

    Zikirullahi said: “TMG calls on INEC not to relent on its mandate of bringing to book all the electoral offenders in the Bayelsa gubernatorial election. This will serve as deterrent to future offenders.

    “TMG calls on INEC to desist from changing election procedures within a few hours to election day to prevent confusion and to ensure that no individual is allowed to vote in future elections unless the card reader has successfully read his or her permanent voters’ card (PVC).”

    He called on the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to audit the performance of the security agencies deployed for the Bayelsa State gubernatorial election, particularly in areas where elections were disrupted by violence.

    “TMG calls on the security agencies to be proactive in securing the space for future elections. Security agencies have a particular mandate to ensure the protection of citizens and sensitive materials on election day,” he said.

    On political parties, the TMG chairman noted that the undemocratic behaviour of parties and their representatives, particularly the two leading political parties, undermined public confidence in the electoral process, alleging that they acted contrary to the spirit of the Yenagoa Peace Accord.

    Zikirullahi said as part of its lawmaking responsibility towards electoral reform, the National Assembly should take steps towards reviewing the nation’s electoral laws to provide for stringent punishment for political actors, who engage in or sponsor political violence.

     

     

  • TMG deploys 99 observers for Bayelsa re-run polls

    TMG deploys 99 observers for Bayelsa re-run polls

    The Transition Monitoring Group, TMG has deployed 99 observers for the supplementary governorship election in Bayelsa scheduled for Saturday.

    The supplementary vote is expected to hold in Southern Ijaw Local Government as well as in other polling units where elections were cancelled on December 5, 2015.

    TMG Chairman, Ibrahim Zikirullahi in a statement issued in Abuja Thursday said the observers will use the Quick Count observation method to monitor the election.

    He said the quick count is an advanced and scientific election observation methodology that utilizes well-established statistical principles and sophisticated information technologies to provide timely and accurate information on the conduct of voting and counting process throughout Election Day.

    “It is the only election observation methodology that independently verifies official results as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    “Throughout the supplementary Election Day on January 9, 2016, TMG Quick Count observers will keep an eye on the process in Southern Ijaw and other affected polling units.

    “The Quick Count observers will be at their pre-assigned polling units all day to report on various processes, including set up by INEC officials, accreditation, voting, counting and announcement of results.

    “Immediately after INEC announces, TMG Quick Count will verify the final result as announced by the electoral umpire.

    “The Quick Count verification of the result will be based on impeccable data from a representative random sample of polling units.

    “The Quick Count data would give the electorate, political parties, voters and other stakeholders important insights on whether the outcome of the election reflects the vote cast by the people of Bayelsa or not,” he said.

    It could be recalled that the Bayelsa governorship election of December 5, 2015 was declared inconclusive as a result of violence that undermined the process.

    Political actors mobilized militants to do their bidding resulting in the harassment and intimidation of voters, election observers and INEC officials.

    All these happened in spite of early warning signs from TMG Pre-Election Observation reports, which indicated a likelihood of violence in a number of Local Government Areas.

    TMG calls on the political parties and the contestants to ensure the sad incidents of December 5, 2015 are not repeated on Saturday.

  • PDP beating drums of war on Bayelsa polls, says APC

    PDP beating drums of war on Bayelsa polls, says APC

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    The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday expressed concern over “beating the war drum” by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of Saturday’s Bayelsa State governorship supplementary election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

    The party urged eligible voters in the area to come out en masse and vote for its candidate.

    It advised security agents to protect the electorate against any form of attack.

    In a statement yesterday in Abuja by its National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni, APC said it was aware of PDP’s plot to intimidate eligible voters, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials and security operatives deployed to ensure peaceful, free and credible rerun in Bayelsa State on Saturday.

    It said: “While the APC prays for a peaceful, free and credible supplementary election on Saturday, security agencies must be on high alert over the dangerous threats by the PDP to cause a breakdown of law and order in Bayelsa State on Saturday.

    “Already, the PDP leadership, through its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, has issued instructions to the party’s members and supporters to ‘go ahead to use all means necessary’ during Saturday’s supplementary election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

    “This is among other dangerous threats by the PDP warning of ‘terrible consequences’ to INEC officials and security operatives. As goes the saying, history may not repeat itself but it rhymes. It is clear that the PDP is still having a hangover in its old ways of doing things.

    “The days of ‘do-or-die’ politics are over. Never again will the country return to the PDP ways of election fraud and violence. Change has come. We call on the PDP to embrace the new Nigeria where elections are peaceful and votes of the people count.

    “The APC is confident in INEC and security agencies ability to deliver peaceful, free and credible supplementary election come Saturday. On Election Day, we urge Bayelsans and all eligible voters in the state to go about their legitimate activities.

    “We also call on INEC and security operatives to be mindful of the dangerous threats by the PDP while also focusing on its legitimate election duties. The APC encourages the people of Bayelsa, particularly those in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, to come out during Saturday’s Bayesla supplementary election and vote massively for APC’s governorship candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, as he is poised to deliver on our party’s Change Agenda as well as the dividends of democracy that have eluded the state.

    “Looking back at the last seven months under the APC, it is clear that the party is on the right track to delivering on its Change Agenda. It is the right of Bayelsans to abandon a sinking ship and join one that is smooth-sailing.”

    Party threatens APC on Bayelsa rerun

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has threatened “dire consequences” should the All Progressives Congress (APC) attempt to rig Saturday’s supplementary governorship election in Bayelsa State.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rescheduled the election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, following the cancellation of the December 5 and 6 polls in the area.

    In a statement yesterday in Abuja by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the PDP said it would resist APC, if the ruling national party attempts to rig the election.

    The opposition claimed to be aware of APC’s alleged plots to use compromised security operatives and INEC officials to produce fictitious votes and declare itself winner.

    The statement said: “We issue this statement as a direct notice to the APC and its compromised INEC, military and other security operatives, who have been stationed to ostensibly assist to produce fictitious votes with which the APC intends to declare itself winner.

    “Let it be known to all that the PDP is fully mobilised for Saturday’s supplementary election. Our members across Southern Ijaw have been stationed in every polling unit, every collation centre and every exit and entry point in the area, and have been directed to use all means available in a democracy to stop the APC in its trail.

    “Southern Ijaw Local Government Area is a well-known stronghold of the PDP and we will not, in any way, accept anything short of free, fair and credible elections, abundantly reflecting the will of the people. Anything to the contrary will attract terrible consequences. We restate our resolve that never again would the PDP allow itself to be manipulated out in any election at any level, no matter the intimidation by the APC-led administration.

     

  • APC sure of winning Bayelsa

    APC sure of winning Bayelsa

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that it is confident that it will still emerge victorious in the governorship election in Bayelsa state despite the poor performance in the seven local government areas where elections has been concluded.
    Acting National Publicity Secretary of the party, Comrade Timi Frank who expressed the party’s optimism on Thursday, said even though the party lost six of the seven local government where results have been announced so far, it was confident that when the supplementary election is conducted, the APC will emerge victorious.
    Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, Frank said the infighting within the party in the state was largely responsible for the poor performance of the party in six of the seven local government areas where elections have been concluded and results announced by INEC.
    He said that there were issues resulting from the conduct of the governorship primary in the state, pointing out that the governorship candidate of the party should be able to correct the mistakes he made that put the party in the current position.
    He said: “This is the beginning of the battle. The battle is not yet over because we still have a rerun election and we are waiting for INEC to give us a new date. By the grace if god, that local government t is a very big one that has a lot of votes.
    “Yes, we must have lost in the other six local government areas that has been announced. But we are still hopeful that if we come together as a party, we will achieve a lot.
    “I can tell you clearly that the only reason why we lost the local government areas we have lost is because there are internal crisis in Bayelsa and I made this clear before today. Those crisis are still there till today. For example, our governorship candidate has not spoken to me since after the primary election.
    “There are so many people still aggrieved within the party and there are those who don’t have the courage to speak out and that is why we lost in those a areas we lost. If we came together from the beginning as one, if you were united before the election and everyone seems to be happy what happened in Bayelsa would not have happened.
    “However whatever has happened is history today, but I pray that the candidate himself should be able to correct whatever wrong or mistakes he must have made to put our party in this situation. Now that we are expecting a local government that has a very big votes, if we do well to correct our wrongs, I believe that we can still get victory from that local government”.
    Frank who insisted that he was the constitutionally recognized spokesman of the party with the exit of the National Publicity Secretary said the party and indeed Nigerians were not prepared for what happened in Kogi state, but expressed satisfaction with the way the party handled the issue.
    “Sorry to say that we were not prepared for what happened in Kogi State. But as a party, we just had to take a decision. We were also conscious of the fact that who ever the party choose, people will still go to court. So, we can not be stagnant as a party and we had to come up with a decision.
    “Whatever decision was taken, the party consulted widely, spoke with the people of Kogi state, did all our checks before taking the decision that was taken. As a party, we have taken a decision and it is left for people who feel aggrieved to challenge it in the court of law. Whatever such the outcome of such litigations, as a party, we respect the rule of law. We I’ll give the judiciary the opportunity at this point in time to interprete the laws and what ever the court says, as a party, we will abide by it”.
    On who speaks for the party with the exit of Lai Mohammed, Frank said “I can tell you clearly that our party constitution is very clear and for anybody who does not understand the party constitution within the party, as at today, I am the Acting spokesperson of the party.
    “It is very clear that when either the National Chairman, the National Secretary or anybody is not there today, the deputy takes over automatically. This is the principle contained in the party constitution. We have this also existing today in the PDP. You can see that when Mauzu left, Secondus is today acting Chairman of the party.
    “It is not different. Today, Lai Mohammed is not there and so, I am the Acting spokesperson of the party. Any other person issue ing statements for the party is doing so in his personal capacity. But constitutionally, I am the Acting Spokesperson of the party. It is not something I need to lobby of beg somebody within the party for. It is skiing that is meant to be the trend and no by it”.
    On whether he believed that the Buhari government can sustain the N5000 payment to unemployed Nigerians. Comrade Timi Frank said “I can tell you clearly that for the President to come up with this kind of budget, I believe he must have commuted himself to Nigerians and is trying to key into his promises to Nigerians and see how he can turn things around to make sure that whatever promise he has made can really are sustained.
    “He has competent hands. You can see that he has been traveling from one country to another looking for solutions and how Nigeria can really move forward under his leadership. Sustainability is not going to be an issue because he has a team which can deliver.
    “I believe they are going to look for ways of sustaining what he has promised Nigerians. I will only appeal to Nigerians to give him the opportunity to see how he will achieve whatever he must have promised.
    “Let us just give him a chance and be hopeful and trust that Mr. president, known to be somebody who keep to his words, is going to achieve the promise he has made to Nigerians”.

    [news_box style=”2″ display=”tag” link_target=”_blank” tag=”Bayelsa” count=”8″ show_more=”on” show_more_type=”link”]

  • Kogi, Bayelsa polls: PDP mocks APC candidates

    Kogi, Bayelsa polls: PDP mocks APC candidates

    THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday mocked the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for governorship polls in  Kogi and Bayelsa states.

    In a statement yesterday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, called on Nigerians to note the  “credentials” of the two APC candidates.

    A former Kogi State Governor, Prince Abubakar Audu and another ex-governor in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, are the APC candidates for the elections slated for November 21 and December 5.

    The PDP described as “shameful irony”, the fact that a ruling party that prided itself as an anti-corruption crusader, would field candidates being held on corruption charges.

    The statement said: “It is a mockery of strategy that the APC which has been touting the fight against corruption as its major policy, would present to the people of the two states, candidates whose public questionable credentials are further evidenced in the charges brought against them by anti-graft agencies.”

    It added: “Now that the APC is brazenly fielding candidates with questions of corruption, we ask, do they in all honesty expect Nigerians to take them seriously on their much-hyped anti-corruption crusade?”

     

  • Our plan for Kogi, Bayelsa polls, by APC

    Our plan for Kogi, Bayelsa polls, by APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) is two years old. In this interview with TONY AKOWE, its National Organising Secretary, Senator Osita Izunaso, speaks on the journey so far and the proposed governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States.

    The party is planning to celebrate its second anniversary. What is the party celebrating?

    The party was two years by the 31st of July this year because the APC was registered by INEC on July 31st 2013. Last year when we wanted to celebrate our one year anniversary, we got tied up with preparations towards registration of our members, conducting congresses for our members across the federations, holding the national convention as well as the party primaries for the 2015 general elections which we won by the grace of God. This is the second year and the party wants to roll out the drums to celebrate our second year of existence as a party. It is unprecedented that within two years of being registered as a party, we have won the general elections. It is unprecedented that within two years of being registered as a party, we have twenty two (22) governors elected on the platform of the party. It is also unprecedented that within two years of our registration, we are controlling the two chambers of the National Assembly. These are the things we considered as giant stride  and achievements that call for celebrating our great party on its second year as a political party. The event to celebrate our party at two will hold by the end of this month (August) here in Abuja and we are getting world class resource persons to speak to us on the role of a political party in emerging government as well as talk about our change mantra and what to do to effect the change. We shall hear talks on the change our party is championing, is it change of altitude or otherwise, these are the aspects we will be looking at. We have secured the date and the guest speakers are fine tuning ahead of it. I can say authoritatively that one of the guest speakers will be Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Nigeria’s former permanent representatives to the United Nations. We are also finalising the arrangements to get other speakers from outside the country. So, it is true the APC wants to celebrate its second year anniversary. But it will not be only celebration. We also want to use the avenue for internal soul search to let ourselves know that the task ahead is more than the one behind.

    The Kogi governorship elections is coming up in a couple of months. How is the APC preparing for the polls?

    In the APC, we pride ourselves with our interest in internal democracy. The first ingredient that gave us victory in the last general elections is the openness of our presidential primaries. It was transparent and open to the extent that even those that could not make it immediately congratulated the winner and they started working together. Before the Presidential primaries, some people were thinking that APC had already anointed someone amongst the aspirants. But at the end of the day, you found out that no one was anointed because it was transparently done and the candidate emerged. That is what happened in all our governorship primaries across the federation. As the National Organising Secretary of the party, I have seen primaries conducted by the leadership without any crisis. We have done party congresses across the federation without any crisis; we had our presidential primary without any crisis so I don’t envisage any crisis springing up after the governorship primaries in Kogi and Bayelsa states.

    If you have been monitoring our activities so far, you’ll observe that we have painstakingly carry on in a manner that both the aspirants and the party leadership in Kogi State will be comfortable with the process.  It is public knowledge that we’ve had screening where we gave equal opportunities to all the aspirants. The screening committee cleared all the twenty eight aspirants for the primaries and that is okay by us at the national level here. There are basic things they looked at and were satisfied that all of them are qualified. So, we can not stop anyone in the name of disqualification. In this country, we have seen cases where an incumbent governor was not even allowed to run for primaries of his party. That is not the style of APC.

    We have made the aspirants to sign an undertaking which is optional and all of them have signed the undertaking to abide by the process of the primaries. What this mean is that we have a responsibility as a party to ensure that the primaries are free and fair. The aspirants also have the responsibility to do the right thing to ensure that the primaries are hitch free. Once you conduct a free and fair election, the losers will not mind congratulating the winner. People get upset when the process is not free and transparent. If it is free and transparent, a loser will lose gallantly and a winner win gallantly. We have put adequate measures in place and I can assure you that there’ll be no backlash after the primaries so long as we do the right thing. The party is poised to do the right thing by publishing the list of the delegates. It is not a matter of giving the numbers of the delegates, but making them known to the world. APC will publish the list of the delegates for the primaries and anyone who has questions on who is or who is not suppose to be on the list will raise the issue before the primaries and the party will address such dispassionately.

    We have guidelines on who qualified to be a delegate and who is not. But, for the avoidance of doubt, we’ll go ahead to publish the list to ensure transparency. I don’t think we are expecting any post primary issues as it never happened during our presidential election primaries.

    If you observed, only a few of APC controlled states are in court over primary election conflict unlike our opponents. So. in a nutshell, what the APC believe in is her cardinal objective of giving room for internal democracy to reign. As long as you don’t guarantee the membership of your party, internal democracy can not succeed. Even now that we are governing party, if we produce a bad candidate, the tendency is that the populace might vote for him or her but will he or she provide the positive change APC stands for? So when we talk about change, it must start from within. We are going to conduct a good primary and I can assure you that there won’t be a major fallout.

    Is there any alliance between the party and the former first lady as far as the election in Bayelsa Is concerned?

    Don’t even go far, I’m not aware of what you are talking about. It is not everything that the media report that you will take to be the truth. She (Patience Jonathan) is not even a member of our party and she has not indicated interest to support any member of our party. If there are things like that, you can just say they are media speculations.

    How can the APC leadership ensure unity in the Kogi chapter?

    There won’t be any crisis. A political party is just like a church. You don’t stop anyone from coming in to worship. We can’t stop anyone from coming to join APC because we are even looking for more people to join the party. If there so many bigwigs in Bayelsa or any other states coming to join our party, what that means is that our party is doing well. If we are not doing well, those bigwigs will not join us. How do we manage their entrance into the party? That is why we have code of conducts and guidelines for primaries. If anybody who is coming in now is qualified to contest, you can’t stop them from contesting the primaries. It is the delegates that will decide who becomes the candidate of the party. If you look at the delegates electoral college and those who constitute the APC delegates, you will discover that they are more inclusive than the other political party. The other political party will do a special congress to elect three people per ward. In our case, virtually all executive members of our party are delegates. If you have a large number of delegates, the tendency is that people cannot buy them over because the number is large. People cannot camp them overnight. How do you even do that when you have over four thousand delegates? If you are qualified to run for an election, you can run. We cannot stop any new person coming into the party not to contest. It is the delegates that will determine their fates.

    Mind you, we are not doing a new delegate list. It is the other political party that does a special congress to elect an adhoc-delegates that will elect the candidate. The scenario in APC is different from that. Our own is to ensure that the existing executives from the wards to local and state governments levels constitute the list of the delegates. That is our guideline. It is them (delegates) that will know whether an aspirant has worked for the party or not. I wouldn’t want to stress this point. The bottom line is that everybody will be given a level playing ground to operate, whether you are a new entrant to the party or not, as long as you are qualified.

    There was an incident where your party members in Rivers State took their protest to INEC headquarters, Abuja over the refusal of the State Residence Electoral Commissioner to allow them access the electoral materials, is there anything the party at the national level is doing or it is going to do on this issue?

    We at the national level find it very reluctant to comment on issues before the Tribunal. Our people in Rivers, Imo, Akwa-Ibom and other states who are having issues at the tribunals have been advised on what to do legally and they are doing that right now. However, I must say that it is condemnable to see some of our members being teargassed by the police. Nigerians have condemned it and we also joined Nigerians to condemn such treatment. They went to INEC to make a specific request and not to demonstrate. So, why won’t they be admitted to state their mission and for INEC to answer them? We know that it is not everything you request from INEC that it will oblige you. Buy if the court gave an order that such should be done, why can’t they obey the court order? We will refrain from commenting on those sensitive issues because it has gone beyond our domain and is now a judicial matter and we will allow them to finish and if there are issues, we’ve advised our people on how to follow them legally. We pride ourselves as law abiding citizens of this country. Our party is first and foremost a believer in the rule of law and that is the only way the system can be sanitised and nothing beyond that.

    Is there any other thing the party is doing to get the women more involved in the affairs of the party, especially in elective positions?

    Anything that has to do with gender is somewhat of agitation. When you are agitating for something, you will surely become an Oliver Twist. If you get this, you’ll still agitate for another one. If you say our women are complaining, then I’ll say it is not true.cIf there is any party in Nigeria that is more women friendly, then I’ll say it is our party. No major political party in Nigeria has ever given a woman the governorship ticket, but the APC gave it’s governorship ticket to a woman in Taraba State. She would have emerged as a governor. Even at that, it is never too late because her case is still in court. What does that mean? It means APC as a party doesn’t do lip services to the issue of gender. If we do, we wouldn’t have given our governorship ticket to a woman. The same APC elected a woman as the chairman of our party in Adamawa State. Today, the same person is now an elected senator from the same state. During the interim administration of our party, a woman in Enugu State was also appointed as the chairman of the party in the state. Within the last two years when the APC was formed, we’ve had two women as chairmen of our party in the states. Has that happened anywhere before? Even our major opponent, have they produced a woman chairman before; have they produced woman governorship candidate before? Even in the appointment that we are doing, you wouldn’t say women are relegated. A woman is currently the Acting chairman of INEC, the most sensitive electoral body in the country. Mr President has not appointed his ministers and I believe when he does, women will be.

    We don’t joke with the issues of our women. The APC is the only party than takes the issue of her women seriously. It is public knowledge that we don’t charge money for nomination form from any of our women who wish to vie for elective positions and the Kogi primary is a clear example. One of the contestants is a woman and the party didn’t collect a dime from her to obtain the form. If a woman is qualified to contest for any elective position on the platform of this party, she’s free to do so.