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Tag: Benue

  • Benue will resist manipulation of supplementary poll, Ortom vows

    Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has vowed the people will resist attempts from any person or group targeted to manipulate Saturday’s supplementary elections.

    He spoke at Government House Makurdi when he received Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) House of Representatives Members-elect from the state, who showed their Certificates of Return to him.

    The governor charged security agents and staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be professional during the supplementary election.

    He said conducive atmosphere must be provided for free and credible exercise.

    He stated he took the decision of the electoral body to declare the March 9th Governorship election inconclusive in good faith with the conviction that nothing was going to affect the victory of the PDP at the polls, which people of the state gave the party.

    While congratulating the members-elect on their victories, Ortom stated that having produced three senators, six House of Representatives members and 17 Assembly members and still expecting more at the rerun coupled with wide margin between the PDP and APC at the governorship election, his victory was guaranteed.

    Rt. Hon Mark Gbillah, reelected House of Representatives member representing Gwer-East and Gwer-West, on behalf of his colleagues, stated they paid the visit to thank the governor for his support for them at the polls.

    He said they returned home to mobilise support for his reelection and formally present their Certificates of Return to him as a mark of gratitude and appreciation.

    Other House of Representatives Members-elect present during the visit were Messrs. Bob Tyough for Kwande/Ushongo; Richard Gbande Logo/Ukum/Katsina-Ala; Kpamor Jimin Sokpo for Buruku; Benjamin Mzondu, Makurdi/Guma and Dr. Francis Ottah Agbo for Ado/Okpokwu/Ogbadibo federal constituencies.

  • APC, PDP claim victory in Benue, Kano, Bauchi, others

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership has spoken on the governorship and Houses of Assembly elections, accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)of working with the opposition Peoples Democratic party (PDP) to deny it its victory in some states.

    The party rejected the commission’s decision on the results from Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State, alleging that its agents were not invited to witness the investigations conducted by the commission.

    In a swift reaction, the PDP said the APC was playing the victim.

    Although APC’s candidate did not participate in the governorship election in Rivers State, its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said it was clear that Governor Nyesom Wike was losing before INEC halted the process. The results are being doctored to favour him, the party claimed.

    The APC said the process was fraudulently suspended in Rivers, adding that its reports of vote buying by the PDP and thuggery were ignored by the electoral management body.

    Besides, attempts are being made to blackmail the government into withdrawing security agents from the state, the party said.

    The statement reads: “After the March 9 governorship elections across the country, the polls in six states – Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Kano, Plateau and Sokoto – were declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The electoral process was also suspended in Rivers State in a very fraudulent circumstance.

    “Post election, Nigerians will recall that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had severally raised alarm over the plot by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to use violence, vote-buying and other election malpractices to subvert the will of the electorate and steal their mandate.

    “The shocking events leading to the last-minute postponement of the presidential election provided clear evidence with PDP agents caught in different parts of the country with programmed card readers, sensitive election materials and large cache of weapons and security paraphernalia.

    “Undeterred, the PDP executed its rigging plot through its agents across the country by unleashing violence, vote-buying and hijacking election materials to rig and falsify elections results. The result was violent disruption in many polling areas and over-voting which led to many cancelled votes and ultimately the supplementary elections and suspended exercise in some states.”

    Using a state by state analysis, the APC said “INEC declared the governorship election in Benue State inconclusive, citing an insufficient margin in votes obtained by the APC candidate, Emmanuel Jime, and the PDP candidate, Governor Samuel Ortom.

    “Even though the PDP claims a bogus lead of over 81,000 votes, reports strongly establish that this dodgy figure is an aggregate of ‘votes’ obtained by subterfuge, not from the numbers recorded by the card reader. There were cases in Logo, Gwer-West, Vandeikya, Guma, Buruku and Gboko local governments where the card reader was not used.

    “In Guma, a local government predominated by the APC, zero votes were allocated to our candidate by thugs loyal to the governor of the State, as agents of the party were chased away and election material diverted and ballot papers thumb-printed for the governorship candidate of the PDP.

    “In Logo, security reports indicated that the ballot papers were massively thumb-printed the night before the election day, while a brazen case of under-age voting supervised by state government compromised security personnel, was prevalent on the actual day of voting. INEC also reported that 41 polling units in Vandeikya did not use the card reader, as it was the case in many in Gwer-West, Gwer-East, Gboko and other places.

    “A coalition of election observers in Benue has since called on INEC to declare the candidate of the APC, Barr. Emmanuel Jime, the winner of the governorship poll, in line with the Electoral Act and we align with the position of these observers. There is no doubt that our candidate obtained the highest number of legitimate votes with the usage of the card reader.”

    On Rivers State, the party condemned what it described as “this horrid dance in Rivers”, alleging an “unholy alliance between Governor Nyesom Wike, PDP and INEC is to prevent Rivers people from electing a candidate of their choice by imposing Wike, the PDP candidate on them.”

    The ruling party said “It was glaring that Wike was losing until INEC stepped in to halt the process apparently to save Wike from impending defeat. INEC must put a halt to this madness and brazen illegality.

    “The desperation of the PDP governorship candidate, Governor Nyesom Wike to remain in office even if it means destroying the State and killing its people, is throwing the State into turmoil and crisis.

    “With regard to the governorship election in Rivers State, APC has observed with dismay the macabre dance between Wike and INEC in Rivers State. It is on record that Wike through the Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Obo Effanga engaged PDP card-carrying members as Local Government Area (LGA) Collation Officers to skew the elections in favour of Wike and the PDP.

    “We call on the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to immediately redeploy Mr. Effanga from Rivers State in order to avoid crisis that may follow the organised crime being executed by Wike and Obo Effanga to rig and alter the result of the 2019 governorship polls in Rivers State in favour of Wike.

    “Since the suspension of the electoral process in Rivers State, Governor Nyesom Wike and the State REC Obo Effanga have been re-writing and doctoring unit results in Rivers State Government House to favour Wike.

    “We are dismayed that some sponsored stakeholders including those who witnessed the killing of over 40 persons on the 2015 governorship election day alone due to someone’s quest to become governor by all means, appear to be hoodwinked by the very same character to believe that security agents especially the Army should have stayed away to allow a repetition of what happened in 2015.

    “As a party that was solely at the receiving end of the killings in Rivers State, the APC believes that the proactive steps taken by security agents to checkmate a repeat of the 2015 killings and destructions, is commendable and should be applauded by all peace-loving people.

    “We call on Nigerians and the international community not to be hoodwinked into believing that Nigerian security agencies interfered in the electoral process in Rivers State. It is a misleading narrative being planted in the media to particularly blackmail the military and the federal government into pulling out security agents from the state, thereby returning the State to the killing field many of us witnessed before, during and after the 2015 elections.

    “It is now clear to all that INEC has become deaf and blind to the fact that Governor Nyesom Wike invaded the Obio/Akpor Collation Centre with over 200 armed thugs and ordered his security men to shoot an Army Captain and another soldier providing perimeter security to the Collation Centre. Wike’s thugs carted away the electoral materials including both original copies of unit result sheets and ward collation sheets that were being used for the collation of results and took them to the Rivers State Government House where they were filled out with rigged and inflated figures.

    “We report that in most of the LGAs in the State, voting had concluded, results declared at the polling units and collation had begun before the abrupt suspension of the process. INEC does not have the power under our Electoral Act to suspend elections that has already been concluded. We suspect that INEC might be working to surreptitiously bring in cooked up results credited to Obio/Akpor LGA to skew the election in favour of Wike. We vehemently reject this anti-democratic move.”

    The party asked its members in Plateau state to remain focussed as its lead in the state was unassailable, expressing confidence that its candidate, Simon Lalong will eventually carry the day.

    The APC is also confidence that it will eventually carry the day in Kano state, saying “the opposition PDP camp in its self-deceit has continued to delude itself on its nonexistent electoral chance in Nasarawa local government area. The Kano electorate are not deceived.

    “Considering what happened in the inconclusive election widely characterized by PDP vote buying and voter intimidation, relevant agencies must ensure that such antidemocratic practice is not repeated.”

    It accused the Kano State Police Commissioner of actively assisting the opposition PDP to rig inside Kano city with the deployment of police security for Rabiu Kwankwaso loyalists while state commissioner’s orderlies were withdrawn.

    Kano, it said “remains an APC state. With the massive votes garnered by our presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari; the entire incoming 9th National Assembly positions – 3 Senators and 24 House of Representatives – won by the APC in Kano State; 27 State House of Assembly seats won by the APC out of 39 and governorship election victories in all local governments outside Kano metropolitan, there is no doubt that Kano State is a stronghold and key support base of the APC.

    “The APC’s visible achievements in Kano state under Governor Abdullahi Ganduje are enough to give the party an emphatic victory in the rerun election. Again, the rerun will be mostly in APC-controlled rural areas and Nasarawa local government area where our Deputy Governor, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna is from. Undoubtedly, Kano state remains an APC stronghold and remains in our firm control.”

    Speaking further on the decision of INEC regarding the supplementary polls in Bauchi state, the APC said “We reject INEC’s decision on the governorship election results from Tafawa Balewa local government area in Bauchi State, as signed and announced by the electoral body’s National Commissioner and chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye.

    “While the close relationship between Festus Okoye who chaired the fact-finding committee and Yakubu Dogara of the PDP is well known, hence inappropriate for the fact-finding exercise for Bauchi State, INEC has failed to adhere to the fundamental principle of fair-hearing by not inviting our agents during the hearing to ascertain the circumstances leading to the cancellation of the Tafawa Balewa Local Government election result.

    “INEC’s decision is illegal as the electoral body contravenes the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended. We reiterate that according to Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended) and INEC Guidelines for 2019 General Elections, the electoral body is not empowered to reverse any decision taken at the Collation Centre by the Returning Officer appointed for that purpose. Such decisions can only be reversed by a court of law, especially when INEC cannot approbate and reprobate.”

    The party is also laying claim to Sokoto State, saying “as displayed in the results of the presidential election, Sokoto is a strong APC state. This rubbishes the suspicious and apparently stolen results ascribed to the PDP governorship candidate.”

    APC accused the PDP candidate and Governor Aminu Tambuwal, of using thugs and fake security agents to scare voters in the state. This gave PDP agents a free and field day to rig and manipulate the governorship election. We are also aware of how huge funds were used to buy votes and how complicit INEC officials disenfranchised APC members by purporting that card readers stopped working in APC strongholds,” the party said.

    “The forthcoming supplementary election in Sokoto State gives the APC; our governorship candidate, Aliyu Ahmed and indeed the Sokoto electorate an opportunity to claim our mandate. Sokoto State is ready for the Next Level, we must not allow unpopular elements in the state and their backers in the discredited PDP to steal their mandate and subvert the will of the Sokoto electorate,” it added.

    The APC said it reported cases of over voting in Adamawa State and the use of security personnel to intimidate its agents and supporters, saying: “while we are confident of our party and candidate Governor Jibrilla Bindow’s victory ahead of the supplementary election in the state, we urge all stakeholders to avoid actions that can plunge the state into crisis”.

    “We equally urge INEC and relevant security agencies to ensure the supplementary election is free, peaceful and fair compared to the last inconclusive governorship election in the state which was characterised by many irregularities and voter intimidation. No political ambition is worth the life of any voters.

    “As a party, the APC is very confident of victory in the forthcoming supplementary elections. Our commitment to free and fair elections in the county remains resolute. We urge INEC to ensure that all loopholes that led to rigging, vote buying and intimidation of voters by the PDP is blocked.”

  • INCONCLUSIVE POLLS:Who wins Kano, Sokoto, Bauchi, Adamawa, Benue Plateau?

    After 9th March 2019 Governorship and State Assembly Elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared six state’s exercise inconclusive. This week, electoral body announced that it would hold supplementary elections in the affected states on 23rd March 2019. In this report, Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, reports on how the extra elections would be fought and won

    THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced during the week that it will on March 23, 2019, conduct extra elections in the six states where the March 9 Gubernatorial and State Assembly Elections were declared inconclusive. The affected states where the commission will be holding the supplementary polls are: Plateau, Sokoto, Bauchi, Benue, Adamawa and Kano.

    A statement on Tuesday by Festus Okoye, the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, said the commission met on Monday and reviewed the conduct of the 29 Governorship and 991 State Constituency Elections held across the country on the 9th of March 2019. The commission had declared winners in the governorship elections in only 22 states while the Returning Officers (ROs) in Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Kano, Plateau and Sokoto states declared the elections inconclusive.

    “Consequently, the commission will conduct supplementary elections on Saturday 23rd March 2019 to conclude the process. Supplementary elections will also hold in polling units in all states where State Assembly elections were declared inconclusive and winners could not be declared,” Okoye said. Details of the constituencies including number of polling units and registered voters were published on the commission’s website last Wednesday, 13th March 2019.

    Expectedly, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been bragging about their capacity to carry the day ahead of the March 23 Supplementary Elections to decide who will control power in the six aforementioned states. While the leadership of the APC has expressed its satisfaction with the decisions of INEC, the PDP is faulting the commission’s decision in some states like Sokoto, Adamawa and Benue.

    Both parties however vowed to win the re-run election billed for March 23 in all the states. While the APC now have control of 18 states following its victory in 13 of the 22 declared states, which is now added to the five states of Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Kogi and Osun already in its kitty, the PDP can boast of 10 states, adding nine newly won states to Bayelsa State. The two parties are now poised to increase their tallies by adding more states on March 23.

     

    SOKOTO

    In Sokoto State, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of the PDP, who scored 489, 588, is leading his APC counterpart, Aliyu Sokoto, who garnered 486, 145 votes, with 3,413 votes. According to the details released by the electoral umpire, the two leading parties will on March 23, battle for 75,493 votes in 136 polling units in 22 local government areas of the state.

    Before the process was declared inconclusive, the two parties were laying claim to victory. But pundits say with over 75, 000 votes still at stake and the margin between Tambuwal and Sokoto standing at a meagre 3, 413, the March 23 election can tilt the final result of the governorship election in Sokoto state either way. “It is still too early to say precisely who will emerge the next governor of Sokoto state,” an analyst said.

    Factors being considered by pundits in putting the tag of ‘unpredictable’ on the ongoing contest in Sokoto State include the APC’s sterling performance during the Presidential and National Assembly Elections in the state and PDP’s unexpected comeback during the inconclusive Governorship and State Assembly polls. While the APC swept majority of the votes across the state in the earlier election, the PDP is leading in the latter with a slight margin.

    The presidential election results in Sokoto State showed that while President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC scored 490,333 votes, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the opposition PDP got 361,604 votes to place second. The APC also won the three senatorial seats in the state and pocketed majority of the House of Representatives seats. But during the Governorship and State Assembly Elections, the PDP turned the table and took the lead.

    Consequently, with the margin so slim and the votes to contest for quite much, Sokoto State remains a battleground ahead of the March 23 extra election. Reliable sources in the state told The Nation that the final result of the election in the state will be determined by some very local issues that are of importance to the ordinary people of the state. “The people are voting based on their individual convictions as to which of the two leaders, Wammakko and Tambuwal, can better their lots,” a source explained.

    Verdict: Battleground

     

    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 Bindow of the APC and his challenger PDP Umar Fintiri will be slugging it out on March 23. Convinced that it won the election outrightly on the first ballot, the PDP has been clamouring that it should be declared winner.

    On its part, the APC, realising that it has a hard task ahead of it, has been strategising on how to turn the table on March 23. But pundits say it is a herculean task that may be very difficult to carry out. With barely 41, 000 votes up for grab and the PDP already at advantage with 32, 471, in a state that was won by the opposition party during the Presidential and National Assembly Elections, the APC may be unable to wrought any magic.

    During the Presidential Election, PDP’s Atiku Abubakar polled 412, 266 to defeat APC’s President Muhammadu Buhari, his closest challenger who scored 377,488. The results show a difference of 34,778 between them. Ironically, Buhari won 11 of the state’s 21 local government areas, while Abubakar picked the remaining 10. Earlier, the PDP presidential candidate had lost his polling unit to the APC.

    The PDP had also won two, out of the three senatorial seats in the state as well as majority of the House of Representatives seats. Ishaku Elisha Cliff of the PDP, clinched the Adamawa North senatorial seat while his party man, Yaroe Binos Dauda, emerged winner in Adamawa South. The ruling party, APC claimed victory only through Dahiru Aishatu Ahmed, who was declared winner in Adamawa Central Senatorial District.

    All these facts, and more, will be trailing both the PDP and the APC as they go to polls on March 23 to decide the final winner of the obviously keen contest. However, the APC remains disadvantaged. Aside from the huge deficit the party will be struggling to cancel, renewed infighting among its chieftains may also work against its victory at the supplementary election.

    Verdict: PDP

     

    BAUCHI

    Before INEC announced that it will, next Tuesday, be resuming collation of governorship election result in Bauchi State and may declare the winner of the poll, hitherto ruled as inconclusive, the planned re-run election in the state, earlier scheduled for March 23, from all available facts, as well as emerging indications from parts of the state where elections were to hold, remained too close to call. The PDP candidate Bala Muhammed, is currently enjoying a slight lead with 4,059 votes. At the end of the inconclusive first ballot, the PDP had 469,512 votes while the APC candidate, Governor Mohammed Abubakar, got 465,453 votes.

    According to INEC, There were 139,240 cancelled votes to that were to be contested for on March 23. The voters in the affected polling units were to decide the winner of the tense governorship contest in the northeastern state. Before the inconclusive election, opinion as to which party will win Bauchi remained divided. The state, before 2015, has been a stronghold of the PDP.

    While those banking on President Buhari’s popularity in the state predicted that Governor Abubakar will retain his seat, others, citing the local politics of the state as well as some failings of the Abubakar led APC administration, coupled with the growing popularity of the opposition PDP in the last few years, said it will be easier for the opposition party to displace APC at the gubernatorial election. Not even the victory of the APC at the presidential election changed their stance.

    Though the APC won the three senatorial seats and majority of House of Representatives slots in the state, the victory of Speaker Yakubu Dogara and a host of other PDP candidates in the state provided a platform for the opposition party to rally its forces ahead of the gubernatorial and state assembly elections. The improved performance of the PDP in the inconclusive polls, according to analysts, is a result of the local issues determining the people’s voting preferences.

    But the political scenario in Bauchi state changed once again when the electoral commission announced its latest decision concerning the guber election in the state in a press statement on Friday night reportedly after resolving some issues around the result of Tafawa Balewa local government and some polling units in Ningi local government.

    INEC did not state whether by the decision, the scheduled supplementary election on 23 March has been cancelled. According to INEC, the number of cancelled votes in four polling units in Ningi Local Government was 2,533 and not 25,330 as recorded. On Tafawa Balewa Local Government election result, where collation was disrupted by armed gangs, affecting 7 out of 11 registration areas for governorship and 6 out of 11 for state assembly elections, INEC said a committee set up, has found that the results in polling units and registration areas are “available and in safe custody”.

    INEC thus decided to resume the resumption and conclusion of the collation of results of the council area for both the governorship and state assembly elections A new collation and returning officer for Tafawa Balewa has been appointed “to continue and conclude the collation process in place of the original collation officer, who withdrew from the exercise citing threats to her life and those of her family members”. The threatened collation officer was Dominion Anosike.

    While INEC says result in Tafawa Balewa will be announced after collation, the PDP claims it garnered over 40, 000 votes in the L.G.A to APC’s less than 30, 000. It is however left to be seen if the party’s claim will tally with the result INEC will come up with. Head or tail, the governorship election in Bauchi state is a straight fight between incumbent Mohammed Abubakar of the All Progressives Congress and former minister, Bala Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party.

    Verdict: Battleground

     

    BENUE

    At the end of the inconclusive gubernatorial election in Benue State, Governor Samuel Ortom of the PDP got 410, 576. His closest rival, Emmanuel Jime of the APC got 329, 022 at the close of the first ballot. Going by the result released by INEC, PDP’s Ortom currently leads the governorship contest with 81,554 votes. The two frontline candidates will be slugging out for 121, 011 votes in the affected polling units across the state.

    But analysts say it is going to be very difficult for APC, which also lost the last Presidential and National Assembly Elections in the state to the PDP, to overturn the deficit and win the supplementary election. “PDP will most likely go ahead to consolidate its lead at the extra polls on its way to finally retaining the troubled state in its political kitty till 2023,” an analyst said.

    Before Governor Ortom moved over to the PDP last year, Benue State was controlled by the APC. But following incessant face-offs between Ortom and the leadership of his then party as well as the presidency over the herdsmen/farmers clashes in the state, Ortom defected to the PDP and picked its governorship ticket. Many prominent chieftains of the APC, including Senator Barnabas Gemade, also dumped the party.

    The presidential candidate of the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, had emerged winner of the Presidential Election in the state last month. The result, as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Collation Officer Prof. Sabastine Maimako, in Makurdi showed that President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC scored 347,668 vote, while Atiku scored 355,255 votes.

    Also noteworthy is the fact that during the presidential election, APC won in 10 Local Government Areas of the state, while PDP won in 13 Local Government Areas. The party also cleared all the three senatorial seats up for grab. Former Governor Gabriel Suswam emerged as the Senator for Benue North East, Emmanuel Yisa Orker-Jev for Benue North West and ex-Minister Patrick Abba Moro in Benue South.

    Majority of the State Assembly seats declared in the state are also now in the kitty of the PDP. The unexpected loss of the Benue North West seat by the APC leader in the state, Senator George Akume, disorganised the party ahead of the Governorship and State Assembly Elections. Though local issues like non-payment of workers’ salaries and lack of infrastructural amenities worked against the PDP and Governor Ortom, it appears the many killings and attacks suffered by the state decided how they voted.

    Verdict: PDP

     

    PLATEAU

    In Plateau State, 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. But many analysts say the election is APC’s to win. With only 49, 377 votes to be contested for in the affected polling units, and APC already comfortably leading with 44, 929, the opposition party looks defeated already.

    Aside from its comfortable lead, the ruling APC also pocketed majority of the state assembly seats to show its acceptance across the state. The ruling party is also benefiting from the performance of Governor Lalong, which has been adjudged by many to be commendable, especially his ability to restore and maintain peace in the troubled parts of the North Central state. His relationship with civil servants in the state is also a plus for the ruling party.

    The current result of the governorship election which shows that APC is ahead of the PDP is a departure from what obtained at the Presidential and National Assembly Elections in the state. Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the PDP, won the presidential election in Plateau after scoring 548,665 votes. Atiku defeated his closest opponent, Muhammadu Buhari, of the APC, who scored 468, 555 votes. Atiku won in 11 local government areas while Buhari won in six LGAs of the state.

    Although the APC lost the state to the PDP during the presidential election and could only manage to win one of the three senatorial seats, with one declared inconclusive, observers of the politics of the state insist that APC looks good to win the governorship election in the end.

    Verdict: APC

     

    KANO

    Kano State is one of the states where supplementary election will be holding on March 23. There are 100, 873 votes to decide who wins the election. The PDP, with 1,014,474 votes, is in the lead while the APC, which got 987, 810, is trailing in second place. The margin in the scores of the two contenders stands at 26,664 votes. It is this calculation that informs the position of most pundits that the election is still very open for either the ruling APC or the opposition PDP to win.

    The turn of events in the Kano gubernatorial election is coming as a huge surprise to many watchers of the unfolding political drama, but analysts conversant with the voting pattern of the people of the Northwestern state say there’s nothing strange in what has happened. According to Istifanus Bako of the Centre for Democracy and Good Governance (CDGG), local issues are determining the ongoing voting patterns.

    Given that President Buhari of the APC recorded a landslide victory at the Presidential and National Assembly Elections in the state, many pundits have given the Gubernatorial and State Assembly polls to the ruling party without batting an eyelid. The presidential candidate of the APC, President Muhammadu Buhari, defeated his opponent, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku of the PDP, with 1, 073, 175 votes.

    The APC Presidential candidate garnered 1, 464, 768 votes, to defeat the PDP candidate, who garnered 391,593 votes.

    The APC also pocketed the three senatorial seats in the state to drive home its landslide victory at the Presidential and National Assembly Elections. Former Governor Ibrahim Shekarau won the Kano Central Senatorial seat, Barau Jibrin emerged the senator in Kano North while another former governor, Gaya Ibrahim Kabiru, claimed the seat in Kano South.

    But during the inconclusive Gubernatorial and State Assembly Elections, the tide changed as many voters opted to vote against Governor Abdulai Ganduje. Sources say the dollar scandal he got enmeshed in shortly before the general elections commenced has done a lot of damages to his popularity, especially among the ordinary people of the state. This appears to be working against him and the APC at the polls.

    The PDP governorship candidate in the state, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has expressed confidence that he would emerge winner of the coming governorship re-run election in the state. Kabir-Yusuf, who is the son-in-law of PDP chieftain, Rabui Kwankwaso, says Kano people want a trustworthy leader. This is just as Governor Ganduje promised that the PDP will be shocked by the outcome of the re-run elections.

    Ganduje said he was unperturbed by the wishful thinking and slapdash deportment of the PDP candidate considering what happened in the inconclusive election widely characterized by alleged vote buying and voter’s intimidation by the party. The two parties, sources claim, are working round the clock in the affected areas to ensure that they get the votes needed to merge victorious on March 23. The March 23 supplementary election will take place in 210 Polling Units constituting 88 Registration Areas.

    Verdict: Battleground

  • NGO makes case for women empowerment

    A non-governmental organization, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), has called on governments at all levels as well as Nigerians to investment more in women empowerment programmes.

    The organization said there is need to continuously support women in order to improve their lives.

    AHF’s Advocacy and Marketing Manager, Steve Aborisade, said this at an exhibition in Abuja.

    The exhibition tagged “Balance for Better” was part of activities by AHF to celebrate the 2019 International Women’s Day.

    He said: “We must see empowering women as a priority agenda that everyone must embrace. This is what we are doing in all the states we work in. We work with women at the rural levels, we empower them, and teach them skills.

    “We are going to continue to advocate for the betterment of our women folks. We have to invest in our women, we have to support them and we have to be there for them.

    “What we are doing is to look at our women and speak to their needs. It is difficult for some of our women financially. We are using this to instigate other women to join what their peers are doing.”

    Also, the State Nursing Coordinator for AHF, Christy Awunor, said 150 women from the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, participated in the exhibition.

    She said the aim of the organisation is to create opportunities for more women to thrive.

    Awunor said: “Our focus on the women is to create entrepreneurship for every woman. We want every woman to be self-reliant – be able to do something for herself and her family.

    Read Also: ‘It‘s time for women to identify their strengths’

    “We have about 25 exhibitors and we intend to support these women in carrying out what they are doing more effectively and efficiently and also to be able to make money from this and take care of their families.

    “Today, we are going to be handing over some amount to these woman to be able to support what they do.

    “We have empowered quite a number of women not only in Abuja but in Benue, Kogi, Cross River, Nasarawa and Akwa-Ibom state during event like this.”

  • PDP set for supplementary polls in Kano, Bauchi, Benue, others

    The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed the readiness of the party for the supplementary governorship and state assembly elections scheduled to hold in six states on Mach 23.

    The affected states are Kano, Bauchi, Benue, Adamawa, Plateau and Sokoto where the Independent National Electoral Commission declared the March 9 elections inconclusive.

    Rising from an emergency National Working Committee (NWC) meeting in Abuja Thursday, the party nevertheless demanded that INEC release the results of the election in the affected states and make returns as appropriate.

    In a statement released after the emergency meeting, the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan insisted that the party was in clear lead in the states where the poll was declared inconclusive.

    Slamming the INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu of for alleged partiality, the PDP cited the results of the governorship election in Ogun State where the APC candidate was declared winner even when the margin of lead between him and the runner up was lower than the number of cancelled votes.

    The main opposition party regretted that the same INEC denied victory for PDP governorship candidates who found themselves in similar circumstances in the affected states.

    The statement said, “The hierarchy of the party condemns, in very strong terms, the manner in which the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, declared states where PDP had popular support and defeated the All Progressives Congress (APC) as inconclusive, whereas in a state like Ogun state, where APC failed to achieve a higher margin of lead over cancelled votes, was declared the winner.

    “The PDP found it strange that INEC can have two sets of rules in the same election for the various political parties.

    “More worrisome is the resolution which arose from a meeting between some governors of the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari, where the PDP has been informed that a decision was taken to seize Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Plateau, Sokoto and Kano states in the March 23, scheduled supplementary election.

    “It is instructive to state that the Buhari Presidency has not denied this strong allegation of rigging plans, thus strengthening the reality that the APC is always prepared to benefit from electoral fraud”.

    The PDP further stated that the party had deliberated and interfaced with stakeholders from the various states where governorship supplementary elections have been scheduled to hold.

    It added that following the deliberations, the party had mandated all its members to resist any attempt by anybody to tamper with the will of the people in their states.

    “In Sokoto state, a stronghold of our party and where the PDP is already in a clear lead, our victory at the March 23 supplementary election is guaranteed.

    “In Benue, the people have expressed their readiness to go into the supplementary election and they are prepared to vote for the PDP candidate, Governor Samuel Ortom.

    “They are also aware that by PDP’s current leading margin of over 81,000 votes, it is manifestly clear that there is no way APC, with all its manipulations, militarization, arm-twisting, intimidation and harassment, will defeat the PDP in Benue.

    “In Adamawa, the PDP observed the mischievous calculation of the APC in sponsoring someone, who did not participate in the election, to go to court and claim that the logo of his party was omitted in the ballot.

    “This is a their desperate bid to get the election already won by the PDP cancelled. The PDP however notes the failure of the APC to achieve its mischief in Adamawa state.

    “In Bauchi state, it is known to all, including the APC and its governorship candidate, that Tafawa Balewa Local Government has always been a home to the PDP since 1999. We therefore counsel the APC rigging machine to avert engaging the people of that constituency, as it will be of no avail.

    “In Kano state, the APC will be confronting the strong will of the people to do away with a corrupt and incompetent government, which Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has come to represent. The atmosphere of Kano state is ominous and any responsible government will take note and align in the interest of the people.

    “Already, the people of Kano state are standing shoulder to shoulder with the PDP in their pursuit of bringing a government that will be representative and purposeful.

    “On no account must Nigerians allow a culture of impunity, where those who failed in any elections will compromise our electoral arbiter and force themselves on the people.

    “In Rivers state, the PDP restates our demand that INEC should release the results already collated on the governorship election in which PDP clearly won and declare Governor Nyesom Wike as winner.

    “Furthermore, the PDP expresses worry over the damage done to the image of the military by its hierarchy by allowing itself to be used by the APC.

    “It is despicable that our military has been dragged into politics to an extent where soldiers now join issues with politicians in the media and conduct its affairs as if it has become a political party. This partisan involvement of our armed forces, to say the least, has impaired the confidence Nigerians have on the institution of the military”, the PDP said.

     

  • Polls inconclusive in Kano, Benue, Sokoto, three others

    •Adamawa, Plateau, Bauchi also affected

    VOTERS in six states are to wait a little longer to know who will be their governor as from May 29 when the tenure of incumbent governors expires.

    Reason: elections in the six states have been declared inconclusive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the cancellation of votes in some polling units (PUs).

    The states are: Kano, Sokoto, Adamawa, Benue, Plateau and Bauchi.

    The development came yesterday as the electoral umpire announced governorship election results in more states, including Yobe, Borno, Zamfara, Nasarawa, Cross River, Delta, Imo and Kaduna.

    INEC’s decision to declare the polls inconclusive in the affected states was taken because the number of cancelled votes was more than the margin between the two leading candidates in the affected states.

    The commission will organise supplementary polls in the affected PUs to determine the winners of Saturday’s governorship elections in 29 states. Seven states have their governorship elections staggered.

    INEC will today review the suspension of the electoral process in Rivers State. It suspended the process on Sunday for 48 hours following widespread disruptions in the Southsouth state.

    KADUNA

    With 1.045,427 votes as against his PDP challenger Isa Mohammed Ashiru’s 814,168, Governor Nasir El-Rufai has retained his seat for the APC. He was declared winner of Saturday’s governorship election in Kaduna State.

    The Returning Officer, Prof. Mohammed Yahuza Bello, said El-Rufai pollled 1.045,427 to beat Isa Mohammed Ashiru of the PDP, who got 814,168, and other candidates.

    Bello said: “Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai of the All Progressives Congress, having scored the highest number of votes and met all the requirements of the law, is hereby returned elected.”

    The results of the 23 local government areas show that El-Rufai won in 14 local government areas of Makarfi, Soba, Kudan, Ikara, Kauru, Kubau, Kaduna North, Giwa, Birnin Gwari, Sabongari, Lere, Kaduna South, Zaria and Igabi.

    Ashiru won in nine local government areas of Jaba, Kachia, Kaura, Kajuru, Zango Kataf, Sanga, Chikun, Kagarko and Jema’a.

    El-Rufai got 56 per cent of the total votes scored. Ashiru scored 44 per cent.

    ZAMFARA

    In Zamfara, APC’s candidate Mukhtar Shehu Idris was declared governor-elect after polling 534,541 votes to defeat the PDP candidate, Dr. Bello Muhammad who got 189, 452 votes.

    The governor-elect told reporters in his Gusau country home that he will continue with the party’s policy and programmes.

    Idris said the incumbent Governor Abdul Aziz Yari has sacrificed a lot for the development of the stare and the well-being of its citizens.

    He said: “I assure you that my administration will work right from day one towards meeting your yearnings for a more developed prosperous Zamfara state.”

    SOKOTO

    In Sokoto, where INEC declared the election inconclusive, Governor Aminu Tambuwal and candidate of the PDP urged the commission to declare him winner of the poll in the spirit of fairness and justice.

    According to him, the decision by the Returning Officer of INEC, Professor Fatima Mukhtar, to declare the exercise inconclusive was unconstitutional.

    Citing Section 179(2) of the constitution of the Federal Republic stated that the provision clearly explains how to conduct governorship polls.

    He said: “Our party, the PDP has returned the highest number of votes and have won 2/3 of the local governments in the state and, therefore, the decision of INEC is not founded in law. We wonder why INEC is coming with this technical reason to declare the exercise inconclusive.”

    Addressing a news conference in Government House, Sokoto, the governor said the decision would be put to test in the court, adding: “We have not been given substantial reasons for such decision.

    “INEC should note that it has an image and integrity to protect as an agency and for its officials. It should not put its integrity to public questioning.

    “Up till now, we have not been told why the cancellations of the exercise in 136 polling units across 22 local government areas. We know there are adverse factors that should be considered to warrant such decisions and not in all cases rerun should be conducted.”

    Urging INEC to revisit its decision, Tambuwal added: “There is the need for INEC to revisit its decision. A little more has to be done by the umpire. Prof Mahmood Yakubu and his staff should know that they have the duty of holding to public trust given them by Nigerians.

     

    “I believe we have won the elections in Sokoto State. We got the majority votes which confirm Sokoto people’s readiness and support for the party and its candidate.”

    On whether he would participate in a rerun, the governor said: “Our court action will not stop us from participating. We want to make sure the right thing is done based on constitutional provisions.”

    Thanking security agencies for their support to the election process and INEC for its ability to do and to be seen doing the right thing in defence of the democratic process, the governor insisted that “INEC and security agencies should do their best during the rerun.”

    ADAMAWA

    The PDP candidate, Umaru Fintiri, said the electoral commission has only postponed his victory by declaring the election inconclusive.

    Fintiri said he was sure of winning the supplementary poll whenever it is conducted.

    The PDP flagbearer was leading incumbent Governor Jibrila Bindow by end of the collation early yesterday.

    INEC pronounced the election inconclusive because the margin of lead between the two leading candidates was smaller than the number of cancelled votes.

    Fintiri polled 367,471 votes to take the lead. He was being trailed by the incumbent, who is the APC candidate. Bindow got 334,995 votes.

    Explaining how he arrived at declaring the election inconclusive, the state returning officer, Prof Andrew Haruna, had said the 32,467 margin between Fintiri and Bindow was lower than the 40,948 votes cancelled in 44 polling units.

    Prof Andrew said election would be held in the affected units to address the vote cancellation anomaly.

    Fintiri, who chatted with reporters in Yola, asserted that he would eventually be announced as winner.

    He said: “I’m very hopeful of victory. Adamawa is my constituency and I have been voted across the length and breadth of the state. If INEC, for reason of its own cancellation of results, has opted for supplementary election, we are ready for it.”

    The local government areas where elections were cancelled in some units are: Madagali (three polling units), Michika (five polling units), Mubi North (three polling units), Hong (four polling units), Song (four polling units), Toungo (three), Demsa (four polling units), Numan (six polling units), Lamurde (three polling units) and Guyuk (three polling units).

    Fintiri said despite the turn of events regarding the election, he regarded its conduct as having been generally credible.

    “I am satisfied with the electoral process. It was credible and transparently so in most places,” he said.

    DELTA

    Incumbent Governor Ifeanyi Okowa was yesterday declared winner of the governorship election in Delta State.

    Returning Officer Prof Seth Accra-Jaja said Okowa, of the PDP, polled 925,271 to defeat his closest rival, Great Ogboru of the APC, who scored 215,938 votes.

    According to Accra-Jaja, 1,188,784 of the 2,831,205 registered voters were accredited for the election.

    He said that 24,147 votes were voided and 1,154,188 valid, bringing the total valid votes to 1,178,335.

    The ruling PDP won in 23 local government areas spread across the three senatorial districts. The APC won in two local government areas of Ughelli North and Ethiope East.

    But the APC rejected the results. It alleged that the election was marred by massive rigging and non- compliance with the electoral law.

    The APC state agent, Prof Festus Arunaye said: “I reject the votes as announced because right from the ward level to the local government collation centre, there was gross mayhem and violence that resulted in deaths. The elections were conducted in gross violation of the electoral laws.”

    Read also: Ihedioha declared Imo governor-elect

    He said his party will seek legal redress to claim the mandate given to it by the people.

    PDP State Chairman Kingsley Esiso was happy over his party’s victory, describing it as a “victory for Deltans”.

    NASARAWA

    The governorship candidate of the APC in Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule,was declared winner by the Returning Officer, Prof Bala Abdullahi

    Sule polled 327,229 votes to defeat his closest rivals, Emmanuel Ombugadu of the PDP who scored 184,281 votes and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate, Labaran Maku, who came third with 132,281 votes.

    According to the returning officer, the APC candidate won in 11 of the 13 local government areas. Maku and Doma Aliyu of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) won one local government each.

    The 11  local government areas won by the APC candidate are: Awe, Keana, Obi, Lafia, Wamba, Akwanga, Kokona, Keffi, Karu, Toto and Nasarawa.

    Maku won in Nasarawa Eggon and Doma won in Doma.

    CROSS RIVER

    Incumbent Cross River State Governor Prof Ben Ayade retained his seat for the PDP.

    Ayade, who won in all the 18 local government areas, polled 381,484 to beat the APC to the second position with 131,161 and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to the third with 4, 818 votes.

    Announcing the results early yesterday, the returning officer and Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, Warri, Delta State, Prof Akii Ibhadode, said the PDP candidate, having scored the highest number of votes and fulfilled the requirements of the law, was returned elected.

    KANO

    INEC suspended indefinitely the collation of results from the Nassarawa Local Government Area, following the destruction of electoral materials by thugs.

    Results of 43 local council areas had already been declared with incumbent Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and APC candidate winning in 29. His challenger, Abba Kabiru Yusuf of the PDP, held sway in 14 local government areas.

    The PDP candidate was leading with 6,608 votes.

    The results of Nassarawa Local Government were delayed following the cancellation of some polling units in Gama ward.

    Speaking to reporters at the INEC collation centre, about 4am, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof Riskuwa Shehu Arabu, said the suspension of the collation followed  “disturbing” reports of electoral violence.

    He said: “We have received disturbing reports of disruption of results collation of Nassarawa Local Government polls by some people which led to the destruction of some of the result sheets.”

    Riskuwa noted that INEC could not continue with the collation and final declaration of the result due to the commotion that disrupted the compilation of the results.

    He said INEC had resolved to refer to its primary and secondary data from the polling units and wards that will confirm those that will be acceptable within the Electoral Act.

    YOBE

    Mai Mala Buni of the APC was declared governor-elected governor of Yobe State.

    Buni, a former National Secretary of the APC, was dlared as winner of the March 9 governorship poll in the Northeast states after polling 444, 013 votes to beat Umar Iliya Damagum of the PDP, who polled 95, 703.

    Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Abubakar Musa Kundiri, who announced the results, said the election was generally peaceful.

    There was wild jubilation across the state as supporters of the APC took to the streets to celebrate the victory.

    BORNO

    Prof Babagana Umara Zullum of the APC won the governorship in Borno.

    Declaring him governor-elect, the INEC’s Returning Officer, Prof Alhassan Muhammad Gani, who is also the Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Kashere, Gombe State, said Prof Zullum scored 1,175,440 votes across the 27 local government areas to trounce his closest rival Mohammed Alkali Imam of the PDP, who got 66,115 votes.

    Prof Mani also announced that 32 political parties registered and participated in the governorship election, noting that the election was peaceful.

    IMO

    Former House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha was yesterday declared governor-elect in Imo State.

    The PDP candidate polled 273, 404 to defeat the Action Congress (AA) candidate Uche Nwosu, who scored 190,364 and Ifeanyi Ararume of APGA, who got 114, 676 votes.

  • PDP decries killings, violence, militarisation of elections

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the heavy militarisation, violence and killing of innocent Nigerians during Saturday’s Governorship and State Assembly elections across many states of the federation.

    A statement on Saturday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan blamed the development on what the opposition party described as the desperation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the elections.

    “The world watched with utter horror as soldiers under the command of the Buhari Presidency, hound, arrest, shoot, terrorise opposition figures and provide cover for APC thugs to unleash violence, kill opposition members, cart away electoral materials and disrupt polls in PDP strongholds, all in the bid to forcefully foist the APC on Nigerians,” the statement said.

    The party further bemoaned the resort to bloodletting, violence and alleged official high handedness by the APC in the electoral process, which it said, has further confirmed this administration has no regard for the lives of Nigerians and lawful processes, but only interested in seizing power by all means.

    The PDP noted that never in the history of the nation had a general election recorded such bloodletting, violence and manipulations as triggered in the 2019 elections.

    Lamenting further, the PDP said: “In Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Bayelsa, Kogi, Benue, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, among others, soldiers brazenly aided APC thugs to unbridle violence, hijack electoral processes and write fictitious results for APC candidates.

    “In Rivers state, soldiers invaded INEC office in Bori, beat up and chased away PDP agents and assisted the APC in ballot stuffing and writing of results.

    “The scenario was the same in Akwa-Ibom where security agents provided cover for APC thugs in their bid to hijack the electoral process.

    “In Imo state, APC thugs, accompanied by security agents disrupted polls in PDP strongholds and reportedly killed a PDP agents in Umudo/Umuwala area of Owerri.

    “In Ebonyi state, APC thugs aided by security agents, burnt down INEC facility in the state, seeing that their party did not have any foothold in the state.

    “In Ajaokuta, Kabba/Bunu, Olamaboro, Ijumu and several other local governments in Kogi state, APC thugs, assisted by soldiers invaded polling units and carted away ballot materials, a development which sparked off restiveness in some areas and resulted in mass destruction of property in the area”.

    The party regretted that in many other states, the APC, in connivance with INEC, orchestrated the deliberate diversion of electoral materials meant for certain areas to unknown destinations, resulting in the frustration of electoral processes in the affected areas.

    “We know that the APC plot to derail our hard- earned democracy and impose a fascist regime on our nation but we are resolute in standing with Nigerians and all lovers of democracy to ensure that nobody, no matter how vicious, is allowed to vanquish our democracy.

    “In all, our party stands with Nigerians in their resilience at this defining moment in our political history.

    “The PDP commends the courage of Nigerians in standing firm in defence of democracy, despite the machinations of the APC,” the party added.

  • Elections: New commissioner of police deployed to Benue

    A new Commissioner of Police has been deployed to Benue, ahead of Saturday’s Governorship and House of Assembly Elections,  the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)  reports.

    NAN reports that the new CP,  Mr Umar Muri,  replaces Mr Omolulu Bishi, who has been reassigned to another duty post.

    The Deputy Inspector-General of Police overseeing elections in the North Central,  Mr Godwin Nwobodo, announced the change at a press conference on Friday in Makurdi.

    NAN further reports that Bishi spent about six months in charge of the command before his redeployment.

    Nwobodo also said not more than 7,480 personnel from various security services had been drafted for election duties in the state.

    “Furthermore, a total number of five Commissioners, four Deputy Commissioners (DCPs) and two Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs) are already in the state to man strategic senatorial districts and local government areas identified as flash-points.

    “These deployments are friendly, proactive and do not aim at any person or group, ” he said.

    He said the officers were specifically attached to Guma, Logo, Ukum, Agatu, Gwer West, Gwer East, Okpoku and Katsina-Ala LGAs,  while security was generally strengthened across the state.

    Read also: INEC replaces burnt I98 Smart Card Readers in Akwa Ibom

    He said the command was convinced that Benue people were ready for the polls.

    Nwobod, however,  appealed to politicians not to see elections as a do-or-die affair,  but as a democratic means of enthroning good leadership.

    “Credible elections enthrone good governance and good governance serves the greater good for the citizens.

    ” Election should, therefore, not be a do-or-die affair. As security agencies, we have a responsibility to police the rules and regulations set out by INEC.

    “These sets of rules and regulations are provided for in the Nigeria Constitution, the Electoral Act, INEC Guidelines/ Regulations and all other extant laws, ” he said.

    He said that no form of violence, thuggery, voter intimidation, vote buying, brigandage, bearing arms/weapons and other offensive conducts would be tolerated in the state. (NAN)

  • Poll: Parties join forces in Oyo, Kwara, Benue, Lagos

    POLITICAL parties are joining forces for better performance in Saturday’s Governorship and States’ Assembly Elections.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is conducting governorship elections in 29 states. The assembly elections are holding in all the 36 states and the six council areas in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The candidates are outsmarting one another in last-minute moves to sway the electorate’s support ahead of the poll.

    Here is a report of events in the states:

    LAGOS

    In Lagos, 30 candidates are backing All Progressives Congress (APC) flagbearer Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

    TARABA

    In Taraba, the local chairman of the APC, Alhaji Ibrahim El-Sudi, insisted that Sani Abubakar remained its candidate for the governorship election.

    El-Sudi was reacting to a Federal High Court order earlier yesterday in Jalingo which disqualified Abubakar on the grounds of falsification of age. He said that the same case had been determined and dismissed by a superior court in 2007.

    The chairman noted that the party’s lawyers had swung into action to appeal the “mischievous judgement”.

    He urged the party’s supporters to continue with their campaign.

    A Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo, the state capital,  presided over by Justice Stephen Pam, had issued an order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and APC not to recognise Abubakar as a governorship candidate.

    A copy of the judgment showed that Usman Udi, Joshua Paaku, George Geofrey and Muslim Munkaila, had on January 9, urged the court  to disqualify Abubakar for falsifying his date of birth.

    “It is hereby declared that the information contained in the affidavit Abubakar supporting his personal particulars that he was born on February 14, 1968 is in conflict with his date of birth contained in the West African Senior School Certificate he submitted to INEC,” the court noted.

    NIGER

    Governorship candidates were locked in series of meetings to seal the support of their supporters.

    Some of the candidates took their campaigns to churches, holding talks with religious leaders to solicit for votes.

    The Nation gathered that the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) governorship candidate, Joshua Bawa, had visited three churches between Sunday and yesterday.

    The two main contenders – the APC and PDP – have been meeting with various religious leaders and youth groups to strengthen their support bases.

    APC candidate and incumbent Governor Abubakar Sani Bello has been meeting with labour, religious leaders, indigenous groups, women, pressure groups and directors in Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

    KWARA

    No fewer than 37 political parties in Kwara State pledged to support APC governorship candidate  Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.

    The parties, under the umbrella of Kwara Like-Minds Political Parties (KLPP), backed all the APC House of Assembly candidates at the poll.

    Addressing reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, spokesperson of the parties, Prince Oladele Sunday, directed their members to vote en masse for the candidates all the APC on Saturday.

    Prince Sunday said: “We are at a critical stage in our country, but most especially our dear state is already in political labour room and KLPP has joined hands with APC and other stakeholders in taking a successful delivery of liberated Kwara.

    “Today is not meant for an unending discussion but to let the whole world know that when the people were dying slowly in the hands of political tyrants, the KLPP showed up. When the people were groaning and gnashing their teeth under bad governance in the state, posterity will be fair to us that KLPP showed up.

    “Finally, members of KLPP hereby instruct our numerous members and appeal to the teeming voters in the state to come out en masse on March 9th to vote for all APC candidates. Let us all ‘show up’ so that we can all move from ‘O to gee’ (It’s enough) to ‘O to pe’ (It’s worthy of praise)”.

    APC Chairman Bashir Bolarinwa said: “The forthcoming governorship and House of Assembly elections are equally important to the APC. It is important to us as a party and the people of Kwara State.

    “I want to say here that out of 55 political parties that are functional in the state, today are above 35 have openly declared to identify with us. What that simply means is that all of them as members of these political parties are directing their members and appealing to the people to vote on Saturday for the governorship candidate of our party.

    “Further to that, all the 24 House of Assembly candidates of APC will on Saturday be candidates of their parties as well.”

    Also yesterday, a former state lawmaker, Wole Oke, said the victory of the APC candidates “means total freedom for Kwarans”.

    ENUGU

    In Enugu State, 70 political parties were said to have adopted incumbent Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as the sole candidate.

    The parties, under the auspices of the Coalition of Registered Political Parties (CRPP), unanimously adopted Ugwuanyi of the PDP as their consensus candidate.

    The leaders of the political parties, who conveyed their position to the governor when they visited him at the Government House, Enugu, said: “Our mission here tonight is to reaffirm our total, unalloyed, unequivocal and unconditional support for your re-election as governor come March 9, 2019, which is barely five (four) days away.”

    OYO

    The Oyo State chapter of the APC berated the PDP candidate, Seyi Makinde, for “his double standards”.

    It urged the people not to trust an individual with such a major character flaw with their mandate.

    The APC lambasted Makinde on his coalition with the gubernatorial candidates of Africa Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator Femi Lanlehin, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Sarafadeen Alli, the leader of ZLP, Rashidi Ladoja and others.

    According to the APC spokesman, Dr AbdulAzeez Olatunde,  Makinde should explain “to the electorate who Ladoja, Lanlehin and Sarafa are to him as the APC does not want to preempt him by calling them godsons”.

    Olatunde felicitated with some members of ADC, ZLP, SDP and others for jumping off the “sinking ships” of the parties to align with the ruling party, stressing that “the APC knows their worth and will accord them their due respect and regard”.

    RIVERS

    An APC chieftain in Rivers State, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, restated the people’s determination to sack Governor Nyesom Wike with their ballot on Saturday.

    He said the resolution was because of what he called the abysmal performance of the PDP-led administration in the Southsouth state in the past four years.

    In an online statement, Eze alleged that Wike was the initiator of the call for his sack by Rivers people.

    Eze said: “The failure of Wike’s administration is responsible for why most Rivers people want him to go on May 29 this year. Rivers State is losing out on development, since Wike forced his way into office through the bloody and massively-rigged 2015 elections.

    Wike is the arrowhead of the agitation to remove him (Wike) from the Brick House (Government House, Port Harcourt), a project he initiated immediately he assumed office on May 29, 2015, by scaring away investors from the state, through the promotion of insecurity.”

    Members of the Coalition of Like-minded Rivers People described March 9 as the state’s day of hope, when Wike will be voted out.

    The group, at a news conference in Port Harcourt, as part of the massive protests they started on Monday in the state capital, declared that there was no going back in ensuring that a focused and God-fearing person would be the occupant of the Government House from May 29.

    The coalition’s three-page address was read by Azubuike Wanjoku, the President-General of Ikwerre Youth Movement (IYM) International, who is also a member of the House of Assembly, representing Ikwerre constituency.

    But Wike, through his Commissioner for Information and Communications, Emma Okah, urged the people to ignore what he called “the propaganda of the APC”.

    He insisted that Wike’s impressive performance across the 23 local government areas would earn the PDP re-election on March 9.

    Also yesterday, the Police debunked the alleged plan to kidnap the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Rivers State. They urged the public to disregard it as fake news.

    Commissioner of Police Usman Belel, who debunked the rumour, described it as unfounded and unverifiable.

    The Special Assistant to the Governor on Electoronic Media, Simoen Nwakudu, had in a statment on Tuesday, raised the alarm on the alleged plan by APC members to kidnap the REC ahead of the polls to push for its postponement.

    But the Police Commissioner said that his men were on top of the security situation.

    The commissioner said there was no cause for alarm.

    DELTA

    The governorship candidate of the Allied congress party of Nigeria (ACPN) in Delta State, Chief Paul Isamade, urged Deltians to reject Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of the PDP, alleging that his four-year reign has brought nothing but backwardness to the state.

    Isamade, who is also the National Secretary of the party, said it was “unfortunate that 20 years into the current democratic dispensation, Delta State is still not working inspiite of the huge revenue that has accrued to it.”

    CROSS RIVER

    Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade has not been sacked by the Court of Appeal, the governor’s Chief Press Secretary Christian Ita, said yesterday.

    Ita described as fake news reports trending on social media claiming the governor has been sacked by the appellate court in Lagos as the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Saturday’s election.

    In a statement, the spokesman said there was no such pending matter in the Appeal Court.

    He maintained that the case instituted in a Federal High Court in Abuja by Mr. Emmanuel Ibeshi was discontinued when he filed a legitimate notice of discontinuance and as such never went on appeal.

    He blamed the report on political opponents who have been dazed by the reality that the governor’s re-election bid was a fait acompli.

    The statement, therefore, urged members of the public and the governor’s teeming supporters to disregard the fake report.

  • Certain forces instigating violence in Benue — Military

    The military said certain powerful forces in Benue were responsible for the recent attacks on communities in the state.

    Maj-Gen Adeyemi Yekini, the Force Commander, Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), made the statement at a press briefing on Sunday in Makurdi.

    Yekini also said such individuals were instigating violence as could be seen in the recent attacks on communities preceding major elections in the country.

    ” It is obvious that some forces are instigating violence in Benue; it is not a coincidence that there was an attack on Agatu community a week to the presidential election and now there is another attack on Gwer West a week to the governorship election.”

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that OPWS was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018 to tackle cases of armed banditry on communities in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba states.

    The force commander said the military outfit had intensified operations along Loko-Agatu, Kwande and other border communities in Benue to prevent reoccurrence of the attacks.

    He condemned the preference to cattle over human lives by those who retaliated because of cattle theft.

    Flt Officer Mohammed Abubakar, the Sector Commander,OPWS in Gwer West Local Government Area, said some people were using military uniforms to rustle cattle.

    ” Those people who did this are suspected to be Livestock Guards, according to our local sources,” he said.

    Abubakar said seven corpses had already been recovered.

    According to him, the council chairman of Gwer West, Mr Francis Ayaga and the Divisional Police Officer of the local government area have already submitted seven names of the suspects to him.(NAN)