The Nation Newspaper

Tag: by-election

  • Lagos, Oyo by-election petitions to be heard in Lagos as Appeal Court constitutes tribunal

    Lagos, Oyo by-election petitions to be heard in Lagos as Appeal Court constitutes tribunal

    The Court of Appeal has constituted the election petition tribunal that will hear petitions arising from the by-elections that were held in Lagos and Oyo states at the weekend.

    In a statement by the secretary to the tribunal, Ibrahim Mahmud, the tribunal will sit at the Roseline Omotosho Court House, Ikeja, Lagos for its hearings.

    By-elections were held for Surulere 1 Federal Constituency of Lagos State and Saki West State Constituency of Oyo State on Saturday, February 3.

    Read Also: Umahi hails outcome of Ebonyi South Senatorial by-election

    The statement noted that the tribunal was constituted by the President, Court of Appeal, Justice M. B. Dongben-Mensen under constitutional provisions and the Electoral Act 2022.

    “Sequel to the above, the Hon. Chief Judge of Lagos State, Hon. Justice Kazeem O. Alogba, has granted the use of Roseline Omotosho Court House, Ikeja, Lagos State for the use of the Tribunal.

    For any enquiry, the Public are hereby advised to contact the Registry/Secretariat of the Tribunal at the above-mentioned address.” The statement read in part.

  • Akoko by-election: Why CSOs should monitor exercise, by Bada

    Akoko by-election: Why CSOs should monitor exercise, by Bada

    Ahead of the February 3rd by-election for the Akoko North East/Akoko North-West Federal Constituency, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Olalekan Bada, has extended invitations to civil society organizations and observers to oversee the process.

    Prince Oluseyi Sanni, the Director of Media and Publicity for the Bada Campaign Organisation, emphasized that thorough monitoring is crucial to uphold the integrity of the electoral process.

    He said it would also afford civil society organisations the unique opportunity to monitor how political officeholders abuse their positions and institutions.

    Sani said: “We learnt the embattled Minister of Interior Mr. Bunmi Tunji-Ojo allegedly invaded Victory College Ikare venue of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election with men and officers of the paramilitary organisations under his ministry, there is a strong likelihood that he may want to repeat the feat again, we invite all patriotic Nigerians to take interest in this by-election.

    “We also invite foreign observers and election monitoring groups to stop over and see things for themselves. We want them to come and confirm how tax players’ money is being used to pursue personal interests and how government officials are trying to militarise the political environment.”

    Read Also: Akoko by-election: PDP, APC renew rivalry

    Meanwhile, the PDP has also challenged the standard bearer of the APC, Ife Ehindero to a public debate on who should represent Akoko North East/Akoko North-West Federal Constituency in the election.

     Sanni said the proposed debate would give the electorate in the constituency the opportunity to assess candidates aspiring to represent the constituency.

    He said: “We are confident that a public debate where aspirants would have the opportunity of stating services rendered to Akoko in the past and what he intends to do if given the mandate and constituents having the opportunity to ask questions from the candidates would be a veritable ground for electorates to make an informed decision on who is better prepared for the job.”

    The director of media and publicity said as part of the social responsibility programme of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, the institution’s Department of Political Science could help organise the debate.

    Sanni said representatives of organised labour, civil society organisations, market women organisations and students among others should be invited to listen to the candidates.

  • By-election: 4.5m voters to elect three senators, 16 Reps Feb. 3

    By-election: 4.5m voters to elect three senators, 16 Reps Feb. 3

    No fewer than 4,567,689 Nigerians are eligible to vote in the February 3 re-run and by-elections in  27 states.

     The Nation findings show that of the figure,  2,189,171 will participate in by-elections in two senatorial districts, four federal constituencies and three state constituencies.

    Also,  2,220,912 voters will participate in court-ordered re-run elections into the National Assembly. The remaining   157,606 eligible voters will participate in the elections into state constituencies.

    By-elections will be conducted in two senatorial districts (Ebony-South and Yobe East), four federal constituencies in Kebbi, Lagos, Ondo and Taraba as well as three state constituencies in Benue, Borno and Kaduna states.

    The vacancies were created as a result of the resignations of the occupants of the offices and the deaths of the previous lawmakers.  

    Court-ordered rerun elections will be conducted in one Senatorial district of Plateau Central, 12 federal constituencies. 

    The Federal constituencies include  Surulere 1 (Lagos),  Gauri/Shanta/Ingaski and Arewa/Dandi (Kebbi), Akoko North East/North West (Ondo),  Jalingo/Yorro/Zing (Taraba), Ikono/Ini (Akwa Ibom) and Akamkpa/Biase (Cross River State).

    Read Also: By-election: LP pegs Senate form at N3.5m, Reps N2m, Assembly N500,000

    Others are Nnewi North/Nnewi South and Orumba North/Orumba South (Anambra), Igbo Eze North/Udenu (Enugu), Birnin Kudu/Buji (Jigawa), Igabi and Kachia/Kagarko (Kaduna), Faskari/Kankara/Sabuwa (Katsina), Jos North/Bases (Plateau) and Fine/Fune (Yobe).

    Similarly,  senatorial elections will be held in Yobe-East and Plateau Central following court orders.

    At the state level, elections will be conducted to fill  vacant positions in Adamawa,  Akwa Ibom   Bauchi   Bayelsa Cross River, Delta,   Enugu,  Kaduna   Kano  Nasarawa  Niger, Oyo, Sokoto,   Zamfara,   Benue and Borno states.

    The list of candidates for the by-elections is expected to be submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission on January 13. The final list of candidates will be published on January 17.  

    The campaign is expected to start on January 18 and close on February 1. 

  • By-election: LASIEC to verify candidates’ credentials

    The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) will today embark on the verification of documents submitted by candidates of political parties contesting for the vacant Councillorship seat in Ward A (Obele/Oniwala) in Surulere Local Government Area of the state.

    The election will hold on April 27.

    Candidates of political parties contesting for the election are expected to present original copies of all the documents which they had earlier submitted to the Commission alongside their forms for screening.

    The list of validated candidates will be pasted on the Notice Board of the Commission on tomorrow.

    According to LASIEC, the voters’ register has been displayed at the Ward Collation Centre in Obele Odan Primary School, Surulere.

    The commission urged eligible voters to visit the centre to ascertain the information recorded on them as contained in the register.

    The by-election was meant to fill the councillorship seat which became vacant following the death of the occupant, Razak Bello.

    LASIEC Chairman Justice Ayotunde Phillips (retd), appealed to residents of the affected ward to be peaceful in their conduct and actively participate in the electoral process by casting their votes for the candidates of their choice.

  • ‘APC’s victory in by-election was daylight robbbery’

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman, Kola Shittu, in this interview with ADEKUNLE JIMOH, says the declaration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Abdulraheem Olawuyi, as winner of the House of Representatives by-election was a daylight robbery.

    What efforts are you making at reconciling aggrieved  aspirants as a fallout of the PDP primaries in the state?

    We are making efforts to ensure that all party members are one. After the primaries, the party leadership is already calling on all the aspirants to make them understand that the consensus that we used is acceptable and nobody will be left behind in the party’s decisions and scheme of things.

    The party leadership has already talked to all the House of Representatives aspirants and all the governorship aspirants. Effort is on now to talk to all the House of Assembly aspirants.

    That process is a continuous one is one. And we are happy that we are having good response now.

    Can you retain power in 2019?

    Honestly, as the chairman of the party, I have no doubt in my mind that PDP will win all the elections in February. I have no doubt because we have the populace behind us. We have the support of the electorate.

    But, PDP lost the recent by-election in the state…

    It is very clear to everybody that we contested against security agents. In fact, let me tell you PDP won that very election. The APC, with the help of the security people, thum-printed ballot papers at the collation centre. You also know that they were arresting all the influential stakeholders in the area before and during the election.

    One of them is the special adviser to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed on Agriculture, Anu Ibiwoye. This is not good for democracy. If we had lost fairly, we would congratulate the winner. But, they have stolen our mandate. They know it themselves. That is why I don’t feel bad at all. But, in February next year, they will not be able to do this. All the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will be engaged with elections. They won’t have the time to bring about 150 DSS personnel to Kwara State. All the thugs they imported from Osun and Lagos states will also be busy in their states at that time. So, what are we talking about? Their jubilation will be short-lived in another 87 days time when we will be having another election. I am telling you.

    You described the election as a daylight robbery. How?

    Look at what happened in Ajase-Ipo and Oro. The APC was using police helicopter hovering round the sky while they were arresting people on the ground. That scared away our supporters and voters. That is why there was low voting because those who were on ground were not even sure they would not be dropping bombs. Our community members, some are illiterate. The sound of helicophter in the air is very scary. So, is that not daylight robbery?’ That is daylight robbery.

    Read also: Insecurity: Kwara APC shelves campaign

    The Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed knows this. All of them know this. They know that INEC thump-printed for them at the collation centres. That conscience will follow them to their failure in February next year.

    Some people alleged general disenchantment among voters as a result of Governor Ahmed’s awful performance?

    There may be complaints here and there as nobody is perfect. It is not only in Kwara State that local government staff are not paid. It is because of the economic situation of the country. Yes, some people may not be happy. But, that is not enough to say that we lost the election. The major cause of our losing the election is one, thump-printing of ballot papers, two, use of un-seralised ballot papers. By the time we get to the tribunal all these will be exposed. By the special grace of God we are planning to go to the tribunal to challenge the outcome of the election. The party leadership is yet to sit and decide on that but we are preparing for it.

    It was also gathered that your ‘fronts’ did not ‘mobilise’ the electorate well. What is your response to that?

    That is not true. If we did not mobilise the electorate well, why did we win? I am telling you that we won. People did not come out enough to vote because of intimidation by the security agents. That is what happened.

    What is your advice to PDP candidates ahead of next year’s elections?

    My pieces of advice to the candidates and ourselves is that we should work hard and continue to give the electorate the confidence they have in us. The by-election is not a true reflection of what the people want. We want to continue to talk to them not to be discouraged. I am telling you we are going to win the 2019 elections in the state.

     

  • LASIEC fixes by-election for Dec 18

    The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) will conduct by-election into the councillorship seat in Ward C (Owode Orile Ward) in Bariga Local Council Development Area (LCDA), on December 18.

    LASIEC Commissioner Mrs. Toyin Ibrahim-Famakinwa made this known yesterday when members of the commission visited the Baale of Owode, Chief Olakunle Olusegun Aromire and Baale of Irepodun, Chief Michael Lopez, to seek their support in ensuring a peaceful election.

    Mrs. Ibrahim-Famakinwa,  urged them to assist the commission to appeal to the residents to comport themselves before, during and after the election.

    She said the commission would not condone lawlessness.

    The poll is to fill the vacancy created by the death of Councillor Solomon Awokoya.

    The monarchs hailed the commission for appreciating the traditional institution’s role in ensuring peaceful coexistence among residents.

    The commission will today hold a stakeholders’ meeting where issues relating to the  election will be discussed.

     

  • PDP to challenge Kwara National Assembly by-election outcome at tribunal

    The Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is set to challenge the result of the last Saturday’s House of Representatives by-election in Ekiti/Oke-Ero/Isin/Irepodun Federal Constituency.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Abdulraheem Olawuyi the winner of the election.

    He polled 21,236 votes, while his closest rival of the PDP, Saheed Damilare, got 18,095 votes.

    Reacting to the outcome of the election, the PDP described its as a daylight robbery.

    It said the result did not reflect the will of the people.

    The party said its members were allegedly harassed and intimidated during the poll.

    It described the election as a charade and direct assault on democracy.

    Speaking with The Nation, PDP’s State Chairman Kola Shittu said the party won the election, but that the INEC upturned it.

    He said: “The general disenchantment among the voters and people of Kwara South against Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed’s administration is not enough to make us lose. There may be complaints here and there, as nobody is perfect. It is not only in Kwara State that local government workers are not paid; it is because of the economic situation of the country.

    “Yes, some people may not be happy, but that is not enough to say that we lost the election. The major cause of our losing the election is one thump-printing of ballot papers by INEC for APC and the use of un-serialised ballot papers.

    “By the time we get to the tribunal, all these will be exposed. By the special grace of God, we are planning to go to the tribunal to challenge the outcome of the election. The party’s leadership is yet to sit and decide on that, but we are preparing for it.

    “Honestly, as the chairman of the party, I have no doubt in my mind that the PDP will win all the elections in February. I have no doubt because we have the populace behind us; we have the support of the electorate. You may want to ask what happened in the just concluded by-election. It is very clear to everybody that we contested against security agents.

    “In fact, let me tell you that the PDP won that election. The APC, with the help of the security people, thump-printed ballot papers at the collation centre. You also know that they were arresting all the influential stakeholders in all areas before and during the election. One of them is the Special Adviser to the Governor on Agriculture, Anu Ibiwoye.

    “This is not good for democracy. If we had lost fairly, we would congratulate the winner. But they have stolen our mandate. They know it themselves. That is why I don’t feel bad at all.”

  • By-election results shatter PDP’s return plan, says Presidency

    The Presidency yesterday said the All Progressives Congress (APC) electoral victories in the three House of Representatives by-elections have shattered assumptions of a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s return to power.

    A statement by Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity Garba Shehu described the victories in Katsina, Kwara and Bauchi states as signs of things to come in the 2019 elections.

    The statement reads: “In the by-elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday, November 17, 2018, the APC swept the seats in three federal constituencies in Katsina State, Kwara State, and Bauchi State.

    “This victory should be a blow for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaigners who have maintained that by merely claiming that they have rebranded, Nigerians will have forgotten all the mess they left behind in 2015.

    “By voting overwhelmingly for the ruling APC, Nigerians have shown their confidence in the Muhammadu Buhari administration, and their willingness for continuation of this government and its policies.

    “This clear show of support can only be a synopsis of what Nigerians should expect in the forthcoming elections, at all levels.

    “I would like to use this opportunity to remind Nigerians that there will always be a winner and a loser in every election, an individual and a party with the highest votes and another with the lowest.

    “That is what democracy is about. Therefore, all aspirants should approach elections with the mindset that they could either win or lose.” he said

    He said that accepting results only when one wins and challenging results each time one loses, is not the right attitude.

    “It is certainly not what democracy is about.” he said

    He added “On behalf of President Buhari, I thank the people of Katsina, Kwara and Bauchi States for their show of support over the weekend.

    “I thank Nigerians all over the country for believing in this government and in its determined effort to pull our nation out of the mess left behind by 16 years of PDP government, and into the greatness that is our destiny.” he said

  • Rivers by-election violence: Clark seeks punishment for electoral offenders

    A former Federal Commissioner of Information Chief Edwin Clark yeaterday called for severe sanctions for perpetrators of electoral offences.

    Revewing the cancelled River state by-election owing to violence, Clark told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that “what happened in Rivers has been going on in many places; and people perpetrate violence in elections and we have it over and over because there are no sanctions.

    “That is why Uwais report suggested that there should be special courts so that anybody who misbehaves during elections is arrested and dealt with.

    “We are yet to have that. But I learnt there is a bill on that at the National Assembly, and I believe once this bill is passed into law, it would reduce cases of violence in elections.

    “I mean when you send people to 10 years imprisonment for perpetrating violence in elections, they will not repeat it again and others will learn.

    “Severe punishment for offenders. That is what I believe will end the cycle of election violence in the country”.

    Clark said the heavy security deployed during elections would have been needless if people obeyed electoral laws.

     

    The elder statesman said the high security vote for the 2019 elections by INEC could be better used for infrastructure, if violence was not part of elections.

    Clark urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure that all relevant laws to check electoral offences are ready ahead of 2019, to ensure the elections are free and fair.

  • By-election: Wike, APC chair clash over ‘N200m bribe’

    RIVERS State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Ojukaye Flag-Amachree and Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday clashed over alleged N200 million bribe.

    Flag-Amachree alleged Wike wanted his cooperation  during last Saturday’s by-election for Port Harcourt Constituency 3 so the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) candidate, Chiemeka Merukini, could win.

    A former Chairman of Asari-Toru Local Government, Flag-Amachree said yesterday that as a loyal member of APC, he declined Wike’s bribe and promptly reported to the leadership of his party, while working for the success of APC’s candidate, Dickens Worlu.

    Wike, who spoke on telephone through the Commissioner for Information Communications, Emma Okah, described Flag-Amachree as a liar.

    The governor said: “He  should stop his cheap lies, meant to divert attention from the atrocities he committed during last Saturday’s bye-election in Port Harcourt Constituency 3. No matter how long he tries to run, the atrocities will continue to haunt him. Nobody offered him N200 million bribe.

    “Port Harcourt Constituency 3 is a stronghold of the PDP. Even if a goat is fielded as PDP’s candidate in the area, the goat will still win for the PDP.”

    Flag-Amachree said the actions of Wike, government officials, PDP members and  INEC were aimed at scuttling the election.

    The state police command yesterday denied involvement in the disruption of Saturday’s by-election.

    Commissioner of Police  Zaki Ahmed, at a news briefing in Port Harcourt,  denied the allegation,  insisting the “police did not at anytime collude with any political party to discredit the political process as alleged in some quarters. Information at the command’s disposal, revealed the presence of political thugs at Miles II and III who were reportedly armed and were disrupting the voting process.

    ‘’The police in the wake of this information deployed more Personnel and Armoured Personnel Carriers to safeguard the election process, lives and property which was done most professionally.

    “The INEC officials, who appeared to have been intimidated by the thugs were reassured by our presence. Accordingly, our counter measures against the thugs and the thuggery they exhibited, calmed the situation and the INEC officials left with some of the election materials and subsequently suspected the entire process.

    “It must be emphasised that the timely action of the police in checkmating political thugs prevented the loss of lives and destruction of properties”.