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Tag: cancellation

  • APC NWC approves cancellation of Zamfara governorship primary

    •Niger Senate primaries hold today

    The National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has approved the cancellation the Zamfara State governorship primary election for alleged violence.

    The Prof. Abubakar Faki-led Zamfara State Governorship Primary Committee announced a cancellation of the primary, and accused government officials of snatching election materials and result sheets, which they allegedly took to the Government House in Gusau.

    A statement by APC’s Acting National Publicity Secretary Yekini Nabena said the NWC will announce a new date for the primary, noting that the party leadership was committed to free, fair and transparent primaries across the country.

    The senatorial primaries for Niger State will hold today, a statement by Nabena said.

    The statement added that Senators David Umar; A.S Abdullahi and Mustapha Sani Mohammed have been cleared by the National Working Committee (NWC) to contest the primaries.

  • Cancellation of promotion interview irks civil servants

    The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has flayed the Federal Government over the cancellation of promotion interview organised by the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) for senior workers in the directorate cadre in Abuja.

    The association demanded that the officers affected should be adequately compensated to avert industrial crisis.

    They lamented that senior civil servants in the directorate cadre were summoned from various parts of the country for promotion examination fixed for June 25 and 28 in Abuja, only for the examination to be cancelled when they had completed accreditation.

    The association’s General Secretary, Bashir Lawal, urged the FCSC and the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) to take steps to stop such untidy practices or face the wrath of trade unions.

    “It is indeed sad that senior civil servants were made to risk their lives, paid their transport and accommodation in Abuja, arrived at the venue of the promotion examination only for the exercise to be cancelled.

    “This type of action tends to create the impression in the minds of the general public that some top government official are sadists who take delight in inflicting sorrow on innocent civil servants,” the union stated.

    They urged the FCSC and the HCSF to pay the officers concerned double their Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) for the trauma and anxiety caused them, adding that the FCSC should henceforth stop the practice of summoning civil servants to Abuja for promotion examination only for the exercise to be rescheduled.

    “This almost irrational decision by the FCSC to be postponing promotion interviews is becoming standard practice and should be stopped,” the union said.

  • Kashamu slams calls for cancellation of Ondo result

    Kashamu slams calls for cancellation of Ondo result

    •Urges Jegede not to challenge result

    The senator representing Ogun East, Buruji Kashamu, has slammed calls for cancellation of the Ondo State governorship election result.

    In a statement in Lagos yesterday, Kashamu said the outcome of the election was more of a referendum on outgoing Governor Olusegun Mimiko, than the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    He said the result was a true reflection of the wish of the electorate.

    Kashamu advised the PDP candidate, Eyitayo Jegede, not to challenge the result because the facts were clear enough.

    “My good brother, Mr. Jegede, who Governor Mimiko is trying to use as a pawn in this game narrowly won his polling booth by one vote but lost his ward and local government. So, how could he be said to have stood a chance of winning the election?

    “The truth is that the people had since turned their back on Governor Mimiko. They did not want a third term for Mimiko under any guise. Civil servants are being owed six months’ salary.

    “On the eve of election, he told them he would pay them if they voted his candidate.  So, he had the money and did not pay? What does he take the good and sophisticated people of Ondo State for?

    “Besides, after being in office for eight years, Mimiko took Jegede from the same Ondo Central Senatorial District where he hails from as his successor. Who does that? Not even in cosmopolitan Lagos can such happen! So, the tell-tale signs were there for everyone to see.

    “Instead of putting the interest of PDP above his personal interest and supporting a fellow party man in Jimoh Ibrahim, who is an experienced and tested hand from Ondo South Senatorial District, he fought to get him out. His eyes are clearer now that he lost everything.”

    Kashamu said the governor’s inability to court the old PDP members who he displaced was also a factor that made him lose.

    He accused him (Mimiko) of deceit and betrayal of those who helped him, especially in his first term, including the Governor-elect, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

    On claims there was heavy voter inducement, the lawmaker said no party could be absolved of the act, adding:  “If you paid N500 or N1,000 and another person gave N2,000 or N3,000, you are as guilty as the person you accuse of the crime.

    “Even if anyone blames voter inducement on poverty, again it is a heavy indictment on the Olusegun Mimiko-led eight-year administration.

    “That does not have anything to do with the Federal Government. He has been the chief executive of an oil-rich state for eight years.

    “The question should be what did he do with the resources? The people were simply tired of his legacy of corruption, lies and deceit, and rejected him at the poll,” Kashamu said.

  • Women, youths demand cancellation of election in Bayelsa council

    Women, youths demand cancellation of election in Bayelsa council

    Hundreds of women and youths from Yenagoa Local Government Area, Bayelsa State have demanded the cancellation of the election in the area.

    They said the election in the capital city was marred by irregularities and inconsistencies in the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    According to them, INEC officials refused to listen to the complaints of voters and agents of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    They said the overall results were not a reflection of the results announced by the collation officer in the council.

    The state Youth Leader of the APC, Edison Sorgwe and a chieftain of the party, Alawei Opukeme-Jonah, who spoke on behalf of the aggrieved voters, said the result announced by the INEC’s collation officer were inconsistent with the number of rejected and cancelled votes.

    They said the same cases of ballot box snatching, irregularities and violence which INEC relied upon to cancel the election in Southern Ijaw also played out in Yenagoa and should be depended on to annul the election in the capital city.

    They said over eight members of the party were nursing their wounds in various hospitals after sustaining attacks from political thugs.

    “We have lost confidence in the ability of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Barton Kpagih to conduct election. We are against the cancellation of Southern Ijaw Local Government election”,  he said.

    Also, the governorship candidate, APC, Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, yesterday, asked INEC to cancel elections in two local government areas of Sagbama and Ekeremor and parts of Nembe, Ogbia and Yenagoa.

    Sagbama is the local government area of the state governor and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Seriake Dickson, while Ekeremor is the local council of the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri.

    Sylva, in a statement signed by Sylva/Igiri Campaign Organisation (SICO), said the election should be cancelled following widespread violence, security breaches and manipulation that marred the poll in the councils.

    The former governor alleged in the statement signed by SICO’s Director, Media and Publicity, Chief Nathan Egba, that the breach in security and manipulation were caused by Dickson and PDP leadership.

    He said: “It is now a well-known fact that over 1000 armed men suspected to have been imported from Delta and Rivers states by governor Dickson stormed Ekeremor community where they unleashed terror on the entire community from the wee hours of election day for many hours before they were repelled by the army, only for them to return in the evening when the results were about to be collated.

    “The gunmen we suspect were hired for the sole purpose of assassinating the Hon. Minister for State, Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri as they launched a sustained attack on his residence with grenades, dynamite and gunshots for hours before the army repel them.

    “He was very lucky to have survived that night as they returned in the evening to continue till they were repelled by the army. But in the meantime, they had carted away sensitive election materials to manipulate in favour of PDP and returned for collation.”

    According to Sylva, said in Sagbama, youths imported from neighbouring states hijacked materials that were meant for the riverine communities in the LGA including the ward of the former acting Governor of the state, Nestor Binabo.

    He said there was no election in wards 1 and 2 adding that the violence which swept across the state largely occurred in Sagbama, Ekeremor and Southern Ijaw.

    He further condemned the continuous breach of electoral laws by Dickson who allegedly stormed Yenagoa Coalition Centre to threaten APC agents and went to Oporoma in Southern Ijaw against the police directive.

  • Sylva rejects cancellation 

    Sylva rejects cancellation 

    The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva,  yesterday rejected the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel the election in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

    Sylva told reporters that the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Baritor Kpagir, had no powers to cancel an election that had been concluded and which result was being awaited.

    He said the APC would head for the court to challenge the decision, which he described as a rape of democracy, with the hope that the votes would be counted and awarded to the parties.

    He wondered why the REC chose to isolate Southern Ijaw for cancellation, leaving other local governments, such as Nembe, Ekeremor, Sagbama, parts of Yenagoa and Ogbia where the APC had raised the alarm that the election was marred by violence

    For instance, he said militants took over Ekeremor on the eve of the election, shooting repeatedly at the home of the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, but the election still went on and the results collated and announced because it favoured the PDP.

    He said the election in Ekeremor was not cancelled because the PDP won, adding that if the APC had won, it would have been nullified.

    “In Sagbama, there were no electoral materials. PDP thugs snatched the materials, wrote the results and it was accepted because it favoured the PDP.

    “The same thing applied im some parts of Nembe, Yenagoa and Ogbia. We raised the alarm, reported the matter but our complaints were set aside because the PDP won. This whole election was set up for the PDP to win. I wonder why the APC was allowed to contest”, Sylva said.

    He accused the REC of working for the PDP and alleged that some financial inducement led to the decision of the REC and his team to cancel it.

    He said: “The election of Southern Ijaw was held on the 6th. The results were coming on the 7th after the election had been concluded. The REC did not cancel it when it was being conducted.

    He added: “APC will not take this cancellation. The REC has no power to cancel an election that has taken place. It is only a returning officer that has power to cancel an election.”

     

  • PDP demands Assembly poll’s cancellation

    PDP demands Assembly poll’s cancellation

    •APC accuses ruling party of electoral malpractices, violence

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State yesterday called for the cancellation of election in five federal constituencies.

    It claimed it won in Dekina I where the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared election inconclusive.

    The party demanded the cancellation of poll in Ofu, Dekina II, Ajaokuta, Lokoja I and Koton-Karfe.

    Addressing a news conference in Lokoja, PDP Chairman Hassan Salawu said the party would challenge the results of the election in two constituencies where the All Progressives Congress (APC) won – Okene I and Ankpa II.

    He accused the APC of masterminding violence.

    The APC alleged that the PDP indulged in electoral malpractices and violence in parts of Kogi East during last Saturday’s House of Assembly election.

    It accused the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. Jacob Jatau, of conniving with the government to rig the election for the PDP.

    The party, in a petition to INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega accused the REC of hobnobbing with agents of the government before the election.

    The Kogi PDP chairman, however, indicted the APC, saying electoral malpractices were traceable to the latter.

    He urged INEC to conduct elections in the areas where polls were declared inconclusive.

     

  • Ladoja calls for cancellation of polls

    Ladoja calls for cancellation of polls

    The national leader and governorship candidate of Accord , Sen Rashidi Ladoja has called for the cancellation of Saturday’s presidential and national assembly election in the state on the ground of what he described as ‘electoral irregularities”.

    Ladoja had earlier had a meeting in his Bodija residence, Ibadan with the Minister of State for Federal Capital Territory, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide?, the State Governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen Teslim Folarin, his Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, Engr Seyi Makinde, deputy governorship candidate of Labour Party, Alh Sarafadeen Alli, former deputy governor of the state, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja and Sen Ayo Adeseun.

    The Accord national leader while addressing journalist after their visit, said the Saturday election in Oyo State was the worst conducted in the history of the state, stressing that the party rejects the result and should be cancelled.

    “INEC really messed the polls up, most of the problems came form the Permanent Voters Card that were distributed over the night on Friday. INEC said accreditation will start by 8am but mostof the polling centres got the the voting units lately, some came around 10am, while most of the officials arrived in other places around 1pm.

    “?In some places, election materials got to the voting units lately, while in some places after accreditation ballot papers were not available for voting. For instance in Ido local government, the voting papers got there around 7pm in the night,and the counting was done late into the night and no lightening was provided by INEC. The problem also shifted to the polling units to the collation centres were the results were different from the once announced at the collation centres to the other” Ladoja said

    According to him, there were many discrepancies by the agents of the opposition parties, as the security men on ground were not adequate.

    The Accord leader said the election in the state was either pre-determined to fail or pre-designed to favour the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in the state.

    He went further that:” I wonder why INEC didn’t redeploy Amb Rufus Akeju from this state after all the protest and with what he caused in Osun State. He is not capable to conduct credible election”

    Ladoja warned that if all the anomalies pointed out is not addressed before the April 11 polls, the party will resolved to seek self help by protecting their votes with all means possible.

    Commenting on the meetings he earlier had with Akinjide, Folarin, Makinde and others, he said:” They all came to my house to seek my advice on what happened during the Saturday polls. They share similar views with me on it and they also came to the conclusion that the election should ?be cancelled”

    He dispelled the rumour of the possibilities of teeming up with the opposition parties in the state to dislodge APC.

  • NFF confirms cancellation of Nigeria/Ghana friendly

    NFF confirms cancellation of Nigeria/Ghana friendly

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has confirmed that the much talked about friendly match between Nigeria and Ghana has been cancelled.

    The proposed friendly match billed for London on March 29, was reportedly cancelled by FIFA, stating that the friendly game negates the new rule against playing two matches in three days in two different continents.

    Reacting to the development, NFF General Secretary Musa Amadu confirmed the cancellation of the proposed friendly based on the new rule.

    “There is a new rule that states that a team cannot play two friendly matches in two continents within a few days, if the distance between the two venues is more than five hours by air.

    “However, the same does not apply if it is within the same confederation. We are therefore looking at an option of playing in Africa on the 29th after the Bolivia match in Uyo,” said the General Secretary.

    Amadu also clarified that the proposed friendly match has not been agreed by the two football federations. “We merely sent a proposal which the Ghana F.A had not consented to before this development,” said Amadu.

  • Anambra LG polls: PDP youths seek cancellation

    Youth Transformation Movement, South East zone of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has called on the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) to cancel the scheduled October 5 local government election in the state.

    The youths also urged the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to dissolve all the PDP factions in Anambra.

    The movement made the call at Nnewi at a function to honour Chief Sam Ebeku as its patron. They said Ebeku had made meaningful contributions to ensure peace and unity of the party.

    According to the South East zonal co-ordinator of the movement, Mr Ikechukwu Sunday, the scheduled October 5 council polls should be deferred to take place after the governorship election. He said that allowing the local government election to hold as planned, prior to the gubernatorial election, would deal a major blow to any attempt to take real control of the governorship race in Anambra.

    The stand of the youths is that the PDP NWC should dissolve all the PDP factions in the state and convene a caretaker committee with universal representation, to oversee the up-coming guberbatorial election in the state as reconciliation of the factions continued.

    Reacting,  Ebeku assured the youths that he would continue to contribute his quota in ensuring the desired peace in the state PDP and called on the leaders of all factions to listen to the voice of reason.

  • Bi-Courtney to contest contract cancellation

    Bi-Courtney to contest contract cancellation

    Fresh facts emerged yesterday on why the Federal Government cancelled the N89.53billion concession of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to Bi-Courtney Consortium. The action was based on nine factors, it was learnt.

    The Consortium, it was gathered, may head for court to seek a refund of what it had spent on the project.

    A source, who pleaded not to be named, told our correspondent that the government wielded the big stick after some meetings with representatives of Bi-Courtney at the Presidential Villa.

    The source said: “Since 2009, the government has tolerated Bi-Courtney Consortium, but it has become obvious that it can not source funds from banks and other financial institutions to execute the project.

    “I think the reforms of the banking industry by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) since 2008 made banks and other lenders to be careful in investing in the PPP project.

    “Secondly, while the project was dragging, many people were dying on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. This development created an image challenge for the Federal Government, with most people erroneously assuming that the administration was deliberately discriminating against the Southwest. So, Nigerians were suffering and the project was suffering.

    “Thirdly, the firm is also technically handicapped. The government discovered that the company does not have a history of road construction; it is quite good in building construction.

    “We realised that it has been sourcing for foreign technical partners. The last of such expertise was from Borni Prono, which specialises in bridge construction. Borni Prono was part of those that built the Third Mainland Bridge and the Jebba Bridge.

    Bi-Courtney Consortium also allegedly committed about six breaches. Some of the notable conditions breached by the company in the agreement with the Federal Government over the Lagos-Ibadan expressway concession includes: failure to submit: duly completed performance bond as contained in the agreement; •copies of the construction contract as required by the agreement; • copies of the financial Agreement as provided in the agreement; •copies of the Operations and Maintenance (O.M) Contract as stated in the agreement; •Carry out construction work despite access to the site since September 2009, and •abandonment of the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the site, among others.

    Asked whether the government discussed the allaeged laoses with Bi-Courtney, the source said: “We had several meetings at the Villa. One of them was about two months ago. If you ask Bi-Courtney management, it would admit that the Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen, did a lot to make sure the contract succeeded to prove that a Nigerian firm could handle such a big project.

    “Initially, the company alleged that some states in the Southwest were against the project. The government tried to intervene but later became impatient when it was obvious that it might take a long time to execute the 25-year contract of Design, Build, Operate and Transfer (DBOT).”

    On the likelihood of refunding over “the N3billion” spent on the project by Bi-Courtney, the source added: “There is no such plan because the firm did not keep to the terms of the agreement.

    “Even the design of the road brought to the government was not too appealing.”

    Bi-Courtney Consortium maygo to court over the termination of the concession.

    A source said: “If a project is supposedly not being well-executed, the appropriate thing is for the government to go to an arbitration panel and take up issues with the erring firm.

    “What they have done now is to use executive fiat without consultations with Bi-Courtney Consortium to cancel the concession. This is never done anywhere in the world. This kind of attitude might scare away foreign investors.

    “Surely, Bi-Courtney will go to court to recover what it spent on the road. The termination of the concession was faulty and illegal.

    “To say that there will be no compensation is just unfortunate.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “The decision might not be far-fetched from politics because the concession businesses of a member of the consortium are being targeted for review.

    “I think some people might want to settle political scores. Bi-Courtney has just paid huge sums to Borni Prono and suddenly the contract was terminated.”

    In an advertorial, the Bi-Courtney Highway Services Limited said it had not been formally intimated of the cancellation of the contract and the process, that led to it. It however added: “We have no doubt that the issues would be resolved in a manner that would rekindle the Nigeria spirit of enterprises, scholar arrange and constituency.