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Tag: council polls

  • LASIEC clears 12 parties for council polls

    LASIEC clears 12 parties for council polls

    The Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) said it has cleared 12 political parties for the July 22 council elections in the state.

    LASIEC’s Director of Publicity, Mr. Dapo Olatunde, said in a statement that the cleared parties had met the commission’s requirements for the polls and also presented candidates for validation.

    Olatunde listed the parties as the All Progressives Congress (APC), Action Alliance (AA), Alliance for Democracy (AD), Labour Party (LP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Accord Party.

    Others are – Kowa Party, National Action Council (NAC), Peoples Democratic Movements (PDM), United Democratic Party (UDP) and United Progressive Party (UPP).

    He said the names of the validated candidates had been displayed at the commission’s headquarters for observation by party members and members of the public.

    Meanwhile, the commission has begun a three-day “Train -the-Trainer” course for its electoral officers across the 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas of the state.

    According to Olatunde, the training, facilitated by the International Foundation for Electoral System (IFES), was to equip ad-hoc staff engaged for the July 22 elections.

    IFES is a United States-based organisation committed to the deepening of democracy and international best standards in election management.

    The organization operates in more than 100 countries and is supported by United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

    NAN

  • APC wins Benue council polls

    APC wins Benue council polls

    •CNPP rejects result

    The All Progressives Congress has won all the seats in the Benue State Local Government election.

    The Chairman, Benue State Independent Electoral Commission, Dr. John Tor Tsuwa, announced the results yesterday.

    All elected candidates are to go to the commission’s headquarters tomorrow for their Certificates of Return by 12 noon.

    The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has rejected the process and outcome of the election.

    CNPP described it as an “unprecedented rape of democracy and rubbishing of every tenet of free, fair and credible election at the local government level”.

    A statement by its Secretary General, Willy Ezugwu, demanded for a cancellation of the election, noting that “the process was tailored by the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC), the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor Samuel Ortom, irrespective of the people’s choice”.

    “Voters’ apathy marred the election in all 23 councils, which resulted in a low turnout of voters. This shows that the people rejected the process, and a remarkable statement that the election outcome is a fraud.

    “We, therefore, call on the National Assembly, the international community and well-meaning Nigerians to take note of the unprecedented rape of democracy through electoral process manipulation by the Governor Samuel Ortom-led administration.

    “For us, no election took place in Benue on Saturday, and we demand an immediate cancellation of the election,” Ezugwu said.

  • Lessons from Taraba Council polls

    belonging to the All Progressives Congress, APC, thought the best thing to do was to prevent the elections from taking place since they were sure that their candidate was unpopular and would ultimately lose if the election were allowed to hold. They devised a trick to achieve that. They arrived early at the gates leading into the police station in Ibi where electoral materials were being kept and blocked it, insisting that the materials wouldnot be moved out to polling venues. And so, the elections did not take place there.

    When they were certain that it had become too late in the day to hold the elections, they vacated the entrance to the police station. At that point, the only option feasible was the postponement of the elections and the return of the materials to Jalingo. And that was what SIEC did. The incident which was condemned by many well-meaning Nigerians in and outside Taraba State, is a sad reminder of the stiff and unaccommodating attitude of our politicians to elections. That attitude is that all elections must end in their favour, otherwise, the process is demonised and truncated. That was what played out in Ibi on February 25. In case those who were behind those unfortunate events in Ibi haven’t realised yet, they need be told that they only succeeded in drawing back the hand of the clock and this will affect their council area in a negative way for a long time to come. Today, Ibi is the only council area still being administered by a care-taker committee.

    But besides that incident, the council elections were peaceful, adjudged as very free and fair by electoral observers and other independent groups that witnessed it. Governor Ishaku was commended by the monitoring teams(and there were many of them on duty that period) for creating the atmosphere that enabled the success of polling. The National Orientation Agency, NOA, in Taraba State even wrote a commendation letter which was addressed to Governor Ishaku. In the letter, the Agency’s Taraba State director, Dr. Robert Gulkawi, said the governor demonstrated through the elections a rare “spirit of sportsmanship.” Dr Dulkawi said NOA officers who covered the elections submitted reports to the effect that the process was “incontestably transparent.” This, Gulkawi said stood out the elections as hugely credible, unstoppably convincing and widely acceptable.”

    The contest was, no doubt, fierce with about ten registered political parties in the race. At the end of it all the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, won in all the 15 local government council areas where the elections were held. It was a well-deserved victory for the party. The victories were seen in many quarters as evidence of Ishaku’s ever rising popularity rating in the political firmament of the state. It was the people’s way of saying “Thank You” for the marvelous job he has done on the roads, at the Jalingo Airport, in the provision of water to the state capital and other towns and communities, in repositioning educational institutions and in renovating hospitals and equipping them with drugs to improve the quality of healthcare delivery and in stabilising electricity power supply in some areas of the state. The party’s victory was also a way of acknowledging the regular payment of workers’ salaries by the Ishaku administration and many other things that the government has achieved in less than two years in office.

    Those elected have already taken their seats in the various council areas. At their inauguration on Monday February 27, 2017, in Jalingo, Governor Ishaku urged the new council helmsmen to discharge their duties with humility and to ensure prudent application of resources. The event was witnessed by a cross section of PDP chieftains from all the council areas in the state. It was a happy ending to an exercise that people had feared would lead to unending crisis. Those fears failed to manifest. Rather, it further united the people behind the resolve to maintain peace. Some people, particularly, youths came out in their thousands in a solidarity rally with the Governor and the efforts he is making to put the state on the path of development.

  • 7,000 policemen for Gombe council polls

    7,000 policemen for Gombe council polls

    Seven thousand policemen will be deployed in tomorrow’s local government election in Gombe State, Commissioner of Police Austin Iwar, has said.

    Iwar spoke at the command headquarters when he received a letter of complaint from the Coalition of Progressive Political Parties (CPPP) yesterday.

    He said the police was determined to uphold relevant laws that would ensure a peaceful election.

    Iwar, however, warned against a breach of peace, saying anyone found culpable will face the wrath of the law.

     

  • Council poll: Ajimobi, Alaafin seek out-of-court option

    Council poll: Ajimobi, Alaafin seek out-of-court option

    Alaafin of Oyo Oba Lamidi Adeyemi yesterday visited Governor Abiola Ajimobi to explore alternative dispute resolution in settling the crisis arising from the creation of 35 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).
    The monarch , in a chat with reporters after a meeting with the governor in Ibadan, said the suit by some chiefs challenging the alleged ceding of parts of their domains to Ogbomoso would be resolved amicably.
    Chief Oladokun Abiola and 14 others from Oyo East Local Government sued the government, claiming that the creation of the LCDAs would ostracise them from their ancestral land.
    The Alaafin was joined as a respondent.
    Justice John Tsoho of an Abuja Federal High Court had on January 20 granted an interim injunction stopping the February 11 local government election in the 33 local governments and 35 LCDAs.
    The judge ordered that allocations to the 33 local governments from the Federation Account be suspended, until the substantive suit was determined.
    He adjourned till February 7.
    Adeyemi said stakeholders would settle the matter out of court, so as not to cause hardship to the people.
    The monarch said: “What I have come for is to try and resolve the issues.
    “Whatever problems that arise before or even after a war, you come back to the negotiation table to settle it.
    “So, instead of going to war that would be costly to both sides and injurious to the people, I have come to see the governor to find a way around it.
    “My position is that we must be careful not to undermine the legal restraint.”
    Adeyemi described the governor as a listening and responsive leader who can not be unsettled by such legal move.
    On whether he would prevail on the Baales to withdraw the case, Oba Adeyemi said he believed that deep understanding and reason would prevail in the end.
    He reiterated his commitment towards settling the issue out of court.
    Oba Adeyemi said: “We are not going to coarse anybody, but I can assure you that reason and understanding will prevail.
    “I won’t let the cat out of the bag now, but soon, peace will prevail.”

  • Oyo suspends council polls indefinitely

    Oyo suspends council polls indefinitely

    The Oyo State government has suspended the February 11 local government elections, following a court injunction by 15 village heads in Oyo town.
    Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Seun Abimbola; Commissioner for Information and Culture Toye Arulogun; Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Bimbo Kolade and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication Yomi Layinka announced this at a briefing yesterday.
    Justice John Tsoho of a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the State Independent Election Commission (OYSIEC) not to proceed with its plan to conduct local government election.
    The judge also directed Accountant General of the Federation, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Ministry of Finance to withhold monthly allocation to the 33 local governments.
    The orders were made in Abuja on January 20, following a motion ex-parte filed on behalf of 15 baales from Oyo Federal Constituency by Ahmed Raji, pursuant to the creation of 35 local council development authorities (LCDAs).
    The creation of the LCDAs last year was said to have tampered with the boundaries of the 33 local governments recognised in the 1999 Constitution.
    The 15 village heads in some communities, which were hitherto under Oyo Federal Constituency, got ceded to local government areas which fall within the boundary of Oyo North Senatorial District.
    The four local governments in Oyo Federal Constituency are within Oyo Central Senatorial District.
    The court also directed that monthly allocation to the 33 councils should be lodged in an interest-yielding account to prevent the government from using same to fund the LCDAs as prayed by the plaintiffs.
    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was also restrained from supporting OYSIEC in the conduct of the election through the release of voter register or any other material.
    Abimbola explained that the government set up a petition and review committee when the government received petitions from some communities that their land has been ceded or encroached upon by other communities with the creation of the LCDAs.
    “The peace loving governor after receiving all these petitions set up the committee to look into it, and different aggrieved party, including the 15 village heads who appeared in person before the committee, but we were shock when we learnt that they have obtain a court injunction without waiting for the resolution of the committee.
    “We were served with the court injunction just yesterday by the federal high court at our liaison office in Abuja.” he said
    The Commissioner for Justice said as a law abiding government, they will abide with the court order and suspend the conduct of the election indefinitely, promising that the order will be contested vigorously in the court.
    He urged the resident and the political parties in the state to remain calm and uphold peace in the state.
    Similarly, Arulogun dispel the rumour making rounds that the state government was behind the court injunction.
    He said:” The court order stopping the conduct of the election is not government orchestrated or induced. If the state government does not want to conduct election, he will not release funds for OYSIEC or set set date for the election”.
    Also, Kolade said the creation of the LCDAs has not been cancelled, noting that it was only the election into the council areas that has been suspended.

  • ‘Kwara cannot afford N1b for council polls’

    ‘Kwara cannot afford N1b for council polls’

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State has said the state opted for a Transition Implementation Committee (TIC) because the state cannot afford to spend over N1 billion on council elections based on current economic realities.

    The tenure of the current council chairmen will expire on November 10.

    The APC also described as untrue and misleading, reports that there is crisis in the party over the nomination as TIC members.

    A statement by APC’s spokesperson, Sulyman Buhari, said: “It is untrue that there is crisis in our party over the appointment into the Transition Implementation Committee (TIC). Therefore, we urge members in Kwara State to disregard the misleading report.

    “While it is true that the party’s leadership has requested for the submission of names from the 193 wards, we want to emphasise that our party boasts of experienced administrators.

  • APC sweeps Zamfara council polls

    APC sweeps Zamfara council polls

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has won all the Chairmanship positions in the Saturday’s local council election in the state.

    The Chairman of the Zamfara State Independent Electoral Commission (ZSIEC), Alhaji Garba Muhammad said yesterday in Gusau that all the candidates of the party in the 14 councils met all the provisions of the electoral law and had been declared winners of the election in their respective councils.

    He said 14 political parties including Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) participated in the election.

    The PDP, however, in a statement signed by its State Chairman, Alhaji Hassan Nasiha on eve of the election, said it was boycotting the election.

    The party also said since it was still challenging the election of the Gov Abdulaziz Yari at the Supreme Court, it would, therefore, not participate in the election.

    Muhammad commended all stakeholders, including security agencies, for ensuring the success of the election.

  • Obiano under pressure over council polls

    Obiano under pressure over council polls

    Anambra state Governor, Chief Willie Obiano is under pressure from the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), council chairmen and local government heads of administration over local government elections in the state.

    APGA has intensified its lobbying of the Governor to putting transition committees in the council areas, for the party to be relevant when the tenures of the current chairmen expires in January 12, 2016.

    But the current council chairmen who were elected during the twilight days of former Governor, Mr. Peter Obi’s tenure are not relenting as they are lobbying for extension from Obiano.

    Apart from these two groups, also the local government heads of administration are looking towards the Governor to hand over the administration of the 21 council areas to them.

    Their reason, according to The Nation investigation, is that they would save a lot of money for the state, the way it happened during the era of Obi.

    This, according to them would raise enough money for the second term project of the Governor.

    However, The Nation gathered that the pressure is giving the Governor sleepless nights, as he would not want to offend any segment in order not to ruin his second term bid.

    As a result, the Governor has been weighing the option of using sole administrators in all the 21 local government areas of the state.

    The Governor’s argument is that the sole administrators would head the councils without members to cut cost, as the state is already grappling with economic woes that had affected most states.

    According to a chieftain of APGA who pleaded anonymity, “the best option for his Excellency right now is to appoint transition committees which will embrace a lot of people who will help in the 2017 second term project.

    “But from what we are seeing, the Governor is rooting for sole administrators like the way late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu’s son Emeka (Jnr.) was appointed in Nnewi North.

    “We do not believe such arrangement will help our course because we know that People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) still have their eyes on the seat,” the source said.

  • Lagos: INEC to blame for delay in council polls

    The Lagos State government has said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is responsible for its inability to conduct local government elections.

    Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Ademorin Kuye said it is still impossible for the government to state when the elections will hold as INEC was yet to make the voters register available.

    Kuye said: “I cannot say when the elections will be conducted. There is no way the electoral commission can conduct any election without having the appropriate voters register. And this register is still in INEC’s custody.

    “It has not been released to the state. The moment it is released to the  government, then we can start planning on when the elections will be held.

    The commissioner blamed the recent loss of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the opposition in some local governments to money and ethnic politics, saying the performance of the council executives has nothing to do with the loss.

    “The allegation that lack of performance led to the APC losing five House of Representatives and eight House of Assembly seats is not true.

    “This was because the last election was dictated and influenced by money politics.

    President Goodluck Jonathan was in Lagos several times abandoning his office in Abuja.

    “Another factor was ethnicity. One will notice that in the area where the APC lost, they were areas dominated by certain tribes.

    The commissioner said the boundary and land dispute involving the Onilogbo of Ilogbo-Eremi in Olorunda Local Council Development Area in Badagry Division was resolved by the ministry.

    He also said boundary dispute between Agege, Ikeja and Orile local governments was also resolved.