The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Election 2019

  • Election 2019: Smoke and mirrors

    The European Union Election Observation Mission, EU EOM, has just released its final report on Nigeria’s 2019 elections. The report has sparked a new wave of criticism against the 2019 elections conducted earlier in the year. Ever since the conclusion of the elections, accusations and counter accusations have been traded among political parties and other major players in the election.

    Criticism has also been directed at the election umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Outside the blame game, the EU EOM report is really an indictment on the entire country, and that includes the officials, politicians, political parties and ordinary Nigerians.

    The re-ignited election controversy has also touched on issues surrounding the existence of a data server run by INEC during the elections. The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate at the elections, Atiku Abubakar, have since filed an action in court challenging the victory of the incumbent and winner of the election, President Muhammadu Buhari.  An important part of the case of Atiku and PDP are the alleged servers that supposedly carry information proving that Atiku, indeed, won the election based on data received from the card readers employed during the election.

    Perhaps, to remove itself from the server controversy, the EU EOM, through its representative, has declared that it is not aware of any server.  This neither confirms the server’s existence nor denies it. The declaration by the external observers may be detrimental to Atiku’s case. But whatever the case may be, the server issue is sucking the energy out of the type of electoral debate we should be having right now. A good place to glean the issues we need to resolve is in the EU EOM report and its 30 recommendations. The server controversy may be restricted to who won or lost between Atiku and Buhari, but the issues highlighted in the report and many of the recommendations, if instituted, can help the country avoid controversies of this type in future elections.

    However, the positives in the report by the EU mission include the observation that parties and candidates were able to campaign and gather freely to do so, thereby contributing to the competitiveness of the election. According to the report, freedom of movement and expression were largely respected in the run up to the election. The report also had it that civil society organisations were also allowed the freedom to contribute to the success of the exercise. One particular observation about INEC was that although it worked in a difficult environment, it was able to make some improvements, such as the simplification of voting procedures.

    Asides the few positive observations that were made, the general import of the report was less than complimentary. The report concluded that there is a need for fundamental electoral reform in the country. Based on its observations, the observers found systemic failings that led to severe operational and transparency shortcomings, electoral security problems and low turnout. The information communication for the election was also faulted. Particularly, state-run radio stations were found to have primarily served the interest of the incumbents in most states.

    Most troubling, as we all saw during the election, were the pockets of violence that occurred in some areas. Also connected to the violence was the intimidation and harassment of journalists, voters and even some observers in certain areas. Security agencies were particularly fingered in the harassment and intimidation that occurred during the election, in line with the complaints of many voters after the election. The report stated that the role of the security agencies became more contentious as the process progressed, with emphasis on the intimidation of INEC officials in 20 states across the country.

    The report contained veiled criticism for the judiciary because of conflicting and late rulings, and for the president on the controversial suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria very close to the elections. Politicians and political parties were similarly criticized for failing to rein-in irate supporters in the electoral skirmishes that sometimes led to violence. Even though INEC invited the EU mission to come to observe the elections, many of the problems were traceable to lapses in its own operations.

    The fear is that that the controversy generated by the report is smouldering in the wrong direction. Already, much attention is being given to the server issue, when the security agencies, courts and prosecutors were indicted in the report. It is not that the server matter is unimportant in the general picture of things, but while it is still a matter of litigation, there is little to be gained in the fixation on that subject. Addressing the wide range of issues confronting the country’s electoral process could be a better use of our time. By discussing those issues, people can force government to begin to respond, instead of throwing accusations about who said what and when for the next two years.

    Expectedly, people in government are “thanking” the EU EOM for putting the server matter to rest. That premature celebration smacks of ignorance and lack of understanding of the principles of law or the seriousness of the allegations made by Atiku and Co. Most of all, it is a point of view that betrays complete misunderstanding of what role external observers play in elections. The report is a learning opportunity that can be beneficial if the recommendations are taken seriously and serious steps put in place to implement them. After all, the observers did not fail to note that, with the exception of a few, recommendations from its 2015 report had largely not been adopted.

    One issue that falls right at the door of President Buhari is the matter of weak electoral laws. Recall that an amendment to the electoral law was pending before the president for his assent before the elections took place.  Many think that passing that bill into law would have minimized the abuse of the process that occurred, including the current controversy about server or no server. Although the president may have had his reasons for refusing to sign the bill, many Nigerians are not entirely sure that those reasons are just. That distrust is symptomatic of the systemic failings observed by the EU observers.

    It is time we take a critical look at our electoral report card and make the necessary changes to ensure that we are on the right track for 2023. We should not deceive ourselves. These problems are there and visible right now. We should not wait to hear the announcement of postponement of elections again in 2023. We have displayed a troubling lack of preparation in majority of the elections that have ever been conducted in this country. Therefore, it is a matter of urgency, for INEC and all that will be involved in the next elections to begin making preparations now by doing the needful.

    In truth, we should not wait for observers from Europe to tell us that our house is not in order. But now that they have, it is smart to take a good look at the observations and recommendations with a view to drawing a plan to adopt or modify some of them to suit our needs. The government in power continually downplays the role of the violence, intimidation and irregularities in the last election. The opposition too magically finds fault only in places where they lost elections, while people cry blue murder concerning results, depending on whether their candidate of choice won or lost. It is all beginning to look like an exercise in smoke and mirrors. We need to do better.

  • Lagos supplementary election: ‘No one should shed blood for position’

    Mr Kolawole Taiwo, Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming supplementary election in Ajeromi/Ifelodun Federal Constituency, Lagos State, has urged supporters of political parties to shun violence before, during and after the polls.

    Taiwo, popularly called HKT, told newsmen on Saturday in Lagos that no blood should be shed for any position no matter how high in the April 27 poll.

    According to him, stakeholders should embrace  peace and that security agencies should redouble their strategies in Ajegunle and environs to prevent any breakdown of law and order.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports  that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had said that the supplementary election would hold  in 71 polling units across eight wards in the constituency.

    Taiwo, a former four-term lawmaker in the Lagos State House of Assembly,  said: “I am a man of peace, and I cannot do election for people to die. No blood should be shed for any position no matter how high.

    “We should vote and see everyone as our brother irrespective of his or her political leaning.  If I win by the grace of God, I will be representing everybody, including those who will not vote for me.

    “I want to call on the law enforcement agencies  to step up security. I don’t want violence, I want peace, they know me as a man of peace,” he said.

    Taiwo, the former Deputy Speaker of the Lagos Assembly, said that INEC had been challenged already to ensure credibility and that he knew that the commission would do the right thing.

    On whether he had any fear that he could be defeated by the PDP candidate, Mrs Rita Orji, who was leading already by 3,224 votes, Taiwo said that he did not have any fear as a politician.

    He said that he was prepared for the election, and having represented Ajeromi/Ifelodun Constituency 1 for 16 years in the state assembly, he would defeat his opponent in a free contest.

    The politician who urged the electorate to vote for him massively, promised to focus  on re-orienting and empowering youths and women in Ajegunle as well as lobbying for infrastructure to the constituency.

    Taiwo, who decried dilapidation of road infrastructure in the constituency and failure of most youths in the constituency to prepare for the future, promised to build a youth centre to give hope to Ajegunle youths.

    “We need a proactive legislator that can solve the problems of our people,” he said.

  • Polls: Domestic observers rate Plateau high in peaceful, orderly conduct

    Civil Society Organizations in Plateau state and Coalition of Domestic Observers has rated Plateau state high in peaceful and orderly conduct during the just concluded 2019 general elections.

    The group comprising of 2,500 members said Plateau state is the most peaceful and orderly based on individual member’s observations during the elections.

    The CSOs/ Domestic Observers made their observations known Monday in a press conference held at the state secretariat of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Jos.

    Leader of the Group Godwin Okoko who read the text of the briefing said, “Our observations were collated from the reports of our members stationed at various polling units spread across the 17 LGAs of the state.

    “Generally, elections in the Plateau state was the most peaceful, orderly and fair from our assessments

    “We commend CSOs, security agencies, the media, observers groups, religious groups, traditional institutions, political parties and other stakeholders for their conducts during the elections.

    ”We also commend the electorate for their involvement in the process and peaceful conducts before, during and after the elections. As we look forward to a more peaceful, transparent and credible future elections, we use this medium to once more appeal to the Plateau State Government to ensure the strengthening of peace and security structures in the states through the promotion of peace and strengthening of community cohesion structures, provision of good governance, inclusive participation, accountability, increase youth empowerment programs, employment opportunities and youth/women development.

    ”We also appeal to the Governor-elect Barr Simon Bako Lalong as a leader of the state to begin the healing of wounds, closing of gaps, division and polarisation through the processes of reconciliation irrespective of party affiliation We also encourage all good sons and daughters of the state to give a supportive hand to the Governor-Elect towards a stronger, developed, peaceful and united Plateau State.

    ”We urge all good people of the state and residents of the state to continue to imbibe the culture of peace and tolerance. The Observers groups however recommend that INEC improves on the general conduct of the elections specifically; Smart Card Readers should be further enhanced.

    “We recommend that Collation Centres be more accessible to observers. We recommend that further delineation of voting points be carried out so as to make PUs more accessible to electorates.

    “Improve on logistics for INEC officials and ad-hoc staff to perform their duties optimally.

    “INEC and political parties should engage on sensitisation of the electorates and party members’ supporters.

    “Enhance capacity training for security agencies that will be involved in future conduct of election exercise.

    “We recommend that INEC should make information/data available on cancelled Polling Units where supplementary elections will be conducted.

    “We recommend that INEC should ensure prosecution of all her staff involved in electoral mal-practice

    “We recommend that voters should be more actively involved in subsequent elections. We recommend enhance capacity training for security officers that will be involved in future elections

    “We recommend capacity training for political party agents for future elections.”

  • Poll:two killed in Ondo community over alleged ballot box snatching

    Two persons were reportedly killed on Saturday in political mayhem at Oba-Akoko,headquarters of Akoko Southwest local government area of Ondo state.

    Sources alleged that some hoodlums had stormed the community to snatch ballot boxes which led to youths rampage where properties worth millions of naira destroyed including police station and police vehicles.

    It was during the melee that two persons were shot to death, while the third one with gunshot wounds was on admission at the hospital.

    Read Also: APC in early lead in Ondo

    The Police Area Commander for Ikare-Akoko,Razak Rauf, an Assistant Commissioner of Police(ACP) who led a contingent of police to the town to prevail on the people, described the act of vandalization of police property as barbaric.

    He said investigation has commenced while culprits would be arrested and brought to book.

  • 12 states to watch as APC, PDP

    Apart from Anambra, Edo, Ekiti, Kogi, Ondo, Osun and Bayelsa states, where governorship elections take place at different dates, there will elections in 29 other states today. Some of the states are regarded as battlegrounds, where the contest is likely to be fierce. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI looks at the prospects in some of the states.

    AFTER penultimate Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections, political parties shifted attention to today’s governorship elections, particularly in Lagos State because of its cosmopolitan  nature and its status as the nation’s commercial capital, and  number of battleground states across the nation.

    Two  of the  states where governorship elections are going to take place in the Southwest this time around have been dubbed as battlegrounds, because of the peculiar nature of the contests in these states. The states are  Ogun and  Oyo. There will be no governorship elections in Ondo, Ekiti and Osun, because the contest takes place in the three states on dates outside the regular four-year election cycle. In the Southeast, the elections in Imo and Abia have been generating interest from observers from far and near, because of the situation on ground in the states and the intrigues that are expected to shape their outcome. For the South-South, the states to watch are: Akwa Ibom and Delta. The contest in the North-Central states of Kwara, Plateau and Benue would also give stakeholders there sleepless nights. With the possible exception of Sokoto, Gombe and Adamawa states, where there have been a realignment of forces in recent times, the governorship contest in Northwest and the Northeast states appear to be tilted in favour of the APC, because of the Buhari factor.

    Ogun

    Before last year’s governorship primaries of the APC and the PDP in Ogun State, today’s election was widely expected to be a straight fight between the two parties. But the crises that emerged after the exercise led to the reconfiguration of the political space. While the PDP is battling with the factionalisation that has seen Mr. Ladi Adebutu and Senator Buruji Kashamu lay claim to the party’s ticket, it is the APC crisis that has had a far more devastating impact on the state’s political tempo and colouration.

    The APC crisis began when the Ogun State APC chapter, firmly under the control of Governor Ibikunle Amosun, organised its internal affairs to select candidates for the 2019 general elections through the consensus option. This process produced Adekunle Akinlade as the party’s candidate. However, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) refused to ratify the emergence of Akinlade and other candidates produced by the consensus approach, saying that the party’s candidates must be selected through direct primary. Subsequently, the Amosun camp refused to participate in the primaries conducted by the panel set up by NWC. It was the panel’s primary that produced Dapo Abiodun as the party’s candidate.

    With Amosun’s backing, Akinlade and his supporters in the party defected to the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), with a large chunk of the APC structure. As a result, the Ogun governorship race has become complicated, because of Amosun’s decision to go against the wishes of the party leadership by backing his preferred successor. This development has thrown the race open, because it may lead to the sharing of APC votes with the APM candidate. Before now, the only factor that united them was the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari.  Both the APC and the APM have now gone their separate ways, making the governorship race unpredictable. The President’s position in the matter does not help matters; he had enjoined the electorate during the recent campaign rally in the state to vote for a candidate of their choice during the governorship election.  With this state of affairs, the APC has resigned itself to winning without Amosun’s support. The recent decision to suspend the governor appears to be coming too late. Following his declaration as the winner of the Ogun Central senatorial race, Amosun has been going about openly campaigning for Akinlade, with the full backing of the state machinery.    The PDP would have reaped from the crisis in the APC, if it were not for the internal squabble within the main opposition party itself. INEC recognises Senator Kashamu as the party’s flagbearer, while the PDP national leadership insists that Adebutu is the party’s choice. Both Adebutu, a member of the House of Representatives, and Kashamu had been locked in litigation over the party’s ticket as they both emerged from two parallel congresses. INEC recognises Kashamu as the party’s candidate in compliance with a subsisting court judgment.

    The crisis in the Ogun chapter of the PDP has been a big distraction that has prevented the party from fully concentrating on the campaign. On Thursday,the immediate past governor of the state and PDP  chieftain,Otunba Gbenga Daniel, directed his supporters to cast their votes for APC’s Dapo Abiodun today. Simultaneously,Adebutu reached out to Akinlade for a working agreement that will see his (Adebutu’s) supporters vote for Akinlade.

    Under the agreement, Akinlade will reward  Adebutu and his supporters with key appointments and contracts,if he emerges as governor. The new alliances have tended to brighten the chances of both Abiodun and Akinlade above those of other candidates. The fourth candidate that is expected to feature prominently in the Ogun governorship race is Gboyega Nasir Isiaka (GNI) of the ADC. This is the third time Isiaka, who is popularly known as GNI, would be contesting the Ogun governorship. Isiaka first contested for the Ogun governorship seat in 2011.

    After failing to secure the ticket of the PDP, his principal backer, former Governor Gbenga Daniel, floated another platform, the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), to actualise the ambition. This followed the disagreement between him and former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the choice of the PDP governorship flagbearer. It remains to be seen whether Isiaka would profit from the internal crisis rocking the APC and the PDP in the state. GNI’s second attempt, when he flew the PDP flag, was his best shot at the Ogun governorship so far.

    Oyo

    There are 37 parties on the ballot in Oyo State. Apart from the APC and the PDP, the other notable parties are the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Action Democratic Party (ADP). Before penultimate Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections, the Oyo governorship was a bit complicated.

    But, following the performance of the PDP in the presidential election, the Oyo governorship race has become a two-horse race between the PDP candidate, Mr. Seyi Makinde, and the APC flagbearer, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, as there has been a fresh realignment of forces.

    Four major opposition parties have teamed up to present a single candidate for today’s election. The parties are: the PDP, the ADC, the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which were hitherto considered as some of the frontrunners in the contest.

    They signed an agreement on Monday to back the governorship candidate of the PDP, Makinde, as a consensus candidate for the election. The bid to form an alliance to tackle the APC started few days to the presidential and National Assembly elections. The ADC and the ZLP had last weekend denied that an agreement had been reached to support Makinde. This was, however, resolved on Monday with the signing of the agreement.

    The idea to come together, it is said, was mooted by former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, who is the candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP). AlaoAkala had approached his former boss, Rashidi Ladoja, on the need for him to lead other opposition political parties to defeat the APC. Alao-Akala was deputy governor when Ladoja was elected governor in 2003.

    But, ironically Alao-Akala has since abandoned the group and aligned with Adelabu of the APC, after he reportedly met with the party’s National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

    Meanwhile, the ADP leadership has asked Alao-Akala to bury the thought of leaving the party. In a statement issued on Monday, the party said it was too late in the middle of the game for the former governor to align with any political party. It stated that as far as the party’s leadership was concerned, Alao-Akala remains its governorship candidate.

    The APC candidate appears to an upper hand on the contest, going by the fact that the party has governed the state in the last eight years and has a handful of achievements to showcase for the years it has been in power.

    Adelabu may be new to some in the Oyo politics, but he is, nonetheless, enjoying the legacy of his grandfather, the late dazzling politician and iconoclast, Chief Adegoke Adelabu (Penkelemesi). Born on September 28, 1970, the young Adelabu, who is a chip off the old block, would ride on the back of his party at the election.

    Makinde is also not a push over. Born on December 25, 1967, he has not hidden his interest to occupy the Agodi Government House from the outset. An engineer by profession, he contested the Oyo governorship election in 2015 on the platform of the SDP and came fifth, behind Ajimobi, Ladoja, Alao-Akala and Teslim Folarin of the PDP in that order. Makinde was the main financier of the SDP then and, being his first outing, he had remarkable results in local governments in Ibadanland. Since the end of the election, he had continued to interact with the people and keep nursing his ambition.

    To bolster his chances in the 2019 election, he returned to his former party, the PDP, on September 4, 2017, after consultations with national leaders, state leaders and elders of the SDP. With Ladoja out of the race this time, Makinde seems to enjoy the support of the traditional institution in Ibadanland. He also has a good relationship with members of the Ibadan elite, a factor that may swing Ibadan votes in his favour.

    Lagos

    The Lagos governorship race is also a two-horse race between the APC and the PDP. Like in the case of Oyo, the odds in the Lagos race are stacked in favour of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the APC, because the state has been governed successfully by the party in the last 20 years of civilian rule.

    The APC structure in the state is intact and this would surely be deployed to secure Sanwo-Olu’s victory in today’s election.  Indeed, the APC intensified its campaign after the presidential and National Assembly elections, by trying to woo non-indigenes, particularly those of Igbo extraction who had always voted for the PDP in the previous elections.

    With a very rich professional career as a banker where he rose to the enviable senior executive position of Deputy General Manager, Sanwo-Olu is well suited to bring the proficiency, efficiency and singlemindedness of a corporate czar that delivers value to governance in Lagos. His 12 years’ experience in Lagos public service where he served at the highest level as a cabinet level special adviser and also a commissioner for eight years in the Ministry of Establishment, with responsibility for the entire state civil service in terms of Human Capital development and increased productivity, means his skills in public administration is practical and wellhoned.

    Nevertheless, the PDP’s Jimi Agbaje is not a pushover and his bid to govern the state cannot be dismissed with a wave of the hand. This is the third attempt of the pharmacist-turnedpolitician to become the governor of Lagos. He first contested in 2007 on the platform of the Democratic Peoples Alliance (DPA). In 2015, he also ran against incumbent Governor Akinwumi Ambode.

    Unlike four years ago, when the PDP was at the helm of affairs, Agbaje’s campaign this time around appeared to be hindered by funds. The central theme of his campaign is the idea of freeing the state from the stranglehold of the APC. But, this does not appear to resonate well with a larger percentage of the population, who appreciate that successive APC administrations in the state since 1999 have a record of good performance.

    Imo

    Imo is another battleground state. There are as many as 68 candidates on the INEC list, but the frontline candidates include: Hope Uzodinma of the APC; Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP; Senator Ifeanyi Ararume of the APGA; and Uche Nwosu of the Action Alliance (AA).

    Those who know Uzodinma closely say that he is an epitome of compassion and philanthropy. A political entrepreneur with little or no time for malice and calumny, Uzodinma comes to the Imo governorship race fully prepared with his eyes fixed on the ball. But the crisis rocking the APC in the state may work against his ambition.

    Indications are that Ihedioha may reap from the crisis in the APC. The PDP candidate would see the result of last Saturday’s presidential election in the state as a boost. The result announced by INEC at its office in Owerri showed that Atiku got 334,923 votes, to defeat Buhari who garnered 140,463.

    It would have been a herculean task for him, if the political dynasty of Okorocha had not been decimated. The PDP candidate, who represented Aboh Mbaise/Ngor Okpala Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, has been the most loyal, dedicated and consistent in the pursuit of his ambition among all  the candidates.

    Of all the major governorship aspirants, he is the only one that has not jumped ship. He has remained a loyal and committed member of the PDP right when he joined the party at inception.

    Nwosu is Okorocha’s anointed successor. He defected to the AA after he lost his bid to contest on APC platform. Observers see Okorocha’s attempt to foist his political dynasty on the people as his worst transgression he committed.

    Nevertheless, Nwosu will be hoping to tap into Okorocha’s dwindling base. The AA candidate’s campaign is well funded, because he enjoys the full backing of the state machinery, which is controlled by Governor Okorocha.

    But, aside from the Okorocha factor, the AA has no voter base anywhere. It was a briefcase party before Nwosu came into the picture and breathed some life into it.

    Abia

    The Abia governorship election is likely to be another two-horse race between the PDP and the APC. Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, who has been under criticisms for his lacklustre performance in the last four years, will contend with Dr. Sampson Uche Ogah of the APC. Other major contenders are Dr Alex Otti of APGA and Mrs Blessing Nwagba of the SDP.

    Incumbency is the main advantage Ikpeazu of the PDP enjoys over other contenders. Given the strength of the PDP in the region, he remains the candidate to beat.

    The victory of former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu in the recent Abia North senatorial race on the platform of the APC will certainly spur the party to approach today’s governorship contest with a positive spirit.

    Another factor the APC had going for it in Abia is the purported strategic partnership between it and APGA. Under the partnership, the APGA candidate, Otti, was expected to step down for his APC counterpart, Ogah. Observers had hailed the development as the only way to unseat the PDP, which is very strong in the region.

    But a few days ago, the APGA flagbearer was insisting that he is still in the race. The Director, Media and Publicity of Alex Otti Campaign Organisation, Mr Kazie Uko, said Dr. Otti has not stepped down from the race.

    In a statement in Umuahia last Sunday, Kazie said Otti “is still very much in the race”.  He described the rumour that the former bank executive had stepped down for Ogah of the APC as unfounded. He added: “The rumour is a false and deliberate attempt by desperate politicians to confuse the Abia electorate. We urge Abia indigenes not to be distracted by false rumours being spread by rejected and hopeless politicians and their collaborators.”

    Abia has been described as the worst state in the Southeast in terms of physical infrastructure and development generally.

    Delta

    Delta State has been governed by the PDP since the return to civil rule in 1999. But, the state is one of those the ruling APC at the centre has been eying to take over from the PDP. Though the results of the recent presidential and National Assembly elections do not suggest that the state is likely to embrace the broom revolution of the APC, today’s governorship election may be a turning point for the South-South state.

    Chief Great Ogboru of the APC is warming up to challenge Governor Ifeanyi Okowa in the election. But, the odds appear to be stacked in Okowa’s favour; no thanks to the zoning arrangement. There is a prevailing sentiment in Delta North and Delta South to allow the Anioma people to complete their eight-year slot before power shifts from the zone.

    But, Ogboru who is backed in his quest by Senator Ovie Omo-Agege would not entertain such prospects. The APC flagbearer has been contesting for the Delta governorship since 2003; meaning that he ran in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015. He lost in all the contests to candidates of the PDP. The APC chieftain who contested the 2015 on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) had described the election as his final battle in the quest to “liberate the people of Delta State”.

    A persistent and unrelenting politician, Ogboru has been moving from one party to the other to actualise his ambition to govern the state. He contested in 2003 on the platform of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD); in 2007 and 2011 as a candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) and in 2015 as the flagbearer of the LP. He lost in each of those attempts and challenged the results at the election petitions tribunal each time.

    Akwa Ibom

    The Akwa Ibom race is a straight fight between Governor Udom Emmanuel of the PDP and Obong Nsima Ekere of the APC. Observers believe it is going to be a tough battle.

    Ekere’s campaign has been enjoying a momentum, particularly with the number of former PDP chieftains in the state that have defected to the APC in recent times. The APC flagbearer who served the state as deputy governor under former Governor Godswill Akpabio believes Governor Udom has failed to justify the mandate the people of Akwa Ibom gave him four years ago and therefore should be voted out in today’s election. He said the Udom administration has not been able to add anything to the existing infrastructural development in the state and that basic assets inherited have been left to decay.

    Citing the menace of cultists in three local government areas, the APC flagbearer said his PDP counterpart has also failed in his role as chief security officer of the state. He added: “The number one responsibility of government is security of lives. Akwa Ibom is usually a very peaceful state. I can tell you today that in three local government areas of the state, the people are not able to sleep at night. They have been overwhelmed by cultists and there is a lot of insecurity. So, you can see that the people have today totally lost confidence in this government.”

    Conversely, the PDP flagbearer sees his candidature as a divine mandate. The Udom camp believes that the defection of Senator Akpabio has sealed the victory for the PDP, because the people of the state are desirous of continuing with the peace and tranquility that the state enjoyed before the arrival of the former governor.

    The governor’s camp also insists that there has been a lot of development and that there is now decorum in the management of the state’s resources.

    But, the governor appears to be unpopular on the streets of Uyo, the state capital, particularly among civil servants, who accuse him of denying them some of their emoluments, like several years of leave allowances and pensions. As a result, there is visible anger on the streets, whenever his name is mentioned.

    How far this will go in deciding the outcome of today’s governorship election remains to be seen.

    Sokoto

    The Sokoto governorship election is perceived as a battle between incumbent Governor Aminu Tambuwal and his erstwhile leader and mentor, Senator Aliyu Wamakko. Observers say the emergence of Tambuwal’s deputy, Ahmed Aliyu, as the flagbearer of the APC did not come as a surprise, considering his close relationship with Wamakko.

    Tambuwal’s camp was happy with the emergence of Aliyu, because Faruk Malami Yabo would have been far more difficult for the PDP to contend with in the general election.

    The Sokoto governorship election is regarded as a battle of supremacy between Tambuwal and Wamakko. The former governor of the state parted ways with Tambuwal when the latter returned to the PDP last year, to pursue his presidential ambition. The stage is now set for the political showdown between Tambuwal and his one-time political leader and predecessor.

    As an incumbent governor seeking for a second term, Tambuwal would deploy every weapon in his arsenal to win the election. Otherwise, he would become politically irrelevant in the state after the May 29 handover.

    On the other hand, the overwhelming victory of the APC in the recent presidential and National Assembly elections in the state would propel the party in its quest to reclaim the key Northwest state.

    Before the February 23 elections, observers had indicated that Wamakko and the APC would have an uphill task persuading the electorate to vote for Aliyu, because people see him as Wamakko’s boy. The APC leader’s support for Aliyu is believed to have angered some stakeholders in the party, who accuse the former governor of “over pampering” Aliyu since 2007 over and above other party men who equally have ambitions. In 2007, Aliyu was appointed Commissioner for Social Welfare and Youth Development and in 2011, of Health. These privileges were capped when he was made the deputy governor in 2015.

    Aliyu’s key opponent among other contestants was Faruk Yabo, who at the time of the primary, was seen as a bigger threat to Tambuwal. Yabo too had equally served as a commissioner in two ministries — Finance and Local Government — during the eight-year tenure of Wamakko.

    Plateau

    Plateau is another state where the two major will lock horns today. In the election, incumbent Governor Simon Lalong will represent the APC, while Senator Jeremiah Useni will fly the flag of the PDP. Until the 2015 general elections, the state had been governed by the PDP.  It was narrowly snatched by the APC in 2015.

    Going by the results of the 2015 governorship election and those of the recent presidential and National Assembly elections, it promises to be an epic battle. In 2015, Lalong was declared winner with a slim margin; he secured a total of 564,913 to defeat the PDP candidate, Senator Gyang Pwajok, who got 520,627; a difference of 24,286 votes.

    Interestingly, in the recent presidential election, the PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, won in 11 out of the 17 local governments with an overall margin of 80,110 votes. Atiku received a total of 548,665 votes, while President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC scored 468,555 votes. The results of the National Assembly elections do not give any indication of where the pendulum would swing.

    Kwara

    The people of Kwara State are set to vote in a landmark governorship election today where Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, is expected to fight for his political survival. Saraki’s loss of his Kwara Central seat in the upper legislative chamber to his APC opponent, Yahaya Oloriegbe, in the recent election is a pointer to what may play out at the governorship election.

    The more-than-usual excitement in the state and elsewhere in the country over the coming governorship election is driven by the resurgence of the opposition, following the decision of Saraki and his political associates to return to the PDP last year.

    The excitement generated by the APC’s battle cry — Oto Ge or Enough is Enough — has reverberated across the country, even before the victory of the APC in penultimate Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections.

    Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is the APC flagbearer in the election. The APC candidate will face Razak Atunwa of the PDP in the election. But, today’s governorship election in Kwara is not about the candidates and their programmes: it is about who controls the politics of the North Central state.

    Gombe

    Gombe is another state where the APC will lock horns with the PDP. Apart from Taraba, Gombe is the only northern state that survived the Buhari tsunami of 2015.

    Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bayero Nafada, is the PDP candidate in the election, while Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya is the flagbearer of the APC.

    Given the results of the presidential and National Assembly elections, the odds are stacked in favour of the APC, in spite of the fact that the PDP is the ruling party in the state. In penultimate Saturday’s National Assembly election, Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo lost his bid to represent Gombe North in the Senate. The APC presidential candidate, President Buhari, also trounced his PDP counterpart, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, in the state.

    Over the years, the APC has not hidden its quest to take over Gombe, where President Buhari enjoys a huge popularity. The PDP may be on the verge of losing the Northeast state, with the spate of defections from the PDP to the APC in recent times.

    Adamawa

    There are six major parties contesting today’s Adamawa governorship election.  These are the APC, the PDP, the SDP, the ADC, the Alliance for New Nigerian (ANN) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). But the front-runners in the race are: Governor Mohammed Bindow of the APC, former Acting Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of the PDP, Senator Abdulaziz Nyako of the ADC and Emmanuel Bello of the SDP.

    Ordinarily, Bindow should be confident of winning the contest, as the incumbent. But his emergence as the flagbearer of the APC is still generating controversy. His opponents within the APC had threatened to support one of the opposition parties should the APC national leadership fail to cancel the primary.

    But, the APC is confident of winning the state again. The APC Organising Secretary, Ahmed Lawan, told The Nation on Tuesday that the party is taking all the steps necessary to reconcile the aggrieved parties. His words: “We are trying to reconcile all the aggrieved members to work for the victory of the party in Saturday’s governorship election, because we realised our mistake during the presidential and National Assembly elections, which we contested as a divided house. Some lawmakers were given automatic tickets and this did not go down well with many aspirants.”

    Lawan said the PDP is doing everything possible to wrest power from the APC. He said the APC has been receiving defectors from other parties since the victory of President Buhari in the recent presidential election.

    The PDP’s Fintiri has been enjoying some momentum in the last days of the campaign. A few days ago, he received a huge boost, as 10 governorship candidates stepped down and declared their support for him. The candidates announced the decision after a meeting with Fintiri on Monday in Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

    The candidates are: Sadiq Khaliel of the MRDD, Danjuma Musa of the FJP, Naziru Sa’ad of the ZLP, Ahmed Hassan of the DA, Salihu Danjuma of the APM, Abdullahi Usman of the NCP, Bappari Umar of the Kowa Party, Lami Musa of the PPN, Elizabeth Isa of the CAP and Frank Simon of the Mega party.

    The former acting governor, nick-named ATM, is popular with civil servants for paying the controversial two months salaries of striking workers withheld by his predecessor due to a no-work-no-pay policy in 2014 and is expected to pull more crowd than the incumbent governor.

    Abdulaziz, the son of former Governor Murtala Nyako, is counting on the goodwill of his father who enjoys grassroots support in the state. A retired commander and serving senator, Abdulaziz, has expended the membership base of the ADC since his defection from the APC.

    Bello, the SDP candidate, may be one of the candidates to beat if Christians decide to give him block votes, being the only Christian among the four contending parties.

  • Election 2019: A mock trial

    THE presidential election is over – won and lost. Not quite. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has been threatening to challenge the outcome in court.

    Atiku insists that he, in actual fact, was robbed of the prize. Who stole Atiku’s “mandate”? How? Was it an armed robbery or a burglary? When; at night when everybody was asleep? Daylight? Who are the witnesses to this infernal heist? Were PDP leaders and their army of supporters on holiday when the thief struck? What kind of weapon was he carrying? A rifle? A pistol? Dynamite? Bombs?

    The court has its job cut out for it.

    Before the PDP could assemble its team of legal giants to file its case, before its supporters could get over the trauma of the loss, before the electoral umpire could be summoned to defend its decision and before the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari, could pick up the gauntlet, an army of legal experts with all manner of wonky opinions on the matter had sprouted all over the place. Incredible.

    In other words, the matter had become a subject of postulations, permutations and presuppositions in barbershops and coffee shops. Many Nigerians who have never held in their hands a copy of any law book, let alone see the four walls of a law school have been running mock trials on this landmark case.

    I stumbled on one of such gatherings the other day at the barber shop. Except that the protagonist was not dressed like a judge and the main actors decked no wigs and gowns, it was a typical courtroom setting.

    It is a bit rowdy. Then, one of the youths screams: “C-o-u-r-t!” All is quiet. “The next case is PDP, Atiku Abubakar and others versus APC, Muhammadu Buhari, INEC and others,” a young man says in a low voice portraying the sobriety of the matter at hand.

    One of the youths stands up. “My lord, I am Chief Oreofero Ojulari, SAN. I announce my appearance for the plaintiff. With me are Okwudili Afemefuna Chiachogomnma, SAN, Ahmed Amid and others.” Another rises. “My lord, I am Ogbonlogba Abijawara, SAN. My colleagues and I appear for the defence.”

    It was as if everything had been rehearsed. The gentleman posing as the judge adjusts his glasses. He pores over a copy of an old newspaper he is holding like a case file. “Thank you. Let the plaintiff come forward to present his case,” he says.

    “Milord, as I have said, I represent the plaintiff. I will like to crave your indulgence to cross-examine my client so as to present our case in a logical and conclusive manner that will help this honourable court to arrive at a just decision, which will reverse the injustice that my clients have suffered. Unjustly.”

    Atiku steps into the witness box. He dips his left hand into his pocket and brings out a white handkerchief. He removes his glasses and cleans his face. He is given a copy of the Holy Koran to swear. “I, Atiku Abubakar, do solemnly swear that everything that I will say is the truth and nothing but the truth. So help me Lord.”

    “Are you Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the PDP in the February 23 election?”

    “Yes; I am – by the grace of the Almighty Allah, the One who gives power to whoever He pleases. May His holy name be glorified.”

    “Thank you. Is it true that you are saying and campaigning that  you won that election but that your mandate, which was given to you freely and fairly by millions of Nigerians to keep and to enjoy as you deem best under the Constitution, was stolen. Why did you allow it to be snatched from you?”

    “Milord. I have witnesses. I did everything to keep my mandate. I hired no fewer than 40million Nigerians to police it from 119,973 polling units to collation centres, yet these people came, like cattle rustlers, in the dead of the night, burgled the place and stole my golden mandate, which I am pleading with this honourable court to retrieve for me.”

    “Okay. Can you identify your mandate if you see it? Do you know its colour, size, texture and other features of the said mandate? How is it different from the one Muhammadu Buhari has?”

    “Yes, Milord. Yes; I can. I got it on February 23 from over 100,000 polling units across the country, in cities, towns and villages where thousands of our supporters came out ‘en masse’ to vote for me, Atiku. And I had warned the world that the APC people planned to come with some gadgets, which look like telephone sets, to slow down the card readers. Our people would then get impatient and storm out of the polling centres. Disenfranchised. That’s how they stole it.

    “The use of the card readers, I insist, was enforced in my strongholds. Southsouth, Northcentral and Southeast. Not so in the Southwest, Northwest and Northeast where the APC says it is strong.

    “Besides, Milord, the results were not electronically collated.”

    “Okay. It is alright. Can you confidently claim that you won the election despite all the anomalies that you have pointed out? Was the APC not affected by the card reader problems? Where were the 40million men you hired to collate the results? Again, who stole your mandate?”

    “I know them. APC, INEC, Buhari and Oshiomhole, who said I was not destined to be president. It was a huge conspiracy. They connived with the security people to snatch it from us. (He wipes his face again, shakes his head slowly and removes his glasses to wipe his face. The lawyer interjects: ‘Milord, we are sorry for that short break; my client is gripped by emotion over the traumatic events of those days. We are sorry. He needs to get himself together. The judge nods his head to show his understanding of the situation).”

    “Okay. How did you know you had won? Where was your confidence coming from?”

    “I was sure of my chance. Obasanjo, my former boss, who was always abusing me, fighting me and calling me names, forgave me. He campaigned for me. The international community was behind me. They said I couldn’t go to America, I went there and returned. No problem. Even the foreign observers who are now applauding the election can’t say that they didn’t know that I won. I had it all wrapped up. Unknown to me, they planned to snatch it at the point of delivery (He wipes his face again).”

    “At what point was it clear to you that your mandate or been stolen, hijacked, grabbed, snatched and pilfered?”

    “Simple. When the INEC people started announcing those figures. I was hearing, one million aight handired and sebunti poor thousand nan handred and pipty two botes and such things. I knew I had been robbed.”

    “Is it true that you lost your polling unit? Is it true that Obasanjo did not win his? Did you win in your village? Did your man Buba Galadima win his polling unit? Did Kwankwaso win his polling unit? So how did you win the away matches if you and your men lost at home?”

    “I didn’t lose my polling unit. No. That’s mere propaganda.The collation was the problem. My agents told them to stop it, but INEC refused to listen. Even when we told them that the Northeast that was under Boko Haram attack could not have voted that much for APC, they dismissed it. You see?”

    “I am okay for now,” the lawyer says. Atiku is asked to leave the witness box.

    “The court will adjourn till May 29 for the defence to open its case. I hope the date is suitable for us all,” says the judge, checking his diary. “No, Milord; that is the day my client will be inaugurated as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces,” says the defence lawyer.

    The plaintiff’s lawyer springs up to his feet. “Objection, Milord. I will advise that we stop the inauguration, until the determination of the substantive matter.”

    “recally, I advise you file a formal objection. You can’t ambush this court, please. The two parties should agree on a suitable date. I rise.”

    “C-o-u-r-t!”

     

    Rapists on the loose …who will save us

    WHY has rape suddenly become an epidemic?

    A 16-year-old girl was in tears on Tuesday as she told an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court how she was abducted and gang – raped by four evil men at the Army Cantonment in Maryland, Lagos. It was an emotional session.

    The young girl was sent to buy pepper. She said: “They called me but I did not answer. They came and held my hands and put me in tricycle. Immediately my body changed and I started feeling somehow.” That was the beginning of a four-day ordeal for the poor girl.

    Three of the suspects, among them two students, are facing a three-count charge of conspiracy, defilement of a minor and abduction before Magistrate Bola Osunsami, who ordered that they be remanded in prison, pending advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

    This and many other cases should interest our activists. Rapists are on the loose. It has never been this bad. Many of our youths are on drugs. Elders have lost their moral values, blinded by mad pursuit of wealth. The line of difference between man and animals is getting thinner by the day as many embrace a life fit for the jungle in towns and cities.

    Who will save our humanity?

  • 2019 Presidential Results

    PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS

  • Election 2019 and “the day after”

    After everything, Nigeria’s “Day of Great Expectation” in the words of ace writer, Charles Dickson came on Saturday, February 23. For this, about 72.7 million eligible voters gathered in 176,000 Polling Units across the country to elect a president and members of the National Assembly. This comes two weeks ahead of similar elections for majority of the governors of the country’s 36 states and legislatures at that level.

    But more than any other elections in the past, the 2019 polls mean different things to virtually all key stakeholders. For example, for leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the seeming despair for victory at the elections, is hinged on the need to consolidate on what they claim are past four years of achievements. Conversely, the assertiveness with which the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) has pursued the electoral contest finds meaning in regaining power which it lost four years ago after boasts of being invincible. The PDP, which also insist to be Africa’s biggest political movement as well as many Nigerians also argue that the years of APC’s governance have only inflicted the country with negative indicators. But for leaders of other smaller political parties and at least over 70 of them are on the presidential ballot form, the election was an opportunity to wrest power out of the hands of   the establishment political order represented by the APC and PDP. They argued that both are tainted with corruption, old-style ideas and lacking inclusiveness of younger generations in the scheme of things. Yet, many sections of the country see the elections, especially the presidential ballot as a “referendum on the question of restructuring” the Nigerian polity.

    The campaigns have therefore been very incisive, fervid and at times anything but desperate. Beyond the hostile pitch and large-scale resort to hard language and communication, the entire process has created fear and even panic within the population. Not surprising, many Nigerians retired to their places of nativity until the coast is clear. The atmosphere remains ominous, foreboding what will happen when the results get finally announced.

    This atmosphere easily brings to recollection, the date November 20, 1983, when the American television film, “The Day After” hit the screens with hundreds of millions all over the world spellbound by its unique combination of technology and effect. That motion picture still maintains a record as “the highest-rated television film in history”.  But more than that was its captivating and distinctly compelling message and undertone of the before-during-and-after scenarios of a supposed hostile situation leading to a nuclear war. It retold the policies that were being needlessly and unguardedly pursued during the ill-famed “Cold War” years by the Soviet Bloc led by Russia and its arch rivals the West under the command of the United States.

    In that movie, there were incalculable waste of monetary resources, human efforts and time, all negatively deployed to unproductive ends by both sides. Between the two ideological blocs, intemperate and wrathful dispositions, wickedly and fiendly mind-sets and unbridled elevation of personal ego by leadership and what they considered as national pride, were the order. As the storms gathered, defiant voices of hostile communication dominated radio and television. Hearsays, exaggerated narratives, half-truths, threats and propaganda became the norm. Caution, moderation, middle grounds, and forbearance were considered as expressions of weakness and undue appeasement.

    In that story, much more than the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki both of which were destroyed during Second World War, all places affected, by the crisis depicted in the film became total wastelands.

    But, but, but, after all the angered nerves and seeming move to Armageddon, the same leaders declared ceasefire. They now had to clean up, build and rebuild all the damage and mess.

    This great drama series directed by Nicholas Meyer merely depicted in the most poignant manner a typical course of human action that repeats itself in the most animalistic manner. The world is replete with crises and wars because of such predilections. The First and Second World Wars (1914-1919 and 1939-1945) left human carnages of over 16 million and 60 million lives respectively. Africa lost about 10 million people to wars and conflicts between 1990 and 2000. The war in the Balkans in the 1990s resulted in the death of over 140,000 human lives and the displacement of four million people. The Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) of 30 months took a toll of over two million lives, while Rwanda’s Civil War led to the genocide of 800 thousand, mostly, ethnic Tutsis in just 100 days of killing orgy.

    In 2011, post-election violence despite ongoing judicial process in Nigeria claimed a record of 1,000 lives, including many youth corps members. However, despite all predictions and prognosis of the “mother of all conflicts”, respite came the way of the Nigeria when a unilateral action by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 saved the day. Jonathan who had consistently disproved the “do-and-die” politics, unilaterally and unconditionally conceded defeat rather prematurely; once he saw that the numbers were not adding up.

    Against this background, the question is what should Nigerian and African political elite remind themselves or rather, ourselves during these periodic carnivals of elections? Even closely, what should we take home in the next few days?

    Primarily is the need to remind ourselves that elections will come and go within the stipulated times. After four years, which by the way, passes as a fleeting moment, new elections would become due. For example, despite all the melodrama, President Jonathan’s exit after the much tensed elections in 2015 is just like yesterday. No wonder, some countries have five or six yearly tenures. Indeed the 2023 General Elections are just by the corner and already beckoning. No election is an end by itself and must be treated as such by all.

    Relatedly is the fact that all key contenders, high and low in this general elections, need to remind themselves that this is just a game with clear rules. So like all competitive sporting events, only one victor can emerge at the end of the day. Come to think of it, it’s even better for those pursuing political objectives in our polity, as the habit of moving from one camp to opposing camps, with unabashed moral or spiritual liberality has become part of our reality. So why the desperately aggressive and bellicose appetite in insisting on victory at all cost when a player can move to the other end tomorrow?

    Of equal importance is the fact, that political leaders driving this 2019 electoral exercise must show greater ingenuity in working together. In modern political practice, the options of consensus, coalitions, alliances, governments of national unity and the like are common. In most developed countries, the philosophy of the winner takes it all has become an anachronism. The mood is always the search of alliances and broad coalition. Almost all of Europe, Canada, Israel and South Africa, the likelihood of a single party taking all the reins of governance after elections are narrow as some forms of cross-party deals help to stabilize post electoral peace.  Even in Nigeria’s own political history, President Shehu Shagari in 1979 stretched out his hands of friendship to the opposition, which first president of the country, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe accepted. If we cast our minds back a little, this was also the approach of our Founding Fathers during the First Republic. Then prime minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa governed through motley of coalitions. Many other countries with variants of non-parliamentary systems like Nigeria are still doing same.

    After the months of absurdity and near insanity, the country must continue. If there is a resort to violence and crises, these by end of the day, would still be resolved amicably. Thereafter, all surviving contestants, winners and losers, warlords and belligerents still have to clean up and continue to live together one way or the other. We will continue to go to same places of business, same markets, travel in same aircrafts or same buses, attend same hospitals, and go to same places of worship, etc. As a matter of fact, our children will continue to attend same schools, eat in same restaurants, maybe, even inter-marry and raise offspring.

    So, as we anxiously await the results, let us remember that there is a Day After; as God seems not to have made up his mind yet to end the world!

     

    • Dr. Igali is a diplomat and retired federal permanent secretary.

  • Gunmen kill police officer attached to Bello’s aide

    Unidentified gunmen suspected to be political thugs have shot dead a police officer attached to the Personal Assistant to Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, Kabir Aliu.

    Aliu sustained gunshot wounds when the suspected thugs opened fire on their vehicle while on their way to the governor’s residence in Okene.

    Governor Bello disclosed this on Saturday shortly after casting his vote at his Agassa Uvete ward 011 polling unit in Okene Local Government Area.

    He expressed sadness over the killing, saying that the police were already investigating the matter.

    Read Also: Niger: Sani Bello wins polling unit

    The governor waited for close to two hours before accreditation, owing to card reader malfunction.

    He expressed disappointment with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the shoddy arrangement, saying that it did not augur well for a transparent and credible election.

    According to him, “For an election where card readers are expected to shut down at 2 o clock, and in a polling unit such as this, with 844 registered voters, many people will be disenfranchised.”

    He, however, expressed satisfaction with the relatively peaceful conduct while the exercise lasted in the area.

  • Breaking: Gunmen assassinate Imo APC chairman

    Gunmen have assassinated chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) chairman in Logara/Umuohiagu Ward in Ngor Okpala Council Area of Imo state, Ifeanyi Ozoemena.

    He was murdered on Tuesday night shortly after presiding over a meeting of the party in the ward.

    The development sparked off fear in the state ahead of Saturday’s rescheduled presidential and National Assembly election.

    The suspected hired assassins were said to have murdered him in his house right before his family members.

    A community leader, Chief Martin Opara, who confirmed the killing to our correspondent, said the community had been thrown into panic and mourning.

    Read Also: Gunmen abduct two saw millers

    According to him, the community had never witnessed such political killing, urging security agencies to fish out the killers of the APC chieftain without any delay.

    Opara said the Eze-in-Council in conjunction with the community’s town union had met and sent a delegation to Divisional Police Officer requesting masterminds of the dastardly act should be arrested without any hesitation.

    He said: “This killing is strange to our community. Report says that he was shot severally in his house until he died.

    “We have met with the Eze-in-council and have sent a delegation to the DPO requesting that the killers should be arrested immediately.

    “Logara community is known for peace and we won’t jeopardise peace among us.

    “The deceased finished hosting a meeting of APC members in his ward after which gunmen operating in a jeep came and requested to see him. On sighting him, they shot him severally before they left.”

    Commissioner of Police Dasuki Galadanchi confirmed the killing to our correspondent in a telephone conversation.

    He said the police have evacuated the corpse.

    According to the CP, the gunmen who killed the APC chieftain operated in an SUV jeep.