The Nation Newspaper

Tag: election materials

  • Sensitive election materials arrive Nasarawa

    Preparatory to the February 16th presidential and National Assembly election, sensitive materials have arrived Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, amidst tight security.

    The materials were taken to Lafia branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) in an articulated vehicle

    Police barricaded the road that passing around the bank to avoid security breach, the blockade forced the convoy of Governor Umaru Almakura to make a detour.

    Read Also: INEC begins distribution of sensitive materials in Imo

    The Nation observed that European Union observers were seen monitoring the offloading of the election materials.

    The items arrived CBN by 12 noon and as at the time of writing this story, the items were being offloaded.

  • Air Force begins airlift of election materials

    THE Air Force said yesterday that it has started the airlift of election materials for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    A statement signed by the NAF Director of Public Relations and Information,  Air commodore Ibikunle Daramola, said the airlift would be conducted day and night to deliver sensitive and non-sensitive materials to designated places.

    Air Commodore Daramola said: “The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), yesterday, February 11, 2019, commenced the airlift of electoral materials for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) across the country for the conduct of the 2019 general elections.

    “The airlift exercise includes day and night missions, during which both sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials were conveyed in batches, with NAF C-130 Hercules aircraft from the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja to various airports across the country.

    “The materials were duly delivered by the C-130H aircraft crew to teams of INEC and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) officials together with security personnel waiting at the various airports.

    “It may be recalled that the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, during his meeting with Air Officers Commanding (AOCs) and NAF Field Commanders on  February 1, 2019, had expressed the readiness of the NAF to avail INEC its transport aircraft to enable expeditious movement of electoral materials, as done in the past.”

  • Polls: Air Force begins airlift of election materials

    The Nigerian Air Force said on Tuesday that it has started the airlift of election materials for the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC).

    A statement signed by the Director of Public Relations and Information of the NAF, Air commodore Ibikunle Daramola said the airlift would be conducted day and night to deliver sensitive and non-sensitive materials to designated places.

    Air Commodore Daramola said: “The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), on Monday 11 February 2019, commenced the airlift of electoral materials for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) across the country for the conduct of the 2019 General Elections.

    “The airlift exercise includes day and night missions, during which both sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials were conveyed in batches, with NAF C-130 Hercules aircraft from the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja to various airports across the country.

    “The materials were duly delivered by the C-130H aircraft crew to teams of INEC and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) officials together with security personnel waiting at the various airports.

    Read Also; Air Force strikes insurgents in Northern Borno

    “It may be recalled that the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, during his meeting with Air Officers Commanding (AOCs) and NAF Field Commanders on 1 February 2019, had expressed the readiness of the NAF to avail INEC its transport aircraft to enable expeditious movement of electoral materials, as done in the past.

    “It is pertinent to state that the transport aircraft are deployed solely to provide airlift support to meet INEC’s logistics requirements, in fulfilment of NAF’s constitutional role of providing Military Aid to Civil Authority. “

  • Fayemi’s lawyers fault PDP’s ‘secret’ access to election materials

    Lawyers to Ekiti State Governor-elect Kayode Fayemi have accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of granting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawyers access to electoral documents used for the July 14 poll without notifying other parties.

    A member of Fayemi’s legal team, Mr. Tajudeen Akingbolu, said his party had written to INEC for the Certified True Copies (CTCs) of the electoral documents.

    He said it had not been granted.

    Akingbolu said the documents requested include Forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D and EC8E, among others.

    The lawyer wondered why INEC allegedly allowed the PDP lawyers to access the documents without the knowledge of other parties.

    According to him, the normal practice is that when a party has been given access to electoral documents, other parties must be notified and their lawyers must be present to prevent any of the documents being mutilated or tampered with.

    Akingbolu, who addressed reporters yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the capital, said he went to INEC office to see the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. AbdulGaniy Raji, on the development but was told he was not at his desk.

    Contacted, INEC spokesman Taiwo Gbadegesin declined comments on the matter.

    He said: “Only the REC can speak on the development.”

    Akingbolu said: “Immediately after the election was conducted, on July 16 to be precise, we wrote an application to the REC to the effect that we needed the CTCs of Forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D, EC8E and other documents used for the conduct of the election. But up till now, we have not been granted access to those documents.

    “This is my third time of coming here. But we heard scary information this morning (yesterday) that our adversary, the PDP, has come here and was given access to those documents.

    “We were reliably informed that INEC opened the store where these documents are kept for the PDP without putting us on notice.

    “That is why we want to sound a note of warning that for any document to be released at all, every party must be available and every other party must be present.

    “We don’t want a situation whereby electoral materials, particularly the ballot papers, will be mutilated, tampered with or destroyed. They can be thumb-printed again to make them look as if they are void.

    “That is why we want to warn INEC to be on the side of caution on this issue. We know the character of the people we are dealing with. We don’t want to take any chances at all and we don’t want to be put on the defensive.”

     

  • Wike, PDP oppose permission for Peterside, APC to inspect election materials

    Wike, PDP oppose permission for Peterside, APC to inspect election materials

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and his party, his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have opposed the permission granted the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate in the last governorship election, Dakuku Peterside, to inspect the materials used for the election.

    APC and Peterside filed a petition at the state’s Governorship Election Tribunal, challenging the declaration of Wike as winner.

    They said the election was marred by irregularity. The party and its candidate applied for permission to inspect materials used in the election, as required under the Electoral Act.

    The court granted the request on June 11.

    Dissatisfied with the permission, Wike and the PDP urged the tribunal to set aside the ex parte order for the inspection of the electoral materials, particularly the voters’ register and card reader machines.

    They argued, in a motion on June 16, that allowing APC and Peterside to examine card reader machines and voters’ register would allow them to make copies and store their contents electronically.

    They argued that this could compromise the secrecy of the ballot.

    Wike and PDP added that the permission could pose security concerns because the materials have “highly sensitive security information containing the biometric data of all registered voters in Nigeria”.

    In a supporting affidavit, Rivers PDP Legal Adviser Benjamin Eke averred that the tribunal’s order on June 11 “is couched in broad general terms, which may extend to” the following:

    “Enabling the petitioners to pass the original ballot papers, voters’ register and other polling documents through their electronic devices for the purpose of capturing the data on them by computer scanning, copying and computer imaging for storage in retrieval systems which will then be taken away by the petitioners; and

    “Enabling the petitioners to maintain a private electronic data base of sensitive electoral records, including fingerprints of registered voters and thereby compromise public security as well as the confidentiality of the voters.”

    “The information on the voters register and the 1st respondent respondent’s (INEC’s) data base, including the card reader machines, are highly sensitive security information containing the biometric data of all registered voters in Nigeria.”

    They added: “That these polling documents, taken together with the voters’ accreditation register and ballot papers used at the election, will compromise the secrecy of the ballot and expose the identity of individual voters and the candidates they voted for at the governors.”

    Wike and PDP argued that the permission granted APC and Peterside on June 11 was unknown to “the Electoral Act and First Schedule thereto”.

    The defendant said he was not put on notice or given an opportunity to be heard before the order of inspection was made.

     

  • APC granted leave to inspect election materials

    The Lagos State Governorship Election Tribunal yesterday granted leave to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to inspect documents used for the April 11 governorship election.

    Justice Muhammad Sirajo issued the order after taking the party’s submission through its counsel, Charles Uwensuyi-Edosomwan.

    The tribunal directed APC, its counsel and/or its agents to inspect and make copies of all polling documents or packets relating or pertaining to the conduct of the election.

    Justice Sirajo ordered the first respondent, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to make available to the applicant (APC), its counsel and/or agents, Certified True Copies (CTC) of polling documents or packets in the prescribed form used and/or purportedly used for the election.

    The tribunal also gave an order, allowing the third respondent and/or its agents to inspect, “by way of machine/electronic scanning, all ballot papers and other electoral materials”.

    Earlier, Uwensuyi-Edosomwan told the tribunal of the motion on notice, dated May 19.

    He urged the tribunal to grant the prayer in the application.

    Counsel to the applicant/petitioner Clement Onwenwunor and other counsel were not opposed to the application.

    The tribunal consequently granted the prayers of the party.

  • Tribunal allows Agbaje to inspect election materials

    Tribunal allows Agbaje to inspect election materials

    •Lawyers warned against delay tactics

    The Governorship Election Tribunal in Lagos State has allowed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Jimi Agbaje, to inspect polling documents and devices used for the April 11 election.

    The Tribunal Chairman, Justice Muhammad Sirajo, granted the prayer while ruling on an application filed by Agbaje’s counsel Clement Onwuenmonor.

    Justice Sirajo also ordered the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide certified true copies of all polling documents, including printed data from card reader machines in each polling units.

    The orders were among  the five prayers filed by the petitioner before the tribunal.

    The tribunal had earlier taken the submissions of Onwuenmunor and his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart, Ademola Sadiq.

    The petitioner urged the tribunal to order INEC to provide certified true copies of all polling documents, including printed data from card reader machines in each polling units.

    The Chairman, National and House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, Justice Sylvanus Oriji, has warned lawyers against delaying the hearing and determination of petitions.

    Justice Sirajo said the tribunal would not tolerate strategies aimed at delaying the expeditious hearing and determination of petitions by lawyers.

    The tribunal chairman issued the warning during the inaugural sitting of the tribunal, which has Justices K. Dabo and Kadi Yusuf as members.

    The judge noted that election petitions were delicate and sensitive to handle because they must be heard and determined within 180 days as specified by Section 285 (6) of the 1999 Constitution.

    He said it has now been established that any judgment delivered by an Election Tribunal in an election petition after 180 days from the date of filing is a nullity.