The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ELECTION

  • U.S. election: Campaigns, normal activities ongoing with no security deployment

    U.S. election: Campaigns, normal activities ongoing with no security deployment

    U.S. witnessed normal government and commercial activities on Tuesday in the ongoing historic election with no security personnel deployed to polling stations.

    A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in the U.S. reports that government offices, commercial banks, schools and other activities remained open with no restriction of movements.

    Working class individuals were also seen coming early to the polls to cast their votes before going to their offices.

    Elections officials told NAN that security personnel are not deployed to polling stations as violence are not usually anticipated.

    They, however, said that security personnel could be called should there be any hitch to the poll at any of the centres.

    NAN also reports that campaigns were ongoing at the polling centres with supporters of candidates publicly soliciting for votes.

    NAN, however, reports that guns could be carried into some polling centres like churches and other public places except schools, according to officials.

    The laws of some states in the U.S. permit carrying of guns except in mostly northeastern states.

    A commissioner at the Department of Elections, State of Virginia, Mr Edgardo Cortes, said that law enforcement officials are prohibited from being deployed to polling centres.

    “Law enforcement agents are not deployed to polling centres. They are not deployed to protect ballots; it is prohibited.

    “Law enforcement agents are only on calls to respond if there are disturbances, but we ask them not to set up speed stops or checks that could deter people from accessing voting places.

    “Holidays are also not declared,” he told NAN.

    He also said that campaigns are allowed at the polling centres within certain perimeters.

    “Campaigns are allowed outside 40 feet of the polling centres. There is no law banning campaigns on election day.

    “There is going to be campaigns going on as the voting is going on,” he said.

    At all the polling stations visited by NAN, no security official was sighted.

    Ms Joyce Gunderlach, Chief Election at Kiln Greek precinct in Newport News, said that the centre did not require any law enforcement official as no incidences of violence had been recorded there in history.

    Similarly, Mrs Linda O’Dell, Election, Chief Election Officer at Old Courthouse Way Community Centre, said she could call the police if their services are required but expressed confidence that such would not be necessary.

    Results from the elections are expected to be declared tonight while the president-elect would also be announced by major media networks later on Tuesday. (NAN)

  • INEC sets dates for Rivers, Lagos, FCT

  • Ondo polls: Mimiko faults INEC’s listing of Ibrahim’s as PDP candidate

    Ondo polls: Mimiko faults INEC’s listing of Ibrahim’s as PDP candidate

    The outgoing governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Mimiko on Friday faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the listing of Jimoh Ibrahim as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

    According to him, Eyitayo Jegede is the lawful candidate of the party.

    He also pointed out that the Justice Abang judgment INEC relied upon has nothing to do with Jimoh and Jegede.

    Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Mimiko said: “I am shocked. In logic, in law, in politics, there is no basis for it whatsoever. The Jimoh Ibrahim factor in all of this is predicated on a court order given by Justice Abang. Incidentally that court order is about zonal and state executives of PDP. That order is about 2009 election.

    “Neither Jimoh Ibrahim nor Tayo Jegede were parties to the suit. So, when that judgment suddenly came because when the name of Ibrahim was sent to INEC after a primary election which was conducted in Ibadan without INEC monitoring it, without security agencies, SSS or police, when the name gets to INEC and this Abang judgment was attached, INEC took the right decision initially by making it clear that to start with, it is not state or zonal executive that is empowered by the electoral act to conduct election, number two, the Abang judgment on the basis of which they were putting pressure on INEC to accept Jimoh Ibrahim as a candidate was referring to 2009 election.

    “There is nothing about 2016 election in that judgment. So, on the basis of this, a nitro, INEC refused and discountenanced the name of Jimoh Ibrahim as a candidate.

    “Then they went ahead and filed form 48 and from the blues, the same Justice Abang mandated INEC to replace the name of Eyitayo Jegede who emerged through a primary process that was supervised by INEC, security agencies on live television with all delegates that were supposed to participate, then Abang ordered that Jimoh Ibrahim should replace Eyigayo Jegede,” he said.

    “Ordinarily, we should have disregarded the order because like I said, Jegede was not a party to the suit, neither was Jimoh Ibrahim. But we were also advised that it was very important for us to appeal so that if anybody is up to a mischief, we would have taken the plank off the person.

    According to him, they immediately appealed.

    “When we had filed in our papers, submitted our briefs and gotten date, that should serve as a stay of execution. We don’t want to take chances because somebody in INEC told us that they obey the last order in the commission.

    “Some went to court and obtained two different orders mandating INEC not to substitute Eyigayo Jegede. We served one on INEC around 10 am yesterday, and we served INEC with the order one at the close of business around 3 pm. Only around 7 or 8 pm, we got to know that INEC for no justifiable reason had substituted the name of Jegede and replaced it with that of Ibrahim.

    “The question to ask is on whose order has INEC done that? Apart from the fact that we have two restraining orders on INEC, INEC knows fully well that Jimoh Ibrahim’s primaries was in Ibadan. There was no report by any security agencies that the security situation in Ondo state warranted the movement of the primaries to Ibadan or anywhere outside the state for that matter.” He said

    He also pointed out that the time for substitution of candidates has even elapsed under INEC’s guidelines.

    INEC’s action, he noted, can potentially cause a breach of peace in the state.

    He said that his administration in the last seven and half years has done everything possible to put good governance on the table.

    “We see this action as potentially dangerous. It can cause conflagration in the state and that is why as the chief security officer of the state, I have come to alert Mr President of the potential danger of this injustice so that we can nip it in the bud.” He added

    On the President’s response, Mimiko said: “Mr president has promised to look into it and that if there is any injustice, we should be rest assured that it will be rectified.”

    Speaking on protest in the state, he said: “The whole day from 5 a.m, I have been on phone with stakeholders to ensure they keep the peace in the state. The extent of the protest you have seen has been reduced by our intervention to ensure that there is no breach of peace.

    “I have assured them that this injustice will not stay. We will continue to explore all avenues to make INEC see reasons why this impunity must not stand.

    Asked whether he still has confidence in INEC conducting a credible election, he said: “If INEC finds it difficult to obey court order, a credible election starts with a process like this.”

  • Ihenacho still upset by his 2015 election loss, says Okorocha

    Ihenacho still upset by his 2015 election loss, says Okorocha

    Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha yesterday said former Minister of Interior and governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 2015 election, Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho, is still brooding over his failure in the election.

    The governor, who was reacting to Ihenacho’s newspaper interview where he referred to him (Okorocha) as a dictator, described the former minister as a “briefcase politician” who saw politics as a personal business.

    In a statement in Owerri, the state capital, by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, the governor said: “The truth is that Captain Iheanacho is still nursing the wound of his abysmal outing in the governorship election of 2015 in the state. He lost his deposit in that election and he is yet to keep that frightening experience behind him.

    “Again, Captain Iheanacho, with due respect, is a briefcase politician who sees politics as part of his personal business. The expectation at the end of the day is the huge profit. That was the reason he could not win, at least, in his Owerri North Local Government Area in the 2015 governorship election in which he was the candidate of a party like APGA, which Owelle Okorocha used to win the 2011 governorship election and won majority seats in the House of Assembly and a House of Representatives seat without help from any quarter.”

    The statement added: “It was not surprising, therefore, that Captain Iheanacho could only have 393 votes in the 2015 governorship election in his Owerri North Local Government Area, while Okorocha had 13,493 votes.

    “Even his agents and coordinators

    allegedly voted against him because he was not forthcoming in appreciating that they were working for him.

    “We had taken time to go through the interview to see whether Captain Iheanacho said anything to justify the accusations against the governor; we could not find any. He only talked about the governor demolishing houses in his urban renewal programme. He could not also explain how the state is in trouble under Okorocha.

    “For the umpteenth time, we have told those who care much about the truth that no building has been demolished since the dualisation of some major roads in Owerri began. What have been demolished were fences, shanties and kiosks erected on the roads. We have challenged anybody, including Captain Iheanacho, to mention or publish the location of any building that has been demolished, including his own. But all to no avail.

    “In the interview, he never accused Governor Okorocha of non-performance and he never said the list of Okorocha’s monumental achievements published in some newspapers were false. We take the floor to celebrate that. Then, if Okorocha is working as governor, how then is Imo in trouble under him?”

    The statement added: “He was minister, and it is up to him to tell his audience why he does not talk about his outing as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    “Finally, we want to sincerely appeal to Captain Iheanacho to face his business where he is doing exceptionally well and leave politics for those who know that you can invest in the venture without expecting anything in turn at the end of the day.”

  • ‘Resist election rigging’

    Ondo State Governor’s wife Mrs. Olukemi Mimiko has urged women and other eligible voters to resist election manipulation in the November 26 poll.

    She urged mothers to warn their wards against being used during and after the election.

    Mrs. Mimiko spoke at a forum featuring a lecture titled: “Women: A reliable pillar in nation-building”, at Ore, Odigbo Local Government delivered by PDP governorship candidate’s wife, Mrs. Ebunoluwa Jegede.

    Mrs. Mimiko said: “We need to go back to our various houses to talk to our children and husbands to preach politics of peace, tolerance and love to them, so that peace could reign supreme in the state during and after the election.”

    She advocated politics without bitterness to guarantee peace.

    Thanking the people, especially the womenfolk for their support over the years, she assured that her husband’s administration remained committed to their welfare and growth.

  • Now that Ogun LG election is over

    SIR: The newly elected 57 local council chairmen in Ogun State were on Monday sworn in by the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Olatokunbo Olopade. At the ceremony, the Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, urged them to lead by example and contribute to the development of their respective local councils.

    The election of the chairmen of the 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LG/LCDAs) last Saturday brought to a close the month-long electioneering in the state.

    The APC, despite being the party to beat, did not leave anything to chance. The party did not take the electorate for granted. Even the state governor had to mount the rostrum in the three senatorial districts of the state to campaign for the party’s candidates.

    The APC won all the chairmanship positions and overwhelming majority in the councillorship posts. Two things account for this. The sterling performance of the Amosun administration, which has endeared the party to the electorate and the intra-party disputes within the opposition parties, especially the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The PDP is torn apart in Ogun State and is virtually non-existent. Most of the other parties only exist on the pages of newspapers.

    Now that the council chairmen have been inaugurated, they should hit the ground running. Ogun has fertile agricultural land and so there should be no room for excuses. They should take their cue from Senator Amosun by getting value for money for every project executed. They should be frugal and think out of the box in order to raise the revenue of their council areas.

    One must congratulate the Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) for conducting a peaceful, free and fair election and the people of the state for trooping out to elect their leaders. The state government deserves commendation for providing a secure ambiance for the poll to take place.

     

    • Kayode Salawu,

    Ilaro, Ogun State.

  • Again, election offences tribunal

    Again, election offences tribunal

    •This time, we must get it right

    Once again, a case has been made for the establishment of an electoral offences tribunal in the country. The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who renewed the call for such a tribunal said this was due to the Federal Government’s concern over the spate of electoral malpractices.

    Malami spoke last week Tuesday in Abuja, while inaugurating the Senator Ken Nnamani-led committee on constitution and electoral reform. “The issues of internal democracy structures and the need to prevent the use of illicit funds in the electoral processes as well as the establishment of an electoral offences tribunal are pertinent, if we must evolve globally acceptable electoral system”, the minister said.

    We agree with the minister that our politicians have not learnt any lesson on proper conduct before, during and after electoral contests, and this is largely because violators of the electoral process are hardly arrested not to talk of prosecuted. We have instances where electoral officers, including innocent youth corps members were killed or kidnapped by political thugs during elections. When the killers are not identified or prosecuted, those killed died in vain. Even though convicting the criminals would not necessarily bring back the dead, it at least sends the signal to others who might be criminally minded that they have the law to contend with if they toe the same path.

    Of course, we can argue that the establishment of such tribunal is a duplication of the role of our regular courts, the point is, the courts already have their hands full as they cannot even cope with the many civil and criminal cases pending before them. The result is that justice has been travelling at a snail’s speed in the country. And, as the saying goes, “justice delayed is justice denied”.

    It is in realisation of this weakness of our regular courts that electoral petition tribunals were set up to quickly dispose of election petitions. So, if we have election petition tribunals addressing  matters arising from electoral contests, what stops us from having electoral offences tribunal to also try cases of electoral malpractices?

    This is something the country had been considering in the past few years. The Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua himself admitted that the election that produced his presidency was flawed and set up the Muhammadu Uwais-led electoral reform committee, which recommended, among other things, the establishment of an Electoral Offences Tribunal. Unfortunately, ill-health, which ultimately led to his death, prevented him from seeing such through. Dr Goodluck Jonathan who succeeded him similarly acknowledged the need for an election offences tribunal while receiving the report of the National Stakeholders Forum on Electoral Reform presented by the same Nnamani, in Abuja, in 2014.

    He said: “We need this body (electoral offences tribunal) so that people who commit electoral offences will not get away with them. After elections, the matter goes to the tribunal. The only person who loses is the person who contested that election. Any other person who committed all kinds of atrocities gets away with it as nobody punishes him/her. That is why we continue to have that kind of impunity”. Again, he too could not set up such tribunal until he was voted out of office last year.

    We call on the Buhari administration not to pay lip service to the setting up of this important tribunal. The beauty of democracy is for votes to count. True, election results had been upturned by some tribunals in the past, thus redressing some injustices at the polls, the best place to slug out political contests is through the ballot box.

    The Nnamani committee has its job cut out for it because there are existing reports it can fall back on to facilitate its assignment. We hope the government will also muster the will to implement its recommendations this time around.

  • Edo poll: Ize-Iyamu leads protest in Benin City

    Edo poll: Ize-Iyamu leads protest in Benin City

    …Says God asks him to recover mandate

     

    Governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in the just concluded governorship election in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Friday joined leaders of the party to lead street protests against the outcome of the election.

    The protest began from Ikpoba slope junction along Akpkakpava Street through Second East Circular to New Lagos road and other major streets within Benin City metropolis.

    They wore black attires to mourn what they termed death of democracy.

    Addressing the protesters, Pastor Ize-Iyamu said God has told him to, “pursue and recover”, his mandate which he claimed he was robbed of by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

    Pastor Ize-Iyamu said he is committed to seeking justice over what he termed fake results declared by INEC.

    Ize-Iyamu vowed to pursue the case from the tribunal through the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court, if necessary.

    He said it was lamentable that those who were given victory by INEC were ashamed of celebrating the victory.

    He said, “Let me assure you that the robbery of the Edo peoples mandate will not stand. In the past few days I have been seeking the face of God. I asked him what do I do: do I leave them to their fate? Do I Walk away? And God gave me a word. He said, ‘pursue and recover’.

    “I have not come out since the fake results but many of you said, this mandate is beyond Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu; ‘even if he sits at home we will not sit at home’. Because you voted and your vote must count. Despite the fake results you have refused to be violent. Properties have not been destroyed. No life is lost”.

    “Edo is in a state of mourning like a graveyard because the people’s mandate has been robbed. But let me assure you that that at the end of the day we will win, because God has said so. We will win because Edo people voted for us and we won the election”.

    State chairman of the party, Chief Dan Orbih, said the party would do everything to defend democracy.

    His words, “We are going to defend our right to freely elect our governor. We have a right as a people to decide to elect our governor. That we have done and together we are going to retrieve our mandate”.

    The protest tagged, “Mother of all Protests”, was coordinated by the Centre for Patriotic Leadership Initiative (CPLI), a leadership and rights advocacy NGO, led by Saint Moses Eromonsele.

     

  • Why we upheld Kogi gov’s election — Supreme Court

    Why we upheld Kogi gov’s election — Supreme Court

    The Supreme Court yesterday advanced reasons why it upheld the election of Yahaya Bello as the governor of Kogi State.

    The court said it could not have held otherwise because neither James Faleke (running mate to the late Abubakar Audu) nor Idris Wada (the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP) was qualified to be made governor.

    Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who read the reasons for the lead judgment in the appeal by Faleke, said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) was right in substituting the late Audu with Bello.

    She added that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was in order in allowing the substitution and allowing Bello to inherit the votes scored by the Audu/Faleke joint ticket in the November 21 election.

    Justice Kekere-Ekun said since it is the party that contests election, with the candidate as its agent, it has the power to substitute a deceased candidate once it is done within the law.

    She held that Falake was not qualified to be made a replacement for the deceased candidate because he did not obtain nomination form and did not participate in the primary election.

    Justic Kekere-Ekun said since there was no return and declaration made by INEC in respect of the November 21 election, it was wrong to conclude that the Audu/Faleke ticket had won the election before the December 5 supplementary election.

    She said that before the sudden death of Audu, after the November 21 governorship election, INEC had already declared the election inconclusive and that since the election was not completed and the final result issued by INEC, Faleke, as a running mate, could not seek to inherit victory in the election.

    In upholding the substitution of Audu with Bello, the court said, in the face of the law, Bello was the approprite substitute having obtained nomination form, taken part in the primary election and come second, as against Faleke who did not meet the same condition.

    The court further said that by virtue of Section 221 of the Constitution, Bello, having become candidate of APC, and legally sponsored by the party, was qualified to claim the 240, 867 votes earned by the Audu/Faleke ticket on behalf of the party in the November 21 election.

    The court further held that by virtue of the provision of Section 221, political parties canvass for  votes and are voted for. It added that it was only the candidates duly sponsored by political parties that can lay claim to the votes earned by the party.

    It added that, Faleke, having not been sponsored by the APC as its candidate in the supplementary election,  could not seek to inherit the votes earned by the party in the election.

    Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, who read the reasons in the lead judgment in the appeal by Wada, said the ex-governor failed to prove his allegation that the election was held in violation of the Electoral Act.

    He also upheld the choice of Bello as a replacement for Audu as against Faleke.

    The court said: “While Section 36(1) of the Electoral Act (EA) made provision for what should be done in the event of the death of a nominated candidate after the delivery of nomination paper, but before the commencement of the poll, neither the EA (2010) nor the Constitution provided for what to do in the event of the death of a candidate after the commencement of the poll as in the case at hand.

    “The death of the original candidate of the 2nd respondent (APC) after the commencement of the poll in November 21st election in Kogi State left a yawning gap in the nation’s electoral process without any provision for filling the gap.

    “In the situation such as this, it amounts to abdication of duty for the electoral umpire and the tribunal and court to fold their hands and bemoan the fact that the Legislature failed to do the impossible – providing for all exigencies both in the present and the future in their legislative duties.

    “The 2nd respondent and INEC rightly resorted to substitution of the deceased candidate with the 1ts respondent (Bello). I think that the decision of this court in Amaechi v. INEC (2008) 5 NWLR (pt. 1080) 227 at 296 encompasses the situation created by the death of the 2nd respondent’s candidate. The decision finds support in Section 221 of the Constitution.

    “A political party is an abstraction. It has to canvass votes through its members as agents, in the same way it contests, wins or loses elections through a candidate it nominates, who acts as its agent.

    ”There is no provision for independent candidates. The candidate nominated to contest at an election by his party acts as an agent of his party. He is, as it were, an agent of a disclosed principal, and, as far as third parties are involved, benefits and liabilities accruing to the candidate (as agent) belong to his party (the disclosed principal. “If an agent (candidate) of the party dies, or withdraws from the contest, the political party can substitute the dead candidate or the candidate, who withdraws from the election with another candidate (agent) subject to the provisions of the Act. There is continuity as the new candidate starts and continues from where the previous candidate stopped.“

    In resolving the question of whether or not Bello contested the election without a running mate, the court held that it could not be said that he ran without a running mate as required under the law.

    “Now if the court below (Court of Appeal) did not pronounce on the appellant’s contention that Hon. Faleke was not adopted as the running mate of the 1st respondent, it is because the matter had become academic as the issue of nomination of running mate is not within the jurisdiction of the tribunal and ipso facto, the court below cannot pronounce on it.

    “But that notwithstanding, did Hon. Faleke withdraw his nomination in accordance with Section 35 of the Act? The answer is in the negative for the simple reason that the purported withdrawal was wrongly addressed to the 3rd respondent (INEC) and not to the political party that nominated him.

    “For all intents and purposes, he remained the running mate to the 1st respondent at all material times.” the court said.

  • Why I’ve never contested election, by Odunmbaku

    Why I’ve never contested election, by Odunmbaku

    The Deputy Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Cardinal James Odunmbaku, recently celebrated his 70th birthday. He spoke with Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU on his career as a cleric and poltician, his first contact with Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and his expectations about the Buhari administration.

    You are known as a minister of God. Why are you involved in politics?

    I will say that I’m a special creation of God. I’m a Nazerene, that is somebody set aside specially by God to do His work. Since I was born no razor has touched my head. I have never cut my hair or shaved it.

    I have never been to any seminary, but there is no part of the Bible I can’t quote. I know the Bible inside out, and I prophesy whenever God has a message for me to deliver. Now when you asked how I relate politics with religion, it is very simple. My calling is to preach the gospel. I’m in politics to win souls for Christ, and also to let people realize that all is vanity. My calling is to let politicians know that the reason why they are in power is to serve mankind. My joy is that as people listen to me when I mount the pulpit in the church, they also listen to me when I campaign to them in politics. My mission in politics is to ensure that right leaders are elected to serve the people.

    When you were growing, did it ever occur to you that you will achieve fame and become famous as you are today?

    My God is very big and that’s why I have to be big myself. I have never settled for anything second in my life – I always aspire for the best. If you see me preaching on the pulpit, you will marvel, and when you also see me on the podium campaigning, you find it difficult to believe that I’m the one and the same person. I don’t know how to explain it, but that is the way God has designed my life since I was born. You can see I am always attaining prominence and excellence in whatever I lay my hands upon.

    For this journey of my life, I have been lucky to come across two great Nigerians whom I will like to describe as my mentors. One is late Chief M.K.O. Abiola who christened me Baba Eto, which literarily translates into one who can organize very well or the chief organizer, and the next person is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    I thank God for meeting Tinubu. It was Tinubu who fully tapped my potentialities especially in the area of organizing people for political events. I have always been a crowd puller, but when I met Tinubu, I was able to use this talent fully.

    From day one when I knew him in 1993 when he was a senator, Tinubu has been a wonderful man; a seasoned politician, a man of the people, humble and very patriotic. It is some of these attributes that Tinubu possesses that have been making it possible for Lagos State to be under AD, later ACN, and now APC.

    How does it feel to be 70?

    I feel great. I feel happy and related and also feel fulfilled in Jesus Christ. I’m happy being alive to continue serving Jesus Christ. I have been serving Christ since I was born and I will continue to do so for the remaining period of my life.

    Why have you lnot aspired for elective office?

    That is not my calling. My calling is to pray fervently that the right person mounts the throne. When Godly people are on the throne, people will rejoice.

    From Tinubu, foundation was laid, Fashola built on that foundation, and today Ambode is consolidating on the achievements recorded by Tinubu and Fashola.

    Tinubu laid a solid foundation, and no other person has been able to surpass that. We thank God that Fashola and Ambode have also been wonderful. Prophets don’t aspire to be kings – the moment a prophet aspires to be king, his spiritual life becomes bastardised.

    In the last gubernatorial election, I told God that if Ambode didn’t win the election, nobody will take my prophesy serious again. Meanwhile I had prophesied to my congregation that Ambode would win.

    Again, nobody would respect my prophecy again in the Celestial Church if Ambode lost the election. But I give all glory to God that Ambode won. As a prophet, I don’t take money from people, I bless them. It was on Sunday during one of our services when I went into the inner chambers to pray to the Lord, and later came out to prophesy that Ambode would win. I thank God that my prayers were answered.

    I also predicted the electoral victory of Aregbesola in Osun State and Kayode Fayemi in Ekiti State. The time Fashola was contesting, he came to my church, and God revealed to me that he would win the election and that he is the one who would succeed Tinubu as the next governor of Lagos State.

    I also gave the same prophecy to Tinubu and it came to pass that he became the governor of Lagos State. That time he was being addressed as Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu. How do you define a prophet of God?

    A prophet of God is the one who uses God’s name to predict or prophesy. All my prophecies and predictions are directly from God.

    Was it true that your prophesy to the late Chief Moshood Abiola that you saw him on the throne, but without a crown, meaning that he would win the election, but that he would not become the president?

    Yes, that is very true. I went to meet him in his room in Jos during the SDP primaries in 1993. M.K.O. Abiola had earlier gone to Minna to meet General Babangida, and after their meeting, he came back to Jos delighted, telling us that he has gotten assurance that all would be well  from Babangida. But I then went to his room, and when I saw M.K.O. Abiola, I told him that I saw him occupying the seat of the president but that I didn’t see the crown on his head. He became worried, and later asked me what that meant and I told him the prophecy means that he would win the election, but that he would not be sworn in. That he would not become the president. That is the hallmark of a true prophet of God. You must be able to deliver God’s prophecy the way it was revealed to you even if that person that is receiving the message will shoot you. M.K.O. then asked me, what do we do? I told him that if there was a way out God would have revealed it to me.

    At that point in time, did you advise him to back out?

    I told him it wasn’t revealed to me that he would become the president, but that it was revealed to me that he would win the polls. But I believe at that point in time it was too late to withdraw from the race because the whole nation was ready and at that point in time, M.K.O. Abiola had reached a point of no return.

    Then, M.K.O. Abiola used to tell people that he only fears and respects one prophet and that is me Odunmbaku or Baba Eto. He fondly called me Eto, Eto or Eto ni o. Each time I go to him, he wouldn’t want me to talk too much because he would be afraid that one prophecy or the other would come during my stay with him.

    Why has your party been winning the governorship elections in Lagos?

    We owe allegiance to God but we also support and rever Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu because of the sterling qualities he possesses.

    PDP is not serious and that party is a party of questionable characters. The party is made up of manipulators. If they say we are riggers, that means they are master riggers.

    PDP members don’t believe in the power of prayers. They are like atheists – they don’t believe in God. They don’t believe in prayers. They believe in power of money – they are like night marauders and that is why we have been praying that God should keep them away from Lagos. PDP can never and will never rule Lagos.

    Some people are saying that APC led government is afraid of conducting local government elections because the party lost to PDP in some local government areas during the last general election …?

    Cuts in … That’s a false claim. In the first place, APC is a political party and it is true we are controlling Lagos State, but the responsibility of conducting Local Government elections lies with LASIEC, and I make bold to say that anytime they call for election, we will inflict crushing defeat on PDP again. PDP is a serial loser in Lagos.

    The fact that we lost some constituencies in the last election doesn’t mean that the PDP will make any in-road in Lagos. The APC-led government has been transforming Lagos State, and this is why Lagosians have been voting for the party. Under the present Governor Ambode, the transformation has continued on a bigger and massive scale. When people are happy with you, they will continue to support you. In actual fact, during the local government elections whenever it comes up, APC will reduce PDP to zero level in Lagos State.

    Lagos State has always been blessed with good leaders who know what is good for the people, and that is why through the Internally Generated Revenue, IGR Lagos State has been doing very well.

    What is the secret of your youthful look at 70?

    The secret is the blood of Jesus. Keep your tempers, never lose it. Be contented in whatever you do. No to stress. I don’t envy people. Whatever God gives me, I’m okay.

    What are those things you want to achieve now that you attain 70 years of age?

    It is only one thing that I desire. I want to see that in my lifetime, the Soul Winners Prayer Ground becomes Jerusalem of Africa. I want the place to be transformed to Mecca of Africa. I desire no other thing than this.

    You are a prophet, and you are supposed to be for all nations, but what happens if a PDP member comes to you for prayers?

    Whatever God reveals to me is what I will deliver as my message. But one thing is this, PDP people are born losers. If they are the ones in charge of Lagos State, PDP would have sold Lagos. We thank God for His mercies that these marauders calling themselves PDP members are caricatures of what politicians should be. PDP is a party of scavengers. Nothing good can ever come out of PDP.