Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commissioner (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega Thursday expressed disappointment over the attitude of some politicians in the country.
Jega described their mindset to electoral process as ‘predisposition and reckless.’
He said: “From my experience, I quite often say that Nigeria has a special breed of politicians (Nee: ‘Militicians’). They generally tend to believe that political power through elections has to be “captured”, and this has to be done by hook or by crook; and by any means necessary! Them, winning election is, literally, “a do-or-die” affair.”
Jega who is now at the Department of Political Science Bayero University, Kano said the sad development remained a formidable challenge for future reformation of the Nigerian electoral process adding that: “As long as politicians continue to have this unwholesome mindset, efforts at electoral reform and deepening democracy would remain constrained.”
The ex-INEC boss who spoke in Abuja at the first University of Abuja Public Lecture Series, with the theme: Electoral Reforms in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects disclosed that the 2007 elections were manifestly the worst in Nigeria’s history.
His words: “INEC faced perhaps its greatest challenge in containing the predisposition and reckless mindset of Nigerian politicians. Any wonder then, that our political arena increasingly resembled a bloody battlefield, with maiming, killing, burning, and unimaginable destruction of lives and property. Navigating the ‘minefield’ of ‘do-or-die’ politicians as an impartial electoral umpire required nerves of steel, and we had to quickly the requisite thick skin, as well as appropriate containment strategies.
“Compliance with the laws and insisting on same and respect for due process, as well as being none partisan and transparent, helped the Commission in navigating this ‘minefield.”
He advised government to ensure that security plays a wise roll in future elections.
Jega said further that: “A series of badly conducted elections could create perpetual political instability and easily reverse the gains of democratization. If adequate care is not taken, badly conducted elections can totally undermine democratization and replace it with authoritarian rule, of the civilian or military varieties. At best, they can install inept and corrupt leadership that can herald, if not institutionalize bad governance. There are many illustrations or manifestations of this throughout Africa. But nowhere is this as amply illustrated as in the Nigerian case, especially between 1999 and 2007.
“The 2007 elections were manifestly the worst in Nigeria’s history, as declared by both domestic and international observers. The EU observer mission, for example, noted that the elections fell “short of basic international standards”, and were characterized by violence and crude use of money to buy votes.
“There was reckless mobilization of ethno-religious cleavages and heightened use of money and thugs to influence results. The pre-electoral processes, such as party primaries were conducted in grossly undemocratic fashion. In many cases, the results were said to have gone to the highest bidder. The winner of the presidential election, late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, himself admitted on the day of his inauguration, that there were serious flaws in the election that brought him to power.
“There are also other associated challenges. For example, meeting the production deadlines in the production of PVCs was seriously affected by power failures, which damaged equipment, which the vendor could not quickly replace. The use of the SCR was constrained by the fact that some polling units are located in areas where there was no Internet coverage! Or in schools, which used as Super RACs, with no electricity to charge batteries and SCRs!”
He urged the youths to be interested in the electoral reforms for a better country.
Jega advised government to sustain the current ongoing reforms in the electoral process and ensure that the players and other stakeholders abide by the rule at all time.
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari over the choice of his successor affirming that he can do the job.
Turkish police on Wednesday raided the offices of a media group seen as being critical of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Report says the raid is part of a wider crackdown this week against Ipek, a holding company associated with followers of Turkish-born preacher, Fethullah Gulen, who is in exile in the U.S.
Police used tear gas and have arrested a number of journalists.
According to the report, the raid is focused on Bugun TV, a small broadcaster that continues to air live, though its coverage is focused on the masses of policemen outside its door.
It noted that Gulen was once a close ally of Erdogan, but the two split in recent years and were now enemies.
Meanwhile, Gulenists have been at the forefront of corruption allegations brought against the government.
Report says Turkey holds a snap election on Nov. 1, the second parliamentary poll this year after a June vote produced a hung parliament.
All three major opposition parties have rallied around Bugun TV, in spite of having political differences with the media outlet, which has touted a nationalist line in the past.
“When there is a reduction in the range of viewpoints available to citizens, especially before an election, it is a matter of concern,’’ the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, said amid the crackdown on Ipek.
Report says the holding company is accused of financial improprieties.
The Plateau State Election Petition Tribunal in Jos yesterday upheld the election of Governor Simon Bako Lalong of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
It dismissed the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) petition.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Lalong as the winner, but the PDP candidate, Senator Gyang Pwajok, challenged the result, alleging fraud, irregularity and non-compliance with the electoral guidelines.
INEC and APC argued that the party’s (APC’s) victory was well deserved.
The tribunal held that the petitioner failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
In the judgment, which lasted six hours, the Chairman, Justice Johnson Candide, said: “The petitioners, PDP and Senator Pwajok, have failed to produce credible evidence to prove their allegations.
“The petitioners abandoned their criminal case and relied on the civil aspects to substantiate their petition. However, the evidence they provided was not substantial to convince the tribunal to invalidate the result declared by INEC.
“The tribunal, therefore, has no option but to affirm the result declared by INEC, following the April 11 governorship poll.
“In other words, the petition of the PDP and its governorship candidate is dismissed for lack of merit and the election of Governor Lalong is upheld, having substantially complied with the electoral guidelines.”
From the EU Election Observation Mission’s report, it’s not yet uhuru
The European Union Election Observation Mission has submitted its final report on the 2015 general elections. The report highlighted some of the challenges during the election; and offered some suggestions to improve the system.
While the general election received a lot of kudos and was adjudged credible, the Mission nevertheless made 30 suggestions on how to improve the process. The election also received a boost following the peaceful transfer of power, from a sitting government at the centre, to an opposition party.
In presenting the report, the EU’s chief observer, Santiago Fisas, noted that there were, in some places, violence, abuse of incumbency and manipulation of the process. Therefore, the Mission called for electoral reforms, proffering a modality for the selection of the election umpires, at all levels.
Interestingly, the Justice Mohammadu Lawal Uwais panel, instituted by late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, following the travesty of the 2007 elections, also made suggestions that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), should not be appointed by the President. The panel premised its argument on the need to remove partisan officials of state from the selection process of the Chief electoral officer. Unfortunately, while some of the suggestions the Uwais panel made were implemented, the issue of appointment of the chief electoral umpire remains as it was.
The EU chief observer also noted that out of the 30 recommendations made by the Mission, 19 of them would require legislative action, while some others merely require administrative action, at various levels. Mr Fisas, therefore, called on “the new office holders, legislative bodies, INEC and other stakeholders to demonstrate commitment to electoral reform”.
One of the recommendations that would require legislative reform, is a law “to establish a more inclusive parliamentary mechanism for cross-party involvement in the selection and approval of the INEC chairperson and national commissioners”.
Perhaps the proposed law could also provide a balance between the powers of the electoral officials at the polling units, ward collation centres, local government collation centres, state collation offices and the national electoral offices, particularly where there are glaring irregularities, at the subordinate levels. Unfortunately in practice, our electoral process is bedevilled by overbearing incidences of bad faith, both by election officials and the contestants at the various levels. So it is hoped that the law can be made to ameliorate these challenges.
To help improve the process, the mission suggested the merger of the accreditation and voting process. As was observed at the last election, many voters who turned up for the accreditation process, failed to come back to vote. Perhaps if the two process is done simultaneously, many more voters would participate in the election. To make this realisable during an election, the accreditation process should be made simpler and faster, and to achieve that, there should be further resort to technology, as was witnessed in 2015, to aid efficiency.
The suggestion by the Mission for an improved biometric data of voters, would therefore be useful. Indeed, if the biometric data is robust and efficient, Nigerians would be able to vote wherever they are, irrespective of where they registered. Again, the incidence of over-voting, underage voting, multiple-voting and many other frauds in the voting process would be curbed. As we have suggested previously on this page, Nigerians must push towards electronic voting, to stamp out, or reduce minimally, electoral fraud. The point: a transparent electoral process would also help to curb corruption in the polity.
In the words of the chief observer, “there should be an elaborate plan for developing and maintaining the voter register to include improving biometric functionality, removal of the deceased’s names and extended enrolment of new registrants”.
The suggestion on registration of new voters is welcome, and indeed should be made permanent; with a few weeks break, before any election, to aid efficient preparation process. The fetish made of the voters register should, therefore, be stopped, as many candidates in the past have pointed at manipulated voter registers, as the source of their defeat. So the voter register should be secure, transparent and tamper-proof, to gift Nigerians a free, fair and credible elections.
We believe that many Nigerians look forward to the Federal Government’s reaction to the suggestion made by the commission to further improve the electoral process. We urge President Muhammadu Buhari to weigh in, and partner with the federal legislature and state governments to work towards a further improvement in the credibility of our electoral process.
Considering the far reaching suggestions made by the commission, we urge that it should be embedded in the Justice Uwais report, and be implemented, as a legacy project for the current political actors. It is also important to remind the actors and all Nigerians that our electoral process will only be as good as Nigerians insist that it should be.
An uneasy calm pervades the atmosphere at Uyo and other parts of Akwa Ibom State as people are waiting anxiously for the verdict of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to be delivered in a few days’ time.
The April 11, election which produced Emmanuel Udoma as the governor from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is the subject of petition before the Akwa Ibom State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal led by Justice Sadiq Umar sitting in Abuja. Although, the tribunal commenced sitting in Uyo, it had to be moved to the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) owing to the unfavourable security atmosphere in the state capital.
Although Nigerian politicians are not known to easily conceeding or accepting defeat even when an election is adjudged transparent, free, fair and credible, the same cannot be said of Akwa Ibom State, considering what transpired in the state prio to the election and on the election day.
The PDP candidate, Udom, was declared winner in an election alleged to be most controversial in the history of elections in the country. The election was allegedly marred with violence, killings, harassment of voters, hijacking of election materials and unprecedented rigging, making international and local observers to pass an unanimous verdict that ‘it was a sham and recommended a complete cancellation of the exercise.
Umana
The All Progressives Congress (APC), which is the main opposition, also came out strongly to decry the conduct of the exercise. The party said there was no election in the state as it accused the former governor, Godswill Obot Akpabio, of allegedly deploying state machineries to rig the election and overturn the popular wish of the people. As a result of this, the APC and its candidate, Umana Okon Umana, challenged the victory at the tribunal, seeking a cancellation of the purported election.
The thrust of the petition filed before the tribunal by the petitioners was that elections did not take place in many parts of Akwa Ibom State. The party alleged in its petition that high level of violence, arson and intimidation were employed by the PDP government to perfect rigging during the governorship election and stressed that the essence was to prevent voters from exercising their rights. Expectedly, the APC supported its allegations with evidences to prove that the election was not free and fair.
For instance, the petitioners had on April 27, obtained the Certified True Copy of the polling unit by polling unit accreditation data for the whole state from the 3rd respondent Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja. These were part of the evidences tendered and admitted as Exhibit 317 by the tribunal. The petitioners had contended that whereas Exhibit 317 gave an aggregate figure of 437, 128 of accredited voters, the first respondent announced a phantom figure of 1, 122, 836 votes, which when interpreted amounted to a differential of 685,708 votes.
During the sitting of the tribunal, the APC called more than 35 witnesses, whose account of alleged election irregularities were shocking to prove its case. They all recounted before the tribunal how results were announced for many polling units in various local government areas despite the fact that no election took place in such units.
One important submission of the lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), while making his final submission in support of the petitioners’ final written address, was that, “no election known to law, no election known to mankind, no election known to civilisation was conducted in Akwa Ibom State”.
Many pundits and keen observers of political developments in the state have since described the submission of Olanipekun as a valid summation of the sordid events of April 11, in Akwa Ibom State.
The high points of Umana’s case before the tribunal included a video evidence, which catalogued a lot of manipulations, snatching of ballot boxes, thump printing of ballot papers by persons suspected to be PDP members and non-availability of result sheet at many polling units.
For instance, the clips showed in the courtroom revealed some INEC ad hoc staff (Youth Corps members) stamping ballot papers behind INEC office, days after the election while another clip of the video showed a PDP local government chairman presiding over a massive operation of ballot box stuffing using thugs.
Another clip showed a police truck and an Akwa Ibom State Transport Corporation bus allegedly used to cart away election materials and intimidate voters, who dispersed in fear for their lives while another clip showed bandits caught with election materials and interviewed by those, who stopped them.
There were also revelations in the video clips, which allegedly revealed how the spurious figures were tallied and written on forms by purported agents of the PDP.
For instance, a former Deputy Speaker, Hon. Uwem Udoma, told the tribunal that election did not take place in the 125 polling units in Abak Local Government Area.
A Youth Corps member, Chidinma Nwogbo, who was posted to the state and served as a presiding officer gave a chilling account of her ordeal in the hands of persons suspected to be thugs working for the PDP during the election. Chidinma told the tribunal that she was stripped naked by thugs in Uyo while the election materials under her care were carted away by the thugs. She tendered her torn NYSC crested vest and the jacket given to her by a spirited member of the public.
Obong Victor Attah, a former Governor of the state testified that there was no voting in his unit, ward and local government and went ahead to tender video CD to prove his testimony.
Also testifying before the tribunal, a forensic expert, Abdullahi Dauda disclosed that out of the 140, 832 finger prints on ballot papers matched (scanned and analyzed) by his team, over 100,000 were non- human prints. Abdullahi noted that his team of experts, which carried out the investigation, also discovered about 13, 000 cases of multiple thumb printing.
The non-human prints could possibly have been more as another member of the forensic team, Sanusi, alleged that INEC did not allow them a free access to the election materials. He also alleged that constant incursion by the Attorney-General of the state was another issue his team had to contend with.
Another witness, Chief Peter-King Atarah, testified that there were no election materials in all the polling units in Nsit Atai area of the state contrary to results announced by INEC for the area. The same thing was reported by other witnesses, who testified before the tribunal concerning other areas in the state including Eastern Obollo, Nsit Ibom, Obot Akana.
In one of the exhibits tendered, it was shown that in Etim Ekpo area of the state, out of the total number of 45922 accredited to vote, 45965 voted, which amounted to manipulation of figures.
Observers expected a sitting governor, such as Udom Emmanuel, to put up a spirited fight to save his “mandate” during the proceedings. But this did not happen. The first respondent and his team of lawyers earlier in the month only called few witnesses and closed their defense.
For instance, none of the 19 witnesses called by the first respondent, Udom Emmanuel, and the four called by the second respondent, the PDP, was accredited during the election. Although they had claimed in their written statements on oath that they were accredited.
The cross examination by counsels to the petitioners revealed that none of their names was ticked in the voters register. This showed that they were not accredited for the election, which may mean that they were not credible witnesses. In addition the PDP, which is the second respondent, did not call any of their collation agents to challenge the evidence of the petitioners’ witnesses.
Even the PDP State Collation Agent, Emmanuel Enoidem, who deposed to about 20- paragraph statement on oath and was listed as their prime witness, neglected his statement and was never called as a witness to defend the victory.
The first respondent, Udom Emmanuel, had attempted to deny the existence of the figures of accredited voters contained in the table in paragraph 29 of the petition in paragraph 13 (a) of his reply to the petition, he, however, led no evidence on it during trial. None of the respondents also made any effort to contradict the figure in Exhibit 317 nor discharge the evidential burden of proof on them to explain the differential of 685,708. All they did was to argue that Section 49 of the Electoral Act allows for manual accreditation and that the recent Court of Appeal decision in APC v. Agbaje & Ors (unreported) cross-appeal no. CA/L/EP/GOV/751A/2015 negated the petitioners reliance on card reader as a basis for seeking the nullification of the ‘election’.
Other effort made to protect the victory of the governor was when the second respondent , the PDP subpoenaed INEC to bring seven big bags allegedly containing Incident Forms, which they said were used for accreditation to the Tribunal. This was never completed as the content of the bags were never tendered throughout the sitting of the tribunal and as at the time the members adjourned to give verdict. Even when the tribunal reminded the second respondent that it had not tendered the Incident Forms, it still never did.
For an election to be adjudged free and fair and acceptable in any democracy, certain ingredients are important and pertinent: mode of accreditation, the pattern of voting, collation, recording on all relevant INEC Forms duly signed by party agents and security officials, sorting and preservation of ballot papers and report of law enforcement agencies among others and where the matter is before a tribunal, the arguments and facts placed before the panel. There must be full adherence to each of these ingredients for there to be an election.
The people of Akwa Ibom deserves change. They deserve truth and justice and with high hope on the members of the tribunal for the preservation of their will as expressed on April 11, 2015. So as the tribunal gradually wind down to judgement day, all eyes are on the panel to do justice when they make their final pronouncement base on the strength of the case presented before them by the parties bearing in mind that their verdict may become a reference point in the history of election petitions in the country. Can Umana get justice from the tribunal, only time will tell.
Bayelsa women are scared. They are afraid of losing their husbands, children and relations at the forthcoming December 5 governorship election in the state. They do not want their state to be turned into a theatre of war, bloodshed and brigandage in the name of election.
The fears are genuine. They watched with shock how a primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC), an exercise that was supposed to be a family affair, snowballed into violence and led to shooting, beating, kicking and machete attacks.
They looked helpless as youths advancing the course of their political benefactor in the APC stormed the party secretariat, pulled down billboards, tore posters and banners and caused tension in the Yeni-Zuegene area of Yenagoa; demanding that the state Chairman of the APC, Mr. Tiwe Oruminighe, must be made the running mate of Chief Timipre Sylva.
Besides, the women are terrified over controversies generated by the plan of a group of militants under the auspices of Mangrove Boys of Bayelsa (MBB) to lead a 10,000-man protest against Sylva.
Despite how convincing MBB sounds on maintaining the peace during the protest, the women are nursing fears that such demonstration may lead to a bloody clash between Sylva’s men and the organisers.
The Bayelsa women are yet to recover from the emotional trauma resulting from the war in their neighbouring Rivers State, where youths were mowed down in their prime and properties worth billions of Naira destroyed. It was an election, they recalled, that caused that sicken war.
Such should not be their portion in the only Ijaw homogeneous state.
What will the women do to stop looming electoral violence before, during and after the polls? They are pleading with security agencies to be at alert without compromising the rules of engagements. They are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to help them keep the peace of the state. The women have also started meeting to sensitise members of the public to the need for a violent-free polls.
In the circumstances, therefore, women from various communities have unanimously decided to pool resources against all forms of electoral violence and intimidation ahead of the December 5 governorship election.
They have gathered themselves under the umbrella of Women of Excellence (WE) coordinated by Mrs. Tari-Ere Gita to present a common front against violence. To this end, a seminar on electoral violence was held on Monday, October 12 at the Cultural Centre, Yenagoa.
Making their positions known, Gita, alongside the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Amaemi Bekeyei-Alaki and the group’s Non-Indigene Coordinator, Alexis Sowunmi, they maintained that all parties to the election should adhere to the rules of engagement.
Gita said: “In recent past, Bayelsa State was smeared by violence, killings, kidnappings, cultism; state machinery was used to sponsor terrorism with political opponents as targets. Perceived enemies of government were not left out. Many indigenes of Bayelsa went into exile in neighbouring states and far-flung places”.
Gita, however, enjoined all the parties to pursue peace and political tolerance, insisting that the election must be held in an atmosphere of civility, law and order.
She called on politicians to desist from heating up the polity. She also urged security agencies to ensure protection of lives and property before, during and after the election. She urged them to arrest and deal with anybody promoting violence in the state.
“We call on President Buhari to direct all relevant security agencies to ensure that people of Bayelsa are spared the anguish of political violence and wanton destruction of lives and property.
“Mr. President must not be seen to encourage or tactically support electoral violence, and must therefore take appropriate steps to ensure that the election is free and fair.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should ensure that the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Bayelsa State is held in accordance with the law and in line with international electoral best practices.
“To our women, our aged citizens and the physically-challenged, we say come out and decide your future on December 5, this year. To our youths, we say shun violence,” she said.
She said WE was established to promote political, economic and cultural dynamism inherent in every woman.
Gita further said the association operates on the platform of unity of its members without prejudice to their educational and social status.
She said the group advocates, among other things, women participation in governance, non-violence against women, strengthening of the home front, legislations, economic empowerment of women and peaceful co-existence.
The election petition tribunal sitting in Abia State has declared Mao Ohuabunwa winner of the Abia North senatorial election.
Ohuabunwa was declared winner after the addition and deduction of votes cast for him and the petitioner, Chief Bourdex Ogba Onuoha.
Tribunal head Justice Adeniyi Onibanjo said Onuoha’s claims of irregularities were not enough to cancel the election, adding that the petitioner was able to prove that some of his votes were deducted by INEC, while Ohuabunwa’s votes were increased by the electoral body.
The tribunal, therefore, decided to deduct the votes they believed were given to Ohuabunwa by INEC and added the votes believed to have been deducted from Onuoha back to him.
The results, after deduction from Ohuabunwa, was 43, 738, while Onuoha’s, after adding his stolen votes, was 28, 210.
The tribunal also dismissed Orji Uzor Kalu’s petition for incompetence, even as the petitioner earlier questioned the jurisdiction of the tribunal to handle the case.
Onuoha expressed shock with the result, saying the tribunal delayed his mandate.
He said he would proceed to the Court of Appeal to recover his stolen mandate, even as he urged his supporters to remain calm.
The tribunal has nullified the election of Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Lead judge said the election was inconclusive due to irregularities in Obingwa and Ugwunagbo councils.
Candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Chris Nkwonta petitioned the tribunal seeking nullification of Abaribe’s election for electoral irregularities.
Abaribe said his team was confused about the ruling but has applied for a Certified True Copy of the judgment as a guide to an appropriate response.
Abaribe, a three-term senator was first elected to represent Abia South in 2007.
The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Enugu on Thursday nullified the election of the senator representing Enugu East Senatorial District, Gilbert Nnaji, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP).
It ordered that fresh election be conducted in the senatorial district within ninety days.
The tribunal held that the election did not comply with the 2010 Electoral Act as it was marred by irregularities.
Delivering judgment on the petition, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Matthew Adewara, said allegations of alteration of results, mutilations and cancellation were proven by the petitioners and nullified the result.
Relying heavily on the evidence of the forensic expert, who testified on behalf of Nnamani, the tribunal held that irregularities alleged in the conduct of the election were “gross and fundamental.”
The tribunal pointed out that the election did not comply with the rule on accreditation of voters and with proven cases of multiple voting, ballot box snuffing and over voting.
Nnamani, a former governor of Enugu State, had filed the petition at the tribunal, challenging the declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nnaji as winner in the election.
He alleged that there were widespread irregularities, malpractices and corruption in the conduct of the election.
He also alleged, in the petition, that the conduct of the election was not in substantial compliance of the 2010 Electoral Act.
He said that his agents in some polling units in Isi Uzo Local Government were intimidated, while there were cases of voting rigging, ballot box snuffing and mutilation of result sheets.
He prayed the tribunal to nullify the result of the election and declare him winner.
Nnamani contested on the platform of People for Democratic Change (PDC).
Speaking after the tribunal’s judgment, counsel to Nnamani, Olusegun Jolawo, expressed satisfaction with the judgment, but said their team would have been happier if his client had been returned as winner.
Counsel to INEC, Mr Wilfred Nwabude, said the commission would look into the judgment and know its next line of action.
The National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Ikeja on Friday upheld the victory of the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila.
The tribunal held that Gbajabiamila of the All Progressives Congress (APC) validly won the March 28 election for Surulere Federal Constituency I in Lagos State.
The three-man tribunal led by Justice C.U. Anwuka resolved all issues raised in favour of the respondent.
The tribunal consequently dismissed the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Mr Tony Ashikodi, for failing to prove the allegations of electoral fraud.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ashikodi had petitioned the tribunal challenging the outcome of the election.
Ashikodi had alleged that he observed some irregularities during the election which contravened the provisions of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s approved guidelines.
He urged the court to void the election and order a fresh election to be conducted by INEC.
The petitioner had alleged that “the final figures in Form EC 8 C (i) were cancelled and altered with a view to declaring Gbajabiamila the winner of the election.”
He claimed that the 14,351 received by the APC candidate was “whimsically changed’’ to 21,715 while 16,079 earlier recorded for petitioner was changed to 14,550.
However in the judgment, the tribunal said Ashikodi failed to substantiate his allegations that ballot boxes were snatched and result sheets falsified by INEC.
The judges noted that the petitioner failed to call a single witness to substantiate his claims.
They said Ashikodi, in his evidence-in-chief, admitted that he was not present at the collation centre and did not tender any document to back his allegations of multiple irregularities.
The tribunal also faulted the claim of the petitioner’s counsel, Mr. Kalu Onuah, that the election did not comply with Section 139 of the Electoral Act and therefore dismissed the petition.
•Tribunal upholds another Lagos lawmaker’s victory
The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lagos has declared All Progressives’ Congress candidate, Solomon Olamilekan Adeola winner of the March 28, 2015 Lagos West Senatorial election.
The three-man tribunal led by Justice Sylvanus Orji, yesterday delivered the judgment in the petition filed by the candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Segun Adewale, challenging the victory of Senator Adeola in the election.
In a unanimous judgment that lasted two and half hours, the tribunal dismissed the petition of the PDP candidate for lack of merit and incompetence.
Adewale had sued Adeola, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), asking that he should be declared the winner.
Adewale was represented by his lead counsel, Dr YemiOke while Adeola was represented by R.A Olagoke. Dr.MuizBanire (SAN) represented the APC with INEC represented by Oluwaseun Olusiyi.
Adewale, in the petition had alleged that the election was characterized by irregularities and rigged to favour the APC candidate.
He had further alleged that the results submitted by the various wards did not correspond with the number of voters accredited by the card readers, and that election did not hold in some wards among other irregularities.
He therefore urged the tribunal to declare him as winner of the election.
But the APC in its preliminary objection contended that the petitioner (Adewale) lacked the locus standi to institute the action.
The party argued that the petitioner did not specify the law under which he brought the petition and also failed to state the votes scored by the candidates.
“By provision of Electoral Act, the petitioner is expected to specify the scores of all the candidates in the election. He only specified his own score and that of the APC candidate who is the respondent.”
Adeola, on his part, urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition on the ground that it lacked merit.
He specifically contended that there was material contradiction with the petitioner’s prayer and urged the court to declare him winner.
The tribunal however disagreed with Adewale’s contention, insisting that there was no substantial evidence to prove that Senator Adeola was not qualified to run for the election.
On the claim of the petitioner that there were irregularities at the polling units, the tribunal held that Adewale did not provide substantial evidence to validate his claim.
In the view of the tribunal, the party agents at the polling units failed to provide evidence that there were irregularities at several polling units, to confirm such allegation and claims by the petitioner.
The tribunal held that in the absence of any evidence from any party agent, that Adewale’s allegation of irregularities at several polling unit was mere speculation.
The tribunal however chided Adewale and his legal team for disregarding the court’s guideline in filing his final written submission.
The tribunal members noted that Adewale’s legal team filed 104 pages of final written address as against the 40 pages stipulated by law.
Meanwhile, the lawmaker representing Lagos Mainland Constituency 2 at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Moshood Olarenwaju Oshun yesterday declared that his victory at the Lagos State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal is a confirmation that he truly earned the confidence and trust of the people in the constituency.
Oshun, who spoke through his media office after the tribunal sitting in Ikeja, Lagos State yesterday upheld his victory at the 2015 election, further said the people of his constituency should be congratulated for their steadfastness, support and cooperation with the All Progressives Congress, APC, through which he emerged candidate and won the election.
Ibrahim Olumide Ajiga of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had petitioned the tribunal, headed by Justice Sylvester Orji, challenging the declaration of MoshoodOlanrewaju by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC
