The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ELECTION

  • Election materials delayed in Ilaje, says Oke

    The Ondo State governorship elections went peacefully in Ilaje local government area yesterday as people of the area trooped out in their numbers to elect their choice candidate in the poll.

    The electorate turned out enmasse and stayed back at various polling units after accreditation to participate in the actual voting.

    However, there were no security men at many of the polling units, especially in the riverine areas, a situation which created tension in some of the polling units.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Chief Olusola Oke, after casting his vote at his Unit 005 at Ilogho in Ugbo III Ward in the Ilaje Council area, expressed disappointment at the late arrival of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials and materials for the poll in the council area.

    Oke said, this was responsible for lateness in starting the accreditation and voting in many parts of the council.

    He lamented that voting did not take place in some units in the Ugbo Ward I and other areas owing to absence of polling officials.

    The PDP candidate, said although INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, meant well in the bid to transform the nation’s electoral process, there were some bad eggs in the electoral body that needed to be removed for elections to be perfect.

    He lamented that some registered voters were disenfranchised as their names could not be found on the INEC register.

     

  • Why Mimiko can’t win Ondo election

    Why Mimiko can’t win Ondo election

    As the clock ticks daily to the D-Day for the Ondo State gubernatorial election and the flurry of political activities and intrigues that accompany it, the question on the lips of observers is; can Mimiko win? The answer is hanging in the air but the reason for asking the question is not far-fetched. Olusegun Rahman Mimiko, Governor of Ondo State and until recently, the candidate to beat in the October 20, gubernatorial election in the state, is the candidate of the Labour Party. He is the only governor produced by Labour Party in Nigeria. His major contenders are Olusola Oke of the PDP and Rotimi Akeredolu of the ACN.

    Watching the debate of the candidates on AIT last Thursday, Mimiko looked troubled, emaciated and forlorn. Olusola Oke of the PDP was in his best element while Rotimi Akeredolu did not do badly. Recently, a poll watch that gave victory to Akeredolu popularly called Aketi with 40.28 percent; Mimiko came a distant second with 24.84 while Olusole Oke came third with 22.84. This may be correct considering the turn of events in Ondo State in the last few weeks. What led to the turn of events for Mimiko who three months ago was sure to beat other candidates silly in a free and fair election?

    Mimiko rode to power with a lot of goodwill arising from the 2009 landmark judgment of the Court of Appeal, Benin division which returned him as the duly elected governor of the state while stripping the then incumbent, Olusegun Agagu of the PDP the certificate of return already issued by INEC. Mimiko was so popular that his inauguration witnessed multitudes of supporters from within and outside the state. Overwhelmed with the crowd and level of support, he wept. He promised to work for them and they believed him. But shortly after he assumed the reins of power, the real Mimiko manifested. He reduced governance in Ondo State to a family affair by alienating leaders of his party and his close aides in major decisions of government.

    The first sign of trouble was when a Senator from his party defected to the ACN. But when the state chairman of the party, Olaiya Oni resigned, it was a sign that all is not well with Mimiko. Recently, five of his closed aides resigned in a day while others followed in quick succession. His party members have left in droves. The trouble was however temporarily mitigated by the seeming performance of Mimiko especially the N5billon street lighting of Oba Adesida road and the water dispensing roundabout. This soon pale into insignificance when the scale fell off the eyes of Ondo people that Mimiko only did the grandiose project on Oba Adesida road and nowhere else in the state capital not to talk of other major towns like Ikare, Owo, Okitipupa and Ore. He ought to have taken a cue from neighbouring Ekiti and Osun states where construction work is going on in other local governments in the states.

    The Mega school project of Mimiko is a colossal waste of money as a general renovation of schools as recently done in neighbouring Ekiti State would have been more cost effective and result oriented. He embarked on a dome project of N2.9 billion which is now abandoned. On health, his N4 billion Kaadi Igbeayo project has been abandoned. Agagu claimed he left a sum of N38 billion naira in the treasury but Mimiko claimed he met a debt of N117 billion. He was alleged to have thrown the state into huge indebtedness to the tune of about N100 billion naira by borrowing and yet he has received in three and a half years about 300 billion from the federation account. He owes many contractors without any hope of paying back if he does not secure a second term. The Sunshine Liberation Movement has exposed many shady deals of the Mimiko administration and they have provided documents to back this up which the government has not been able to debunk till date. The sharp practices include contract inflation, over invoicing and frivolous awards of non-existing contracts to family members and cronies.

    What observers regard as the greatest undoing of Mimiko is his treacherous nature. He was alleged to have betrayed Ajasin, Adefarati, Agagu, Obasanjo and Tinubu. He had a pact with Tinubu who bankrolled his bid to reclaim his mandate with the understanding that he would join ACN thereafter but reneged on the agreement and even castigated Tinubu his benefactor. Mimiko could not be trusted. He once shocked a colleague governor from a neighbouring state when he sponsored hoodlums to disrupt the venue of a lecture for late Adefarati after he has assured his colleague that there would be no problem.

    Another problem confronting Mimiko is that he is in the midst of performing governors in the South-west from Lagos to Edo State. Like a bad dream, his popularity has drastically waned in the last one month when Ondo State people started comparing the state which earns an average of N6 billion from the federation account monthly as an oil producing state to Ekiti, a non-oil producing state with just N2.5 billion. The level of work in Ekiti’s 16 local government areas is stupendous and this made Mimiko’s supposed achievement juxtaposed with the resources available to him pale into insignificance.

    Governor Raji Fashola recently took him to the cleaners when he gingered Ondo State people to wake up from their slumber and chase Mimiko out. He said it is shameful that Ondo had not fared better than when Mimiko took over more than three years ago despite the resources available to him. As if Ondo people have been waiting for Governor Fashola to show them the way, they turned the table against Mimiko. The first sign that Mimiko is no longer the candidate to beat was the Ikare rally that was well attended to the chagrin of Mimiko. The crowd at Ore rally of the ACN was more than that of Ikare. Ondo rally of the ACN was an embarrassment to Mimiko who hails from the town. It was a mammoth crowd. From that moment, it was clear that Mimiko is in trouble.

    In Akure last week, 400 members of his Labour Party defected to the ACN saying Mimiko would lose the election this Saturday. We all know huge crowds at rallies don’t win elections but for ACN to record such a huge crowd, the signs are bad for the government of the day. Ondo State people also wanted to be part of development in the rest of the South-west states and would not want to be left out in the impending greater benefits that would come with the regional integration of the region which Mimiko has shunned.

    The analysis of the election proper is also a cause of worry for Mimiko and his genuine supporters. In Ondo Central which has the largest number of voters and where Mimiko has the strongest support base, he is not sure of total victory except in Ondo town. Akure, Ile-Oluji and Iju Ita Ogbolu is likely to be won by the ACN. Ondo South comprising of Ore, Odigbo, the riverine areas of Ilaje, Ikale and the Mahin and Arogbo clans is for former Governor Agagu and by extension, the PDP but the ACN will have a good showing having made in-roads into the area recently.

    Ondo North comprising of Akoko and Owo is Akeredolu’s base and he is sure of victory. Mimiko is in for a shocker as most of his trusted aides and friends are working for the opposition and are still the men he relies on to deliver votes for him on October 20. It is so for Mimiko because of his politics of exclusion. He does not trust his aides and his aides don’t trust him but are only waiting to collect whatever he has to offer before bolting. The Mimiko ship is already leaking and it is a matter of time before it sinks. Only the Nigerian factor can ensure victory for Mimiko on Saturday given the fact that it is near impossible for him to win in a free and fair election. With this scenario, the question comes up again, can Mimiko win?

    • Ibraheem writes from Ore.

  • Plateau: Slain legislator’s wife wins election

    Kaneng, the wife of the late Majority Leader of Plateau House of Assembly, Gyang Fulani, was elected on Saturday to replace her husband on the Barkin Ladi State constituency seat.

    The seat became vacant following the death of Fulani with Sen. Gyang Dantong, on July 8 in a stampede when gunmen attacked mourners at Maseh, a village in the Bachit District of Riyom Local Government Area.

    Similarly, Mr Gyang Pwajok won the election for Plateau North Senatorial District made vacant by the death of Dantong.

    Both candidates contested the by-elections on Saturday on the platform of PDP.

    The INEC Returning Officer, Prof. Fatima Sawa of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, said Pwajok scored 195,349 votes to beat retired Col. David Dungs of DPP, who polled 38,847 votes and others.

    Sawa also announced that APGA’s Chris Giwa scored 36,245 votes, while Danladi Atu of ANPP got 30,132 votes and Yusuf Pam, of ACN received 27,609 votes in the Senate race.

    She said Lumumba Adeh of LP got 25,527 votes in the election.

    “Pwajok, having satisfied the requirements of the law and having scored the highest number of votes required, is hereby declared winner of the Plateau North senatorial district election,” she said.

    INEC also announced that Kaneng polled 33,549 votes to beat Bulus Bot of DPP, who scored 6,718 votes and Ezekiel Gwom of ACN, who got 4,267 votes.

    The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Plateau, Mr Habu Zarma, in an address, appealed to the winner to be magnanimous in victory and carry others along.

    He attributed the peace that prevailed during the elections to “the hand of God at work in Plateau”.

    The Director-General of Pwajok Campaign Organisation, Mr Abbey Aku, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) after the results were declared that the PDP victory was for all Plateau people.

    “The victory is for all Plateau people and I wish to call on the co-contestants to unite around the winner so as to get the best from the Senate,’’ he said.

    Before entering the race, Pwajok, a former University of Jos Political Science teacher, was the Chief of Staff to Governor Jonah Jang. (NAN)

     

  • Mimiko has lost the election, says Akeredolu

    Mimiko has lost the election, says Akeredolu

    Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), President Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) is the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the October 20 governorship election in Ondo State.

    In this interview with select journalists in Lagos, he says Governor Segun Mimiko will not be helped by the incumbency factor, as the people are resolved to vote him out. Deputy Editor (News) ADENIYI ADESINA and Group Political Editor Bolade Omonijo were there.

    How do you hope to successfully challenge the incumbency factor considering the performance of ACN in the 2011 general election which was not quite impressive in the state?

    The performance of ACN in the last general election was actually determined by many factors. I concede that ACN did not do well in the election. But when you ask people, they will readily tell you that there was a belief that there was an understanding between the ACN and Labour Party. Many of those who voted Mimiko and Labour Party did so with the understanding that both parties are the same. But it was a matter of time before they all knew he was never part of them. In fact, he is PDP to the core and that is where he is going to end up at the end. So, we can all imagine the fortune of a party whose supporters went around with the assumption that both LP and ACN are the same.

    But you cannot use that election to judge this one because many of the ACN members have returned to their base. The ACN has won over half of those who are in Labour and over half of those in PDP. So, I can tell you that ACN is quite formidable in Ondo State today, more than ever before.

    When it comes to the issue of incumbency, I know he can out-smart all other parties put together when it comes to spending. He can spend in the rallies, campaign and giving people all sorts of things. This is because he is not spending his money but state fund. Obama cannot try it without going to jail. Cameron cannot try it. But in Nigeria, you can’t control it because there is no demarcation between an individual fund and the state fund. But we must know that the power of incumbency cannot match the resolve of the people. When people are determined, there is no amount of money you can spend to entice them. When the people were determined in Oyo, Akala left. When they were determined in Osun State, Oyinlola left and also in Ondo, when the people were determined, Agagu left for him. So, if he can oust Agagu who had all the support of the federal government at the time, so, who is Mimiko? We will run him out of Ondo State that I can assure you.

    Considering the fact that you are from Ondo North, specifically, Owo which has smaller population, how do you hope to win votes from other senatorial districts of the state?

    I am very sure that ACN as a party must have considered all these permutations before making a choice of a candidate from Owo. And I want to say categorically that no one is better placed than a candidate from Owo. In a state like ours, there are so many fallacies being dished out to the public and because you repeat, it seems to bring about some elements of truth. Of course, Akoko is an integral part of Ondo North Senatorial District and it has four local governments with 54 per cent voting population while Owo has two local governments areas with about 46 per cent voting strength. So, the figures are not determined by the numbers of local governments areas.

    Secondly, the relationship between Owo and Akoko has always been that, if you rub my back, I will rub yours. Most times, when the governorship candidate comes from Owo, the senatorial candidate has always been from Akoko. The current senator representing Ondo North is Prof. Ajayi Borofice who hails from Akoko. He is a member of ACN. So, the choice of a governorship candidate from Owo is just to balance the relationship that has often existed between the two Today, Akoko people will say “we are sure that ACN will win Akoko but our problem is Owo.” So, the Akoko people are solidly behind ACN and they are supporting our candidature.

    Concerning the central senatorial zone, with all apologies to my campaign director, that senatorial zone is like a pool. We have Owo people there and Akoko, people from the south senatorial zone among others. I remember we once joked that if you remove the population of other senatorial zone from Akure in particular, that is when they will know that there are more non-indigenes in Akure than the indigenes. Of course, the figure in central is large but it is not just for the indigenes of the senatorial zone, it also comprises those from other senatorial zones.

    And when it comes to the South, yes, Olusola Oke is from the place and luckily for us, our deputy governorship candidate is also from the area and he belongs to the largest ethnic group there, I mean the Ikales who are much populated than the Ilaje where Oke hails from. So, when you look at it, you will discover that a lot of balancing is already in place. And again, Oke knows that the race is actually between two persons. I know PDP will eventually work with us. Of course, we have always worked together because we both have one agenda and that is to get Mimiko out of that seat. When we meet at rallies, we joke, drink together and we often tell each other that the important thing is that Mimiko leaves that seat.

    Recently, the governor alleged that illegal registration of voters is being carried out by your party and the INEC chairman also confirmed that illegal registration is going on in Ondo State though he refused to mention any party; what is your view on it?

    Well, we are not in government. So, we couldn’t have been carrying out illegal registration of voters. ACN does not have the resources. We are not PDP and we are not controlling federal government. We are only controlling some states, so you will agree with me that this is a tissue of lies. So, who are the people doing the registration? Suspiciously, it should be the Labour Party. When the issue was raised, I remember INEC saying it was wrong for Ondo State government to be doing its biometric registration of the labour force at that point in time. I think that is where the suspicion came from.

    The government has been there for almost four years, why has the biometric registration not taken place? So, why is it being carried out on the eve of the election? And it has also been discovered that some of those being captured are not even workers with the state government. But one thing I know is that such steps will be a futile exercise as there is no amount of rigging that will change the result of the election. INEC should be commended for what it did in Edo State and I have confidence that the result of Ondo election will be free and fair.

    How do you feel, considering the fact that the incumbent governor was recently endorsed by prominent personalities like Dr Tunji Braithwaite, Dr Fredrick Fasehun and Mrs Ganiat Fawehinmi, among others?

    Endorsements don’t win election. Who is Braithwaite in Ondo State politics? Nobody. Who is Fasehun in politics of Ondo State? Nobody. Yes, Ganiat Fawehinmi can ride on the goodwill of her husband, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi. But I can tell you that if the husband were to be alive, he would have supported me. So, I will rather prefer having the spirit of the husband who is no more rather than that of the wife who is around.

    Yes, when Chief Fawehinmi died, the governor gave him a befitting burial and we also know that he established a diagnostic centre which he named after him, even though it has just come to the notice of everybody that the centre is actually not funded by the state government but by some private investors and probably he has some interests in it.

    Some people have suggested that you are not your own man…

    I wish to place on record that I have always been my own man. The assumption in some quarters that I was hand-picked is not correct. I have served as Attorney General of Ondo State before and I know Ondo State very well. It is also instructive to point out that when I was a former president of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and I was championing a number of campaigns aimed at curbing government excesses, was anybody using us? So, all along, I have always been my own man at every given opportunity and at every point in time.

    There is also a belief that your emergence elicited so much controversy that the party is yet to recover. How would you respond to this?

    The process that produced me was fair because all the aspirants signed up to it; no exception. Every political party has its process of selection, which I believe is democratic enough. At the end of the day, some people, feel aggrieved, which I believe is normal. But we have continued to talk to them and most of them are now with us. If we have one or two who felt they must eventually go, there is nothing we can do about that. It is politics. It is personal ambition. If you chose to be governor and somebody offers you deputy governorship ticket and you go, that means you never wanted to be governor. So, for me, nobody can fault the process of my emergence, because it was thorough and we were all part of it. So, by and large, I believe the Action Congress of Nigeria that chose me has made the best choice for Ondo state ahead of the governorship election.

    Your opponent, the incumbent governor, kick-started his campaign few weeks back and we all witnessed the mammoth crowd that graced the event at your home town, Owo; what will you say this portends for your chances?

    The crowd you saw were people they brought from outside. People from Owo never came out. They brought in people from all the 18 local governments areas to Owo in many buses. People before us have said it, may be because the time has passed. We all know, crowd doesn’t vote. We are unperturbed because we know people are behind us. Even with the crowd that was brought to Owo, if you ask them to vote, we know that over 70 per cent of them will vote for us. You can bring people to rally. You can drive people to rally and you can more or less bribe people to come to a political campaign. They were more or less forcing people to come out. They are forcing civil servants while teachers were given numbers and at the end of the day, you gave them money. We have been out and we have seen crowd too, those who will attend rallies from 9 am till 11 pm without being given a kobo. Those are the real crowd. Those are the people we have. If you do your research in Owo, you will confirm what I’m saying and you will discover that the crowd was brought there.

    Considering the fact that the governorship election is close by and your major opponent is a sitting governor, what do you think can make him lose the election?

    Let me say emphatically that Mimiko has already lost the election. He can never win any election in Ondo State and that is why he is running from pillar to post. This is because he knows quite well that he has lost the forthcoming election.

    How?

    If you have a government that has nothing as achievement in four years, how do you expect people to vote for such government? In four years, he started one or two roads, none is completed. And I have said while I was campaigning that he can never complete any of those roads because I will be the one to complete them. I’m standing on that. Again, you have a government where the army of unemployed has increased and many of these unemployed are voters. How do you expect those people to vote for government that does not provide them with jobs?

    So, you are saying the crowd does not represent the strength of the party?

    Many of those you see in their rallies were there because they are forced. Some, out of inducement and some are there for sight-seeing. Some go there to collect vests and money. In the heart of the Ondo State people, Mimiko is out already. You can stay here in Lagos, watch television and start to imagine how we are going to defeat him because of the crowd you see. But I don’t have any doubt in my mind that he is going to lose. And if we are to look at it critically again, are the people of Ondo State foolish? They are not.

    Oba Adesida Road has been there all the while, with street lights on it and then you remove them and put other ones. At what cost? There is no project today that he can commission except for the markets which are responsibilities of the local governments. And this is someone who has refused to conduct election at local government levels. And the markets, nobody is even going there. Just drive through Ondo State and you will see that there are no people in those markets. Some people have refused to go to the markets because they believe they are more or less rituals stuff. Of course, I don’t believe in such any way because they don’t mean anything to me.

    What about the town halls?

    The other one, you force people to go and be building town halls. What has the state government got to do with the building of town halls? What are the people there to do? These are what people could raise money among themselves to build. And in fact, some of these town halls are already collapsing. In Opete for instance, a side of the town hall wall has collapsed. So, the government has not achieved anything, except hardship. The economy is grounded. How do you expect people to retain it? You need to go to the state, the whole place is dry. There is no money. That is the reality people of the state are facing and many people who are not there don’t know. And that’s the reason we are confident we are going to win.

    Specifically, what are your programmes for the people of the state?

    We have told the people of Ondo State that we have a five-cardinal programme. This includes education, technology, agriculture, entrepreneurship and infrastructure. I have told them that I have absolute commitment to the rural areas and our farmers will have cause to smile and that is why they are with me.

    As part of other things we will do when we get there, we will improve our IGR. This not going to be by tax but by ensuring we increase the number of places where we generate money into the coffers of the state government. And I’m very sure many people will be happy to pay their taxes. On the issue of surplus bitumen in the state, even if it is too much for just a state, about six to seven states can come together and run a company that will take care of it. We will jointly invest in it and we will still make our money because we are going to involve other people there. Our investment will be larger and investors will be happy to participate.

    Share with us your programmes for education?

    Education will take the chunk of our resources when we get there. This is because it will be made free from primary to secondary level. At university level, we will give scholarships. But such scholarship will not be limited to those who have Second Class (Upper) because that is what is obtainable now and I think it is not right. You may not be brilliant and your parents may not have the means to sponsor your education.

    Also we will ensure that bursaries are paid when due to indigent students. We will also support those who are in law schools and it will be more than the N25, 000 they are being given now.

    The role of first ladies has been abused in recent times; if you eventually emerge, what role will your wife be playing?

    It’s quite unfortunate that my wife is not here. But I can tell you that I’m married to a person that is highly political. She is somebody who does not believe in wasting people’s resources. So, we are going to have a first lady who is not going to waste people’s resources. I know that for sure. She runs a non-governmental organisation that addresses women issues. She is the President of Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BECAN). She already has an idea of what to do. It is not that when she gets there that she will start thinking of what to do. I’m sure her programme may include “let us all jug for a week. Let’s have breast cancer examination for all women”, among others.

  • Stakeholders seek peaceful election

    Stakeholders seek peaceful election

    The clamour for free, fair and peaceful election resonated at a sensitisation workshop for party executives, stakeholders and candidates ahead of the October 20 governorship election in Ondo State. Assistant Editor AUGUSTINE AVWODE reports.

    It is just three weeks and three days before the electorate in Ondo State will elect the man to pilot the affairs of the state for the next four years. The October 20 governorship election has remained a major talking point within the country’s political space. And, many people have expressed concern about the possibility of an outbreak of violence before, during and after the election.

    The concern is germane, given the trend of things in the state in the past few months. There has been an increasing rise in the wave of political violence, inter party fracas and other sundry forms of intimidation. The question has always been what would happen on election day and after the results would have been announced? Besides, reference has always been made to the orgy of violence that swept through the state in the not too distant past when a governorship election was manipulated in favour of a candidate which the electorate in the state clearly did not want.

    It was in a bid to forestall a possible repeat of such unwholesome and ugly development that the Special Adviser to the President on Inter Party Affairs Senator Ben Ndi Obi, last Friday, put together a sensitization workshop for party executives, stakeholders and candidates ahead of the election. The workshop which held in Akure, the state capital, saw stakeholders calling for free, fair and transparent election which should be held in very peaceful and conducive atmosphere.

    Senator Obi must have been inspired by a similar workshop conducted in June in neighbouring Edo State. In the run up to the July 14, governorship election in that state, anxiety was high, that violence coulddisrupt activities in the state. There were accusations and counter accusations by the major stakeholders, particularly, between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

    The workshop turned out to be the needed tonic almost everybody had been waiting for to call attention to the need for peace, law and order. The election held and, apart from being generally peaceful, it was acknowledged as the freest and fairest since 1999.

    President Goodluck Jonathan wasted no time in congratulating Governor Adams Oshiomhole of the ACN who was declared winner. The PDP as a party did same, displaying great sportsmanship. It is on record that the party refused to contest the result of the election.

    That was in Edo State. But then, the Anambra State born presidential aide must have considered it a sacred duty to try and replicate the same in Ondo State.

    In his welcome address, Obi came up with far-reaching recommendations. He was quick to remind all present that the fact that they were all at the workshop represented a “collective desire to change the nature and character of elections in Ondo State and by extension, our nation”. Obi recalled with a deep sense of satisfactions the results which the Edo experiment of the workshop yielded.

    “It all started in Edo State in June 2012 following the need to arrest the dangerous political atmosphere preceding the Edo July 2012 Governorship Election that generated serious anxiety in the nation owing to the escalation of political insecurity, acrimony and rancour in that state. It was a paradigm shift. We are all living witnesses to the great success recorded by our sensitisation workshop in Edo State”.

    He added that “This workshop is, therefore, an occasion for party associates and stakeholders to rub mind on how to ensure a crises-free election in Ondo state. It is the time for all stakeholders to evolve the machinery to sensitise our various supporters on the need to adhere to electoral rules.

    “We must ensure that our supporters are thoroughly informed that in any election, there must be a winner and ensure that each vote counts. There is no doubt that the political environment in Ondo State is presently passionate and emotional but building on the lessons of the past, there is need for a positive decision to make it safe and friendly once again”.

    Outlining the place of periodic elections in a democracy, he spelt out what must be done by all stakeholders to achieve the dreamed free, fair and peaceful election. “Periodic election remains paramount in a democratic dispensation because it is the moment of truth for both the leader and the led. While election is a nightmare to nonperforming politicians, a great expectation it is to the people as it affords them the opportunity to choose their leaders as well as drop nonperforming ones. But elections cannot perform this function if the right attitude is not developed and right atmosphere enthroned.

    “Free and fair election calls for unrestrained right to vote and be voted for, a level playing ground for all in spite of party affiliations; common access to common facilities; one that is devoid of intimidations, misuse of state resources for electoral purposes, violence, riggings and the manipulation of the judicial process in situation of electoral litigations, etc”, he said.

    In his address, the chairman of the workshop Gen. Alani Akinrinade (rtd), while commending the initiative, warned that nothing short of a free and fair election is acceptable. He reminded the audience of what happened in the state once when electoral cheats tried to rob the people of their right to freely choose who to rule them.

    “People of my generation cannot forget the stiff, uncompromising attitude, backed by physical demonstration of limitless violence with which the people of this state stood against cheating, demonstrated by electioneering heist in the recent past”.

    Harping on the negative consequences of rigging elections, Akinrinade warned in no uncertain terms that: “When an election is not free and fair, people’s faith and confidence in the system are eroded, bad and unwanted leaders are sanctimoniously and ignominiously selected, democracy dividend are denied, crisis of unimaginable proportions with its concomitant violence are enthroned, development is distorted and lives lost”.

    Akinrinade warned those who are planning to ferment trouble to desist saying the election must be a true reflection of the wishes of Ondo people. “Political killings are not only antithetical to democracy; they are also satanic and contrary to the principle of the ‘General Good’. This time around, Ondo State and her people cannot afford to play into the waiting hands of the anarchy that result from manipulated elections. Election must be a true reflection of the people’s collective wish”.

    The ACN governorship candidate, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who was represented by the Vice Chairman, Southwest of the party, Senator James Kolawole, noted that the consequences of not conducting a free and fair election are grievous. He maintained that Ondo State has sophisticated citizenry which makes it mandatory to ensure free and fair election in the state. Kolawole said the ACN, being a peaceful party, will not tolerate and promote any forms of violence.

    The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), represented by his running mate, Mr. Saka Lawal, not only condemned the denial of air time to opposition parties by public electronic media in the state, he also lamented the series of attacks against members of the PDP.

    He said: “We in the PDP, we are not violent, but the sitting government ever since has not learnt anything from us. Over the last one month, we have been to 203 wards, we have visited about 350 communities. We were at Idanre, we got police permit, but the SA to the sitting governor led thugs to attack our members. If not for the timely intervention of the Commissioner of Police, that rally would have been aborted”

    In his remarks, chairman of the Independent national Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof Attahiru Jega, who was represented by a national commissioner, Hajiya Aminat Zakari, recalled the positive outcome and subsequent confidence building mechanism that resulted from the Edo State workshop. Jega noted that the Commission is always concerned whenever the electoral environment is over-heated by aggressive language, threats, and other forms of intimidation before during and after elections.

    “These do not augur well for all contestants, the voters as well as the political and electoral systems at large. Such an atmosphere also generates, and inevitably creates situations that not only lead to threats to life and property, but could also impact negatively on the credibility of the election”.

    Jega stressed that only personal commitment can help the system.

    “It is the personal commitment of political parties and candidates that can create the kind of peaceful atmosphere for the conduct of free, fair and credible elections that we all desire as a nation. As you deliberate on some of the most pertinent concerns on peaceful elections, I hope that you will generate concrete suggestions that will assist all Stakeholders in ensuring that the forthcoming Ondo State Governorship Election is conducted in a peaceful and conducive atmosphere”, Jega said.

    Delivering the keynote address, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, a Political Scientist at the Usumanu Danfodio University, Sokoto, which he titled: “Trust: That rare value in politics,” said the essence of the exercise was to capture what he called an “illusive and rare value” in politics which he identified as trust.

    According to him, people are searching for: “Trust that politicians can rely on INEC to conduct the forthcoming elections in a manner that they can accept the results as genuinely reflecting the will of the people of Ondo State. Trust that political parties and contestants will play by the same rules, and will respect the electorate by giving them enough room to exercise free choice.

    “Trust of the people of this state that both INEC and politicians will allow their will to prevail; to remove fear from the entire exercise; and respect outcomes as the voices of the people. Trust that this election will serve as a benchmark for a nation eager to establish the possibility that we can elect leaders freely and openly, and, the heavens do not need to fall in the process”.

    The guest lecturer challenged all present to make sure that what would happen in Ondo represents an improvement on the election in Edo State. wish you a very useful workshop”.

    The communique signed by all stakeholders. As the d-day draws nearer, all eyes would be on these critical stakeholders to do the needful for Ondo, the state which prides itself as the “Sunshine State” and Nigeria.

     

    hip election in Ondo State. Assistant Editor AUGUSTINE AVWODE reports.

  • ‘Ondo people want change’

    ‘Ondo people want change’

    What has been the response of the people to your aspiration since you started your campaigns?

    The response, by my own assessment, has been wonderful; it is very encouraging. With the massive reception, I am convinced that the people of Ondo State are truly yearning for a change.

    You said the people want a change. But many people have continued to endorse the incumbent.

    When you talk about endorsement by individuals, this does not in any way translate to votes. When you talk about what you read in newspapers, these are bought articles. These are articles that are skewed towards a particular candidate. This does not bother me; my concern is about what happens in the field. I talked to the people and I got their feelings.

    Two deputy governorship candidates are coming from the Akoko, which is part of your senatorial district, does this not suggest that you have no hope there?

    Let’s wait and see what will happen, but I can assure you that ACN will sweep the votes in Akoko, notwithstanding that two deputy governorship candidates are from the area. By the way, who are these deputies, is it the one picked by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a weightless candidate; or is it Ali Olanusi, the old and tired horse that would be changed before the election? I can assure that the people of Akoko are not looking for deputy, what they are looking for is governor. The people are happy that ACN zoned the governor to the North. So I am very sure that my people in Akoko would naturally prefer having a governor from their senatorial district to having a deputy that carries no authority to do anything for them.

    Your manner of emergence has created acrimony. How is your party containing this?

    It is a well-known fact that all primaries throw up what could be called opposition. Every political party has devised what they consider the best option to pick their candidate; ACN is no exception. So, I don’t see what ACN has done that is not right or that is not democratic. Having submitted yourself to a process, you cannot approbate and reprobate. Everybody was part of the process. But because of the number (of aspirants), we are bound to have people who would probably not agree with the decision and who were never party men, who were only in the party to pursue their personal ambition, and would want to pull back when this personal ambition is not realisable. All we can do is to wish them well. Ambition can make people do many reprehensible things. It can make you lose your party, it can make you lose your ideology, and it can make you lose everything. The party has been reaching out to many of them and a good number of them are now with us, they have reconciled with the party and are working hard on the field to ensure our victory. Those that are yet to return, we wish them good luck wherever they go, but we are sure that, sooner than later, they will return to us.

    What is the nature of the reconciliation?

    A lot of reconciliation has been done. That is why I said that what we have done really is that immediately after the exercise, a lot of meetings were held where aggrieved aspirants were reconciled with the party and a lot of them now are in support of my candidacy. Yes, one or two decided to opt out. That is not something that is strange; it happens everywhere, it happens every time. When I say everywhere, I am not saying all over the world, what I am saying is that it happens everywhere in Nigeria. If out of about 27 aspirants, about two or three decided to go, I don’t think we have done badly. So, reconciliation has been done, we have gone round, if one or two people are still sitting on the fence, we will continue to talk to them.

    Are you saying for instance, that Dr. Tunji Abayomi, who was very bitter, is now supportive of your candidacy?

    I don’t know of Dr. Tunji Abayomi being bitter. He is my respected egbon (senior), a highly principled man, who is never out for personal ambition, but the collective good of our people all the time; he is a chronic party loyalist. What he did was to express his feelings; he didn’t do this to bring down the roof of the house. He made it known clearly that he was opposed to a few things the party did, but at the end of the day, he is with us, a true democrat and a strong party man. It was right of him to say he felt hurt by the decision of the party. I concede that to him. He is a true progressive, of course, he cannot be in any other place except among the progressives and we are matching on together.

    How true is the report that you did not register in Ondo State?

    Anybody can say whatever he or she likes. I don’t have to be registered in Ondo State. It is not a legal requirement for me to contest election. They can say whatever they like. It is part of Labour Party propaganda. All I can say is that I am a registered voter at Ijebu II Ward 5 in Owo.

    Violence has suddenly crept into the election process with reported clashes involving the three main political parties. Is this not of concern to you?

    I am concerned about violence, but I’m not surprised. Even before now, I had raised the alarm that Governor Olusegun Mimiko is keeping a ‘thugdom.’ His own idea is that he would get this thing (election) by force. But I make bold to tell the governor himself and his party that they are fooling themselves. We would win this election fair and squarely, in spite of the thugs he is breeding. His thugs are all over the state. What is however of greater concern to me is that we have never had a fair deal from the Police. Not until when the DIG (Deputy Inspector-General of Police) came and held a stakeholders meeting, my belief was that that meeting would have put things in its proper stead, but after he left, the incidents that happened thereafter have continued to show us that the Police Command here is biased and is willing to do the bidding of Governor Mimiko and his party. The Police Command here is under the influence of Labour, whether it is monetary influence or whatever it is, but it can be otherwise anyway. The Police have been bought; it has demonstrated a total bias. We urge the Inspector-General of Police to look at the case of the Ondo State Command and do a surgical operation. The command that is parading the likes of Tunji Fadairo who has been in and out over five times, cannot be trusted. The police have showed tremendous bias that, if care and urgent steps are not taken, might increase violence in the state. Because when people cannot find protection in the police, they might protect themselves and the leaders would not be in control of such situations. I have been preaching to our supporters to remain calm, not to be violent but if they are faced with a police that is now an arm of Labour Party, then they may have no choice than to protect themselves. One day, they may react and they may not be under my control.

    But the police have openly indicted your party as the aggressor?

    You don’t expect anything different from people who have shown bias. What do you expect the police that is under heavy monetary influence to say? They are writing a script for Labour; the (Police) Commissioner is a Labour (Party), his deputy, Tunji Fadairo is a Labour (Party) person, everybody knows, so they are writing a script for Labour. On the day of the incident, all of us were in joyous mood, having elected our candidate, so you don’t expect us to be unruly. If Labour Party men had not driven into our convoy, nothing would have happened.

    The important message to the police is that it would do well to remain unbiased. They should know that we are not people that are afraid, we leave our fate in their hands, we leave our protection for them, but if they fail to do so, we will protect ourselves.

    Would a resort to self-help not lead us to the type of crisis we witnessed in 1983?

    I don’t know where it would lead us to. We are in 2012, we cannot go back to 1983, but all I know is that if the Police refuse to protect us, we will protect ourselves. When the DIG came, he appealed to all the political parties to conduct their affairs in a peaceful manner, he appealed to the police not to be biased, but, unfortunately, all his appeal fell on deaf ears as unfolding violent events have now shown.

    How far has the incumbent administration provided a level playing ground for all?

    We are not expecting the incumbent governor to provide a level playing ground because he is not interested in it; what we expect is a police that is unbiased, a police that should and must not take side. It is the police that should give a level playing ground to everybody, if there is any attack, the police should do its lawful duty by arresting whoever is involved. So, I never expect this government to give a level playing ground; that is a suicidal expectation.

    But people say the previous administration of Dr. Olusegun Agagu gave a level playing field; they wonder why the same cannot be expected from Dr. Mimiko.

    You can’t talk about Dr. Agagu and compare him with Dr. Mimiko. Agagu is an urbane gentleman. Agagu is not someone you can compare to Mimiko. Mimiko believes in thuggery, he lives on it, his life depends on it, and his electoral aspiration depends on it. Agagu is a disciplined democrat, he allowed campaigns, he allowed billboards to be erected, he allowed posters to be pasted, and he allowed a level playing ground for all the parties. It is not the same thing with Mimiko, who is the exact opposite of Agagu when it comes to democratic tolerance. But he has to be very careful because these thugs he is rearing would sooner than later turn on him, so he has to be very careful.

    But it sounds incredible that you are saying all that about Mimiko, the same man you defended four years ago at the election tribunal?

    When you talked about defending him, remember that I am a lawyer. If I were convinced that there were election malpractices and they bring the matter to me, I would prosecute the case. But I will not support thuggery. The matter that went to court was not for me to defend his thuggery. All I was there to do was to plead his case that his votes were manipulated, that votes were not cast and there were multiple thumb printing. All these we successfully proved. But if the case was pleaded that he used thugs, I won’t go there to defend him. I guessed he probably did not use thugs because Agagu gave him a level playing ground to operate.

    Some observers have adjudged Mimiko as doing well; why change a winning horse?

    I don’t know if that is your own judgment. Anybody who says Mimiko has performed well must be seeing governance through a jaundiced eye. Mimiko has done nothing. What you see are cosmetic projects. If you want to say he has performed well, go to our local areas, go into the interior, not a single life-supporting or promoting project is there. When you travel round the state and you go to the interior, you will weep for the people of this state. No light in the whole of the Southern Senatorial District, most communities in the state are not accessible, most of our farmers are living in abject poverty. The fact that he is asphalting and building fountains in Akure is not a measure of good performance. Here is a man who in his four years has not commissioned any tangible project except markets, which are supposed to be local government affairs, here is a man who, four years down the lane, has not employed one teacher, yet we have schools where you have over 100 pupils in a class, we have schools of about 2000 students with only two English teachers. Here is a man who, in his four years, no industry built by him or by private investors has been commissioned.

    But the same man has been endorsed by prominent Yoruba leaders?

    Chief Ayo Adebayo and co. were park-lane politicians, they never knew how the works were being done on the field. What Chief Adebanjo and co. are doing is that they are still fighting a war that has ended. Their support for Mimiko has no scientific base. It is simply, ‘yes this is ACN being led by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, so we oppose him, no more no less. A party being led by Tinubu and headed by Baba Bisi Akande is an offshoot of Bola Ige, our enemy, therefore we must oppose it, and we must never allow any good thing to be seen in Yoruba land that has to do with Bola Ige.’

    What they are saying is that in life and death, we are against Bola Ige. My appeal is that that battle should have ended with the death of Chief Bola Ige, let all of us match together for the greater interest and development of Yoruba-land. The Yoruba will forge ahead with or without them, it is in their own interest to return to the fold, they cannot be against Yoruba interest.

    Are you saying they are misleading the people?

    With due respect to them, they are generals without troops, so they have no one to mislead.

  • Suspected LP thugs attack ACN members in Ondo community

    Suspected LP thugs attack ACN members in Ondo community

    The weekly constituency meeting of Action Congress of the Nigeria (ACN) in Akoko Southwest Constituency 1 in Ondo State was yesterday disrupted by suspected Labour Party (LP) hoodlums.

    The meeting, which held at Ward 7 in Iwaro, was reportedly halted when the thugs struck.The suspected thugs were said to have been led by a top government functionary from the local government. During the attack, the home of ACN State Assistant Treasurer, where the party leaders were being hosted, after the meeting, was vandalised and his shop destroyed.

    Guns and other weapons were said to have been used to disperse ACN members.The Nation learnt that five ACN members, who were injured, are in critical condition at hospitals. Among them are the party’s Local Government Youth Leader and a chairmanship aspirant, Mr Dele Balogun (aka Best Time). His ribs were reportedly broken. So also was Gbenga Omole.

    It was learnt that the incident was reported at the Oka Police Station.There had been a series of attacks on ACN members in the state by suspected LP thugs.The Akeredolu Campaign Organisation (ACO) of the Ondo ACN yesterday alerted the public and security agents to alleged acts of terror the ruling Labour Party (LP) has unleashed on the opposition, especially the ACN and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    In a statement in Akure, the state capital, its spokesman, Mr. Idowu Ajanaku, said yesterday’s attack on ACN members was at the party’s weekly constituency meeting in Iwaro Ward 7 in Akoko Southwest.
    The attack was allegedly supervised by a top official of the LP.
    Both officials are said to hail from Akoko.The attack was allegedly led by a notorious LP thug in the area.
    The home of ACN Assistant Treasurer, where the meeting was held by the leaders and members, was vandalised, and the Treasurer’s shop destroyed.The statement said the Youth Leader in Akoko Southwest was injured and property worth thousands of naira belonging to Murphy Adamolekun, who was said to be the main target of the attack, was destroyed.
    It added:

    “Guns, machetes and other weapons were freely used by the LP thugs to chase away the defenceless ACN members. Various degrees of injury were sustained by our teeming members who were holding a legitimate peaceful meeting. Many of them are in critical condition in various hospitals in the area. Dele Balogun, a chairmanship aspirant, had broken ribs.

    “It is also a notorious fact that the LP thugs have also been unleashing a high level of fury on members of the PDP. Recently, the LP thugs attacked PDP members during their ward congresses. “ACO is using this opportunity to appeal to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to be alive to their responsibilities of protecting the residents, irrespective of their political ideology.

    “ACN is a peaceful political party. The parry won elections in all the states in the Southwest, including Edo, without violence. We intend to repeat such in Ondo State. But security agents must protect the people to avoid self-help, which could lead to chaos and the breakdown of law and order.”

  • Oke promises to complete abandoned projects

    Oke promises to complete abandoned projects

    the Ondo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Chief Olusola Oke, yesterday promised to complete major projects the past administration of the party started but were abandoned by the ruling Labour Party (LP) administration, if elected in the October 20 election.

    The former Legal Adviser of the party said such projects include the Olokola Free Trade Zone, a deep seaport in the coastal area, an industrial park, sericulture and apiary farms, Adagbakuja town, Akure Modern Stadium and the reticulation of Owena Dam.

    Oke explained that because the projects would solve unemployment challenges, it has becomes necessary for any government that desires the well-being of the people to complete them.

     

  • Youths back ACN candidate

    Youths back ACN candidate

    Scores of Akoko youths, under the aegis of Akoko Youth Alliance (AYA), at Ikare Akoko, the headquarters of Akoko North East Local Government Area, have backed the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN).

    The youths were from the four local government areas in Akoko Division.
    They unanimously promised to support Akeredolu with legitimate means to win next month’s election.
    AYA Coordinator, Mr Banji Adewunmi, berated the ruling Labour Party (LP) administration for not providing jobs for youths.

    He challenged Governor Olusegun Mimiko to announce the number of graduates he has employed in the last three and a half years.

    Adewunmi said: “We are supporting Akeredolu because the youths will be the first major beneficiaries of an ACN administration. This is because we have keyed into his promise of providing 30,000 jobs in his first 100 days in office. We believe him and we know he will deliver on his promise because he is a man of integrity.”

    The group’s Secretary, Mr Aleriwa Shina, said the Ondo North rally is held every fortnight.
    The Deputy Director-General (North) of Akeredolu Campaign Organisation (ACO), Mr Stephen Olemija, hailed the youths for supporting ACN and its candidate.

    He urged them not to deviate from the goal they have set, adding that they should ensure Akeredolu’s victory in the October 20 poll. The wife of the ACN standard bearer, Mrs Joy Akeredolu, attended the event.
    The rally became a carnival of sort when campaign souvenirs, including branded T-shirt, fez caps, key holders and others were inaugurated.

    Others at the event were ACN Northern Senatorial Chairman, Chief Idris Elemeje; the state’s Organising Secretary, Rahman Daudu; ACN Chairman in Akoko North-East, Deacon Ishola Moshood; Mr Omole Gbenga and Alhaji Bakare, who represented the former ACN governorship aspirant, Chief Segun Abraham.

     

  • ‘Akeredolu has no blemish as NBA President’

    ‘Akeredolu has no blemish as NBA President’

    The Okitipupa branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) yesterday warned politicians, individuals, corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to stop using the name of the association to discredit its reputable members for political reasons.

    It urged the public to avoid being used by politicians against its members.

    The Okitipupa Vice-Chairman of the association, Mr. Segun Lema, told reporters in Akure, the state capital, that a statement credited to an organisation, Good Governance Monitor (GGM), against its former President, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), was unacceptable.

    The organisation allegedly accused the former NBA President of embezzling a N3million donation the Niger State Government made to the association in 2010.

    He said the statement was politically motivated and a calculated attempt to tarnish the reputation of the former NBA chief.

    Lema said: “Akeredolu left the NBA with clean hands and an unprecedented record of achievements. There was never a time he was alleged or indicted for any financial misconduct. His achievements in office have become celebrated legacies in the legal profession.”

    The lawyer noted that the allegation against Akeredolu was the handiwork of his political detractors, particularly those who see his rising profile in the governorship race as a threat to their political careers and an end to their corrupt practices.

    Lema said: “If Akeredolu had been involved in any fraud, either big or small during his days as NBA president, the association’s secretariat in Abuja would not have been named after him. If the man had been involved in any financial misconduct as a lawyer, he wouldn’t have become NBA president.

    “NBA is an association that will never condone or shield any member accused of corruption. The NBA has a lot of respect and regard for Akeredolu, not only as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria but also because of his high moral standing. If Mr. Akeredolu had done anything wrong while in office, it would then behove on NBA to make it known to the public. But there was nothing of such either before, during or after his tenure.”

    The lawyer added that his colleagues in the profession would prevail on NBA national body to investigate the allegation and unmask those behind it.

    Lema said this would ensure that the accusers are made to face the consequences of their actions, if they are found guilty.