The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Guber Elections

  • Ekere’ll emerge Akwa Ibom governor, says Prophet

    An elder in The Apostolic Church and a newspaper distributor, Mr. Effiong Etukudoh, has predicted that the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Obong Nsima Ekere, will win Saturday’s election in Akwa Ibom State, “based on the word of God”.

    Etukudoh said in an interview with The Nation in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital that the Lord revealed to him as far back as 2017 that Ekere will emerge as the governor of the state in 2019, a time the former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was not even in contention for the position.

    He said: “What I want to tell you is that when God says this is what is going to happen, nobody can stop it. The PDP in Akwa Ibom plays politics of blindness, because they close their eyes to the realities of the day.

    “I got this revelation in 2017 and I told people here that Nsima Ekere would become governor of Akwa Ibom State on 2019. By that time, he had not even mentioned that he was going to contest in 2019.

    “So, when the primary came last year, everybody expected Senator John Udoedehe to win the ticket, because he is somebody that is well known. But, I told them that the person that would emerge as the APC flag bearer is Nsima Ekere.”

    The prophet said the APC candidate in Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, will carry the day, just as his Sokoto State counterpart, Ahmed Aliyu, will triumph in the Northwest state.

    His words: “In Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu will win. This because Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is the godfather of Lagos politics. Tinubu is the only man that has played politics according to the rules of the game; hence he has succeeded so far.

    In Sokoto, APC will win, but Delta State is a battleground.

    In Imo State, Governor Rochas Okorocha is insisting that his son in law, Uche Nwosu, will win, but I don’t know about that, because it is not even certain that elections will hold in Imo on Saturday.

    “The problem that will rear its head will be like that of Akwa Ibom State: the election will not be hitch-free like the presidential and National Assembly elections.”

    Etukudoh said when he predicted in 2018 that former President Olusegun Obasanjo would be retired from politics in 2019, because his candidate will not win, people did not believe him, because he is a commoner.

    “Nobody believed me, but it has come to pass,” he added.

  • CAN seeks credible polls

    The President of the Christian Association of Nigeria ( CAN ), His Eminence, Dr Samson Ayokunle has called on government and all stakeholders to ensure free, fair and credible elections on Saturday.

    Ayokunle reminded them of the need to avoid violence, bloodshed and all forms of electoral offences.

    According to a statement in Abuja by his Special Assistant (Media & Communications), Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, the CAN boss said: “Tomorrow is the state’s governorship and State Assembly poll nationwide, with the exception of few states where the governorship poll had been held.

    “All eligible voters with their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) should come out en masse to exercise their inalienable rights without any fear of being intimidated and vote according to their conscience.

    “Not to vote is to allow the wrong candidates to occupy the position of leadership they did not deserve.

    “We call on all stakeholders; politicians, security agencies, and the officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure a peaceful atmosphere before, during and after the election.

    “Our politicians should avoid rigging, violence, vote buying, ballot- box snatching and other electoral offences; our security operatives, especially the Police and the Army, must operate within the ambit of the law, while our youths should resist the temptation of being used to foment troubles.”

    CAN urged all INEC officials and security operatives involved in the conduct of the polls to remain impartial and apolitical before, during and after the poll.

    “The performance of INEC should be better than the previous elections and we task them to ensure that the collation of results is free, fair transparent and accessible to all stakeholders.

    “It is high time we told the whole world that our democracy has come of age,” the body stated.

  • Updated: Polls: A’Ibom INEC office sets ablaze

    …as Police beef-up security

    Barely 24-hours to the governorship and House of Assembly elections, hoodlums have set ablaze the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) office at Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

    The incident, according to the Akwa Ibom state’s INEC Director in-charge of Public Affairs, Mr. Don Etukudoh, occurred during the dawn hour of Friday at about 3:00 am.

    According to him, an explosive device was thrown into the building which ripped the roof open and substantial damage done to the walls with several card readers burnt.

    “From our findings, the place was attacked with explosives because we noticed huge damage done to the walls and the roof completely shattered.

    “We have been able to order several cards readers from the neighbouring states and we are presently configuring them in readiness for the elctions”, he said.

    In the same vein, Electoral Officer (EO) for Ibesikpo Asutan, Mr. Victor Inyang, said the polls would go on as planned as no ballot papers were destroyed by the fire.

    “They thought the election materials were kept in the store”, he added.

    The incident, he added, would not deter the conduct of the polls in all the 177 polling units in Ibesikpo Asutan on Saturday as other sensitive and non sensitive materials other than the card readers were not affected by the inferno which was timely put off by quick intervention by men of the state fire service.

    Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Oficer (PPRO), DSP Odiko Macdon, said “the Commissioner of Police, Sani Kaoje, is aware of the incident and has detailed senior Police operatives to investigate the incident”.

    He added that the incident has forced the Police to beef-up security around all INEC offices and centres across the state.

    “We are investigating to ascertain whether it was a clear case of arson, and when the investigations are completed, we will let the world know our findings and those found culpable will be made to face the law no matter how highly placed”, he assured.

  • We won’t tolerate abduction of electoral officials- Security Chiefs

    Heads of  security agencies in Imo state, including the Army, Police, Navy, Immigration, Air Force, Federal Road Safety Corps, Department of Security Services and the National Security and Civil Defence Corps (NDCDC), has warned that it will not tolerate  abduction of electoral officers by any person or group of persons during  the governorship and House of Assembly elections.

    They advised anyone planning to compromise the election in any form to have a rethink or face the wrath of the law.

    The State Commissioner of Police, Dasuki Galadanchi, who spoke on behalf of other security Chiefs, said that “nobody would manipulate the electoral process”.

    He noted that the security operatives were committed to seeing the electorate vote for candidates of their choices without any form of molestation from any person or group of persons.

    According to him the joint operation by the security Agencies with strategic meetings by the INEC REC would ensure that the elections are violent free.

    Read Also: How Adhoc staff sabotaged election in Imo -REC

    According to him,  “in conjunction with head of security Agencies, we have finished our strategic meetings with INEC. I can assure that the election would violent free. We want Imo people to vote without molestation.”

    The CP said that issues of kidnapping of electoral officials which characterized the last Presidential and National Assembly elections in the state would not be tolerated on Saturday.

    He said that those who were seeking to undermine the electoral processes would be dealt with according to law, even as he opined that the joint patrol teams of all the security Agencies would on duty on the election day.

  • 29 for Adamawa gov poll, 284 for Assembly seats

    A total of 313 candidates under 29 political parties in Adamawa State will be contesting for Governorship and House of Assembly elections scheduled for Saturday.

    Twenty nine candidates have been entered for the governorship election while 284 will be vying for the 25 seats in the state House of Assembly, according to the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Kassim Gaidam.

    Four of the 29 governorship candidates are women, while 25 among the 284 candidates for the legislative poll are also women.

    The foregoing are however mostly figures on paper, as among the lot entered for the governorship race, for example, only four or five are known to Adamawa people to be in serious contention.

    They are incumbent Governor Mohammed Jibrilla Bindow of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon Umaru Fintiri of main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sen Abdulaziz Nyako of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Emmanuel Bello of Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Rev Abel Behora of Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN).

    Bindow, who was representing Adamawa North District in the Senate when he contested election and won to become the state governor in 2015, will be going into the election with power of incumbency boosted by performance anchored on good roads and regular payment of workers’ salaries but he will have intraparty opposition from a few powerful individuals to contend with.

    Fintiri is a former acting governor whose short reign, 15 July to 1 October, 2014; earned for him a reputation for action and love for workers’ welfare and the popular nickname ATM to go with it, but he is said to have issues with an elite group.

    Abdulaziz Nyako is the serving senator for Adamawa North whose father, Murtala Nyako, a former governor of the state, will be a strong deciding factor when Adamawa people go to the polls on Saturday, as Murtala Nyako’s reign (2007-2014) was popular among the people.

    Emmanuel Bello of the SDP is a former House of Representatives member who has carried out easily the most comprehensive governorship campaign in the state.

    He started early and was up to this week still strong on activities that should help his candidacy.

    Rev Abel Behora of the ANN has created some form of visibility for himself but he is the least likely to go far among the five who have shown some fighting spirit.

    The remaining 24 governorship candidates have not made any known move towards actualizing their supposed dream. Some have given up entirely, with ten earlier in the week announcing that they were stepping down their candidacies to support Umaru Fintiri of the PDP after they failed to sustain a deal with Bindow.

  • Schoolmates absolve Abdulrazaq of certificate scam

    Secondary schoolmates of the Kwara state All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Candidate AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq have absolved him of certificate scandal.

    They condemned the claim that the politician dropped out of Government College Kaduna.

    In a statement, members of Government College Kaduna Old Boys Association (GCKOBA) Kabiru Yaro, Abdulmalik Giwa and Sanusi Ramallam said that the claim was a thoughtless “smear campaign” just a day before the election.

    The statement recalled that AbdulRazaq bore the school registration number 1841 and was a member of the popular El-Kanemi House.

    “We, the Class of 1976 at the Government College Kaduna wish to strongly condemn attempts to tarnish the image of one of us, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, in the name of politics

    “We are particularly worried that a segment of the media could pick what was clearly a smear message planted on social media and dignified same as a news story. This is dangerous and irresponsible.

    Read Also: 37 political parties back Abdulrazaq, others in Kwara

    “We state that AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (1841), who was a member of the Elkanemi House, did not drop out of Government College Kaduna as is being alleged by the mischievous elements behind the smear campaign.

    “We confirm that he duly sat his final secondary school leaving examination in 1976. The onus is on anyone who doubts this verifiable information to prove the contrary with credible evidence.

    “We urge our politicians to run issues-based campaign on what they have to offer the electorate. This seasonal resort to blackmail and downright falsehood serves no public good especially when such mischief is targeted at professionals and genuine businessmen who venture into politics to make things work for the poor man.”

  • Don’t let politicians turn elections to war, Dickson urges new police boss

    Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has appealed to the Nigeria Police to check the excesses of criminally-minded politicians during the Governorship and House of Assembly elections.

    Dickson spoke on Friday when the 11th Commissioner of Police posted to the state in four months, Mr. Olushola David, led a team of officers to pay him a courtesy call in Government House, Yenagoa.

    He asked David to assert himself as the chief law enforcement officer and warned him against allowing politicians to hijack his roles.

    Constitutionally speaking, he said it was the place of the police to play a major role in all civil matters in the country, including providing security during elections.

    He stressed that other security agencies only complemented the efforts of the police where necessary.

    The governor assured the new CP of the state government’s support and urged the police to be thoroughly professional in discharging their duties to prevent a recurrence of the alleged irregularities that marred the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly polls in some parts of the state.

    He emphasised the need for institutions and individuals to respect the rule of law noting that democracy, as well as national unity and stability, would continue to suffer a setback in the country’s quest for sustainable development if drastic measures were not taken to check the growing lawlessness and impunity.

    Dickson restated his call on the people of the state to come out en masse to participate in the Saturday’s House of Assembly polls, decrying the attitude of politicians who see election as a do-or-die affair.

    He said: “We expect the police in this state now led by you for this election purposes to play its crucial, primal role and take charge of election security and monitoring.

    Read Also: Dickson accuses military of terrorism

    I have always said that I treat every Commissioner of Police in this state as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer. All other agencies have to support the police and the CP.

    “So, as Commissioner of Police in charge of election duties, we expect you to lead and take decisive steps (preventive as well as enforcement steps) to ensure that hoodlums do not hide under the cover of elections to kill, maim and destroy property and destabilise our peaceful communities.

    “Nobody should be allowed, no matter how highly placed, to sponsor criminals and gang leaders to foment crisis.

    Election is not war. It is not where people arm criminals to constitute a direct challenge of the nation. Under your leadership, we expect that you will take steps to check such criminal acts between now and the election and thereafter.

    “The level of impunity displayed by political actors is such that if it is not contained, it will lead to complete disregard of the law, its servants and agencies and even a threat to the existence of the state itself as an organised authority.”

    Earlier, David assured the governor of his team’s readiness to provide adequate security and level playing ground for all political parties and voters to exercise their franchise in the elections.

    The police boss said he had upon arrival in the state, held series of meetings with various stakeholders, including sister security agencies, to review what transpired in the last elections with a view to forestalling any recurrence of the identified irregularities in this Saturday’s polls.

    He said: “The mandate of the IGP Mohammed A. Adamu is for us to come out here and discharge our duties professionally. And that is what I have told the officers and men today (Thursday). We want to assure the people of Bayelsa that the team deployed here will discharge their duties creditably.

    “There will be adequate security. So, the fear of anything happening at the polling stations should be put to rest. We have been able to identify what the problems are and we are making sure that such things do not repeat themselves again.”

  • Polls: Two killed, many injured as hoodlums clash in Lagos

    Two persons were on Thursday feared killed and many others injured after hoodlums clashed in Oto Awori, Ijanikin, Lagos.

    It was gathered that the violent clash which started around 1pm in the Lagos community continued till about 5pm was between loyalists of the All Progressives Congress (APC) State House of Assembly Candidate for Ojo Constituency II Alhaji Suleiman Raji alias Jafo and those of former Chairman Oto Awori Local Council Development Area (LCDA) Kayode Robert (Bibire).

    It was gathered that the hoodlums vandalised no fewer than 35 vehicles parked at a nearby workshop and looted shops while they blocked the expressway for several hours.

    Already, armed policemen and soldiers had been deployed to the community to prevent any reprisals, while the two traditional rulers- Oni Ijanikin and Oloto of Oto have addressed the parties and other subjects on the need for a violence-free election.

    According to residents, trouble started after Raji, who doubles as Chairman ANACOWA Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association, an affiliate of Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) led his supporters to campaign at Oto Owori. It was gathered that Raji’s campaign train which had hundreds of motorcyclists from Ojo had gone to the palace of the Oni Ijanikin and from there went to pay homage to the Oloto of Oto.

    They were however shut out of the palace by angry supporters of Robert, who felt their godfather and son was denied a chance at the Lagos House of Assembly because of Raji and had earlier warned that the candidate should not come to the community to campaign.

    A mechanic Taiye Akanbi said that the youth’s action was followed by sporadic gunshots from thugs in the entourage of the candidate which was reciprocated by those loyal to the former LCDA chairman.

    “What followed is gunshots fired by those on the campaign train of Jafo. Bibire’s boys returned the fire. The first person that was killed was matcheted by Jafo’s boys” he said.

    Another resident Sesan Adedayo alleged that a young man was beaten to death, adding that those injured were rushed to a hospital at Cele Bus Stop, Ijanikin.

    He said the campaigners imported motorcyclists and hoodlums from Ojo to cause mayhem, adding that they were armed with cutlasses, broken bottles and knives which they used freely.

    Condemning the incident, the Oloto of Oto Oba Josiah Olarewaju Ilemobade said he was still shocked by the show of power exhibited by the hoodlums.

    Ilemobade who spoke through the Balogun of Ato Awori Chief Rufus Fatogun accused Jafo of failing to call his supporters to order despite being a palace chief.

    He said Jafo’s action appeared premeditated going by the hoodlums on his train and the arms they carried.

    “His boys damaged well over 35 vehicles including three parked in front of the palace. One person was severely injured but thank God that no one died in the fracas. It was not a campaign because no party leader was among those who came only members of Okada riders and owners association.

    “He did the same thing during the primary election last year. He brought his boys to beat up party delegates and that was how he emerged the party’s candidate. With the election barely 24 hours away, he has come to destroy the work our youths have done for APC.

    “The Oba went round in the morning to appeal to the youths not to allow the incidence dampen their moral.

    “The police did not help matters at all. It took them over an hour to get to the palace which is less than five minutes away from the station. And when they eventually arrived, they started firing indiscriminately. It was the soldiers that brought normalcy to the area,” he said.

    Contacted, police spokesman Chike Oti, a Chief Superintendent (CSP) said no one died in the fracas. Oti said about two persons sustained injuries and few cars were vandalised.

    According to him, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) Yomi Faniyi immediately mobilised to the scene when he got information about the incident, adding that he also held meetings with the factions Thursday evening.

    “The two people who sustained injuries were taken to the hospital, treated and discharged. No one died. It was a clash between supporters of a political party. Few vehicles were vandalised and the Local Government Chairman has promised to repair the vehicles,” said Oti.

  • Rivers: APC Chieftain calls for violent free poll

    A two-time governorship aspirant in Rivers state and Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Prince Tonye Princewill has asked politicians and stakeholders in the state to do everything possible to ensure the peaceful conduct of this weekend’s governorship and state Houses of Assembly election in the state.

    Princewill said in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja that violence will not help the state as bad news travels fast and sends the wrong signal from Rivers state to the outside world

    He said “The news in the country on Rivers state is often fashionably negative and we as leaders can not simply blame it on the media. We all have a responsibility too. While some are fascinated by the headlines, we are the ones who have to suffer the impact of these negative headlines and tarnished reputations.”

    The Prince of the Niger Delta as he is fondly called by his associates explain that without security, we cannot attract business, without business you can not create jobs and without jobs, you can not have peace.

    He said “Two Northerners competed keenly for the office of President and it is in Rivers that our people were killing each other. How does that make sense? Having said that, people will not realize that most of Rivers state was peaceful. In Asari Toru where I was, Phalga and Abua LGA where historically violence has been the norm, people from opposing parties were seen sitting together at the collation center and cracking jokes. You don’t hear that do you because bad news travels fast. Leaders should think beyond today and ourselves.”

    He also called on the international community to sanction people who obtain power through violence and the blood of innocent people saying that sanctions, travel restrictions and account freezes are what will hit a politician where it hurts. “We are tired of their barking. They need to start to develop teeth.”

  • Air Force deploys helicopter for election in Anambra

    Ahead of Saturday’s House of Assembly and National Assembly supplementary elections in Anambra state, the Nigerian Air Force, has deployed helicopters for aerial surveillance in the state.

    As a result, the state government has asked residents not to panic as it is part of the measures by security operatives to checkmate electoral troubles in the state.

    The State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr C-Don Adinuba, said this on Friday in Awka in a statement made available to reporters

    Adinuba said ,”As part of the effort to ensure a free and fair election on Saturday, March 9, the Nigerian Air Force will deploy some of its helicopters to conduct surveillance across the country. The helicopters will fly at low altitudes most of the time”

    “The Anambra State Government is, therefore, advising the people not to panic at the aerial surveillance especially when they see the helicopters flying at low levels in different parts of the state”

    ” The aircraft will fly at low levels to enable the Nigerian Air Force personnel to have a bird’s eye view of the situation on the ground”

    ” A number of innocent Nigerians, including security officers, lost their lives or were maimed during the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections”

    “The Government does not want a repeat of any such tragic occurrence in any part of the Federation”

    “The Anambra State Government calls upon all our people, particularly youths who are used by unconscionable politicians to snatch ballot boxes and foment trouble generally during elections, to resist the temptation to run foul of the law or contravene any electoral regulation” the statement read.