The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

  • Obi scores INEC low in Anambra

    Vice Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23 election Peter Obi on Saturday declared it is was a shame the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has struggled to get the process right in the country.

    Nigeria, according to him, must get it right despite the hiccups in the electoral process in the country.

    The former Anambra state governor was reacting during the state Assembly elections in Anambra State after casting his vote.

    Obi came out to vote at about 9am but could not because of the malfunction of the card reader until about 10:36am.

    He said it was the same during the presidential election when card readers did not work in many places, which INEC acknowledged and promised to correct.

    According to Obi: “It is a shame that the same problem repeated itself on grander scale today, with news of faulty card readers all over the state.

    “This has raised the issue of whether the problems are genuine or contrived for other purposes.”

    Read Also: Why we’ll contest presidential results, by Obi

    The former Governor said banks used different types of cards including ATMs with microchip processors and they work very well

    He said he was not so much interested in who wins the state Assembly election as it was a family business.

    “My position is that the best candidates should win in to bring democratic dividend to the people of the State,” he stressed.

    He said it was a shame when other nations were talking about electronic voting and reducing electoral malpractices to the minimum, Nigeria was witnessing rigging and sundry electoral malpractices.

    He said if Nigeria failed to get it right, it would remain a problem for the country in the future.

  • Benue: INEC reschedules election in three LGAs

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has rescheduled voting in three local government areas of Benue state.

    Voting was generally peaceful on most parts of the state and the strong contention for power by leaders of both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appear to have greatly energized their grassroots support base for a good turnout on Saturday.

    The Resident Electoral Commission in Benue state, Dr. Nentawe Goshwe on Saturday evening explained that there are logical and valid reasons for rescheduling the elections.

    He explained that the governorship and House of Assembly election in Mbalon ward of Gwer East Local government area because of the volume of electoral materials burnt by thugs.

    He also said that elections are being rescheduled in Yandev North ward of Gboko local government and in Tarka local government because  INEC staff were held hostage there.

  • Dickson: Security agencies, INEC colluding with APC to produce fake results

    Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has accused the Military and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials of colluding with a former governor of the state to churn out fake results in the state House of Assembly election.

     Dickson made the accusation while speaking with journalists shortly after casting his vote in his home town, Toru Orua, Sagbama Local Government Area.

    A statement by his Special Adviser on Media Relations, Fidelis Soriwei, quoted the governor as saying that federal agencies deployed to the state were planning to foist an unpopular political, party, the APC, on the state.

    According to the governor, reports at his disposal indicated that several PDP members were prevented from voting in various communities including, Peremabiri, Okpoama and  Bassambiri.

    The governor stressed that the APC was resorting to brigandage because it lacked the support base to win election in Bayelsa.

    The governor, who described the development as barbaric, criminal and undemocratic, flayed the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state for his failure to enforce the electoral guidelines.

    He said that it was a sad commentary on the nation’s security apparatus that it had failed to carry out its constitutional responsibility to provide the conducive environment for the citizens to cast their votes to elect their representatives and leaders.

    The governor said that reports at his disposal indicated that soldiers carted away electoral materials in Epebu, Olodi and Ayakoro in Ogbia Local Government Area of the state.

    He called on the people to remain calm in the alleged face of unwarranted intimidation and harassment by soldiers, he assured that his administration would take appropriate measures to seek redress.

     Dickson further expressed regret over the militarisation of the Niger Delta states and urged all well- meaning Nigerians to stand up in defence of democracy.

    He said: :”We have major challenges in this state arising from militarisation and clear failure on the part of the agencies to do their jobs as it should be.

    ‘In Peremabiri in Southern Ijaw, several peopple, almost a thousand people couldn’t vote as they are now IDPs hiding in Yenagoa and other places.

    “Criminals supported by the Nigerian military services have held the community hostage.

    “Some security personnel who managed to get to Peremabiri were turned back and you ask me whether we have a nation within a nation.

    “In Bassambiri, PDP leaders and followers were pushed out by force and they are now IDPs in Ogbolomabiri, Yenagoa and other communities.

    “This is because the APC knows that they are not on ground in this state so they want to win by force.

    “I have just received an alert that in Ayama Constituency, military officials are trying to overpower electoral officers to cart away materials so that they can write any result.

    “And the REC and his team in our state have not demonstrated courage, professionalism, competence and respect for their own guidelines, all because they want to crown APC in Bayelsa by force.”

     

  • Gunmen storm school, burn down electoral materials in Benue

    Ad-hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and waiting voters fled on Saturday morning when gunmen stormed the Roman Catholic Missionary Primary School in Mbalon Council Ward of Gwer East Local Government Council, Benue state shortly after 8 am on Saturday.

    No one suffered bodily harm from the hoodlums but some were slightly injured while fleeing.

    The armed hoodlums said to be numbering about 20 arrived, firing shots in the air and subsequently proceeded to burn down all election materials.Although the INEC Electoral Officer for Gwer East, Mrs Ngunan Yongo,  confirmed the incident, she declined to give further details as she switched off her phone.

    She said that the materials affected were meant for polling units on Mbalon ward.

    A senior staff of INEC. Mr Thaddeus Ujah also confirmed the attack at Mbalon ward.

    “I am overwhelmed; we were not expecting anything of that nature, I am short of words.

    “I can’t see some of my people, they ran into the bush, some of them got injured.

    Read Also: Elections: New commissioner of police deployed to Benue

    “The most important thing to me now is to get those people and take them back”, he said.

    On Saturday morning, there were also reports that the PDP ward office in Wannunen, the village of Benue APC strongman, Senator George Akume was razed down by angry youth but The Nation was yet to authoritatively confirm the incident.

    Asked for clarification, the state’s new Commissioner of Police, Mr Umar Muri who resumed duty on Friday said that he was not yet aware of such incidents.

    “As far as I am concerned, there is nothing like that,” Miri told The Nation on telephone.

    In most parts of Makurdi, the state capital, INEC staff arrived early and voting began much earlier than what obtained during the presidential and National Assembly elections

     

  • Police confirms burning of INEC office in Ebonyi

    The Police Command in Ebonyi on Saturday confirmed the burning of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Registration Area Centre (RAC) in Ezza North LGA of Ebonyi by unidentified hoodlums.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Loveth Odah made the confirmation to newsmen in Abakaliki on Saturday, noting that she was rushing to the command to get more details.

    Eye witnesses told newsmen that the hoodlums arrived at the Community Secondary School, Okposi Unuoghara (07) in the area school around 6.30 a.m and started shooting sporadically.

    Read also: Voting commences in Egbeda, Lagos

    They chased out INEC officials and voters who ran for their dear lives while they destroyed INEC sensitive materials.

    The hoodlums also set ablaze the school building at Okposi Umuoghara(07), Ezza North Local government area.

    When contacted, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof Godswill Obioma said he would address the media later on the incident.

  • Tension as hoodlums set ablaze INEC office in Akwa Ibom

    Suspected hoodlums on Thursday night set fire to an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Akwa Ibom State ahead of today’s governorship and state assembly elections.

    Burnt was the INEC office  in Ibesikpo Asuntan local government area of Akwa Ibom State.

    Some electoral materials, including card readers, were destroyed in the incident.

    But the  ballot papers are intact,according to the  Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Mike Igini.

    He said: “In the wee hours this morning, I got a call that one of the areas offices had been gutted by fire, or rather, fire was ongoing there, So we had to call the fire service and the DPO around that area.

    “So they all moved in there, and responded, and they were able to evacuate the entire ballot papers that had been delivered to the local government intact. But because the storeroom behind the building is very close to the fence, obviously we saw some footprints because of the rain yesterday , so it was very clear where they came in through to do the sabotage.

    “So, what were destroyed there were just card readers, the registered voters list and ballot boxes. So that is what happened. But the good news is because the entire ballot papers are intact, so what we are trying to do is basically trying to mop up our card readers as I speak to you, from the entire polling unit. You know, we have already recovered from our reserves, we have already got that.

    “So what we are contending with, which is not a problem really, is the voting point, and within the neighbouring state, even Abuja has called to provide some of the card readers. We have taken care of that.

    “Then the entire register that has been burnt, we have reproduced the register 30 minutes ago. They are ready. Beyond that, we are good to go. There is just one local government area out of 31 local government areas.

    “So we are good to go, the configuration of the card reader is currently ongoing, and I am very sure that before 5:00, we are done.”

    He hailed residents who raced to the scene to help put out the fire.Igini said they did a good job

    His words:”In fact, I must commend the first responders for the good job because that would have been an issue, but I can confirm to Nigerians and Akwa Ibomites that all the ballot papers are intact.

    The State  Police Command  said it was investigating the incident.

    The command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Odiko MacDon said:”The Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Kaoje, is aware of the incident and has detailed senior police operatives to investigate the incident.

    “We are investigating to ascertain whether it is a clear case of arson, and when the investigations are completed, we will let the people know .”

    He said the findings would be made public while anyone  found culpable will be made to face the law no matter how highly placed.

    The command spokesman said security had been beefed up around all INEC offices

    Meanwhile, Mr Igini yesterday said that the burning of its Local Government Area Office in the state would not stop Saturday’s polls.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that hoodlums set fire to the INEC office in Ibesikpo/Asutan local government area of Akwa Ibom.

    Reacting to the incident, Igini said that the  heinous act would not deter the commission from carrying out its duties, as most of the sensitive materials for the conduct of the elections were still intact.

    The REC, who went on the spot assessment of the incident, said: “there is no going back on the March 9 elections in Akwa Ibom.

    “Election will hold as scheduled, no matter the plot.”

    He revealed that some card readers, electricity generators, computers and other office equipment were burnt.

    Narrating how the incident occurred, INEC Director of Public Affairs in the state, Mr Don Etukudoh, said the fire started at about 3:00 a.m on Friday.

    According to him, an explosive device was thrown into the building which ripped the roof open and substantial damage done to the wall 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 elections,”  he said.

    The Electoral Officer (EO) for Ibesikpo/Asutan, Mr Victor Inyang, said that the polls would go on as planned because no ballot paper was destroyed by the fire.

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

    The incident, he reiterated, would not deter the conduct of the polls in all the 177 polling units in Ibesikpo Asutan as other sensitive and non-sensitive materials other than the card readers were not affected by the inferno.

    The fire was extinguished by men of the state fire service.

  • APC candidate’s death: INEC postpones assembly election in Adamawa

    The  Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)  has postponed the House of Assembly election for the Nasarawa/Binyeri State Constituency of Adamawa State.

    Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Mr Kashim Gaidam, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yola that the postponement became necessary following the death of a member of the assembly who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the election.

    The candidate,  Mr Adamu Kwanate,  until his death on Wednesday,  was the member representing the constituency.

    It was gathered that the late Kwanate collapsed while campaigning for his re-election, and died later in a hospital in Yola.

    Read also: Sanwo-Olu is candidate to beat in Lagos

    Gaidam said that the postponement would allow the APC and people of the constituency to find a replacement.

    “We received a letter from the party and the House of Assembly regarding the death of the candidate and we have replied, giving them one week to find a replacement.

    “We will communicate their replacement to the headquarters to fix a new date for the election,” Gaidam said.

  • Guber Poll: INEC, police read riot act in Kaduna

    As the nation holds its governorship and House of Assembly elections today, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Kaduna State and the State Police Command have read the riot act to voters.

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Alhaji Kaugama Abdullahi, warned yesterday that there will be no voting wherever there is no card reader.

    The State Commissioner of Police, Ahmad Abdulrahman, also warned those who have no business with moving around on election day to stay off the streets.

    The INEC boss and the Police Commissioner addressed a joint press briefing at the INEC headquarters in Kaduna.

    Abdullahi said that all INEC ad-hoc staff were drawn from higher institutions and that they are men of integrity who are capable of handling the election processes.

    He assured that the issue of late arrival of election materials to some polling units and wards have been taken care of, adding that 8,012 card readers had been dispatched for the elections.

    The REC said: “The card reader is election itself. No card reader, no voting. This is just to let you know that card reader operators were given refresher training.

    “We have 34,000 ad-hoc staff to conduct the elections, and out of this figure, 10,000 are members of the NYSC while the rest are from other higher institutions.

    “Our staff are people of high integrity who are capable of conducting the election process. We sourced them from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, so they are capable for the election jobs.”

    The Commissioner of Police said: “We have finished our deployments. We have banned food vendors from polling areas in order to stop them from the likelihood of accommodating vote-buyers.

    “We have ordered for a good number of helicopters to hover around the state during the election.

    “We will pick anybody wandering about without PVC and keep him or her where necessary until the election is over.

    “We have equally banned members of the vigilante from coming out with dangerous weapons during the election. In fact, we have arrested 34 of them so far. They look deadly.”

  • No card reader, no vote, says Kaduna INEC, Police

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the State Police Command have the read riot act to the voters in Kaduna State.

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Alhaji Kaugama Abdullahi has warned that there will be no voting without card readers.

    The Commissioner of Police, Ahmad Abdulrahman also warned those who have no business to move around on Election Day to stay off the streets.

    The INEC boss and the Police Commissioner addressed a joint press briefing at the INEC headquarters in Kaduna on Friday.

    Abdullahi said all INEC ad-hoc staff are drawn from higher institutions and that they are men of integrity who are equally capable of handling the election processes.

    He assured the issue of late arrival of election materials to some polling units and wards have been taken care of, adding that 8,012 card readers have been dispatched for the elections.

    The REC said: “The card reader is election itself, no card reader, no voting.

    “This is just to let you know that card reader operators were given refresher training.

    “We have 34, 000 Ad-hoc staff to conduct the elections and out of this figure, 10,000 staff are members of the NYSC, while the rest number are from other higher institutions.

    “Our staff are people of high integrity who capable to conduct the election process.

    “We sourced them from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, so they are capable for the election jobs.”

    According to the police commissioner: “We have finished our deployment, we have banned food vendor from poll unit areas in order to stop them from the likelihood of accommodating vote-buyers.

    “We have ordered for good number of helicopters to hover around the State during the election.

    “We will pick anybody wandering about without PVC and keep him or her where necessary until the election is over.

    “We have equally banned members of the vigilante from coming out with dangerous weapons during the election.

    “In fact, we have arrested 34 of them so far, they look deadly”.

  • We are good to go, says Lagos REC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner in Lagos State, Mr Sam Olumekun, says the electoral body is good to go, and ready to give residents of the state free and fair elections on Saturday.

    Olumekun spoke on the readiness of the commission in the state in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Friday.

    In Lagos, the electorate will go to the polls to elect a governor and 40 members of the state house of assembly as part of the governorship and state assembly elections holding on Saturday in the country.

    Supplementary elections will also take place in six federal constituencies in the state where the National Assembly elections held on Feb. 23 were inconclusive.

    Read Also: ‘Lagos ripe for female governor’

    Olumekun said that the commission was ready to give Lagos residents free, fair, credible and acceptable elections everyone would be proud of.

    “In brief, we are good to go. We have all our materials ready, and already we are moving to the RACs (Registration Area Centres) now.

    “We are looking forward to a fine outing tomorrow,” he said.

    Olumekun said that the commission was passionate about delivering credible polls, hence the need for all stakeholders to support and collaborate with the electoral body.

    He cautioned all party supporters to shun violence and actions or speech that could impede the conduct of peaceful elections.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 45 governorship candidates across various political parties will be vying for the number one seat in the state.

    Also, 640 candidates of various parties are eying the 40 seats in the Lagos State House of Assembly in the election.

    NAN