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Tag: Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

  • Ozekhome, AGF differ over Zamfara APC candidates’ fate

    CONFUSION persisted yesterday on the fate of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates in Zamfara State as two legal giants offer the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) contrary opinions on how best to proceed in view of Wednesday’s decision by the Court of Appeal in Sokoto.

    Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN) yesterday told INEC to abide by the subsisting Court of Appeal (Sokoto) decision, “which effectively upheld the APC primaries in Zamfara State.

    He said INEC was without any option than to tarry awhile and accommodate the APC candidates in Zamfara.

    In a contrary opinion, Mike Ozekhome, (who is a lawyer to the Senator Kabiru Marafa faction of the APC in Zamfara) argued that the Court of Appeal judgment did not uphold the party’s primary.

    He urged INEC to disregard Malami’s advice and proceed with the elections as scheduled without allowing the APC to filed candidates in Zamfara.

    Malami spoke in a statement issued on his behalf in Abuja yesterday by his spokesman, Salisu Othman. Ozekhome made his position known in the letters he wrote to the INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu and the AGF.

    The AGF said his understanding of the position of things, based on a petition by M.A. Mahmud (lawyer to the Abdulaziz Yari faction of the party), informed his February 13, 2019 letter to the INEC Chairman, requesting compliance with the judgment and extending the time within which the APC should field its candidate in the elections.

    Malami added: “It is pertinent to note that the constraining circumstances that led to the delay in fielding a candidate were caused by INEC’s refusal to comply with the Zamfara State High Court judgment, which upheld the said APC primaries.

    “INEC had relied on a Federal High Court decision, which nullified the primaries. However, the Court of Appeal decision in reference has now effectively overturned this decision and upheld the said APC primaries.

    “It is also relevant to reiterate the provisions of sections 38 and 39 of the Electoral Act, 2010, which allows INEC the latitude and discretion to extend the time within which a political party may duly field a candidate for an election, where unforeseen circumstances constrained such a party from doing so within the stipulated time frame.

    “It is therefore our position that shutting a candidate out of the elections despite a subsisting Court of Appeal’s decision mandating otherwise would lead to a miscarriage of justice and certainly not in the interest of giving all parties in Zamfara State a level playing field.

    “Our letter to INEC is therefore in line with the subsisting Court of Appeal decision as well as Sections 38 and 39 of the Electoral Act, 2010.”

    Ozekhome, who faulted Malami’s position, urged INEC to proceed with its planned election and allow the feuding parties in Zamfara APC, who were current in court, to exhaust their legal options.

    He argued that while it was only Aminu Jaji, who withdrew his appeal against the judgment of the Zamfara High Court that upheld the primaries, another appeal by Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa and others was still pending.

    Ozekhome said the Appeal Court in Sokoto has scheduled a ruling for today (February 15) in a motion for stay of execution of the Zamfara High Court judgment, filed in the appeal by Marafa and others.

    He added that another appeal against the January 25 judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which did not recognise any primary by the APC in Zamfara, was currently pending before the Appeal Court in Abuja.

    Ozekhome argued that contrary to the views expressed by the AGF in paragraph five of his January 13 letter, there was never a time the Court of Appeal upheld the primaries by the Zamfara APC as valid.

    He alleged that the erroneous conclusion contained in the AGF’s letter was informed by the wrong interpretation accorded the ruling of the Court of Appeal by Mahmud.

    Ozekhome argued that “there is no legal basis whatsoever for INEC to change its well informed position by acceding to the demands of M.A. Mahmud, SAN & Co, or the AGF, to ‘comply with the judgment of the Court of Appeal by admitting the results of the APC Zamfara State primaries and to also comply with the provisions of Section 38 of the Electoral Act which empowers INEC to postpone the election for the governorship, National Assembly and House of Assembly elections.’

    “No such judgment exists anywhere.”

    INEC, however, said it received the letter from the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, demanding the postponement of the National Assembly, governorship and State House of Assembly elections in Zamfara State.

    INEC said it was still studying the letter after which it will make its position known.

     

  • APC kicks as PDP plans its own results collation

    PDP to deploy 40m for votes tabulation  It’s plot to cause anarchy, says govt

    With a plan to collate results of tomorrow’s presidential election, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday set the stage for a dispute – according to the Federal Government.

    The opposition party said it had put in place a Parallel Voting Tabulation (PVT) system to collate results. It is deploying 40 million of its members for the job.

    But the All Progressives Congress (APC) said it was all a plot to rig the election.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the only authority for the collation and announcement of results.

    The PDP’s campaign spokesman and chairman of its Strategy Committee, Osita Chidoka, told a news conference in Abuja described  PVT as a “scientifically proven and a best-practice technique” designed to keep umpires on their toes.

    Chidoka, specifically said the PDP would be transmitting the results as certified by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) officers at the polling units.

    “The PDP has pivoted from recruiting first-time polling agents to recruiting high quality, educated individuals, whose maturity and experience will help them manage and mitigate against challenges on election day,” Chidoka said.

    Reacting, Information, Culture & Tourism Minister Lai Mohammed said the PDP was planning to create chaos by creating a parallel electoral umpire.

    The PDP’s plan is a flashback to the June 14, last year governorship election in Ekiti State. Former Governor Ayodele Fayose was announcing results from the Government House on the state-owned television and radio stations. He claimed to be relying on results collated by PDP agents from the polling units.

    The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) shut down the stations and penalised them. They were re-opened after paying fines.

    The Minister said the opposition resorted to the tactic, having realised that it could not win free, fair and peaceful elections. He spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, after an interactive session with retirees and pensioners.

    Mohammed added that the alarm “is in line with the warning we have been issuing all along, that the PDP, jittery at the fate that is about to befall it and desperate to grab power at all costs, will seek to scuttle the elections, failing which it will work to discredit the results”.

    The latest manifestation of this desperation was revealed at a news conference by the PDP on Wednesday, during which the party said it would set up a parallel electoral body, under the tag of Parallel Voting Tabulation (PVT) system.

    “The PDP said clearly that PVT is a tool that will determine whether or not it accepts the results of the elections. Now, this is anarchy.

    “Yes, it is standard practice for political parties to have their own monitoring systems during elections. What is not standard is to set up a pseudo electoral commission and imbue it with the power to collate and announce results. That’s precisely what the PDP is doing under the guise of PVT. And this is totally unacceptable.

    “Whereas the PDP’s presidential candidate says his ambition is not worth the life of any Nigerian, his party has been doing everything possible to instigate anarchy and in turn put the lives of Nigerians in danger.

    “The PDP has been building up to this crescendo all along. The party has consistently attacked the two institutions that are pivotal to the elections: the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the police. The strategy is aimed at eroding the credibility of the two key institutions as a prelude to discrediting the elections. We warned about this, and we have now been vindicated.

    “At this stage, we believe that INEC is the only body that has the statutory role of collating and announcing the results of national elections. Any attempt by any individual or organisation to usurp this role is a recipe for chaos.

    “We are, therefore, using this occasion to warn the PDP that there will be dire consequences, should it proceed with its plan to usurp the role of INEC. We call on the security agencies to ensure the sanctity of the polls by providing a safe and secure environment for Nigerians to cast their votes.

    “We also appeal to Nigerians to feel free to exercise their franchise without fear. We also wish to alert the international community to the evil plans by the PDP, which has been threatening fire and brimstone, if its candidate fails to win on Saturday. We want to remind all Nigerians that the country’s unity and survival are more important than the ambition of any candidate.”

    Read also: Why Buhari is Nigeria’s best choice, by Tinubu

    Also yesterday, the Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) said that the PVT system could undermine tomorrow’s election.

    Besides, the move is a ploy to rig the election, create a credibility crisis and ultimately spark chaos after the poll, it said.

    Reacting to what the PDP described as its five strategies to checkmate rigging, which includes “a state of the art” Parallel Voting Tabulation System, the pro-Buhari group quoted the PDP as saying that it will reject the 2019 presidential election if the results collated by INEC does not tally with its PVTS.

    In a statement signed by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, the BMO said that the template being created by the PDP was borne out of the realisation that its “sham” campaign; “a campaign lacking in strategy and execution, is not going anywhere”. The group says it believes that this strategy will also fail.

    The BMO spokesmen said: “We know that it is the usual template for PDP to create various scenarios in build-up to elections. Sensing defeat, they begin to create imaginary, unsubstantiated and unscientific claims and stories.

    “We urge them to be careful so they do not impose the conclusion of their mental gyration on Nigerians, especially when Nigerians have decided for President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “We find it laughable that just a while ago, Osita Chidoka claimed they – the PDP – have mobilised 40 million people as PDP’s independent election monitors. Now if we may ask, how many voters are there that they need 40 million election monitors? Are they mobilising to rig the election because we do not know anywhere in the world where election monitors are up to 40 million?

    “Who could be more fitting as a rigger than the PDP which, for 16 years, hatched several flawed electoral process that even its former president admitted openly to?

    “We know that it is deeply engraved in the culture of the PDP to be scammers, from the Maurice Iwu days to the employment scam of 2014, to this bogus claim that they have mobilised 40 million election monitors. Such claims ought to be disregarded as Nigerians focus on the polls on Saturday.”

  • ‘Amaechi mobilising militants to disrupt polls’

    •’INEC chair working for Wike, PDP’

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has said the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and his cohorts, have concluded plans to bomb offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), destroy voting materials and disrupt the elections.

    In a state broadcast yesterday, Wike said: “Credible intelligence has linked Rotimi Amaechi and his cohorts to plans to scuttle the elections in Rivers State, with the support of unpatriotic military and police officers.

    “The security officers have been detailed to provide covert and overt operations for Amaechi’s armed militants and thugs in military camouflage and fake police uniforms to bomb INEC offices, cart away or destroy voting materials at registration area centres, and disrupt the voting process.

    According to the governor, several Hilux vehicles painted in military colours and gunboats have been handed over to the militants to carry out the illegal attack.

    He said: “It is therefore unfortunate that instead of using internal party mechanisms to settle the crisis before it was too late, Rotimi Amaechi chose to act with impunity and is now haunted by the unpleasant outcomes of his arrogance and disdain for due process.

    “Even at that, the Supreme Court has spoken, and the only rational path left for Amaechi is to recognise that justice has prevailed over impunity.”

    The governor admonished Amaechi to be behave maturely by “accepting the consistent decisions of the courts in good faith, eat the humble pie, put his damaged political enclave in order and wait for 2023 elections”.

    “I appeal to the conscience of Rotimi Amaechi, as a brother and fellow compatriot, to stop stoking the drumbeats of violence and allow the prevailing peace to continue in our state,” Wike added.

    But Amaechi, in his reaction, accused Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, of working for Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Amaechi addressed reporters last night in reaction to Wike’s broadcast earlier in the day. He urged Nigerians to vote for President Muhammadu Buhari and other candidates of APC to take Nigeria to the next level.

    He said: “I know that everybody has been expecting me to talk on the court cases, but I will not, because I am just a party member. The party chairman has already said INEC is working for the PDP, an example is the fact that there is a stay of execution granted by the Court of Appeal, just because the INEC Chairman was Director of Tertiary Education Trust Fund, (TETFUND) under Wike as Minister of State for Education, he now chose the court order to implement and the one not to.

    “Obviously, the INEC chairman is trying to assist Wike become a second term governor without election. We understand his game, but we believe in the judiciary. You heard the President when he said the injustice will be addressed. We will deal with the justice and not the judgment.

    “I listened to our governor when he spoke about violence. I do not like violence, because if you kill somebody, you cannot replace the life. APC has just lost 15 persons to stampede at Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt, and I was touring people’s houses to identify with their pains.

    “When former President Goodluck Jonathan came for campaign here and 23 people died, I saw them eating lunch. Persons have gone, whether for good or for bad, they will never come back. I will never support violence and I will never support injustice.

    “We will vote on Saturday for President Buhari. If INEC decides to obey the stay of execution, then we will arrange for election. But since the INEC chairman is working for the PDP and does not want to obey the court’s decisions, so be it. God bless him.”

  • 2019: INEC is working for Wike, PDP, says Amaechi

    The Director-General of Buhari/Osinbajo Re-election Campaign Organisation, Rotimi Amaechi, has accused the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, of working for Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Amaechi, who is also the Transportation Minister and a former Rivers governor, spoke with reporters on Thursday in his house at the old Government Reservation Area (GRA), Port Harcourt, while reacting to Wike’s broadcast.

    He also urged Nigerians to massively vote for President Muhammadu Buhari and other candidates of APC, in order to take Nigeria to the next level.

    Amaechi said: “I know that everybody has been expecting me to talk on the court cases, but I will not because I am just a member of the party (APC). The party chairman has already said that INEC is working for the PDP. An example that INEC is working for the PDP is a fact that there is a stay of execution granted by the Court of Appeal (in Port Harcourt), just because the INEC Chairman was Director of TETFUND (Tertiary Education Trust Fund) under Wike as Minister of State for Education, he now decided to adhere to the court order to implement and the one not to implement.

    Read also: 2019: PDP plots chaos through Parallel Voting Tabulation System – BMO

    “Obviously, he (INEC chairman) is trying to assist Wike to become a second term governor without an election. We understand his game, but we believe in the judiciary.  You heard the President (Muhammadu Buhari) when he said that the injustice will be addressed. We will deal with the justice and not the judgment.

    “I listened to our governor (Wike) when he spoke (in yesterday’s broadcast) about violence. I do not like violence, because if you kill somebody, you cannot replace the life. APC has just lost 15 persons (to stampede at Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt, after Buhari’s presidential rally on Tuesday) and I was touring people’s houses and trying to identify with their pains.

    “When former President Goodluck Jonathan came for campaign here (in Port Harcourt) and 23 people died, I saw them eating lunch. Persons have gone, whether for good or for bad, they will never come back. I will never support violence and I will never support injustice.

    “We are going out on Saturday to vote for President Buhari. If INEC decides to obey the stay of execution, then we will arrange for election on Saturday. But since the INEC chairman is working for the PDP and since he does not want to obey the court’s decisions, he was a director of TETFUND, when Wike was a junior minister, so be it. God bless him.”

    The transportation minister also stated that President Buhari was performing impressively and determined to genuinely transform Nigeria, as well as adequately empowering the people, while urging all lovers of democracy and good governance to ensure his re-election on Saturday.

  • 2019: PDP planning to induce INEC, security to win, says APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged plot by the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to induce Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials and the security agents to pave the way for them to rig the Saturday’s election.

    The party also alleged that the PDP has concluded plans to distribute between five and ten million dollars to the states for logistics and mobilisation for the polls.

    National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mallam Lanre Issa Onilu said in a statement on Thursday that the new plot was hatched at a strategic meeting held by the party on Thursday to review a confidential report from the election consultant that asked the party to work out ways of winning the Presidential elections.

    The statement reads, “Following the leaked confidential report by the foreign elections strategists/consultants contracted by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) which stated that the PDP’s presidential candidate, Alh. Atiku Abubakar will lose the forthcoming elections, we have received credible intelligence on some of PDP’s ominous plans ahead of the elections”.

    “The apparently orchestrated arson attacks on some facilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); syndicated fake news and planted false reports on the elections are part of the PDP’s strategies ahead of the Elections”.

    Read also: 2019: We will send Atiku into retirement on Saturday – Tinubu

    “The confidential report by the foreign elections strategists/consultants has recommended that the PDP take “urgent steps to rectify the situation”.

    “At the PDP’s strategy meeting held a few hours ago, the opposition party resolved to monetarily induce major actors and institutions in the electoral process with a view to compromising them ahead of the elections”.

    “In this regard, the main opposition party has perfected plans to share money to persons and actors considered critical to the success of the elections. The PDP has also perfected plans to distribute between 5 and 10 million dollars to the States for “logistics and mobilisation” on election day”.

    “PDP’s targets in the well-oiled machinery are INEC officials, security agencies and observers. This is expected to make such persons agreeable to their rigging plots and other evil machinations. The PDP is also using faceless bloggers to attack frontline security agencies in the social media as part of their plan to discredit the agencies”.

    “We must all be on high alert and resist this real and imminent threat posed by the PDP’s uncovered plans during the Elections.”

  • 1. 7 million PVCs collected in Taraba – INEC

    A total of  one million, seven hundred and thirty three thousand, four hundred and seventy nine (1,733,479) Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) have been collected by the electorate in Taraba state ahead of Saturday’s presidential and national election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced on Thursday.
    Spokesman of the commission in the state, Fabian Yame, who briefed reporters in Jalingo, disclosed that the total number of registered voters in Taraba state were 1,777,105.

    Read Also: INEC working for PDP, says Oshiomhole

    He said: “1,733, 479 have been claimed by their owners as at the end of the collection exercise on Monday. 43, 626  PVCs are yet to be collected.”
    He added that an additional 428,727 new voters made a difference between the total number of registered voters in 2015 and 2019 elections.
    According to him, “then number of registered voters in the 2015 general elections was 1,348,358, while those for the 2019 general elections is 1,777,105.”

  • INEC working for PDP, says Oshiomhole

    ALL Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman Comrade Adams Oshiomhole yesterday accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of working for the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), ahead of the general elections.

    Oshiomhole was, however, quick to add that the governing party would not decent to the level of bringing down state institutions because the party believes that state institutions should be allowed to perform their functions.

    Responding to questions about an alleged collusion between the INEC and President Muhammadu Buhari, Oshiomhole alleged that at the moment, two Resident Electoral Commissioners in the Southsouth have been going about campaigning with the PDP.

    Oshiomhole, who asked Nigerians not to return the PDP to power, said the pledge by the PDP candidate to float the naira was a recipe for economic woes, adding that Atiku has always been part of problem facing the nation.

    He also dismissed PDP’s allegations that the APC was responsible for burning some INEC offices that have recently been engulfed in flame, stressing that he could easily allude to the fact that the PDP burnt the INEC offices because they are afraid of losing elections in those places.

    He said: “If anything, this INEC has been very unfair to the APC. But we just discovered that we have a responsibility. The fact that we are a governing party imposes on us a certain level of code that you can’t be seen to rubbish every institution, because if we rubbish everything, it would mean that we don’t want election. INEC believed everything the PDP says.

    “As we speak, there are two Resident Electoral Commissioners, who are virtually campaigning line by line with the PDP in the Southsouth. INEC, without giving us any explanation and without any concrete evidence, went ahead to say we can’t field candidates in Zamfara.

    “Is that the way your friends behave if they are your friends? INEC is working more for the PDP based on evidence I  can show. How can they explain that a court of competent jurisdiction gave orders in Zamfara to say this candidate is eligible to contest election and another high court in Abuja also gave a verdict saying APC did not conclude its primaries, but did not give order to INEC?

    “There is no order issued by the Federal High Court in Abuja. The Court of Appeal made a pronouncement on this matter today that there was no order from the court in Abuja, but that there was a concrete order from a Zamfara High Court, which upheld the primaries that was conducted in Zamfara.

    “The INEC Chairman has said that when there are two court orders, they will adopt the last judgment. In Zamfara State, the Abuja judgment came first and the Zamfara judgment came last, even though it is the same day.

    “More as INEC has said they will always obey the last judgment, when it came to the Zamfara issue, they changed the goal post. As  media practitioners, you have to be careful. When you say people alleged there were meetings and can’t even cite any, it is a disservice. We have been at the receiving end of abuse.

    “There is a candidate in Kano, whose nomination we forwarded to INEC, but they changed the nomination and as we speak, we are in court over that. We showed our evidence. When I saw Atiku talking about rigging today, I laughed.

    “Do you remember the confession of the former Deputy Senate President who, on national television and not social media where anything is possible, narrated how President Olusegun Obasanjo used him and Atiku to rig election, how they wrote results and how they collude with INEC. This same Atiku was in office when Mantu was doing those things.”

    “So, if PDP functionaries have enumerated how they use to rig election, how can in all fairness point to President Muhammadu Buhari, who has been victim of election rigging three times such that in our legal history, it is part of precedent that the Supreme Court was persuaded to accept that election, where ballot papers had no serial number was OK and not a major infraction.”

  • Students storm INEC offices for ad-hoc job

    Students nationwide are trooping to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices across the country to be registered as ad-hoc staff following the suspension of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.

    In Kaduna State, students besieged the 23 local governments for the ongoing training of INEC ad-hoc staff for the general elections which begin on Saturday with the presidential and National Assembly polls.

    The trainees also comprised serving and former corp members, MDA staff members and  students of federal or state tertiary institutions alike.

    Secretary-General Kaduna Polytechnic Students’ Union Comrade Mubarak Abdulganiyi described the development as; “an indication of hardship in the country.”

    Idris Ibrahim, a student from Usman Dan Fodio University (UDUS) undertaking his training at Igabi LGA also agreed with Mubarak.

    “Poverty is the principal cause and with the effect of the strike, students crowd the centres. If people have work to make ends meet, they wouldn’t be so disturbed about INEC ad-hoc staff”.

    While Olorunshola Samuel – an undergraduate of Kaduna State Polytechnic undergoing his training at Kaduna South also lamented over the development:

    Read also: $165m Blue Water Estate berths in Lagos

    “The incapacitated government and the self-centered academic union have led to the enormous participation of students in the ongoing INEC Ad-hoc training”. The hard-working students who don’t want to remain idle have to be engaged in the training to earn a living”

    For Ogunwole Moses, who is undertaking his training in Kaduna South LGA simply believed the catchy payment and ASSU strike are responsible for the turnout”.

    It’s crystal clear that the enormous participation of students can be attributed to the effect of industrial action being embarked by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), as well as the intense idleness and hardships growing among students. It’s therefore necessary of them to opt for a temporary income jobs while FG-ASUU negotiations continue.

  • INEC debunks allegations of working for PDP

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has distance itself from the claims by the leadership of the All Progressive Congress (APC) that it is working for the opposition party.

    Besides, INEC said the exclusion of APC Zamfara was purely a judicial matter and not a decision of the commission.

    Reacting to the allegations raised by APC, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC chairman said there was no true in the allegations.

    Oyekanmi stressed that the Commission is not a political party and does not have a candidate for the forthcoming general elections.

    He further stated that the commission responsibility is to provide a level playing field for all registered political parties and also conduct a free, fair and transparent election.

    Read Also: 2019: INEC creates 57,023 voting points

    He stated, “It is not true that the Independent National Electoral Commission is working hand in gloves with any political party to do the wrong things. The issue of Zamfara and Rivers are well known. In the case of Zamfara, the Commission had written to the APC leadership to notify it that, due to its inability to conduct its primaries in Zamfara State within the stipulated time as required by law, the party cannot field candidates for the governorship election. Thereafter, two cases were instituted in court resulting in two rulings which were delivered the same day. The Commission then adopted one of the rulings.

    “In the case of Rivers, it was the Supreme Court that took a final decision on the fate of APC. Therefore, both cases were purely judicial and INEC, being a law abiding institution, will always obey court orders/judgment.

    “The Commission is not a political party and does not have a candidate for the forthcoming general elections. Our duty is to provide a level playing field for all registered political parties and ensure that elections are conducted in a free, fair and transparent manner.”

  • PDP, Obaseki, trade words over plot to postpone election in eight LGs

    The Peoples’ Democratic Party in Edo State has raised the alarm over plot by the Edo State Government to pressure the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to postpone Saturday’s elections in eight local government areas of the state.

    It listed the targeted local government areas to include Orhionmwo, Uhunmwode, Ovia, Esan North-East, Esan South-East, Akoko-Edo, Etsako East, Estako West and Estako Central.

    The Edo PDP said the plot was leaked by some covert members of the ruling All Progressives Congress and officials of INEC.

    Spokesman of the Edo PDP, Mr. Chris Nehikhare, who spoke at a press briefing in Bénin City voting would be postponed in the eight local government areas to a later day due to what would be termed “logistical problems”.

    Nehikhare said the aim was to have stand-alone elections in these local government so that the federal government could unleash their agents of intimidation and harassment to full effect.

    Describing the plan as barbaric, evil, and a recipe for chaos that would lead to  unprecedented people’s revolt and reaction, Nehikhare said Edo people would not accept, condone or tolerate any display or exhibition of “deliberate incompetence” as excuse to sabotage the general elections.

    Nehikhare also raised alarmed that on plans to arrest and detain some PDP leaders ahead of the election over alleged money laundering charges.

    He said the PDP would resist any plot for officials of the state to go near any polling unit under the guise of being a security officer.

    Read Also: Obaseki mobilises teachers to vote for APC candidates

    According to him, “The logistical problem excuse is a lame one that will not fly. The election must hold simultaneously with other elections and no cooked up excuse or reason will be acceptable!

    “It’s also appropriate to alert Nigerians that we are aware of the plot by DSS and the Police to arrest our leaders with the aim of removing them from circulation the Wednesday before the elections and thus destabilizing our supporters and members.

    “The intimidation and harassment of our leaders is unacceptable, tyrannical and exposes the desperation of this government to hold on to power even as it is clear that Nigerians have rejected them!

    “We call on all Nigerians and the international community to condemn this act and prevail on the government to organize a free, fair and transparent election devoid of government intimidation and harassment. It is clear and unfortunate that they are paying lip service to a free and fair election.”

    But Governor Godwin Obaseki advised the PDP to go to the streets and villages and campaign to the people instead of raising defeatist alarm.

    Governor Obaseki described the allegations as baseless and unfounded.

    Speaking through his Special Adviser on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said there as son such plan to postpone elections in any local government areas the State

    “These are signs of failure on the part of the PDP. Governor Obaseki is campaigning in different villages.

    “They are putting up alibi in the background knowing fully well that the people have rejected them. The PDP will meet defeat at the polls. The PDP should of and campaign instead of dishing out false information.”