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Tag: Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

  • Osun 2018: Uncollected PVCs reduced to 463,186

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday said that the figure of uncollected Permanent Voter’s Cards for the September 22 Osun governorship election has reduced to 463,186.

    According to the INEC, the PVCs left uncollected as at last week stood at 515,773.

    The commission said the figure has dropped by one percent.

    Addressing a press briefing at a Sensitization Forum for Media Executives and Reporters on 2018 Osun Governorship Election in Osogbo, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Osun State, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje, appealed to voters yet to collect their PVCs to do so.

    He said they still have the opportunity till September 14, 2018 which is a week to the election.

    Represented by Head, Voters Education Department of the commission in Osun State, Steven Ojewande, the REC assured nigerians that the September 22 governorship election in Osun state will be credible, free and fair.

    However, Agbaje warned against vote buying and selling, saying Osun governorship poll would be used to send signal to those that may want to be involved in the act.

    Giving out statistics of voters for the governorship poll, he disclosed that the registered voters in the state stood at 1,682,495, while PVC collected was 1,213,026 and uncollected stood at 463,186.

    Read Also: Joseph Yobo urges Nigerians to get PVC

    According to him, the number of Local Government Areas is 30 while number of registration areas is 332 and voting points and polling units are 3,765.

    Agbaje, who maintained that Osun election would be used to to further prove that the INEC can conduct free and credible elections, promised to ensure adequate security during the poll.

    In his goodwill message at the forum, Chairman of Osun State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr. Kehinde Ayantunji, appealed to INEC to ensure proper registration of journalists for the election so as to guide against invasion of fake and unaccredited journalists in the state during the election.

    Also, the Chief Executive Officer of Rave FM, Mr. Femi Adefila, advised the INEC to make information accessible to newsmen  during the election.

  • PDP chieftain decries Buhari’s refusal to sign PIB

    Mr Emmanuel Ogidi, Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) South South, has decried refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

    Ogidi told News men in Abuja on Wednesday that the PIB was dear to the Niger Deltans.

    According to him, the bill seeks to enhance transparency and accountability in the industry, enhance private sector investment and address issues affecting host communities.

    Ogidi said that the bill had been on for many years and that the National Assembly had done all that was necessary to make it see the light of the day.

    He also expressed worry over the president’s refusal to sign the Electoral Law Amendment Bill.

    The chieftain said that the reasons put forward by the presidency for declining assent to the bills were not `acceptable’.

    The presidential aide on National Assembly Matters, Sen. Ita Enang had said that President Muhammadu Buhari withheld assent to PIGB for constitutional and legal reasons.

    He also said that the president declined assent to the draft law initiated to update the outdated Petroleum Act to replace its provisions with a more comprehensive and current legal framework that aligned with global standards.

    Ogidi said that the Electoral Law Amendment Bill was necessary to ensure a credible election in 2019 as it sought to give legal backing to the use of card readers.

    He noted that Buhari promised credible elections come 2019, while receiving his counterparts from Germany and Britain but alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Police had been compromised.

    Read Also: 2019: Five PDP governors seeking deal with Buhari

    He called on all the heads of security agencies to learn from the misfortunes of the recently sacked Director General of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) and live up to expectations.

    The PDP stalwart said nobody is indispensable adding that there were capable Nigerians waiting for the opportunity to serve.

    He said that security issues must be taken very seriously adding that there was urgent need for government to put an end to killings across the country.

    “Nigerians must engage the government and keep talking to be taken seriously, we are not comedians and we must prevent a repeat of what happened in the Ekiti Elections.

    “I urge elder statesmen to keep speaking out and attract the attention of the international community; Nigeria being the giant of Africa cannot afford to be brought low,” he said.

    According to Ogidi, Nigerians, have gone out in their numbers to get registered ahead of 2019 general elections in a bid to sustain democracy

    He described reports alleging that some Nigerians were made to part with money to collect their Permanent Voter Card (PVCs) as `unfortunate’.

    The chieftain expressed confidence that the PDP would win the presidential election come 2019.

    Speaking on the defection of the former Governor of Delta, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan from the PDP to the All Progressive Congress (APC), Ogidi said that it was of no consequence to the PDP.

    He described the move as a quest for relevance saying that before Uduaghan left office as governor, members of the PDP had already deserted him for lack of performance.

    Following the collapse of St. Paul Catholic Church in Adagbrasa-Ugolo community, Okpe Local Government Area of Delta State, Ogidi urged church leaders to always engage professionals.

    He advised that, rather than engaging church members in building projects, it was safer and better to engage experienced professionals.

    “It is unfortunate that we lose lives daily to killings across the country, we cannot afford to lose lives to collapsed building as well,” he said.

  • INEC registers 600,000 new voters in Delta

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) in Delta registered 600,000 new Permanent Voter Cards {PVCs} during the just-concluded Continuous Voters Registration { CVR }.

    INEC’s Administrative Secretary in the state, Mrs Rose Orianrian-Anthony, disclosed this to News men in Asaba on Tuesday.

    Orianrian-Anthony said that the commission achieved a lot by giving the electorate who had not registered before the opportunity to do so.

    She said that this included those who recently relocated to the state from other states.

    Orianrian-Anthony said that those whose data were wrongly captured were corrected.

    She said that registering for PVC during CVR was a civil responsibility that all Nigerians should cherish.

    She said that the CVR was worth the stress and the commission was duly committed to the exercise.

    Read Also: INEC denies receiving N50m logistics support from Jigawa

    The Administrative Secretary also said that the commission in the state distributed 36,647 old PVCs as at Aug.25 while 137,719 PVCs were yet to be collected.

    She said that collection was a bit low in the state and that was why the commission kept sensitising the electorate to come forward for them.

    Orianrian-Anthony also advised the disabled and women to be part of the registration.

    She said that INEC would continue to do its best to ensure that the votes cast by voters during elections count.

    Orianrian-Anthony said that the process would be accessible to all Nigerians irrespective of age, gender and religion.

    She said that the field would be free and fair that nobody would be left out.

  • INEC denies receiving N50m logistics support from Jigawa

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) has denied a newspaper report that it recently received N50 million from the government of Jigawa for logistics.

    Dr. Mahmud Isah, the Resident Electoral Commissioner ( REC ) in the state, made the clarification in a statement in Dutse, on Tuesday.

    Isah said that the commission had not received any form of support from the state government following the extension of the Continuous Voter Registration ( CVR ) last month.

    “The attention of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), Jigawa state has been drawn to a publication in Daily Trust of Tuesday, August 28, 2018 on page 4 captioned PVC: Jigawa supports INEC with N50m.

    “The INEC Jigawa state office wishes to state in clear terms that it has not received any form of support/assistance from the state government during the extension period of the PVC/CVR exercise.

    “The publication came to us as a surprise, as the commission since the commencement of the CVR in April 2017 to date, has been adequately funded by the national office.

    “Hence, there is no reason why to lean on Jigawa state government or indeed any organisation for any form of logistic support,’’ Isah said.

    He however stated that the state office of INEC holds the state government in high esteem as a major stakeholder in election matters.

    Read Read: IPAC tasks INEC on Osun governorship election

    But, he disagreed with the comment of state Deputy Governor on the issue of extending logistic support to it as contained in the publication by Daily Trust Newspaper.

    The REC, therefore, urged the general public to regard the publication as baseless, unfounded and not true.

    “In furtherance to this position of the office, we are calling on all politicians in the state to desist from making unguarded statements capable of truncating our democracy.

    “We also want call on all media houses to always crosscheck their stories before going to press,” he added.

    He said that INEC in the state remained resolute in its maintenance of transparency, credibility, fairness in all its electoral duties that will meet national and international standards.

    “We will continue to maintain our neutrality at all times as an independent electoral umpire,” he emphasised.

  • IPAC tasks INEC on Osun governorship election

    The Inter-Party Advisory Council ( IPAC ) on Tuesday urged the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) to ensure a credible conduct of the Sept. 22 governorship election in Osun.

    The state chairman of IPAC, Dr Idowu Omidiji, made the call in a telephone interview with  News men.

    He said the will of the people would only prevail if the election was conducted in a credible manner.

    “As we approach the Sept. 22 governorship election in the state, we are calling on INEC to put in place all arrangements to ensure a credible conduct of the elections.

    “Expections are high; our people are looking forward to a free and fair election.

    “ We advise INEC to work out the right plans to ensure the process is not only transparent but violence-free,’’ he said.

    Omidiji said vote-buying and selling were an aberration in an ideal democracy and urged INEC to check the practices in the election.

    He said open buying of votes which was dominant in the last governorship election in Ekiti should not be allowed to feature in Osun election.

    Read Also: INEC to send SMS to owners of unclaimed PVCs

    Admitting those poverty aides the practice, he urged the people of Osun not to sell votes as this would not solve their problems.

    Omidiji also advised residents to vote according to their conscience and elect only leaders that have the passion and credentials to move the state forward.

    “On our part, we will continue to sensitise our people on the need to vote right and not sell their votes.

    “We will continue to tell them that if they sell their votes to desperate politicians, they are selling their future.

    “We want our people to entrust the state to leaders that care and not those who will woo them with money in an election and later turn against them,’’ he said.

    He further urged politicians and residents to contribute to the success of the election by shunning violence in whatever form.

    Omidiji also urged residents to give the necessary support to INEC and other stakeholders to ensure a successful conduct of the election.

  • 2019 elections will not affect JAMB exams-Registrar

    The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board ( JAMB ), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, has said that the 2019 general elections would not affect the board’s 2019/2020 examination.

    He made this remark while fielding questions from journalists shortly after delivering the 2018 Annual Sobo Sowemimo Lecture of the Abeokuta Club in Abeokuta.

    Oloyede said that since the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ), had given the dates of the elections, then the board would only need to adjust accordingly.

    “I don’t think there will be any need for a shift in the examination date because of the 2019 general elections. I believe INEC has done well by giving us a prior notice six months ago.

    “They have given us the date of the elections. So we have no excuse not to have adjusted. We have adjusted appropriately,” he said.

    Oloyede decried the rate at which candidates, who were not qualified to write the examination applied for it, thereby, causing what he described as “unnecessary luggage” on the board.

    He said that the examination body would adopt stiffer measures to check incidences of unqualified candidates from applying and writing the examination for the 2019/2020 admission exercise.

    Read Also: ‘JAMB will not be pressured to reduce cost of forms’

    Oloyede noted that JAMB would not allow anyone to take undue advantage over others, saying the board would not repeat the mistake it recorded in the last examination as regards this development.

    The JAMB registrar said the body would begin the 2019/2020 examination process by October, promising that the procedure for the next examination would be better than the last one.

    “We are on with the 2018/2019 admission exercise. This, we started just about a month ago. We believe that by the end of October, we would then begin the 2019/2020 admission.

    “I can assure you that we are fine-tuning and learning from our mistakes last year. We are perfecting the processes and procedures, ensuring that no one is allowed to have undue advantage over the others.

    Oloyede, who did not disclose the exact number of the applicants expected for the 2019 exercise, said measures had been put in place to ensure that all applicants are minimally qualified.

    “It is difficult to say the exact number of applicants we are expecting this time. We expect to crash the number because many of those who are taking the forms are not even prepared or qualified for the exam.

    “Some are SS1 students, who are just trying; contributing N5, 000 unduly to our purse. We are putting in place some checks to make people who want to apply to be minimally qualified.

    “That’s where we are moving to, rather than creating unrealistic figures. We cannot say actually this is the figure but we are trying to ensure that we don’t have unnecessary luggage.

    “We are not interested in the money. We are interested in having adequate preparation for those who are genuine students,” he added.

  • Ekiti poll tribunal: Fayemi lines up eight SANS to defend mandate

    All is now set for legal fireworks at the Ekiti State Election Petition Tribunal following the filing of the defence of the governor-elect, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, at the registry on Wednesday.

    The governor-elect filed a 2,558-page reply to the petition filed by the defeated candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Prof. Kolapo Olusola.

    The incoming governor also brought to the Tribunal Registry 3,500 exhibits including plethora of documents gathered to defend his victory at the poll.

    Fayemi, who contested on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared winner of the July 14 governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The governor-elect has also assembled a crack team of lawyers including eight Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) twenty seven other lawyers to be led by Prince Lateef Fagbemi.

    Fagbemi, an election petition expert, was renowned for achieving victory in court for former Rivers State Governor Chibuike Amaechi, when the Supreme Court ruled that he be sworn in without participating in the 2007 election.

    The apex court held that votes won by Amaechi, who is currently Minister of Transportation, was deemed to have been cast for his then party,  PDP, sacking Mr. Celestine Omeiha from office after spending five months in power.

    Others SANs in Fayemi’s legal team are former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Akinlolu Olujinmi; Dr. Kayode Olatoke, Mr. John Baiyeshea, Mr. Abiodun Owonikoko, Mr. Yomi Aliyu, Mr. Adesegun Ajibola and Mr. Hakeem Afolabi.

    Fayemi’s major prayer in his defence is that the Tribunal should dismiss the petition filed by Olusola for “lacking merit.”

    Read Also: Fayemi will run all-inclusive govt – Lawmaker

    Olusola had on August 3 filed a 700-page petition urging the Tribunal to declare him winner. He claimed that he scored the highest number of lawful votes.

    Speaking with reporters after filing the petition, Olatoke, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, said Olusola’s petition was a “waste of time as it lacked substance” and was sure that the case would be dismissed by the tribunal.

    He explained further that Fayemi won fair and square in 12 out of the 16 local governments areas of  the state, while Olusola won in four.

    In his response to Olusola’s petition bordering on alleged over voting in some polling units, Olatoke dismissed this claim as frivolous and baseless.

    He said Olusola’s first ground in his petition is based on Fayose’s phantom indictment, which had been nullified and set aside by a competent court, Olatoke said.

    “The second ground of Olusola’s petition is alleged over voting, which is another false claim. In any case, the petition in  itself is self-defeating.

    “The  third ground is on deliberate voiding of votes as alleged by Olusola but in actual fact, majority of the voided ballots were votes meant for Fayemi, while the fourth ground is on vote buying which is baseless as it was, Olusola’s sponsor, Fayose that was guilty of this.

    “Fayemi won convincingly based on his popularity,” Olatoke said.

    No date has been fixed for hearing.

  • 2019: INEC requires 2,600 vehicles for elections in Ebonyi-REC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) says it requires 2,652 vehicles of different types for movement of materials and officials for the 2019 general elections in Ebonyi.

    Prof. Godswill Obioma, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner ( REC ) in Ebonyi made the disclosure at a meeting between the commission and state officials of the National Union of Road Transport Workers ( NURTW ) in Abakaliki on Wednesday.

    Obioma said that effective and timely movement of election officials and materials to designated poling units and voting points was critical for credible, smooth and successful conduct of election.

    He explained that the vehicles would be deployed to the 2, 293 poling units and voting points across the 13 local government areas of the state and INEC state Headquarters.

    According to him, the Transport Strategy Plan ( TSP ) is an innovation by the state Headquarters of the commission to achieve prompt and unhindered transport arrangement for the 2019 general elections in Ebonyi.

    The REC said it would send the final draft of the transport strategy compiled by the two bodies to the INEC headquarters for approval.

    “The draft strategy plan provides for the deployment of 2, 652 vehicles of different types for the elections in Ebonyi.
    “1, 326 vehicles will be deployed for the Presidential and National Assembly elections in February 16, 2019 while another 1,326 vehicles will be required for governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections making a total of 2, 652 vehicles.

    According to the arrangement, Abakaliki will be allocated 131 vehicles, Afikpo North, 92, Afikpo South, 76, Ebonyi 90, Ezza North 99, Ezza South 89 and Ikwo 135.

    Read Also: INEC submits revised 2019 election budget to National Assembly

    Others are Ishielu, Ivo, Izzi, Ohaozara, Ohaukwu and Onitcha local government areas will receive 105, 60, 142,78, 125, and 98 vehicles respectively while INEC state Headquarters will have six haulage vehicles.

    “The transport strategy plan is a deliberate effort and knowledge driven initiative by INEC and NURTW in Ebonyi to strategize and produce a concrete transport arrangement for 2019 general elections.

    “The initiative will forestall logistics failure in the state in the short run and develop a frame work for the smooth conduct of future elections in the long run.

    “The place of transport logistics in the electoral process obviously is central and cardinal in spite of the inter play of other critical intervening variables.

    “The relevant provisions of the strategy plan are the determination of total number of vehicles requirements local government by local government strictly based on actual needs assessment.

    “It also provides for 10 per cent projected increase for the emergency responses alongside revised logistics of both men and materials required for the elections.

    “The plan also prescribed criteria for admitting quality and sound vehicles to be used for 2019, a proposal for a cost free training of drivers on ethical standard and code of conduct among other key issues,” he said.

    The chairman of the state chapter of NURTW, Chief Oko Ewah led officials of the transport union to the meeting.

  • APC Primaries: We will respect guidelines – Oshiohmole

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has pledged to ensure compliance with the electoral guidelines, fairness and justice as well as observe all the principles of internal democracy while conducting its forthcoming party primaries.

    The National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adeams Oshiomhol, gave the assurance when he spoke to State House correspondents at the end of the APC Caucus meeting held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Tuesday night.

    He confirmed that the meeting discussed the upcoming party primaries based on the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2019 general elections as released by the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) in January.

    The News men report that the timetable covered the Presidential, National and State Assembly, Governorship and the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT ) Council elections.

    The timetable, which was issued by the INEC Chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmoud, in Abuja, indicated that party primaries for the Presidential, Governorship, Federal and State Elections would begin on Aug. 18 to end on Oct. 7, 2018.

    The Federal Capital Territory Area Council Elections would commence on Sept. 4 to end on Oct. 27.

    According to Oshiohmole, the APC is obliged to comply with the INEC guidelines because the rules are derived from the provisions of the nation’s Electoral Act.

    “The meeting just had a conversation around the forthcoming primaries.
    “As you know, based on INEC timetable on primaries, this is the season from the President down to House of Assembly and the exercise must end on Oct. 7 according to INEC guidelines.

    “We are obliged to comply with the guidelines because the guidelines are derived from the provisions of the Electoral Act.

    “So, we basically discussed how to ensure full compliance with the INEC guidelines and also ensure that that we observe all the principles of internal democracy, participation, ensuring fairness and justice.

    “I think those are the issues basically,’’ he said.

    The chairman maintained that APC as the governing party had since resolved to respect the electoral act and the APC’s constitution while conducting its activities to ensure justice for all members.

    Read Also: Zeus Polls predicts big APC win in 2019

    He announced that the resolutions at the APC Caucus meeting would be tabled at the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party fixed for Thursday for deliberation and possible endorsement.

    “By Thursday we will go to NEC where the formal decisions will be rectified and once they are rectified there will be no problem; they are not being kept because every member of the party and indeed Nigerian are entitled to know how we agreed about the exercise.

    “But I think everybody has confidence that we will do very credible primaries to ensure that those who fly the flag of the party have the mandate of their various constituencies,’’ Oshiomhole said.

    The meeting was attended by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and members of the National Executive Committee of the APC led by its chairman.
    Others at the meeting were APC governors of Borno, Jigawa, Niger, Plateau, Kogi, Adamawa, Ondo, Kano, Ogun, Oyo, Katsina, Osun, Yobe, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Imo and Lagos States.

    Also at the meeting were former governor of Ekiti state, Mr Segun Oni; Majority Leader of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila; former Ebonyi governor, Mr Martin Elechi; former Borno governor Ali Sheriff; former Lagos state military administrator Buba Marwa; retired Gen. Lawrence Onoja; Chief Jim Nwobodo, and Sen. Kabiru Gaya.

    Former APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; former Enugu state governor Sylva Chime, and former Edo governor Oserheimen Osunbor also attended the meeting.

    Others that attended were the former President of the Senate Ken Nnamani; former Ekiti state governor Niyi Adebayo; former Akwa Ibom governor Godswill Akpabio; former Bayelsa governor Timipre Sylva; former Petroleum

    Minister Don Etiebet, and the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
    Some members of the National Assembly from the two chambers were also in attendance.

  • INEC submits revised 2019 election budget to National Assembly

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday submitted a revised 2019 election budget to the National Assembly for consideration and approval

    The submission of the reviewed budget was in compliance with the directive of the National Assembly joint committee on electoral matters that the electoral body should rework its 2019 election budget based on the N143.5bn the committee adopted for consideration.

    The electoral umpire had before the adoption of the N143bn pressed for the approval of N189 bn for the elections.

    President Muhammadu Buhari had requested the National Assembly to approve through a virement the sum of N143.5 bn for the conduct of the 2019 elections.

    The president added that the balance of N45.6bn out of a total of N189 bn he presented will be inserted and approved in the 2019 national budget for INEC.

    The joint committee after about two weeks of consideration of requests adopted the N143bn as sought by President Buhari with the explanation that the presidential letter was explicit that the N45.6billion difference was to be provided for in the 2019 budget.

    Chairman of the joint committee, Senator Suleiman Nazif who announced the compliance of INEC to its directive, noted that the electoral body had sent a reviewed budget to the committee within the ambit of N143bn as directed.

    Nazif also said that a sub-committee was set up to look into the details of the new budget submitted by INEC.

    Read Also: APC accuses INEC of leaking its official correspondence

    The subcommittee, he said, is expected to complete its assignment today and submit it’s report for consideration by 4pm (Wednesday).

    A member of the committee, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi gave said that the committee was determined to urgently complete work on the election budget.

    Abdullahi denied insinuation that the committee was deliberately slowing down the process of the consideration of the INEC budget to frustrate push to make the National Assembly to reconvene.

    Abdullahi who is also Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, explained that part of the reason for setting up the sub-committee was to speed up the legislative processes for final approval of the election budget.