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Tag: Inec

  • 2019: PDP’s decision to drag APC, INEC to UN laughable – Presidency

    The Presidency on Saturday described the decision of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to drag the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the United Nations over alleged plan to rig the 2019 general election as laughable and puerile.

    The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said in a statement the PDP’s action demonstrated the level of desperation haunting its leaders.

    He challenged the opposition party to address the concerns raised about its leaders’ role in the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal.

    The statement read: “The Presidency has advised the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to stop raising false alarms in order to gain public sympathy and divert attention from its abysmal past record and failures.

    “They should, instead, address the concerns raised about their role in the mass data harvesting at the heart of the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica scandal, following the revelation that they hacked into President Muhammadu Buhari’s personal data in the run-up to the 2015 general elections.

    “Nothing undermines a country’s democracy as such unfair practices.

    “That is why President Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment when they hacked into the opposition, Democratic Party records, and this is why a Special Counsel is investigating the alleged Russian interference in the United States presidential election, and if President Donald Trump’s campaign is complicit in the attempted subversion of democracy in that country.

    “The PDP’s decision to drag the All Progressives Congress (APC) and INEC to the United Nations over alleged plan or plot to rig the 2019 general elections is not only laughable and puerile, but they also demonstrate the level of desperation that is haunting the opposition leaders.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari is passionately committed to free and fair elections in the country and for a man who joined forces with local and international observers to ensure a free and fair election which brought him to power in 2015, the President would under no circumstances tolerate any attempt to derail constitutional democracy.”

  • Under age voting: Committee submits report to INEC

    The committee set up by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to investigate the allegations of underage voting during local government elections in Kano State has submitted its report to the electoral body.

    The committee, according to a statement issued by INEC Director of Publicity and Voter Education, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi in Abuja, submitted it report to INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Friday.

    The Chairman of the committee, Mr. Ahmed Nahuche, told Yakubu that diligent and wide consultations with stakeholders were made by the committee.

    The committee was inaugurated by INEC in February, to investigate the allegation of underage voting which was allegedly  linked to the Voters’ Register in Kano.

    Nahuche said in carrying out the assignment, the committee consulted with critical stakeholders through visitations and interactive sessions.

    He said: “The interactive sessions included Civil Society Organizations, political parties, print and electronic media organizations and security agencies.

    “The committee, in the course of consultation and interactive sessions, received a number of pictures, video clips, reports, documents and presentations from the stakeholders.

    “It immediately embarked on thorough review and analysis of these materials in order to ascertain the actual connection with the LGA elections in Kano.

    “The committee also examined the social media reports of pictures and video clips that triggered the outrage and the alleged participation of underage persons in the LGA elections as a key area of focus for the investigation.

    “The pictures and video clips were thoroughly analyzed by the committee.’’

    NAN

     

     

  • ‘INEC won’t burn unclaimed PVCs’

    INDEPENDENT National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied a report that it will burn uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

    Although the commission said this may be the last resort, it emphasised that its mandate is to ensure that owners of the cards collect them.

    Speaking after the first phase of the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR), Oyo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Mutiu Agboke said the commission did not consider burning the uncollected PVCs or made it a policy to do so.

    The REC said although uncollected PVCs in the state were over 600,000, the refusal  to collect them is not in tandem with the participatory democracy INEC canvassed.

    He said: “We are not going to burn any PVC. That may be the last option, but INEC has not really come out categorically on that or give an official backing to that. So, we urge our people to disregard a news report in a particular section of the media that said INEC was out to burn the PVCs.

    “It is not on our agenda. The mandate of INEC, for now, is that we should intensify our efforts to make sure that we get the cards to the people so that they can collect them.

    “It is a problem that we have a huge volume of uncollected PVCs. The implication is that those people will not be able to cast their votes. That is huge for INEC, and it is not in tandem with participatory democracy that INEC is canvassing for. INEC wants a platform for every eligible voters and electorate to be able to come forward and exercise their franchise because we don’t want to disenfranchise anybody.

    “Now, it is a problem for INEC, but we will continue to sensitise people, remind them and talk to them about why they should collect the cards.”

     

  • Akeredolu to INEC: be impartial

    Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be neutral and fair to stakeholders in the discharge of its activities.

    The governor, who spoke in Akure, the capital, when he hosted the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Rufus Akeju, urged the commission to see all parties as equal.

    Akeredolu said: “This will go a long way to create trust and believability in the electoral body by Nigerians.

    “When each political party is treated without fear or favour, the nation’s democracy will compete favourably with what is obtainable in the developed nations.”

    The governor urged the electorate and political parties to cooperate with INEC to enable the commission achieve hitch-free polls in 2019.

    He stressed the importance of the electoral body to the growth of democracy in Nigeria, saying the REC should discharge his responsibilities with integrity, truth and conscience.

    Akeredolu pledged his administration’s readiness to partner with the commission for credible electoral processes.

    Akeju said the priority of the INEC is to ensure that people’s votes count.

    He assured Ondo State residents, especially the political parties, of a level-playing field.

  • INEC: over 600,000 PVCs unclaimed in Oyo

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said over 600,000 permanent voter’s cards (PVCs) have not been claimed and or collected by registered voters in Oyo State.

    The commission said 649,183 PVCs of registered voters across the state were still in its custody.

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Mutiu Agboke, broke the news when he led an INEC top delegation to visit Oyo State Chief Judge (CJ), Justice Munta Abimbola.

    Agboke recalled that since the beginning of the current Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), over 13,000 new voters had been registered.

    The REC said the current CVR, which started on January 8, will end tomorrow.

    He added that the second phase would be held soon to enable more Nigerians, who have attained the voting age and those who have never registered before to do so.

     

  • INEC set to take decision on Melaye’s recall

    THE recall process of Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) will be part of the decisions to be taken by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday, it was learnt yesterday.

    The commission may likely release a revised recall timetable and schedule of activities in the next few days, following the removal of legal hurdles.

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja  on Friday dismissed the appeal by the senator to halt his recall, thereby removing any encumbrance to the process.

    Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman  Rotimi Oyekanmi, said “As it is now, the Appeal Court has now removed any restriction. That means literally, INEC can continue with that process. The process now will have to start from where it stopped and that is the decision for the commission to make in the coming days.

    “I don’t know how soon the commission will take decision, but I know it is going to be pretty soon. The commission meets every Thursday to take decisions. And of course, once a decision is taking, there will be an official announcement. As it is, the Appeal Court has removed any encumbrances against our moves. That is what the situation is; that we can go ahead with our process.”

  • Recall: INEC to take decision on Dino’s case in few days

    The recall process of the Senator representing Kogi West senatorial district, Mr. Dino Melaye will be part of the discussions on Thursday, when the management of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) meet to deliberate, it was learnt.

    INEC management meets every Thursday to deliberate and take decisions on issues that bothers on the activities of the commission.

    The commission may likely release a revised timetable and schedule of activities in the next few days following the removal of hurdles.

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja had on Friday dismissed the appeal by the senator to halt his recall, thereby removing any encumbrance to the process.

    INEC had earlier issued time lag for the process following a petition calling for his recall by before the legal battle which started from the High court.

    While resolving all issues for determination against Melaye, the Appeal Court upheld the lower court ruling that the senator’s suit was “hasty and premature and presumptuous”.

    The Appeal Court therefore stated that the lower court ought to have struck out the suit for not disclosing any cause of action. On Melaye’s contention that he was not accorded fair hearing by INEC, the Court of Appeal noted that such position was without basis because INEC is neither a tribunal nor a court of law.

    The Appeal court also noted that the 90 days required for the recall process has not lapsed in the Melaye case. It stated that the 90-day period was not static.

    Speaking on the next line of action of the Commission, the Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi said that the Appeal Court judgment has removed any encumbrances.

    Oyekanmi noted that the commission will be taking decision on the matter soon as to when to continue the recall process.

    He posited that the Appeal Court’s judgment has therefore given the commission the go ahead with the recall process.

    He said: “As it is now, the Appeal Court has now removed any restriction. That means literally, INEC can continue with that process. The process now will have to start from where it stopped and that is the decision for the commission to make in the coming days.

    “I don’t know how soon the commission will take decision but I know it is going to be pretty soon. You know every week; the commission meets every Thursday to take a decision. And of course once a decision is taking there will be an official announcement. As it is, the Appeal Court has removed any encumbrances against our moves. That is what the situation is, that we can go ahead with our process.”

    The embattled senator had earlier lost the fight to stop INEC from commencing the recall process at the High Court, thus paving way for the electoral body to continue the process.

    The people of Kogi West Senatorial District has made good their threat to recall Mr. Melaye on Wednesday when they submitted signatures of about 188,588 voters from electorates in Kogi West senatorial district demanding the recall of the senator.

    The signatories is about 52.3 per cent of the registered voters in the district.

    The law requires 50 per cent of voters in an area sign to recall a lawmaker.

    The signed documents,  it was learnt were contained in six bags alongside other documents and were submitted to INEC’s headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.

    The local governments and the percentage of voters who signed the recall petition showed that Yagba West had the highest number of voters asking Melaye to return home from the Senate.

    The breakdown, as shown in the petition is Yagba West, 55.7 percent; Lokoja, 54.8 per cent ; Kogi, 52.77 per cent; Yagba East, 52 per cent; Ijumu (Melaye’s local government), 51.8 per cent; Mopa/Moro, 50.4 per cent  and Kabba/ Bunu, 46.7 per cent.

    A prominent member of the All Progressives Congress in Ijumu, Mr. Cornelius Olowo, who led the delegation, insisted that the constituents were not satisfied with the quality of Melaye’s representation.

    Read Also: INEC to proceed with Melaye’s recall as his appeal fails

  • Electoral Act: INEC still working on existing law

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said yesterday that it was not in its place to take sides in the current face-off  between the executive and the National Assembly    on the sequence of the 2019 general elections.

    The Senate and the House of Representatives, in their  amendment to the order of elections, want the National Assembly  election to precede others, especially the presidential poll.

    Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari interprete the move as a strategy to stop him from winning re-election.

    They wonder why the National Assembly  is desperate to dictate to the commission on how it conducts elections.

    They point to the fact that the presidential and National Assembly elections have always taken place on the same day.

    On Thursday, Buhari met with the leadership of the National Assembly to discuss the logjam over the order of the elections.

    That was 24 hours after he wrote a letter to the National Assembly stating his reasons for declining to assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.

    The NASS had threatened to override his veto.

    However, contacted on the matter yesterday, the Chief Press Secretary to the Chairman of INEC, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, said the commission was yet to  “take a stance on a process that is yet to be concluded.”

    Reviewing the process so far, he said: “It is within the powers of the National Assembly to make laws.

    “The 1999 Constitution has also clearly stated the process through which a bill enacted by the National Assembly can metamorphose into a valid law.

    “Part of the process is the prerogative of the President to either give or withhold assent.

    “While it is true that the Independent National Electoral Commission made recommendations to the National Assembly during the Electoral Law amendment process, it is not in our place to take a stand on a process that is yet to be concluded.”

    Oyekanmi also said that he does not see the logjam affecting the 2019 general election as the commission insisted that it is still working on the basis of existing law.

    His words: “INEC fixed the dates for the 2019 general elections in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Section 30 (1) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

    “Remember that the tenure of the President, Vice President, governors and deputy governors of the states (except Kogi, Bayelsa, Edo, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and Anambra) will expire on 28th May, 2019, while membership of the National and State Assemblies will standdissolved on 8th June, 2019.

    “Now, Sections 76 (2), 116 (2), 132 (2) and 178 (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Section 25 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) state that elections into the said offices shall hold not earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder.

    “It was based on these considerations among others that the Commission on January 9 announced the timetable and schedule for the 2019 general elections.

    “So, as far as INEC is concerned, there’s a law in place at the moment.”

  • INEC to proceed with Melaye’s recall as his appeal fails

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed an appeal by Senator Dino Melaye against a judgment of the Federal High Court, confirming the power of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to commence a recall process without first referring to him.

    In a judgment yesterday, a three-man panel of the Appeal Court held that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to have heard Melaye’s suit querying the recall process by INEC.

    Shortly after INEC released its order of procedure for Melaye’s recall process late last year, Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court (FHC) granted an ex-parte order in favour of Melaye stopping INEC from carrying through the process.

    Justice Nnamdi Dimgba (also of the FHC), who eventually determined the fundamental rights suit by Melaye, in which he claimed to have been denied fair hearing, held that INEC could conduct the recall process without hearing from Melaye.

    Justice Dimgba however order INEC to provide Melaye with the petition for his recall written by some electorate in his Kogi West Senatorial Constituency to enable him familiarise himself with issues raised against him in the petition.

    Melaye later appealed the decision and argued, among others, that the 90 days allowed for INEC to conduct the recall process had lapsed.

    Justice T. O. Awotoye, who read the lead judgment of the Court of Appeal, said the FHC ought not to have heard Melaye’s fundamental rights suit in the first place because “there was no cause of action.”

    The Appeal court, while resolving all the issues for determination against Melaye, upheld Justice Dimgba’s finding that Melaye’s suit was “hasty, premature and presumptuous.”

    It said the Federal High Court ought to have struck out Melaye’s suit for not disclosing any cause of action.

    On Melaye’s contention that he was not accorded fair hearing by INEC, the Court of Appeal noted that such position was without basis because INEC is neither a tribunal nor a court of law.

    The Appeal Court said the 90 days required for the recall process has not lapsed in the Melaye case. It said the 90-day period was not static.

    The court said INEC’s powers are statutory having been given by the constitution. It noted that not even the court could take away the powers of INEC to conduct a referendum.

    Justice Awotoye, in the lead judgment, said INEC’s power “is a statutory one given by the constitution and not even the court can take away the powers of INEC to conduct a referendum.

    “Such statutory bodies like the INEC should be allowed to exercise their statutory powers without interference by the court.

    “The appellant cannot claim that his right of fair hearing was infringed upon. His right to fair hearing has not been violated since INEC as a statutory body is not a tribunal neither is it a court of law.

    “The appellant has not disclosed any case of action and the suit ought to have been struck out by the trial court for not disclosing any cause of action.

    “I agree with the decision of the trial court. Ordinary, it ought to have struck out the suit for non- disclosure of cause of action. This is because where there is no cause of action, the court has no jurisdiction to hear the suit.

    “Having resolved all the issues in the appeal against the appellant, I hereby strike out the suit and dismiss the appeal.”

  • ‘INEC may burn unclaimed PVCs’

    Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Dr Rufus Akeju has said the Independent National Electoral Commission is considering burning unclaimed Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) before the 2019 general election.

    Akeju told reporters yesterday in Akure that the commission had been trying   to reach out to the affected voters  to collect their PVCs.

    He added that the commission may burn the cards or destroy them.

    The REC said the burning process would be made public.

    Akeju said 1,659,186 are eligible voters and 1,288,722 cards had  been distributed, adding that 370,464 are  unclaimed.

    He also said the commission would ensure  a credible election to meet with  global best practices.

    ” We now have new and improve data capturing for moderate and effective capturing.

    “We have introduced additional card readers in case one is malfunctioning in a particular unit,” he said.

    The REC solicited  the support of journalists in the state, saying  they remain  major stakeholders in educating the public.

    He, however,  urged journalists  to report  accurately stories they gather  from INEC offices in the state without  bias.