THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is worried about the lingering crises of the two major political parties – the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
It said the knotty issues had always affected negatively the commission’s preparations for elections.
The commission admitted that at least five other political parties are engrossed in one form of internal crisis or the other.
INEC Chairperson of Election and Party Monitoring Unit Prof. Anthonia Okoosi-Simbine spoke at a one-day roundtable on Internal Party Democracy and the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in strengthening political parties’ primaries organised by the International Republican Institute.
She said thorny issues within the two major political parties remained the most problematic and worrisome to the commission.
Prof. Okoosi-Simbine said issues relating to indiscriminate and last-minute switching or late submission of nominations for elective offices affected the commission’s preparations for elections.
The INEC official added that the issue of which party leaders to liaise with during preparations for elections should be addressed early enough.
She argued that the unwillingness of party leaders to allow internal party democracy led to frequent conflicts, affecting the growth of parties as popular organisations and low level of inclusivity.
She said CSOs were crucial and essential stakeholders of every election management body and the INEC continues to find their work invaluable in carrying out its constitutional roles.
“Through their constructive critique and engagement, CSOs help the commission to stay focused on its duties. They also help the commission’s foremost stakeholders – political parties – to be more responsive to the commission’s expectations of them. CSOs can also partner with political parties in their critical function of citizen and voter education and mobilisation.”
Country Director of the International Republican Institute Sentell Barnes said since the institute began its work of supporting the development of political parties in Nigeria in 1998, most of the its activities have tilted towards improving internal party democracy.
According to him, this is based on the conviction that lack of internal party democracy constitutes the greatest challenge to party development, which invariably affects the prospects of credible and transparent electoral processes and outcomes.
Tag: Inec
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APC, PDP crises most worrisome, says INEC
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Delta: INEC distributes voting materials ahead of April 26 by-election
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has distributed voting materials ahead of Delta House of Assembly by-election (DTHA) for Warri South 1 slated for April 26 in Warri.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr Baritor Kpagi, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Asaba on Monday.
NAN reports that the Speaker Monday Igbuya of DTHA had in March written to INEC in the state declaring the Warri South 1 State Constituency seat vacant following the death and burial of Hon. Beatrice Omawumi Udoh.
Udoh, 56, who was representing DTHA in the house died last December in a London hospital.
Kpagi said the distribution of the materials was monitored by the agents of each political party who took part in opening the 15 cartoons.
He said the agents took the serial numbers of the materials that were taken to Warri under police escort.
Kpagi said the commission could not conduct a free, fair and credible election alone, hence, the presence of the political party agents.
He appealed to all the political parties to play their parts well for the election to be free and fair.
According to him, “it is high time Nigerians began not to expect the presence of security operatives during elections because we are not going to war.”Mr Alex Ufuoma, a People Democratic Party (PDP) agent said the INEC officials showed the materials to the party agents before they were transported to Warri.
Ufuoma said and that there had been no challenges so far.
Mr Micheal Tidi, an Accord Party agent, said he was pleased with the development.
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INEC begins distribution of PVC in Lagos
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will begin distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in Lagos State on April 29, the spokesman of the electoral body in the state, Mr Femi Akinbiyi, said yesterday.
Akinbiyi, the Head of Publicity and Protocol of INEC the state, said in a statement that the step was important, especially in preparation for the July 22 local government elections in the state.
He said: “INEC will as from Saturday, April 29 begin distribution of Permanent Voter Card (PVC) in all the 245 Registration Areas in the state.
“This is purely for the purpose of the Local Government elections coming up soonest in the state.
“The exercise is for those that have registered before but had not collected their PVCs. It will last for five Saturdays starting from Saturday, April 29 to Saturday, May 27.”
According to him, any eligible resident who is in doubt of the Registration Area of the Polling Unit he or she registered can contact the Electoral Officer for the local government.
The spokesman, also said: “The nationwide Continuous Voter’s Registration (CVR) exercise will commence throughout the state as from April 27 and remains continuous all the year round.
“The CVR will be in all the 20 INEC local government offices in the state between the hours of 9am and 3pm, excluding public holidays.
“All residents that have reached the age of 18 years after the last registration exercise are to come out and register.
“Also, all registered voters who have their Temporary Voters Cards but whose names are not on register of voters and those that are above 18 years but could not register in the last registration exercise are eligible to register.”
He said that registered voters who were seeking transfer of the PVC could also come for registration.
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Voter registration begins April 27 – INEC
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the commencement of nationwide continuous voters registration exercise.
According to a statement issued by a National Commissioner and Acting Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mrs. Amina Zakari, the exercise will commence on April 27.
Zakari said the exercise will be conducted in all the 774 local government areas of the country on weekdays from Monday to Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
The decision, she said was taken at a special meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), and the Administrative Secretaries from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The nationwide exercise is to allow those who were unable to register in the last exercise and Nigerians who have turned 18 years the opportunity to register for future elections.
She added that citizens who registered but could not collect their permanent voter card before the 2015 general elections would have the opportunity to collect them.
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Our Girls; $43M; Oil wells; INEC; Braids
Our Girls are still missing since April 15, 2014. THREE long, hard, painfully traumatic YEARS.
Below we discuss MegaMoneywhistleblowing, oil well ownership, INEC N3b bribe, and FRSCfemale haircuts.
We had no power for Easter 2017! The WHISTLEBLOWN money $38m, N23m, £27,000, $43m hidden and not in circulation explain why Nigeria remains undeveloped with 2,500Mw power. Are such MegaMoney caches not too big for one person’s greed or excessive need? Are they [1] NIS safe house funds or [2] secret stolen political party funds, stashed, awaiting [a] forgetfulness to allow ‘disappearance’ or [ b] to be used for bribery to encourage [c] party defections and [d] Election2019 fraud? Wike [ W-likes, W-leaks, W-pedia], Amaechi and NIS, maybe all three, but certainly one or two are blatant liars who will be revealed by tracing the currency serial numbers from the USA to CBN to the issuing bank[s] and tellers. What security, spying, surveillance, Nigerian detective Lance Spearman or UK’S 007 James Bond-ic activities require $43m ‘ON CALL’ in one safe house? How many others? The $43,000,000 is FULL INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 860-1720 PERSONNEL to INTERPOL, @$25-50,000/annum OR ONE 2017 SUPER-FORENSIC CRIME LABORATORY in each geopolitical zones or every state and 2017 SPY TRAINING FACILITIES for ‘NIGASPIES.COM’. Why do we bury biblical ‘talent’ while the ‘SUFFERING’ police go begging states for logistics-a surveillance necessity? If it is Federal money why is it not in TSA? Money in the safe is financially unproductive and useless but easily ‘disappear-able’ from Superspy ‘Handing-Over Notes’. Is it just unused 2016 money to be chopped at year end? Such money in anti-democracy political hands can overthrow governments. Such ‘Safe houses’ are unsafe for Nigeria’s democracy. Remember it was ‘just’ N3,000,000,000 that corrupt INEC officials received from a single source??? Solution: Return ALL money to the FG Single Account or Rivers State if it is honest money as the serial number log dictates!
INEC, which political party offered staff those bribes? Such corruption is usually multiparty! The other sources of INEC bribes, nko? Such bribing political PARTIES AND THEIR PROXIES have committed ‘treason’ –the attempted overthrow of the state by vote manipulation. Such PARTIES and those involved MUST BE FINED AND BANNED for 10 years! Meanwhile citizens who in 2015 gullibly lining up thinking ‘My Vote Counts’ will now vote ‘INEC- Zero Credibility. This is verified criminal ANTI-DEMOCRACY ACTIVITIES BY KNOWN POLITICAL PARTIES and evil political machinations of many politicians. So INEC is like a fake party with the deciding secret vote proportionate to the bribe. So INEC’s televised ceremony of sham/shame ‘INEC Certification’ to ‘and the winner is’ is often a crime scene.
Guilty INEC officials and Political ‘beneficiaries of INEC bribes’ have violated their ‘Oath of Office’ and must be sacked outright, not suspended from office, prosecuted, jailed and forced to return monies taken as salaries under false pretences! THE PARTY ‘SUBVERTING THE PEOPLE’ IS guilty of ‘MEGATERRORISM’ and punishable by PROSCRIPTION and jail-time for the authorising leaders and foot-soldiers? These ‘politician’ terrorists are worse than Boko Haram because they pretend to be servants of the masses but they disenfranchise millions, causing untold hardship, death and destruction of livelihoods by depriving the economy of the bribery money and the citizens of their democratic election right. Some of Nigeria’s finest soldiers have been executed for lesser offences.
The painful saga of $1.1Billion Bribe involving of the Malabu Oil and OPL 245 should force an OIL Block Policy Rethink. President Goodluck Jonathan denies knowledge but how many aides make demands and chop ‘on oga’s behalf’ but without ‘oga’s knowledge’, receive and forget to deliver ‘all or none’ to ‘oga at the top’ or the person in ‘the other room’? How can we explain to our children that yet another round of ‘oil well dashing out to cronies and connections’ is looming???
ANOTHER WRONG OIL WELL STEP: When will NIGERIA REVERSE ITS trillion dollar losses from a stupidly DISASTROUS DECISION TO ‘GIVE’ NIGER DELTA OIL WELLS TO INDIVIDUALS ‘forever’ who are largely not even from Niger Delta? Even if the allocations had been for a finite time like five or 10 years and then returned, it is beyond belief that the malicious decisions in the 70s and 80s to maliciously SELL OF OUR PATRIMONY SECRETLY to SOLIDERS, RULERS AND EVEN HAIRDRESSER/TAILORS TO BECOME multibillionaires, silent or known. NOW THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS HAVE MADE BILLIONS for themselves and perhaps their benefactors, WILL THEY PLEASE RETURN THEWELLS TO NIGERIA AND THE HOST COMMUNITIES so the oil remnant will save us? A ‘RETURN OIL WELL REFERENDUM’ could force INDIVIDUALS to give up 50-100% of their stake to the currently suffering local community in which an oil well exists. ALL PERSONALISED OIL WELL LICENCES SHOULD BE REVOKED/RETURNED. NO NEW ONES MUST BE GIVEN TO INDIVIDUALS. Nigeria cannot survive another major bleed of its oil-blood given by God to communities NOW MIRED IN POLLUTION. When will Nigerian Presidents learn they have more responsibility for the common above making a few billionaires -‘$1b for one person’ which is $100,000 for 10,000 families!
FRSC female staff did not sign up for ‘ASSAULT AND BARBER-Y’ haircut or braids-cut. Only qualified barbers can cut hair on invitation only. FRSC should CUT DESPICABLE CORRUPTION AMONG STAFF, not hair. What next –TUMMY TUCK? Corruption is bringing FRSC into disrepute, not hairdos.
NB: Nigerians, reveal a new generation of untainted ‘I LOVE NIGERIA’ KNOWLEDGEABLE CANDIDATES@2019. www.tonymarinho.com -
N23b Diezani Bribe: INEC suspends 205 employees
•Commission refers National Commissioner, RECs to Presidency
The independent National Electoral Commission( INEC) yesterday said out of N23billion poll bribery cash, about N3,046,829, 000 was traced to some of its staff involved in 2015 general elections.
The commission has also referred a National Commissioner and five Resident Electoral Commissioners( RECs), who were implicated in the bribery scandal, to the presidency for disciplinary action.
It said it has suspended 205 pending the final determination of cases they have with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission( EFCC).
But following insufficient information, 70 other staff have been referred back to EFCC for further investigation.
These disciplinary measures were contained in a statement by the National Commissioner and Member, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, Mallam Mohammed Haruna.
For the first time, INEC admitted that
The statement highlighted major decisions taken by INEC management on the report of a panel it set up to look into the poll bribery scam allegedly facilitated by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke.
The statement said: “The Commission met today to consider the report of its expanded Appointment, Promotion and Disciplinary Committee on the EFCC Interim Report on Bribery Corruption and Money Laundering Charges During the 2015 General Elections.
” You may recall that late last year, the Commission received an Interim Report from the EFCC detailing allegations against 202 serving and retired INEC officials and staff in 16 States of the Federation.
” In furtherance of its zero tolerance for corruption in the electoral process, the Commission ordered a thorough investigation into the allegations to establish the culpability or otherwise of those named in the EFCC Report.
“The committee’s work was thorough and painstaking, involving issuance of queries to the 202 staff mentioned in the Report and interviewing them individually in accordance with the principle of fair hearing and in consonance with INEC Staff Conditions of Service.
“As a result of initial findings of the Committee, an additional 80 serving officials of the Commission, who were not named in the EFCC report but whose names came up in the course of the investigation, were also queried and interviewed.”
The statement gave the details of disciplinary measures which INEC has taken against its staff.
The statement added: “Among other things the Committee found that:
“There was a clear attempt to bribe INEC staff to influence the outcome of the 2015 general elections using an NGO, the West African Network of Election Observers (WANEO), made up mainly of retired senior INEC officials.
“Out of over 23 billion Naira, which the EFCC report said was used to influence the elections, the Committee established that 3,046,829,000 Naira was received by INEC staff in 16 States.
“In reaching its decision on the findings of the Committee, the Commission adhered strictly to the INEC Staff Conditions of Service. The Commission therefore decided as follows:
* The cases of one former National Commissioner, 5 former Resident Electoral Commissioners (one of them deceased) have been referred to the Presidency and EFCC for further necessary action.
* Based on their level of involvement, two hundred and five (205) serving INEC staff will be immediately placed on Interdiction, which entails suspension from duties and being placed on half salary, pending the final determination of the cases they have with the EFCC.
* Seventy staff (70) about whom there was insufficient information regarding their involvement will be referred back to EFCC for further investigation and possible prosecution.
“The Commission hereby reiterates its commitment to defending the integrity of the electoral process. Therefore, it will continue to take stern action against its officials who compromise its core values of integrity, transparency and impartiality in the conduct of elections.” -
Lawyers group decries Senate’s failure to swear-in senator elect
- Threatens to drag Saraki to court for contempt
Human Right Lawyers and civil society groups on Monday asked Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, to respect court order directing him to swear-in senator-elect, Bassey Etim, in the interest of rule of law.
The group threatened to drag Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, to court for allegedly refusing to inaugurate Etim despite a court order for him to do so.
The Human right lawyers who spoke in Abuja at a press briefing described as an unacceptable alleged refusal of Saraki to swear-in Etim even with a duly issued certificate of return for Akwa Ibom North East Senatorial District.
Coordinator of Human Right Lawyers, Frank Tietie told reporters that Saraki was trampling on rule of law for allegedly refusing to swear-in Etim.
He recalled that on 27th, February 2017, the Federal High Court, Uyo Division in a well-considered judgement ordered among others that a certificate of return be issued to Senator-elect Bassey Etim by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He said that the same court nullified the certificate of return issued to Senator Bassey Albert.
Tietie noted that INEC in obedience to the court order issued Basset Etim a fresh certificate of return on March 6th, 2017.
He said that the Senate President has however delayed the swearing-in of Senator-elect Bassey Etim without any justifiable reason or excuse under the law.
He said that on 31st March 2017, the Federal High Court in Uyo dismissed the application for stay of execution filed by Bassey Akpan to stop swearing-in Senator-elect Bassey Etim as the Senator representing Akwa Ibom North East.
He said: “It has come to our knowledge that series of letters have been written and advice given to the Senate President to swear-in senator-elect Bassey Etim but the Senate President has refused to do the needful.
“It is worthy to mention that all relevant documents have been put before the Senate President. These include enrolled court order from Federal High Court, Uyo order for striking out of the application for stay of execution, order for the refusal of the injunction by the Federal High Court Judge in Abuja, Certificate of return from INEC.”
Tietie noted that it is obvious that precedent has been set in the swearing-in of senators who have won pre-election matters and issued with a certificate of return.
He said, “Just to mention but a few is the case of Kogi East in a case between Senator Isaac Alfa vs Senator Atai Aidoko. In this situation, stay of execution was pending in court and appeals were also pending in both the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. We believe that their swearing-in was right because appeal does not in law operate as the order for stay of execution.”
Tietie insisted that in view of the precedent already set by the Senate similar to the instant case of Etim, Senate ought to be consistent and swear-in Senator-elect Etim immediately.
He said that they have been duly informed that the delay to swear-in Etim is predicated upon giving Senator Akpan opportunity to procure an order of injunction to restrain the swearing-in Etim.
According to him, “since Albert Akpan has failed to produce injunctive order to restrain the swearing-in of Senator-elect Etim, we hereby call on the Senate President to swear-in Senator-elect Etim forthwith in accordance with the rule of law for the sustenance of our nascent democracy.”
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2019: INEC to seek additional sources of funding
• Deployment of technology in conduct of elections
• Steps up political parties’ monitoring
• To activate ‘INEC Fund’The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is already gearing up for the 2019 elections.
And its immediate task is to deal with what has always been its biggest challenge down the years: inadequate funding.
Consequently, the commission may resort to seeking additional sources of funding to enable it conduct credible polls in two years time, according to INEC’s 2017-2021 Strategic Plan submitted to Senate President Bukola Saraki last week for validation by the National Assembly.
The agency could only implement 76 percent of its planned activities between 2012-2016 owning mainly to paucity of funds.
To overcome this funding challenge therefore, INEC, over the next five years will be looking beyond the traditional sources of funding: government and development partners.
It did not give details of these new sources of funding although it hinted that it may fully activate the ‘INEC Fund’ as provided in Section 3 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).
The Strategic Plan intends to consolidate on the gains of the previous one.
Deployment of technology in the conduct of elections will also be given considerable attention.
In order to ease the burden of funding during election periods, the Commission also plans to spread general elections’ budget across the financial periods covered by the election cycle.
Thus it will design engagement programmes with the Ministry for Finance, the Budget Office and Bureau of Public Procurement with a view to appraising these institutions of the peculiarities of its operations and challenges.
Besides, INEC will be devoting more time and energy to the monitoring of the activities of political parties including nomination of candidates and campaign funding.
“The commission will step up action on monitoring political parties especially candidate nomination and campaign finance,” it said.
“Similarly, the Commission will step up its partnership with civil society especially in civic and voter education and election monitoring and observation.”
It expects to facilitate more effective prosecution of violators of electoral laws, reduce impunity and enhance deterrence by establishing a prosecution unit staffed by trained prosecutors.
Overall, focus will be on five areas:
*Mandate of INEC and improvement on logistics in spite of the challenges from the environment especially political culture, security and conflicting court judgements.
*Re-orientation of staff through change management and behaviour change programmes to build capacity and promote co-operation and synergy.
*Co-ordination and synergy through joint planning, joint implementation and joint monitoring and evaluation.
* Mobilization and effective utilization of resources including enhancement of efficiency and effectiveness of plans and systems.
*Deployment of technology to improve processes and assure consistency and credibility.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu pledged that the commission will continue to do its best to improve the electoral process in the country.
“We have been learning lessons from the past elections and we will continue to do what we have been doing courageously while we learn from the past,” he said.
“We will continue to approach the conduct of election with honour and credibility. We will never, never let the country down.”
The Senate on March 30 passed amendments to the Electoral Act 2010, approving the use of electronic voting in future elections and the electronic transmission of election results to collation centres.
The passage of bill followed the consideration of the report of the senate committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on a bill for an Act to amend the Electoral Act No. 6, 2010 and for other related matters (SB 231 and SB 234).
Highlights of the new bill include provision for the use of electronic voting by INEC during future elections, use of card reader and the power given to INEC to modify the voting process if there is a challenge.
The senate also approved a provision to enable INEC transmit the result of elections electronically in an encrypted and secured manner to prevent hacking.
The bill also gives political parties power to adopt direct or indirect primaries in choosing their flag bearers, while qualification of disqualification of candidates for elections will be solely based on the constitution.
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LG dissolution: PDP drags Ondo, INEC to Appeal Court
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dragged the Ondo State Government, the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), and the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) to the Court of Appeal, urging the appellate court to reverse a judgement in favour of the trio, which resulted in the sack of 18 local government chairmen in the state.
An Akure High Court presided over by Justice S. A. Sidiq had ordered the dissolution of the local government councils last week on the grounds that the PRP was not listed on the ballot paper during the election which held early last year. Consequently, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu dissolved the councils and appointed caretaker committees to oversee them.
But in a fresh suit filed before the Appeal Court by counsel to the PDP, Olusola Oke, the party complained that the court erred in law by imposing a counsel on the PRP as against the real counsel recognised by the leadership of PRP. The PDP argued that the appellant at the lower court (PRP) was denied the legal representation of their lawyer, Femi Aborishade, whereas another lawyer, Segun Ogodo, “was imposed and foisted on the appellant (PRP).”
The PDP said ‘it smelt a rat’ in the decision of the learned judge to have disallowed the PRP’s real lawyer to represent the party in the course of trial. “The learned trial judge erred in law when he disallowed and prevented Femi Aborishade to appear for and handle the appellant’s case.”
Another ground raised by the PDP is that the judge also erred in law by imposing Ogodo on the party as a counsel despite that the national chairman of the party, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, a former governor of Kaduna State, had disowned Ogodo as the party’s lawyer but only endorsed Aborishade.
The PDP averred that “the learned judged erred when he failed to hear and or closed his eyes against the appellant’s motion on notice dated 29th day of March 2017 which it filed on March 30.” Still, the PDP was worried, stating that the order of the lower court was against the weight of evidence before it.
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INEC officials: Court fixes May 12 for ruling
JUSTICE John Tsoho of Federal High Court Abuja on Friday fixed May 12 for ruling in an application by 23 officials of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear the suit against them. Justice Tsoho adjourned the matter after listening to arguments from the prosecution and defence counsel. The officials were docked for allegedly receiving N360million from Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers during the Dec. 10, 2016 re-rerun election in the State.
The accused were to enter their plea on March 14 to a seven-count charge bordering on bribery. Counsel to the 1st to 20th defendants Mr Ahmed Raji, had in the last sitting, informed the court of the application he filed, questioning the territorial jurisdiction of the court in the matter.
The other defence counsel, Mr Ukpan Ukairo and Mr E. A. Nwauwa, also filed an application challenging the court’s jurisdiction. At the resumed hearing, Raji observed that the exhibits of the complainant attached to the counter affidavit of the police, were deposed to by one Numa Ganawo Wande, a litigation officer in the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF). He said the exhibits, marked annexures A, B, C and D, were mere photographs of dead police officers and weapons. Raji argued that in accordance with the provisions of Section 84 of the Evidence Act, the exhibits were “inadmissible in law”. He insisted that a litigation officer in the AGF’s office “is not in a better position to depose to what transpired in Port-Harcourt.