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Tag: Inec

  • APC sweeps Yobe LG election

    APC sweeps Yobe LG election

    The All Progressive Congress has been declared winner in all the seventeen Local government chairmanship position contested in the last Saturday council polls in Yobe State.

    Annoucing the results at the headquarters of the commission in Damaturu, the Chairman Yobe State Independent Electoral Commission Alhaji Jauro Abdu disclosed that all the chairmanship positions in the election were unopposed for the APC except for Potiskum local government but the NCP candidate later withdrew from the race just before the election.

    The Chairman in the midst of the security chiefs in the state said the elections recorded no adverse incident across the state.

    Alhaji Jauro Abdu informed that that the elections into the councilorship positions were not unopposed like for the chairmanship but how disclosed that the results were not yet received by his office.

    Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Gaidam has commended the people the state for coming out emass to vote for APC in the Saturday council polls.

    In a statement signed by the Spokesman to Gov Gaidam, Abdullahi Bego said, ” His Excellency Governor Ibrahim Gaidam is very pleased and hugely grateful that the people of the state have reaffirmed their faith in and support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) by electing all the party’s candidates in last Saturday’s Local Government Election.

    “That all the APC chairmanship candidates won in the election shows the degree to which the APC manifesto remains an appealing document to most of the people of the state.

    “The governor is also pleased that a significant number of registered voters across the state have participated in the election and have voted for the candidates of their choice.

    “His Excellency Governor Gaidam strongly believes that given the security and other challenges that the state has experienced in the recent past, last weekend’s polls, which were commendably peaceful, can give us hope that normalcy has returned and that we can take pride in our capacity as a people to collectively organise and participate in elections at the grassroots level.

    “His Excellency the governor will work with the elected chairmen and their councils to go even farther in his determination to improve the people’s living conditions at the grassroots,” the statement said.

  • Langtang South bye-elections will be free and fair- INEC

    Langtang South bye-elections will be free and fair- INEC

    The Plateau office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has promised to conduct a free and fair bye-election into the Langtang South State Constituency seat.

    The election is scheduled to hold on Saturday, Feb.

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. Jacob Jatau, made the promise at a stakeholders’ forum held on Thursday in Jos.

    “We shall give all the political parties equal opportunity; we shall be an unbiased umpire,” Jatau told the stakeholders.

    Following the development, INEC slated the re-run election for February, 2016 but had to call it off following a court order, after the PDP protested their exclusion.

    The court, however, relaxed the order in December 2016.

    Jatau challenged the parties to be orderly in their conduct, and cautioned mischief makers against the temptation to cut corners.

    The INEC boss explained that voting would take place in 68 polling units and 28 voting points, adding that only voters with Permanent Voters Cards would be allowed to vote.

    Also speaking, the Commissioner of Police in Plateau, Mr Peter Ogunyawo, assured the stakeholders of the command’s readiness to provide adequate security during the exercise.

    Ogunyawo advised the electorate to put the interest of the nation above selfish considerations and vote according to their conscience.

    He advised youths against violence during the election and vowed to deal with anyone caught.

     

  • Rivers rerun loot: Politicians, others urge unbiased investigation, prosecution

    Rivers rerun loot: Politicians, others urge unbiased investigation, prosecution

    Some politicians on Thursday urged objectivity and thoroughness in handling case of N111 million allegedly recovered from 23 electoral officers who participated in the Dec. 10 re-run in Rivers.

    Prof. Lai Olorode, a former INEC National Commissioner, urged the police to ensure that their investigations would be devoid of political colouration.

    “The police should always be mindful that they are an agent of the state; their investigations must be thorough and impeccable.

    “The police should not behave as if they are in opposition to the Rivers State Government. They are supposed to be neutral in all matters so that they can earn the trust of the public,’’ Olorode urged.

    Prof. Oluremi Sonaiya, a former Presidential Candidate of KOWA Party, urged prosecution of indicted persons.

    “I guess the police know their job, and should do it quickly; they should ensure proper investigations are carried out and all those involved prosecuted,’’ Sonaiya said.

    Chief Martin Onovo, a former Presidential Candidate of the National Conscience Party, regretted that unpatriotic Nigerians stole and extorted to rig elections.

    He advised Nigerians to avoid money politics and do-or-die elections in the interest of democracy.

    Dr Yunusa Tanko, a former National Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), called for restructuring of the electoral system to ensure that money would not determine who should win.

    “If the government has evidence on this alleged crime committed against the electoral decision of the people, then the police should prosecute the suspects.

    “These are some of the indications over the years that our politics has been heavily monitised.

    “Manipulations and corrupt tendencies are some of the things that have led us into bad leadership,’’ Tanko said.

    He alleged that money played a pivotal role in elections.

    “This is why political parties which do not have money are not able to win elections.”

    The Lagos State Chairman of African Democratic Congress, Mr Nkem Lemchi, also condemned money politics.

    “Who is the person who gave the bribe and who are those people that received it and for what purpose. We want these to be made open.

    “Elections should be transparent, free and fair; people should not descend so low to bribe their way to win elections,’’ Lemchi said.

     

  • Ekiti 2018 election campaign illegal – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday declared as illegal, the Ekiti 2018 governorship election campaigns embarked on by some aspirants and their agents in the state.

    The spokesperson of   INEC in Ekiti, Alhaji Taiwo Gbadegesin, told   the News Agency of Nigeria, (NAN) in Ado Ekiti that all those engaging in such activities would be referred to law enforcement agents.

    He said the commission noted that some aspirants have started erecting billboards and opening campaign offices in Ado Ekiti even when the commission has not directed them to do so.

    Gbadegesin also expressed disappointment at the manner some aspirants and their agents have been placing advertisements in the media to canvass the choice of certain individuals ahead of the poll.

    “At this stage, we want to believe that those involved are ignorant of what the law says. But we want to assure them that any further action after this warning will compel the commission to refer their cases to law enforcers,” the INEC official told NAN.

    “People must learn to be obedient on simple legal instructions.

    “In the pre-election period that ushered in the present governor who is barely two years in office, this was the way all manner of people started campaigning before the regulatory time frame  without any recourse to the commission.

    “This did not stop until we reported them to law enforcement agents

    “If this crop of politicians or their agents feel they can come around again to cause us sleepless nights, we will be left with no option than to catch up with them and make them to face the consequences of disobeying the law.”

     

  • Rivers rerun: We are yet to get police panel report – INEC

    Rivers rerun: We are yet to get police panel report – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it was yet to receive the report of the police panel that investigated activities during the December 10, 2016 parliamentary rerun elections in Rivers.

    The panel, which was constituted by police high command submitted its report to the Inspector-General of Police on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The report said N111 million was recovered from 23 INEC officials that participated in the elections.

    The recovered cash was displayed during the presentation of the report at police headquarters in Abuja.

    INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the commission has not been briefed by anybody on the report.

    “After getting the report and the indictment, INEC would support all processes to prosecute the people allegedly involved the alleged bribery,” Osaze-Uzzi told NAN.

    “We await the police report. Just like everybody saw it on the media that was how we also saw it.

    “As at today, they have not communicated to say this is the report.

    “We know the panel has submitted the report to the IGP. Maybe, he will study it and avail us with the report if need be.”

     

     

  • Rivers rerun: Panel recovers N111million from INEC officials

    Rivers rerun: Panel recovers N111million from INEC officials

    Over N111 million was recovered from 23 officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) who were deployed to Rivers State for the recent rerun parliamentary election in the state, the police said on Tuesday.

    The unnamed officials have been indicted for their involvement in the incidents and violence that occurred during the election.

    Also, six police officers who were indicted for their roles in the election have been dismissed.

    The findings were contained in the report of the Joint Investigation Panel constituted by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, on December 22, 2016 and presented at the Force Headquarters in Abuja..

    The panel which comprising 12 officers of the Nigeria Police Force and three from State Security Service was mandated to investigate the various infractions, incidents, and violence that marred the rerun elections in Rivers State and any relevant matter.

    The panel attributed the violence recorded in the election to lawlessness and leadership failure.

    Speaking during the presentation, the chairman of the 15-man panel, DCP Damian Okoro, said “the sum of N111, 300,000 was recovered from 23 INEC electoral officers. Out of N360million, 15 million was given to each of them while three senior electoral officers were given N20million each.”

    Okoro said the committee established “cases of misconduct on the part of some electoral officers and law enforcement agents who unfortunately allowed themselves to be compromised in their line of duties and deserved to be disciplined appropriately.”

  • INEC ‘working to implement’ EU recommendations before 2019 elections

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it was taking necessary steps towards implementing recommendations of European Union 2015 Elections Observation Report.

    The commission’s daily bulletin issued on Monday indicated that its Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said this when EU Parliament Democracy Support and Election Coordination group visited him in Abuja

    Yakubu said INEC was also collaborating with the National Assembly to ensure that recommendations which needed legal and constitutional amendments were addressed ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    “We have studied the 2015 General Elections Observation Report of the EU carefully and we have itemized 30 of the recommendations from the report, “the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the INEC chairman as saying in the bulletin.

    “Some of them require some administrative action from the commission and where we can implement some of these recommendations, we have already started implementing them.”

    He said some of the recommendations already being implemented by the commission included simultaneous accreditation and voting and continuous voter registration.

    Also implemented, according to the chairman, are cleaning-up of the voter register, sustained consultation with stakeholders, collation and transmission of results and improving the functionality of the smart card reader.

    He, however, pointed out that the bulk of EU recommendations bordered on constitutional and legal amendments.

     

  • I signed result sheet in error – Ize-Iyamu’s witness tells Tribunal

    I signed result sheet in error – Ize-Iyamu’s witness tells Tribunal

    A witness of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu in the on-going hearing of the Edo State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Benin City, Mr. Jonathan Ogie Alohan has confessed to have cobbled together uncertified documents to prepare his witness adoption statement, which he swore under oath.

    This is as Alohan, the witness, testified to have signed the result sheet in error”.

    Alohan, who claimed to have voted in the September 28, 2016 gubernatorial election said there was no accreditation, but added that, “I signed the result sheet after the election. I signed in error”.

    The witness further said he was not interested in non-accreditation when he examined the voters register. He said, “I was not looking for any ticking when I examined the voters’ register”.

    He agreed that the court certified true copies of INEC documents used for the election on the 20th of October 2016 but that a chart (table) was provided in his witness deposition, which arrived at with documents he obtained from his party immediately after the election and were not certified.

    According to him, “I was not looking for any ticking when I was examining the voters register, but I signed the result sheet before the APC agent. I was the first person to sign the result sheet before the APC agent. I signed in error.

    In the same vein, another witness of the PDP and Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Mr. Edo-Esamah Samuel said he was not in court to complain about improper accounting of ballot papers.

    He said under cross-examination that, “No, I did not complain that used and unused ballot papers fell short. It is not correct”. This statement contradicted the deposition he earlier made to the court under oath.

    Continuing, he said, “I voted in unit 4, Olua Primary School, Uselu. Out of the 19 units in my ward, I cannot remember how many units I am challenging”.

    While confirming that the information he deposed to in the court cannot be relied on, he said, “I agree my name and signature are on exhibit PO 4 (17). I have adopted my witness statement. I read my witness statement before adopting it”.

     

  • Edo: 400 witnesses to testify for Pastor Ize-Iyamu

    Edo: 400 witnesses to testify for Pastor Ize-Iyamu

    Over 400 witnesses are expected to testify for the People’s Democratic Party and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu at the ongoing hearing of the petition against the victory of Godwin Obaseki in the September 28 governorship election.

    Some witnesses who testified before the three-man panel insisted that there were no accreditation before voting at their various polling units.

    The witnesses who were Ward agents of the PDP in Akoko-Edo local government said they used incidence forms after the INEC card reader malfunctioned.

    They said there were over voting in during the elections.

    Those that testified are James Mayaki, Charles Osagbemeh, Richard Olori and Ayeni Sunday.

    During cross examination by Prosecution Counsels, James said he voted even though he was not accredited.

    He said there were no accreditation in Unit 2, 9, 11, 12 and 14 in Ward 2, Akoko-Edo local government.

    Richard told the tribunal that all party agents in Ward 5 signed the unit results and that he examined the pink copies of form EC8A before he handed them over to the party chairman.

    Hearing was still on as at press time.

     

     

  • N23.29b bribery scandal: INEC staff in Lagos, Adamawa, Gombe, Enugu, Anambra top suspects list

    N23.29b bribery scandal: INEC staff in Lagos, Adamawa, Gombe, Enugu, Anambra top suspects list

    • EFCC report reveals statistics of suspects
    • Two RECs may face trial
    • Fresh row in INEC over sitting, refreshment allowances for panel members

    How wide spread was the move by the ousted PDP government to compromise the 2015 elections?

    Fresh facts yesterday showed that 16 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were affected with the involvement of 202 staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    A sum of $115m (N23.29billion) was allegedly provided by the then Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke and shared to the INEC staff for the purpose of rigging the elections.

    About four oil firms, 14 directors of oil companies, two banks, two RECs, more than 16 INEC directors and 186 others have been cited in the investigation.

    The PDP lost the election including the crucial presidential poll.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission( EFCC) is currently probing the scandal.

    The INEC is also carrying out its own in-house probe of the affected staff.

    But the INEC investigation has run into a hitch following an uproar over the sitting and refreshment allowances for members of the Committee on Review of the Fallout of the 2015 General Elections.

    Some staff of the commission are kicking over what they perceive as outrageous allowances.

    Adamawa, Gombe, Anambra, Enugu, Lagos and Taraba States top the list of INEC staff with cases to answer with EFCC on the matter.

    According to a document submitted by EFCC to INEC, the poll bribery was heavily deployed in the 16 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

    About 202 INEC staff, including three at the headquarters in Abuja, were implicated by EFCC in its report to the management of the electoral body.

    A breakdown of the 202 suspects now being investigated by INEC Committee, which is headed by a National Commissioner, Alhaji Baba Shetiima Arfo, is as follows: Adamawa( 86),Gombe (25), Lagos(21), Anambra(21), Enugu(17), Taraba(17), Akwa Ibom(2), FCT(1) and INEC headquarters(3).

    Niger, Jigawa, Kano, Zamfara, Delta,Edo, Ogun, Osun and  Borno States have one staff each.

    A top source in INEC said: “The eight-man panel, headed by National Commissioner Baba Shetiima Arfo has started investigating the alleged involvement of the 202 staff in the poll bribery scandal.

    “This is just to enable INEC to take disciplinary action against them before handing them over to EFCC for prosecution.

    “Although the panel is expected to conclude its sitting on 3rd February, there is every likelihood that it might extend its timeline because of the number of staff involved and the need to be painstaking and fair to all.

    “Some of these staff are senior officers and their career is on the line. So, the panel needs to go through EFCC report and hear from the affected staff before arriving at any conclusion on whether they are guilty or not.”

    Responding to a question, the source added: “Of course, INEC management will not spare any staff guilty of infractions. The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has zero tolerance for corruption.

    “He is already collaborating with the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu on this.”

    As at press time, it was learnt that EFCC legal team was prepared for the trial of a former Resident Electoral Commission, Gesil Khan.

    Khan is under investigation by EFCC for allegedly collecting N185, 842,000 out of a N681million bribe deal.

    It was learnt that another Resident Electoral Commissioner, Sylvester Ezeani, might be prosecuted even after returning the   N20million traced to him from the poll cash.

    A top source in EFCC said: “We are already fine-tuning charges against these Resident Electoral Commissioners whom we have established a prima facie case against. They will soon be charged to court.

    “Concerning other INEC staff and officers, we are only following due process before arraigning them in court. They have to face internal disciplinary mechanism before we can put them on trial.

    “We are awaiting the outcome of the ongoing investigation by INEC committee.

    “The internal probe by INEC may provide more clues on the bribery scandal and lead to arrest of more suspects.”

    Apart from Khan and Ezeani, some  INEC officers already grilled by EFCC are Fidelia Omoile( Electoral Officer in Isoko-South Local Government Area of Delta State)–N112,480,000 ; Uluochi Obi Brown( INEC’s Administrative Secretary in Delta State)–N111,500,000; a former Deputy Director  of INEC in Cross River state, Edem Okon Effanga—N241,127,000 and the Head of Voter Education in INEC in Akwa Ibom, Immaculata Asuquo–N214,127,000.

    Also, a retired INEC staff, Sani Isa was grilled over alleged N 406,206,000 bribe sum allegedly collected on behalf of the deceased Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), in Kano State, Alhaji Mukaila Abdullahi.

    Those grilled in Gombe were: Godwin Maiyaki Gambo Balanga, Bukar Alone Benisheik, Dukku, Jibril. B. Muhammed,Billiri, Dunguma Musa Dogona, Funakaye, Mohammed. A. Wanka, Kaltungo, Ishaku Yusuf, Kwami, Suleiman Isawa, Nafada, Babagana Malami, Shongom, and Nuhu Samuel, Y/Deba.

    Meanwhile, there are rumbles in the electoral commission over sitting and refreshment allowances for members of the Committee on Review of the Fallout of the 2015 General Elections.

    While six National Commissioners in the panel are due to receive  N35,000 per sitting, the other two members are to collect N16,000 and N12,000 respectively and N12,000 (PAO/Recorder) respectively.

    The panel has secured approval for N336,000 as Entertainment Allowance for 7 days.

    The panel also got approval for N336,000 as Refreshment Allowances( Tea break/Lunch) for seven days and N213,000 for Working materials, Camcoder and Voice recorders.

    The allowance for preparation of report is N100, 100.

    A memo by the Secretary of the committee reads in part: “You may please recall that the commission constituted an expanded APDC to investigate the fallout of the 2015 General Elections with regards to staff indicted by the EFCC.

    “The committee has commenced sitting and it is scheduled to invite the affected officers for interview as per timelines attached and marked Annexure(A).

    “Accordingly, the cost implication for the committee’s assignment is attached and marked Annexure( B ).

    “Kindly consider and recommend for approval for the sum of N2,315,100 only for the committee’s assignment please.”

    In Annexure B, the committee gave the details of its N2.3million budget with a caveat: “Timeline of activities (7sittings).”

    It added that each of the National Commissioner in the committee will earn sitting allowance of N35,000 x7@ N245,000.

    A source said: “Apart from the allowances for Working materials and preparation of report, the panel is expected to spend about N2,002,000 per week. Most staffers are unhappy with this development because the committee’s work is part of the members’ statutory duties.

    “In this period of recession, INEC cannot afford such luxury. Once this template is set, every committee members will be applying for sitting allowances.

    “This will weigh heavily on the finances of the electoral commission.”