The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Inec

  • INEC to Oyo PDP: Court has stopped your candidate

    •Makinde: PDP may not field candidate•Folarin: you are ranting 

    The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Oyo State, Oluseyi Makinde, has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may not field a  candidate in next year’s governorship election because of a  lawsuit.

    Makinde, who was a PDP aspirant, joined the SDP last Monday.

    He spoke at the unveiling of the structure of his new party in Ibadan, the state capital, at the weekend.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has written to the PDP National Chairman, Adamu Muazu, that a Federal High Court had restrained it from recognising any candidate who emerged from a primary, whose delegates differed from the one it ruled in favour of.

    The letter, dated December 9 and signed by the commission’s Secretary, Mrs Augusta Ogakwu, urged the PDP to act in line with the court ruling.

    The three-paragraph letter reads: “This is to confirm receipt of service of the Order of Federal High Court, Abuja, in respect of the above suit in which you were represented by counsel.

    “The court restrained the commission from accepting, recognising or treating as nominated candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, any candidate who did not emerge in accordance with the order of the court. You may wish to be guided accordingly, please.”

    Explaining why he joined the SDP,  Makinde said he approached members of the PDP national leadership before the primaries and he was assured of a level-playing field.

    He said they reneged on their promise because they worked in favour of Teslim Folarin.

    The SDP candidate said the party refused to allow the right delegates to emerge through the ward congresses.

    Makinde added that three of the five-member committee that conducted the ward congress endorsed the list of appropriate delegates but that the leadership chose to use a list allegedly prepared by a particular candidate.

    Consequently, Makinde said the litigations arising from the development may eventually ensure that the PDP does not have a valid candidate in the election.

    He urged his supporters to work for the SDP’s success in the February election.

    But Folarin described Makinde’s comments as the ranting of a defeated player.

    The PDP candidate, who spoke through his spokesman, Victor Oluwadamilare,  said yesterday that Makinde  wants to eat his cake and have it.

    According to him, the suit filed against his (Folarin’s) candidature by one of Makinde’s supporters would be thrown out because the latter has left the PDP.

    His words: “The problem with Seyi Makinde is that he wants to eat his cake and have it.

    “His suit will be thrown out because he has left the PDP. He can’t be in the SDP and be talking about the PDP.

    “The delegates who voted for Folarin have spoken. If the delegates had chosen him, he would not have been complaining.

    “It is an internal crisis and if you have not exhausted the internal mechanism process before going to court, you will just be wasting your time. He is just ranting.”

    On the INEC letter, Oluwadamilare said the commission did that only to show fairness to all parties, emphasising that the PDP would still reconfirm Folarin as its candidate.

  • ‘INEC should monitor campaign spending’

    ‘INEC should monitor campaign spending’

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been advised to devise a mechanism for monitoring and sanctioning those who violate campaign spending ceiling and rules as stipulated by the Electoral Act.

    This advice was contained in a communiqué at the end of a two-day capacity building workshop organised by the Media Scholars Network (MSN) in collaboration with the INEC.

    The theme of the workshop held at the University of Ibadan was: “Reporting Election: A Non Partisan Approach”.

    According to the communiqué by Convener, MSN Prof. Ayo Olukotun and Secretary, Dr Tunde Oseni, the theme of the workshop was designed to enhance the capacity of journalists to report the 2015 elections.

    The workshop also recommended that INEC should  respond promptly to enquiries by journalists and member of the public at election times.

    It urged media proprietors to pay more attention to the welfare of the journalists by ensuring that they earn decent wages and are paid as at when due.

    The communiqué noted that while objectivity was difficult to achieve, attention should be given to all sides of the story by journalists.

  • PVC: 70% eligible voters may Niger to be disenfranchised – APC

    THE All Progressives Congress (APC) in Niger State yesterday alleged that with distribution of Permanent Voters Cards in only 11 out of the 25 local governments area of the state by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 70 percent of eligible voters in the state may be disenfranchised towards the 2015 general elections.

    The opposition party described the PVC distribution in the state as a charade and an unacceptable exercise.

    The electoral body started the exercise in 11 of the 25 local government areas of the state on Friday after three postponements, due to what they claimed was logistic problem.

    The State Chairman of the party, Engr. Mohammed Jibrin Imam, in Minna on Saturday said the idea of PVC  essentially was to reduce rigging and achieve a credible result in the forth coming elections but complained that none availability of the PVC materials has created suspense and tension in the State.

    Imam accused INEC that the conduct of the exercise in the state “was designed to fail and to disenfranchise 70 percent of eligible voters in the state and pave way for massive rigging by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “It is therefore unacceptable and we insist that it should be stepped down to give peace a chance in the state.

    “INEC claimed that we have 1.4 million voters in Niger State and the electoral body brought only 600,000 PVCs for the 11 local government areas where the exercise started on Friday, what this meant is that the remaining 14 LGAs with 800,000 voters would be left without PVCs,” he added.

    The party chairman further lamented that the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr. Emmanuel Onucheyo, gave no cogent reason for the shortfall, except that he has written to the INEC headquarters for ratification.

    Aside the faulty distribution, Imam said the electoral body has declared 627 polling units zero registration units, all in a bid to rig next year’s election.

  • 2015: INEC raises task force on displaced persons’ right to vote

    2015: INEC raises task force on displaced persons’ right to vote

    Nigerians displaced by  violence, particularly in the North East,  will not be denied their right to vote in next year’s elections, according to the  Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The commission yesterday announced the setting up of a task force on how to get such internally displaced persons (IDPs) to vote in the elections.

    The task force of 10 is headed by  INEC National Commissioner, Mrs. Thelma Iremiren.

    Other members  include the Director, Electoral Operations, Mr. Kayode Oladimeji; Ag. Director, Legal Services, Mr. Ibrahim Bawa; Director, Voter Registry, Engr. Emmanuel Akem; Chief Technical Adviser to the Chairman, Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu; and Special Assistant to the Chairman, Prof. Mohammed Kuna; the Resident Electoral Commissioner   of Borno State, Prof. Tukur Sa’ad; his counterpart in Adamawa State, Mr.Kassim Gaidam; the Resident Electoral Commissioner of Yobe State, Mallam Sadiq Abubakar Musa; and Director, Planning and Monitoring, Barrister Okechukwu Ndeche, who will double as the Secretary of the task force.

    The task force is mandated to examine the legal, political, security and administrative challenges in achieving IDP voting during the 2015 general election; evaluate the standards and recommendations emerging from conferences and workshops by international and local agencies on IDP voting, and determine their applicability to Nigeria for the 2015 general election.

    It is also expected to review the experiences of other jurisdictions in dealing with the challenges of IDP voting; evaluate the adequacy of existing electoral legal framework for resolving the challenges of IDP voting in the 2015 general election; determine what the Commission can do to ensure that IDPs are not disenfranchised if the existing legal framework is inadequate; determine the scope of IDP participation that is practicable in the 2015 general election.

    The task force  has seven days beginning from Monday, December 22nd, 2014 to  deliver.

  • 2015: INEC raises task force on IDPs

    2015: INEC raises task force on IDPs

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised a ten member task force to look into the possibility of allowing the internally displaced persons to participate in 2015 general election.

    Mrs. Thelma Iremiren, INEC National Commissioner led task force has the mandate to examine the legal, political, security and administrative challenges confronting the IDP’s participation

    The task force has seven working days, beginning from December 22 to turn in its report.

    Other nine members include the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States.

    Specifically, members of the task force include the Director, Electoral Operations, Mr. Kayode Oladimeji; Ag. Director, Legal Services, Barrister Ibrahim Bawa; Director, Voter Registry, Engr. Emmanuel Akem; Chief Technical Adviser to the Chairman, Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu and Special Assistant to the Chairman, Prof. Mohammed Kuna.

    Others are – the REC of Borno State, Prof. Tukur Sa’ad; his counterpart for Adamawa State, Barr. Kassim Gaidam; the REC of Yobe State, Mallam Sadiq Abubakar Musa; and Director, Planning and Monitoring, Barr. Okechukwu Ndeche, who is also the task force Secretary.

    According to a press statement signed by the Chief press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, the task force, which was approved by the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, has seven terms of reference.

     

  • 2015 polls: INEC undecided on IDPs

    THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is still consulting on whether  or not the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states will vote.

    Its chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said this yesterday in Abuja at a seminar organised by the Nigeria Police, titled: “Securing the 2015 General Election.”

    He added that the success of next year’s elections depended on both INEC and security agencies.

    Jega said: “Right now, the key question on everybody’s mind is, what will we do with the IDPs, particularly in the three states under emergency? Or how will we conduct election safely and in the three states under emergency?”

    “We are still discussing about the IDPs, for us to have a successful election come 2015.

    “I assure you that we are engaging in discussion. The last meeting we had about two weeks ago, it was one of the things we discussed and we need to keep discussing so that we can plan well and ensure a successful election.”

    Saying the commission was ready for the elections, he stressed: “We know that operationally and logistically, in terms of operational capacity and competence of the electoral body, we are more than prepared to conduct a better election in 2015 than we did in 2011.”

  • INEC: We’ll recognise only list from Dayo-led PDP

    INEC: We’ll recognise only list from Dayo-led PDP

    THE  Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to present only candidates that emerged from primaries organised by the Adebayo Dayo-led Ogun State executive council.

    In a letter to the PDP national secretariat, INEC said this followed an order of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

    Secretary to the Commission, Mrs. Augusta Ogakwu, told the PDP national secretariat it would not disobey the court ruling and accept other candidates.

  • Aspirant sues APC, INEC

    AN aspirant seeking to represent Ifelodun/Odo-Otin/Boripe Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives, Ayodele  Kusamotu, has sued the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adeyinka Ajayi and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    He is seeking an order of the court to restrain INEC from recognising Ajayi as the APC candidate in the next year’s election.

    The plaintiff is also seeking an order compelling the first defendant to release his nomination form having paid N2million and N200,000 for an Expression of Interest form.

    Kusamotu alleged that the party breached its guidelines in nominating the second defendant as its candidate.

  • Oyo APC, INEC trade words over voter cards

    Oyo APC, INEC trade words over voter cards

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has criticised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the alleged poor handling of issuance of Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) in the state.

    It said many voters were unable to collect their PVCs in some local governments and that many new qualified adults were also not sure of collecting theirs before the February election.

    The party’s Director of Publicity and Strategy, Olawale Sadare, said in a statement in Ibadan yesterday that INEC must be ready to convince the electorate that they would not be disenfranchised when voting begins in 2015.

    The statement reads: “Less than 60 days to the presidential election, there are many eligible and willing voters out there whose fate are still hanging in the balance due to their inability to get the PVCs.

    “A good number of citizens who registered and voted in 2011 have had their names removed without tenable reasons.

     “Most people in Afijio, Ibadan South West, Ogbomoso North, Ibadan North East, Egbeda and many other council areas were made to re-register but up till now, nobody is sure when they would have their PVCs released. Besides, many people who are to be registered afresh have been abandoned by INEC.”

    The party also expressed worry that voters who want to transfer their data to a new location are unable to do so.

    But the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Nasiru Ayilara, denied sloppiness in the conduct of the exercise, saying that those who complained were the people who wanted to collect on others’ behalf.

    His words: “As far as I am concerned, transfer of data to new location is done at the state headquarters and that exercise is going on smoothly.

    “We have covered at least 60 per cent of PVC distribution and we don’t have new challenges. There are people who claimed to represent some others who are sick or have travelled but we have told them that there will be no collection by proxy.”

  • Enugu crisis: Court summons PDP, INEC

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) to appear before in to answer to a suit over the dispute resulting from the governorship primary conducted by the party in Enugu State.

    Justice Evoh Chukwu also gave them 24 hours within which to file their responses to the suit instituted by an aspirant, Samuel Maduka Onyishi (owner of Peace Mass Transit Limited) following his dissatisfaction with   the outcome of the party’s gubernatorial primary election held on December 8.

    The judge abridged time for the defendants to respond to the suit in view of the application of urgency made by plaintiff’s lawyer, Chris Uche (SAN).

    He ordered PDP and INEC to appear before the court on Thursday to show cause why the reliefs sought by Onyishi should not be granted.

    The plaintiff, who raised some questions for the court’s determination, is seeking, among other things, a declaration that the primary election conducted by the PDP in Enugu state was in total disregard and contempt of a subsisting suit challenging the election of delegates for that primary election.

    He wants the court to nullify that primary election for being in breach of sections 87(4)(b)(I) of the Electoral Act and for non-compliance with the electoral guidelines for primary elections 2014 of the PDP and and its constitution.

    Justice Chukwu had, prior to the primary election, held in a suit marked: FHC/Abj/CS/830/2014 filed by Orji Chinenye Godwin and two others against the PDP and 4 others, that the legitimate list of delegates for the primary election should be that  of all the delegates duly elected as delegates at the party’s ward congress held for the state.

    Onyishi stated, in a supporting affidavit, that the state’s  Electoral Panel, allegedly acting in breach of the court’s decision, discarded that list of elected delegates approved by the court, and utilized a different  list of delegates, which they claimed was handed over to them by the leadership of the party.

    He further averred that no valid election took place in the state because  no votes or results could have been recorded from the flawed election.

    The plaintiff said as a result of the confusion created with the substitution of the actual delegate list, some delegates conducted different primaries leading to a situation where the state now parades three persons laying claims to being winners of the gubernatorial primary election of the PDP in the state.

    Justice Chukwu has adjourned to December 18.