The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Inec

  • Ngige faults process

    Ngige faults process

    The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chris Ngige, yesterday formally lodged a complaint with INEC over the sloppy conduct of the election especially in  Idemili North,Idemili South,Awka South and parts of Dunukofia,all his strongholds.

    He said: “This is deliberate because I’m the senator representing there. And they know that my catchment area is there.

    “However, I believe that I will make inroad and come out with some successful results in other senatorial zones.

    “But you know that this election is won based on majority of votes cast, who scored the highest number – where a candidate must attain 25 per cent in two-thirds of all the 14 Local Governments Areas of Anambra State.

    “We have filed in our complaints to INEC, I have spoken to the National Commissioner in charge of Southeast and the administrative secretary, and we’re waiting to see what they can do.”

    Ngige said he has no confidence in the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. Chukwuemeka Onukogu.

    According to him: “I don’t have confidence in the Resident Electoral Commissioner. At the last interactive session, I asked a question and I told INEC chairman: ‘You have an electoral commissioner who conducted the 2011 election and he worked against my party and myself. We petitioned you. I have an official status as candidate; my party has an official status as a political party. We never heard anything about the petition.’

    “I said further that some of the election results we talked about were upturned by the courts – such as the Court of Appeal, vindicating our petition.

    “They cancelled those places outright, like the votes in Anaocha, where there were no result sheets, and results came in and were accepted. I told him that specifically.

    “In my constituency – Idemili South, the results were declared inconclusive. There were no by-elections, only for him, after three days, to go and do certificate of return and announce a new result.

    “So we went to court, and the court upturned all those results. And in those places we won when a eutral persons was brought here to conduct the rerun.

    “So I’m flabbergasted, I’m surprised, I’m dumbfounded that Prof Onukogu was left here to conduct this election.

    “We made verbal representations and we were told that RECs don’t stay in their places of domicile to conduct election; that it is neutral RECs that come.”

  • APC: Results unacceptable without voting in all local govts

    APC: Results unacceptable without voting in all local govts

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday warned that it would not accept the results of the  governorship election  if  ”voting does not take place in all local governments, especially in the party’s strongholds of Idemili North and South as well as Akwa South.”

    The Interim National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a statement, also condemned INEC for “its apparently-contrived logistic nightmare that has left thousands of voters unable to exercise their franchise.”

    It demanded the ‘immediate removal’ of the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Anambra, Prof. Chukwuemeka Onukogu, for allegedly aiding and abetting irregularities in the election.

    The APC said it was “totally astonished to learn that INEC has confirmed that materials meant for Idemili North Local Government, which has 180,000 voters, have been hijacked, without saying who hijacked the ballot papers and why and without explaining why the materials meant for APGA and PDP strongholds were not hijacked.”

    The party said equally astonishing was ”the fact that the voter’s registers for Idemili South, the direct Local Government of the APC candidate, Dr. Chris Ngige, did not contain the names of voters in the local government, despite the assurances by INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega.

    It said: ‘’Before the election, political parties were given voter’s registers that largely contained the names of most voters. However, about four days to the election, Prof Jega said at an interactive stakeholders’ forum that there were problems with the registers, which would be rectified before the election.

    ‘’However, when the supposedly-corrected registers were brought back, most of the authentic names in them have disappeared, without explanation.’’

    Recalling the REC’s performance in the 2011 election, the APC said:’ ‘In 2011, when Prof. Onukogu conducted the general elections in the state, he was very partial.

    “During the Onitsha South 2 House of Assembly constituency and Idemili South House of Assembly polls, he declared the results of both inconclusive, only for him to announce the results at 12 midnight. After we challenged the results in court and a rerun was ordered, we won both constituencies.

    ‘’We subsequently petitioned INEC and the Commission assured us that the same person will not be allowed to conduct subsequent election.

    “Alas, he was left in place to do another damage to INEC as an institution through his glaring incompetence and partiality, which have seriously affected the credibility of this governorship election.’’

  • Nwoye, parents’ names not on voters’ list

    Nwoye, parents’ names not on voters’ list

    The flag bearer of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the, Comrade Tony Nwoye, could not vote in yesterday in his Nsugbe home town after his name could not be found in the register.

    His parents were also unable to vote as were many other residents for a similar reason.

    Also missing in the voters register was the name of Nwoye’s political godfather, Chief Arthur Eze.

    INEC officials could not explain the omission of their names despite the affected persons brandishing their voter’s cards.

    Nwoye alleged that the disappearance of his names and others’ was pre-mediated and designed to rig him out.

    The PDP candidate said he and his parents had voted at the same polling booth in the last election and wondered how almost 70 per cent of the names in the register could disappear between then and now.

    He said he could not reach INEC boss Attahiru Jega  on phone to formally complain to him.

    Nwoye said he could only resign to fate for now.

  • APC demands fresh elections in 4 councils, rejects fresh elections in only 65 polling units

    APC demands fresh elections in 4 councils, rejects fresh elections in only 65 polling units

    THE All Progressives Congress (APC) is demanding fresh elections in four local government areas of Anambra State where it says election either did not hold or massive malpractices were recorded in yesterday’s governorship poll.

    In a statement in Lagos by the Interim National

    Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the APC also rejected INEC’s decision to organise fresh elections in only 65 polling units today.

    It said that will not address the massive disenfranchisement of its supporters.

    The party listed the affected four local government areas as Idemili North, Idemili South, Awka South and Ihiala.

    ‘’In Idemili North, which has the highest number of registered voters at 173,832, voting materials did not arrive as at 2 pm when voters ought to have cast their votes.

    “In Idemili South, with registered 85,731 voters, several qualified voters were disenfranchised as their names did not appear on the voters’ register. In Awka South, with 118,312 registered voters, the names of APC supporters were expunged from the voters’ register and in Ihiala, massive fraudulent practices were

    recorded at Uli Ward 1 polling unit and Umuchima polling unit 14

    ‘’Aside from Ihiala Local Government Area, the three local councils above comprise 377, 875 of the total 1, 784, 536 registered voters,’’ APC said, adding that the affected areas were home to its support base.

    The party said nothing short of fresh elections in the three LGs and the cancellation of the results in the listed polling units in Ihiala would be acceptable to it

    The party also strongly advised INEC not to declare any results

    relating to the governorship election until repeat elections are held in these areas where these irregularities occurred, more so as most of the party’s supporters have been disenfranchised in these areas.

  • INEC exceeds accreditation time

    Presiding officers in the ongoing governorship election in Anambra State have been forced to extend the time allotted for accreditation of voters.

    Most voting units visited in Aguata Local Government complained of similar challenges.

    In a voting centre at the Civic Centre in Umuchu Ward 1, accreditation was said to have started a few minutes to 11am.

    The development made is practically impossible to end the exercise by 12noon for voting to begin, it was learnt.

    Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA) governorship candidate Godwin Ezeemo said the presiding officer in Civic Centre Unit 001 asked him to return anytime from 2.30pm when voting will start.

    “The Independent National Electoral Commission officials told me voting will start by 2.30pm because materials arrived late.

    “The Presiding officer said there were delays. But it’s still early in the process for me to suspect any foul play.

    “Reports I have received from other places also show that materials arrived late in various centres.

    “In my unit, accreditation started by 10.58am,” Ezeemo said.

     

  • Confusion in Nziko units as INEC relocates centre

    There was confusion over a voting centre in Nziko in Oyi Local Government Area as two major polling units there had to be urgently relocated for security reasons.

    Voters were said to have come out for accreditation but did not meet any voting officer there.

    It led to panic calls to the Independent National Electoral Commission headquarters, but it was later learnt that the National Commissioner in charge of Oyi LGA, Amb. Ahmed Wali, intervened to resolve the problem.

    The notorious centre, said to be located inside a thick forest, is known as a rigging centre in Anambra.

    Political parties, such as the All Progressives Congress (APC) had to cry out to INEC for the centre to be relocated.

    It was learnt that the centre was eventually moved near a school.

    However, in Anambra East and West, accreditation went on smoothly.

    All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate Willie Obiano was accredited at about 10.30am at his Ward in Aguleri, Anambra East.

     

  • Photo: Tight security at INEC office, Awka

    Photo: Tight security at INEC office, Awka

  • Ngige calls for REC’s removal

    Ngige calls for REC’s removal

    Less than 15 hours to the governorship election in Anambra State tomorrow, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Dr Chris Ngige has called for the transfer of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Prof  Chukuwuemeka Onukaogu.

    He said his party has no confidence in him following his performance in the 2011 general election.

    Ngige also told The Nation yesterday in Awka, capital of the state, that once the election is conducted in a free and fair manner, he was sure of victory. He expressed the hope that he would carry the day.

    “We have complied with all legal and even moral requirements for the election of tomorrow. We ended all forms of camping yesterday as early as 6 pm of Thursday. However, we also want the Independent National Electoral Commission to play it’s part very well. In fact, INEC has to be very careful with what they are doing here. We have been pleasantly surprised as a political party that they retained the REC, who conducted the 2011 general elections that was highly flawed.

    “And our party has to go to court to upturn some of those results of the elections conducted by him. So, since we discovered two days ago that it is still him that will conduct the election, we have been calling for his transfer. I am using this opportunity to reiterate our stand as a party that he should not be allowed to conduct the election. It is not too late”, he said.

    Speaking on his chances, he said ” once there is a free and fair election, we are sure of victory. If the electoral process is not compromised or manipulated, we will win. I am very hopeful, I have done my campaigns and ended it since yesterday ( Thursday). If the elections are properly co ducted, we will take it”, he said.

  • Anambra Election: INEC screens journalists

    Anambra Election: INEC screens journalists

  • INEC takes delivery of electoral materials

    INEC takes delivery of electoral materials

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Anambra State yesterday took delivery of sensitive electoral materials under tight security.

    The exercise took place inside the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) building on the Onitsha-Enugu Expressway. It began about 6:30pm.

    Anambra State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof C.E. Onukaogu, took delivery of the materials with an Assistant Commissioner of Police and party chiefs watching.

    The materials were labelled according to the numbers of registered voters. It was agreed at a stakeholders’ forum held earlier in the day that the sensitive materials, which include ballot papers and result collation sheets, be handed over to INEC.

    While the result collation sheets were wrapped in white papers, ballot papers were wrapped in brown papers.

    It was learnt that the materials, which were taken to the INEC office on the House of Assembly Road for safe keeping, would be distributed to local governments about 9am today in the presence of party chieftains and other stakeholders.

    About 100 heavily- armed and stern- looking anti-riot policemen took over the CBN premises during the exercise.