Tag: Inec

…rejects PDP’s contempt claim

A Federal High Court in Abuja has lifted the ex-parte order it issued restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) from releasing the national voters’ register to the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC) to conduct a local government election in Kwara state on September 21.

Justice Peter Lifu, who issued the order on July 29, upon an ex-parte motion by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), vacated it on Tuesday while ruling on an application by KWASIEC.

Justice Lifu, in the ruling, upheld the argument by KWASIEC’s lawyer, Johnson Usman (SAN) that the order, being an ex-parte one, ought to be lifted after 14 days in line with extant legal provisions.

The judge also dismissed the allegation of contempt of court made by the PDP against the Chairman of KWSIEC, Okanlawon Baba.

The PDP had sought that the KWASIEC chairman be committed to prison for allegedly violating a subsisting order of the court.

In the ruling on Tuesday, Justice Lifu dismissed the motion for committal filed by the PDP on the grounds that the KWASIEC Chairman was not served personally as required by law.

Justice Lifu held that since the committal proceeding is a quash criminal one, the motion commencing it must be served personally on the alleged contemnor and not through any other party or person.

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The judge held that the failure of PDP to effect personal service on the alleged contemnor was fatal to its case and amounted to a violation of the KWASIEC Chairman’s right to a fair hearing guaranteed under Section 36 of the constitution.

He said: “I have carefully and painstakingly perused the arguments for and against the motion to commit the contemnor to prison.

“Where the liberty of person is at stake, due of process of law must be carefully followed.

“In the instant case, the fundamental right of the alleged contemnor to fair hearing, as enshrined in section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, was breached by not serving him personally and this makes the motion for committal to prison to be liable to dismissal and is hereby dismissed,” the judge said.

Following a motion ex-parte filed by the PDP, the court on July 29 issued an order restraining INEC from releasing the national voters register to the KWSIEC to conduct the September 21 local government elections in Kwara State.

It equally restrained KWASIEC and the state’s Attorney General from receiving, accepting or using the national voter register or any part relating to Kwara State from the electoral body for the Council’s election in Kwara State.

The PDP had, while alleging contempt, claimed that despite the pending orders of the court, KWASIEC’s Chairman wrote two letters to political parties, one inviting them for a peace meeting and the other, requesting them to submit names and photographs of their agents for the election.

After the ruling on Tuesday, Justice Lifu said he would return the case file to the court’s Chief Judge for reassignment because his court only sat on the case as a vacation court.

In the substantive case, the PDP is contending among others, that the  KWASIEC was in grievous contravention, breach, and violation of sections 9, 28, 29, and 106 of the Electoral Act 2022, Sections 20 (1) and 21 (1) of Kwara State Local Government Electoral (Amendment) Law, 2024.

The PDP claimed that all the conditions and precedents stipulated in Local Government Electoral laws in Kwara State were allegedly deliberately ignored by KWASIEC under unacceptable circumstances.

It alleged that KWASIEC had applied to INEC for the register of voters in Kwara to use the same in the conduct of the LG polls.

The party said the action was in breach and violation of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the Electoral Act, 2022, as well as Kwara State Local Government Electoral (Amendment) Law, 2024

• Distributes tags to reporters

The Independent National Electoral Commission has called the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to focus on the process of Saturday’s governorship election.

The umpire, which also rejected the call by the ruling party in the state to remove the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Edo State, Anugbum Onuoha, urged the PDP to leave its REC out of its concerns.

Some chieftains of the ruling party had raised the alarm, alleging possible plans to rig the election in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Specifically, Governor Godwin Obaseki, his party chairman in the state, Anthony Aziegbemhin and the national leadership of the PDP, who claimed a close relationship between Onuoha and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, called for the removal of the former.

They expressed fears that the REC would manipulate the election in favor of the All Progressives Congress.

On Thursday, Aziegbemhin escalated the matter by submitting a formal protest letter to INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu.

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In the letter, Aziegbemhin called for Onuoha’s immediate redeployment, citing concerns over his past role as Commissioner and Special Adviser for Lands, Survey, and Housing under Wike’s administration as Rivers State governor.

“The ties between these two are too close to ignore as they share familiarities and are also close associates. To be clear, the relationship between the two is outlined below:

“The said Edo REC is a cousin to the Minister of the FCT, Mr. Wike. He also served as a former Commissioner and Special Adviser for Lands, Survey, and Housing to Mr. Wike during his tenure as Rivers governor,” the letter partly read.

The controversy intensified after Wike, during a recent interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Friday, acknowledged the familial connection but emphasised that Onuoha is capable of carrying out his duties impartially, without influence from family or political affiliations.

Responding to these concerns, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, urged the PDP to focus on the process of the election and not on the REC.

“The Resident Electoral Commissioner for Edo State will not be redeployed. The governorship election will be conducted on 21st September 2024 in 4,519 polling units, not in the REC’s office.

“In the same manner, polling unit results will be declared by the respective Presiding Officers after the voting, ballot sorting and counting processes, in the presence of accredited party agents and other stakeholders.

“The PO will also take a picture of the PU result in each polling unit with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, and upload the same to the INEC Result Viewing portal. This process is not the same as electronic voting or electronic transmission and collation of results. The IReV is for transparency purposes. The Nigerian constitution does not yet recognise electronic voting. Copies of the PU results will be given to accredited party agents.

“Thereafter, the various collation stages will be undertaken before the declaration of the final result at the State Collation Centre in Benin-City.

“The PDP should, therefore, focus on the process, not on the REC or other officials of the commission. The conduct of the election and result collation activity will take place in the open and accredited party agents will witness every step,” Oyekanmi explained.

He added that the commission would not give preference to any political party over the other.

“INEC does not rig elections. The current commission conducted two governorship elections in Edo State in 2016 and 2020 successfully and nobody accused us of rigging.

“We assure all the political parties, registered voters and other stakeholders that the commission will provide a level playing field and not give any advantage to one political party or candidate over the other,” he added.

Similarly, the electoral umpire on Monday in Edo began the issuance of identification tags to journalists accredited to cover the election.

The distribution exercise took place at the Nigeria Union of Journalists, (NUJ), secretariat in the state.

The National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun had said 114 media organisations successfully uploaded the details of 721 personnel to cover the election.

Olumekun noted that the full list, including the number of personnel to be deployed, had been uploaded to the commission’s website and social media platforms for public information.

He assured all accredited groups of unimpeded lawful access to voting and collation locations.

Meanwhile, the Inter-Party Advisory Council has urged stakeholders not to see the Edo State governorship election as war, noting that the exercise is meant to choose leaders who will promote good governance, accountability, and development.

The National Chairman of IPAC, Yusuf Dantalle, made the call in a statement at the weekend in Benin, Edo State, after a stakeholders’ meeting.

He also called on stakeholders in the off-cycle election to work together to create an environment conducive to credible elections.

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from excluding the All Progressives Congress (APC) polling and collating agents from participating in the governorship election scheduled to be held in Edo State on Saturday.

The court presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite also ordered INEC to temporarily accept and give effect to the list of the polling and collation agents for the poll.

In the case of Suit Number FHC/AB/CS/1326/2024, the APC is challenging the non-recognition exclusion of its agents from taking part in the poll.

Read Also:Court to INEC: recognise Edo APC polling/collation agents

After hearing the application of APC counsel, Abdulghani Arobo, leading Ayodele Toe and Ayodeji Ibekunle, the judge ordered that the electoral commission not to exclude the polling and collation agents, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

The case was adjourned to September 18, 2024. Justice Nwite said: “An order of interim injunction of this Honourable court is hereby made restraining the defendant from depriving the polling and collation agents of the plaintiff official tags and full participation in the forthcoming Edo governorship election and instead directing the defendant/respondent to temporarily publish or issue customised rags with the names, details and documents of the plaintiffs polling agents or submitted for the forthcoming Edo State governorship election, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, yesterday assured stakeholders in Edo of the commission’s readiness for the Sept. 21 governorship election.

Yakubu told the stakeholders in Benin to cooperate with the commission to ensure credible election.

Yakubu noted that the meeting was a tradition convened on the eve of major off-cycle governorship elections and jointly addressed by the INEC chairman and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.

He explained that the purpose was to interact with political parties and candidates, accredited observers, the media and other stakeholders on the preparations for the election.

The chairman said on the part of INEC, active preparations for the election started last year with the release of the timetable and schedule of activities for the election as required by law.

He disclosed that 13 statutory activities were listed beginning with the publication of the notice of election and ending with the election day, adding that 11 out of the 13 activities had been concluded.

“We have already published the final list of candidates. However, there are two adjustments to the list.

“By court order, the commission has replaced the running mate to the candidate of the Labour Party.

“Similarly, the National Rescue Movement (NRM), which could not file its nomination on schedule, has obtained a court order to compel the commission to include the party on the ballot.

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“We have complied with the court order. Consequently, 18 political parties are now participating in the 2024 Edo state governorship election,” he added.

The chairman stated that the commission had already announced that Edo State now has a total of 2,629,025 registered voters.

Egbetokun said about 45,000 security personnel will be deployed to provide the election.

This is in addition to about 80,000 other security personnel drawn from other sister security agencies.

IGP disclosed that no local security outfits operating in the state will be allowed to be part of the election duty.

According to the police boss, the Nigerian Police was solely responsible for the management of election security working in collaboration with other national security agencies under the purview of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).

Egbetokun warned that any individual or group engaging in unauthorised security functions before, during and after the election would face immediate arrest and prosecution, potential troublemakers contemplating disruptive actions during the election to abandon such intentions.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu has assured the people of Edo State that the commission will do everything possible to uphold the integrity of the forthcoming election in the state.

Speaking in Benin after monitoring the mock accreditation exercise aimed at test running facilities for the election Prof. Yakubu said the task of electing the next governor of the state tests solely with the people of Edo State.

He expressed the readiness and strong commitment of the commission to conducting a free fair and credible election in the state, saying INEC was not a political party and did not have a candidate in the election.

The INEC boss called all registered voters to come out en masse to vote for the party and candidate of their choice, saying the commission would always protect the integrity of the process and uphold the choice of the people. Prof Yakubu who led some National Commissioners to visit some polling units in three local governments – Oredo, Egor and Ikpeoba Okha- expressed satisfaction with all the levels of preparation at the INEC offices as well as the two centres visited for the mock accreditation exercise, said the commission was good to go.

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He said: “My assurance to everyone in Edo state is, on the part of the commission, we keep saying this. INEC is not a political party therefore we don’t have a candidate in this election.

“The responsibility of choosing the next governor of Edo state is entirely in the hands of Edo voters and our assurance to all the registered voters in Edo State is to troop out to vote for the party of their choice and the candidate of their choice and the commission will always protect the integrity of the process and uphold the choice made by the electorate.

“We are satisfied with the level of preparation of our local government offices in the three offices we have visited Oredo, Egor and Ikpeoba Okha, as well as the two centres we have visited for the mock exercise. I think we are good to go.”

While admitting some logistic challenges that need to be addressed, Prof Yakubu said his meeting with the Electoral Officers (EOs) in the 18 local government areas of the state was aimed at harvesting the issues to address them.

“Well, there are little, little issues that we are going to address, like some of the non-sensitive materials but with the 11 days to the election, I’m certain that by the end of this week, we will address those issues.

“In addition, I’m also going to speak with all the EOs in the 18 local governments, not just the local government we visited and this is going to happen on Thursday after the signing of the national peace accord. So I’m going to speak with all the EOs and we will harvest all the concerns.

“That’s why we are here ahead of the elections so that we can respond to any issues that they may raise. It has always been the intention of the commission to organise good elections and I’m giving you assurances on the level of preparation. That is why I’m personally here in Edo state and let me seize this opportunity to appeal to other stakeholders as well.

“Election is a multi-stakeholder activity including the security agencies, the political parties, the candidates, the observers, even you the media, so you should report us very well.”

• Assures of free, fair elections in Edo

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has put  measures in place to tackle incidents of fake news and misinformation during the September 21 off-cycle governorship election in Edo State.

The commission expressed concern about the negative impacts that fake news, misinformation and disinformation have on outcome of elections in the country.

The National Commission and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of the commission, Sam Olumekun disclosed this while addressing members of the INEC Press Corps on the commission’s preparations for the elections.

He said “the Commission is committed to ensuring that the Edo Governorship Election is  conducted smoothly, and we count on your cooperation to make this a reality.”

Olumekun noted that: “In this digital age, we are acutely aware of the dangers posed by fake and misleading news, especially during an election period. Such information has the potential to disrupt the electoral process, undermine public confidence, and incite unnecessary tensions.

“The Commission has taken proactive steps to combat this menace, part of which is to be open and transparent in all its dealings. We have made it a culture to constantly update the public through you after every Commission’s meeting when decisions are taken. We will intensify the information flow as we move closer to the Edo governorship election.

“Measures have been put in place to minimise circulation of false information. However, we cannot do this alone. We believe that you will remain a bulwark against fake and misleading information about the Commission and the electoral process.

“We urge the public and the media to play their part by verifying any information related to the election directly with the Commission before sharing.  Our doors are open for any inquiries, and we have established multiple channels through which the public can reach us for accurate information. Let us all work together to ensure that only the truth prevails during this election period”.

He said further that “the Commission has left no stone unturned in its efforts to guarantee that this election will be conducted with the highest standards of integrity. As you are aware, we have intensified our engagement with stakeholders at State and Local Government levels, while voter education is still ongoing at all levels. 

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“The Training of Security Personnel has been concluded, while the Training of Ad-hoc staff, i.e. Supervisory Presiding Officers, Presiding Officers, and Assistant Presiding Officers starts today 6th to the 15th of this month in Edo state.

“The Commission is concluding arrangements with the land and maritime transport unions for logistics. The printing of triplicate copies of voters’ register for each of the 4,519 Polling Units in Edo State is virtually completed.

“The installation and configuration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines to be deployed on Election Day is completed. Observer and accreditation tags are being produced as well.

“On Tuesday 10th September 2024, the Chairman of the Commission will lead other management team to monitor the Mock Accreditation of voters in selected Polling Units in Edo state to test-run the deployment of BVAS for the election as well as the upload of scanned polling units  results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.

“The next day, on Wednesday 11th September 2024 in Benin City, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu will chair the INEC Stakeholders meeting involving the Police I.G and all relevant stakeholders in Edo state, and on Thursday 12th September 2024, the signing of the Peace Accord by candidates will take place under the supervision of the National Peace Committee chaired by General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retired), so it’s a very busy period for the Commission.”

He said the commission had commenced the printing of media accreditation cards and will be concluded on Monday 9th September 2024, adding that 122 organisations who applied for a total of 892 personnel were approved after careful review.

…assures of free, fair elections in Edo

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said that it has put in place measures to tackle incidences of fake news and misinformation during the September 21 off cycle governorship election in Edo state. 

The commission expressed concern about the negative impact fake news, misinformation and disinformation has on the outcome of woections in the country. 

National Commission and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of the commission, Sam Olumekun disclosed this while addressing members of the INEC Press Corps on preparation for the elections. 

He said the Commission is committed to ensuring that the Edo Governorship Election is conducted smoothly, and we count on your cooperation to make this a reality.”

Olumekun said: “In this digital age, we are acutely aware of the dangers posed by fake and misleading news, especially during an election period. Such information has the potential to disrupt the electoral process, undermine public confidence, and incite unnecessary tensions.

“The Commission has taken proactive steps to combat this menace, part of which is to be open and transparent in all its dealings. We have made it a culture to constantly update the public through you after every Commission’s meeting when decisions are taken. We will intensify the information flow as we move closer to the Edo governorship election. 

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“Measures have been put in place to minimize circulation of false information. However, we cannot do this alone. We believe that you will remain a bulwark against fake and misleading information about the Commission and the electoral process.  

“We urge the public and the media to play their part by verifying any information related to the election directly with the Commission before sharing.  Our doors are open for any inquiries, and we have established multiple channels through which the public can reach us for accurate information. Let us all work together to ensure that only the truth prevails during this election period”.

He said further that “The Commission has left no stone unturned in its efforts to guarantee that this election will be conducted with the highest standards of integrity. As you are aware, we have intensified our engagement with stakeholders at State and Local Government levels, while voter education is still ongoing at all levels.   

“The Training of Security Personnel has been concluded, while the Training of Ad-hoc staff, i.e. Supervisory Presiding Officers, Presiding Officers, and Assistant Presiding Officers starts today 6th to the 15th of this month in Edo state. 

“The Commission is concluding arrangements with the land and maritime transport unions for logistics. The printing of triplicate copies of voters’ register for each of the 4,519 Polling Units in Edo State is virtually completed. 

“The installation and configuration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines to be deployed on Election Day is completed. Observer and accreditation tags are being produced as well. 

“On Tuesday 10th September 2024, the Chairman of the Commission will lead other management team to monitor the Mock Accreditation of voters in selected Polling Units in Edo state to test-run the deployment of BVAS for the election as well as the upload of scanned polling units  results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.

“The next day, on Wednesday 11th September 2024 in Benin City, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu will chair the INEC Stakeholders meeting involving the Police I.G and all relevant stakeholders in Edo state, and on Thursday 12th September 2024, the signing of the Peace Accord by candidates will take place under the supervision of the National Peace Committee chaired by General Abdulsalami Abubakar (retired), so it’s a very busy period for the Commission.”

He said the commission has commence the printing of media accreditation cards and will be concluded on Monday 9th September 2024, adding that 122 organisations who applied for a total of 892 personnel were approved after careful review. 

He said further that the number may reduce as some organisations who applied for a specific number did not nominate up to that particular number on the portal, while some applied, got approval and for some reason did not conclude the process on our portal. 

He said a final report on the accreditation and detailed breakdown will be made public soon, as we had earlier promised to publish the list of organisations and personnel accredited for the election, while same will be shared with security agencies in Edo state. 

“As we approach this important election, remember that democracy thrives when the electorate are well-informed, the truth is upheld, and all stakeholders—from the voters to the media—act with integrity and responsibility. 

A Federal High Court in Abuja has reserved judgment in the suit by the All Progressives Congress, (APC) against the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) and others over the planned  conduct of local government election in Rivers State.

After hearing lawyers to parties on Thursday, Justice Peter Lifu, announced that a date for judgment would be communicated to them.

APC is, by the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/987/2024 querying INEC’s readiness for the election, contending that the condition precedent for conduct of LG election in the state was not yet met by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) as required.

The plaintiff, among others, want that court to declare that INEC was bound to manage the updating and revision of the voters’ register in such a way as to ensure that the process stops not later than 90 days before the day of the election.

In his final submission on Thursday, Joseph Daudu (SAN), who led six other Senior Advocates, including Dr James Ogwu Onoja for the plaintiff, prayed the court to grant the reliefs sought in the substantive suit.

Daudu urged the court to disregard the counter-arguments by the defendants, including  the Attorney General of Rivers State (represented by Tawo Tawo, SAN) and the RSIEC (represented by Femi Falana, SAN).

In their various submissions, Tawo and Falana challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case and the competence of the suit, arguing that it was statute barred.

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They also argued that the proper court with jurisdiction to hear the case is the Federal High Court sitting in Rivers State.

The lawyers to the defendants equally contended that the court, sitting as a vacation court, lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case in the absence of the consent of both parties.

Earlier, the court heard all other preliminary applications, which were taken along with the substantive suit.

Some of such applications were  those by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Boot Party (BP) who sought to be made parties to the suit.

The court also heard motions filed by Goddy Uche (SAN) for change of counsel and another seeking the discontinuance of the suit on behalf of the APC in Rivers State.

The court also took a motion for the discontinuance of the suit filed  in the name of Chief Emeka Beke, and Sam Sam Etetegwung, described as Chairman and Secretary of the APC in  Rivers State.

The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to fuel the crisis in the party by recognizing Edozie Njoku as APGA National Chairman. 

The party assured INEC, the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), and State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), of his preparedness to participate in the fourth coming Local Government Council elections.

It enjoined the aforementioned bodies to ignore the antics of individuals who are unknown to the party but have been parading themselves as party leaders relying on a clerical error in a Supreme Court ruling to claim legitimacy.

National Chairman of APGA, Barrister Sly Ezeokenwa, disclosed this while briefing reporters on Wednesday after a meeting attended by all members of the party’s National Working Committee, in Abuja.

At the briefing which took place at APGA’s National Secretariat, Ezeokenwa expressed the party leadership’s displeasure over INEC’s delay in making public a copy of the judgment it relied upon to recognize one Edozie Njoku.

He said: “If you recall, we had a similar press conference just about a month ago following the erroneous recognition accorded to one Edozie Njoku by INEC purportedly as the National Chairman of APGA, a position which I still lawfully occupy.

“What was rather intriguing is the claim by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that its decision was pursuant to an alleged court order.

“Sadly, INEC is yet to furnish us or even the members of the public with the phantom court order that compelled them to take the obnoxious decision.”

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 According to him, the party leadership decided to brief the press for two reasons: “Firstly, is the recent Counter Affidavit filed by INEC at the Federal High Court in the suit instituted by APGA and I challenging the said decision of INEC to unlawfully accord recognition to the said Edozie Njokuand;

“Secondly, in view of a vital document on APGA Leadership, a Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court official notification to Edozie Njoku’s lawyer wherein the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, on behalf of the Supreme Court, clarified the apex court’s position on the correction of the clerical error in its judgment of 14/10/2021 which was only recently issued to us by the Supreme Court to the effect that it never at any time declared Chief Edozie Njoku as APGA National Chairman by its ruling of 24/3/2023 that will warrant his recognition by INEC”.

Ezeokenwa further said, “We call on the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at this point to be courageous   and resilient to stand by the truth which he knows on the leadership tussle in APGA and ultimately correct the unpopular recognition of Edozie Njoku whose alleged Owerri Convention had long been declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction.”