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Tag: Inec

  • LG election: One dies as rival APC supporters clash in Niger

    One person have been announced dead as supporters of two rival Chairmanship Aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) clashed.

    The clash involved supporters of Alhaji Musa Ishyaku and Alhaji Danjuma Emindachi.

    The deceased has been identified as Nda-Bida and was said to be a supporter of Alhaji Danjuma Emindachi, one of the aspirants from Katcha local government area.

    The incident occurred along the Minna- Bida road after the aspirants had  collected their nomination forms to contest the  chairmanship election for Katcha local government which is to hold in November, 2019.

    The reason for the clash remains unknown, however, it was found out that the parties had continuously provoked each other before the crescendo along the Minna-Bida road.

    Eyewitnesses said that when the supporters ran into each other at the river Gbako bridge on the Minna-Bida road, they attacked each other with cutlasses, daggers, machetes and other dangerous weapons.

    A lot of people were injured and one of the supporters died.

    The Niger state Chairman of APC,   Jibrin Imam confirmed the incident but said that the party is not involved in the clash.

    Read Also: Boat mishap claims 3 lives in Niger

    He said that the party had always preached peace which he thought the aspirants would imbibe in their supporters expressing disappointment over way the aspirants allowed the behaviour of their supporters.

    “It is a criminal issue, our party is not involved the police is handling the matter.”

    The Police Public Relations Officer, Muhammad Abubakar also confirmed the incident saying one person have been arrested regarding the incident.

    “We are already investigating the matter, while appealing  to members of the registered political parties to play the game according to the rules during and after the local government election.”

  • Tribunal nullifies election of APGA Reps member

    The National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Makurdi on Wednesday nullified the election of Mr David Ogewu of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and declared Mr Samson Okwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the Obi/Oju Federal Constituency election.

    The Tribunal Chairman, Justice A.A Adeleye, therefore, directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Ogewu and give it to Okwu.

    Adeleye gave the order while delivering judgement in the petition filed by Okwu against the election of Ogewu, where he declared that the petitioner won the election with a margin of 994 votes  from the two Local Government Areas (LGAs).

    Adeleye faulted the decision of INEC which declared Ogewu the winner without including results for Obi LGA in the final collation, pointing out that the margin of win, which the APGA candidate secured over the petitioner in Oju, was inconsequential.

    Read Also: Just in: Tribunal sacks APGA Reps member in Benue

    The tribnal noted that the total number of registered voters from Obi which is 59, 411 far exceeded Ogewu’s earlier margin of lead.

    He pointed out that the declaration of Ogewu as the winner of the Federal Constituency seat based on only the result for Oju, where he scored 12,794  votes against Okwu’s 6,797 was invalid.

    He said that Ogewu did not secure majority of the lawful votes cast from the two LGAs that made up the federal constituency.

    Adeleye noted that the tribunal has the jurisdiction to do the necessary arithmetic to include Obi result which Okwu of PDP scored 7, 543 votes against Ogewu’s 754.

    He also deducted 252 votes scored by the APGA candidate in Oju LGA on the ground that they were allotted to him in error.

    Following the final computation of result for the two LGAs by the tribunal, the two time House of Representatives Member, Okwu led the initial winner, Ogewu after securing a total of 14, 300 votes higher than his opponent, who polled 13,306.

    He,therefore, declared Okwu as the winner, saying the petitioner’s witnesses convinced the court with cogent evidences of non compliance with the electoral act to warrant the court decision in their favour.

    The tribunal said that the respondent’s witnesses failed to prove the allegation of violence in Obi Local Government Area during the election. (NAN)

    The National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Makurdi on Wednesday nullified the election of Mr David Ogewu of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and declared Mr Samson Okwu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the Obi/Oju Federal Constituency election.

    The Tribunal Chairman, Justice A.A Adeleye, therefore, directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Ogewu and give it to Okwu.

    Adeleye gave the order while delivering judgement in the petition filed by Okwu against the election of Ogewu, where he declared that the petitioner won the election with a margin of 994 votes  from the two Local Government Areas (LGAs).

    Adeleye faulted the decision of INEC which declared Ogewu the winner without including results for Obi LGA in the final collation, pointing out that the margin of win, which the APGA candidate secured over the petitioner in Oju, was inconsequential.

    The tribnal noted that the total number of registered voters from Obi which is 59, 411 far exceeded Ogewu’s earlier margin of lead.

    He pointed out that the declaration of Ogewu as the winner of the Federal Constituency seat based on only the result for Oju, where he scored 12,794  votes against Okwu’s 6,797 was invalid.

    He said that Ogewu did not secure majority of the lawful votes cast from the two LGAs that made up the federal constituency.

    Adeleye noted that the tribunal has the jurisdiction to do the necessary arithmetic to include Obi result which Okwu of PDP scored 7, 543 votes against Ogewu’s 754.

    He also deducted 252 votes scored by the APGA candidate in Oju LGA on the ground that they were allotted to him in error.

    Following the final computation of result for the two LGAs by the tribunal, the two time House of Representatives Member, Okwu led the initial winner, Ogewu after securing a total of 14, 300 votes higher than his opponent, who polled 13,306.

    He,therefore, declared Okwu as the winner, saying the petitioner’s witnesses convinced the court with cogent evidences of non compliance with the electoral act to warrant the court decision in their favour.

    The tribunal said that the respondent’s witnesses failed to prove the allegation of violence in Obi Local Government Area during the election.

    (NAN)

  • Tribunal sacks Dino Melaye as senator

    THE Kogi State National Assembly/State Assembly Election Tribunal on Friday voided the election of Dino Melaye as the Senator representing the Kogi West Senatorial District.

    The three-man tribunal was unanimous that the election that produced Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as a Senator was flawed.

    The tribunal, led by Justice A.O. Chijioke, upheld the petition by Senator Smart Adeyemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and ordered that  a fresh election be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Adeyemi’s lawyer, Dapo Otitoju, had, while making his final submission on July 23, 2019, prayed the court to nullify the election on three grounds.

    The first ground, the lawyer argued, was that INEC’s decision to collate and announce the election’s results in Lokoja, despite a judgment of the Federal High Court identifying Kabba as the headquarters of the senatorial district, was  a negation of the Constitution and Electoral Acts, which constitutes a substantial ground to nullify the election.

    The lawyer argued that INEC’s failure to abide by the judgment of the Federal High Court, which it did not appeal, showed  it had a hidden agenda.

    Second, Otitoju argued that the presentation of the certified true copy of PVC distribution in Kogi West which revealed 48,200 excess votes in the result declared for the senatorial district was enough reason for the tribunal to nullify the election.

    Read Also: Alleged falsehood: Absence of prosecution stalls Dino Melaye‘s trial

    He urged the tribunal to take note of the mutilation of votes that was visible in the result sheet and argued that the mutilation was occasioned by INEC’s change of venue of collation centres.

    The lawyer prayed the tribunal to void the election on the grounds that it was held in substantial non-compliance with the Constitution, the Electoral Act and against the wishes of the people who voted.

    Lawyer to Melaye, Professor Joash Amupitan (SAN), who made a counter-argument, prayed the tribunal to dismiss the petitioner and argued that the documents presented by the petitioners were “mere hearsay documents.”

    He urged the court to hold that his client was validly elected.

    By the judgment yesterday, Melaye is allowed, under the Electoral Act, 14 days within which to appeal the decision.

    The Court of Appeal, which is the final court in national and state legislative election cases, has 60 days from the day of  judgment, to determine the appeal.

    In a statement he issued in reaction to the judgment, Melaye described the tribunal’s decision as a total miscarriage of justice.

    He said: “The judgment is full of importation of information that is alien to the case.

    “I however commend the courage and moral strength of the chairman of the tribunal for resisting evil and standing on the path of justice.

    “I have confidence in the Appeal Court to right the wrongs contained in the pronouncements of the judgment.

    “I also want to tell those jubilating that their jubilation will be short-lived, while appealing to my teeming supporters to remain calm as their mandate is safe and secure and cannot be taken through any mischievous means.

    “Our legal team is already working on appealing the judgment and I assure all that justice will prevail.”

  • Governorship polls: INEC fixes Sept 2nd for collection of PVC in Bayelsa, Kogi

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed 2nd September for the commencement of collection of Permanent Voter Card (PVC) in Bayelsa and Kogi states. INEC has fixed 16th November 2019 for the governorship election in both states.

    Consequently, INEC has asked the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of both states to organize stakeholder meetings in the States and Local Governments between the 26th and 30 of August 2019.

    The essence of the meeting is to sensitize the stakeholders on the modalities for the collection of the PVC.

    The decision was reached on Monday at the INEC management meeting.

    Read Also: Guber polls: APC state chairmen promises victory for party in Kogi, Bayelsa

    The decision reached, according to the commission, is that “The Resident Electoral Commissioners of the two States shall organize stakeholder meetings in the States and Local Governments between the 26th and 30 of August 2019 to sensitize the stakeholders on the modalities for the collection of the Permanent voters Cards(PVCs) from the Registration Areas and in the various communities.

    “The collection of PVCs in the two Stetes will take place at the Registration Areas (RAS}/Wards in each of the Local Governments and Distribution officers (DOs) trained by the Commission will carry out this assignment.

    “There will be two teams of Distribution officers per Local Government Area and the officers will rotate the distribution of the PVcs in the Registration Areas (RA) or from Community to Community based on a schedule agreed upon by the Resident Electoral Commissioner and the stakeholders.

    “The Commission will commence the exercise on the 2 September 2019, and this will last till the 30h day of September 2019 between 9.00a.m to 3.00 p.m. (Monday to Friday).”

  • Election Tribunal upholds Ondo Rep’s victory

    The National and State Houses of Assembly elections petition tribunal in Ondo state has dismissed the petition of Abayomi Akinfemiwa of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to upturn of the election of  Mayowa Akinfolarin  of the All progressives Congress (APC) for Ile-Oluji Okeigbo/Odigbo federal constituency.

    The three-man panel headed by justice Nuhu Adi said the petitioner could not prove his allegation of malpractices and non-compliance  with the electoral act during the February 2019 National Assembly elections.

    The two-hour judgement, which was read by Justice Victor Okorie, appraised the submissions of counsels to the petitioner and the respondents.

    The tribunal held that the testimony of the petitioner and some of his principal witnesses did not correspond with their statement on oath and as such could not stand.

    Read Also: Group expresses confidence in C/River election tribunal

    The judges noted that the onus lies on the petitioner to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt, if INEC, the  third respondent, refused to  call any witness.

    The tribunal also held that the petitioner failed to establish the allegation of over voting in some polling units, non accreditation and other forms of non-compliance.

    It therefore described the petition as lacking in merit, struck it out and upheld the election of Mayowa Akinfolarin as duly elected representative for ile-Oluji/Oke Igbo/Odigbo Federal Constituency.

    With the resolution of this case, there are three more petitions to be dispensed out of the seven filed before the tribunal within its 180 days time frame.

  • AAC alerts INEC of planned convention by factional group

    The African Action Congress (AAC) has alerted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), party faithful, media and others of the planned convention by a faction of the party, scheduled for Friday.

    Dr Joshua Adeoye, the Deputy National Secretary of the party raised the alarm in a statement issued on behalf of its National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja.

    Read Also; Ex-INEC chair Iwu pleads not guilty, remanded

    He said “criminal actors have concluded plans to stage a “convention” in the name of the party today, August 9.

    “By this, a formal notice has been issued to INEC, party faithful, media houses and the general public that no such gathering had been planned or sanctioned by AAC.”

    He described any of such gatherings in the name of the party as “baseless, criminal and motivated by mischief.”

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the party has been embroiled in crisis since July 27, after Mr Leonard Nzenwa, the former Nation Secretary of the party was expelled by its NEC.

  • We’ve been dragged to court 1,600 times over 2019 polls – INEC chair

    Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has disclosed that the commission had been dragged to court over 1,600 times in relation to the 2019 General Elections.

    The INEC boss said most of the cases stem from acrimonious political party primaries.

    He stated this in Kaduna on Saturday shortly after receiving award of excellence from the Kaduna chapter of the National Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).

    Yakubu, who was fielding questions from newsmen on the possibility of credible, rancour and litigation free elections in Nigeria, said acrimonies from political party primaries was responsible for most of the crises and court cases.

    Read Also: INEC assures Nigerians of free, fair, credible elections at all times

    According to him, “we can have election that is free, but elections start from party primaries because they produce the candidates for the general education. However, before the last general elections, we had some of the most acrimonious party primaries in the history of elections in Nigeria, resulting to a large number of litigations.

    “As we speak, INEC has been dragged to court 809 times over the conduct of primaries by political parties. If you add that to the post-election litigations, we have so far been dragged to court over 1,600 times. So, we have been dragged to court because of party primaries; suits challenging the conduct of the elections.

    “That notwithstanding, elections can be free and fair, we are doing our best as an electoral commission, but INEC has its responsibilities clearly cut out, others have theirs, especially the political parties have theirs. But, working together, we will actually get to where we desire to be,” he said.

  • Uwais report and INEC

    One question that has continually begged for answer since the return to civil rule in 1999 is, how independent is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)? And, following from that, is the commission really constituted or structured to deliver credible elections? And then, what can be done to improve the commission’s capacity to be truly neutral in discharging its constitutionally assigned duty?

    The search for answers has provoked debates and even conflicts in the polity. These heightened after the 2019 general elections that have been widely criticised by participants, local and foreign observers. The number of cases filed by dissatisfied parties against the election results attests to a preponderance of malpractices that attended the polls.

    Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) candidate in the presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has alleged complicity of the umpire in the rigging. While this is still open to judicial adjudication, it has brought up the suggestion that the mode of appointing the chairman, federal and resident electoral commissioners in the states should be reviewed

    At the moment, the constitution vests the power in the president, only subject to confirmation by the Senate.

    This suggests that the commission is open to political influence since the president is not only a major political player, but a likely candidate in elections. He most likely leads, as it is today, the party with majority seats in the Senate. This probably informed Alhaji Abubakar’s suggestion of a recourse to the Justice Muhammed Uwais Electoral Reform Committee’s recommendation that selection of the electoral commission’s chairman and national commissioners should be assigned the judiciary. Even at that, a big snag lingers. Should it be by the Chief Justice of Nigeria or the National Judicial Council (NJC)? If the CJN, he is also one man who could be influenced by political, ethnic, religious or other primordial factors. This could equally affect the respect the office should attract. And, if left for the NJC, a split in the ranks could heat up the polity, too.

    The presidential system imposes great powers on the president because he is directly voted to power not only by population but also geographic spread. This implies that such a personage naturally encases a fairness that reflects the principle and sentiment of the nation. He is also checked by a legislature that encompasses the heterogeneity of the people.

    But that works in theory. It seems many have accepted this as the best that we can offer. But we can do better.

    One thing evident now is the urgent need for a more thorough electoral reform. Sanitisation of the electoral system and process cannot be left to the incumbent president and functionaries of his party. Neither do we recommend wholesale adoption of the Uwais panel report as  there is the need to incorporate our experience in the conduct of the 2011, 2015 and 2019 elections in the decision. Another panel comprising academics, labour leaders, Nigerian Bar Association executives, retired judges and elder statesmen should be constituted to review the Uwais committee’s recommendations, taking into cognisance developments on the political scene since the report was submitted to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua.

    In the meantime, we submit that the current structure of INEC that vests appointment, discipline and removal of resident electoral commissioners (RECs) in the president is due for review, too. It is prone to promoting indiscipline and insubordination. Once a fair process of appointing the commission is instituted, RECs should be appointed by, and responsible to the national commissioners. It is incongruous to suggest that the commission could be listed among federal executive bodies and yet remain independent of the federal executive. It should be detached in addition to whatever mode of appointment may be.

    Besides, the legal provision for financial independence is grossly inadequate. The late release of sorely needed funds contributed immensely to the logistics nightmare that attended the last set of elections. The same principles that apply to the judiciary and National Assembly should apply to INEC if Nigeria is ever to have free, fair and credible elections. Funds for the 2019 elections were released so late that the debate on deployment of technology was a mere academic exercise. Now that the commission has learnt to release its time table well ahead of the polls, funds must be similarly released to enable it accommodate registration, procurement and training in good time.

    It must, however, be pointed out that the most important input is ensuring a reorientation by politicians who have a penchant for suborning whatever structure or process in place. Unless this is done, it will be difficult to obtain credible polls and Nigeria will remain a laughing stock among nations, even in Africa.

    Whatever decision is to be taken on restructuring the commission, it must be done before mid-2020 to avoid the fate that befell the ill-fated reforms of 2018.

  • Bayelsa/Kogi poll: INEC to deploy materials tomorrow

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said non-sensitive materials for the November 16 governorship elections in Bayelsa and Kogi States will be identified and deployed tomorrow to the states.

    The commission added that sensitive materials, ballot papers and results sheet will be delivered to the Central Bank a month before the election.

    The National Commissioner and Chair, Legal Services, Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu, said the commission would be administering oath of neutrality on workers as part of measures to ensure loyalty and neutrality. Agbamuche-Mbu added that electoral official indicted in the last elections will be blacklisted.

    She spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the stakeholders’ round table on preparedness towards the Kogi and Bayelsa States governorship election.

    Read Also: INEC assures Nigerians of free, fair, credible elections at all times

    She said: “In view of the commission’s commitment to conducting credible elections in Nigeria, we have since begun preparations for the coming elections in Bayelsa and Kogi States. All the non-sensitive materials needed for the elections have been identified and will be delivered tomorrow to the respective states.

    “After the party primaries, sensitive materials, ballot papers and results sheet will be produced and customised by their Local Government Areas (LGAs) and subsequently delivered to the Central Bank a month before the election.”

    Agbamuche-Mbu explained that the materials will be retrieved from the CBN the week preceding the election and distributed to the councils.

    She added that the commission will employ ad hoc workers and deploy its original workers in where there is shortage.

  • Court dismisses Ortom, PDP, INEC appeals against APC

    The Appeal Court sitting in Makurdi, the Benue state capital, on Saturday dismissed a triplet appeal filed separately by the trio of Governor Samuel Ortom, Independent National Elections Commission (INEC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    The court also awarded N200, 000 each as cost against the appellants.

    The trio is all respondents in Emmanuel Jime and the All Progressive Congress (APC) petition at the tribunal holden at Makurdi.

    The five-man appeal panel led by Hon. Justice Jummai H. Sankey, while dismissing the appeals, in a unanimous decision, described the appeals as lacking in merit and abuse of court process.

    INEC, Samuel Ortom and the PDP had, in separate appeals approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision of the lower court (Tribunal) to reserve ruling on applications file before it till the final day of judgement.

    Read Also: Nobody intimidated INEC officials, witnesses tell tribunal

    They appellants variously argued and summited before the Appeal Court that by differing ruling on applications to the last day of judgement amount to denial or breach of fair hearing.

    But in its ruling, the Appeal Court declared the appellants failed to show course on how their right to fair hearing is breached or threatened.

    “We have painstakingly looked at the arguments canvassed by the applicants but failed to see where and how their right for fair hearing is breached.

    “We rather found out that the cry for denial of fair hearing is speculative, and since speculation has no place in law, we hereby declare that this appeal is lacking in merit and is hereby dismissed,” the court ruled.

    J .H Sankey addressing counsels in court after delivering judgement on the three appeals said: “We are doing everything possible to in discourage these appeals brought before us in piecemeal.

    “Counsels should educate their clients on the need to wait till judgement is delivered at the Lower Court before approaching the Appeal Court”.