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Tag: Inec

  • Polls: INEC to issue certificate of returns next week

    •Says material ‘ll be at RACs today •Complete deployment to LGAs

    Winners in the last National Assembly elections will be issued with certificate of returns Thursday next week, the Independent National Electoral Commission has said.

    This is as the commission said it has fully deployed voting materials to all the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the country.

    Disclosing this at a meeting with security chiefs, the Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu also said the Commission has effectively tackled the challenge of logistics.

    He posited that Materials for the election have been delivered to all States and the FCT.

    He further added that movement of materials to the Local Government Areas will be completed yesterday (Thursday ), while all materials and relevant personnel will arrive at the Registration Area Centres (RACs) today . Yakubu who was beaming with confidence also assured that going by the arrangement on ground, all polling units will open at 8.00 am nationwide.

    He said: On Saturday 9thMarch 2019, Nigerians are once again going to the polls to elect Governors in 29 States, 991 members of Houses of Assembly in all the States of the Federation, 6 Chairmen as well as 62 Councillors for the Area Councils in the FCT. A total of 1,082 candidates will be elected by citizens across the country. “Learning from the experience of the Presidential and National Assembly elections held two weeks ago, the Commission has effectively tackled the challenge of logistics.

    “Materials for the election have been delivered to all States and the FCT. Movement to the Local Government Areas will be completed today. By tomorrow, all materials and relevant personnel will arrive at the Registration Area Centres (RACs). With this arrangement, we are confident that all polling units will open at 8.00 am nationwide.

    “In addition to elections into 1,082 constituencies nationwide, the Commission will conduct supplementary elections in 14 States of the Federation covering 7 Senatorial Districts and 24 Federal Constituencies. Elections in the affected areas were disrupted mainly by acts of violence involving ballot box snatching, abduction of INEC officials, over voting and the failure to adhere to regulations and guidelines. The number of registered voters in the polling units involved in each constituency is more than the votes received by the candidate with the highest number of votes. Supplementary elections must therefore be conducted to determine the winners. “Consequently, the Commission decided to conduct the supplementary National Assembly polls on Saturday alongside the Governorship and State Assembly elections. Full details of the constituencies involved have been communicated to stakeholders in the affected States and will also be available on our website for public information later today. Similarly, the list of candidates that emerged winners in the Senatorial and House of Representatives’ elections held on Saturday 23rdFebruary 2019 will be available on our website later today. “

    On collection of certificate of returns, he said “For Senatorial Districts and Federal Constituencies in which winners have already emerged, the Commission will issue their Certificates of Return next week. “

    Explaining reason for the delay in issuing their certificate Yakubu said most of them were involved in preparation for tomorrow elections.

    According to him “Preparations for the elections holding this weekend into 1,082 constituencies require the full attention of the entire Commission. We reckoned that the elected candidates are also busy campaigning in their constituencies for the remaining elections. The Certificates of Return shall be presented at the International Conference Centre, Abuja “

    According to the arrangement, the Senators elect will have theirs in the morning at 10am while members of the House of Representatives elect will have their in the afternoon , precisely 2pm.

    INEC boss also noted that Certificates of Return for Governors and Deputy-Governors-elect, Members of State Houses of Assembly-elect and Chairmen and Councillors for the FCT shall be presented in each State of the Federation by the Supervising National Commissioners and the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) on a date to be announced next week.

     

     

  • INEC distributes sensitive materials to councils in Ekiti

    THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ekiti State has distributed sensitive materials across the 16 local government areas for the conduct of House of Assembly election scheduled for Saturday.

    The distribution, according to the state’s Acting Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Muslim Omoleke, was done in the presence of security operatives and various parties’ representatives.

    The governorship election was held in the state on July 14, 2018, which produced Dr. Kayode Fayemi, leaving the state with only Assembly election.

    Speaking with reporters in Ado Ekiti yesterday, Omoleke assured that the commission won’t disappoint Ekiti voters with the conduct of the election.

    He advised the commission’s regular and ad hoc staff not to be partisan by displaying high level of neutrality and shunning any  corrupt tendencies that could cast a pall on the electoral process.

    “The sensitive and non-sensitive materials have been distributed to all the council areas under heavy security cover.

    “We are not taking anything for granted. We tracked all the vehicles to ensure that those materials were not diverted but delivered at the appropriate place.

    “We did not only distribute the materials, but we partnered the security agencies to ensure that they are on ground in all the LGs to protect them till Saturday.

    “Early on Saturday, the materials will be distributed to the wards for onward distribution to the units.

    “Our projection is that the elections must start at 8am simultaneously in all the 2,195 polling units on Saturday,” Omoleke said.

     

  • Confusion in Bayelsa as INEC retrieves 23 card readers

    There was confusion in Bayelsa State ahead of the forthcoming election on Saturday following the inability of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to retrieve all the 69 missing card readers.

    The commission declared 69 card readers missing shortly after conducting the Presidential and National Assembly elections and begged persons in their possession to return them.

    But it was gathered that out of the missing number 23 were returned by unknown persons while 46 were still with unknown politicians.

    Some politicians were unhappy at the development raising fears that without retrieving all the stolen card readers, the electoral process would be compromised.

    They were also unhappy at the inability of the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Monday Udoh to give full disclosures of the circumstances that led to disappearance of the card readers and the identities of persons who returned the first 23.

    But Udoh said yesterday in Yenagoa that he had declared a two-day amnesty to persons withholding the readers.

    He confirmed that 22 smart card readers saying management would take strict measure on areas where card readers were yet to be recovered.

    Speaking during the stakeholders’ meeting with leaders of political parties, the REC explained that out of the 24 missing in Nembe Local Government area, only 14 were recovered.

    He said in Sagbama out of eight, three had been recovered, Southern Ijaw out of 24 only two were returned while in Yenagoa out of six, only three had been retrieved.

    Udoh commended the Civil Liberty Organisation (CLO), religious leaders, community chiefs, youths, women groups and other stakeholders for persuading the card reader thieves to return them.

    He said that INEC would continue to perform its roles as an unbiased umpire in elections conducted in the state.

    The REC also urged the people in the state to forego incidents of the past elections and eschew violence for a better election in the state.

    He said that election was not a war but a process for leaders to emerge and queried: “If those you are to lead are all dead what is the gain?’

    ”Election is not war. Where there is peace you find progress and development. So by the time you kill those you are to lead what is the gain and who will you lead?

    “Let us all allow peace to reign in the state, before, during and after the elections. 85 per cent of the sensitive materials are already in the Central Bank and we cross-checked them with all party agents to show we are transparent”, he said.

    Also speaking, the Administrative Secretary of the commission, Mr. Nduh Sampson, said it was time to allow the people own the electioneering process, adding that the process required a collective and collaborative work.

    He also said that everyone must come together to be part of the history to change the narrative of violence to a peaceful and transparent election in the state.

     

  • INEC, security chiefs meet ahead of polls

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) and the security agencies involved in the conduct of the general elections met on to concretise security arrangements ahead of Saturday polls.

    On Saturday 9th March 2019, Nigerians are expected to elect Governors in 29 States, as well as members of Houses of Assembly in all the States of the Federation.

    There will also be elections into FCT council areas as well as supplementary National Assembly polls in some part of the country where elections did not hold on the 23rd of February.

    Welcoming the security chiefs, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu stressed the importance of the meeting as it is coming two days before the last sets of the general elections.

    He said, “this is a very important meeting indeed. It is also the last consultative meeting before the second phase of voting in the 2019 general elections. ”

     

    Details shortly…

  • ‘How INEC staff exposed PDP rigging in Edo’

    Candidate of the All Progressives Congress for Ikpoba-Okha/Egor federal constituency, Hon Ehiozuwa Agbonyinma, has said that God used an Electoral Officer to expose how the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) rigged the February 23rd Presidential and National Assembly election

    Hon Ehiozuwa who lost the election to Jude Ise-Idehen of the PDP insisted that he won the election and President Muhammadu Buhari won in Edo.

    Speaking to newsmen shortly after leading a protest march to the Edo State office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Hon Ehiozuwa said the Electoral Officer called him thinking he was talking to the State chairman of the PDP, Chief Dan Orbih.

    Ehiozuwa said the EO told him to pay the balance money since the PDP has won the election in Ikpoba-Okha

    He stated that it was God’s miracle for the EO to reveal details of how the election was manipulated

    He said he was also protesting refusal of the INEC’s Legal Officer to give him access to Certify True Copies of all Units result sheets used for Ikpoba-Okha/Egor Constituency.

    Agbonnayima said there was a hidden agenda by INEC to delay the process of his filing petition at the Tribunal.

    “When I received the call, I was shocked. The man thought I was the PDP chairman. He opened up on how he was able to manipulate the system for the PDP and told me to bring the balance payment.

    “The man said he was the Collating Officer for Ward six. He said they gave him the number of Ise-Idehen but he decided to call the PDP chairman first.

    “He has been arrested with others he confessed to have participated in the crime. The security agencies are doing their work and they would soon come out with their findings.

    “I insisted that the election was manipulated in Egor/Ikpoba-Okha constituency. Mr. President won the Presidential election in Edo State. There are so many glaring evidence. The election was rigged and manipulated by PDP leaders in collaboration with some INEC officials.

    “My lawyer wrote to INEC seeking to get access to Certify True Copies of the results all unit result sheets.

    “The letter was approved by the Resident Electoral Commissioner. This is to enable us file our case within the stipulated 21 days. The Legal Adviser is now violating Section 104 of the Evidence Act. He is telling us to wait till after the Saturday House of Assembly election. There is a motive to derail the wheel of progress. This INEC Legal Adviser is frustrating us.

    “Some INEC staff has been arrested and are presently making confession. I will pursue Justice in line with the law. Many of them have confessed how to they colluded to rig us out. I am calling on INEC to do the right thing.”

    Head of Administration of INEC in Edo, Mr. Christian Utong, who received the petition from Agbonnayima said the Legal Adviser had to take permission from the headquarters before releasing the CTC of the result sheets.

    “We are here for you. The REC is away because of Saturday’s election. I will deliver your message to the REC. We will attend to all grievances.”

  • No going back on use of card reader, says Abia REC

    Abia State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Joseph Iloh has stated that the commission was prepared to ensure that there was credible election in the state on Saturday.

    This is as he warned that any community that refused using the card reader may not have their votes counted.

    Iloh who spoke to reporters at the INEC headquarters on Thursday said that the commission has enough technical manpower to address any technical challenges that may arise from the card reader.

    According to Iloh, “Our card readers are highly functional. The battery lifespan has been improved that they can last for 48hrs. When politicians want to circumvent issues, they create problem. But this time around they know that it won’t be easy for them. Any community that refuses the use of card reader shall have a score of zero and their votes may not count.

     “Please, I am appealing to all citizens, stakeholders of Abia State to please make use of the card reader. It is a very cardinal instrument. We classified it as a sensitive instrument. For in a special case where one of the card readers starts malfunctioning, we have reserves in all the RAC and Local Government Areas in this state. We have reserves.

     “The RAC techs are there. If a card reader is mal-functional in a particular unit, the polling officer should call the RAC tech or the supervisory officer there. The senior supervisory officer should as a matter of fact call the RAC tech that will come and rectify them. We have provided them with vehicles to enable them move around to rectify issues. That the card reader failed to identify one person doesn’t render it invalid. If it becomes malfunction and the technical staff couldn’t effect the repairs, they will replace the card reader.

     “For Aba North and Aba South Federal Constituency, there will be a rerun and there will be a rerun in Abia South Senatorial district. We have scheduled them to go on at the same time with the elections for the state house of assembly and Governorship. We are doing this to ensure that we don’t have influences from adjoining local governments. Everybody should be in his or her wards to vote and then do the things that are necessary to keep our democracy moving.

    “There was a meeting on Wednesday between the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security and Inter-party Advisory Council. We met and sorted out identified areas that we could be classified as flash points and security agencies will focus more in such areas. We are calling on you; journalists to please let us know where you observe things going wrong.

    “However, I am promising that this time around everything is going to be set according to specification.”

    On the case of over voting as witnessed in the just concluded Presidential and National Assembly election, Iloh said “where the card reader and the manual votes failed to correspond, it is not going to be a problem. The consequences are there. So every stakeholder should work to ensure that the card reader and the manual voting correspond. It doesn’t see where a community will reject the use of card reader and conduct manual voting.

     “The result for Saturday election will be announced by Saturday night or by Sunday morning by the special grace of God. It is not going to be delayed. We have perfected our arrangement to make that this things run parallel. The structure for the collation this Saturday’s results are very clear to us and may not be known to you people as of now.”

    Iloh stated five hundred and seventy four candidates from 43 political parties would feature in March 9, Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Abia State.

    He added that 39 of the candidates are for governorship election while 535 candidates are for the House of Assembly poll.

  • Kidnapped INEC adhoc staff released- Police

    The Katsina State Police Command on Thursday told newsmen that the INEC adhoc staff, who was kidnapped by bandits during the Presidential and National Assembly polls in Safana Local Government Area of the state has regained his fredom..

    The State’s Police Commissioner, Sanusi Buba while confirming the development said the victim escaped from his abductors and has since spoken with him.

    He said’’ he escaped from his abductors and has spoken with me on his ordeals. Originally he was not officially engaged by INEC but had volunteered to replace someone who was earlier employed by the commission but could not turn up. We have already made an arrest on the matter and shall certainly prosecute the criminal ‘’

     On the preparations for the Governorship and State House of Assembly Elections slated for Saturday, the Commissioner stated that the command is ready for hitch free polls having deployed the necessary men and materials throughout the state.

    He announced the restriction of movement in the state from 6am to 6pm on Saturday and withdrawal of personnel from VIPs he declined to disclose the number of personnel deployed for ‘’strategic reasons’’, while announcing that a number of criminals were arrested for several electoral offence during the last election in the state, excluding ballot box snatching, vote buying and under aged voting.

     The Nation recalled that an Adhoc Staff working with the Independent National Electoral Commission,Yazid Abdullahi was Saturday February 23, kidnapped by armed bandits while in the company of other four of his colleagues.

    The INEC Electoral Officer for the Local Government Area ,Malam Sabiu Abdulkadir who confirmed the development to newsmen said the kidnappers didn’t remove anything from their victim and that the incident didn’t affect the election in any way.

  • APC threatens to withdraw from Saturday election in Enugu

    All progressive congress APC , Enugu state chapter, has threatened to withdraw from the exercise, should the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fail to produce all the original result sheets for the poll.

    The State Chairman, Ben Nwoye issued the threat at a media briefing in Enugu.

    He alleged that the party has uncovered plan by the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Emeka Ononamadu, to manipulate the election through handing over the result sheets to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

    The state chairman said PDP agents led by a serving senator from Enugu North senatorial zone of the state, and the party state chairman, Mr. Augustine Nnamani, had taken full possession of all the sensitive electoral materials at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) office in Enugu.

    He said the PDP leaders were removing the result sheets before policemen at CBN to various council areas, so to make sure their party have their way on Saturday.

    Nwoye, who was accompanied by Barrister KGB Oguakwa, the Director- General of the campaign organization of the APC governorship Candidate in the state, Senator Ayogu Eze, also alleged that PDP agents were enjoying unfettered access into the CBN where the materials were deposited, but stern looking policemen prevented his party agents from gaining entrance to inspect electoral sensitive materials meant for the election.

    The APC state chairman, further alleged that he was walked out of CBN premises by policemen, when he responded to distress calls from some of his party agents.

    “But to my utmost charging” the State Chairman of PDP, Augustine Nnamani was given a cushioned seat in an air-conditioned room inside CBN while his members including the serving senator were removing the electoral materials.

    Nwoye added that when he tried to find out from the state REC why APC agents were not allowed inside by policemen, he was told that his agents came late, a claim he said was case.

    According to the APC boss in the state, the PDP agents, masquerading as agents of the numerous smaller parties were all over CBN having a field day, under the cover of INEC and police, adding that the policemen even told him that they were acting on instruction from above.

    With what transpired at the CBN, Nwoye therefore, came to the conclusion that it was obvious that the REC and the police were already compromised by PDP as they were doing everything possible to satisfy their paymasters in PDP.

    He however warned that unless the result sheets were produced by INEC, APC would be left with no option than to boycott the election on Saturday, declaring that democracy was under serious threat in the state.

    He said: “We have moved away from vote buying to election and security buying. The REC is pretending to be fair, yet he is not fair. The police is pretending to be fair, yet they are not fair.

    “PDP claims they are popular. Why won’t they allow the only strong alternative party to contest? This particular election, if it goes on this way, we will not participate,” Nwoye said.

    Nwoye alleged “that a PDP agent disguised as masked security personnel and when the mask was removed, he turned out to be a PDP card carrying member., describing the development as white unfortunate.

  • INEC begins distribution of sensitive materials in Kano

    The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) in Kano state has commenced the distribution of sensitive materials to all the 44 Local Government Areas of the state.

    The state INEC Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Alhaji Garba Lawal disclosed this in an interview with our reporter on Thursday in Kano.

    According to him, the INEC staff had commenced the sorting out of the sensitive materials, especially the ballot papers according to each Local Government Area since on Wednesday.

    He said the distribution of the materials which also began on Wednesday, would be completed before the end of Friday.

    “Already the non-sensitive materials are at our Local Government Offices across the state since after the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

    “Therefore, we are trying to distribute only the sensitive materials between now and Friday to make it more easier for our staff and the corps members to move to their respective places of assignment as early as possible on the election day, “he said.

    Read Also: Polls: INEC distributes sensitive materials in Zamfara

    On the issue of the governorship candidate for People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the INEC spokesperson said the Kano office is yet to receive any instruction from its Headquarters in Abuja.

    It would be recalled that a Federal High Court in Kano had on Tuesday, March 5, nullified the PDP governorship primary election that produced Abba Kabir-Yusuf as the PDP’s flag-bearer in the state.

    The court ordered the party to conduct fresh primary election to enable all the other aspirants to participate.

    NAN

  • Vinicius Jr’s shin injury heaps more pain on Real Madrid

    Still reeling from their painful UEFA Champions League elimination by Ajax Amsterdam, Real Madrid said on Wednesday that Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr had suffered ligament damage in his right shin.

    He has therefore been potentially ruled out of action for eight weeks.

    “After tests on our player Vinicius Jr, he has been diagnosed with damaged ligaments in the tibioperoneal joint. Pending evolution,” said a medical report from Real Madrid.

    The 18-year-old Vinicius Jr was reduced to tears when forced off in the first half of Real Madrid’s 1-4 defeat at home to Ajax on Tuesday.

    The defeat sealed a 3-5 aggregate defeat for the triple European champions.

    As ever, Real Madrid did not state how long the player would be out for, but Spanish media reports said he would be sidelined for up to two months.

    Read Also: Real Madrid installs TV screens in Bernabeu restrooms

    This means he will miss most of the remainder of the domestic La Liga campaign.

    Vinicius Jr, Real Madrid’s outstanding player in a roller-coaster season, is also ruled out of Brazil’s friendly matches with Panama and Czech Republic later this month.

    He was due to make his international debut in the two friendly matches after receiving a first call-up to the national squad.

    The defeat to Ajax capped a harrowing week for Real Madrid, who were knocked out of the Copa del Rey last Wednesday with defeat to FC Barcelona.

    They went on to suffer a 0-1 defeat to the Catalans in the league, which sent them 12 points adrift of Barca in La Liga.

    NAN