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Tag: Kogi guber polls

  • PDP rejects Kogi governorship election results

    PDP rejects Kogi governorship election results

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday said it would challenge the outcome of the governorship election in Kogi before the election petition tribunal.

    The Publicity Secretary of the party in Kogi, Mr Bode Ogunmola, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja.

    Ogunmola said the results of the election was unacceptable to the party and cannot stand the test of time.

    He said the death of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abubakar Audu on Nov. 22, while collation was ongoing had made it inevitable for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare PDP candidate, Idris Wada, winner of the poll.

    Ogunmola said PDP had rejected the declaration of Yahaya Bello as winner of the exercise, saying that the party would challenge the results before the tribunal.

    He commended people of the state for their support to the party before and during the poll, urging them to continue to be law abiding.

  • Kogi 2015: REC makes case for ADR

    Kogi 2015: REC makes case for ADR

    Ahead of the November 21 governorship election in Kogi, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr. Halilu Pai has advocated the employment of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

    Speaking during a ‘Pre-Election Awareness Workshop’ Thursday in Lokoja, the REC explained that resorting to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in conflicts arising from electoral conflicts, has the uniqueness of erasing ‘bad blood’ between contending parties.

    He noted that disputes arising from electoral matters have continued to bug the system, adding that any means through which the process could be made less cumbersome is welcome.

    “The commission in its commitment towards conducting a free, fair and credible election has deemed it necessary to educate political parties and all stakeholders on the need to embrace Alternative Dispute Resolution in our political process to enable us compete in the comity of nations as a growing democracy.

    He stated, “It is my great hope and desire that we would get to embrace the whole concept of Electoral Altrrnative Dispute Resolution in our political process as an added innovation in our nascent democracy.

    “Elections in Nigeria have resulted in quite a lot of litigations, which has led to killings in some cases and bad blood in the system.

    “The long process is a drag on our system. The Electoral Alternative Dispute Resolution is an avenue that should be given the due attention that it deserves. It is a welcome development.”

     

  • Liberate yourselves from poverty, APC tells Kogi electorate

    Liberate yourselves from poverty, APC tells Kogi electorate

    The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) , Chief John Oyegun, on Saturday urged the people of Kogi to vote out Gov, Idris Wada, in order to liberate themselves from poverty and underdevelopment.

    Oyegun, who addressed a rally in Lokoja to drum support for the APC governorship candidate, Abubakar Audu, said the election was an opportunity for the people to end years of bad governance in the state.

    The APC national chairman, who was accompanied to the rally by national officers of the party, three governors and two deputy governors, called on the people to embrace change and “dump the bad past.”

    “The state is still stuck in the failed promises of transformation ,” Oyegun said and stressed that it was time for Kogi people to vote wisely in order to protect the future of their children.

    Oyegun said the APC is targeting 80 per cent of the votes during the governorship election, pledging that it would bring about total change in the lives of the people.

    In his remarks, Audu promised to work for the progress and development of the state , saying that he was on a rescue mission to save the state from total collapse.

    The governorship candidate promised to adhere to the principle of rotation by being the first governor to give effect to the arrangement.

    Audu, who was flanked by his deputy, Mr James Faleke promised to settle all outstanding workers salaries and allowances, and ensure justice and equity in the distribution of projects.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Governors Rochas Okorocha, Tanko Al- Makura, Samuel Ortom and Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso also addressed the rally.

  • Jonathan, others kick against Wada’s return

    Jonathan, others kick against Wada’s return

    Indications have emerged that former President Goodluck Jonathan and some of the old power blocks within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are against Kogi State Governor, Capt. Idris contesting for a second term on the party’s ticket.

    The former President and his supporters accuse Wada of being responsible for the party’s defeat by the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the presidential election.

    A highly placed source who spoke in confidence said that the former president believes that Wada supported the APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari because he is a Muslim.

    According to the source another reason the Jonathan is bitter with Wada, was because of his visit to former President Olusegun Obasanjo in his Abeokuta home in Ogun State, at the height of the presidential campaign.

    Others against Wada’s return according to our source include former PDP national chairman, Dr Ahmadu Ali and former Governor Ibrahim Idris.

    Wada lost in his ward and local government during the last presidential election, despite the alleged “huge war chest” made available to him by the presidency to prosecute the election.

    [ad id=”403656″]The PDP National Working Committee (NWC) on Wednesday postponed the governorship primary in kogi State from Thursday to Monday, September 14.

    The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh in a statement attributed the postponement to logistics issues.

    The party is shopping for a replacement for Wada, which is the real reason for the last day postponement of the governorship primary, said the source.

    He said: “Jonathan believes that Wada supported Buhari because he is a Muslim and that he went to visit Obasanjo before the general election.

    These are some of the reasons why you are seeing what we are witnessing. Ahmadu Ali is angry… They argued that Wada deliberately lost his ward and local government in favour of Buhari.

    “Idris needs N4 billion which he used to finance Wada’s2003 election and that Wada has not paid him all the while, but that he needs the money now”.

    Despite the perceived outcome of the state party congress which favoured Wada, the fear that the national secretariat might spring its own delegates list during the primary is another source of worry the governor’s camp.

    Hundreds of party delegates massed at the Government House Lokoja early Thursday morning, with rumours of plans to take their protest against the unfolding development to Abuja.

    “You see the large number of delegates, but the truth is that they have an equally large number of delegates on their list at the national headquarters and this they can bring. Nobody is sure,” said
    another source.