The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nasarawa State

  • Election Tribunal receives 12 petitions in Nasarawa – Official

    The National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lafia has received 12 petitions from different candidates in Nasarawa State.

    Mr Bello Mukhtar, Secretary of the tribunal, made the disclosure to newsmen in Lafia on Tuesday.

    He said the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) filed five petitions, All Progressives Congress (APC) filed two petitions and the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) filed three petitions.

    He said the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) each filed one petition.

    Read Also: Suspected herdsmen sack 2 communities, raze 27 houses in Nasarawa

    Mukhtar stated that the tribunal was still expecting petition from the re-run elections that were conducted on March 23.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that PDP is challenging the three senatorial seats, Lafia/Obi and Awe/Doma/Keana Federal Constituencies, while APC was challenging Akwanga/Nassarawa-Eggon/Wamba Federal Constituencies.

    PDM is challenging Nasarawa South and Northern Senatorial seats, Akwanga/Nasarawa-Eggon/Wamba Federal Constituencies.

    ZLP and APGA are challenging Awe/Doma/Keana Federal Constituencies and Nasarawa West Senatorial seats respectively.

  • Nasarawa PDP rejects Governorship election outcome

    The Nasarawa State Chapter of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the result of the Governorship election over alleged fraud.

    The PDP Chairman in the state, Mr Francis Orugu, made the position of the party known in Lafia on Thursday.

    Orugu said the election was a fraud, adding that it fell short of minimum standards for the conduct of a credible election anywhere in the world.

    “The results were fabricated in connivance with INEC and the security agencies.

    “Even when our agents complained about the irregularities and cancellation of results during the collation, nobody listened to them with the view of addressing it,” the PDP Chairman added.

    Read Also: PDP, Ijaw youths differ on Rivers governorship poll

    He explained that the party was still consulting with other critical stakeholders in order to decide on the next line of action to take.

    He called on the supporters of the party to be law-abiding as the party would reclaim its mandate through lawful means.

    Prof. Abdulalahi Baba, Returning Officer for the Governorship election on Monday, March 11, declared Abdullahi Sule of All Progressives Congress (APC) as the Nasarawa State Governor-elect.

    The returning officer said that APC got 327, 229 votes, PDP, 184, 281 votes and All Progressives Grand Alliance, 132, 784 votes.

    NAN

  • Police deploy 5,000 personnel for Saturday polls in Nasarawa

    The Police Command in Nasarawa State says it has deployed about 5,000 personnel for Saturday’s Governorship and House of Assembly elections in the state.

    Mr Usman Samaila, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lafia.

    Samaila said the Commissioner of Police, Bola Longe, had briefed the personnel adequately on their responsibility before, during and after the elections.

    Read Also: Sensitive election materials arrive Nasarawa

    The PPRO said the police personnel would be complemented by personnel from other security agencies in the state.

    “We want to assure all law-abiding citizens in the state that we are ready to provide the much needed security for the conduct of the governorship and state assembly elections.

    “We also want to warn all those who may want to ferment trouble during the elections to desist from it.

    “We have the will, training, capacity and the backing of the law to checkmate them,” Samaila added.

    He said the police would not hesitate to deal with any person or group of persons that might want to cause security breaches and mar the elections in the state.

    The PPRO therefore called on the people to turn out en mass on Saturday and vote peacefully.

    NAN

  • Save Keffi, Gangeren Karofi communities

    SIR: Kofar-makaranta, Gangaren-Karofi, Anguwan-Yelwa, Yelwa-Bello, Yelwan-Barau, Yelwan Maji are all settlements with long history, spanning over a century (100 years) in Keffi Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

    These are historical settlements that are within the vicinity of the emirs palace, which clearly portrait ancestral heritage of the communities.

    These communities are predominantly subsistence farmers, while others engage in itinerant trading to satisfy basic needs of life. However, at the moment, these beleaguered communities are plunged into untold hardship and anguish as a result of sudden demolition of their homes, embarked upon by the Nassarawa State government under the guise of road expansion and construction. Prior to the demolition exercise, these communities saw the unfortunate development coming when the authorities concerned issued a two days’ notice ahead to most residence of the affected areas.

    It should however be noted that sometime back, a delegation of state government officials visited the community heads where the issues of compensations was discussed. The officials then assured the community elders as regards to payment of compensation to deserving occupants of lands and properties that may be affected, but unfortunately this was not to be. Suddenly the residents of these communities woke up in the early morning of Monday, March 4, to discover the presence of several bulldozers and other heavy duty machines accompanied by fierce looking security personnel.Before 7am of that same day, several houses were demolished. The sad development compelled hundreds of families to immediately commence the evacuation of their personal belongings albeit reluctantly.

    The demolition continues despite the cries and pleas of particularly the aged and elders of the communities and in the midst of wailing and cries of children whose schooling had been set aside as a result of the government decision to embark on the demolition exercise.

    It is on this note that we, on behalf of these communities, are appealing to the government of Nassarawa State and in particular Governor Al-Makura, to for the sake of posterity consider the sufferings of our people in these places.

    We are not against urban or rural development; it is our earnest aspiration, but this should be through due process and therefore, we are appealing to the governor to consider the legitimate yearnings of these communities for compensation to the victims of the on-going demolition exercise in the affected areas to ameliorate the sufferings of the people.

    On the other hand, our governor should also consider the timing of the exercise, which is capable of disenfranchising thousands of electorate from their civic responsibility due to sudden dislodgment of residence from their settlement.

     

    • Mohammed Isa Bilal, Jos.

  • Nasarawa CJ frees 14 inmates

    Chief Judge of Nasarawa State Justice Suleiman Dikko has freed 14 inmates of Lafia Prisons in his quarterly visit to prison formations in the state.

    He said the move was to decongest Prisons and strengthen the justice system in the state.

    Justice Dikko said the inmates were those awaiting trial in mostly civil cases and cautioned prosecutors to be careful not to convert civil cases to criminal cases.

    Comptroller of prisons, Nasarawa state command, Mr. Patrick Dalyop, expressed delight with the CJ’s commitment in visiting prison formations in the state and putting smiles on the faces of the inmates and relieving pressure on the facilities.

    Inmates freed were in the prison for offences ranging from theft, breach of trust, cheating, conspiracy and belonging to criminal gangs.

    Read Also: Sensitive election materials arrive Nasarawa

    Those freed were: Likita Emmanuel, Buba Doga, Ali Ibrahim, Henry, Abubarkar Ali Small, Musa Yahuza, Umar Ibrahim, Abubarkar Danjuma, Nasiru Usman, Danladi Shabu, Ali Jubrin, Muhammed Abdulahi, Ibrahim Polo while Peter John was granted bail on self- recognition.

    The inmates in Lafia Prisons has a total of 538 inmates, 149 convicted, 4 condemned , while 210 are standing trial for robbery cases.

    The last visit by Justice Suleiman Dikko was in January 2019 where he visited Lafia and Wamba Prisons.

  • Norwegian club Stabaek set to sign Nigerian duo

    Norwegian side, Stabaek Football Club is set to sign two talented youngsters, Yusuf Abdullah Mohammed and Oliver Jospeh after successful scouting program in Nasarawa State.

    The scouting program which was tagged ‘Sergio Scouting Program’ is a platform created by Folabi Ojekunle, his partners (Imre Varadi and Patrick Dean) from Manchester City, United Kingdom to discover raw talents and provides them a chance to play in Europe.

    2019 Sergio Scouting Program went down at Snake Farm pitch, keffi road, Nasarawa between January 13th and 19th and two players were heads above the rest through the duration of the program.

    Yusuf Abdullah Mohammed is an attacker who can play both sides of the wings and his magnificent talent earned him a call-Up to the Nigeria U-23, who are currently camped in Abuja. Oliver Jospeh is a central midfielder who can play as a defensive midfielder too.

    The two players are being expected at the Norwegian club, Stabaek Fc next month as they look to finalize the deals and begin their European Journey.

  • PDP: presidential election results unacceptable

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday disputed the results being announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), describing them as “incorrect” and “unacceptable”.

    It also protested the cancellation of over 157, 000 votes in Nasarawa State.

    INEC yesterday announced the cancellation over what the electoral body described as irregularities and violent disruption of voting.

    It was learnt that the situation would be reviewed by the electoral body before announcing its final decision.

    PDP’s National Chairman Prince Uche Secondus also alleged flaws in the conduct of Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections in other parts of the country.

    At a news conference in Abuja yesterday, Secondus said the nation’s democracy had come under threat of derailment, citing manipulation of election results, allegedly in favour of President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Secondus said: “Firstly, I want to categorically state that our collation centres have all original results from every polling unit, in every ward and in every local government area in Nigeria.

    “Secondly, officials of both President Buhari’s government and the APC, working with INEC officers, have tried to alter the course of history and disenfranchise our people through the cancellation and manipulation of figures for results already announced at polling units, nationwide, in local government areas where our party, the PDP, had commanding votes; this must now be resisted by every well-meaning Nigerians.

    ”Thirdly, the ruling party’s strategy has indeed been murderous, undignified, and disrespectful of the wishes of the electorate, our people and the international community who have been in solidarity with our nation as we attempt to strengthen our democracy and its institutions.”

    The party chair said despite efforts by the PDP and its agents to adhere to laid down provisions for the 2019 general elections, the APC and the INEC did not play by the rules.

    He accused the APC and the electoral umpire of inducements, manipulation and incarcerations, saying that the elements of state power were used as instruments of voter repression.

    Secondus identified the police, the Nigerian Army, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as the agencies deployed to repress voters.

    He said: “This is disheartening, considering the terms of the Peace Accord, which called for impartiality and non-partisanship by members of our security organisations with constitutional roles to play during this civic exercise.

    “Fifthly, as results trickled in on Sunday, February 24th, 2019, clearly putting the PDP in the lead, the ruling party and President Buhari dispatched high-ranking officials to coercively influence outcomes in different geopolitical zones in the country.

    “For example, the Minister of Interior was dispatched to the Northwest of the country, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation was dispatched to the Northeast of the country, while the Attorney-General and Justice Minister was dispatched to the Southeast and Southsouth zones.

    “With the INEC IT server hacked by agents of the APC to manipulate results, we can with certainty state that results from the following polling units have, for example, been tampered with.”

    He listed the areas to include Sarkin Dawaki, Doka and Agyaragin-Tofa Wards in Doma Local Government of Nassarawa State.

    The party chair also said 10, 000 illegal votes were added to already announced results in Wurno Local Government Area in Sokoto State amid attacks on electoral officials at Lafia and police barracks polling units.

    Secondus said: “As if these provocations are not enough, our agents and officials are constantly arrested and in many cases locked up for complaining that Electronic Card Readers (ECR) were not in use in many Northern states, implying that all results from the Northern part of the country where the ECRs were not used should be voided in accordance with INEC guidelines.

    “”I also believe, the arrest of Eng. Buba Galadima, who has been a great symbol of what is courageous about our people goes to show that one man’s ambition is greater than our collective good, and most probably worth the blood of all Nigerians.

    ”In that context, I call for Buba Galadima’s immediate and unconditional release, as well as that of all officials and agents of the PDP, in the Southwest, who were mostly arrested on the eve of the elections where intimidation became the APCs sole election strategy.

    “Despite these provocations, intimidation and attempts to hijack our democracy and change the course of history, I must, in fact, convey to our good people the fact that the PDP is on course to victory and the Presidency; therefore, remain resolute and steadfast, because our party shares in your uncertainty and suffering, which must decisively come to a good end for us all.

    “Finally, and once again, we appeal to the leadership of INEC to remain impartial and not become willing agents to disenfranchise our people and derail our democracy, because the world is watching, and history will indeed pass judgment.

    “In addition, to the international community, we welcome your support for our democracy and extend our gratitude with great hope for our democracy.”

  • Police reiterate readiness for rescheduled polls

    The Police Command in Nasarawa state on Thursday in Lafia, has reiterated readiness for the rescheduled Presidential and National Assembly elections in the state.

    The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Bola Longe, disclosed this while addressing newsmen after monitoring the distribution of sensitive electoral materials in the state.

    He also said that the police and other complementary security agencies were ready for the elections in the area.

    Longe said that the distribution of the materials was monitored under tight security from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) office to the 13 local government areas of the state.

    “At about 7.30 p.m on Wednesday Feb. 20, all the distribution was concluded as items and vehicles were escorted under tight security to the 13 local government INEC offices across the state.

    Read Also: Two held for robbing policewomen

    “Let me assure the people of Nasarawa state that the sensitive materials at INEC offices are secured,” he said.

    He, however, urged the electorate to turn out en masse, on Saturday, to perform their civic duty of casting their votes peaceful.

    The commissioner assured them that the security agencies were prepared to tackle any form of criminality aimed to mar the electoral process in the area.

    NAN

     

  • Maku pledges resuscitation of Nasarawa cultural festivals if elected governor

    The All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) Gubernatorial Candidate in Nasarawa State, Mr Labaran Maku said he would revive the state’s cultural festivals that had been abandoned by previous administrations if elected.

    Maku, a former deputy governor of the state, made the promise when he hosted Mr Aliyu Doma, the Gubernatorial Candidate of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) at his Akwanga residence on Wednesday.

    According to him, the state that has multi-lingual, multi-ethnic and cross-cultural heritage should have a platform that can unite its people.

    The ex-deputy governor said he planned to place premium on reviving cultural festivals because culture had the power to unite people irrespective of tribal and religious affiliations.

    He expressed regrets that the current All Progressive Congress (APC) administration in the state had failed to sustain the achievements of late Gov. Akwe Doma, who promoted and sustained cultural festivals of Nasarawa people.

    “I think Nasarawa State, which is home to many Nigerian tribes including the Hausas, Fulanis, Kanuris, as well as others that transcend beyond the north, should be called the rainbow state.

    “I will revive the cultural festivals in the state; rename Nasarawa Rainbow State because it is a multilingual, multicultural and multiethnic state,’’ Maku said. (NAN)

  • Sensitive election materials arrive Nasarawa

    Preparatory to the February 16th presidential and National Assembly election, sensitive materials have arrived Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, amidst tight security.

    The materials were taken to Lafia branch of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) in an articulated vehicle

    Police barricaded the road that passing around the bank to avoid security breach, the blockade forced the convoy of Governor Umaru Almakura to make a detour.

    Read Also: INEC begins distribution of sensitive materials in Imo

    The Nation observed that European Union observers were seen monitoring the offloading of the election materials.

    The items arrived CBN by 12 noon and as at the time of writing this story, the items were being offloaded.