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Tag: ONDO

  • Ondo Election Petition Tribunal adjourns for judgment

    Ondo Election Petition Tribunal adjourns for judgment

    •Date to be communicated to parties

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and its governorship candidate, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), yesterday adopted their final written addresses on their petitions at the Ondo State Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Akure, the state capital.

    Counsel to ACN and Akeredolu, Akin Olujimi (SAN), said the petitioners have proved that the October 20, last year, election was marred by irregularities.

    He said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) could not defend any of the allegations against it, especially the illegal injection of names into the 2012 voters’ register, even though it admitted injecting over 100,000 names into it in its reply.

    The ACN’s counsel urged the tribunal to nullify the election because it was conducted with a compromised voters’ register.

    Olujimi said Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s witnesses confirmed that there were multiple registration and persons whose fingerprints were not captured were allowed to vote.

    He said INEC could not explain how some names appeared four times in the register and all the people laying claims to the name voted.

    Olujimi reminded the tribunal of the ACN’s expert’s report, which showed areas where INEC registered human hands as voters.

    He said the irregularities were widespread and substantial to invalidate the election.

    Olujimi urged the tribunal to disregard Mimiko’s reply to the ACN’s written address on the grounds that some issues raised in it were not contained in the respondent’s main address before the tribunal.

    He said to rely on the said reply would be a breach of fair hearing because, according to the tribunal’s rules, the petitioners can no longer file an address to respond to the reply.

    Mimiko’s counsel Chief Wole Olanipekun urged the tribunal to disregard all the INEC documents tendered by the ACN because they were not properly certified, based on the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

    INEC distanced itself from Olanipekun’s submission. It said the documents were duly certified by the commission and tendered with the consent of all parties to the petition.

    INEC said it did not call any witness because the documents used in the election had been tendered by the ACN.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) objected to the Labour Party’s (LP’s) argument that the illegal injection of names into the’ register was a pre-election matter.

    It said the register was part of the election process and germane in determining the poll’s credibility.

    PDP urged the tribunal to either declare its candidate, Mr. Olusola Oke, winner of the election or conduct a fresh one.

    For the first time since the tribunal began sitting, Mimiko was present.

    The tribunal Chairman, Justice Andova Kaka’n, thanked the lawyers for their good conduct.

    He said the date for the judgment would be communicated to the parties and adjourned the sitting.

  • Ondo ACN seeks court’s permission on electronic devices

    Ondo ACN seeks court’s permission on electronic devices

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, will tomorrow decide whether or not the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) can use electronic devices to pursue its case before the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal.

    ACN told the Justice Andova Kaka’n-led tribunal that over 164,000 names were injected into the 2012 voters’ register used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the election.

    The tribunal admitted the ACN’s expert’s evidence and documentary report on the injection, but did not allow the party’s expert witness to use a TV projector to prove his claims.

    The tribunal earlier admitted in evidence the electronic copy of the 2011 and 2012 voters’ register upon which the expert witness conducted his analysis and wrote his report.

    The expert sought to demonstrate how he arrived at his report on the TV projector, but the counsel to Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, the Labour Party (LP) and INEC objected.

    The tribunal ruled in favour of the respondents and ACN approached the Appeal Court.

    It was learnt that the TV demonstration would show the faces of those involved in multiple registration and those whose names were illegally injected into the voter’s register.

    The demonstration would have also displayed invalid registrants, whose fingerprints were not captured but voted during the election.

  • Irregularities mar teachers screening in Ondo

    The ongoing verification of public primary school teachers in Ondo State may not produce the desired result.

    Sources said some officials of State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and local governments have devised means to cover up irregularities detected during the exercise.

    The screening, which began across the state penultimate week on the order of Governor Olusegun Mimiko, is to sanitise the workforce and expose workers (both teaching and non-teaching), who were allegedly recruited without the government’s approval.

    Mimiko, according to sources, directed the committee handling the exercise to use the March 2009 payroll and payment voucher for the screening.

    It was learnt that some officials of SUBEB and the Local Government Universal Basic Education Authority (UBEA) allegedly recruited over 4,000 workers without the government’s approval between 2009 and 2013.

    The illegal recruitment was allegedly done by the personnel department in the area offices in collusion with their Accounts departments.

    Some of those recruited, who did not have “godfathers” in SUBEB and the local governments, were said to have paid some money.

    Sources at the Local Government UBEA said some of the officials involved in the illegal recruitment have devised means to ensure that their candidates are cleared by the screening committee.

    For example, in Odigbo Local Government, over 200 workers were allegedly recruited illegally.

    The officials were said to have colluded with the accounts section during the screening and presented new vouchers and staff payroll for March 2009. They allegedly injected the names of the illegally recruited workers into the documents before presenting them to the committees.

    A source said: “What happened during the exercise here was unbearable. The personnel and accounts sections colluded to cover up their atrocities. The government should not have been specific about the time of the screening.

    “The moment they learnt that the screening would be conducted in March, they produced a new voucher and pay roll and kept the original document. They also issued new appointment letters to these people and back-dated the letters to 2007 to indicate that they were recruited by the last administration in the state.”

    During a visit to one of the screening centres in Akure, Mimiko vowed to punish anyone who attempts to frustrate the exercise.

     

  • N650m ‘scam’: Anti-graft officials may storm Ondo

    N650m ‘scam’: Anti-graft officials may storm Ondo

    Operatives of the three anti-graft agencies may soon storm Ondo State, following a petition by a group, the Ondo Elders and Youths Amalgamated Forum (OEYAF).

    The group alleged that over N650 million may have been stolen by officials of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in connivance with some council workers.

    It was learnt that the group petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) when the state government allegedly failed to sanction the officials “involved in the scam”.

    Sources said the scam was perpetrated in seven local government councils during the preparation of the 2012 salary and leave bonus.

    They said the government, through the Office of the Accountant-General, discovered that there was a wide margin between the amount paid in 2011 and 2012.

    It was learnt that Governor Olusegun Mimiko ordered an audit in the 18 councils when he heard of the fraud.

    Sources said the audit reports established that there was a wide margin of N650 million between the amounts released in 2012 and 2011.

    They said the report indicted some officials of the ministry and the local governments.

    OEYAF Chairman Mr. Moses Fanibe said the failure of the state government to prosecute the “indicted” officials prompted the group to petition the anti-grant agencies.

    One of the agencies is said to have directed its operatives to probe the alleged fraud. Sources said they may storm the state this week.

  • Ondo may sack 6,000 illegal teachers

    Six thousand public primary school teachers in Ondo State may lose their jobs.

    Those likely to be affected are teachers were illegally employed between 2009 and 2013.

    The teachers, according to sources at the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), were employed by some officials of the board and the former Area Education Secretary (AES) without approval from the governor.

    Already, 13 Area Education Accountants, two treasurers and auditors have been queried on the matter.

    It was learnt that the officials would face a panel.

    A source said: “The indicted Area Education Accountants, treasurers and auditors have been queried and transferred to the offices of the Accountant-General and Auditor-General, where they will face a panel. They have been replaced by new officials.”

    It was gathered that the illegal recruitment has raised the salary wage bill of primary school teachers by 61.79 per cent.

    Sources said the affected teachers did not have the required qualification but were employed because of the influence of their godfathers/mothers.

    Sources said some of the former AES may be invited to face the panel.

    Governor Olusegun Mimiko has ordered the screening of public primary school teachers across the state to sanitise the workforce.

  • Van crushes girl in Ondo

    •Train kills man in Osun

    A  four-year-old girl, Precious Oluwatoba, has been knocked down by a vehicle belonging to the Ondo State Ministry of Health.

    The incident occurred at Igoliki Street in Akure, the state capital.

    The late Precious and her friends were playing in front of her house on Sunday evening when the incident occurred.

    It was learnt that the driver of the Hilux van, simply identified as Abiodun, lost control of the vehicle and ran into the children.

    Eyewitnesses said Precious died instantly. One of her friends was critically injured. She is on admission at an undisclosed hospital.

    The Hilux van is marked OD 259-A08.

    Eyewitnesses alleged that the driver was tipsy at the time of the incident. They claimed that he was driving away from a beer parlour on the street, where he had reportedly spent five hours, when the incident occurred.

    The accident sparked violence in the area and residents vandalised the van.

    But for the intervention of policemen from the B Division, Oke-Aro, Abiodun would have been lynched.

    The late Precious’ father, Mr. Oluwatoba Olaniyan, urged the government to probe the incident.

    Olaniyan said: “I am begging the government to intervene in this matter. I wondered why a drunk was allowed to drive a government vehicle. Government needs to be careful when employing drivers.

    “Justice must take its course. I have been a struggling parent. It was not easy for me to bring up my daughter. There is no land to bury her remains and no money to embalm it. That is why the body is still lying there.”

    Police spokesman Wole Ogodo confirmed the incident.

    He said Abiodun is being detained at the ‘B’ Division Police Station.

    Yesterday, a middle-aged man was crushed to death by a moving train at Agowande in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.

    The victim is yet to be identified.

    He was said to be on his way home at 4:30am after a night party, when the incident happened.

    Eyewitnesses said the train was going towards the Railway Station in Osogbo.

    They said the victim was drunk and was aslept on the rail track, when the train approached.

    It was gathered that broken bottles were found around his body.

     

  • How Ondo poll was rigged, by Akeredolu

    How Ondo poll was rigged, by Akeredolu

    The governorship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the October 20, 2012 election in Ondo State, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), yesterday told the Election Petition Tribunal that the poll was rigged.

    Akeredolu said exhibits P52A, P1H12 and P16G12, which include the voter’s register, showed that the election was characterised by fraud.

    He said the irregularities discovered in Isowopo, Akoko 01, Ward 08, Unit 12, were perpetrated in all units in the state.

    Akeredolu said his case and that of his party is clear, adding that the tribunal can only understand the case by going through the exhibits and relating them with the findings of the experts.

    He said there were cases of double registration, where voters appeared twice with different VIN numbers.

    The former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) said for example, Abdulai Idris appeared twice with different VIN numbers.

    He said invalid registrants, whose thumbprints were not captured, were allowed to vote in some units.

    Akeredolu, who was led in evidence by his counsel, Oluwole Aina, said his claims before the tribunal were as contained in his petition.

    He is challenging the declaration of Governor Olusegun Mimiko as winner of the election.

    Akeredolu, who was cross examined by the counsel to the first, second and third respondents, led by Wole Olanipekun (SAN), was asked whether his agents were at all polling units in the state for the election.

    He said his agents were chased away from most of the polling units, adding that ACN only had agents in few polling units.

    Akeredolu was also cross examined on the registration of his voter card and asked if he registered in Ondo State.

    He said he did not register in Ondo State in 2011, but transferred his voter’s card to Ondo State legally as stipulated in Section 13 of the Electoral Act.

    Akeredolu said he transferred his voter card from Jericho in Ibadan, where he was initially resident.

    Olanipekun asked if Akeredolu’s registration was part of the names injected into the 2012 voter’s register as analysed by a computer analyst yesterday.

    Akeredolu said the expert was specific in his presentation, adding that there were categories of voters injected – those that might have come during the review of the voter’s register or transfer and those illegally injected.

    He said he fell under the category of those whose voter’s cards were transferred legally.

    When asked which party won in his unit, Akeredolu said ACN won his unit and the three local governments recorded by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    He said he accepted the result from Owo, Akoko Southwest and Odigbo local government areas because he felt he should accept it and not because there were no irregularities.

    Responding to a cross examination by counsel to one of the respondents, Akeredolu said the forensic expert’s analysis on multiple thumb printing did not materialise due to INEC’s inabilities.

    He alleged that INEC intentionally provided ballot papers that “were in crumb after two weeks”, adding that it was difficult, if not impossible, for any forensic expert to work on that.

    Akeredolu lamented that the highest injection of strange names into the voter’s register was in Owo, noting that it was a deliberate attempt to “dilute” his votes.

    At one of the stakeholders’ meetings organised by INEC before the election, the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Akin Orebiyi, said about 55 persons legally called for the transfer of their voter cards from within and outside the state.

    The hearing continues.

     

  • Ondo ACN decries ‘injection’ of fake names in voter’s register

    •Group: Mimiko hasn’t fulfilled his promises

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State yesterday expressed surprise at the revelation that over 164,072 strange names were injected into the voter’s register that was used to conduct the October 20, 2012, governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The revelation was made by computer analysts presented to the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Akure, the state capital, by ACN and its candidate, Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN).

    In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Agbede, ACN said the magnitude of the electoral fraud allegedly committed by the Labour Party (LP) with the “help” of INEC shows LP’s desperation to cling to power at all costs.

    It said: “The revelation by expert witnesses that 164,072 names were injected into the voter’s register has finally laid to rest the controversy surrounding how the voter’s registration of 1.5 million people by INEC in 2011 became over 1.6 million people during the October 2012 governorship election.

    “The whole world can now see that the much touted popularity of the LP and its leaders in Ondo is a ruse.”

    Also yesterday, a group, the Movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership (MGGEL), said the inauguration of Governor Olusegun Mimiko is temporary.

    In a statement by its State Coordinator, Mr. Kehinde Bello, MGGEL urged the Mimiko administration to reflect on its promises in 2009 and see how much it has failed the people.

    It said the governor’s promise to create job opportunities has become a dream.

    MGGEL said even though the administration inherited billions of naira from the Chief Olusegun Agagu administration, it has not executed meaningful projects.

    It said the Arigidi Tomato Paste Industry, Okeluse Cement Factory, the Olokola Free-Trade Zone and multi-billion naira water projects, which could have created jobs for youths, were abandoned.

     

     

  • Mimiko dissolves cabinet

    Mimiko dissolves cabinet

    Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, on Monday announced the dissolution of the state executive council.

    The dissolution also affected all non statutory boards and parastatals.

    It came less than 24 hours after he took oath of office for another term.

    Mimiko thanked the outgoing cabinet members and other political office holders for their selfless service to the state in the last four years.

    He said, “I have always said that the good work we have been able to achieve has been as a result of the synergy and team effort put in by all of us at the cabinet as well as in other positions of responsibilities we have found ourselves since we came on board.

    “Through our collective efforts, rich debates, engaging arguments, agreements sometimes disagreements; we have provided responsible and dedicated leadership to the people. Diligence has been our watchword and for this I am very grateful to all of you.”

    He listed the affected office holders as commissioners, chairmen and members of boards and parastatals; Senior Special Assistants, Special Assistants and others who have served in positions other than statutory commissions.

    Mimiko added that they cease to hold such political office, after the announcement.

    He said the dissolution however excludes all appointees whose tenures are not tied to the expiration of his government’s first term.

     

  • Police arrest kidnap suspect in Ondo

    The Ore Police Division in Ondo State said on Thursday it arrested a suspect who allegedly kidnapped a three-month old baby on February 11.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr. Wole Ogodo, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the suspect was arrested with the baby on Thursday at Omi road in Irele Local Government Area.

    He alleged that the suspect took the baby to her friend’s house at Ogbe quarters, Ore, in Odigbo Local Government Area since February 11 and had been on the run since then.

    “She never stayed in one location for a long time which was responsible for the slight delay in her arrest; the baby has been returned to the mother who has taken the child to General Hospital, Ore.”

    Ogodo said the 22-year old suspect claimed that she was a former student of a polytechnic in Osun, and wanted to bring up the child because of her inability to give birth after an abortion.

    “The suspect and her friend were arrested and are still in our custody and will be charged to court after further detailed investigations are carried out, “the police spokesman told NAN.