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Tag: PDP

  • Kano rerun: Remain calm, PDP urges supporters

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday in Kano called on its supporters to remain calm and law-abiding as they await the outcome of the election petition tribunal.

    The party through a statement by Sanusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa, the spokesman of its governorship candidate, Abba Kabir Yusuf, vehemently rejected the result of the election.

    It said: “The PDP in Kano is proud to be distinctly civil and uniquely peace-loving. We condemn this fraud in its entirety.

    “We have decided to take legal action through the Election Petition Tribunal with overwhelming evidences that has been gathered, and Insha Allah, soonest the mandate of the good people of Kano state shall be reclaimed.

    “However, we urge the good people of Kano state and particularly our teaming supporters to be patient and remain calm. Kano state is our only home.

    “We have no other place better than this noble state and no blood of any citizen is worth shedding.”

    PDP accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies of joining forces to rig the election in favour of the APC.

    “In the political history of Kano, we have undergone the most horrific elections ever where the ruling APC and Kano State Government deployed all mechanisms to orchestrate violence against the citizens.

    “Indeed, the good people of Kano state have witnessed a broad daylight robbery of their mandate by the enemies of democracy. It is with tremendous zeal and courage that we joined the 2019 Kano gubernatorial contest, believing in the impartiality of the umpire – the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agencies, being on a mission to restore the lost glory of our dear state from the hand of political predators who destroy every meaningful programme and policies set by the previous administration of Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso.

    “The deliberate disruption of results collation process in Nasarawa Local Government, which led to the cancellation of Gama Ward, alongside numerous other Polling Units across the 28 Local Government Areas and the appalling conduct of the players in the sham called inconclusive Election, has raised huge doubts about the professionalism of the security agencies and the effectiveness, credibility and fairness of INEC as an organization as well as professionalism and neutrality of the security agencies.”

  • Kano supplementary poll license to violence – Obi

    The vice presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 23 election, Mr Peter Obi, has described last Saturday’s governorship supplementary election in Kano as scandalous and the height of brigandage.

    The conduct of the election, Obi said, was akin to giving official license that could motivate Nigerians into violent acts and thereby destroying the country’s youths.

    In a statement Monday by his media office, Obi said what all democratic watchers saw in Kano state rerun election, amounted to licensing our youths for violence, and setting a very dangerous precedent.

    He said, “We are now institutionalizing thuggery and rigging as process of coming into power, which is very dangerous precedent for our country”.

    The main opposition chieftain added that, “proceeds in the name of results from what happened in Kano make the entire electoral process ridiculous and shameful”.

    Mr Obi wondered how the Nigeria Police, which mobilised its top officers and men to Kano, to secure the state during the election, could watch while political thugs took over control of the process.

    “They owe Nigerians and election observers a lot of explanations on what happened”, Obi said.

    Mr Obi also called to question the integrity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for hurriedly recognising and acknowledging election results from a process “where machetes carrying miscreants took charge of the process”.

    He warned that with the Kano incident, the country is dangerously bequeathing to the society a trend that is bound to consume not only the youths, but also, the entire country.

    The former Anambra state governor declared that country further ridiculed itself and made itself a laughing stock, wondering how would anyone think that the process witnessed in Kano during the said election, could produce leadership that can grow the state.

    Obi, whose party lost the election to incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and his All Progressives Congress (APC), described as regrettable the unnecessary loss of quality hands and minds heads to the exercise.

    He cited the case of another election in the same category, where a Professor was shot in Benue State, in the course of performing electoral duties. “It’s most painful”, he said.

    Making reference to India, Obi said if India, with over 800 million voters, can conduct election without losing such “caliber of people”.

    Obi wondered if President Buhari and the APC could come into power in 2015 without such “senseless” loss of lives, then why should it be the case now?

    He prayed God for repose of the souls of the victims and fortitude for the families and relatives.

  • Rivers AAC deputy guber candidate defects to PDP

    The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike Monday said that no one man’s interest is bigger than the state.

    Wike reportedly made the statement when he received the deputy governorship candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), Chief Akpo Bomba Yeeh, who defected to the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Monday.

    Receiving the 71-year-old at the government House Port-Harcourt, Wike charged all leaders to work together to move Rivers State forward.

    Speaking during a solidarity visit at the state House where chief Yeeh apparently announced his defection to the PDP, Wike noted that history will be kind to him (the defector), for placing Rivers interest above personal consideration.

    The Former AAC Deputy Governorship Candidate was received by Wike and the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus.

    Others present at the ceremony are the Rivers State PDP Chairman, Bro Felix Obuah, Ex-Governor Celestine Omehia, Senator-elect Barry Mpigi and other leaders of party in the State.

    Wike said: “History will be on your side. You have shown that the interest of the state is above personal consideration. God will not only protect you, He will reward you for this decision.

    “Rivers State is the only state we have. Everyone must work together to move this state forward. It is important to take this state to greater heights.

    “It is not everyone that can take this kind of decision. It requires maturity to take this kind of decision “.

    The Governor said all leaders of Rivers State irrespective of their political affiliations must work in unity to develop the State.

    He said: “All of us must work together in order to forge ahead. No one man’s interest is bigger than that of the State”.

    He accorded a warm welcome to the new entrant and promised to incorporate him into the group that will consolidate the development of the state.

    “You are welcome to the party that will move the state forward. Those on the other side must understand that you cannot kill people, just to be in power. With this bold decision, our brothers on the other side know that the end has come,” he said.

    He lauded the former Deputy Governorship Candidate for refusing to be allowed to be a tool for the destabilisation of the state.

    Also speaking, Secondus described the defection as a welcome development that will help move the state forward.

    He said: “This is a welcome development. This is what a normal situation is supposed to be. The people will see the reason why we must work together. This is an uncommon decision. You have taken a wise decision because you have the interest of the people at heart”.

    Secondus called on INEC to bring the Rivers election to a logical conclusion, so that the people can continue with their lives.

    The PDP Boss called on the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and other persons working with him to see reason they should stop destabilising the state and causing confusion.

    Earlier, Yeeh had said that the state developed by the founding fathers should be sustained by the efforts of all patriots.

    He said: “Today, I am in your midst to declare my defection to the PDP. Governor Wike is a man of vision. He is a man of compassion. It is his compassion that endears him to the people of Rivers State. I choose to identify with him to move the state forward.”

    He added that as a retired security personnel, he would work with Governor Wike to promote the security of the State.

    Yeeh informed Wike that he has officially withdrawn his candidacy for AAC.

    “I officially announce the withdrawal of my candidacy for the AAC. My loyalty is with the PDP. I cannot afford to leave the fast lane and go to the slow lane,” he said.

    On his part, Obuah said the new member has searched his conscience and decided to work with the PDP to develop the state.

  • We won’t share power with PDP, says Oshiomhole

    National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on Monday gave an insight into the 9th National Assembly, saying the party is not ready to share power with the opposition in the National Assembly.

    Oshiomhole said the party will not allow what happened in 2015 to reoccur in 2019 as the party will need a collaborative legislature to provide good governance to the people, adding that the leadership of the Assembly give all committee members critical positions as committee chairmen.

    He said the party leadership will carry out extensive consultation with the President and leadership of the party at all level to arrive at a zoning formula that will be acceptable to all members and the party.

    Details shortly…

  • Updated: Bauchi election: PDP poised for victory

    The Bauchi state gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Sen. Bala Mohammed, is at a comfortable lead over his close rival, the incumbent Governor, Mohammed Abubakar of the All Progressives Party, (APC), at the supplementary governorship election held on the 23rd of March in Bauchi state.

    Sen. Bala Mohammed PDP, garnered a total of 6376 votes against his main opponent, incumbent Governor Mohammed Abubakar who polled 5117 votes at the rerun, with a vote margin of 1259 between both parties.

    The result of the re-run was announced in Bauchi on Sunday by the governorship election Returning Officer, Prof. Mohammed Kyari, who is a Vice Chancellor of the Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola.

    Earlier, during the March 9 inconclusive election, Mohammed was credited with 469,512 votes and Abubakar 465,453, with a vote margin of 4059 but the election was declared inconclusive after a Federal High Court in Abuja halted the collation and announcement of result for Tafawa Balewa Local Government.

    Governor Abubakar got a court injunction restraining INEC from continuing with the collation and announcement of election results in the State.

    Judgement on the matter had been fixed for Monday, March 25.

    The total votes scored so far by Mohammed in the 19 out of 20 LGAs has increased to 475,888 votes, while that of Abubakar is 470, 570 votes, with a difference of 5,318 votes.

    The total no of registered voters at the rerun was 22,759. Accredited voters are 12, 109, Valid votes ,11, 568 while total votes cast are 11, 979 . Rejected votes, 403.

    The rerun election was held in 36 Polling covering 29 registration areas (wards) in the 15 affected local government areas.

    Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party has urged the Incumbent Governor to concede defeat and work together with the party for the progress of the state

    Speaking in a telephone interview with the Nation Correspondent, the PDP Chairman in the State, Alhaji Hamza Koshe Akuyam , said the “right thing for the Governor to do is to surrender in the face of an imminent defeat ”

    Sen.Bala Mohammed has also expressed gratitude to the people of Bauchi state for their immense support.

    “We owe our victory to the people of Bauchi who have stood very firm on the threshold of freedom and liberty and have shown that they are the icons of democracy and liberty. Words alone cannot express my appreciation to them all.” He said while addressing a press conference at the Command Guest House,Bauchi immediately the result of the rerun election was announced.

  • Adamawa Assembly: PDP wins 2 remaining constituencies

    The Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) has won the two state constituencies in which supplementary election took place on Saturday, according to results obtained from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Sunday afternoon.

    The PDP candidate in Nassarawo/Binyeri State Constituency in Mayo-Belwa LGA, Umar Nashon, won the contest in that constituency by polling 10,733 votes against the 7,185 received by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    In the Uba/Gaya State Constituency in Hong LGA, Abbas Aminu Iya of the PDP narrowly defeated his APC opponent, Mohammed Atiku. Abass Iya got 7,251 votes while Mohammed Atiku had 7,238 votes.

    With the two wins, the PDP now has 13 seats in the next session of the Adamawa State House of Assembly to post a slim majority.

    The PDP and APC got eleven seats each when the main state House of Assembly election was conducted on March 9. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) won one seat during the March 9 election. The state assembly comprises 25 seats.

    The supplementary election had been fixed for Saturday in the two state constituencies after the March 9 election was postponed in Nasarawo/Binyeri because a candidate died close to the election, while votes were cancelled in three polling units in Uba/Gaya during the March 9 election there.

  • APC wins Kwali chairmanship supplementary poll

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the chairmanship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Danladi Chiya, winner of the supplementary poll for Kwali Area Council, FCT.

    Prof. Simon Kawe, the INEC Returning Officer who announced the result, said Chiya scored the highest votes of 14,245, to defeat his closest rival, Mr Ibrahim Daniel of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who scored 14, 189.

    READ ALSO: Large voter turnout in Gwagwalada, Kwali Area council

    The supplementary election in Sheda polling unit 005 was however disrupted by some thugs, which was regarded as Zero votes for all political parties as read by the INEC officer.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some residents were seen jubilating over the APC victory in Kwali metropolis. (NAN)

  • Alleged importation of thugs: Kano APC dismisses PDP’s allegation

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State has dismissed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s allegation on the importation of political thugs from neighbouring states.

    The Acting State Chairman of the PDP, Rabiu Sulaiman-Bichi, had told reporters that the ruling APC in the state imported thugs from some neighbouring states.

    But the APC state chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas, at a press conference of his own  dismissed the PDP allegation as not only untrue and unfounded, but a calculated attempt to dent the image of the party and the state government.

    Read also: Breaking: INEC adjourns collation of Sokoto rerun

    “How can we bring or invite people from other states to come to Kano, while we have people here, considering the population of Kano,’’ he said.

  • Sokoto rerun: Youths dispossess policeman of rifle

    Aggrieved youths on Saturday dispossessed a policeman of his rifle after he allegedly injured an innocent voter in the head at the Magajin Gari “A” polling unit in Sokoto North local government during governorship rerun.

    The police personnel (name withheld) was making effort to ensure orderliness for a smooth conduct of the polls midway into the exercise when he used a stick to hit the voter, who was not even in the queue which resulted to blood drizzling from his head.

    The development sparked violent reaction from youths, who insisted they must kill the security personnel.

    In a rancorous reaction, the policeman, who managed to escape death from the angry youths, was eventually overwhelmed and dislodged of his rifle.

    READ ALSO: Sokoto rerun: Party agents, supporters exchange blows

    The mob, which took possession of the rifle, also blocked the entry and exit point, not allowing the policeman to escape.

    However, it took consistent appeals by one of the brave officers to get the rifle back from the youths.

    The officer convinced the mob with a promise to foot the bill of the injured youths.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) jumped into an early lead at the Rijiya ” A” Shiyyar Hakimi polling unit 004 in Sokoto south local government, scoring 154 votes against APC’s 80.

    However, results in other places were being collated as at the time of filing the report.

  • APC wins supplementary election in Lagos

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Ibeju-Lekki state constituency I, Mr Fatai Adebola Mojeed, winner of the election.

    With the victory, the APC has secured all the 40 seats in the state house of assembly.

    Mojeed, a current member of the assembly, was declared the winner on Saturday after the conclusion of the supplementary polls in nine polling units in the constituency.

    The commission had declared the March 9 assembly election in the constituency inconclusive, because of over-voting in the nine polling units, covering two wards of the constituency.

    Prof. Rasheed Ojikutu the Returning Officer for the election, announced the result for the state house of assembly election at the Collation Centre located in INEC office in Ibeju-Lekki council at about 6:30 p.m.

    Ojikutu, of the Department of Actuarial Science and Insurance, Faculty of Business Administration, University of Lagos, first announced the scores of each political party on March 9 election, before reeling out total votes in the supplementary poll.

    According to him, in the March 9 election, APC polled 8,525 votes and PDP scored 1, 786, SDP got 63, ADP scored 54 votes, Accord got 50 votes, AD polled 59 votes while other political parties scored less than 40 votes each.

    The returning officer said that, at the conclusion of the supplementary election, Mojeed polled a total of votes 9,484 to defeat his closest rival from the Peoples Democratic Party (NAN) Mrs Tare Oliver who got 1,901 votes.

    “I, Prof. Rasheed Kola Ojikutu, hereby certify that I am the returning officer for the constituency I of Ibeju-Lekki in the election held on the 23rd Day of March 2019.

    “I declare that Mojeed Fatai Adebola of APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of votes is hereby declared the winner and he is returned elected,” Ojikutu said.

    Accord Party scored 51 votes, AD polled 60 votes, ADC polled 26 votes, SDP got 64 votes, AAC polled 27 votes, ADP got only 55 votes while others got less than 10 votes each.

    Ojikutu said that the total number of registered voters was 122, 442 while the total accredited voters for the election was 12,245. The party agents took turns to sign the results.

    Dr Adeola Afonja, the Collation Officer for Ibeju Ward I, reeled out the scores obtained by each of the parties in the six polling units where supplementary election was held in the ward.

    According to Afonja, APC polled 520, PDP scored 43 votes, ADC got 2 votes, Accord and ADP got one vote each while other parties got no vote.

    She said that the total number of registered votes of the six polling units where the supplementary election took place was 3,989.

    READ ALSO: APC Lagos deputy chair donates books to school

    Afonja added that the total number of accredited voters was 592, total valid votes 567, rejected votes 22, while the total number of votes cast was 589.

    Also, Dr Ijeoma Patience, the Collation Officer for Iwerekun I, gave the scores obtained by each of the parties in the three polling units where supplementary election was held in the ward.

    According to her, APC polled 439, PDP scored 72 votes, while other parties got 2 votes.

    Patience said that the total number of registered voters of the three polling units where the supplementary election took place was 8,722

    She added that the total number of accredited voters was 529, total valid votes 521, rejected votes 8 and total vote cast 529.

    NAN reports that out of 12, 711 registered voters in the nine polling units, only 1,118 voters came out to vote in the supplementary election.

    Prince Wasiu Elemoro, candidate of PDP for Ibeju-Lekki Federal Constituency described the election as far better than the previous polls.

    Elemoro said that the supplementary election was free, fair and peaceful.

    Mr Rasak Alatishe, the APC party agent at the collation centre, commended the voters for their peaceful conduct.

    He expressed satisfaction with the outcome.

    Mr Femi Asia, the PDP agent concurred with Alatishe.

    After being declared winner, the APC candidate Mojeed, thanked the people for the trust reposed in him and promised not to disappoint them.

    NAN