The Nation Newspaper

Tag: poll

  • Tension in Delta council over poll

    Tension in Delta council over poll

    There were indications yesterday in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State that the reign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is under threat, as the battle for the control of the party between old members and those who recently defected to it rages.

    The tussle for the soul of the party has been intensified by power brokers in the local government in preparation for the forthcoming council election.

    Sources in the political class in Udu told The Nation yesterday that the brewing crisis takes root in the desire of the member representing Udu/Ughelli North/Ughelli South Federal Constituency, Mr. Austin Ogbaburhon, to take over control of the party structure in the council. He is a founding member of the PDP, but he once defected to the  Democratic People’s Party (DPP) and returned to the PDP last year.

    According to sources, Ogbaburhon, at a recent meeting he convened with other aligned PDP leaders at his Orhuwhorun home, showed readiness to displace the Sam Ughwujohwovwo chaired Udu PDP executive council as a step to dictate the party’s chairmanship and councillorship slots in the coming council polls in Udu.

    Responding to the development, the Udu PDP Chairman, Ugwujohwovwo, said: “It is quite unfortunate, but to shout too much of it is like selling my local government out. For people to convene a PDP stakeholders’ meeting without the knowledge of the party chairman beats my imagination. I don’t know what they are up to. But we are watching.”

    Defending the House of Representatives member, Israel Macauley, a member of the Ogbaburhon camp, said: “There is no plan by Ogbaburhon and co to unseat the Udu PDP chairman. The meeting convened by the lawmaker was to find a solution to the internal problems facing the Udu PDP.”

  • Osun 2014: I am ready for August 9 poll —Akinwusi

    Osun 2014: I am ready for August 9 poll —Akinwusi

    The Governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Osun state, Mr Olusegun Akinwusi, has expressed his readiness for the August 9 poll, saying his untainted career as a former civil servant, the goodwill he enjoyed among the populace and the Almighty God will ensure his victory.

    Besides, he was convinced that his party’s manifesto and programmes which he had so far presented to the citizenry during his campaign tours would help him secure their votes in the forthcoming poll.   Akinwusi, while addressing members of the SDP in Ilesa on Thursday after the party’s streets’ rallies at both Ilesa-East and West, noted that his entry into politics has changed the hitherto political calculation in the state.

    The streets’ rallies, which kicked off at Ilesa boundary at Omi-Aladiye, took Akinwusi and members of the party, including the state chairman, Mr. Ademola Ishola, to Oke-Omiru, Isokun, Itakogun, Atakumosa Market, Ita-balogun, Ijofin, Bolorunduro, Wesley, Orogba, Isare, Oke-Oye, Iloro, Anaye, Okesa, Ifosan, Enu-Odi Ijebu, Cocacola and Ireti-Ayo along Ijebu-Jesa Road.

    The former Head of Service (HOS) refuted the insinuation that he would drop his ambition to support another candidate, explaining that this was far from the truth.

  • Jonathan advised to allow free, fair poll

    Jonathan advised to allow free, fair poll

    A member of the Aregbesola Campaign Organisation (ACO), Prince Solagbade Amodeni, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to allow free and fair election on August 9.

    He observed that the desperation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to capture Osun State at all costs without minding its repercussions would not augur well for the nation’s nascent democracy.

    Amodeni, a former Commissioner in Ondo State, said Governor Rauf Aregbesola had used his acumen to transform the state through physical and infrastructural development, stressing that people were ready to show appreciation to him through massive votes.

    Besides, he said the governor had surpassed any other past governors in the state by allowing all citizenry to practise their religion to the best of their abilities.

    Speaking to The Nation in Akure, the Ondo State capital, Amodeni said the Christian Praying Ground under construction in Osun State is unprecedented in the history of any state in Nigeria.

    According to him, “During the burial ceremony of Prophet Timothy Obadare, not only he was there personally, his whole cabinet members were there and the state’s financial contribution to the successful burial of the famous religious leader was unrivalled.

    Amodeni recalled that when Aregbesola campaign was launched in Ile-Ife, the opposition said the surging crowd that attended the rally were rented. The blackmail, he said, later stopped when they saw subsequent mega rallies becoming huge by the day.

    He said: “There is no way you can compare Ekiti election to that of Osun because the personalities involved are different and its people are different. Ekiti people were caught unaware and APC left the election for Governor Fayemi alone either through omission or commission.

    The former commissioner noted that though Aregbesola and his team could win the election single-handedly in Osun State, but said: “People are not taking things for granted. We are fully prepared for the political abracadabra and antics of PDP during the election.”

    “We will do everything possible to ensure that the integrity of the ballot papers shall be tested during the poll and the whole world will know APC members are ready for any eventuality during the election.

    Amodeni argued that under free and fair election devoid of any malpractices or using of Federal apparatus, “the PDP candidate, Iyiola Omisore, would not score more than 10 percent,” saying he would only come in distant third  because according to him, his party had no crowd in Osun State.

    His words: “We are fully prepared for the contest, if PDP has anything to show, they will not resort to violence and visible destruction of APC’s candidate billboards and posters.”

    The politician noted that in his 30 years of active politicking, Aregbesola would be the first candidate that would not “use his personal money to purchase campaign materials like billboards, posters, vests, key holders and even pay for radio and television jingles.”

    He disclosed that all materials for Aregbesola’s political campaigns were donated through friends, including himself and numerous political associates.

  • APC: we’ve taken steps to ensure free, fair poll

    APC: we’ve taken steps to ensure free, fair poll

    All Progressives Congress (APC) said yesterday it had taken steps to ensure that the candidates in the August 9 Osun State governorship election are provided with a level-playing field.

    It added that actions have also been taken to guarantee that the election is free, fair and transparent as well as devoid of harassment and intimidation.

    APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, spoke in a statement in Abuja yesterday.

    The statement said APC had challenged in court the powers of the President to deploy troops and that of the Inspector-General of Police to impose a curfew during the election.

    It also said the party had written to INEC to demand a postponement of the election if the electoral commission cannot guarantee that all registered voters would be given their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) before voting day or in the alternative allow all registered members in possession of INEC temporary voter cards to vote.

    The actions, according to the party, were aimed at avoiding a repeat of the massive harassment, intimidation and arrest of opposition politicians witnessed at the Ekiti governorship election.

    It said the steps would also prevent any illegal lock down of Osun State, which turned out to be a ploy to pigeon-hole opposition politicians while allowing PDP members to move around freely.

    The party said the letter to INEC followed concerns expressed by APC members in Osun that they have so far been denied their PVCs under shady circumstances, a development that could be a ploy to massively disenfranchise APC members and rig the election at source

    The statement said: “In the first case filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos on July 15, 2014, we are seeking, among others, ‘a declaration that by the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered), it is ultra vires for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to deploy members of the armed forces to Osun State for the purpose of the conduct of the gubernatorial election scheduled for August 9, 2014’.

    “In the second case, also filed at the same court on July 17, 2014,  we are seeking, among other reliefs, ‘a declaration that by the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered), and the Curfew Law of Osun State, CAP 36, Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2001, it is ultra vires for the Inspector General of Police of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to impose curfew on any part of Osun State during the conduct of the gubernatorial election scheduled to hold on Aug. 9th, 2014, or at any time whatsoever in any part of Nigeria’.

    ‘’The actions have reinforced the credentials of our party as law-abiding and peaceful. Instead of resorting to self help, as many would have done in the face of the many underhand tactics by the PDP-led Federal Government to stifle the opposition and skew the conditions in favour of the ruling party, we decided to embark on a legal challenge of the unlawful actions of the government.

    ‘’We are not seeking any favour beyond that all candidates in the election be allowed to have a level-playing field, for all registered voters to be able to cast their votes in an atmosphere devoid of violence, harassment and intimidation, and for the election itself to be conducted in substantial compliance with the law.”

    APC said popular participation is at the core of democratic governance, hence a development in which registered voters, most of them from the opposition, will not be allowed to vote based on the incompetence of the electoral authorities is anti-democratic.

    “That is why we have written to INEC to allow duly registered voters to exercise their franchise on August 9, whether or not they have PVCs or temporary voter cards. If this is not possible, INEC should consider postponing the election until such a time that not one voter will be disenfranchised due to the incompetence, collusion or shenanigans of INEC,’’ the party said.

    It warned that the Osun governorship election must not just be free, fair and transparent, it must been seen to be so by all stakeholders.

  • Party, Omisore’s group differ over plan to militarise poll

    Party, Omisore’s group differ over plan to militarise poll

    The Osun State All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Omisore Campaign Organisation differed yesterday over plans to deploy military personnel for  the August 9 governorship election.

    Interim Chairman of APC, Elder Adebiyi Adelowo, at a media briefing yesterday at the party’s secretariat, said the election was supposed to be a civil exercise devoid of soldiers.

    He said at the event, which was also attended by APC State Interim Secretary, Prince Gboyega Famodun and a chieftain, Alhaji Fatai Diekola, that the APC had no evil plan during the election, but want an environment devoid of use of security agents to intimidate the electorate.

    The APC chieftain said it should be made compulsory that the soldiers and police as well as other security agents to wear name tags and hang their identification cards to prevent infiltration of fake security agents during the poll.

    He raised the alarm over alleged plans by the PDP to rig the election with the collaboration of the Presidency and security agencies.

    Adelowo appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to caution the leaders of the party over their alleged desperation to take over power through fraudulent means.

    According to him, President Jonathan should caution the Ministers of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Oobanikoro and Police Affairs, Alhaji Jelili Adesiyan, over their alleged desperation to ensure that PDP captures the Southwest.

    He said: “Information at our disposal shows that the PDP has perfected plans to rig the August 9 governorship election. They want to use various machinery, including the security agencies, especially the soldiers and police. Apart from this, the PDP is planning to use the police to pick some of our members, particularly stalwarts before the poll.”

    But  the Director of Publicity for Omisore Campaign Organisation, Prince Diran Odeyemi, described the APC’s allegations as baseless.

    He said the PDP would win the election without rigging and without the influence of any individual or group of people.

    Odeyemi, who said the APC resorted to the allegations having realised that its days are numbered in the state

    He said the allegations would not make the PDP lose focus on its determination to take over government from the APC.

  • PDM withdraws candidate from poll

    PDM withdraws candidate from poll

    The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) has withdrawn its Osun State standard-bearer, Mr. Timothy Oludare Akinola, from the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) list of candidates for the poll.

    Akinola’s name was withdrawn for alleged anti-party activities in a letter addressed to the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega.

    The letter by the PDM’s National Chairman, Bashir Yusuf Ibrahim and dated June 23, 2014, said: “The PDM has taken the decision to withdraw Mr. Oludare Timothy Akinola as its candidate in the August 9 Osun State governorship election.”

    In the letter, PDM  accused Akinola of “holding meetings with opposition political parties’ candidates without its consent, insisting that this amounts to anti-party activities.

    “Other reasons for his withdrawal had to do with his continuous failure to honour invitation to meetings by the National Secretariat and his lack of preparedness and inability to present a concrete plan for campaign few weeks before the election.”

    Also, the party’s state Chairman, Alhaji Lasisi Bakare, in a separate letter to the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Olusegun Agbaje, intimated the commission on the development.

    “In the light of the above, our party will not be fielding any candidate to participate in the forthcoming election,” it said.

  • Candidates, stakeholders agree to free, fair poll

    Candidates of the 20 parties contesting the August 9 Osun State governorship election and other stakeholders have agreed to ensure free and fair poll devoid of violence.

    They made the pledge at a sensitisation workshop organised for political parties and stakeholders by the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Inter-Party Affairs in Osogbo, the state capital.

    The parties in attendance include the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP), the National Conscience Party (NCP) and Action Alliance (AA).

    Others are All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Alliance for Democracy (AD), Accord Party (AP) and Democratic Peoples Movement (DPM).

    Issues bordering on the smooth conduct of the election were discussed at the  meeting held at the Leisure Spring Hotel, Osogbo.

    Some of the governorship candidates, who could not attend the programme, sent their representatives.

    While the APC candidate, Governor Rauf Aregbesola, sent the party’s state chairman, Elder Adebiyi Adelowo to the event, the PDP’s candidate, Senator Iyiola Omisore, was represented by his running-mate, Adejare Bello.

    The Special Adviser to the President on Inter Party-Affairs, Senator Ben Obi, while opening the workshop, stressed the need for all the political parties and their candidates to shun violence during the election.

    Obi said free and fair election is a panacea to peaceful co-existence in any society and pledged that the governorship election would be conducted in a fair atmosphere.

    He also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to create a level-play ground for all political parties before and during the governorship election.

    He said: “Most of our political parties have negated a lot of their duties and concentrated mainly on elections and attaining political power at the expense of an entrenched democracy.”

    “I am calling on all the stakeholders in the Osun State governorship election to embrace peace. All the political parties contesting the election should have equal access to the media. And we want all political parties to have the freedom to publicise their programmes and agenda.”

     

  • ‘Don’t be discouraged by Ekiti poll’

    ‘Don’t be discouraged by Ekiti poll’

    Supporters of the All Progressives Congress(APC)in Ondo State have been urged to gear up and reconnect with the people to build the party.

    The chairman of the party, Isaac Kekemeke, said the outcome of the Ekiti governorship election should not rather than demoralise them, adding that they should unite to build an electorally prosperous APC in the state.

    He said the lesson of the Ekiti polls is that it is impossible to take the voters and supporters for granted, adding: ”We must constantly reconnect and reboot with our party supporters and the people.”

    Kekemeke spoke in Akure during the inaugural meeting of the State Executive Committee (SEC).

    According to him, the executive committee was the product of arrangement of consultation, balancing and joggling with different tendencies in the party by the Femi Pedro-led State Congress Committee (SCC).

    He urged party men and women to accept the final outcome and to work for the victory of the party at subsequent polls.

    The former Secretary to the  Government (SSG) identified the challenges facing APC which he however said is surmountable.

    He said: ”Our party was registered barely a year ago on July 31 and in opposition at the Federal and State level,the new party is bedeviled by rancour and factions,indiscipline and disrespect for constituted authority as well as absence of a winning mentality with the leadership and followership.

    “This is why we offered ourselves for the offices for the offices we are presently occupying. We, therefore can not afford to be part of the problem or be promoters of these same problems,if we are then,we have no moral right to the leadership positions we have been entrusted with.”

  • ‘Poll is about Ekiti’s future’

    ‘Poll is about Ekiti’s future’

    Former Ekiti  State Governor Segun Oni, who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), spoke with reporters in Ifaki-Ekiti on why he has endorsed Governor Kayode Fayemi for the poll. Excerpts:  

    Why did you defect from the PDP to the APC?

    I did everything I could do to give the PDP a chance to pick a candidate that we can work with, that we can be proud of, that we can show to generations that are coming to, somebody that we can throw up as a role model for them. When the PDP decided what its own options would be, we had no alternative but to make up our mind, rigidly, to toe the path that we have now chosen.

    You said that you left  the PDP to join the APC to build a future for Ekiti. Could you shed light on this? 

    What I am doing personally, is in the interest of Ekiti and in the interest of the good name that we may lose, if we are not careful. The generations coming may have to suffer for it, if we allow it to be completely destroyed.

    As a loyalist of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, did you at any time discuss your grievances with him?

    Yes and no, because baba knows our feelings. He knows that, like him, we hold dearly the future of this society. We take that after him. He also knows that we are not looking for personal gains, he knows that we are looking for a better future for our people.I believe his reaction would that of a father whose children are disagreeing on the field and he will not kill one for the other.

    If you are reinstated to the position of the Southwest Vice Chairman of the PDP, would you return to the PDP?

    For me, I do not think that is an option. For example, will I go back and support a Fayose?

    Why are you not supporting Fayose?

    I want to make it very clear that the reason why I am not supporting Ayo Fayose is not for anything that he has done to me personally in the past.

    Fayose offended me, Fayemi offended me, but I have taken a position of forgiving everyone that offended me because I know I have probably offended them and others in the past. Anybody who finds it convenient in his own heart can also forgive me, but I am looking at the future of Ekiti State.

    What is that future?

    I have been governor and I am privileged to know that the position of the governor is an exalted position that people should be using as a point of contact to pray for their children. It means that the governor is a moral leader; he is a role model.

    If you put someone in the position of governor and not sincerely pray in your heart of hearts that your child should take after, then, it means the society has gone amiss, it means something is wrong.

    If you have somebody in the position of governor that you do not wish to be a role model for the younger ones, then, it means something is amiss. What we are saying is that this is more than legal qualifications or satisfying the letters of the constitution, we are saying the position of governor is a higher ground. And like Caesar’s wife, anybody who comes to it, should be seen to be above board because you cannot just bring anybody and say you must make him governor. That is also a slight on that position because it is supposed to be an exalted position. You just cannot make anybody governor because you are going to create problems for generations that are coming.

    If they take after a wrong role model, the society will be in trouble. Can 80 per cent of Ekiti people pray that their child or ward should take on a role model as that which we are saying?

    Secondly, I know the institution that is forming itself up for the position of governorship in Ekiti state, I think it is very dangerous. It is a very grave mistake that people are making to believe that, if evil is forming itself in a nursery, in any part of the country, if it is remote to theirs, they can afford to sleep and it won’t get to them.

    I know that, if we allow that institution to form itself, our children, our younger ones will be swearing to oaths and sleeping in coffins because we have seen the hand of the monster somewhere else in the part of the Southwest. I have seen some of their foundations, people who are wanted and are involved in questionable deals.

    They now want to be in charge of my state. I take an exception. Those sending them to Ekiti should know that, if this evil should germinate in Nigeria, it will not leave them untouched. We all have a responsibility as Nigerians. Let us join hands to ensure that this evil, in whatever form it is, is not allowed to triumph or prosper.

    We all have a responsibility to ensure that generations that are coming will not be under the influence of such foundations because it is an amalgamation of evil.

    But, Mr Fayose said he is now a changed man.

    He claims to have changed when we know his sponsors, we can also see that the primaries did not indicate that. Let me tell you that the man who coined the adage ‘a fool at 40 is a fool forever’, must have had a basic knowledge of psychology that you do not change much after you are 40.

    So, after a man of over forty says he has changed, it is a talk to hoodwink those who are vulnerable.

    Did the Presidency attempt to prevail on you not to leave the PDP?

    I do not think the President needs to call me because there are people working with the President and they can always deliver the President’s message. You see, it is not about the party now. I am sorry to say this. Some of my closest friends are in the PDP. This is about the future of Ekiti and what will happen to Ekiti State.

    This is the only state I have. If Nigeria were such that we operate a constitution that can make you an Ekiti person, today, a Borno person tomorrow or your children can be Anambra, I will not be as worried, but here you are stuck. So, why would you now allow the values that made us Ekiti, the values that made us so proud as to ask for a state a state of people, who had been known to have a history for industry, education, for integrity to now have on our laps somebody, whose educational qualifications cannot even be guaranteed. I take an exception for that and I want to be counted on the side of those who said no to such a system, no matter what it costs.

    Some might say you left the PDP for ambition or economic gains, how do you see this?

    Is there any office that I want to seek from the PDP that I would not be able to attain? If I wanted to stay in the PDP and do a bargain, do you think I would not be able to do it? If I wanted anything, including positions, contracts and everything, I would have gotten it.

    I am doing this for my conscience and that is it. Nigerians do not even believe that Nigerians can work for free for their conscience. We have so monetised it and made everything look as if it is either cash or position. That is not what all of us are. I have been out of office for nearly four years now and I want to tell you that I have not taken any largesses from any source.

    What is your opinion on the growing tension, ahead of the  election?

    I am worried because this is part of the problem. I hope that the players on every side would be careful because, if they destroy Ekiti State, what are they going to gain from it? If you destroy the younger ones, what are you going to gain from it?

    Decent people should succeed here and that is why we want decent people to be brought. They should not expect that it is only indecency that can triumph here. We are urging others to let us all work together and deliver what we believe will be in the interest of Ekiti State and that is Dr Kayode Fayemi.

    Out of all of them, my preference goes to Dr Fayemi and next to that, my sympathy will go to Opeyemi Bamidele. But,  I will not spare anything for the kind of monsters that are preparing themselves in the PDP to take over Ekiti State and probably, the Southwest. For whatever reason, we must fight them ruthlessly.

    What role will you be playing in ensuring that the elections is free, fair and credible?

    The first role I am playing now is to work with others, to support the candidate of our choice, that is, Dr Kayode Fayemi, and the APC; to sell him as much as possible to various groups and sectors to be able to see the Ekiti vision that we should all be looking at, an Ekiti that should not become a pariah in Nigeria, an Ekiti, whose name and image does not become an albatross for our children to carry.

  • Poll predicts purchase of more goods, services

    Nigeria’s leading public opinion polling and research organisation, NOIPolls Ltd, has said that consumers in the country are positive about their personal state and the stability of the nation’s economy.

    The NOIPolls made the observation in its monthly polling for consumer confidence index (CCI) for January which was released on Tuesday.

    The poll said the optimism was expected to result in the purchase of more goods and services and ultimately stimulate economic growth.

    According to the poll, the score for January was 83.9 points and the CCI comprises two independent variables, the Present Situation Index (PSI) and Expectation Index (EI).

    The NOIPolls said the CCI provided consumer assessments of the economic situation as well as the intentions and expectations of Nigerians for the future.

    It noted that the PSI of 64.7 showed that many Nigerians were satisfied with their present personal and economic situation.

    The poll also showed that the EI score of 96.9 revealed that consumers were highly optimistic about the future.

    NOIPolls said that a total of randomly selected 4,000 adult Nigerians were polled monthly through telephone interviews.

    “Since this is our first reading, we clearly cannot identify trends. Once we have a track record of several months, we will be able to draw some conclusions on the patterns observed’’ it said.

    Meanwhile, the organisation has introduced two new indices for its polling.

    A statement from its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director, Ms Oge Modie gave the names of the indices as the Personal Well-Being Index (PWBI) and the Eagle 30 Business Confidence Index (EBCI).

    According to Modie, the NOIPolls PWBI measures factors impacting on the everyday lives of Nigerians and producing a complete view of the individual’s personal well-being.

    She added that the Eagle 30 Business Confidence Index measured business leaders’ perceptions and expectations about the Nigerian business environment using the top 30 companies in the country.

    On the benefits of the indices, Modie said the different indices could be used as key indicators to measure economic growth, consumer behaviour, the prevailing business environment and impact of policies on the population.

    “The introduction of our portfolio of indices encourages enabling stakeholders in all major sectors of the Nigerian economy and across the globe to make informed decisions.

    “They also serve as key pointers to would-be investors in the Nigerian economy to enable strategic entry into the country,’’ she said.

    The CEO said it would also assist journalists, the academia and other experts in their reports and research.