The Nation Newspaper

Tag: poll

  • Oke: LP planning to rig Ondo poll

    Oke: LP planning to rig Ondo poll

    The Ondo State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olusola Oke, has said the ruling Labour Party (LP) was planning to rig, intimidate and destabilise opposition parties in the October 20 election.

    Oke addressed reporters at the party’s secretariat in Abuja after the inauguration of the Ondo State PDP Campaign Committee.

    He accused Governor Olusegun Mimiko of perfecting plans to use the Judiciary, the police and other security agencies to harass, arrest and detain prominent members of the opposition parties before the election.

    Oke said: “As at today, there is a conspiracy between the Judiciary and the Labour Party (LP) administration in Ondo State, such that without provocation, PDP members are attacked and, before you know it, they would use the Judiciary to detain them indefinitely.

    “I am aware today that there is a grand plan by the LP to arrest prominent members of the PDP, detain them and are not to be released until after the election.

    “What may be of concern is the attitude of the public to the antics of the incumbent LP government to manipulate the electoral process in Ondo State. As I speak with you, the LP poses greater threat to free and fair election in Ondo State than the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

    “…The level of orchestration, antics and strategies for manipulating the electoral process by the LP is unprecedented. It is alarming and it is worrisome.”

    The PDP candidate alleged that the LP had tried everything to manipulate the voters’ register which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had compiled.

    It expressed doubts on the credibility of the electoral process under the INEC.

    Oke added: “There are gangs of hoodlums deployed by the LP at different locations in preparation for the day of the election. As I am talking to you, they are training thugs. And while they are doing that, they are giving the wrong impression to the security agencies that it is the ACN and the PDP that are sponsoring thugs.

    “Beyond this, I am also aware that the grand plan of the LP in the areas of their weakness is to ensure that there will be no election in these places. They will ensure that wherever they are weak there will be no election.

    “On the other hand, wherever they think they are strong, that is where election will be allowed to hold. They are planning to chase away PDP supporters and maximise their returns. Contrary to the perception of some people, the LP is more of a threat to free and fair election in Ondo State than the ACN.”

  • We’re ready for Ondo poll, says INEC

    We’re ready for Ondo poll, says INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday said it has put machinery in motion to ensure that the October 20 governorship election in Ondo State is free and fair.

    The electoral body confirmed that 1,654,205 legible voters who registered for the last 2011 general elections will be participating in the poll.

    The INEC Director of Voters Registration, Mr. Emmanuel Akem, spoke in Akure, the state capital, at the public presentation of soft copies of the voters’ register to the 13 political parties that are participating in the election.

    The INEC director explained that the female represented 50.10 per cent and the male 49.80 per cent of the electorate.

    Akem said the voters’ register statistic showed that the students’ category has over 400,000 eligible voters.

    He said: “The total number of persons registered during the 2011 voter registration in Ondo State is 1,654,205. The Addendum figure is 7,539, while the voters’ figure is now 1,646,666. Female voters carry the majority 50.10 per cent and the Male, 49.80 per cent.”

    The Residential Electoral Commissioner (REC) Akin Orebiyi said INEC has provided enough logistics to ensure that its officials are not compromised during the poll.

    He assured that electoral materials would arrive various units across the state before 8am to prevent irregularities.

    Orebiyi said: “We are assuring all the good people of the state that the election materials will arrive various polling units very early. INEC will commence the distribution of voting materials by Friday morning which will be on October 19, and before the night all the materials will have been in all the units.

    “All Party Agents, INEC officials and the security agents are expected to monitor all this material from the INEC office to the various units”

    Orebiyi urged all 13 political parties to study the voter register carefully, adding that INEC cannot be the watchdog alone.

    “We should check the register carefully and ensure that it is not tampered with. Every single person who registered in 2011 voter registration exercise will have the rights to participate during the election. INEC is ready for Ondo State Poll.

    The REC urged the political parties to summit the forms of their polling agents before October 12, stressing that the electoral body is trying to guard against the movement of unauthorised people during the Election Day.

    “We must account for every single political party agent that is why we have produce forms for them and they are expected to submit them before October 12, with two passports each.

    At the units level, each of the political parties will present 2007 agents, 203 ward agents, 18 in each local government, and one each at state level.”

  • ‘Security agencies ready for poll’

    ‘Security agencies ready for poll’

    Ondo State Police Commissioner Danladi Mshelbwala yesterday assured that security agencies were fully ready for the October 20 governorship election.

    Mshelbwala spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Akure, the state capital.

    He explained that the police, in collaboration with other security agencies, were ready to forestall violence during the poll.

    He said: “We are aware of the security challenges ahead of us in the coming election, and we are not leaving any stone unturned in our preparations to forestall violence during the election.

    “So, those who are planning to foment trouble should desist from doing so in their own interest, because we are going to provide more than enough security agents in all parts of the state.”

    The police chief said the security agencies had taken proactive measures to prevent violence before, during and after the election, adding that the police in particular had held meetings with stakeholders on the need to shun violence.

    Mshelbwala warned those scheming to disrupt the poll, saying the police and other security agencies would deal decisively with anyone caught.

    He advised parents to monitor their children to ensure that they were not used by desperate politicians to perpetrate malpractice or cause violence during the election.