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Tag: Taraba

  • Abia, Taraba: APC, APGA reject PDP’s victory

    Abia, Taraba: APC, APGA reject PDP’s victory

    With the conclusion at the weekend of rerun elections in disputed areas, all the 36 governors have emerged.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has 22 states, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) controls 13 and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) is in charge in one state.

    After the rerun, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared PDP candidates Darius Ishaku (Taraba) and Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) as governors-elect.

    APC’s Rochas Okorocha defeated House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Emeka Ihedioha to retain his seat as Imo State governor.

    Ishaku was declared winner of the hard-fought governorship election in Taraba State. He won in 10 local government areas with accumulated votes of 369,318.

    INEC Returning Officer Prof. Ahmed Kyari said Hajia Aisha Jummai Alhassan of APC, the only woman governorship candidate, scored 275,984 votes.

    Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate David Sabo Kente came a distant third, with 29,985 votes.

    PDP won the supplementary election with 52,120 votes. APC got 13,598 votes. PDP won nine of the 10 local governments where the rerun was held.

    APC won only Jalingo where the rerun took place in one polling unit.

    In all, 127,125 registered voters participated in the exercise in 159 polling units across 10 local government areas: Bali Zing, Takum, Yorro, Donga, Wukari, Ussa, Karim Lamido, Kurmi and Jalingo.

    A breakdown of the result is as follows: Bali (APC-910, PDP-5,551), Donga (APC-9,885, PDP-37,375), Jalingo (APC-362, PDP-90), Karimlamido (APC-459, PDP-2,091), Kurmi (APC-49, PDP-314), Takum (APC-560, PDP-3,114), Ussa (APC-528, PDP-1,198), Wukari (APC-728, PDP-1,507), Yorro (APC-34, PDP-469), Zing (APC-83, PDP-411).

    In the first poll, Ishaku, an architect and former Minister of State for Power, Environment and Niger Delta Affairs, was leading with 54,812 votes. He won the election in nine of the 16 local government areas with 317,198 votes. Alhassan, a lawyer and senator representing Northern Taraba District, trailed with 262,386 votes garnered in six local government areas.

    There were 681,166 total valid votes cast in the first and supplementary polls.

    Ishiaku extended the hand of fellowship to everyone, including his co-contenders from other political parties.

    He spoke to reporters at his official residence in Jalingo soon after INEC declared him winner.

    “The candidates of other political parties could not win, not because they lack the wherewithal. But because Taraba people spoke through the ballot, with enthusiasm and seriousness, that they want me for the job.

    “I wish to pay tributes to Sen. Aisha Alhassan of the APC and my brother David Sabo Kente of the SDP and their running mates. They all did well. They are not losers or vanquished.

    “The doors of my administration shall be opened to them for participatory governance, wise counselling and or constructive criticism,” he said.

    But Hajia Alhassan rejected the result.  She told a news conference in Jalingo that the entire process was a “daylight robbery’’ and that her party would challenge the results at the elections petitions tribunal.

    “The combined governorship elections in Taraba were characterised by violence, massive rigging, ballot snatching and abuse of the card readers in substantial parts of the state by the PDP and their allies,” she said.

    Senator Alhassan contended that results ascribed to Wukari, Donga, Takum, Sardauna, Zing, Yorro, Kurmi and some parts of Ussa, Karim-Lamido, Bali, Ardo-Kola and Lau local government areas did not reflect the true situation.

    She said all the complaints on the irregularities and abuse of the election guidelines were promptly reported to INEC, but that no action was taken.

    In Abia, INEC declared Ikpeazu winner with 264,713 votes to defeat the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA)  candidate, Dr Alex Otti, who polled 180,882 votes at the end of the re-run election in nine local government areas.

    Ikpeazu hails from Obingwa Local Government Area in Abia South Senatorial District.

    He holds a Ph.D in Chemistry and taught at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology before going into politics.

    He was the Assistant General Manager of the Abia State Environmental Sanitation Agency in charge of Aba until November 2014, when he resigned his appointment to join the governorship race.

    Chief Ahamdi Nweke, the APGA agent in the supplementary elections questioned the authenticity of the result from Obingwa Local Government Area.

    Raising objections to the results of Saturday’s re-run election in nine local government areas, Nweke said that the Obingwa result sheet bore the stamp of Umuahia local government areas.

    The result showed that PDP polled 82,240 votes as against 1,952 scored by APGA.

    Nweke pleaded repeatedly with the Returning Officer, Prof. Benjamin Ozumba, to “take a look at the result sheet, which is with you here”.

    “All I am asking is for the returning officer to look at the result sheet from Obingwa in the presence of the two INEC national commissioners and commissioners of police.

    “The result sheet bears the stamp of Umuahia, which is in another senatorial district; please show it for the world to see,’’ Nweke, a lawyer, said.

    He also protested the result from Osisioma polling area, saying that the figures in the results sheet were at variance with the results from the polling units.

    The result sheets from the polling units were later presented to the collation officers for verification vis-à-vis the collated results.

    The APGA agent, who identified himself simply as Uzor, claimed that the results from Osisioma were not collated at the ward level, in spite of his protest.

    Uzor claimed that the electoral materials were forcibly conveyed to the local government collation centre where he was barred by security agents from entering.

    “The state returning officer wanted to confirm the allegation with copies from other agents but no other agent was available at the collation centre.’’

    Uzor added that the returning officer proceeded to announce the disputed results as collated.

    APGA National Chairman Chief Victor Umeh assured the people that they were going to recover their “stolen” mandate from the PDP at the tribunal.

    Umeh said what happened was a charade and should not be allowed to stand.

    Umeh, other party chiefs and governorship candidate Dr Alex Otti said that they asked INEC to cancel the results of three local governments of Obingwa, Osisioma and Isiala Ngwa North, which they refused to do.

    They said there were no elections in those three council areas during the April 11 election, stressing that there were irregularities which include failure of card readers and ballot box snatching.

    The APGA chief said  Prof Ozumba, had earlier cancelled the results from those areas only for him to reverse himself when PDP chieftains stormed the collation centre.

    Umeh said that the party is rejecting the result of the election not because it could not afford to lose an election but because the election was not credible as it was full of fraud ranging from ballot box snatching to card reader failure.

    Otti said that the people voted for him freely with one voice, “as they want the wind of change that is sweeping across the country to touch them too”.

    Otti called on the people to remain calm, saying: “The election may have come but not gone as it is not over yet. We are going to recover our stolen mandate from those who stole them at the tribunal.”

  • Taraba: INEC declares PDP’s Ishaku winner

    Taraba: INEC declares PDP’s Ishaku winner

    The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Darius Dickson Ishaku has won the governorship election in Taraba state.

    Ishaku won 10 local government areas with accumulated votes of 369,318 at the end of the supplementary election on Saturday.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Returning Officer for Taraba State Prof. Ahmed Kyari declared him as governor-elect at the commission’s office in Jalingo on Sunday.

    Aisha Jummai Alhassan of the All Progressives Congress (APC) got 275,984 votes.

    Ishaku won with a difference of 93,334 votes.

    Candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) came a distant third with 29,985 votes.

  • DIG, four AIGs, seven CPs for polls in Abia, Imo, Taraba

    DIG, four AIGs, seven CPs for polls in Abia, Imo, Taraba

    The Nigeria Police have deployed Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), four Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs), and seven Commissioners of Police for Saturday’s election in Abia, Imo and Taraba States.

    A statement Friday by the Force spokesman, Emmanuel Ojukwu said a DIG, an AIG and two Commissioners of Police had been deployed in Abia State.

    Similarly, an Assistant Inspector-General of Police and three Commissioners of Police are to oversee the election in Imo State.

    Two Assistant Inspectors-General of Police and two Deputy Commissioners of Police had been deployed in Taraba State for the same purpose.

    The police authorities however, did not disclose the identities of the officers so deployed.

    The police enjoined citizens in the affected states to remain vigilant and report all suspicious movements or dealings to appropriate the police authorities.

    The statement added: “As part of efforts to ensure adequate security, the Inspector-General of Police, Ag. IGP Solomon E. Arase, has ordered restriction on vehicular movements in local government areas in Abia, Delta, Imo, Kogi and Taraba States where rerun of the ongoing general elections are scheduled to take place on Saturday, 25th of April, 2015 between the hours of 08.00am to 5.00pm.

    “This restriction of vehicular movements order affects movements in and out of the areas where the rerun elections are to take place, except for Ambulances, Fire Service Trucks and others on essential duties.

    “Consequently, travelers and citizens who intend to ply roads within those hours are advised to plan alternative routes.

    “The IGP also warns government officials and political office holders not to go to polling units with uniformed orderlies or aides, while persons who have no business with voting must not be found within 300 metres of a polling unit.

    “The police high command has also put adequate security measures in place by the deployments of additional senior officers to supervise security of elections in the states.”

  • APC demands fresh governorship poll in Taraba

    APC demands fresh governorship poll in Taraba

    THE National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, yesterday expressed worry over alleged plot to annul the mandate of the party’s governorship candidate in Taraba State, Senator Aisha Alhassan.

    He said the powers-that-be in the state were influencing the election process to deny the party the opportunity of producing the nation’s first female governor.

    He said APC would prefer a fresh governorship poll in the state.

    Also yesterday, Senator Alhassan, who stormed Abuja yesterday with her supporters, asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel the governorship election and order a fresh one rather than the supplementary poll being proposed.

    Odigie-Oyegun, who spoke at a briefing in Abuja on the inconclusive governorship poll, said the results of the election were re-engineered when it was glaring that Hajia Alhassan was getting closer to be governor-elect.

    He said: “As at the date of the election, as results came in, it became very clear indeed that she was destined to be the next governor of Taraba State. Unfortunately, the powers-that-be influenced a process of re-engineering the result, which today has placed her at a relative disadvantage and everything is being done in collusion between the authority and powerful influences in that state to prevent and frustrate the will of the people that the distinguished senator be their next governor.

     “I will not say more than this, except to say that appeal has been made to INEC that the kinds of cancellation that are being undertaken are token and superficial, whereas the transgressions during the electoral process are of such magnitude that there are only two possibilities.

     “Either the election in Wukari and Sardauna local governments be totally discountenanced and fresh election held or the totality of the election in that state should be redone.

    “Our candidate is so confident that should this happen, she can give undertaking to accept the outcome of the result. But what will not be acceptable is the gradual engineering of the results in a way that places her at an unacceptable disadvantage.

    “I do not intend to speak at this occasion because I want Nigerians to see the quality and calibre of the person. I have not said anything about the gender, but the quality and calibre of the person that they are trying to rig out of the governorship of Taraba State; rig out of making history as the first female to be, in a democratic process, elected governor in this nation”.

    On her part, the APC governorship candidate asked INEC to cancel the election and order a fresh one rather than the supplementary election being proposed.

    The senator asked for a complete overhaul of the commission in the state as a pre-requisite for any fresh election.

    She accused officials of the commission of colluding with others to manipulate the April 11 election.

    She said rather than declare the election inconclusive, “results of all the areas affected by irregularities in the 11 local governments should be cancelled, after which a fresh collation should be done and a winner declared”.

    Alternatively, she said: “The result of the entire state should be cancelled and a fresh election conducted. This is in view of the widespread irregularities in most of the state’s local government areas.

    “In the event that the overall result is cancelled and a fresh election ordered, such should not be conducted under the supervision of the current INEC officials in Taraba State, as they have shown sufficient evidence of bias and complicity in the April 11 election. A total overhaul of the INEC in Taraba should be a pre-requisite for any fresh election.

    “The National headquarters of INEC should immediately launch a probe into the conduct of the April 11 governorship election in Taraba, to ensure that the rights of the people to choose their leaders are not abridged by conniving INEC officials, security and desperate PDP members.”

    She added:  “Considering the partisan posture of the security in the state during the April 11 general election, there should be massive redeployment in the interest of fairness and justice.”

    Asked whether she would participate in the supplementary election, she said: “My position is before the party’s national body and they are to write INEC stating our position and the prayers they are going to forward to INEC are in line with what I have called for now. We will now wait for INEC to respond.

    “When INEC responds to the letter from the national body of our party, then, the party will now decide on the way forward whether to take part in the supplementary election or boycott. That is entirely the decision of the party and not me. The party will decide when it is the right time to decide.”

    The senator gave details of how the governorship election became inconclusive in the state.

    She explained: “As you are very much aware, INEC has declared the governorship election in Taraba State inconclusive, because – according to the electoral commission – the number of cancelled votes was more than the difference between the votes gathered by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress(APC) candidate, that is my humble self, and Darius Ishaku of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “However, that conclusion by INEC does not reflect what really transpired in the said elections. Hence the need to bring to the attention of Nigerians, and indeed the global community, the true situation.

    “I have briefed my party, both at the state and national levels, about the elections, and will summarise here the details of those briefings concerning the Taraba elections. In many Wards cutting across many local governments, the elections did not hold in accordance with INEC guidelines.

    “Despite several reports, complaints and protests to INEC (SPOs, EOs, REC and ROs) by our party field officers, myself and the state party chairman on the irregularities while going on and after, at collation levels, the INEC failed to react and went ahead to accept most of the flawed results.

    “The affected local governments are: Wukari, Kurmi, Yorro, Karim Lamido, Ardo Kola, Sardauna, Zing, Bali, Lau, Donga and Takum – that’s 11 out of the 16 local governments in which various irregularities were recorded in the state.

    “After much pressure and complaints at the state collation centre, the INEC cancelled only the results of Donga Local Government and some few units in the remaining local governments complained of, leaving a chunk of results of other areas complained of.”

    She listed the problems associated with the election in the affected local governments as follows: widespread non-use of Card Readers or destruction of the machines; non accreditation of voters; subversion of the rights of the people to exercise their franchise and the use of security agencies in aid of the PDP.

    Other complaints include kidnap of electoral officials by the PDP with the help of security agencies; ballot stuffing; collation of results in non-INEC designated areas; non delivery of electoral materials in many parts of the local governments; apparent complicity of INEC officials; the resort to vote allocations on results sheets, violence leading to injuries and loss of lives.

  • ‘We’ll score a basket of goals against Taraba’

    ‘We’ll score a basket of goals against Taraba’

    Bayelsa United are set to put an end to FC Taraba’s unbeaten run when they clash in a Week 4 game of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) in Sunday in Oghara.

    Bayelsa United’s media officer, Eddy Ohis, told AfricanFootball.com his team are battle-ready for the game and they are going to beat Taraba very well.

    “We are very ready to host Taraba on Sunday. We are fully ready and we are going to end their unbeaten run,” he said.

    “In fact, it is going to be a basketfull of goals against them especially now that we are back in our traditional home ground of Oghara.”

    Taraba lead the Nigeria Premier League table with seven points from three games, while Bayelsa United are 19th on the table with a point from three games and are yet to win a game this season.

  • Taraba: Atiku wants security officials replaced

    Taraba: Atiku wants security officials replaced

    Former Vice President of Nigeria and one of the national leaders of the APC, Atiku Abubakar wants all INEC and security officials who compromised last Saturday governorship election in Taraba state replaced in the rerun election in the state.

    The former Vice President who lauded the decision by INEC to declare the governorship election in the state inconclusive said elections in the country should not be militarized as the nation was not in a dictatorship, but democracy.

    Atiku said that all those implicated in the scam in the state be removed and replaced with new personnel for peaceful conduct of the rerun election.

    While expressing disappointment with the widespread reports of irregularities in some local governments of the state, he said “these irregularities included using armed personnel to intimidate voters.”

    He alleged that armed soldiers were attached to Senator Emmanuel Bwacha; Joel Ikenya, a current minister; as well as Senator Anthony Manzo, chief of staff to senator David Mark, adding that these soldiers engaged in brazen acts that violated the electoral act including ballot-box snatching.

    “Elections should not be militarized Nigeria is a democracy, not a dictatorship. Citizens should be able to go out and vote without fear of being threatened with nuzzle of a gun,” the former Vice President said.

    According to him, these election violations were noticeably perpetrated in Southern Taraba, specifically in Wukari, Takum, Kurmi and Donga local councils and also in the North, particularly in Lau and Yoro where Manzo hails from.

    Atiku noted that thousands of troops were deployed to these areas and electoral officers were heavily compromised.

    He said further “These people should not be allowed to go back during the rerun election. No troops should be allowed nearby”.

    Atiku also called on the Inspector General of Police to replace security personnel in Taraba with new teams from neighbouring Gombe, Bauchi and Adamawa, during the period of the rerun elections.

  • INEC declares Taraba guber poll inconclusive

    INEC declares Taraba guber poll inconclusive

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Monday declared as “inconclusive” the governorship election in Taraba state. 

    The commission ordered a rerun in some polling units in 30 days.

    The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Darius Dickson Ishaku won the poll in nine local governments areas with 317,198 votes, while Aisha Alhassan of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won six local government areas 262,386 votes to come second .
    But the Returning Officer for Taraba Prof. Mohammed Kyari said since the number of cancelled votes was more than the number of the difference in votes (margin) between PDP and the APC, there was need to re-conduct the election in the affected areas.
    Kyari said: “Since the number of the cancelled votes is more than the difference between the two leading parties, the election in Taraba state is therefore inconclusive.”
    INEC said it cancelled the polls in those areas because of irregularities and pockets of violence.

    PDP won with a difference of 54,812 votes, while the number of the cancelled votes in all the affected polling units amounted to 127,125 votes.

    INEC said there would be rerun in Donga local government area and some polling units in Chanchanji Ward in Takum “where votes were rejected.”

    The rerun in Donga would be across its entire 165 polling units which the PDP earlier claimed to have won.

  • Taraba election: INEC office attacked , burn Taraba SSG’s house

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Gembu -the headquarters of Sardauna local government area on Tuesday  came under attack by election rioters.
    The house of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) of Taraba State, Gebon Kataps, was also burnt.

    The SSG however escaped unhurt.

    “They have succeeded in burning my house now. As I speak with you, they have set it ablaze,” he told The Nation on telephone.

    The thugs  reportedly attacked and set many homes including the SSG’s house ablaze.

    Kataps, a PDP chieftain, alleged that trouble started after the collation of all the votes in the area which gave the APC a little lead over the PDP, but not good enough to upset the already released results by INEC which PDP was placed ahead.

    Police Spokesman Joseph Kwaji, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) confirmed the incident to The Nation. He said the police were investigating the number of homes razed and whether there were records casualties.

    “Some youths in the area (Gembu) organised themselves and attacked the INEC office in the area, after which they set ablaze some houses,” he said.

    Kwaji told The Nation that policemen were on top of the situation to maintain law and order, while he was still anticipating details of the crisis from the Divisional Police Officer (DPO).

  • Taraba: One LG result expected, PDP’s Ishaku ahead

    Taraba: One LG result expected, PDP’s Ishaku ahead

    The Taraba State Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) candidate Darius Dickson Ishaku is ahead in the governorship election in Taraba state with result from one Local Government outstanding.

    The result so far released by INEC, puts Ishaku in the lead with a difference of over 63,430 votes in nine of the 14 local government areas of the state’s 16 local government councils.

    Ishaku has so far polled 297,552 votes, winning Zing, Yorro, Lau, Ardokola, Kurmi, Wukari, Takum, Karimlamido and Ussa.

    The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Aisha Alhassan has won 234, 122 votes in five local government areas: Gassol, Jalingo, Ibi, Gashaka and Bali.

    Breakdown of the results include: Jalingo (APC-37714; PDP-19047; SDP-1282); Ardo Kola (APC-13,042; PDP-14,041; SDP-662); Lau (APC-13,096; PDP-20,598; SDP-613); Gassol (APC-42888; PDP-12527; SDP-827) and Zing (APC-5,224; PDP-28,005; SDP-675).

    Takum (APC-13,306, PDP-26,979, SDP-2,133); Yorro (PDP 18, 696, SDP-297, APC-6,936); Gashaka (PDP-7,120, APC-9882, SDP-60); Wukari (APC-16,268 PDP-64,608, SDP-19,312);

    Ussa (APC-12,772, PDP-13,229, SDP-779), Kurmi (APC-3,759, PDP 17,369, SDP-370), Ibi (APC 14,859, PDP-5,564, SDP-911), Bali (APC-23,263, PDP-13,314, SDP-109), Karimlamido (APC-21,023, PDP-36,455, SDP-1,676).

    The result from Donga local government area, although PDP won overwhelmingly, was cancelled by Taraba INEC returning officer Prof. Kyari Muhammed.

    Result for the remaining Sardauna local government area is being awaited at the INEC collation centre, Jalingo.

  • APC’s Alhassan leads in five local councils of Taraba

    APC’s Alhassan leads in five local councils of Taraba

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Taraba state Aisha Jumai Alhassan is leading in the governorship results of five local government councils so far released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    According to the results, the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Aisha Jummai Alhassan polled aggregate votes of 111,964, PDP’s Darius Ishaku polled 94,218 votes while SDP candidate, David Sabo Kente polled 4,059 votes so far.

    Breakdown of the results include Jalingo (APC-37714; PDP-19047; SDP-1282); Ardo Kola (APC-13,042; PDP-14,041; SDP-662); Lau (APC-13,096; PDP-20,598; SDP-613); Gassol (APC-42888; PDP-12527; SDP-827) and Zing (APC-5,224; PDP-28,005; SDP-675).

    Results for the remaining 11 local government areas are still being awaited at the INEC collation centre, Jalingo.