Politicians, others upbeat over pending polls results

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has suspended its planned resumption of the collation of the March 9 governorship election results in Bauchi State.

Bauchi Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Ibrahim Abdullahi announced the development at a news conference yesterday.

The REC said it was in line with a court order restraining INEC from resuming the collation of the results which it suspended on March 13.

Abdullahi said the order did not affect the House of Assembly election, disclosing that the commission would go ahead with the collation of Tafawa Balewa constituency and subsequently announce the winner.

The REC said: “As you are aware, we have been indulged by members of the press as to the news that in respect of the news making the rounds in respect of Tafawa Balewa.

“So, I am to inform you formally that the INEC is in receipt of a court order restraining it from proceeding with the collation and announcement of results in respect of Tafawa Balewa only.

“I’m also to add that the order which was sort and granted does not include the Tafawa Balewa constituency, hence we will make arrangements to continue with the state constituency collation and subsequently announce the results.”

Observers seek synergy

between Ganduje,

Police Commissioner

A domestic observer group, Centre for Intervention (CFI), has called for synergy between the police and Kano State government to ensure peaceful and violence-free make-up poll.

In a statement by its coordinator, Dr. Ibrahim Baba, the group lamented the perceived bickering between the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mohammed Wakili, and Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, describing it as unhealthy and uncalled for.

The statement reads: “We urge the Commissioner of Police to develop much mutual/cordial relationship with the Kano State governor. The state police commissioner should cultivate the right attitude to work with the Kano State governor in order to make sure that the rerun election is free, fair, credible and transparent.”

The group urged the supporters of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to play by the rules to avoid plunging the state into unnecessary violence.

The group called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to rectify all the anomalies witnessed in the March 11 elections.

“Late arrival of materials and officials to polling unit should be addressed in this rerun more importantly. INEC should ensure that the smart card readers (SCR) are functional because it remains one of the vital aspects of the elections in Nigeria.”

The group hailed the Chairman of Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC),  Muhuyi Magaji Rimin Gado, for his tireless efforts in fighting the menace of vote-buying. It called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to ensure that culprits of vote-buying are prosecuted according to the law.

ADP Rivers calls for

cancellation of polls

The governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), in Rivers State, Victor Fingesi, has criticised the violence that characterised the March 9, 2019 governorship and state legislative elections in the state.

Fingesi, in a statement in Port Harcourt, the state capital yesterday, blamed the bloody exercise on the activities of security operatives, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples’ Democratic Party(PDP) and called for their exclusion from a fresh exercise.

The statement reads: “Action Democratic Party in Rivers State is calling for the outright cancellation of the March 9, gubernatorial and state House of Assembly elections in the state for being marred by violence, vote buying, ballot box snatching/ hijacking, intimidation by military gangs and thugs.

“Our party and others were prevented from all the collation centres from the ward, LGA and state levels. In so many polling units, only agents of PDP, AAC and APC proxy were allowed to observe the calling of the results. Also our polling agents were not signatories to any documents at the polling unit and collation centres.

“Both PDP and APC via their proxy AAC were responsible for the disruption of the enabling environment INEC had put in place. ADP as a law abiding party whose manifesto and constitution believes in peaceful, free and fair elections, participated in the election according to the electoral procedure.

“We fielded many credible House of Assembly candidates and me, the gubernatorial candidate for our party. The statement by 6 Division of the Nigerian Army, Bori camp, indicting the police and INEC has resulted in a war of words between the military, Police and INEC.

“It is sad that Rivers state is now the battle ground for all these acrimonies. INEC having admitted collation centres were invades, being the proximate reason for the suspension means that materials have passes through the wrong hands and so cannot be used to conclude the election.”

“Again we are asking INEC to not only prosecute the political parties found culpable to the electoral offences after investigation, but  also ban them from participating in any exercise INEC will recommend for the resolution of the  electoral process in the state; as this cannot be waved away and would act as a deterrent for future elections nationwide.”

INEC unfair to Rivers

APC, says Cole

Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate Tonye Cole yesterday said that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has demonstrated bias in the handling of the electoral crisis in the Southsouth state.

He alleged that the electoral agency has failed to resist undue influence by Governor Nyesom Wike, adding that its integrity has been compromised.

Cole called for the cancellation of the election results and the transfer of the Resident Electoral Commissioner as the critical steps for the resolution of the electoral logjam.

A statement by his media aide, Tonye Princewill, said the commission made nonsense of the anti-corruption trend enacted by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Noting that Rivers APC has been vindicated by its earlier complaints against the umpire, Cole said “the recent terse statement made by the Nigerian Army exposed a wide gap in the relationship between the “independent” umpire and the security agencies, which provided the conducive environment for INEC to operate.”

He added: “What is striking in the statement released by the Army is not that they simply dented INEC’s credibility, but that they called them out in a key aspect of their qualification that leaves them in tatters; their expected independence. How INEC recovers from this remains to be seen. But, suffice to say that they can no longer speak with the freedom of the benefit of doubt they have been enjoying, from not only Nigerians, but from the international community.”

Cole lamented that Wike has “tried to show us that he can buy anyone, recruit everyone and not be held accountable to anyone in his pursuit of his ambition to lord it over Rivers State”.

He hailed the Army and the Inspector-General of Police.

Cole added: “We in Rivers State know that there was no widespread violence that called for a total suspension of a whole state. If there was, how did INEC get results in 17 out of 23 LGAs? We know that widespread violence leaves a trail of death and destruction.

“If that was the case, how come INEC was able to declare results for the presidential election when death and destruction were validated, but not for the governorship election when death and destruction were unconfirmed?”

The chieftain said apart from obeying court orders, INEC should apologise to Rivers people and security agencies, especially the army, to rebuild the sense of joint duty needed to move forward.

He also said the electoral agency should issue a statement condemning the violence triggered by the invasion of the collation centre by the governor.

Cole added: “INEC should cancel the entire process and start again or pending the resolution of all legal matters, announce the results as a collation of results announced per LGA, up to the point of “suspension;” and change the REC and principal officers to conduct the election whenever the opportunity so provides, as there is no confidence in their neutrality and/or competence to conduct a free and fair election. Anything short of the above is business as usual and an exercise in futility.”

‘Publish list of collated

results in Rivers’

A coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations in Rivers State has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish the list of local government areas in Rivers State where election results have been collated and the ones left uncollated before the process was disrupted.

The coalition, in a statement by its convener, Somina Wokoma warned the commission against turning the state in a theatre of war.

The coalition accused the Resident Electoral Commissioner Obong Effanga of collaborating with the Governor Nyesom Wike to re-write the results of the election.

The statement reads: “We closely monitored the March 9th governorship and Assembly elections and we are alarmed by the treachery exhibited by the State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner Obong Effanga and his staff, especially the Admin Secretary who openly collaborated with the incumbent Governor Nyesom Wike in trying to manipulate the governorship election in his favour failing which Mr Effanga had the effrontery to wrongly advise INEC headquarters to suspend a smoothly running election.

“We the members of the coalition, true sons and daughters of Rivers State and law abiding citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria wish to state that the suspension of the election process was a well-orchestrated move by Governor Nyesom Wike and his co-conspirators, Obong Effanga and Elder Etim Umoh of Rivers State INEC.

“Since the suspension of the collation of results in the State on March 10, 2019, the outgoing Governor Nyesom Wike and the Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner Obong Effanga have been re-writing and doctoring unit results already collated in Rivers State Government House to favour Wike.

“The suspension of the largely smooth running electoral process in the State is a flagrant violation of section 26 of the electoral Act. 2010 (as amended). INEC’s refusal to publish the names of the acclaimed collated seventeen(17) LGA’s and the outstanding Six(6) LGA’s is a clear act of deceit and treachery & confirmation of our long held suspicion that all is not well with the current Rivers INEC team .

“That the clearly and openly compromised actions of Obong Effanga and Elder Etim Umoh have made us lose confidence in them to complete the process as this will be tantamount to Wike being also the umpire in his own election. We will resist this to our last blood.

“The activities of the Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Obong Effanga, and the Administrative secretary Elder Etim Umoh are a breach of public trust and abuse of public powers.

“We have it on record the Governor Wike through the Rivers State REC Obong Effanga secretly changed the list of the Collation and Returning Officers who conducted the presidential election and replaced them with card-carrying members of the PDP who realising that the elections were not favouring their paymaster, triggered the illegal suspension order by INEC.

“We hereby inform these conspirators against the sovereign will of our people that we know them by name and have all their details. We will not sit idle and watch them destroy the peace of our State and return scot free to their own States. The coalition will act as one united body to ensure that the Rivers State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Obong Effanga and the Administrative Secretary, Elder Etim Umoh and all those who are a party to this nefarious activity are held responsible for any break-down of law & order in the State.

“We warn the national security agencies of an impending breakdown of law and order should unholy alliance/collaboration with Wike to force himself on Rivers people using INEC and the Judiciary is not nipped in the bud right away

“We are sure that by now the intelligence agencies have confirmed that if not for the highly professional conduct of the security agencies especially the Military in protecting the electorate during that elections, Governor Wike and his thugs dressed on military uniforms would have turned Rivers State into an ocean of blood, worse than what they did in the 2015 general elections.”

They however demand the redeployment of the Rivers State Resident Electoral Commissioner Obo Effanga and the administrative secretary Elder Etim Umoh with immediate effect to forestall any foul play that will lead to making our dear Rivers State a theatre of war.

They also want the INEC Chairman Prof. Yakubu Mahmood to replace them with people of integrity and sound reputation that cannot be bought over by tyrant Governor Nyesom Wike and his blood sucking thugs; we also call on EFCC and other agencies to as a matter of urgency investigate and arrest Obo Effanga, Elder Etim Umoh and their partners in crime.

Adamawa SDP

governorship candidate mobilise voters

The governorship candidate of  Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Adamawa, Chief Emmanuel Bello, has urged voters in the affected units of Saturday’s supplementary election in the state  to troop out en-masse to vote.

Adamawa is one of the six states where the March 9 governorship elections were declared inconclusive by Independent National Electoral Commission and supplementary polls scheduled for Saturday.

Bello, in a statement yesterday by the Media Director of his campaign organisation, Malam Umar Mustafa, reiterated his commitment to participating in the supplementary election.

He debunked speculations that he had withdrawn from the race, describing it as an attempt to confuse his supporters.

“I urge all my supporters to come out en-masse and partake in the election.

“It is to be noted that the votes cancelled in the total of 44 polling units spread across the state are mostly in SDP’s stronghold,” Bello said.

He lauded the people of Adamawa for their support and solidarity and urged them not to lose hope.