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Tag: 2019 Elections

  • Court strikes out suit seeking removal of Buhari as president

    Court strikes out suit seeking removal of Buhari as president

    A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday dismissed a suit filed by a former presidential candidate of Hope Democratic Party (HDP), Mr Ambrose Owuru against the election of President Muhammadu Buhari, in the 2019 presidential election.

    Delivering judgment in the suit, Justice Inyang Ekwo, dismissed the suit on three major grounds.

    Justice Ekwo held that the suit was an abuse of court process, was statute barred and was an affront on the supremacy of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

    The judge also held that the suit was baseless, frivolous, irritating and vexatious in it’s entirety.

    Owuru, a presidential candidate in the 2019 election on the platform of HDP instituted the legal action against Buhari and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In the suit, Owuru had prayed the court to declare the presidential seat vacant and swear him in as the authentic winner of the 2019 presidential election.

    He also asked  the court to determine the legality or otherwise of the INEC’S decision in 2019 during which it shifted the election from Feb. 16 to Feb. 23, 2019.

    He claimed that INEC acted against the constitution in the illegal and unlawful way and manner the presidential poll was shifted and that declaration of Buhari as winner of the unlawful act should be declared null and void and of no effect.

    Owuru,  asked the court to declare him as winner of the poll.

    The ground of his claim was predicated on the fact that the petition he lodged against Buhari had not been adjudicated upon by the Supreme Court as required by law.

    The politician claimed that his petition at the Supreme Court was unjustly dismissed following his absence in the apex court due to discrepancies in the hearing dates conveyed to him.

    He therefore prayed the court to remove Buhari and declare him (Owuru) the authentic President and that Buhari should be compelled to refund all monies he collected as salaries, emoluments and security votes.

    The HDP presidential candidate also asked the court to order his inauguration for a four-year tenure of office upon removal of Buhari from office and stop INEC from conducting the 2023 election.

    This, he said, was on the grounds  that his tenure was being usurped.

  • Moment of truth: Gov. Umahi admits supporting Buhari in 2019 poll

    Moment of truth: Gov. Umahi admits supporting Buhari in 2019 poll

    Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi has admitted supporting President Muhammdau Buhari during the 2019 general election, even as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Umahi said this at the foundation laying ceremony of a housing project in his home town, Uburu on Monday.

    The Governor said that his former party should not waste time in accusing him of giving the president 25 per cent votes during the election.

    “I preached it in the entire south east zone of the country, that the person who supports us is whom we will support.

    “I joined the APC for the president’s love for Ebonyi even if for no other reason.

    “My eyes are on the ball–on what will get to my people,” he said.

    Umahi said that he plans to submit a proposal for a channelisation work which will cut across the housing project, expressing confidence that the president will approve it.

    “You know I am his son, so you can be sure that I will get the approval.

    “You can say anything you want to say but the president loves me and I love him also.

    “I do not know how this love happened, but you should realise that grace is always upon the house of David,” he said.

    Umahi said that he has barred all his appointees and supporters from reacting to verbal attacks from the PDP over his decision to join the APC.

    “I am the father of the state and should be ashamed that Ebonyi is heading into bitterness and disunity.

    “I have decided to forgive all those who wronged me and seek same from those who may have been hurt in this process which I take responsibilities for.

    “We should practice the Christianity we profess and this forgiveness has ensured that my blood pressure has dropped to 110/ 20 from 120/ 20,” he said.

    The governor, however, said that such gesture should not be mistaken for weakness.

    “The people should know that David is a man of war.

    “God has directed that we stop this fight and we have no regrets being pencils in his hands.

    “I thank all those who intervened in this matter such as the Catholic Bishop of Abakalki diocese, the Christian Association of Nigeria, the state Founding Fathers Forum , Ohanaze Ndigbo socio-cultural organisation among others,” he said.

  • INEC presents final report on 2019 general election

    INEC presents final report on 2019 general election

    A total of 24,353 candidates nominated by 91 political parties contested the 2019 general elections, according to a report on the review of the election presented on Friday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The elections took place in 1,558 constituencies spread across 119,973 polling units and 57,023 voting points across the country.

    Besides, 821,686 ad hoc staff were engaged for the elections while the Commission accredited 71,256 domestic and international observers as well as 11,250 domestic and international journalists for the polls.

    The report which covers the outcome of internal debriefing meetings and external engagements with electoral stakeholders held from 28th May to 12th July, 2019, was presented to Electoral Stakeholders by the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

    He said the aim of the report was “to evaluate the Commission’s actions, processes and procedures before, during and after the election.”

    Following the conclusion of the elections, INEC constituted two committees each headed by a National Commissioner.

    The first Committee led by Barrister Festus Okoye, the Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), was saddled with the responsibility of producing the official account of the conduct of the 2019 general election while the second chaired by Dr. Muhammed Lecky, Chairman of the Planning, Monitoring and Strategy Committee (PMSC), was charged with the responsibility of producing a report on the review of the election based on the outcome of the Commission’s Retreats and Stakeholder.

    The INEC chairman said the second report, which was presented yesterday, examines in detail the key activities, preparations and challenges associated with the conduct of the 2019 General Election ranging from registration of new political parties, conduct of continuous voter registration, monitoring of party primaries, candidate nomination process and party campaigns, the recruitment and training of ad-hoc staff and the accreditation of election observers and party agents.

    It also “focuses on the preparation and delivery of the election in the 36 states of the federation and the FCT” as well as challenges associated with the preparation and conduct of the election, lessons learnt and specific recommendations for addressing them.

  • ‘I have not been certified’, Atiku’s data analyst tells tribunal

    Petitioners’ Witness 60, Joseph Gbenga, called by Peoples Democratic Party and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, as an expert witness admitted before the Presidential Election Petitioner Tribunal, on Friday, that he had not been certified.
    Gbenga, an Industrial Chemistry graduate from the University of Ilorin, described himself as a Database Analyst and Designer engaged by the petitioners to analyse the results of the presidential poll in 11 out of the 36 states of the federation.
    Both Atiku and his party are by their petition challenging President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory at the poll.
    Asked under cross-examination by the Independent National Electoral Commission’s lawyer, Yunus Usman (SAN), if he had been certified to carry out the type of job he did for the petitioners, the witness said, “I have undergone training but I have not been certified”.
    Fielding more cross-examination questions from the respondents’ lawyers, he said he carried out his analysis through the inspection of result sheets from 11 states.
    He said could not get the certified true copies for Zamfara State, and had to rely on the pink duplicate copies.
    He did not give the full list of the 11 states whose results he analysed.
    Asked, he said he was not mindful of whether or not the petitioners won or lost in the 11 states.
    He also said, “I am not aware that the petitioners conceded defeat in eight of the 11 states.
    “If I applied my mind to whether or not the petitioners won or lost, I would not be able to come up with a professional and an unbiased report.”

  • PEFS organises ‘Conference on 2019 elections in Nigeria’

    PEFS organises ‘Conference on 2019 elections in Nigeria’

    The Programme on Ethnic and Federal Studies (PEFS), University of Ibadan, will the support of Ford Foundation is organising a two-day programme aimed at examining the recently concluded 2019 elections in Nigeria.

    Themed ‘Conference on the 2019 elections in Nigeria’, the programme which will be hosted by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Idowu Olayinka will hold at the Conference Hall of UI Hotels from Tuesday, June 25 – Wednesday, 26 by 8.00 am daily.

    See more details below:

     

     

  • Why we got into trouble in 2019 elections – Army

    Why we got into trouble in 2019 elections – Army

    The Nigerian Army has said that it incurred the anger of politicians because it refused to compromise the integrity of the 2019 General Elections due to its belief in the nation’s democracy.

    The army said it also acted in the best interest of the country by assisting the police in the elections.

    Maj.-Gen. Jamil Sarham, General Officer Commanding (GOC), 6 Division, Port Harcourt, disclosed this while receiving two individual Awards of Excellence at the divisional headquarters on Sunday in Port Harcourt.

    Two youth groups: the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Youth Council, and the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria, presented the awards.

    According to Sarham, the elections in Rivers offered a unique experience to which the army satisfactorily carried out its responsibilities.

    “The 2019 general elections which the division acted in aid of Nigerian police and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offered the army a unique experience.

    “This is because some subversive elements tried, but failed to cause the division to compromise the integrity of the polls.

    “Their failure was due to the resilience and doggedness of our personnel, whom some of them, unfortunately paid the supreme price in defence of our democracy,” he said.

    Sarham said the awards were recognition that some groups and individuals had closely monitored the elections as well as independently verified activities of the army.

    “Among the groups are the ECOWAS Youth Council and the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria which are presenting these awards.

    “I have been made to understand that there are many more similar organisations that are also processing their request (award) through the Army Headquarters,” he said.

    The GOC said the recognition wouldn’t have been possible without the support and guidance of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai,and troops of the division.

    He dedicated the awards to soldiers who lost their lives while assisting the police in the elections.

    Earlier, the Director of Cabinet, ECOWAS Youth Council, who presented the ECOWAS award, commended the GOC for his professionalism to the nation’s security architecture.

    “We also thank you (Sarham) for promoting peace and nation building. We believe that if Nigeria gets it right, Africa will also get it right,” he said.

    On his part, Dr Isa Abubakar, President of the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria, said that Sarham provided effective leadership and contributed positively to the concluded elections in Rivers.

  • INEC announces date for conduct of Bayelsa, Kogi governorship polls

    …To review, debrief on 2019 general elections

    The Independent National Electoral Commission has fixed November 2 for the conduct of governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States.

    This was made known in a statement issued by the INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, on Tuesday.

    According to him, the Commission at its meeting held on Tuesday approved the timetable and schedule of activities for the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States.

    He said the official notice for both elections will be issued August 1, while political parties intending to field candidates are to hold their primaries from August 2 to 29.

    The parties fielding candidates are required to submit the list of their agents not later than October 2.

    Campaigns by political parties shall commence August 2 and end on October 31.

    The commission also said it will commence post elections review in May.

    This INEC said is to evaluate the Commission’s performance during the general elections, with a view to addressing identified challenges and strengthening operational and institutional capacities to conduct free, fair, credible and peaceful elections.

    The review will focus on the planning, organisation, conduct and coordination of the general elections.

    “Two sets of activities are envisaged in the reviews as follows: lnternal reviews involving National Commissioners, Resident Electoral Commissioners, Electoral Officers, Collation and Returning Officers, as well as other key staff of the Commission; Review meetings with key stakeholders such as political parties, civil society organizations, security agencies, the media and development partners.

    “These reviews and debriefing will take place between May and June 2019,” he said.

    The Commission also said it has commenced work on a comprehensive report of the 2019 general elections and has mandated its Electoral Institute to undertake detailed researches into various aspects of the elections.

    “It is the Commission’s hope that the outcomes of these reviews and studies will feed into further electoral reforms and its preparations for impending and future elections,” Mr Okoye said.

  • Its obvious INEC worked against APC in 2019 elections – Oshiomhole

    The national chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of working against his party in the just-concluded general election.

    Oshiomhole disclosed this during an interview tagged: “Hard Copy” on Channels Television on Friday evening.

    “I have huge reservations about the way INEC conducted this election. INEC bias against APC is so clear”, he said. “INEC was biased even in the way it dealt with our primaries, INEC was biased in the way in which it selectively used the card readers or the non-use of card readers in some states where it suits them.”

    The former labour leader alleged that the non-use of card readers caused the APC to lose elections in some states.

    Recall that the APC lost governorship elections in four states it currently governs (Imo, Oyo, Adamawa and Bauchi) but won in two states currently governed by the opposition (Kwara and Gombe).

    Oshiomhole said he would never defend INEC’s “gross misconduct regarding (the) last election.”

    Responding to a question on the election of the leadership of the 9th National Assembly, Mr Oshiomole said he has no power to appoint anyone as Senate President.

    “Do I look like someone who can appoint and impose somebody on the Senate, even if I wished to? All I have is to persuade. The power to negotiate and the power to point out what might go wrong if the party does not organise itself as to obtain a process for electing leadership,” he said.

    He, however, said all six geopolitical zones will have a principal officer in the Senate and in the House of Representatives.

    Oshiomhole and the APC leadership had endorsed Ahmed Lawan as the next Senate president and Femi Gbajabiamila as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

    The move has, however, been opposed by other APC elected lawmakers, including Ali Ndume, a Borno senator who seeks to be Senate President.

  • EU donates laptops, smartphones to corpers

    EU donates laptops, smartphones to corpers

    The European Union (EU) has announced plan to donate laptops and smartphones to members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports only NYSC members who worked during the 2019 general elections in Nigeria will benefit from the EU donation.

    The laptops and smartphones are equipments the EU used for monitoring the 2019 elections in the country.

    The equipments also include printers that the EU would be donating to appreciate corps members who worked as ad-hoc staff or who did voter education work.

    “The EU Delegation to Nigeria wants to donate the items used by the EU Election Observation Mission during its assignment in the country to deserving National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, in recognition of their contribution and sacrifice in the just-concluded elections,” the EU said.

    According to the Union, corps members who participated in voter education activities or served as ad hoc staff, and wish to receive any of the items, should send a message on Twitter or tag the EU on Instagram @euinnigeria, using the hashtag #EU4DemocracyNG.

    The corps members are expected to attach photos of themselves in the field as ad-hoc staff or voter education volunteer.

    “Also add a video of no more than 30 seconds, saying why you chose to volunteer in this process,” said the EU.

    Deadline for entries is Wednesday, April 3, 2019.

  • INEC fixes March 23 for Bayelsa Assembly supplementary poll

    INEC fixes March 23 for Bayelsa Assembly supplementary poll

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says it would hold House of Assembly supplementary election on March 23 in Bayelsa, in areas where election was declared inconclusive in Feb. 23, poll.

    Mr Wilfred Ifogah, Head of INEC Voter Education and Publicity in the state, disclosed this in a statement issued on behalf of the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Monday on Thursday in Yenagoa.

    “The election will hold in five wards in Ogbia Local Government Area(LGA).

    “It will also take place in two wards in Southern Ijaw LGA and one ward in Brass LGA,” he said.

    According to him, the places where election will hold are: Otuokpoti, Ologi, Ayama and Okodi polling units in Ogbia constituency II, Ukube and Koluama units in Southern Ijaw constituency IV and some units in Cape Farmoso in Brass constituency I.

    “INEC wishes to inform the people of the state, especially the critical stakeholders of the date for the conduct of supplementary election in the constituencies were election was declared inconclusive,” he stated.