TheNewsGuru

Tag: 2019 Elections

  • 2019: Atiku says security checks aimed at intimidating him

    2019: Atiku says security checks aimed at intimidating him

    Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2019 elections has said security checks he was made to pass through when he returned from Dubai was made to intimidate him.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Atiku returned to Nigeria in a private jet on Sunday at about 1:30 am after an over two weeks vacation trip to Dubai.

    Arriving at the airport in Abuja, a special security squad comprised of the Army, Police, Custom and Immigration officers carried out a thorough security check on the former Vice President and his aircraft.

    “I arrived to Abuja this morning to a search by agents of the state, aimed at intimidating me and my staff. I am committed to building a Nigeria where no citizen is intimidated by agents of state who are paid to protect them,” he tweeted.

    During the search, video recording gadgets and other devices were used to capture the exercise but nothing implicating was found on the Adamawa-born politician.

    However, supporters of the presidential candidate condemned the security check, describing it as harassment.

    According to Ilemona Onoja, aide to Senate President Bukola Saraki, Atiku was harassed by the special security squad.

    “Apparently, lies propaganda and intimidation are going to be fixtures in this election,” he tweeted.

    Also, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce condemned the security check.

    “Nigeria is not a fascist state. We will not return to a jackboot dictatorship,” he tweeted.

     

  • Anambra PDP stakeholders resolve to work for Atiku-Obi victory in 2019

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra has resolved to work for the victory of Alhaji Atiku Abubarka and Chief Peter Obi, the party’s presidential and vice presidential candidates respectively in the 2019 elections.

    The party said this in a communiqué read after the stakeholders meeting of the party in Awka on Friday.

    In attendance at the meeting were the former governor, Obi, Amb. Oseloka Obaze, former gubernatorial candidate, members of the party in the National and state Assemblies from the state.

    Others were members, State Executive Committee (SEC) of the party in Anambra, led by Chief Ndubuisi Nwobu, and other high-powered stakeholders of PDP in Anambra.

    A member of the communiqué drafting committee, Chief Okey Muo-Aroh, read the communiqué on behalf of the party.

    The PDP congratulated Obi for his nomination and thanked Abubarka for finding one of their own worthy to be his running mate.

    They restated their full loyalty and commitment to the Atiku-Obi ticket and resolved to mobilise and work assiduously for their victory and that of the party’s candidates in all contested positions.

    It announced the constitution of contact and mobilisation committee to help actualise victory of the party in the state.

    The PDP said it was also reaffirming full confidence on the Nwobu-led State Executive Committee.

    The stakeholders urged the party caucus to reach out massively to members and the entire Anambra people to ensure its success.

     

  • 2019 heats up as Gov. el-Rufai lashes Atiku’s running mate

    Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmed el-Rufai on Friday lashed out at Mr. Peter Obi, running mate to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2019 elections.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Governor el-Rufai was reacting to a publication when he lashed out at Mr. Obi, calling the Atiku’s running mate “a tribal bigot” for supposed comments he made when the Kaduna State Governor was detained for 48 hours in 2014.

    He quoted Obi to have said, “El-Rufai has no business being in Anambra State as it is not Katsina State”.

    “Peter Obi is a tribal bigot,” said el-Rufai.

    He further stated that Peter Obi “was widely quoted on national television that the SSS was right to detain me for 48 hours in a hotel in 2014 on the grounds that ‘El-Rufai has no business being in Anambra State as it is not Katsina State’”.

    El-Rufai revealed that he sued the SSS for detaining him and was awarded N4 million damages.

     

  • 2019: 27 candidates from 14 parties jostle for Ebonyi’s 3 senatorial seats

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says 27 candidates from 14 registered political parties fielded candidates for the three senatorial seats in Ebonyi.

    Also, 48 candidates will contest for the six House of Representatives seats on the platform of 16 political parties.

    Prof. Godswill Obioma, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Ebonyi, made the disclosure during a media briefing on Thursday in Abakaliki.

    It will be recalled that both presidential and National Assembly elections were scheduled to hold on Feb. 16.

    Obioma said that the briefing was designed to keep the media abreast of the commission’s preparations for the conduct of smooth and credible 2019 general elections in Ebonyi.

    He solicited support, partnership and cooperation of the media in the conduct of the 2019 elections.

    He noted that the commission commenced preparations for credible, transparent, smooth free and fair elections in Ebonyi well in advance and assured that votes would count in the 2019 elections.

    “In its painstaking plan of activities that will lead to the 2019 elections, INEC headquarters produced and released a comprehensive election project plan.

    “INEC Ebonyi office in compliance with the directive from the national office domesticated the Election Project Plan (EPP).

    “This domestication implied setting up task teams for the various aspects of tasks specified in the EPP,” Obioma said.

    He said that INEC in Ebonyi commenced display of the voters’ register throughout the state on Nov. 6 in compliance with the electoral law.

    “The display of register of voters will enable registered voters confirm their names, particulars and other details as well as raise objections and claims with reference to their captured details.

    ‘‘The exercise which commenced simultaneously throughout the country will last for one week and our staff and NYSC members have been trained and prepared for the exercise.”

    He said that the commission has upgraded the quality and capacity of its Smart Card Readers (SCRs) for use in the 2019 elections.

    “We have upgraded the quality and capacity of the SCRs to be deployed in 2019.

    “Battery voltage of the new card readers is 3000 mili-amps and designed to last for three days as against the old machine that has only 500 mili-amps and lasts six hours only.

    “We shall train 171 registration area technicians to offer rapid response technical repair and assistance in the event of machine breakdown.

    “A total of 2805 functional SCRs will be deployed to 1785 polling units and 508 voting points in the state.”

    The resident electoral commissioner, who restated commitment of the commission in ensuring violence free polls in the state, cautioned political parties to conduct their electioneering campaigns and activities within the ambit of the law.

    He further warned electorate and politicians against indulging in vote- selling and vote-buying.

     

  • 2019: Strategies in place for free, fair election in Delta – INEC

    2019: Strategies in place for free, fair election in Delta – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission in Delta says it has put strategies in place to conduct free and fair election come 2019.

    The state Administrative Secretary, Mrs RoseOriaran-Anthony, made the assertion in Agbor, Delta on Wednesday while monitoring the displayed voters register.

    Oriaran-Anthony said that monitoring of the voters register was one of the strategies that had been put in place to ensure a free and fair election.

    She said that at the end of the display by Nov. 12, the commission expected to have a clean register.

    The secretary said that the purpose of monitoring the display of the voters register was to ensure that people were actually coming out to check for data capturing error and for claims and objections.

    She said that the turnout was impressive but the commission expected a more robust turnout as time goes on.

    Oriaran-Anthony advised the electorate to check for any name that was not on the register as well as dead persons, underage persons and non-Nigerians.

    She said the electorates should come forward with claims and objections on these categories of persons and for their names to be expunged from the register.

     

  • Senate slashes budgets of 30 agencies, redistributes funds to 2019 elections

    The Senate on Wednesday approved that half of the N242 billion budgeted for the 2019 election be removed from the 2018 budget of 30 federal agencies.

    Presenting a motion on Wednesday, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Danjuma Goje, said the election could not be funded entirely from the service wide votes as earlier approved.

    The motion, co-sponsored by 18 other senators proposed that N121 billion be removed from the 30 agencies while the other N121 billion be sourced from service wide votes.

    “Recall the approval of the Virement/Supplementary budget for INEC and Security Agencies for the conduct of the 2019 General elections in the sum of Two Hundred and Forty-Two Billion, Two Hundred and Forty-Five Million, Fifty Thousand, One hundred Naira [N242, 245, 050,100] only, which is to be funded from the Service Wide Votes on the 16th October, 2018-Senate Resolution (S/RS/027/04/8);

    “The Senate is aware that because of some obvious and imminent issues of national socioeconomic importance, the virement/supplementary request cannot be implemented as earlier approved,” Mr Goje said.

    Contributing to the motion, Dino Melaye (Kogi-PDP) said the N27.3 billion budgeted for the Nigeria Police during the election was too much. He premised his argument on the fact that the police would be involved in less mobilisation as it is a general election.

    He was countered by Mr Goje who said the fund was justifiable as police would have to make mobilisation for the election. Mr Goje added that the Senate had already passed the stage of budgeting for agencies and was only tasked to determine the source of funding.

    He said, “The only thing different from what we passed on the 16th of October is the source of funding. Initially, the source of funding was to come from the service wide votes but now we reduce the weight by half. That has to come from the MDAs. Otherwise, this Senate took a decision, approved this virement.

    “The submission, by Mr President, for the police was over 30 billion. It was the appropriation committee that reduced it by three billion. I want to correct the impression that there will be no mobilisation. We all know how elections use to be in this country. Police have to be deployed to different polling units. They are provided vehicles, allowances. I’m sure the money is even small.”

     

  • 2019: Anglican cleric advocates two-party system in Nigeria

    2019: Anglican cleric advocates two-party system in Nigeria

    As Nigeria prepares for the 2019 general elections, an Anglican priest in the Diocese of Sapele, Ven. Dr. Theophilus Usikaro has charged the nation scrapped multiple parties and return to a two-party system of government, citing the United States as a good example of this.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Dr. Usikaro made this known as the Anglican Communion, the Church of Nigeria set to hold its yearly Divine Commonwealth Conference (DIVCCON) programme in Abuja.

    Two-party system, is political system in which the electorate gives its votes largely to only two major parties and in which one or the other party can win a majority in the legislature, and whoever has the majority controls the direction of governance.

    Also read || 2019: 79 political parties submit names of candidates for presidential election

    The Anglican cleric stressed that “Multiple parties facilitate a spread of loyalists and votes to too many corners thereby making a party to be so powerful when it gains majority. But when all votes go to only two parties, the margins will begin to come close that any party in power will no longer sleep on duty”.

    Usikaro said when the political parties in Nigeria are just two, “Everyone who wants to belong to a party will have to join one of the two and that decamping from a party to another will be largely reduced, just as joining a party will be based on interest and what they stand for.

    He further stated that the parties will sit up as there will not be one party so big that cannot be challenged, because the other party will equally be big and strong, and power across the nation will be shared by votes of electorates.

    “One single party will not gain prominence across the country. When one is strong somewhere, the other will be prominent somewhere else. Political parties will then know the importance of maintaining strong political policies and manifesto. They will know that people are after them for their uniqueness.

    “Any of the two in power at Federal, State or Local Govt will sit up and do the right thing according to the rule of law, since they know the people are not afraid of voting them out if they mess up.

    “Houses of Assemblies and Senate at all levels will then know how to do proper check and balances, as buying everyone over will be difficult. And the bills will also be passed based on merit, not sentiment.

    “Pleasing the electorate will translate into general welfare and infrastructural development. No time wasting will be condoned,” he said.

    While Usikaro acknowledged the frailties of a two-party system, he said “it will certainly engender a better implementation of infrastructural development and balanced politicking”.

     

  • 2019: Credible poll will boost respect for Nigeria – Okowa

    2019: Credible poll will boost respect for Nigeria – Okowa

    Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta says a free, fair and credible 2019 general election would boost respect for Nigeria and attract foreign direct investment to the country.

    The governor stated this on Tuesday when the recently inaugurated executive committee of the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), led by Apostle Sylvanus Okorote visited him in Asaba.

    He called on the church to pray for the country and the state, adding that the church should make its position known to ensure free and fair elections in the country.

    “You know, if we have credible elections, the comity of nations will have respect for us in the country and there will be direct foreign investment and the resource base of the country will develop.

    “We need to do a lot more to ensure that our elections are free, fair and credible, I hope that INEC and security agencies will play their part,’’ he said.

    Okowa, however, said that his administration was committed to constructing the Warri/Sapele road, especially the Enerhen Junction, trans Warri/Ode-Itsekiri road and the Ughelli/Asaba road.

    He said that the continuous partnership between the church and government could only lead to positive results.

    “The partnership between the church, traditional institutions and government must be strengthened for the state to develop and grow and the church should pray for our country Nigeria and the state,” he said.

    He thanked members of CAN for their prayers and assured that security is being beefed up across the state while the Asaba Airport will soon be upgraded to international standard ahead of the Yuletide season.

    Earlier, Okorote thanked the governor for the developmental stride in all parts of the state.

    He said that the visit was to introduce the executives of CAN, Delta Chapter to him.

    “We appreciate you for the development projects going on in different parts of the state.

    “We appreciate the security apparatus you have put in place to reduce kidnapping and crime in the state, your peaceful disposition has also quelled communal violence in the state,” Okorete said.

     

  • 2019: Corps members will not work in volatile regions – NYSC DG

    2019: Corps members will not work in volatile regions – NYSC DG

    To ensure safety of corps members during the 2019 elections, the Director-General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig.-Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, said that corps members would not perform ad-hoc duties in volatile regions.

    Kazaure gave the assurance during a working visit to the NYSC 2018 Batch ‘C’ Stream 1 Orientation Camp in Sagamu, Ogun on Tuesday.

    The director-general told newsmen that it was imperative to protect the lives of corps members “who become easy targets for insurgents and disgruntled persons’’.

    The NYSC boss said the scheme was already working in tandem with various security agencies to ensure peaceful proceedings at the election exercise across the nation.

    He advised corps members to curtail illegal movements outside their areas of primary assignments, saying accidents accounted for most cases of deaths involving corps members.

    Kazaure said the scheme was always evolving strategies to ensure adequate security for its members and urged corps members to also be cooperative to ensure efficiency of interventions.

    “I have told them that they must always be security conscious and mindful of happenings in their environments.

    “Your safety starts firstly by respecting the traditions of your host communities and being at peace with the people for which you’ve been called to serve.

    “Then you must always look out for one another and try to always move in groups. Unnecessary travelling should also be curtailed as this is not ideal of the NYSC scheme.

    “At the elections, they must refrain from being partisan. As ad-hoc INEC staff, they must be neutral always and shun material or financial inducements from politicians for their own good and safety.

    “I want to also state it here that no corps member will be used as ad-hoc staff in the volatile regions during the elections as their safety is of paramount concern to the scheme,” the director-general said.

    Kazaure, who had earlier given cash rewards to the various performing groups of corps members who welcomed him, said he was most impressed by the attitude of the corps members.

    “This is one camp I like visiting based on their template for excellence in all activities. For one, they have the best band in the nation and I’m always highly impressed, ‘’ Kazaure said.

    Earlier, the State NYSC Coordinator, Josephine Bakare, said the state needed more hostel accommodation to cater for the growing population of corps members who attend the orientation programme.

    She, however, promised to address the accommodation challenge in the camp by initiating the construction of new hostels before the director-general’s next visit to the camp.

    Bakare said that a total of 2,464 corps members registered for the orientation which began on Oct. 23.

    She said the corps members comprised: 1, 207 males and 1, 257 females.

    The highlights of the director-general’s visit was inspection of camp facilities, during which the director-general expressed delight at the level of medical intervention for corps members and the level of sanitation at the orientation camp.

     

  • 2019: INEC removes over 300,000 names from voter register

    2019: INEC removes over 300,000 names from voter register

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it had removed over 300,000 names from its voter register as at last week, as the commission continued preparations for 2019 general elections.

    INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this when he received a delegation of ECOWAS Pre-Election Fact Finding Mission, led by the Chairman of Sierra Leone’s National Electoral Commission, Mohamed Conteh, on Monday in Abuja.

    Yakubu said that the names were removed from the register after Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) was carried out on the biometry data of registered voters.

    He said that the commission had started the cleaning up of the register, adding that the commission would between Nov. 6 and Nov. 12 display register of voters nationwide for claims and objections.

    The INEC Chairman urged Nigerians to make use of the opportunity to assist the commission to identify names of ineligible voters for further clean-up.

    “For the registered voters, we have been cleaning up on our own, using the AFIS. As at last week, before I traveled, I was told that over 300,000 names were dropped after the automatic fingerprints identification system.

    “But the cleaning of the voter register is not the sole responsibility of the commission; it is also the responsibility of every Nigerian.

    “ That is why the law says that we should display the register for a period of six days between Nov. 6 and Nov. 12. We will display the voter register in 120, 000 polling units nationwide.

    “I will like to use this opportunity to appeal to the citizens to check when we display the register, so that they can draw the attention of the commission to the prevalence of any ineligible voter on the register so that we can further clean up the register.’’

    Yakubu told the mission that INEC was well prepared for the 2019 general elections, saying it had passed the planning stage, and was now on implementation of the line-up activities for the elections.

    “In fact we can say that the 2019 general election is perhaps the most deliberately well planned election in our history.

    “We have finished the strategic planning; we have finished our strategic programme of action; and we have completed the election project plan. We have issued the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2019 general elections.

    Yakubu also disclosed that the commission would by Nov. 9 or Nov. 10 release statistics of political parties that nominated candidates for governorship elections to be conducted in 29 states and the State Houses of Assembly in all states.

    Speaking earlier, leader of the mission, Conteh, said that they were in Nigeria to gather relevant information and see how prepared INEC was for the general elections.

    “This is a fact-finding mission to the Federal Republic of Nigeria ahead of the elections.

    “As you are aware that it is common before we start any election, organisations such as ECOWAs come and see the conducting under which election is conducted and gather information in respect of the elections

    “More importantly, meet with you as a major stakeholder, as Election Management Body that is responsible for conduct of election to discuss with you and see how prepared you are for the election,’’ he said.

    Conteh thanked ECOWAS, ECONEC and the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the assistant rendered to Serial Leone during its elections conducted in April.

    Another member of the delegation and former Chairperson of Ghana’s Electoral Commission, Dr Remi Ajibewa, said that the mission would use the visit to meet with other electoral stakeholders in the country.

    These, according to her, include security agencies, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and political parties to ensure the conduct of free, fair and credible elections in 2019.