TheNewsGuru

Tag: 2019 Elections

  • 2019 elections: Wike casts vote, says ‘a new president will emerge’

    Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has said he is very hopeful that Nigerians will decide today and a new president will emerge following the 2019 presidential elections.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Governor Wike stated this shortly after voting at Ward 9, Unit 7, Rumueprikom, Obio Akpor Local Government Area.

    “From what I have seen here, it is a large turnout and Nigerians are ready to express their franchise. Apart from the military intervention, things are moving on smoothly.

    “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed preparedness in the discharge of their Electoral Duties during the voting process. The military proved to be stumbling blocks against democracy across the state.

    “It is unfortunate that our military can descend so low. We use to complain about the Police, but now it is the military.

    “What Nigerians have wished to be will be. It doesn’t matter the manipulation anybody would want to carry out. I am very hopeful that Nigerians will decide today and a new president will emerge,” he said.

     

  • Gov. Emmanuel commends INEC, complains about aide’s arrest

    Gov Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom has commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the improved electoral process, adopted for the 2019 general elections.

    Emmanuel made the commendation after casting his vote in Awa Ward 1, Unit 1, in Onna LGA on Saturday.

    However, the governor said the level of intimidation from security personnel was unbearable.

    He said people in the state, particularly the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supporters were being intimidated and harassed.

    “I urge security officers to maintain peace because Nigeria is a peaceful country and we have adequate rule of law. And if they don’t obey, we will challenge it in the law court. They should stay off intimidations.

    “The level of intimidation in Akwa Ibom is unbearable. People are being intimidated and harassed.

    “If you go to their police cell now, it is filled with PDP supporters, l don’t know whether they have a cell that can take the 2.1 million voters in the state because they all belong to one political party.

    “So if they can arrest the 2.1million, that’s when the elections will be thwarted,” Emmanuel said.

    The governor condemned the arrest of his Senior Special Assistant on security, Capt. Iniobong Ekong by the army.

    He said that if his aide had any question to answer, the police should have been the one to question him and not the army.

    “You cannot have a perfect process because the card readers are man made, but the readers are authentic. Its just the issue of authentication of finger print, which I hope will be promptly rectified to avoid delaying the process.

    “The corps members are well trained but the machines can fail because they are man made.

    “Not that he was picked, I think he was tricked into the army barracks and just kept there.

    “I don’t know what they think one man can do. This is just one human being and we are ready for the election.

    “If he has any issue, I think it is just the police that should have questioned him but why invite him to Six Division, not even the 2 Brigade that is in the state.

    “I doubt the genuineness of such detention. I just don’t want to pre-empt until we check with the army,” he said.

     

  • Card readers malfunction, late arrival of materials mar elections in Bayelsa

    Late arrival of election materials and malfunctions of Card readers have marred Presidential and National Assembly elections in some local government areas of Bayelsa.

    The News Agency Nigeria correspondent who monitored elections in some polling units in Kolokuma/Opokuma, Yenagoa and Sagbama Local Governments, reports that materials arrived at 10:03 a.m, against official 8 a.m. fixed by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In some of the units, card readers were malfunctioning and voters were defranchised.

    At Igbawa square, unit 14, ward 7 in Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government, Mr Timi Alaibe, former Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), was rejected by card reader before he was accepted after several trials.

    At unit 1 and 2, ward 7 Ofonbiri and unit 3 and 4 in Oluibiri, Opokuma, election materials arrived late.

    James Lucky, a Domestic Observer told NAN that there were late arrival of materials but the issue of card reader was corrected immediately and people voted.

    Mr Elvis Doukemezou, the Young Democratic Party (YDP) returning agent for Yenagoa/Kolokuma/Opokuma Federal Constituency 2, urged INEC to improve on their performance in the future elections.

    Doukemezou, who while voting at unit 14, ward 7 in Igbainwari community, urged the electorate to be peaceful.

    However, in Yenagoa ward 7 and 11, Mr Kenneth, INEC officer, said the challenge from the card reader was also corrected and people were able to cast their votes.

     

  • 2019 elections: Card reader rejects Bayelsa Governor

    Smart card reader has rejected the thumb of Gov. Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa, amidst reports of delays in arrival of election materials in some parts of the state.

    Dickson was however allowed to vote at Ward 2 unit 5 in Orerewari, Toru Orua, Sagbama Local Government Area at about 10.35 am after several unsuccessful trials on the card reader.

    The governor was allowed to vote after his Permanent Voter Card (PVC) was read manually and his name, signature and phone number were documented.

    Speaking after voting, Dickson noted that the failure of the smart card to read his thumb print was not new as it had occurred in the 2015 elections.

    He said that despite earlier complaints to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the glitches with the card reader had persisted.

    The governor expressed concerns over the reported cases of electoral violence in Nembe Basambri, Southern Ijaw and Ekeremor areas of the state.

     

  • 2019 elections: Obaseki commends large voter turnout, peaceful conduct of polls

    Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo has commended the large turnout of voters’ and peaceful conduct of election at Ward 4 polling unit 19 in Oredo Local Government Area, where he voted.

    The governor and his wife, Mrs Betsy Obaseki, arrived at the polling unit at Emokpae Primary School at 9:55 am and waited for about 20 minutes in the queue before casting their votes.

    Obaseki told newsmen shortly after voting that he was not expecting voters’ apathy as the APC had fully sensitised the electorate after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) extended the exercise by one week.

    “The turnout is large and for the time I waited here, it has been peaceful.

    “I am impressed with the security arrangement so far. We have not received any incident of election malpractice across the state.

    “We have aerial and water surveillance. I am optimistic that the process will be peaceful all through,’’ he said.

    He, however, urged the electorate across the 18 local government areas of the state to go and cast their votes on time so the process could be completed as planned.

    Some of the voters at the governor’s polling unit commended the peaceful conduct of the process as well as early arrival of materials.

    Electoral materials arrived the units before 7 am while accreditation/voting started by 8 20 am.

     

  • 2019 elections: Card reader fails to identify Ben Ayade

    Cross River State governor, Prof Ben Ayade, has expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the Saturday Presidential and National Assembly elections, describing the exercise and turnout as both peaceful and massive, even when the card reader deployed for his unit failed to identify him.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Ayade accompanied by his wife, Lynda, arrived Kakum Town Hall, Ipong polling unit, Obudu with registration area code CR/09 at about 11:05 where they were accredited and later exercised their franchise.

    Speaking shortly after casting his vote, Ayade said: “I am here in my own polling unit and I am happy that we have a very peaceful and massive turnout here in my ward and indeed my polling unit,” adding: “I am also very happy with the conduct, certification and quality of training that the INEC officials and ad hoc staff have received.”

    The governor noted that “the process is good and I think that the fact that we are highly registered in this unit and they decided to give us additional voting points has made it a lot easier as a lot of people have already voted as of this moment, so it is clear that by 2. pm, everybody should have voted and the turnout is impressive and peaceful and I hear this is the same situation across Cross River State.”

    On areas of improvement ahead of the remaining elections, Ayade intimated: “I guess it is about the technology. The inability of the card reader to actually identify my finger prints calls for worry. This is Ben Ayade, this is my face, the governor of Cross River State with my card in my polling unit. That it could not authenticate my finger prints shows clearly that if there is no alternative other than the card reader, a lot of people will be disenfranchised.”

    Continuing, the governor maintained that “there is a challenge and I think it is a function of the temperature which affects the reliability of ICT base of this nature, so it is expected that as Nigeria progresses in our democracy, it should adopt a technology that will reflect our peculiar climate and the nature of our people.”

    He added further that “our finger prints vary with our nature, kind of occupation and what we do because all of these come together but I believe there is a great room for improvement as well as the choice of the technology and technical support that can allow us bypass the technology that fails.”

    On whether the earlier postponement of the elections has in any way affected yesterday’s exercise, Ayade remarked that “the postponement could not have made a difference in any way as the enthusiasm is high, the social media has actually expanded the understanding of the people as every person of voting age is excited and wants to exercise his or her franchise.”

    On her part, wife of the governor, Dr Lynda Ayade enthused: “I am impressed as well as the crowd in this polling unit is a testimony that people really want to exercise their franchise peacefully.”

    She added that “except the challenge of the card reader in some occasions, you can see that the people are happy, I expect the best and hope that my party, the PDP wins.”

     

  • Breaking: APC Chieftain, Yekini Nabena arrested with arms, ammunition

    Breaking: APC Chieftain, Yekini Nabena arrested with arms, ammunition

    Security agents a few minutes ago arrested a chieftain of the All Progressive Congress, Yekini Nabena for possession of illegal arms and ammunition.

    Yabena who is the immediate past National Publicity Secretary of the APC was arrested in Odi, Kolokuma/Opokuma local government area while on his way to his community Trofani in Sagbama local government area of Bayelsa State.

    An eyewitness said the APC chieftain was undergoing interrogation before the security operatives received a phone call allegedly from Abuja, requesting them to set him free.

    According to the eye witness, the development sparked a mild protest by some residents of Odi who insisted that Nabena, a strong ally of Chief Timipre Sylva be made to face the law.

     

  • 2019 elections: INEC ad hoc staff stage protest in Delta

    Polling in Warri South Local Government Area, Delta, was held up for some time by some ad hoc staff of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), demanding payment of their allowance.

    The staff, who staged the protest at about 8.10 a.m. at Ikengbua Primary School, Ajamimogha, a Registration Area Centre (RAC) in the area, claimed that they had not been paid the allowance for training they attended for the elections.

    They insisted on collecting the money, which they said was N4, 500, before allowing polling to commence.

    The Electoral Officer in charge of the area, could not be reached as he did not take calls put to his telephone by a News Agency of Nigeria Correspondent.

    However, the intervention of some elderly voters, security agents, who joined INEC officials at the centre in appealing to the ad hoc workers, doused the tension.

    Consequently, distribution of election materials from the centre to other polling units in the area began in earnest, leading to commencement of accreditation and voting.

    As at about 8 a.m., impressive number of the electorate had arrived at most polling units in the area, which also had the presence of security agents.

    At Unit 2, Okumagba, in Ward 12, the All Progressive Congress (APC) agent, Mr Mamuwa Washington, said electoral materials arrived at about 7.30 a.m, adding that he and agents of other political parties inspected the materials.

    ”We have three units in Ward 12, Okumagba 2,” he said.

    Electoral Assistant Officer (EAO) in the area, who simply identified herself as Mrs Okonji, said the last set of voting materials left INEC’s officer at 7.22 a.m.

    However, at 8.25 a.m., materials had not arrived at GRA Ward 5, units 3 and 4 and at Nana College unit.

    Some voters, who were waiting at the units, attributed the delay to earlier protest by INEC ad hoc staff at the Registration Centre at Ikengbuwa Primary School.

    At Ugborikoko Ward 5, Unit 9, Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area, materials had not arrived as at 9.07 a.m.

    And, at about 9.20 a.m., materials for Wards 5 and 6 in Uvwie were yet to leave the RAC centre at Ugborikoko Police Station.

    The situation was the same at 9.30 a.m. in Ward 2, unit 12, where voters were waiting eagerly for the exercise to commence.

    However, polling started at 9.35 a.m.in Ward 1, Unit 9, but one of the two Card Readers deployed to the unit was not functioning.

    One of the ad hoc staff at the unit, who identified herself as Miss Sophia Anthony, told NAN that they had reported the development to the INEC office in the local government area.

     

  • 2019 elections: REC gives reason for delayed voting in Delta

    Dr Cyril Omorogbe, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Delta state has blamed the delay in commencement of voting in some parts of the state on late arrival of result sheets.

    The REC who disclosed this to newsmen on Saturday in Asaba, noted that some materials, particularly the result sheets arrived the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), AsabA, at about 12 p.m on Friday.

    He, however, gave the assurance that the process, though starting a bit behind schedule, would be concluded well, as material were being dispatched to respective wards and units across the state.

    He appealed to the people to be patient as the challenges were being addressed while assuring that he would be visiting the polling centres to feel their pulse.

    The electorate arrived at most voting centres ahead of the materials and INEC officials.

    At Ward 1, Unit 20 in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, Spokesman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had laid a complaint that no Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had been seen.

    In Ward 9 unit 3, Okpanam, Oshimili North Local Government Area, voting commenced at about 9.20 a.m.

    Mr Victor Nwaokobia, the first to vote at the unit, said despite the delay he hoped that the process would go on well.

    On his part, Chief Patrick Ukah, the state Commissioner for Information who also voted at the unit, said the smart card reader was a bit slow and that INEC officials were trying to master the use.

    According to him, the challenge was not peculiar to Delta because the issue has been raised in some other states he contacted.

    “The security men are on ground and they are doing well; nobody is being harassed and as you can see, the voting is going on smoothly,” he said.

     

  • 2019 elections: Okowa, wife vote, as card reader displays ‘voting completed’ in Delta [Video]

    Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and his wife, Dame Edith Okowa have cast their vote in the ongoing Presidential and National Assembly elections.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports Governor Okowa and his wife cast their vote at Ward 2, Unit 3, Omi Primary School, Owa-Alero, Ika North East Local Government Area of Delta State.

    “I just performed my duty as a citizen of Nigeria by casting my vote at my Polling Unit; Ward 2, Unit 3, Omi Primary School, Owa-Alero,” Governor Okowa tweeted on Twitter immediately after casting his vote.

    Meanwhile, a card reader deployed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for conduct of the presidential and National Assembly elections at one of the polling units in Delta State was displaying “voting completed”.

    TNG gathered that the INEC card reader was rejecting voters PVCs and displaying “voting completed” while INEC officials were only about to start accreditation of voters.

    This was noticed at Ward 3, Polling Unit 1 in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.

    “Card reader not working; card reader showing voting completed even without accreditation,” a voter who failed the process of accreditation due to the card reader error told TNG.

    However, the INEC officials deployed at the polling unit were battling with rectifying the card reader error as at the time of filing this report.