Tag: 2023Election

Presidential polls: We’re set to embark on nationwide protest to INEC offices – LP vows

…over INEC’s deliberate refusal to release certified copies of electoral materials as granted by court

The Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, LP-PCC has vowed to call out its supporters nationwide to embark on a peaceful protest to all INEC offices over its deliberate refusal to release certified copies of electoral materials.

This was contained in a statement signed by LPPCC Chief Spokesperson Dr Yunusa Tanko on Saturday stating that:

“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with greatest impunity have refused, neglected and failed to obey the Order of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja made on the 03rd day of March 2023, directing it to grant the Labour Party and its presidential candidate.

“H.E. Peter Gregory Obi leave to apply and receive from INEC, certified true copies of materials used in the presidential election held on 25th February 2023.

“It will be recalled that the aforesaid Order of the presidential election petition tribunal was duly served on INEC on the 3rd of March 2023 despite the fact that they were present and represented at the tribunal when the Order was made.

“Not minding the service of the said Order on INEC, and a reminder letter dated the 6th day of March 2023 and delivered same date at the INEC Headquarters Abuja, the electoral umpire has continued to ignore and or disobey the valid Order of such magnitude till NOW.

“It should be noted that in a democracy like ours, rule of law must triumph not only in our legal system but also in our body polity as a whole. Parties to a litigation like in the instant case must accept and obey every order of court in good faith and no party should be seen to employ self-help to disparage or disrespect an order of court which if not checked and curtailed could possibly undermine our democracy, rule of law and constitutionalism.

“The action of INEC under reference also constitutes for all intent and purposes, an act of judicial insubordination and willful refusal to comply to the order of court.

As we speak INEC has chosen to obey the court order given to it to reconfigure the BVAS machine, which they are doing right now and ignoring the order granted to us to inspect electoral materials.

“We therefore call on the general public to note the level of lawlessness and brazen disobedience to a lawful order of a court by an important statutory agency such as INEC, and which is a well calculated attempt to undermine and frustrate the presentation of the Petition by the Labour Party and its Presidential candidate before the tribunal in good time.

“We therefore want to state that we will not fail to call our supporters to march to INEC offices nationwide in a non violent protest which is allowed by law.

“This is to curtail the flagrant disobedience to court orders by INEC .

March 11, 2023
Group demands INEC chairman, Mahmood, must go for flouting Electoral Law

A coalition of Civil Society Organizations under the aegis of the Democracy Protection Coalition (DPC) has demanded that the national Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, must resign over his failure to comply with copious provision of the Electoral Act in the conduct of the February 25, 2023 Presidential election.

According to the DPC, which made the demand at a media briefing in Ikeja, Lagos where it presented its observations and recommendations on the disputed election, Prof. Yakubu’s immediate resignation as INEC boss has become very necessary “in order for him not to erode the people’s confidence in the forthcoming Governorship and State Assembly elections now postponed to March 18, 2023.”

In his opening remarks at the press conference, DPC Convener Eze Eluchie, Esq. advised that, “if the INEC boss fails to resign, efforts should be harnessed by the INEC Board to, in a manner similar to how the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Sokoto State was suspended, likewise suspend Mr. Yakubu from office until further notice.”

According to Eluchie, in view of his lack of remorse in the face of deliberate flagrant nonconformity with the Electoral Act and INEC’s Regulations for Elections regarding the BVAS machines; deliberate falsehoods and lies to Nigerians regarding the sanctity of the electoral process; and audacious display of impudence against Nigerians and Nigeria; the INEC Chairman, Mr. Mahmood Yakubu, has lost the confidence of Nigerians and Civil Society regarding his ability to continue as an impartial umpire in the electoral process.

“Considering that people’s confidence, trust and belief in the electoral system and electoral umpires is an integral component of elections, and that such confidence, trust and belief in INEC and its current Chairman, haven been irrevocably eroded, the INEC Chair, Mr. Yakubu, should immediately, resign his position as Chairman of INEC.

“To avoid further tainting the sanctity and integrity of the Gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections, Mr. Mahmood Yakubu should totally forthwith recuse himself from participating in any manner whatsoever, in the processes and administration of the forthcoming Gubernatorial and State Houses of Assembly elections. “

DPC said that “in the event of Mr. Yakubu’s failure to resign from office of his own accord, efforts should be harnessed by the INEC Board to, in a manner similar to how the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Sokoto State was suspended, likewise suspend Mr. Yakubu from office until further notice, by which time the manipulations and untoward actions of the said Mr. Yakubu would have been addressed and rectified.

Alternatively, the people of Nigeria in whom ultimately power resides, should rise and effectively demand the exit from office of this INEC Chairman who has displayed gross incompetence, lack of capacity and a penchant to be deceptive and dubious in the discharge of the highly sensitive functions of Chairman, INEC.”

Therefore the coalition advised INEC, to, “in the light of its alleged ‘collapse’, compromise and failure of the BVAS machine process and systems in the course of the 25th February elections, to collate and declare the results of the said elections by the summation of Polling Unit results from each of the polling units across the country.”

“These results,” DPC noted, “are already within the purview of INEC and the political parties. The mostly grossly distorted, mutilated and concocted documents belatedly uploaded unto the INEC IReV, days after the elections were held, should be discountenanced as manipulation of desperate politicians.

“In line with its self-correction of errors it made in other elections, such as with regards to the case of the Doduwa/Tudun Wada Federal Constituency of Kano State, where INEC reversed its earlier declaration of the current Leader of the House of Representatives (Mr. Ado Doguwa) as winner of the House of Representative elections, INEC should likewise correct the monumental error of historical proportions it has committed by its wrongful declaration of a non-winner, Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressive Congress (APC), as winner of the 2023 presidential elections.

INEC may rightly say, as it has already stated in the Doguwa/Tudunwada Federal Constituency elections, that it had made that declaration either under duress or under false pretenses.”

DPC, “sequel to the admission of the INEC Chairman that several INEC staff and some politicians colluded to compromise the electoral process”, called upon the law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies to, “as a matter of urgency, apprehend, investigate and prosecute all individuals and entities, irrespective of position occupied inclusive of the INEC Chairman, who/which participated in thwarting the elections held on the 25th of February 2023.”

“Considering the high number of security personnel (soldiers, the Police and other security agencies) who participated in election related crimes, such as snatching and destruction of election materials including ballot papers, a Judicial Panel of Inquiry should be instituted to inquire into and gauge the involvement of security personnel in election-related offences with the view of ascertaining if such security personnel involvement was as a result of systemic, hierarchical and institutionalized interventions or ad-hoc and unrelated malfeasance perpetuated by individual security personnel and their cohorts.

“Whilst applauding the various domestic, regional and international election observers (inclusive of International Observer Missions from the Africa Union, ECOWAS, European Union, Commonwealth Secretariat, and the United States) for rightly stating that the 25th February elections fell far, far short of domestic and international standards, and even the standards INEC had set for itself, we call on all friends of Nigeria to be on the side of the Nigerian people by impressing on INEC and State authorities, the importance of allowing the will of the people freely expressed via the ballot box, to be upheld. The various Observer Missions should impress it upon their principals that condemnation and effectively ostracizing characters who seek to attain political power via stealing votes, nips in the bud the need to condemn violent and unconstitutional putsches,” DPC further said.

“The people of Nigeria,” according to the group, “must come together, as we all did on the 25th of February 2023, devoid of ethnic, religious and other primordial sentiments, to decisively insist on the actualization of the mandate given via the ballot during the Presidential elections. We must all in unison insist that the votes cast during the said elections are declared as counted at the various Polling Units, and that the winner of the said elections is rightly declared as the President-elect of the Federal Republic.”

March 10, 2023
Election: Delta PDP demands immediate arrest of Omo-Agege over death threat in a viral video

The Delta PDP has called for the immediate arrest of APC guber candidate Senator Ovie Omo-Agege over an alleged viral video in the social media networks where a town crier in Orogun announced that voters would be killed for voting PDP.

This was contained in a statement signed by Dr Ifeanyi Osuoza, Deputy Director, Media & Publicity,
Delta PDP Campaign Council/ State Publicity Secretary,
Delta State PDP stating that:

“Our attention has been drawn to a viral video where a town crier in Orogun, the home town of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, the APC Governorship candidate in Delta State, is threatening voters to either vote the APC or risk being killed.

“Claiming to be delivering a message from an unnamed Deputy Inspector General of Police, the town crier warned that any indigene of Orogun who votes for the PDP in the forthcoming Governorship election will be “beaten to death by the police and thugs,” adding that “their corpses will be buried by the Government if they dare to vote the PDP.”

The town crier further warned that “whosoever says he will not vote for Omo-Agege should stay at home.”

“The Delta State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP is alarmed that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has resorted to crude threats, blackmail, and blatant intimidation to cow the electorate in his inordinate quest for power.

“Indeed, the video validates our assertion that Omo-Agege is unfit to govern a multi-ethnic State like Delta. It is also undeniable proof that he is so unpopular and unacceptable that he is not confident of winning a free and fair election even in his village.

“The Delta State PDP is calling on the Inspector-General of Police to urgently investigate this matter and arrest the purveyors of this death threat. We do not want to believe that the Police is colluding with this village tyrant to subvert the electoral process and the will of the people.

” The people of Orogun have a right to freely vote for any candidate of their choice and should not be denied that right by a desperate power monger and despot in the person of Omo-Agege.

“Deltans are urged to come out on March 18, 2023 and vote the UMBRELLA and PDP all-the-way, for the Sheriff Oborevwori/Monday Onyeme joint Governorship ticket and all the PDP House of Assembly Candidates.

“We further implore and enjoin all eligible Deltans to turn out enmass as voters for the election, to be peaceful and firm throughout the process and must be resolute in defence of their votes, no matter the intimidation by the enemies of democracy.

March 10, 2023
Just In: Many sustain injuries as thugs attack LP guber candidate’s convoy

The campaign convoy of Labour Party (LP) guber candidate in Kaduna State, Jonathan Asake, was on Friday attacked by suspected thugs in Gidan Waya, Jema’a local government area.

Four youths- two boys and two girls sustained various injuries.

This was contained in a statement signed by James Swam, Media aide to Jonathan Asake, on Friday and made available to newsmen in Kaduna.

The statement said the incident happened when the campaign convoy was passing through Gidan Waya during Friday prayers on its way to Godogodo and other towns as the campaign team tour the local government.

According to the statement, “After the first three vehicles in the convoy made their way through the old tyres used to demarcate the road, thugs started throwing stones, big sticks and other harmful objects at the long convoy.

It took the timely intervention of the security personnel attached to the candidate to forestall a crisis.”

March 10, 2023
Just In: Supreme Court sacks Senator Shekarau as NNPP candidate

The Supreme Court on Friday fired Senator Ibrahim Shekarau as the candidate of the New Nigerian Peoples Party and recognised Senator Rufa’i Hanga as the party’s candidate for the 2023 general election.

It was reported that Shekarau was declared the winner of the 2023 Kano Central Senatorial District election under NNPP.

Shekarau, a sitting senator was in the NNPP and was nominated to vie for the senatorial position under its platform.

However, before the elections, he announced his defection from the NNPP and abandoned his senatorial ambition to join the Peoples Democratic Party.

But the Independent National Electoral Commission later insisted that it still recognised him as the legitimate NNPP candidate, even though the party replaced him with Hanga.

Shekarau, who is going to the red chamber for the second time, was declared by the returning officer of the senatorial district, Professor Tijjani Darma.

According to INEC, Shekarau polled 456,787 votes to defeat the All Progressives Congress candidate, Alhaji Abdulkarim Zaura, who polled 168,677 votes.

However, the Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the nomination of Hanga as the NNPP’s authentic candidate.

In a unanimous judgement, Justice Inyang Okoro-led five-member panel of the court faulted INEC’s refusal to replace Shekarau with Hanga after the former left the party for PDP before the election.

Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgment, written by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, dismissed the INEC appeal.

The court, however, upheld the two earlier concurrent judgments by the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal, both in Abuja, that affirmed Hanga as the authentic candidate of NNPP.

March 10, 2023
Omo-Agege welcomes Former SSG to APC

…promises inclusive government as Gov

Deputy President of the Senate and Delta State Governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has promised an all inclusive government if elected Governor.

Speaking at Owhelogbo while welcoming former Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Comrade Ovuozourie Macaulay to the APC fold, he said that all well-meaning Deltans would be accommodated by the government.

The Deputy President of the Senate commended Macaulay for his courage and forthrightness, assuring him of APC’s readiness to work with him to better the lot of Isoko.

In particular, he said that APC will bank on the wealth of experience and support of the former SSG to ensure massive victory of the party in the Governorship and House of Assembly elections.

He called on Isoko people to support and vote for all candidates of the APC in the same way they voted at the presidential and National Assembly elections.

The former SSG crossed over to APC along with thousands of his supporters and many different political grassroots groups who hitherto belonged to the PDP.

Addressing the mammoth crowd Macaulay attributed his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to leadership failure.

He asserted that his defection became necessary “after several attempts to correct the anomalies in the PDP proved abortive,” adding that the party was established to accommodate all and not a section of the people.

He said that Omo-Agege is reliable and trustworthy with listening ears to the yearnings of the people; and that without doubt, he was confident that Omo-Agege’s administration would be beneficial to the Isoko.

Accordingly the former Chieftain of the PDP assured APC of total victory for the party through general mobilization and votes for all it’s candidates in the elections.

Ends.

March 10, 2023
Why Buhari’s silent over election irregularities -Presidency

… advises aggrieved candidates to seek redress in court

…fears June 12 debacle

The Presidency, on Thursday, gave the reason why President Muhammadu Buhari has remained mum when there were allegations of irregularities and compromise against the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on the conduct of the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections.

The Presidency also ruled out the possibility of taking any decision that would lead to the annulment of the presidential elections as was the case of June 12, 1992.

It advised any candidate or political party that is not satisfied with the conduct and outcome of the election to approach the court for redress.

Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a statement entitled: “At the 5th United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDCs), President Buhari drums up support for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Presidency”.

Before the elections, President Buhari had at different fora, both local and international, assured that he would ensure that the elections that would herald his exit from office would be credible, free, fair and transparent and that the outcome would reflect the wish of the people in choosing who would lead them.

The signing into the law the Electoral Act, 2022 and the use of technology for the elections were indications that President Buhari was ready to bequeath to the Nigeria, a transparent electoral process, devoid of manipulations.

However, controversies have trailed the conduct and outcome of the February 25 presidential election as the INEC has been accused to have failed to follow strictly the Electoral Act as regards the transmission of the results from the BIVAS to the iREV immediately after collation at the Pulling Units.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo was the first to raise the alarm that the INEC had compromised the conduct of the election by not keeping to the electoral laws and had, in a statement, called on President Buhari to call the electoral umpire to order so that the country would not be thrown into political crisis.

There has also been plethora of negative reports from a section of international news media, casting aspersions on the conduct of the election, saying that it fell flat from the expectations of majority of the electorate.

But the presidential spokesman in what could be said to be the takeaways he listed from the President participation at the LDCs Conference, in Doha, Qatar, said that Buhari, while speaking to Nigerians in the Diaspora about the ongoing political transition, called for support for the incoming government of Asiwaju Tinubu, “so that Nigeria will continue to be the beacon of hope and prosperity in our continent and an example for other African countries to emulate.”

He further said, “In addition to other things, this trip, more than any other, speaks to the courage, political stamina and statesmanship with which the President has managed the affairs of the nation.

“In the buildup to the trip, he was faced with orchestrated attempts to poison public opinion against national institutions, particularly the presidential election and its conduct by the independent National Electoral Commission, INEC as an institution, against which vile and unsubstantiated allegations were hurled.

“The clear intent of this was creating an atmosphere of fear, polarizing the public and demonizing the administration of the President. The wishful thinkers appeared to assume that the June 12, 1993 election crisis, the worst ever since the Civil War could be recreated. Those who sought to do this forgot what the President said at the palace of the Gbong-Gwon Jos, when he went to the city to inaugurate the Tinubu-Shettima campaign: “this election will not be annulled; whoever is the winner will be president.,’’ he said.

He also said, “President Buhari not only muted himself following the cacophony, he picked up international travel: “Bola Tinubu’s election stands. If you are aggrieved, and you have the locus to do so, go to court.’’

Continuing, he said, “President Buhari used the opportunity of the visit to speak to his guests about the recent election in Nigeria and the fact that a new President would be taking over in less than three months. He hoped that the strong relations he had built between those countries will continue to endure in the new administration.

“The highlight of the conference for Nigeria was the national address on the theme of this year’s event “From Potential to Prosperity”, a speech that observers described as strikingly activist. In it, the President criticized the current structure of the global financial system which, he said, “places an unsustainable external debt burden on the most vulnerable countries.
Source: VANGUARD

March 9, 2023
Court remands ex-Imo state dep gov in prison custody

Ex- Imo state deputy governor, Gerald Irona, has been remanded in prison by the magistrate court sitting in Owerri on Thursday.

Irona was arraigned by the Imo State Police Command on three counts bordering on treason, illegal possession of state government property and for making utterances capable of causing unrest and chaos in the state.

The Presiding Magistrate, Chike Ezerioha after taking briefs and hearing the prosecution and defence counsel ordered that Irona be remanded in prison pending when the issue of bail is heard and determined by the state high court in Owerri.

Earlier, the defense counsel had argued that the former deputy governor should be granted bail based on self recognition, however, the lead prosecutor, said the magistrate lacked the jurisdiction to hear the matter since one of the charges against Irona bordered on felony.

However, the Magistrate, In her ruling, agreed with the prosecution counsel that she lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter or grant the accused bail, explaining that it is only the high court that can entertain such matter and rule on bail application.

She added that the prosecution counsel should make all documents available to the defence counsel to enable them take next legal line of action. She also ordered that the case file be transferred to the state Department of Public Prosecutions.
While speaking to newsmen after the ruling, one of the defence counsel and legal adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kissinger Ikeokwu, expressed optimism that the ex-deputy governor would be granted bail at the high court, adding that Irona’s ordeal was politically contrived.

March 9, 2023
Bauchi PDP condemns alleged killing of one person, injuries to 15 by suspected APC thugs

From Shola Kanji, Bauchi

Bauchi State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned alleged attacks on its members and innocent members of the public by suspected political thugs loyal to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

The PDP Campaign Council Director General, Farouk Mustapha alleged that APC thugs on Wednesday attacked its members in Duguri Town, Alkaleri LGA killing one person and injured 15 others.

Farouk Mustapha who briefed Journalists at the Press Center of the Government House late Wednesday night said that: “Today is one of the saddest days in the political history of Bauchi State, all of the gubernatorial candidates of the various parties signed the peace accord at the State Police Command headquarters with all security agencies as it has been the practice in every election year.”

“However, the candidate of the APC, Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar rtd was conspicuously absent, only his Deputy candidate was in attendance showing no respect for peace and harmony to reign in Bauchi state,” he said.

He added that: “To our dismay, while all the candidates were busy signing the peace accord, Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar embarked on a last rush campaign tour to Duguri Town, the hometown of Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir, the sitting Governor and the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in the forthcoming governorship elections.”

According to him, shockingly, the APC gubernatorial candidate moved into Duguri with thousands of political thugs, as well as conventional and noncommercial security outfits who were well armed to the brink.”

He alleged that, “as usual by his antecedents, considering what happened in his last campaign outings in Akuyam, Misau LGA and Toro, Toro LGA where they shot to death 3 people with no any investigation and action to bring the perpetrators to book.”

Farouk Mustapha added that,”the APC gang leaders who led today’s thuggery unleashed terror, intimidation on the people of Duguri Town, they were chanting abusive words and breaking all PDP billboards carrying His Excellency’s pictures, buses, PDP offices and Keke NAPEP were all burnt down by the thugs.”

“This barbaric act which was resisted by the good people of Duguri led the thugs and even the security personnel to open fire on unarmed and innocent people of Duguri,” he added.

The PDP Campaign DG further alleged that, “they left several people injured with various degrees of injuries killing one Mal Maiunguwa Shata through a gunshot and also matchetted 15 others who are right now at ATBUTH, Bauchi for treatment.”

He appealed saying, “the Campaign Council is calling upon all our followers across the state who are peace lovers to restrain from embarking on reprisal as the Council is doing everything legally possible to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice. Therefore, the Council is calling on the Police, DSS to investigate, and arrest the culprits and bring them to prosecution.”

” The Council is also calling on the Military and Police, especially the Ministry of Defence to end the use of their personnel illegally unleashing terror on the people of Bauchi State all in the name of seeking for the exalted office of the Governor of Bauchi State by the APC gubernatorial candidate in the forthcoming election” he concluded.

But in a sharp reaction, the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial campaign Council in what it tagged: ‘Thugs open fire on Air Marshal Sadique’s convoy in Gov Bala’s Village’, signed by Director, Media and Publicity, Salisu A Barau dismissed the allegation by the PDP.

According to him, suspected hired thugs, using dane guns , opened fire on the convoy of the Bauchi state gubernatorial candidate of APC, Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubukar, in Duguri, the birth place of the incumbent Bauchi state Governor, Sen. Bala Mohammed.”

He explained that eyewitnesses, sounds of sporadic shootings were heard around the premises where campaign lecture was being held, which made the security operatives at the venue to rush to the scene of the shootings.

He said that, “where, in an attempt to disarm the thugs and retrieve the guns from them, three people were shot: one Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps; one from a vigilance group and one from the hunters union.”

He added that, however, the NSCDC operatives succeeded in recovering two dane guns from the thugs while others escaped with their own guns. The victims who sustained gunshot injuries are currently receiving medical attention at ATBU Teaching Hospital, Bauchi.”

He alleged that, “it will be recalled that the same pattern of attacks, suspected to be sponsored, were carried out on Air Marshal Sadique’s convoy last month in Akuyam, the home village of the state chairman of PDP.

Bauchi State Police Command PPRO, SP Ahmed Wakili in his reaction stated that, “today, APC gubernatorial candidate went out on a rally at about 17.45hrs, while in Duguri Village, under Yuli-Yin Ward, Alkaleri Local Government Area, violence ensued during the rally in which 14 people were injured. Among the 14 injured, six were taken to Primary Health Care Center in Duguri, they were treated and discharged.”

He added that among the eight that were treated and discharged, was Suleiman Adamu, Danlami Musa, Kabiru Sani, Rabi, Abdulrasheed Bala and Tanko Wakilin Pawa, all residents of Duguri Village. These are the six that were taken to the Health Care Center in Duguri.

Eight others were seriously injured, they were referred to the General Hospital, Alkaleri. Because of the severity of the injuries, the doctor could only attend to one Mohammed Abdullahi, who is also a resident of that Duguri.

The remaining seven were transferred from the General Hospital Alkaleri to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital, Bauchi for medical treatment.

Among them that were attacked are part of the personnel and some of them were part of the entourage attached to His Excellency’s entourage. Some of them were Civil Defense Corp Members but their details were not yet made available to us. Furthermore, two Sharon Galaxy buses were damaged.

Immediately the Command received the distress call, the Commissioner of Police, Bauchi State Command, CP Aminu Alhassan, directed the Area Commander Metro and the DPO Mainamaji and the DPO Alkaleri to commence investigation in earnest.

The Command is calling on members of the public to be calm as the situation is under control. However, the Command will not leave any stone unturned to deal with any recalcitrant that will want to disrupt the peace that Bauchi State is enjoying presently.

Asked to react to allegations that two people were killed in the incident, he said: “I have mentioned all that were here, I mentioned six first that were injured and I have mentioned eight that were transferred out of which one is in Duguri. I don’t have knowledge about anyone of them that is dead. All of them were taken to the hospital by the Police and up to this moment that I am giving you this report, none of them had died.
End

March 9, 2023
CSOs To INEC: Fix BVAS, bar corrupt officials from governorship, State Assembly polls

Ahead of governorship and state assembly elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been urged to fix all glitches that previously affected the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the results viewing portal, logistics; and prevent corrupt personnel from being part of the exercise.

INEC had scheduled governorship and state assembly elections for March 11 but announced the postponement of the polls to March 18, 2023, after the court granted the Commission leave to re-configuration BVAS machines used for the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections.

Civil Society Organisations, Center for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) and NESSACTION made the call during PUBLIC CONSCIENCE, an anti-corruption radio programme produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, Wednesday in Abuja.

Different observer groups reported widespread malfunctioning of the INEC Result Viewing portal (IREV), which hindered the real-time transmission of results on election day. There were also reports of voter intimidation, snatching and destruction of voting materials, among other issues.

Speaking during the radio programme, Executive Director, NESSACTION, Amb. Eniola Cole stated that the conduct of the February 25 presidential election failed to meet the expectations of Nigerians due to issues with the IREV, political infractions and the integrity of INEC officials.

Cole stressed that INEC must prioritize tackling logistics challenges on election day, noting that the late arrival of election materials during the presidential election spiralled into other challenges that cast doubt on the integrity of the polls. While calling on citizens to ‘cut INEC some slag’ as the 2023 general elections were the first time the election umpire was deploying technology nationally.

She called on Nigerians, especially young people, not to relent in participating in the March 11 governorship and state assembly elections despite dissatisfaction with the conduct of presidential polls.

“On the issue of the IREV, nobody’s expectation was met because they did not deliver. But the question is, is the IREV the only yardstick for determining whether an election was credible? This was a first-time test nationwide. Why is the success or failure of the entire election laid only on the IREV? For the BVAs, the locations we observed, I’m yet to see any of our reports say otherwise.

“Honestly, I think Nigerians should cut them (INEC) some slack. Let’s be careful. We have seen progress. Let us trust and see what they will deliver.
“Another thing that could bring credibility to the process is to enhance what is required. A national stress test was not done on the IREV.

“The integrity of poll officials also comes from political infractions. Somebody that receives bribes should face the penalty, but why are politicians going out to bribe INEC officials? Can that also should be addressed,” Cole lamented.

On his part, Research Officer at the Center for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD), Humphery Eze Ukeaja, called on INEC to learn from their mistakes and recover public trust by ensuring punishment is meted out to all officials that were part of the irregularities that marred the 2023 presidential elections. As well as fix glitches from BVAS, IREV and security.

Ukeaja urged all Nigerians to come out and vote despite their unhappiness with the election process.
“INEC must learn from the mistakes of what happened in the 25th February presidential election. Reports are all over for them to read; security and logistics, the BVAS issues should be addressed purely going into state elections.

“When we talk about renewing trust on the part of INEC, we have to see actions. We have to see heads roll. We have to see people being penalized for us to regain their trust because most of them participated in the malpractice.

“Someone has to pay for the malpractices. To be sincere, the level of apathy might show in the March elections, but the wounds are still fresh. It will take a little bit of a medium-term to a long-term effort to bring people back,” Ukeaja stressed.

INEC continues to face criticisms from CSOs, and foreign and local observers since it announced the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Bola Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election.

Earlier on Wednesday, London-based independent policy institute Chatham House released an analysis of the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections and faulted the Prof. Yakubu-led Commission for being ill-prepared and jettisoning its guidelines.
Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program used by PRIMORG to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

The program has the support of the MacArthur Foundation.

March 9, 2023