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Tag: Accord

  • Fall out from Lagos LG election: States electoral commissions should be scrapped – Accord party

    Fall out from Lagos LG election: States electoral commissions should be scrapped – Accord party

    The Accord Party in Lagos State has reiterated the need for the National Assembly to scrap the State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) to guarantee integrity of elections at the grassroots.

    The  State Chairman of Accord, Mr Dele Oladeji, made the call in an interview with NAN on Sunday, while speaking on Saturday’s Local Government elections in Lagos.

    Oladeji, who noted that state electoral commissions were not in any way independent, said scrapping them would ensure the will of the people prevail in grassroots elections.

    He said that SIEC duties should be transferred to the Independent National National Election Commission (INEC) to enhance democracy and ensure healthy political participation and competition at the grassroots..

    Oladeji said: “Nigerians are ready, Nigerians are ready for better elections, but when the umpire is biased, there is nothing they can do and lack of confidence in process is the root cause of apathy.

    “State Electoral Commissions are not in any way independent. LASIEC is an example.They are not in any way independent.

    “So, if we really want true democracy at the grassroots, there is the need for INEC to take over conduct of state elections.

    “Saturday’s local government election in the state is nothing to be proud of.The preparations were haphazard, while many opposition candidates were disenfranchised by the commission.”

    According to him, the narrative that INEC will be overburdened if saddled with the responsibility  to conduct council polls is an excuse for not wanting progress.

    He said though INEC could not be said to be perfect in the conduct of national elections, allowing the body to handle council polls would build confidence among political stakeholders and promote grassroots governance.

    “They wont be overburdened, it is a lie. INEC has  been around for some time, fine-tuning its  operations.

    “INEC can effectively and efficiently run local government elections, just as they rin  state and national elections,” he said.

    On Saturday’s polls, Oladeji said that the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) got its formula wrong,raising serious questions about the election’s credibility.

    The Chairman said: “The election cannot in any way be said to be free and fair, and the fault is mainly from the electoral commission.

    “It is not free and fair because formula was wrong, there is no way you can get the answer.

    “When you have candidates properly nominated by a political party, but disenfranchised by the umpire, when you have candidates that were not even sure of whether they on on the ballot not until election day,we cannot call that election credible.

    “So, all those anomalies were there.It was not credible” he said.

    He said that LASIEC has a lot to learn from INEC to deliver acceptable elections and outcomes.

    “LASIEC needs to borrow a leaf from INEC for efficiency and transparency” he said

    Fifteen political parties participated in the state’s local government election.

  • Lagos LG election: We are contesting to win – Accord Party

    Lagos LG election: We are contesting to win – Accord Party

    The Lagos State chapter of Accord Party says it is contesting   in the July 12 Local Government election in the state to win.

    Its Chairman, Dele Oladeji, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN ) on Thursday in Lagos.

    He  expressed confidence about the party’s chances, saying Accord would win a number of seats in the election.

    “Our chances are bright : Accord is a popular party and we  will ensure that we produce candidates that will relate well with the people at the grassroots.

    “We have areas where we are  strong ,and we are going to work hard and win in those areas and others,”he said.

    The party chairman vowed that the party would defend its votes at the polls.

    “We shall make sure the votes are counted and reflect the will of the people in areas we are contesting.

    “We shall sensitise the voters on how to vote and stand by their votes until they are  counted and declared before leaving the polling booths,” he said.

    He said the party’s chairmanship and councillorship primaries would hold on Sunday and that the indirect mode would be adopted.

    Oladeji promised that the primaries would be credible and that results would reflect the choices of party members.

  • Accord expels ex-presidential candidate, State chairmen

    Accord expels ex-presidential candidate, State chairmen

    Accord party has expelled its presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, Prof. Christopher Imumolen, and seven state chairmen over alleged anti-party activities and other offences.

    The expulsion of the members was contained in a communique issued after the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The communique was read to newsmen by the party’s National Chairman, Maxwell Mgbudem.

    The expelled state chairmen included: Lanre Ogundare (Lagos), Surajo Ibrahim (Zamfara), Muktar Abdalla (Borno) and Dzingina Ephraim (Nasarawa).

    Also expelled were: three former state chairmen: Chief Abiola Odeoba (Ekiti), Dr Falaye Ajibola (Ondo) and Prince Adebisi Ganiy (Ogun).

    Mgbudem said that NEC approved the expulsion of Imumolen and the other seven party chieftains following the recommendations of a seven-man Disciplinary Committee set up by the National Working Committee (NWC).

    He said that the disciplinary committee was set up to investigate allegations of gross misconduct, anti-party activities and breaches of the party’s constitution against some members, while some resolutions were made.

    “The NEC unanimously approved, upheld and endorsed the disciplinary measures against some members of the party for gross misconduct, anti-party activities, factionalising the party, bringing it to ridicule, disrepute, disaffection and breaches of its constitution.

    “Accordingly, NEC expelled eight members and suspended three others for violating Article 20A (vii), (ix), (xiii), and 20A (1) of the party’s constitution,’’ he said.

    Mgbudem stated that NEC also suspended Salimu Boyi, its Katsina State chairman; Fatima Zarumi, acting Yobe Chairman and Abdullahi Kasowa, Bauchi State chairman.

    “The NEC emphasised the need to maintain decorum within the party to avoid a state of anarchy and lawlessness.

    “It highlighted the need to preserve the party’s constitution and its adherence, which is not just expedient but mandatory as the party is supreme.

    “The NEC passed a vote of confidence in the leadership of Mgbudem as the authentic national chairman of Accord.

    “The NEC urged him to remain focused in rebuilding, rebranding and strengthening the party to meet the needs and expectations of citizens for a better Nigeria,’’ he said.

    Mgbudem added that NEC also welcomed back members who were misled into instigating rebellion against the party leadership to destabilise it and bring it to ridicule.

    He said that NEC also urged members to remain in one accord, as there was no faction in the party.

    The national chairman said that the court had since vacated the interim order obtained by Imumolen, which naturally expired after seven days as ruled by the presiding Judge, Justice M. M. Adamu of the  FCT High Court on Sept. 4.

    He said that the judge, in his ruling, had also ordered the intruders to vacate the party’s national secretariat which they forcefully took over on Aug. 31.

    Mgbudem said that Accord had commenced massive membership drive, aimed at repositioning it as a major stakeholder in the country’s democratic process.

    The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr Joseph Omorogbe, in an interview with newsmen, said that the party was united and ready to compete with other political parties in the 2027 general elections.

    “Members who left the party mistakenly are back, knowing that this is the way. With this, it is a milestone for us. This has not spilt us; it has further consolidated our move to winning elections in 2027,’’ he said.

    Omorogbe expressed support for President Bola Tinubu’s tax reforms, saying: “it is great because what you are not eating, you are not supposed to collect tax on it.’’

  • 2023: Why Nigerians should elect me – Accord presidential candidate

    2023: Why Nigerians should elect me – Accord presidential candidate

    The Accord Presidential Candidate, Prof. Christopher Imumolen, has appealed to Nigerians to endorse his candidature in 2023 general election in order to break away from the nation’s ugly past.

    Imumolen at a news conference on Monday in Ikeja, Lagos, said that voting for him as the next president would usher the nation into an era of aggressive integration and development.

    He said that the best way his countrymen and women could firmly point the way to a better and a more sustainable future was for them to reject the old order.

    Imumolen said: “I am a younger man with fresher ideas, to lead them into a new era of self-actualisation and all-round development.

    “Doing away with the old breed of leaders who have had nothing to offer despite decades of being at the helm, and deliberately seeking younger men, and women like me with something new and different to take their place, is the best way the country could hope to achieve it aim of rapid cultural, socio-economic recovery.

    “Nigerians have almost cried themselves hoarse for good leadership for so long now, without any respite.”

    According to him, for so long, Nigerians have had leaders who cared more about themselves than for the people.

    “For so long, we have had self-serving leaders who would rather line their pockets with the country’s common wealth, than work towards the collective good.

    “For so long, we have had a sect of leaders who have continued to recycle themselves to such extent that it was leaders we knew when we were growing up that are still struggling to remain relevant today, even when it is so clear that they have passed their prime.

    “But thank God that people like us have been given the grace to offer ourselves to Nigerians as ones better prepared to lead this country to the next level,” he added.

    The presidential candidate, who expressed his determination to digitalise the economy to fight corruption, said that his team had resolved to deal decisively with mass illiteracy, poverty and hardship as panacea for security.

    Imumolen said that his administration would embark on revival of education, empowerment of youths and women in small and medium enterprises and creation of wealth for all and sundry.

    The candidate said that his determination was to place back Nigeria on the path of prosperity and sustainable growth and development.

    “My message to Nigerians therefore is for them to carefully consider the options before them and choose those they know have the capacity and wherewithal to lead them out of this quagmire of going around in circles, stagnation and dryness.

    “And talking about capacity. I think, I, Professor Christopher Imumolen, is well prepared to lead Nigeria and offer the people hope again.

    “In my private capacity, I have been positively affecting lives and bringing succour to the depressed and underprivileged through different self-sponsored initiatives, schemes and programmes that have gone a long way in bringing smiles to millions of faces.

    “I am in no doubt that I would do more if given the chance to be president of this great country,” he said.

    The candidate said that his capacity in private sector remained unquestionably, and his impact in humanitarian, economic and education support to Nigerians privately in the last 15 years, had put him in the Book of Greatness in the UK.

    “I am in no doubt that I would do more if given the chance to be president of this great country I will take Nigeria to its determination of prosperity and place back Nigeria to the map of progressing nation in the world,” he said.

    He promised that if elected, he would be open to ethnic section and be a father to all having privately oversee an organisation with over five million people.

    “As a president, I will ensure that I bring the nation back to order. No nation without peace and unity will ever experience progress. Number one thing in our manifesto is national integration,” he said.

  • 2023: Presidential candidate, Prof Imumolen protests against media blackout

    2023: Presidential candidate, Prof Imumolen protests against media blackout

    Accord Party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 elections, Professor Christopher Imumolen has accused the Nigerian media of bias in its coverage of presidential candidates and their activities ahead the general election.

    The 2023 presidential elections’s youngest candidate is not happy that the media is deliberately creating the impression that only 4 out of the 18 aspirants vying for the office of Nigeria’s president should be promoted and given maximum exposure ahead the elections in February 2023.

    He condemns a situation where media organisations and groups have in recent months given undue recognition to a few handpicked parties and their candidates to the detriment of the larger majority in the area of fair coverage, saying that it was a trend that portends grave danger for the growth of democracy in the country.

    The academic and business man does not agree that the country’s future will be better served if the scope of choices is narrowed to just the candidates from the APC, PDP, Labour and NNPP on the grounds that they are bigger and more popular.

    “From what I have observed lately, it appears that the Nigerian media has formally decided to adopt only 4 candidates out of the 18 that have applied for the job of Nigeria’s president come 2023.

    “I need to be proved wrong on this, but the facts on ground suggests otherwise. The media does not give as much coverage to the other 14 presidential candidates as it does APC, PDP, Labour and NNPP, be it in their reports, news, analysis or debates.

    “Now, this is wrong. It is a trend that has been going on unabated since the campaigns started. It happened during the last NBA conference, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) conference, and recently, at the Arewa House summit in Kaduna.

    “I’m not just crying wolf where none exists. It appears that there is a deliberate attempt to sideline other political parties while preference is given to just a few under the misguided assumption that they are the major political parties. Who made them the major parties or candidates?

    “The media cannot decide who to present to Nigerians to vote for. It is the people’s inalienable rights to do that. Their job as the fourth estate of the realm is to allow a level playing field through unbiased reporting of all the candidates and their activities as enshrined in both the constitution and the electoral law.

    “But by limiting the choices of Nigerians by focusing on only the aforementioned political parties and their candidates, they inadvertently create the notion that only those 4 parties are eligible and worthy to be voted for in 2023.

    “The danger of this is that the media would have succeeded in denying Nigerians the choice of selecting fresh set of leaders to take them to the next level in a fast changing world.

    “Let me also make this clear. No one presidential candidate is bigger than the other. So long as we have all been passed fit to contest the elections, we are all equal and should be given equal representations at platforms where we can adequately reach out to the electorate and sell our manifestos.

    “I think it’s high time we stopped this myopic mindset of just believing that those who have led us before in one capacity or the other are the only ones who can lead us again,” Prof. Imumolen said.

  • How Accord party will address insecurity, unemployment in Anambra – Maduka

    How Accord party will address insecurity, unemployment in Anambra – Maduka

    Dr Godwin Maduka, governorship candidate of Accord Party in the Nov. 6 governorship election in Anambra, has outlined solutions to insecurity, unemployment and other problems bedevilling the state.

    Maduka, a medical practitioner, who made this known in Awka on Monday, said the party had mapped out lasting solutions to the challenges, if voted to power in the state.

    He said an increase in literacy level and attraction of foreign investors to the state would solve the problems of insecurity and unemployment.

    “We are ready and we are working to rescue the people of Anambra state.

    “The state has been witnessing unprecedented level of insecurity ranging from communal clashes, armed robbery, assassination, kidnapping and cultism.

    “Insecurity is birthed from a lack of job and money.

    “If I become the governor, we are going to change the narrative by encouraging foreign investors and Anambra billionaires to come, invest and establish their companies in the state.

    “About 30 to 40 per cent of the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in Lagos is from the Igbos. You can imagine what will happen if they come home and replicate same.

    “We will partner with some of these investors to build institutions that will create employment and wealth for our people.

    “The kind of IGR we will get from Nnewi, Onitsha and other metropolis, plus the allocation from Abuja will be enough to drive infrastructural development in the state, especially the education sector.

    “Increasing literacy level will help change the thinking and attitudes of residents and the youths, so that they shun vices that fuel insecurity in the state,” Maduka said.

    The governorship candidate said he would also ensure decency in politics to discourage people from idolising corruption, violence and thuggery.

    He urged the people to elect Accord Party during the election, in order to witness integrity and real development, commensurate with the resources of the state.

    ”If the people of Anambra want real, positive and progressive change, let them install a government that will keep its words and be fully committed to community development.

    “If I become the governor of Anambra state, our people will not regret it. My governance will benefit all – my opponents, friends and foes, ” Maduka said.

  • JUST IN: Court sacks Lulu-Briggs as Rivers Accord governorship candidate

    A Federal High court in Port Harcourt the Rivers state capital has sacked the Rivers state governorship candidate for Accord Party, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, on the grounds that he was not the authentic candidate for the party.

    He was replaced with Mr. Precious Baridoo, who won the governorship ticket for the party, at the primary elections.

    Mr. Baridoo sometimes ago approached the court to declare him the authentic candidate for the party, having won the primary elections as the party flag bearer in the forthcoming governorship polls.

    He described Lulu-Briggs as an interloper, insisting that he was neither a member of Accord nor did he participate in the party primaries to win the party ticket.

    Delivering the judgement in Port Harcourt the state capital Thursday, the presiding Judge, Justice E. A. Obile states that as at the time of the party Primaries, Lulu- Briggs was still a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    However the party said they will appeal the judgement.

     

  • Lagos LG Poll: APC wins 369 councillorship seats, PDP, Accord take 7

    Lagos LG Poll: APC wins 369 councillorship seats, PDP, Accord take 7

    Details of final results of Saturday’s local government election in Lagos released by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) on Monday indicated that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won four councillorship seats in the polls.

    A statement issued by the commission ‘s Director of Publicity, Mr Oladapo Olatunde, indicated that Accord Party also won three councillorship seats in the election.

    According to the statement, the PDP won the four councillorship seats in Agege Local Government Area (LGA) Ward C, Itire-Ikate Local Council Development Area (LCDA)Ward A, Ikorodu LGA Ward G, and Oriade LCDA Ward A.

    Accord Party won in Agege LGA Ward E, Ikosi-Isheri LCDA Ward D and Shomolu/Kosofe Ward E.

    Aside the seven councillorship seats, the All Progressives Congress swept all the chairmanship seats and the remaining 369 councillorship seats in the 20 LGAs and 37 LCDAs in the state.

    The analysis of the results showed that nine out of the 12 parties that participated in the election did not record any win.

    The LASIEC chairman, retired Justice Ayotunde Phillips, according to the statement, congratulated all winners and urged them to justify the confidence reposed in them.

    She urged them to do so by making impact with their leadership in their respective areas.

    Phillips thanked the political parties and their agents for the peaceful way they conducted themselves during the election.

    The commission’s Chairman also commended security agents for helping to maintain law and order during the election.

    She thanked the media and civil society organisations that partnered the commission to conduct the polls.

    Ayotunde said the election was largely successfully conducted, but admitted initial delays in the deployment of materials to polling units.

    She attributed the delays to the downpour on the day of the polls, which affected easy movement of materials to polling units.

    The chairman thanked all Lagosians for the support given to the commission to ensure successful conduct. (NAN)