TheNewsGuru

Tag: bayelsa

  • Guber polls: Bayelsa, Kogi, most difficult states to conduct elections in Nigeria – INEC

    …warns political gladiators against inciting violence

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned the actions and utterances of political actors were likely to militate against peaceful conduct of the November 16 governorship election in Bayelsa.

    The National Chairman of INEC, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood, who spoke on Tuesday when he visited the office of the Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council in Yenagoa, said unguarded actions and utterances of politicians could lead to the breach of peace during electioneering, voting and collation of results.

    Mahmood, who was accompanied by senior officials of the commission and security agencies led by the Zone 5 Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Dibal Yakadi, also complained about the use of armed thugs to disrupt the voting and the collation processes.

    Describing Bayelsa and Kogi as the most difficult states to conduct major elections, Mahmood further said the commission was further bothered about the ugly trend of voting buying insisting that democracy should not be on sale in the open market.

    He said the commission was deploying 10,000 ad-hoc employees in different parts of Bayelsa for the exercise, adding that INEC would not allow anybody to attack them.

    Addressing the council led by the Amayanabo of Twon Brass, King Alfred Diette-Spiff, the INEC boss said: “We have a few areas of concern.

    “The first one is action and utterances likely to lead to the breach of the peace during electioneering campaign, during voting on the Election Day and during the collation of results.

    “In 2015, up to the eight local government areas in Bayelsa State, we conducted elections conclusively and made declaration of results only in one local government area, Kolokuma-Opokuma.

    “I have been asking all my friends in Bayelsa what makes Kolokuma-Opokuma thick?

    “Today, I have the opportunity finally to actually visit Kolokuma-Opokuma and I was in Kaiama and the staff assured us that just as it happened in 2015, it will happen again.

    “Next is the recurrent problem where some unscrupulous actors follow voters to polling units with money on Election Day to induce them. It is called vote buying.

    “Our democracy cannot be on sale in the open market. The citizens should be allowed to vote for whoever they choose in the Election Day.

    “We appeal to you to continue to speak to politicians and their supporters on peaceful conduct during the campaign process and beyond”.

    On why all eyes would be on Bayelsa and Kogi, Mahmood said: “First, this will be the first major election since the 2019 general elections in Nigeria.

    “What lessons have we learnt since the conduct of the general election that will help us to improve on the forthcoming governorship election?

    “Secondly, Bayelsa and Kogi are not easy states when it comes to conducting major elections particularly governorship election.

    “The challenge is particularly in terms of the terrain and therefore it has an impact on electoral logistics.

    “But another great challenge is the attitude of the political class which has become a source of concern to the commission”.

    The professor also said that the House of Assembly election would hold in Brass Constituency 2 in Brass Local Government Area on the same day scheduled for the governorship election.

    Mahmood said the commission was ready to conduct peaceful, free, fair, credible and conclusive election in Bayelsa and appealed to the traditional rulers to make suggestions and contributions that would change the narrative in Bayelsa.

    Ditte-Spiff commended INEC for seeking the advice of the traditional rulers in the state and appealed to the commission to prevail on security agencies to reduce military presence during the election.

    Addressing Mahmood, he said: “The military presence in the last election was too much.

    “They were brought here by one or two candidates. They also after the election eliminated one or two persons.

    “You will need to appeal to the army in particular to try to contain their men so that they would not go off the handle and scare people away from the polling units. One or two areas are not approachable.”

  • Bayelsa Guber Poll: REC says satisfied with PVC collection rate

    The Bayelsa Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr Monday Tom, says INEC is satisfied with the percentage rate of Permanent Voter Card (PVC) collection, promising that the body is adequately prepared to conduct the Nov. 16 governorship election in the state.

    Tom made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers capital.
    The REC said only about 33,000 PVCs remained uncollected out of the 923,000 for eligible registered voters in the state, representing over 90 per cent of distributed PVCs ahead of the governorship election.
    “We actually extended PVC collection to between Sept. 2 and Sept. 30, just to ensure that electorate have their PVCs.
    “And during the exercise, the response was high because out of about 47,000 PVCs with INEC over 15,000 were collected, leaving a balance of about 33,000 unclaimed PVCs,” he said.
    He also said that so far, the commission had concluded training for INEC staff and distribution of non-sensitive materials.
    “As far as the commission is concerned, we are doing the best to get totally prepared for the Bayelsa gubernatorial election.
    “We’ve concluded on most of the training for officers, we have trained the Senior Polling Officers (SPOs), we have done all levels of non-sensitive materials received, batched and set for onward distribution to the racks.
    “Due to the difficult terrain in Bayelsa with about 70 per cent water component, we adopted to use the racks system and not the Local Government Areas, this is to ensure prompt and easy access to the polling units.
    “So far, we have got all our non-sensitive materials for the election, we have harvested the SPOs and by next week we shall be training the Polling Officers (POs) and the Assistant Polling Officers (APOs),” he added.
    Tom said finances required for the conduct of the election were already secured at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
    According to him, planning an election is like climbing a ladder, adding that so far, the commission was almost done with the entire process.
    “Today, we are handing over registers to 45 political parties that will participate in the election and this exercise represents almost the concluding part of every election plan,” he said.
  • Drumbeat of violence ahead Bayelsa, Kogi poll, By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Drumbeat of violence ahead Bayelsa, Kogi poll, By Ehichioya Ezomon

    By Ehichioya Ezomon
    Barely one month to the November 16, 2019, off-season governorship election in Bayelsa and Kogi, political actors are living up to the billing of the states as “politically volatile.”
    Reports of violence or potential assaults are on the rise, with the two major rival parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) trading counter-accusations of being purveyors of the disturbances.
    The stakes are high in both states, as one party tries to take over from the other. In Bayelsa, APC angles to oust the ruling PDP, while in Kogi, the opposition PDP pulls all stops to upstage the APC.
    More worrisome are the “strongmen” involved in the election. In Bayelsa, outgoing Governor Seriake Dickson of the PDP seeks to install Senator Diri Douye, while former governor and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva of the APC backs Chief David Lyon.
    In Kogi, Governor Yahaya Bello’s bid to retain his seat is challenged by Mr. Musa Wada, son of former Governor Idris Wada. This makes the poll in Bayelsa and Kogi a “battle of Governors.”
    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigeria Police and poll watchers have identified Bayelsa and Kogi as “flash points” for violence in every election cycle in the country.
    So, way back in the run-up to this poll, and against the untoward happenings in the 2019 general election, the electoral umpire, facilitators and observers had put machineries in motion to sensitise the political players in the states to the adverse effects of manipulating, and inducing mayhem in the electoral process.
    The forewarning was wisely and promptly sounded, as it’s meant to encourage the states to shed the blighted toga they’d worn over the years during the choice of representatives of the people.
    After all, a parlance in Esanland, Edo State, says that, “If you’re told that you’re not physically (walking) straight, you should strive to straighten your gait.”
    But recent events in Bayelsa and Kogi have shown that public optimism for a possible change of the status quo is misplaced, as the actors are back to their “thuggery” in election matters.
    From the primaries to pick the candidates and running mates, and the commencement of campaigns for the poll, verbal and physical combats have taken over the political arena.
    Thus, it’s timely, and instructive that the INEC has iterated its pledge to conduct the poll in Bayelsa and Kogi to the satisfaction of all stakeholders in the electoral system.
    The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, at a parley with stakeholders in Kogi on Thursday, November 10, harped on the harm that bitter political rivalry wreaks on the society.
    Without mincing words, he reminded the participants about “this unfortunate image of the state (Kogi) “as a violence-prone state when it comes to elections.”
    He said: “Actions and utterances of political actors and their supporters, likely to lead to violence during electioneering, during voting on election day and during collation of results, is a big source of concern to the commission.
    “Campaigns have commenced. You have a responsibility, as citizens of Nigeria and of Kogi, to keep your state away from this toga of trepidation, concerns, tensions and violence during elections.”
    Agreeing to come with the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the INEC boss said: “If coming to Kogi every week, between now and November 16, will lead to peace and credible election in Kogi State, I will come to Kogi every week till the end of the election.”
    Violent clashes had occurred in parts of Kogi lately, with the camp of Governor Bello of the APC alleging they’re perpetrated by the PDP to stop his re-election bid.
    But the PDP, which fields Mr. Wada for the November poll, said the APC’s on the prowl, cautioning, “we will not sit and fold our hands when we are being tormented by undemocratic forces.”
    The omens trending in Kogi are replicated in Bayelsa, a state where elements in “disbanded” militant groups need little incentive to return to their old ways that have held the Niger Delta, and indeed Nigeria, in the jugular.
    Sadly, the major actors that should advance peace, are the ones fanning discord, by telling party faithful that the other political rival(s) plans to “steal our mandate” at the poll, thus putting opponents and the voters in harm’s way.
    More worrisome, and dangerous, is party leaders’ continued drumming into their followers that a state belongs to a particular political party, as if politics is static.
    For instance, Governor Dickson has boasted that the PDP would retain the state under it column, having been its “stronghold” since 1999.
    At the launch of the party campaign in Yenagoa, the governor warned of the consequences of the state falling into the “hands of criminals and bandits,” a reference to the opposition APC.
    He said: “This state is totally and wholly PDP. Let me caution the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies; if you are here to kill and intimidate, you will have to do so much work because you have thousands of people to intimidate, to maim and to kill.”
    Later in Lagos, the governor told newsmen that, “What (Nigeria) AGIP (Oil Company) has done is to outsource terrorism to the so-called candidate of the APC, Chief David Lyon, and I think in the next couple of days, when you see some images, you will be appalled.”
    In a repost, the National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, wondered why a governor of Dickson’s calibre could engage in “gutter language” to describe his party’s opponent.
    Citing the governor’s verbal war as a sign of his imminent defeat at the election, Oshiomhole said: “Let me use this opportunity to reply directly to my friend, Governor Dickson of Bayelsa.
    “When a governor describes one of his own (indigenes) purely on the account of his political differences, using the name of terrorists and such things like that, then he has missed (lost) it already.
    “We will not come to his own level. On this occasion, we will invoke a popular statement made by Michelle Obama at the peak of the last presidential election in the U.S. when she said, ‘When they go low, we go high.’”
    This back-and-forth from party leaders doesn’t bode well for the November 16 election that Nigerians have anticipated would close the controversial chapter on the 2019 general election.
    The political gladiators should temper their language. Specifically, Governor Dickson has lived above the political fray, and shouldn’t, for wanting to “install” a successor, sell dummies that encourage his followers to undermine the laws of the election.
    He should maintain his statesmanlike posture of almost eight years in the saddle, and wait on the LORD to give power to whom He wishes. When the polls are over, you will all remain Bayelsans!
    * Mr. Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
  • INEC deploys 26,000 ad hoc staff for Kogi, Bayelsa poll

    INEC deploys 26,000 ad hoc staff for Kogi, Bayelsa poll

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC ) says it has deployed 26,000 ad hoc staff for the Nov. 16, Kogi and Bayelsa governorship poll.

    INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said this during a visit to the commission’s office at Koton-Karfe in Kogi on Thursday.

    “I want to tell you that for the Kogi and Bayelsa governorship poll, each of the 26,000 school staff that will work on Election Day is going to receive a letter of appointment.

    “That letter will among other things give a detailed breakdown of the allowance that each ad hoc staff is entitled to and a procedure for complain in case there are issues.

    “So, no ad hoc staff will go into election without knowing exactly what his entitlements are,” he said.
    Yakubu expressed satisfaction that non -sensitive materials had been delivered in most Local Government Areas (LGAs) ahead of the election.

    He said that the offices were only waiting for card readers and sensitive materials for the election.

    He urged the staff to ensure that they keep their eyes on the providers of transportation having signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the National Union of Road Transport Workers ( NURTW ) to convey election materials.

    He said that the commission was committed to opening polling units at 8 a.m., and told the staff that there should be no excuses.

    “I can see from the arrangement you have made, I am confident that you will beat that target.

    “We don’t want Nigerians to wait for us, we want officials of the commission to wait for voters come on Election Day,” he said.

    Yakubu said adequate arrangements had been made with boats and canoe owners to transport election materials to communities along the river.

    The Chairman said INEC had discharged its obligation adding all money required for the election has been released.

    “We will keep our eyes open to ensure that all ad hoc staff are paid fully and promptly for the election and keep our eyes on the process too,” he said.

    Earlier, Mr Mansur Suliaman ,INEC Electoral Officer, Koton-Karfe LGA said the area has a total of 53,590 registered voters ,11 registration areas ,67 polling units and 32 voting points.

    Suliaman said that immediately the commission released the time-table for the election, series of events were organised including security meetings.

    He said that 2745 Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) were received,247 were issued and 2,498 were uncollected.

  • INEC to publish Bayelsa, Kogi voters’ registers on Monday

    INEC to publish Bayelsa, Kogi voters’ registers on Monday

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will on Monday, November 14, officially publish the voters’ registers in Bayelsa and Kogi states.

    This was contained in a statement by the Commission’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr Festus Okoye.

    According to the statement, the registers would also be presented to all the political parties sponsoring candidates for the November 16 governorship election in the states on Monday as well.

    The Commission also appealed to candidates of the various political parties to desist from making comments and insinuations capable of inciting violence and instill fear in the hearts of the electorate in the states.

    The statement also reminded the parties the submission of names of Polling Agents would close on November 2, while all forms of campaigning are expected to end on November 14, two days before the election day.

    “In line with Section 20 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will on Monday, 14th October, 2019, officially publish the Register of Voters and present same to all the political parties sponsoring candidates for Bayelsa and Kogi governorship elections, scheduled for 16th November, 2019

    “The events will take place at the Commission’s offices in Yenagoa, for Bayelsa State, and Lokoja for Kogi State, and will be presided over by the Supervising National Commissioners and assisted by the Resident Electoral Commissioners of the respective states.

    “From our records, a total of 45 political parties will take part in the govemorship election in Bayelsa State, while 23 will contest in Kogi State, being those who are sponsoring validly nominated candidates.

    “As we continue the countdown to the elections in the two states, the Commission wishes to remind the political parties that 2nd November, 2019 is the last day for submission of names of Polling Agents for the election to the Electoral Officers in the two states while 14th November, 20l9 is the last day for campaigns.

    “We appeal to all candidates to avoid comments capable of inciting violence and instilling fear during their campaigns,” INEC said..

  • JUST IN: Gunmen kidnap 84-year-old monarch in Bayelsa

    Unidentified gunmen Thursday abducted the 84-year-old Traditional Ruler of Tarakiri Clan in Southern Ijaw, Bayelsa State, His Royal Majesty, King Agbabou Week.

    The monarch, who is the father of the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Doodei Week, was whisked away from his country home at Ayama-Ijaw in the council.

    The Ebenanaowei of Tarakiri Clan was reportedly kidnapped about 11:20pm on Wednesday by seven masked men, who carried weapons including AK47 rifles.

    The assailants were said to have ransacked the palace of the king carting away television sets, jewelry and other valuables.

    They were said to have mishandled the victim as they dragged him on the ground to the waterside, where they fled with him on speedboats.

    Speaking on the development, the Paramount Ruler of Ayama-Ijaw Community, Chief Amen Sariki, confirmed the incident, saying the gunmen stayed in the community for about an hour looking for his house.

    He said: “About 11:20pm on Wednesday, the wife and children of our clan head ran to my house crying. It was clear that they had been beaten up. They broke the news to me that the King had been kidnapped.

    “They told me that the gunmen held them hostage, while they searched the house. After searching, they carried a television set, collected jewelry and other valuable items. They then dragged the King who was wearing only pants on the ground up to the waterside.

    “At that point, I started receiving report that the gunmen were still in the community. So I tried to reach the Joint Military Task Force and the Nigerian Police but didn’t get any response. After about an hour, I was told the gunmen had left the community.

    “When we got to the waterside, I learnt that the kidnappers held a 20-year-old girl they saw on their way at gun point and asked her to tell them where my house is. According to her, she lied that she is not from the community and wouldn’t know my house.

    “To mount pressure on her to talk, they stripped and sexually harassed her for several minutes but she refused to tell them where my house was. When they got tired, they untied a speedboat belonging to the commissioner and fled the community.”

    When contacted, the Bayelsa State Police Public Relations Officer, Asinim Butswat, confirmed the incident and promised to give details later.

  • JUST IN: [Bayelsa guber] Court orders substituted service on Lyon, running mate

    JUST IN: [Bayelsa guber] Court orders substituted service on Lyon, running mate

    A frontline aspirant in the concluded governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bayelsa State, Preye Aganaba, has moved a suit he filed against the party and its candidate, Chief David Lyon, from the state to the Federal High Court, Abuja.

    A copy of the court proceeding showed that the case came up on Wednesday for mentioning at the Federal High Court 4, Abuja presided over by Justice I.E. Ekwo.

    Granting a motion ex parte file by Aganaba, Ekwo ordered substituted service of all the processes in the suit on David Lyon and his running mate, Biobaekuma Degi.

    The judge ordered that the substituted service should include pasting the originating process or other processes on the wall or any part of the National Headquarters of the APC.

    Ekwo also described the mode of service he issued against the APC candidate and his running mate as sufficient.

    But the court turned down one of the prayers by the plaintiff asking the court to abridge the time which the defendants may enter appearance, file and serve their respective defence process to 14 days.

    Ekwo, who said he could not issue such order in the absence of other parties, adjourned the case to October 16.

    Aganaba in the substantive suit asked the court to void the primaries that produced Lyon as the candidate of the party for the November 16 governorship election in the state.

    Aganaba, a founding member of the APC in Bayelsa, dragged the APC, Lyon, Degi and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the court as defendants in a suit he personally filed on September 12.

    The aspirant urged the court to make a declaration that the primaries scheduled for September 4 across the 105 wards in the eight local government areas of the state did not take place.

    He also asked the court to make a declaration that since there were no primaries, the declaration of results that produced David Lyon as the candidate of the party was illegal, unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect.

    The aspirant further demanded an order setting aside the results of the APC primary election, which returned Lyon as the candidate of the party for November 16 election.

  • I remain speaker of Bayelsa Assemby – Isenah

    I remain speaker of Bayelsa Assemby – Isenah

    Assemblyman Tonye Isenah, Speaker of Bayelsa House of Assembly has dismissed the report of his impeachment.

    He insisted that he remained the speaker of the assembly on Monday in Yenagoa.

    The plenay on Monday witnessed gunshots at the Bayelsa House of Assembly by some youths that stormed the assembly complex in Yenagoa.

    Isenah, however, adjourned the session indefinitely for the house to proceed on recesss.

    The members who sat back reportedly resumed sitting and allegedly impeached the speaker in absentia and without the mace.

    A lawmaker said that there was tension around the assembly complex in the build-up to the sitting where the speaker was expected to resign on Monday.

    The assemblyman also said that the leadership of Peoples Democratic Party had advised Isenah to resign, pleading anonymity.

    But Isenah insisted that his resignation was premature and could only happen after the election.

    ”I did not resign, neither was I impeached, I presided over the house and I did not preside as an impeached speaker, so as we speak the house is on recess and anything done by anyone is a nullity.

    ”The speculation that there was an understanding that I will resign is false, I challenge anyone canvassing that position to come up with a proof, .” Isenah said by telephone.

  • Tension in Bayelsa as new Speaker emerges

    Tension in Bayelsa as new Speaker emerges

    The embattled Speaker of the Bayelsa Assembly, Emmanuel Isenah, has been controversially impeached and replaced with a lawmaker representing Southern Ijaw Constituency 2, Monday Obolo.

    But a media Aide to Isenah, Ranami Afagha, said the impeachment of his boss would not stand as it was done against the standing rules of the House.

    Afagha said the mace of the House was violently taken away by thugs, adding that since the symbol of authority was not in the House activities of those who purportedly removed his boss were illegal and unconstitutional.

    “Those who don’t want peace said they removed speaker without the presence of the mace.

    “The mace was taken away so any activity done without the mace is illegal. So, my boss still remains the Speaker,” he said.

  • INEC confirms delivering all non-sensitive materials for Bayelsa, Kogi polls

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has delivered all non-sensitive materials for the governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states.

    The Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the disclosure on Thursday in Lagos during the Anniversary Colloquium marking the Press Week of the Lagos State Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme for the colloquium, organised to mark the second anniversary of the present executive of the state NUJ, was: ”Ensuring Credible Off-season Elections in Nigeria”.

    Yakubu, represented by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, said that all the sensitive materials would be delivered one month before the election in November.
    .
    The INEC Chairman added that the commission had made available for collection all uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), pointing out Sept. 30 was deadline for the exercise.

    Yakubu, however, noted that some concerns of possible violence had been raised about the forthcoming Bayelsa and Kogi governorship elections, given the violence that led to the declaration of inconclusive elections in the two states in 2015.

    “Therefore, politicians in Bayelsa and Kogi must shed off the toga of political violence associated with elections in the two states.

    ”The commission will continue to work with security agencies under the auspices of the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to provide adequate security for all our elections.

    “Nigerians deserve and should always have free, fair and credible elections. INEC owes the nation and Nigerians a duty to ensure that votes count.

    ” The present commission has demonstrated this commitment in all the elections it has conducted, in spite of multiple challenges.

    “ Ultimately, the commission’s ability to organise credible elections also depend on the cooperation of all stakeholders in the electoral process and the strict adherence to the rules of the game.

    The commission will continue to ensure that votes count,” he noted.

    Also speaking at the coloquom, he Speaker, House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, said that the media held the potential to revolutionise how Nigeria remedy the shortcoming in her electoral system.

    Also speaking at the colloquium, the Speaker of the Houser of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila ,represented by Mr Tijani Ismail, Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Electoral Matters, said that there were widely-held views that Nigeria was gradually moving towards an era where the media will exert greater influence on the electoral process.

    He commended the media for enlightening the citizens on elections, noting that due to media efforts, many citizens were now educated about the electoral process.

    The speaker said Nigerian journalists had made the electoral process credible, stressing that journalists could not do it alone and called on other stakeholders to also do their best to strengthen the process.
    .
    He pointed out that since the resumption of the 8th Assembly, the House had entertained no fewer than 12 bills seeking to amend the provision of the Electoral Act 2010 and the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2015.

    “The credibility of “Off-season” elections and “On Season” elections are fundamentally not different to the extent that legal, institutional and structural impediments exist.

    “The reverse being the obvious case in the absence of such impediments,

    ”The thinning out of manpower on the part of the commission, security agencies, civil society, among other stakeholders in the course of “On Season” elections as compared with its opposite during the conduct of “Off Season” elections presents a microscopic viewing of the latter.

    “However, I must be quick to point out that the success and credibility of an election goes beyond the myriad of eyes fixated on the arena but also the conduct of the stakeholders, the resolve of politicians to not see politics as a do or die affair and many other variables,” he said.

    The chairman of NUJ, Lagos Council, Dr Qasim Akinreti, pointed out the role of journalists in sustaining democracy, including bringing those in authorities to accountability.

    Akinreti said that in line with journalists’ constitutional role in Section 35, 1999 constitution as amended, they were to make government and institutions accountable to the people.

    “We are making INEC and state governors of nine states accountable on their roles in ensuring of a credible off-season elections in Bayelsa, Kogi, Ondo, Anambra, Edo, Ekiti and Osun states.

    “Thus choice of the topic of discussion was carefully chosen to underscore the preparation for the another round of off-season elections in Nigeria and proffering solutions to avalanche of criticisms that have trailed past off-season elections in Nigeria.

    “Our aim is to ensure that votes in Nigeria in the aforementioned states count,” Akinreti said.

    Also speaking, the governor of Osun, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola, said that something needed to be done to sanitize the political stage and ensure that democracy continued to exist in Nigeria

    The governor, represented by his Chief Press Secretary, Dr Adeleke Ipaye, said that ballot snatching, under age voting had become regular feature in our elections.

    He said that there was the need to make elections credible as it was the tool to achieve the country’s desired unity, while calling for punishment for electoral offenders.

    Oyetola noted that power belonged to the people, urging the people vote out non performing governments, while security agents must fish out those persons among the political class that encouraged electoral fraud.

    He said the media had big role to ensure credible elections, stressing that there was need to encourage internal democracy and allow the best candidates to emerged during primaries.