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Tag: Ehichioya Ezomon

  • Rivers crisis: How Fubara can resolve stalemate without firing shot – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Rivers crisis: How Fubara can resolve stalemate without firing shot – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s made the world to believe that his predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Chief Nyesom Wike, is the architect and purveyor of the political crisis in the state. He’s used every opportune moment to drum this narrative for the consumption of a sympathetic public.

    Fubara struck a similar cord lately, at the heat of the contentious and bloody October 5, 2024, local government council election that’s resisted and boycotted by the Wike faction of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

    Appearing on a Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ on Monday, October 7, Fubara advised Wike to let go of his grip on the Rivers polity, “for the sake of the good people of Rivers State, and the love that you (Wike) have always professed for the state.”

    On the alleged breach of a “gentleman’s agreement” he’d entered into with Wike to secure his “anointing and endorsement” as the PDP candidate for the March 18, 2023, governorship, Fubara said he’d kept all “understanding” with Wike, and lounged into his talking point of how he’d repeatedly knelt down for Wike for peace to reign in Rivers.

    “There is nothing I have not done on this earth for peace to reign. I can tell you the number of times I have knelt to beg (Wike) that, let’s allow this issue to go. I have done everything,” Fubara said, even as continuously states, “I will not worship any human being but God” – indicating alleged Wike’s demand he (Fubara) should worship him, a charge Wike’s denied.

    Fubara says he appreciates the fact that Wike played a pivotal role in his governorship, but that it’s God that used Wike as a vessel to fulfil His purpose, and so, only God deserves his (Fubara’s) worship, and not any human. He echoed this sentiment on May 16, 2024, during the inauguration of Egbeda internal roads, in Emohua local government area of Rivers.

    Fubara said: “God can do anything He wants to do when He wants to do it. It is only for us to realise that God will not come down from Heaven but will pass through one man or woman to achieve His purpose. So, for that reason, when we act, we act as humans; human vessels that God has used, and not seeing yourself as God.

    “I want to say this clearly, that we appreciate the role our leaders, most especially the immediate past governor (Wike) played. But that is not enough for me to worship a human being. I can’t do that.”

    However, on May 11, 2024, in Ogu-Bolo, Rivers State, at a grand reception in honour of Chief George Thompson Sekibo for his 20 years of public service, Wike said he isn’t God, and as such, had never demanded that anybody should worship him. “Nobody can worship man. All of us believe that it is only God we will worship. (But) as politicians, we appreciate people who have helped us,” Wike said.

    Asked on the Channels TV’s programme what his message to Wike would be if they met, Fubara said: “I’ll tell him that it has gotten to a point where he needs to let go. We need peace in this state. You don’t necessarily need to win all the fights; at times, you just let go for the sake of the good people of Rivers State and the love that you have always professed for the state.”

    Noting that “election periods are over and it’s time for governance,” Fubara urged Wike to give peace a chance. “What I am appealing is: Everyone should sheathe their swords. Even to the Minister, my oga (my boss), there is no need to destroy this state. When it comes to the election period, you can fight and do whatever but now is the time for governance. We need all the support,” Fubara said.

    “He (Wike) once ruled this state and the state was an envy of every other state. Another person (Fubara) is there now, (and) what we need is the support. After four years or eight years, who knows? I will also leave and someone else will take over. That should be the spirit. Fubara will leave tomorrow. Who knows who is going to come? It might be through him or another person but we need to secure the state.”

    But does Fubara really desire peace in Rivers State? It doesn’t seem so! Otherwise, he should quit the baiting, the insulting, the denigrating, the rhetoric, and the labelling of Wike as “the enemy of Rivers State” – all done by Fubara to curry sympathy and secure the approval of the gaming public. You can’t be talking peace and at the same time be fanning the embers of war!

    Fubara can stoop to conquer by embracing genuine reconciliation with Wike. For instance, what stops the governor from telling those beating the drums of war for him that, “Enough is enough, I’m going to make peace with Wike for the sake of Rivers State and its people?”

    This shouldn’t be the kind of reconciliation that Fubara mouths regularly: That he’s knelt down a number of times to beg Wike, even as he (Fubara) threatens to deploy the “enormous powers that I have as Governor” to deal with the “enemies” of Rivers. That’s a Machiavellian approach, which “encourages leaders to lie, manipulate and use coercive persuasion to serve their own needs,” that hasn’t worked so far for the Fubara in solving the political problems on ground in Rivers.

    Former Rivers APC’s governorship candidate in the 2023 General Election, Tonye Cole, weighing in on the political crisis in the state, has suggested a tell-ourselves-the-truth parley among the four governors that’ve ruled Rivers since 1999: Dr Peter Odili, Mr Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Chief Nyesom Wike and Mr Siminalayi Fubara to resolve the stalemate.

    Speaking on Arise Television’s ‘Morning Show’ on October 8, Mr Cole said: “His Excellency ex-Governor Peter Odili, who is the father of this political dynamics, must sit at the table. His Excellency Rotimi Amaechi must sit at that table. Then Nyesom Wike, and Siminalayi Fubara must sit at that table.

    “The President can superintend this if he really wants peace in Rivers State. And a decision must be made that this is how we are going to be moving forward. Until that is done, as soon as Fubara’s time is about to end, you will see an all-out war.”

    This may not work due to the personal and partisan differences among the former governors and the incumbent. For example, Odili aligns with Fubara and alienates Amaechi and Wike; Amaechi’s sours on Odili, Wike and Fubara; Wike’s beef with Odili, Amaechi and Fubara; and Fubara and Wike are on a war path.

    In such a scenario, who’ll call for the “sit-at-table” peace meeting? President Bola Tinubu would’ve fitted the bill, but he literally burnt his fingers the last time he attempted a truce between Fubara and Wike. The agreement, witnessed and signed by Odili, Fubara and Wike, among others, collapsed almost immediately it’s hashed out, with Fubara, who initially said the agreement “wasn’t a death sentence,” turning round to lebel it as political and not constitutional.

    So, here’s a simple approach that’ll not only put Wike on his back foot, and induce him to return to the basic, but also push him to his wit’s end! Fubara should select some of the elders and leaders of the divide in Rivers, including the former governors, and inform Wike that he’s coming with a delegation on an agreed date, to fully reconcile with him. The ball will then be centrally placed in Wike’s court to either accept or refuse Fubara’s expressed desire for armistice between them.

    Fubara’s offer of peace should be widely publicised in the media – different from his claimed behind-the-scences kneeling down to beg Wike – for maximum pressure and effect on Wike, and it’ll be well and good if the overture comes through! If doesn’t – in the event that Wike declines the invitation to reconcile, his current and intended political antics will be exposed as being the real masquerade behind the political turmoil in Rivers State, and Fubara will be vindicated at last.

    All told, the “feat” Fubara achieved with the conduct of the local government council election hasn’t guaranteed a win over the war with Wike. Instead, he’s merely won the battle – a pyrrhic victory of some sorts – while the war remains. It’s still a dicey situation in which “a child doesn’t know when sleep takes food from their mouth” – depicting the futility of the  “clever person” attempting to hold on to something that’s slipping away from them.

    Fubara strives strenuously to exonerate himself from the crisis he’s helped engineer and sustain for a year now. That Rivers is going through the grinding mill is because of the governor’s failure to use tact and diplomacy in handling and dealing with Wike’s alleged overbearing influence on his government.

    Agreed that Wike – amid strong opposition and resistance from even political leaders from Fubara’s homestead – worked on the recommendation of some Rivers leaders, and took Fubara from the civil service to the Government House, for which Fubara should be grateful, and accord Wike the respect he deserves within the ambit of personal relationship and official conduct.

    Reciprocally, Wike should give Fubara the space to freely run his government, and not breath down his neck, as doing so portrays him as a “godfather” that exerts maximum loyalty from and punishment on their surrogates. That’s what Wike’s become, and as especially sold by Fubara to the public, which views the governor as the underdog, and backs his duel with Wike in the supremacy contest to control the political structure, power and resources of Rivers State.

    But in his quest to crush and humiliate Wike over his appetite for “godfatherism,” Fubara’s committed numerous unforced errors, as he listens and tries to satisfy his supporters, who pressure him to man up and “show Wike that you’re the Governor of Rivers State.” It’s time Fubara ditched their selfish advice, and chart a different course that’ll genuinely ensure peace and security in Rivers!

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

  • Rivers crisis: Fubara’s misconception and failure to answer obvious questions – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Rivers crisis: Fubara’s misconception and failure to answer obvious questions – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Following the bloody and destructive confrontations, aftermath of the October 5, 2024, heated and contentious local government council election in Rivers State, President BolaTinubu “called on Governor Siminalayi Fubara, political leaders and their supporters in Rivers State to exercise restraint and uphold the rule of law.”

    However, an exasperated Fubara quickly took issue with the president’s plea for peace, expressing concern that Tinubu singled him out for mentioning in the poll’s skirmishes between the warring camps of Fubara and his predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike.

    Perhaps in response to calls for his intervention in the yearlong Rivers crisis that’s defied his earlier peace overture – and boiled over on October 7, resulting in several deaths and destruction of public infrastructure across Rivers local government areas – Tinubu, via a statement by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga on October 7, urged armistice among the political gladiators and their supporters.

    The statement reads in part: “In response to recent tensions following last Saturday’s local government council election, the President expressed deep concern over reports of arson and explosions in the state. He urged all political actors to de-escalate the situation and discourage their supporters from engaging in violence or destructive actions.

    “President Tinubu directed the police to restore and maintain peace, law, and order immediately. While instructing law enforcement agencies to bring the situation under control, he emphasised the need to ensure the security of public institutions. President Tinubu said government facilities built with public funds must be safeguarded from vandalism.

    “He stressed that self-help has no place in a democratic system, especially after 25 years of continuous democracy. According to President Tinubu, the judiciary can settle all political disputes, and the outcome of this election should be no exception.”

    But an obviously untrusting Fubara questioned the president’s rationale for mentioning his name alone. As a guest on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today’ on the same day, Fubara said, “I do not have any issue with it (the president’s intervention) but I am a bit concerned when my name was only mentioned” (while Wike’s name was left out).

    Fubara added: “The issue (political crisis) is very simple. It’s as simple as ABC. Everyone in Nigeria, everyone in Rivers State, knows where this issue is coming from. It’s not rocket science. We know what the issue is and the issue is not Fubara, it is not.”

    Fubara’s knee-jeck reaction – a pattern seen since the supremacy battle between him and Wike – shows a lack of grounding in political nuances. Otherwise, he would’ve realised that President Tinubu’s message was clearly in his favour: He endorsed the conduct of the council poll, by asking aggrieved parties – who didn’t want the election to hold – to go to court for redress.

    Besides, Tinubu tactically recognised Fubara as the political leader in Rivers, and thus the onus on the governor to be in a better – if not the best – position to settle the rift between him and Wike, and the Rivers crisis. (How Fubara will do that is for another day.) That’s why Tinubu mentioned only Fubara’s name in his message of appeal for peace in Rivers.

    But Fubara misconstrued Tinubu’s intention, and, as usual, blamed Wike for the Rivers crisis, and hence the burden on Wike to resolve it. That’s why Fubara rhetoricically asked on the television programme, “Why is the case of Rivers State different? Why is the law or Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria interpreted in a different way when it comes to Rivers State?”

    Who but Fubara, as the Governor and Chief Executive of Rivers State, can provide answers to these posers? Doesn’t he realise that the Rivers’ case is different because he hasn’t come out with the truth about how and where he and Wike “hid the hoes” with which they weeded the Rivers political terrain during the 2023 General Election cycle? And doesn’t Fubara know he hasn’t been interpreting the Law or the Constitution according to the spirit and letter of the grundnorm?

    If the contrary were the case, Fubara shouldn’t have declared that, “I’m aware that RSIEC (Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission) told me they already had an order (of court) mandating them to conduct the (council) election on the 5th of October, 2024, and the security agencies to support them.”

    He added: “So, I think with that order, the election will be held. I might not be a lawyer but I know there is something they call ‘first-in-hand’ (court order), and since they (RSIEC) have the first-in-hand, we will give them all the necessary support for that election to be conducted… And is there any other court unknown to me that is bigger than the Supreme Court of Nigeria, whose judgment concerning a proper constitution of elected Local Government Councils is being obeyed (by the government and RSIEC) in Rivers State?”

    This’s the faulty premise upon which Governor Fubara based the conduct of the council election on October 5, indicating that he isn’t just a layman regarding the law, but one intent on subverting the rule of law, to satisfy his political aspiration.

    The law and the Practice Directions of Courts are clear on the parameters to be applied by the judiciary to solving legal issues. They’re:

    1) Courts of coordinate jurisdiction are equal, one is not superior to the other; and the pronouncements of one court can’t override the other court’s rulings.

    2) All courts judgments must be obeyed, but the latest ruling take precedence over prior order of a court of coordinate jurisdictionon on the same issue(s) for determination.

    3) The pronouncements by the Supreme Court supercede all opinions of the lower courts, viz., the Appeal Court and the High Courts at the federal and state levels.

    Seeming unversed in these rules, Fubara stated that: “However, the Rivers State Government and RSIEC itself also had a judgment that states clearly: Conduct the election with the voters’ register of 2023; and Police, DSS, Nigeria Army and other sister agencies should provide security. I might not be a lawyer, but I understand clearly that when it comes to the issue of judgment, there is something they call ‘first-in-time.’”

    Actually, when it comes to which to apply between pronouncements by courts of equal status, there’s also what’s called, “latest-in-time” – meaning the latest court order(s) should apply. In that instance, the judgment of the Abuja Federal High Court – being the latest on the issues – should supercede the orders of the Rivers High Court on the conduct of the council election, and be obeyed by all parties, pending any application or appeal to set it aside.

    Fubara’s right for asking, “And is there any other court unknown to me that is bigger than the Supreme Court of Nigeria, whose judgment concerning a proper constitution of elected Local Government Councils is being obeyed in Rivers State?”

    There’s no other court “bigger” (higher) than the Supreme Court, which’s the final arbiter in legal matters in Nigeria. But although the Supreme Court mandated the 36 States, including Rivers, to conduct council elections within 90 days (three months), to ensure a “democratically-elected local government system,” the apex court didn’t ask the Rivers government to circumvent an aspect of the process of the election, which’s the lacuna that the Abuja Federal High Court ordered the RSIEC and the Rivers government to rectify before they proceeded with the poll.

    Why did the Rivers government choose to adopt shortcuts to organising the council election? It’s unhelpful citing the exigency of the Supreme Court order to conduct the poll within 90 days. What about other states that’ve fixed their council elections beyond the 90 days ordered by the Supreme Court, and as sanctioned by President Tinubu in an agreement with state governors to conduct the ballots within the timeframe?

    Below is a schedule of dates for local government elections in many states: Akwa Ibom, October 5; Rivers, October 5; Jigawa October 5; Benue, October 5; Plateau, October 9; Kogi, October 19; Kaduna, October 19; Kano, October 26; Cross River, October 26; Nasarawa, November 2; Abia, November 2; Ogun, November 16; Ondo, January 18, 2025; Katsina, February 15, 2025; and Osun, February 22, 2025.

    Will some of these states be in breach of the Supreme Court order, and the agreement with Tinubu simply for conducting the council election outside the timeframe? Certainly not, as they’d scheduled the elections prior to the July 2024 Supreme Court and President Tinubu’s intervention in the matter of financial autonomy for Local Governments!

    Governor Fubara knew why he insisted on conducting the council poll – even when the RSIEC breached the provisions of the Rivers State law guiding the election, which prescribes a 90-day advance notice to political parties participating in the franchise. Fubara’s undisguised aim was – and is – to wrest the political structure of the PDP, from which the Wike faction declined to participate in the election until the issues it took to court were resolved and respected by the Rivers government.

    The question is: What would it’ve caused the Rivers government and RSIEC – in obedience to the Abuja court order – to postpone the election, and give adequate and appropriate notice to the parties before its conduct? One and only crucial thing: Governor Fubara wasn’t sure that he could snatch the political structure from Wike if the Minister’s camp were to participate in the election!

    While it filed a stay of execution and appeal yet to be considered, the Rivers government rejected the Abuja court judgment, and conducted the election won by the Action Peoples Party (APP) – reportedly backed by Fubara as the platform to ply his reelection bid in 2027. That’s been the gameplan, and it’s what the unending Rivers crisis is about!

    The probable obstacles to Fubara reaching and achieving that goal are the series of court cases flying between Rivers and Abuja on the Rivers crisis, and the possibility of a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) joining the remnants of the PDP to form a bloc under Wike’s headship. Otherwise, Fubara’s home and dry for his 2027 reelection with the feat his government has attained with the council poll!

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

  • Edo 2024: PDP, APC battle over alleged attempts to ‘doctor’ poll materials – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: PDP, APC battle over alleged attempts to ‘doctor’ poll materials – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    It’s rare for an election loser in Nigeria to move apace to lodge a petition at the tribunal for a retrieval of the alleged “stolen mandate” they often claim the people have given to them at the poll. Whatsoever the degree of their grievances, the election loser will wait till the eleventh hour before filing a petition.

    It’s as if they deliberately stall the process for a couple of reasons:

    1) To play for time, to traffic in alleged election malpractice, and exert maximum pressure on the candidate, who’s declared as the winner of the poll, to send a message that it’s not yet time to rejoice over the purported “stolen” ballot.

    2) When the aggrieved aren’t sure they can get judgment at the tribunal with the kind of allegations they levied, and the evidence against the “poll winner,” their party, the electoral umpire and security agencies.

    It’s easy to make serious allegations of skewed process: disenfranchisement of voters; suppression of votes; over-voting; buying of votes; alteration of results; and connivance of the electoral body, the party of the poll winner and the Police – all of which must be “proved beyond all reasonable doubts,” and “in substantial compliance” with the relevant electoral laws.

    In the case of the Edo governorship of September 21, 2024, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Dr Asue Ighodalo, have made weighty allegations against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Police on the grounds of “fraudulent and wrongful” declaration of Senator Monday Okpebholo (APC, Edo Central) as the winner of the poll.

    On September 29, the PDP and Ighodalo quickly obtained an order of the Edo State Election Petitions Tribunal, directing the INEC to “hand over the comprehensive list of electoral materials in its custody for the inspection of Ighodalo and the PDP, and the taking of the Certified True Copy (CTC) thereof.”

    The three-member tribunal Chairman, Justice W. I. Kpochi, giving the order in the suit marked, EPT/ED/GOV/01M/2024, between Ighodalo and the PDP, as Applicants, and the INEC, Okpebholo and the APC, as Respondents, said it’s hereby ordered:

    “That the 1st Respondent is directed to grant the Applicants or their Solicitors and Forensic documents Examiners unfettered access to and open up for inspection all electoral documents or any document in the custody of the National Chief Electoral Commissioner or any officer of the Commission/1st Respondent particularly the Voter Registers, the ballot papers, the BVAS machines, Forms EC25B, EC 25B(1), Forms EC40A and Forms EC40C which were utilised for the conduct of the Edo State Governorship Election held on the 21st September 2024.

    “That the 1st Respondent is mandated to take immediate steps to ensure that all the Forms: EC25B, EC25B(I), EC40A, EC40C, EC40G, EC40G(I) used at the gubernatorial election of 21st of September, 2024 either in the custody of the Chief National Electoral Commissioner, Resident Electoral Commissioner of Edo State or any other officer of the Commission are preserved, kept temper-proof and secure pending the filing, hearing and determination of the Petition to be filed by the Applicants.

    “That the 1s Respondent is further directed to produce and give to the Applicants, forthwith upon payment of appropriate certification fees, a List of accredited agents of all the political parties that participated in the Edo state gubernatorial election. Voters register for each of the polling units.”

    Before – and since the conclusion of the process on September 22 – Ighodalo’s spoken about being deprived of “victory,” and vowed to regain his “stolen mandate” with the evidence at his disposal, telling Channels TV’s ‘Politics Today’ on September 27, as reported by Daily Trust, that the INEC, APC and the Police colluded to rob him of his “mandate.”

    Ighodalo said: “There was a collusion between the INEC and the police to suppress the will of the people of Edo State. People of Edo State purposely voted for us (PDP). We won the election clearly. But we have serious collusion by INEC and the APC working towards votes not counting. But this time around, we will go through the judicial process and the vote will count.”

    The Ighodalo/PDP camp also alleged an underhand tactic by the INEC and APC to frustrate their getting justice at the tribunal. Amid allegation of “doctoring” of the election materials – to sustain the reported manipulated results in favour of Okpebholo – the Ighodalo/PDP team applied to inspect the electoral materials, to enable it flesh up its petitions, and meet the deadline for filing of petitions at the tribunal.

    But officials of the INEC office in Benin City, Edo State capital city, reportedly refused to allow the applicants’ counsel to examine the election materials, as directed by the tribunal. The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Debo Ologunagba, firing on all cylinders on October 7, said:

    “The action of the INEC in Edo State validates reports of criminal connivance of some INEC officials with the APC to obstruct the course of justice and suppress evidence of the manipulation and doctoring of election results which was clearly won by the PDP and its candidate.

    “Information available to the PDP indicates that the heavily-compromised INEC officials and the APC are working to alter the data in the BVAS machines, results sheets, ballot papers and other vital information in favour of the defeated APC candidate.

    “INEC and the APC must know that there is no way the PDP and the people of Edo State will allow the mandate freely given to our party and candidate at the September 21, 2024, Edo State governorship to be illegally transferred to the APC which was defeated at the election.”

    Responding to the Ighodalo/PDP allegations, the INEC office in Benin City denied obstructing any political party from inspecting election materials and BVAS machines used for the governorship, with the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr Anugbum Onuoha, in a statement on October 9, decrying the accusation.

    Onuoha said: “The attention of INEC and my office has been drawn to certain unfounded allegations suggesting that I have refused political parties and their representatives access to inspect the BVAS devices and other election materials used during the recent election.

    “We wish to categorically state that these allegations are baseless, misleading, and completely devoid of truth. INEC, under my leadership in Edo, remains committed to upholding the highest standards of transparency, fairness, and integrity of all electoral processes.

    “We are dedicated to supporting the lawful processes that enable parties to seek redress in the courts. In furtherance of this commitment, I wish to inform the public that the inspection of the election materials, including the BVAS devices, has been formally scheduled for Wednesday (October 9) at the INEC headquarters in Benin.”

    But on that Wednesday, the inspection couldn’t hold due to objections raised by the Okpebholo/APC lawyers: That they’re only served, at the venue, the tribunal order for the Ighodalo/PDP lawyers to inspect the INEC materials; and that rather than the BVAS machines, the inspection should commence with the register of voters.

    Again on Thursday, October 10, the inspection couldn’t hold, owing to a reported clash between supporters of the APC and PDP, and gunfires by thugs around the INEC office; and Okpebholo/APC’s lawyers’ petition to INEC, alleging that the BVAS machines and other election materials were conveyed in Edo State government vehicles, thus raising suspicion of possible tampering with the evidence by the Ighodalo/PDP team.

    With no immediate response to the Okpebholo/APC petition, the INEC postponed, indefinitely, the inspection of election materials, even as six of the 18 parties, including APC, which participated in the September poll – citing INEC’s inability to begin the process on October 11 – have rescheduled a joint inspection of the materials to Monday, October 14, at the INEC headquarters in Benin City.

    As reported by PUNCH on October 10, counsel to Okpebholo/APC, Victor Ohionsumua, told journalists that the party would only return for the inspection once their petition had been addressed, stating that the Edo APC chairman, Emperor Jarrett Tenebe, submitted the petition to the state REC, the Commissioner of Police, and the Department of State Services (DSS) in Edo.

    Mr Ohionsumua said Mr Tenebe observed that the BVAS machines and voter registers were brought into the INEC complex a few days ago in Edo State Government vehicles, adding that, “on that basis, we raised an objection that the petition must be addressed before the materials inspection can proceed. The INEC legal officer wanted to move forward with the inspection without directives from the REC.

    “We insisted on hearing from the REC, and that our petition must be addressed before proceeding. During this, the situation became chaotic, and we began hearing gunshots outside the complex. The INEC Director of Operations then decided to adjourn the inspection indefinitely, citing security concerns. He has not informed us if we are to return on Friday (October 11).”

    The question: Why did the INEC convey very sensitive materials – such as the BVAS machines and other materials used in the Edo governorship, which were billed for inspection by fierce rival political parties – with vehicles belonging to the Edo State government, which’s controlled by the PDP and Governor Godwin Obaseki, who’s “anointed” and promoted Dr Ighodalo to succeed him in November 2024?

    But REC Onuoha denied the Okpebholo/APC allegation that the Ighodalo/PDP team smuggled BVAS machines and voter registers into the INEC office, stating that a thorough investigation found the charge to be “baseless and unsubstantiated,” The ConclaveNg reported on October 11.

    Onuoha said: “Following a comprehensive review of the allegations, it has been determined that the allegations are baseless, unsubstantiated, and entirely without merit. INEC maintains a steadfast commitment to upholding the integrity of the electoral process, and at no time were the BVAS machines or voters’ registers compromised or unlawfully accessed by any political party or external entity.

    “In light of these findings, we are in full compliance with the recent court order, directing the inspection of electoral materials, including the BVAS machines and voters’ registers. INEC is prepared to facilitate this inspection process, ensuring transparency and adherence to the rule of law. We urge all parties to cooperate fully during this process.”

    The Okpebholo/APC team had reportedly “smelt a rat” when the Ighodalo/PDP camp proceeded to the tribunal, to obtain an order on Sunday, September 29, to inspect the INEC materials used for the Edo election, prompting thousands of APC’s supporters, on October 7, to protest an alleged plot to “tamper with the result sheets and other materials.” They blocked the entrance into the INEC office in Benin City, creating a gridlock around the area.

    Reportedly led by the Deputy Governor-elect, Hon. Dennis Idahosa (APC, Ovia Federal Constituency), the APC supporters allegedly acted on a piece of intel: That Governor Obaseki suddenly returned from his “terminal leave” overseas “with Sophisticated Infrared-Driven Technology, with preloaded results, to manipulate the INEC database.”

    A social media post by “Akpakomiza Media Strikers” – one of the political groups that campaigned for the election of Okpebholo – stated that, “credible sources have raised concerns about the true intent behind Obaseki’s recent trip to Italy, shortly after the Edo State gubernatorial election,” alleging that the trip was a “calculated scheme to manipulate the election results through sophisticated technology.”

    According to the post: “Obaseki is said to have access to specialised software capable of interfering with the INEC portal. It is claimed that this infrared-driven software has been pre-configured to alter the election data once Obaseki gains access to the relevant systems. The people of Edo State, having participated in a democratic process, are being alerted to remain vigilant and to resist any last-minute attempts to undermine the integrity of the election.”

    In a tensed political season like the one in Edo State, aftermath of the September 21 governorship, deliberate falsehood, and unverified and unsubstantiated allegations will fly around in attempts to smear and disorient opponents, and sway or influence members of the tribunal hearing the election petitions.

    But election petitions aren’t decided or won on social media – as the 2023 General Election has starkly shown – but at the tribunal before which must be placed verifiable facts and figures, and convincing arguments for an informed decision. So, the parties to the petitions should set sight on the ball, and leave shadow-boxing that belonged in the campaign period!

     

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

  • Edo 2024: Heading to tribunal, Ighodalo dashes Okpebholo’s hope for ‘congratulation’ – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: Heading to tribunal, Ighodalo dashes Okpebholo’s hope for ‘congratulation’ – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    The typical politician shows only one part of their persona when campaigning for elective office. They tell the public that they seek the political position simply – and solely – to render service to the people. They deny the craving for further expansion of their private frontiers with public power, resources, and influence!

    Note that the tongue-in-cheek politician or politico-technocrat doesn’t render any noticeable service – not to talk of a selfless one – for the general good, but only to themselves, their immediate and extended families, friends, business associates and old school mates, if they still remember them.

    The grassroots are never in the reckoning of the average politician or technocrat until it comes to seeking to occupy an elective position. If their competitors abridged their ambition, they rave and rant in the media about a “stolen mandate” allegedly given to them by the very people they’ve never considered on their way to the top.

    The tenacious efforts to “retrieve the stolen mandate” – with a huge financial outlay to hire several of the best and most expensive senior lawyers – betrays the politician’s selfish reason for wanting to serve in an elective position. If really their interest is genuine – and the people they seek to serve have rejected them at the ballot – why not simply shrug their shoulder and honourably bow and retreat?

    Not so with the Nigerian politician, who sees the alure of elective office so tempting as to declare the fight for it a do-or-die affair that entertains no failure at the poll, nor a concrete and peaceful plan of exit. Rather, the politician will cry foul that their “mandate has been stolen.”

    They’ll rile up their party base, supporters and critics with inflammatory statements against the actual “mandate holder,” and the electoral umpire that may’ve made that declaration without bias, or being influenced, but in accordance with the laws of the election. They’ll follow up their criticisms and condemnation with a threat to – and actually – go to the Election Petitions Tribunal, to “regain the stolen mandate.”

    This illustrates the step-by-step reaction and actions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State, Dr Asue Ighodalo, who lost to the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo (APC, Edo Central).

    Let’s briefly look at Ighodalo’s reason for elective office vis-a-vis his rationale for vowing to go for broke at the tribunal, which he hinted about in his thank-you message to Edo people on September 23 in Benin City. The message was entitled, “My good people of Edo State, in all things, we must first give thanks to God.”

    According to Ighodalo: “We are grateful for the gift of life, health, and your overwhelming love and support throughout this journey. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who stood by us. Your unwavering dedication has fueled our campaign and kept us moving forward.

    “I particularly thank the brave people of Edo State who, despite rain, threats, and intimidation, cast their votes on September 21, 2024. Your resilience is the bedrock of our democracy. You are the true heroes of this moment, and your courage will never be forgotten. Your sacrifice paves the way for a brighter Edo State, one built on integrity and justice.

    “My aspiration has never been about power. It has always been a genuine desire to serve and create prosperity for all in Edo State, for every man, woman, and child. I visited every ward, every local government, sharing this vision of hope and listening to your dreams. Your voices strengthened my resolve to fight for a better future.

    “To our dedicated supporters, I thank you deeply for your belief in this cause. Your time, conversations, and votes carried us far beyond expectations. We ran a great campaign together, and your support was clear. Sadly, our progress was abruptly halted by those who don’t care for the people or the future of Edo.

    “September 21, 2024, will be remembered as a dark day. The brazen theft of our mandate and the silencing of your voice was a grave injustice. But we must not be discouraged. Evil’s temporary victory can never erase the truth. Our quest for prosperity is just beginning, not ending.”

    Certainly, Ighodalo, being a politico-technocrat, has subsumed his professing of “service to the people,” to gain the elusive elective office of Governor by all means possible. Rejecting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC’s) declaration of Okpebholo, Ighodalo heads to the courts for an epic legal battle to retrieve his “stolen mandate.”

    Unless the unforeseen, and unexpected happens, Ighodalo – if he chooses to run the gamut of the law – has 10 months of six months at the Election Petitions Tribunal, two months at the Appeal Court and two months at the Supreme Court, in that order, to exhaust his case.

    In an interview on Channels TV’s ‘Politics Today’ on September 27, as reported by Daily Trust, Ighodalo accused the INEC and the Police of colluding to rob him of his “mandate,” stating that many voters were disenfranchised, amid evidence of rampant over-voting, and alteration of results.

    Ighodalo said: “There was a collusion between the INEC and the police to suppress the will of the people of Edo State. People of Edo State purposely voted for us (PDP). We won the election clearly. It is painful because you have many young people who felt that they were disenfranchised in the past; they feel that their votes were not counted and they asked what kind of democracy we run.

    “I had been trying to encourage them, that make sure your votes count but we have serious collusion by INEC and the APC working towards votes not counting. But this time around, we will go through the judicial process and the vote will count. We are quite clear that with the evidence we have, we will show clearly that we won the election. And the mandate of the people will be upheld.”

    Exonerating the PDP from vote-buying, Ighodalo added: “We were not involved in vote buying at all. APC agents came with minted notes straight from the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria); they were offering N20,000, N30,000 and N50,000 per vote. Our guys went to them and told them, ‘you can’t come here to buy votes.’”

    Very weighty allegations of disenfranchisement of voters; suppression of votes; over-voting; buying of votes; alteration of results; fraudulent process; and connivance of the APC, INEC and Police to flip Ighodalo’s “victory” for Okpebholo. To get judgment(s), though, at the courts, Ighodalo and the PDP must “prove these allegations beyond all reasonable doubts,” and “in substantial compliance” with the relevant electoral laws in Nigeria.

    However, it appears Ighodalo and the PDP are poised to run their election petitions at the tribunal along with an indefinite protest to pressure the INEC to reverse its declaration of Okpebholo as the winner of the poll, and restore Ighodalo’s reported “stolen mandate.”

    Kicking off the protest in Benin City on October 2, the party leaders, including the Edo chapter chairman, Dr Anthony Aziegbemi, the Director-General of the PDP Campaign Council, Hon. Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, and the Deputy Director-General (Media and Publicity), Rev. Olu Martins, carried placards, demanding that INEC return the “stolen mandate” by declaring Dr Ighodalo as “the authentic winner of the governorship election.”

    Stating that the protest was to inform the world that Ighodalo had won the election, and that the INEC altered the results of certain local governments in favour of another candidate, Aziegbemi thanked the PDP supporters for “joining this journey to reclaim our stolen mandate, which was subverted by both the police and INEC.”

    “If we had lost in a free and fair contest, we would have congratulated them (Okpebholo and APC), but they stole our mandate. Therefore, we cannot congratulate them,” Aziegbemi said. “This is Nigeria; we will not allow our victory to be stolen. We are confident that the overwhelming evidence we will present will help recover our mandate.”

    Aziegbemi urged the supporters to “remain patient,” while the judiciary reviews the evidence impartially, “and recognises that the PDP rightfully won the election, and delivers a fair judgment.”

    As Ighodalo takes his defeat to the tribunal, a chieftain of the PDP and Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Rt Hon. Blessing Agbebaku, has congratulated Okpebholo on his victory. This comes as Agbebaku welcomed members of the assembly back from a very long recess on October 2, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    Agbebaku, who’s third in the hierarchy of elected and appointed officials in the state, and a major player in the September 21 poll, noted that “the Governor-elect is for all Edo people, and not just the APC,” and expressed the hope that sycophants wouldn’t mislead Okpebholo from running an inclusive government.

    Meanwhile, Okpebholo – after he and Deputy Governor-elect Dennis Idahosa presented their Certificates of Return to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on September 26 –  stated that if he were in Ighodalo’s shoes, he’d congratulate the winner of the election.

    Okpebholo, fielding questions from State House correspondents on what he would’ve done had he lost the governorship, and what does his election portend for Edo State, said: “I think Edo people have spoken with their votes. For me, I’m coming as a servant to serve Edo people. That is what is required of me, and that is exactly what I am going to do.

    “My election as Governor of Edo signals a new dawn for the State. So, very soon, we will see a lot of developments coming to Edo. A lot will be happening over time.”

    Promising to run an open-door administration – and urging those who lost at the election to bear the pain with fortitude – Okpebholo declared: “If I had lost, I would have to bear it, and I would have, by now, congratulated the winner. So, I’m expecting them to congratulate me.”

    To the typical politician, accepting electoral defeat is easier said than done, notwithstanding their parroting of service the people. As he’s not affected in the instant scenario, Okpebholo can afford to sing a different tune from Ighodalo’s, who’s taken the optional legal route for remedy to his poll grievances.

    If Okpebholo were defeated on September 21, it could only take his will power – via the grace of the Lord – to take a page from the playbook of former President Goodluck Jonathan and ex-Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, to say to the winner, “I congratulate you for your victory at the election.”

    Does Okpebholo possess such will power, to resist the pressures from his immediate family, the campaign organisation, political party, financial backers, supporters, aides and consultants not to cave in, and congratulate the opponent that beat him to the second position at the ballot? Yet, must politicians serve the people by force, by going to the tribunal to regain a “stolen mandate” that’s most often a figment of their imagination?

    Ighodalo congratulating Okpebholo or not is immaterial at this stage of the long journey to the Osadebey Avenue Government House seat of power in Benin City, Edo State capital city. What matters is Okpebholo’s choice to waste or make judicious use of the first months at his disposal – within which before the election petitions and appeals are dispensed with – to prove his mettle that he’s the right person for Governor of Edo State from November 11, 2024!

  • Edo 2024: Finally, Edo people have spoken with their PVCs – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: Finally, Edo people have spoken with their PVCs – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    As you read this copy, the results, and the winner of Saturday, September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State is known – and declared as such by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) – in one of the most contentious campaigns that put the electoral umpire in the eyes of the voting and non-voting publics in Edo, the entire Nigeria and the global community.

    I crave your indulgence to describe the INEC announcement on Sunday evening, September 22, 2024, as both “BREAKING” and “OFFICIAL” declaring the candidate of the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Monday Okpebholo, as winner of the poll, and returning him as the “Governor-Elect” of Edo State.

    Okpebholo (APC, Edo Central) won the fiercely-contested balloting in a landslide in 11 local government areas (LGAs), and scored 291,667 votes, to defeat the candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Dr Asue Ighodalo, who won in 7 LGAs, and polled 247,274 votes to place second.

    The declaration of Okpebholo as Governor-Elect and his running mate, Hon. Dennis Idahosa (APC, Ovia Federal Constituency), as Deputy Governor-Elect, comes as a test for INEC on the back of calls by PDP governors – led by Adamawa State Governor Umar Fintiri – for the commission to postpone the announcement for a review of reported rigging of the election by the APC.

    However, the only reason INEC can’t declare a winner is if the election is inconclusive by virtue of none of the parties meeting the legal requirements for a decisive win, or the process was flawed such that the electoral umpire needs to review the outcome before taking a definitive action within seven days allowed by the laws, regulations and guidelines to so do.

    Indeed, there appeared to be a “k-leg” (a problem) with the poll results that were bandied on social media – even when actual results were yet to be announced in many polling units, and collation done at the ward level – claiming that Ighodalo of the PDP had won the election.

    The PDP further alleged that the APC – in connivance with the INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Edo, Mr Anugbum Onuoha – wanted to “switch Ighodalo’s victory” to Okpebholo, hence the postponement of collation of the results at the state INEC headquarters in Benin City.

    This prompted Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki – accompanied by Ighodalo – to storm the centre, to “force” the officials to continue the collation throughout the night of Saturday, September 21. But after almost four hours, Obaseki’s literally “walked out” of the place by security operatives.

    Nonetheless, a careful perusal of the “poll results” on social media – as posted by PREMIUM TIMES – indicates that they’re almost a replica of the 2020 governorship results, which returned Obaseki to his second term in office.

    For example, how can the so-called “2024 poll results” be the same as the 2020 results from Owan East, Etsako Central, Etsako East, Etsako West and Akoko-Edo local government areas, respectively? This is kind of confusion sowed in a desperate “do-or-die affair” to win the election.

    Interestingly overnight at the weekend, there’s jubilation at the APC Situation Room in Benin City, and across Edo State: that the election had returned Okpebholo as the “Governor-in-waiting” even as the collation of results would commence at 10:00am on Sunday, September 22. In tow were seven APC Governors – reportedly on ground in Benin City – who joined in the celebrations.

    Meanwhile, the poll controversy stemmed from a roller-coaster kind of vile and vicious electioneering, characterised by inflammatory and inciting rhetoric, insults, mockery, blackmail, harassments, intimidation, threats and physical attacks, resulting in destruction of opposing political parties’ campaign materials and structures, members’ and supporters’ businesses, and injuries and deaths in several instances.

    The height of the bloody campaign was the broad daylight assassination attempt on the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Monday Okpebholo (APC, Edo Central), and reinstated Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu on July 18, 2024, in the vicinity of the Benin Airport, in Benin City, capital city of Edo State.

    The alleged political thugs – who waylaid the joint convoy of Okpebholo and Shaibu, as they arrived at the airport from Abuja amid jubilation by their supporters – succeeded in killing Okpebholo’s chief security detail, Inspector Akor Onuh, and injuring three police escorts, and several persons, including Okpebholo.

    Over two months after, there’s no reported headway in the police investigation into the dastardly act, save a reaction by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to the allegation by Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki and his ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, that the police, under the direction of Mr Egbetokun, had arrested and detained 10 PDP members in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.

    Though Egbetokun denied knowledge of the arrest and detention of the PDP members, saying that, “I am aware that individuals, who committed crimes and political violence in the state, have been arrested,” an Abuja court on Thursday, September 19, reportedly “granted bail” to the 10 PDP detainees.

    The killing of Okpebholo’s police orderly, Inspector Onuh, and subsequent arrest and detention of 10 PDP members prompted the refusal of the PDP to sign the Peace Accord facilitated by the National Peace Committee (NPC) on September 12 in Benin City, committing the political parties, their candidates and supporters to an orderly and peaceful conduct before, during and after the election. The APC, which’d earlier withdrawn from signing the accord, citing a lack or none progress of the police investigation into the murder of Onuh, eventually appended the peace deal.

    Despite signing the accord, politicians and political thugs still upped their antics to manipulate the electoral process. From the last day of the campaigns on September 19 – when the INEC started the distribution of sensitive materials to the local government areas – through the eve of the election on September 20, rival parties were engaged in several unnervy and underhand incidents to upend or tilt the poll in their favour.

    There’re reports of APC political thugs – as broached by the state government through a press conference by the Commissioner for Information, Mr Chris Nehikhare, in Benin City on September 20 – trying to seize control of the Oredo local government area’s office of the INEC, but were resisted by military personnel. Yet, the thugs laid siege around the facility, “to prevent a rival party (PDP) from jijacking the sentive materials to rig the poll.” Similar sieges to INEC offices were reported in Esan West and Etsako West local government areas.

    The candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Olumide Akpata, received a rude shock on September 20, with reports that he’d “stepped down” his governorship bid, and “endorsed” the candidate of the PDP, Dr Asue Ighodalo. But Akpata quickly rebutted the viral reports as “false, wicked and baseless,” and “unequivocally” declared that he remained in the race to win on Saturday.

    On September 20, Prince Henry Okojie, a member representing Esan North-East/Esan South-East Federal Constituency of Edo State, reportedly escaped assassination – foiled by the timely intervention of police personnel attached to him – at his residence in Uromi, headquarters of Esan North-East. Hon. Okojie’s the Edo Central coordinator for the APC Governorship Campaign Council.

    Another attempt by the APC to disqualify PDP’s candidate, Dr Ighodalo, from the governorship poll failed on September 20, when an Abuja Federal High Court, via Justice Peter Lifu, dismissed the suit – which also runs in another court in Abuja – as “frivolous, baseless, and unwarranted,” describing the APC as a “busy body and a meddlesome interloper.”

    Similarly, attempts by a litigant to prevent the APC candidate, Senator Okpebholo, from presenting himself at Saturday’s election was thwarted by an Abuja High Court, through Justice O.C. Agbaza, who granted Okpebholo leave to file for a judicial review of a “criminal summons” issued against him by Magistrate Abubakar Mukhtar, over alleged forgery of his (Okpebholo’s) name. Okpebholo, who’s to appear before Magistrate Muktar by noon on September 20, averred he’d rectified the anomaly at the Supreme Court registry.

    This and other issues preceded the poll that reportedly started early in many polling stations across Edo State, amid a poor weather forcast the previous day that actually resulted in a downpour, with enthusiastic voters covering themselves with umbrellas or donning raincoats, while waiting in long queues to accredit and cast their ballots, which ended officially at 3:00pm on Saturday.

    The importance of the election was symbolised by a septuagenarian, Fatima Jimoh, who left her sick bed to vote. Aided by her daughter, Ms Jimoh said she wanted to “make Oshiomhole happy” by ensuirng his party (APC) won the polls. After voting at Unit 3, Ward 10, Iyhamo Primary School, Jimoh said, “I am not feeling well. I like Oshiomhole. I come out of illness to vote,” as The Nation reported.

    Some observers monitoring the election expressed satisfaction with the early movement of election materials across the state, and also commended the security put in place “to ensure the safety of both the materials, electoral staff and the voters.”

    Executive Director, Partners for Electoral Reforms and Board member, YIAGA Africa, Ezenwa Nwagu, praised the INEC for the “smooth and early distribution” of sensitive and non-sensitive materials across polling units statewide. At Ward 12, Agbado Primary School, in Benin city, Nwagu said the process was a far cry from previous situations where materials left for polling units late, resulting in late commencement of polls.

    “We have monitored the transportation of the materials from the RACs to polling units, and we are pleased with the organised and timeliness of the operation so far,” Nwagu said, even as the Chairman of Connected Development (CODE), Hamza Lawal, said “INEC has adhered to its promise of early deployment of election materials, which is a critical factor in ensuring a free, fair, and credible election.”

    “The early movement of materials to polling units is particularly commendable, as it shows the commission’s commitment to a credible process, and we expect that this is replicated across the board,” Lawal said.

    However, there’re some hitches that dented INEC’s roll out across the state, particularly in Ewohimi in Esan South-East, Owan in Owan West, and Jattu in Etsako West local government areas. The INEC officials and materials arrived in Ighodalo’s Okaegben ward one, unit 3 in Ewohimi at 10:30am, exactly the same time as the PDP candidate.

    Condemning the alleged arrest of some PDP members in Uromi, Esan North-East, the late arrival of election materials in Owan West, and “APC supporters of doing unimaginable things,” Ighodalo told reporters: “As you can see, INEC officials and materials just arrived and they are well over two hours late. Well, we are still well around the allocated time for voting; let us see what we can achieve between now and close of voting hours,” adding, “it will only be fair if the voting hours are extended by the numbers of hours lost.”

    Ighodalo expressed dissatisfaction with the process that delayed the materials, saying: “This is a single state election. INEC has all the time to prepare. We are not comfortable with the little shenanigans that is going on particularly from the APC guys. There are rumours that they are trying to undermine the election process.

    “Many of them have been caught with ballot papers, PVCs. The worst is that they go round trying to buy votes. They buy vote for 15-20 thousand (naira). They are trying everything to subvert the process.

    “The kind of numbers I am hearing from Edo North, Edo Central, Edo South, overwhelms me. You know in Nigeria, funny things happen. I don’t know the magic anybody wants to perform. I believe INEC to deliver free and fair election until they prove otherwise. We will win hands down in this election.

    “We are not happy about a few ongoings in some places, but we will remain confident. One of our supporters was arrested at Uromi by some people with security outfit. How come it’s only PDP supporters that have been arrested? Every day you see APC supporters doing imaginable things. But nobody arrests them. Nobody investigates them.

    “We will win this election by (a) landslide and move our state forward by God’s grace. If there is anybody at home, please come out and cast your vote. We are not worried. We have spent 10 months talking to people, telling them what we will do for them if they elect us. The people believed us and have accepted us all over the state. I don’t know the magic anybody will perform.” Vanguard reported the session with Ighodalo.

    Voting was delayed at unit 5, ward 11, at Azama Primary School, Jattu, in Etsako West, as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) malfunctioned, preventing voters, including reinstated Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu, from casting their ballots.

    As of 12:10pm, Shaibu, who’s yet to vote, along with many voters, “who had gathered early to exercise their civic rights,” expressed his disappointment but remained hopeful. “We have been here since, and the machine is not working,” he said. “Reports from other units in this local government indicate they are not having this issue – it’s only here,” he told reporters.

    Refraining from labelling the the malfunction of the  BVAS as a sabotage, Shaibu added: “The INEC officer assured us that they would bring another functioning machine and extend the voting time to enable us to cast our votes. I can see that they are working on it.” Shaibu eventually voted after seven hours of waiting at 3:00pm when voting had been concluded in virtually other polling units at the sprawling centre.

    The INEC was to extend the voting time in areas where the exercise commenced late. In a statement on Saturday, INEC’s National Commissioner Mohammed Haruna, said: “Our monitoring indicates early commencement of polls in many Polling Units, but there are also reports of late commencement in some locations.

    “To ensure that no voter is disenfranchised, the Commission wishes to reiterate that, in line with our Regulations and Guidelines, voting will be extended wherever it commenced late and will continue until the last voter in the queue, who arrived at the Polling Unit by 2:30pm, has voted.”

    As of the time of filing this article on Saturday evening, the poll had closed in most polling units, and results were coming in trickles from the 192 wards and 18 local government areas of the state. It wasn’t clear at the time, which direction the pendulum would swing in Edo North of six local government areas of Akoko-Edo, Etsako Central, Etsako East, Etsako West, Owan East and Owan West that’s a stronghold of the APC.

    The same scenario prevailed in Edo South senatorial district, comprising Egor, Ikpoba-Okha, Oredo, Orhionmwon, Uhunmwode, Ovia East and Ovia South-West – which’s the largest voter turnout of over 55% of registered voters in Edo State, and overwhelmingly voted for PDP in the 2020 governorship election.

    Edo Central senatorial district of Esan Central, Esan North-East, Esan South-East, Esan West, and Igueben – longtime zone for PDP – switched camps to the APC in the 2023 General Election, producing Senator Okpebholo. In Edo 2024, the district presented two fundamentally contrasting leading candidates of the PDP and APC in Ighodalo and Okpebholo, respectively.

    However, about 5:00pm on Saturday, the INEC had reportedly released (uploaded) 62 per cent of the results from the election on its Result Viewing (IReV) portal. A visit to the IReV website by The Nation revealed that 2,809 results, out of 4,519 polling units where elections were conducted in the state, had been uploaded for real-time access to the public, for transparency of the electoral process.

    And snippets from the IReV – and unconfirmed, but declared results at polling units by INEC officials – indicated that the APC’s leading in Edo North; the PDP and APC were leading in Edo South; while reports from Edo Central were mixed.

    The titanic battle among the big three political parties of PDP, APC and LP in Saturday’s election had never been higher, and the question now is: Will the losing parties among them accept the INEC declaration? That’s a rare occurrence in Nigeria’s politics!

    Let’s wait and see, as the INEC has a statutory seven-day window to review the outcome of the election, to see if it conformed to the laws, regulations and guidelines for the conduct of elections in the country!

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria

  • Edo 2024: All eyes on INEC, Police amidst PDP, APC bickering – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: All eyes on INEC, Police amidst PDP, APC bickering – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Robert Frost (1874-1963), an American poet known for his realistic depictions of rural life settings, said that: “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in. But that’s not what a political party is. It does not exist to love you or to keep you or to serve as the one true faith. It’s not family or religion. Parties exist to win elections.”

    Exactly what the parties in the September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State aim to achieve: Not to love even their members and supporters, but to win the election by whatever means possible, even if they’ve to break the laws, regulations and guidelines for the conduct of the franchise, and break some heads and limbs in the process.

    The high stake of the election has caused a precarious security situation in the state. And with the flaming campaign by the leading parties – the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) – getting to crescendo, the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, has decided to step in, traditionally, to avert any untoward happenings across the land.

    To underscore the gravity of the moment – and the commitment to maintain peace and harmony during the poll – the Omo N’Oba has called for a traditional ritual, known as “Bisusu,” to safeguard the state from potential calamities. The Esere of Benin, Chief S. O. Obamwonyi, stated this on September 11, on behalf of the Oba.

    The ritual – intended to “ward off evil from our land, especially before, during, and after the forthcoming gubernatorial election in our dear state” – would be conducted immediately by all traditional leaders, including Chiefs, Enigie (Benin Dukes), Igie-Ohen (traditional priests), and Edionwere (village heads), “using traditional items associated with the ceremony.”

    Since the return of democracy in Nigeria in 1999, the Edo PDP and APC have rotated the governance of the “Heart Beat of The Nation” for technically 12 years apiece. That’s why the prize is higher in 2024 for both parties headed by incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki and former Governor Adams Oshiomhole, respectively.

    Hence all eyes are on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) – and the Police – to ensure a “free, fair and credible election,” as the commission’s chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, promised on August 10, during a mock accreditation and uploading of the results in Benin City.

    Either in general or off-cycle elections, the INEC has unable to apply the rules to checkmate parties and candidates, who knowingly break the laws, regulations and guidelines that govern elections, with the INEC and Mr Yakubu coming under harsh criticisms, and allegations of connivance with politicians to throw poll results, especially in the February and March 2023 General Election.

    The Edo governorship poll comes on the back of revelation by Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership of massive over-voting and inflation of votes allegedly committed in three off-cycle elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states on November 11, 2023. The votes were reportedly inflated by hundreds of thousands above the accredited number of voters, with the INEC declaring the losing party as the winner in Kogi.

    Head of Athena Centre and former Minister of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka, said the scanning and review of the data in the BVAS machines used for the poll – matched against the results declared by the INEC – showed hundreds of thousands of over-voting and inflated votes for the winning APC in Imo and Kogi, and also in Bayelsa, where the party lost to the winning PDP.

    On September 10 – precisely 11 days to Election Day – Prof. Yakubu inspected the INEC local government offices, and monitored a mock accreditation and uploading of the results at two polling units in Oredo and Ikpoba-Okha local government areas of Edo State, to test-run the integrity of the systems, as a routine activity on the eve of a major off-season poll.

    Promising a free, fair and credible election, Yakubu noted that the INEC isn’t a political party, adding, “The responsibility of choosing the next governor for Edo is entirely in the hands of Edo voters. Our appeal to all registered voters in Edo is to come out to vote for the party of their choice and the candidate of their choice. The commission will ensure the protection of the integrity of the process and uphold the choice made by the electorate.” The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) first reported the exercise.

    In another ritual that’s literally on the electoral calendar since 2014, the National Peace Committee (NPC), on September 12, witnessed a Peace Accord signed by 17 of 18 parties fielding candidates for Saturday’s election.

    The PDP didn’t sign the peace deal, with the Edo chapter chairman, Dr Anthony Aziegbemi, accompanied by the party’s candidate, Dr Asue Ighodalo, telling newsmen prior that they won’t sign the accord “because 10 members of our party are currently detained by the Police in Abuja.”

    “We are here to register our protest before the peace committee, and to say that the PDP will not sign a peace accord when 10 of our members have been arrested and detained by the Police in Abuja. We will not allow a biased IGP (Inspector-General of Police), who is not from Edo State, to determine the outcome of this election. We demand the immediate recall of any external policemen currently marauding the state,” Aziegbemi said, as reported by Vanguard on September 12.

    Recall that Governor Obaseki – speaking for the PDP on September 11 – told visiting members of the NPC that the party might not sign the peace accord due to alleged detention of 10 PDP members in Abuja by the Police, which, as the agency responsible for enforcing the accord, “have shown, through their actions, that they are acting in the interest of the APC, and waging war against the PDP.”

    “Tell me sir (referring to retired Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, chairman of the Peace Committee), how can we sign a peace accord in this situation? Clearly, what they are saying is that it’s going to be a violent election and that they are going to use the forces of coercion and intimidation to win elections in Edo, whether we like it or not. That is the message,” Obaseki said.

    “Now that the IGP (Kayode Egbetokun) is in town, we say until everybody arrested is brought back to Edo and be tried here in Edo for whatever offences they have committed, we have no confidence that the police will protect us in Edo State during the governorship election,” Obaseki added.

    But IGP Egbetokun, denying knowledge of PDP members being arrested and detained, debunked the allegation of bias against the Police under his leadership. At the INEC stakeholders’ meeting in Benin City on September 11, he said, “I am aware that individuals, who committed crimes and political violence in the state, have been arrested.”

    In response to Dr Aziegbemi’s comments that “after the unfortunate incident at the airport (the July 18, 2024, attempted assassination of the APC candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, and killing of Okpebholo’s police detail, Inspector Akor Onu, in the process), all hell was let loose,” and that the “police have been so biased under this IG,” Egbetokun said: “You accuse the IG of being partisan because I am bent on unraveling the killing of a police officer. If you hold the opinion that the IG is partisan for going after the killer(s) of the policeman, I think you will remain with that opinion forever.”

    The APC had announced a pull-out from the accord a few hours to the ceremony – on the grounds of alleged Police delay or refusal to arrest and prosecute those involved in the killing of Okpebholo’s police orderly during the attempted assassination of the Senator – but rescinded the withdrawal notice, and appended the accord.
    Acting Edo chapter chairman of the APC, Emperor Jarrett and the party’s candidate, Mr Okpebholo, said they retracted their decision and signed the document because of “our respect for the rule of law, (and) the credibility of the National Peace Committee, headed by General Abdulsalami Abubakar, (Retd), and Bishop Hassan Kukah.”

    Tenebe added: “One of our demands was that those who attacked our candidate’s convoy and killed his police detail should be declared wanted and arrested. The Police have promised that they will be apprehended. And it will also not be proper for us not to come because the chairman of the committee, Gen. Abubakar Abdulsalami, is an elder statesman.”

    Accusing Obaseki of harbouring the alleged suspects in the government house, Tenebe said, “this failure of the police has emboldened the governor and PDP to attack members of the APC “at rally grounds and in their private business premises ceaselessly,” adding that Obaseki, having allegedly made inflammatory statements – including that, “Nigeria will burn if INEC fails to declare the PDP candidate, Asue Ighodalo, as the winner of the September 21, 2024 gubernatorial election” – has “underminined his position as the Chief Security Officer of the State.”

    At the peace meeting, the Convener of the NPC and Bishop of the Sokoto Catholic Archdiocese, Dr Matthew Kukah, noting the committee’s supports forthe INEC to ensure a peaceful election, charged the candidates to see peace as a foundation for a credible election, and urged Nigerians to be thankful for our country, as some other African countries are in crisis because of unresolved political issues.

    “Let us thank God that we have the opportunity in Nigeria to stretch our hands in search of justice,” Kukah said. “I am happy that Nigerians have confidence in the electoral process. The worst election is remedied by another election,” urging Edo people to go out and cast their votes, as they count themselves lucky “having produced top politicians in Nigeria.”

    In his welcome remarks, the NPC Chairman, Gen. Abubakar, said the ceremony was a commitment to upholding the peace, unity, and democratic values of the nation, stating that since formation in 2014, the committee had worked to foster an environment for Nigerians to exercise their right to vote without fear of violence or intimidation.

    Appealing to the candidates, parties and their supporters to remember that peace is the foundation upon which progress and development is built and established, Abubakar said “without it, none of the promises made to the people of Edo state can be fulfilled,” adding, “I encourage everyone to uphold this commitment beyond the elections and accept the outcome of the election.”

    The INEC chairman, Prof. Yakubu, who gave the assurance that the commission would continue to play its part in line with the electoral laws, thanked the Peace Committee “for bringing the political parties and their candidates together to agree to a peaceful election.”

    The IGP, Egbetokun, stating that the police would collaborate with other security agencies to support the INEC in conducting the election, promised that, “We will remain impartial, professional and vigilant while providing a level-playing ground for political parties and their candidates.”

    Governor Obaseki, represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Joseph Eboigbe, expressing concerns over the police continued detention of 10 PDP members in Abuja, pledged the safety of all stakeholders during and after the September 21 election.

    The peace accord is particularly germane, as the campaign for the governorship has assumed a do-or-die affair, witnessing unbridled incendiary and inciting rhetoric; personal insults and mockery; and thuggery, resulting in destruction of campaign offices and materials, and attacks on opposing party members, including Okpebholo.
    In preparation for the election, in which 35,000 police officers, and additional 8,000 personnel from sister security agencies are deployed, IGP Egbetokun has suspended the activities of quasi-security organisations, including the ESSN and others set up by the state government, to check insecurity.

    At the INEC stakeholders’ meeting in Benin City, Egbetokun said those security outfits “remain suspended,” as “they have no role to play on the day of election.” He also announced the withdrawal of security aides attached to VIPs, to ensure neutrality and security.

    It’s doubtful if the spate of attacks will abate without stern, and quick actions by the Police against the marauding political thugs, who may be rehearsing for the final showdown to storm rival campaign rallies, and/or ambush the rallygoers, and leave a trail of bloodshed and destruction.

    The armed men – who waylaid the joint convoy of Okpebholo and the court-reinstated impeached Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu, as they left the Benin airport on arrival from Abuja – are perhaps still on the loose, even as the shooting incident reportedly occurred in the “presence” of then-Edo State Commissioner of Police, Funsho Adegboye.

    Mr Adegboye’s at the airport in a yet-to-be-clear circumstance: While the APC claims the CP was there to effect the order of an Abuja Federal High Court, to provide security details to Comrade Shaibu, who’s reinstated by the court; the PDP argues that Adegboye’s at the airport to serve Shaibu copies of a stay of execution, and appeal against his return to his post.

    Baffling, though, is that Adegboye – a possible eyewitness to the armed attack on Okpebholo and Shaibu’s convoy, and the killing and injuries therefrom – was unable to show diligent investigation, arrest and prosecution of the sponsors and attackers of the deadly assault on political opponents.

    Unless there’re deliberate efforts to cover up, and shield the perpetrators, the new Police Commissioner for Edo State, CP Nemi Edwin-Iwo – who, until he resumed in Benin City on August 13, 2024, was the Commissioner of Police in charge of Intelligence at the Force Intelligence Department, Force Headquarters, Abuja – may deploy his expertise to unravel the brains behind the attempted murder of Okpebholo (and even Shaibu), and the upsurge of violence in the state.

    The PDP and APC have traded counter-allegations about who’s responsible for the series of intimidation and attacks on their members, supporters and party structures. While the PDP accuses the APC of boasting of, and deploying “federal might” via the Police, to hunt down its members; the APC alleges that Governor Obaseki and the PDP have enlisted political thugs and the state-owned Edo State Security Network (ESSN), to attack its members and disrupt its campaigns.

    While the PDP and APC have also levelled accusations of scheming to rig each other out of victory – by sowing police and military uniforms, to camouflage, and aid rigging on the day of election – the PDP has alleged that the Edo State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mr Anugbum Onuoha, and CP Edwin-Iwo, are close associates of former Rivers State Governor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Chief Nyesom Wike, with Aziegbemi noting that the PDP sees the officials’ close links with Wike “as a recipe for disaster,” as “they are wont to do his bidding before, during and after the election.”

    The September 21 Edo governorship election deserves a free, fair, transparent, credible, and an acceptable outcome. The responsibility for achieving such an outcome rests with the INEC, which should dutifully discharge the onerous task to acquit itself and shake off the stigma of an ineffectual, inefficient, and a collaborative and conniving electoral umpire! The INEC should deliver substantially in favour of the majority, rather than tip the scale for the minority.

    It’s hoped that all stakeholders play by and adhere to the laws, regulations and guidelines for the poll conduct, in order to arrive at a conclusive end – even through the arbiter of the election petitions tribunals – without breaking more heads and limbs.

  • Edo 2024: Betsy Obaseki’s broadside and Adams Oshiomohle’s bombshell – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: Betsy Obaseki’s broadside and Adams Oshiomohle’s bombshell – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    The 1967 hit song, “The First Cut Is the Deepest,” written by British singer-songwriter, Cat Stevens, may not be related to the discourse hereunder, but it’s a strong advice to humans, to bridle their tongues – as the Apostles admonish in James 3:8-9 – against censoriousness, and reproving others with a magisterial air, as true wisdom comes only from above.

    (“The First Cut Is the Deepest” was originally released in April 1967 by P. P. Arnold – an American soul singer, born Patricia Ann Cole, on October 3, 1946, in Los Angeles, California – who relocated in 1966 to London, the United Kingdom, to pursue a solo career, and enjoyed considerable success with the single, which also became a hit by Rod Stewart in his seventh album, “A Night On The Town,” released in 1976.)

    In the past week, all eyes and mouths have been on former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, even as social media remains agog – albeit slantily –  over the Senator’s attack on Governor Godwin Obaseki and First Lady Betsy Obaseki, over their childlessness – a very sensitive and no-go-area issue in our cultural, traditional and religious settings.

    Yet, the judgmental critics have made the Oshiomhole tactless attack – that touches the underbelly of the Obasekis – to appear as out of the blue, whereas it’s a riposte to Mrs Obaseki’s equally graceless reminder of the Edo people – especially the women – that only the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr Asue Ighodalo, has a wife among the candidates vying to succeed her husband from the September 21, 2024, governorship election that’s 12 days away.

    Below is Mrs Obaseki’s unprompted remarks at a PDP campaign rally in Benin City:

    “Among the candidates wey dey contest election, na only one get wife. And na our own party candidate, Asue Ighodalo, na only him get wife. Na him wife bi dis” (as she raised Mrs Ighodalo’s right hand, to the cheers of the rallygoers).

    “Women for Edo, make una know sey na only one candidate get wifeooo” (Mrs Obaseki added, as she pulled her left ear, as a sign of warning to the female voters).

    What’s Mrs Obaseki’s motive(s) for dragging marital matters into the campaigns when there’re myriad issues of alleged poor performance in Mrs Obaseki’s husband’s eight-year governance, in which Mr Ighodalo’s the Economic Adviser?

    Was it to change the opposition narratives on the subpar outing of Governor Obaseki; score political points for Ighodalo and the PDP; a dig at the other candidates, who, perhaps, have no wives to act as “First Lady” should they win the September 21 poll; or throw herself and family into the mix, to curry sympathy for themselves and votes for Ighodalo, and disparagement and denial of votes for the “wifeless” candidates?

    On the basis of the law of reciprocity, one would be tempted to say good riddance to bad rubbish, as what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander: Considering that it’s Mrs Obaseki, who prompted the “familial controversy” at a campaign rally, which Oshiomhole – a non-candidate at the election –uncouscionably jumped in to respond to.

    Now a case of “Two wrongs don’t make a right,” Oshiomhole’s likely unsolicited intervention on behalf of the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Monday Okpebholo (APC, Edo Central) – whose campaign council Oshiomhole chairs – has several contextual proverbs.

    The axioms include: 1) Without pulling the trigger, the gun will not fire. 2) Actions speak louder than words. 3) Familiarity breeds contempt. 4) People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. 5) The farting of the rich smells sweet, that of the poor fouls the air. 6) Someone who knows how their anus is should learn to sit properly. 7) First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matt 7:5) 8) Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Matt 7:12) 9) If you point one finger, there are three more pointing back at you. 10) The bird whose feathers are used for sacrifice moves about stealthily.

    Some or all of these sayings fit into Oshiomhole and Mrs Obaseki’s dockets, but only Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) ultimately opens himself up to vitriol and odium. Because – short of scientific attempts to challenge nature – childbearing is a gift and a miracle from God, the Creator. So, no one – no matter the circumstance – plays God over an issue they’ve no knowledge and power to determine.

    Let’s look at a post on the WhatsApp page of PAN EDO POLITICAL FORUM – which may not be altruistic but politically-motivated – to gauge the public angst over Oshiomhole’s attack on the Obasekis. The anonymous post, entitled, “What All Truthful Pastors Should Preach This Sunday Until It Reaches All,” reads:

    “Words can be weapons, and Adams Oshiomhole’s recent jabs at Governor Obaseki and his wife have left many Nigerians in shock and dismay. Mocking someone’s childlessness is a hurtful and personal attack that crosses the boundaries of decent political discourse.

    “Imagine the pain and anguish that comes with longing for a child, only to be met with ridicule and scorn. The Obasekis have shown remarkable strength and resilience in the face of this adversity, but Oshiomhole’s comments have reopened old wounds and caused fresh hurt.

    “Let us rally around the Obasekis and show them that we stand with them in solidarity and support. Let us reject the politics of personal attacks and embrace empathy and compassion.

    “Childlessness is a sensitive issue that affects many families, and we must approach it with kindness and understanding. Let us create a society where people can share their struggles without fear of judgment or mockery.

    “Oshiomhole’s comments may have been meant to score political points, but they have ultimately revealed his own character and exposed the dark underbelly of our political culture. Let us rise above this and choose a higher path – one of love, empathy, and respect for all.

    “Furthermore, Oshiomhole’s behaviour falls short of the standards expected of a public figure, and his actions are a disservice to the people of Edo State and Nigeria as a whole. His comments are not only unbecoming of a leader but also contradict the values of our cultural heritage.

    “In the Benin Kingdom, where Oshiomhole hails from, respect for elders and dignity for all individuals are deeply ingrained traditions. His utterances have brought shame to his people and tarnished the image of the kingdom.

    “Let us reject Oshiomhole’s divisive and hurtful rhetoric and instead embrace a culture of empathy, kindness, and respect. We must hold our leaders accountable for their words and actions, and demand better from those who seek to represent us.”

    The foregoing is a mild version of what concerned members of the public have written about and against Oshiomhole, whose public utterances – time and again – have tended to be unguarded and out of step and control, like a loose cannon. It’s time he checked his exuberance, and act as a Statesman!

    That said, Oshiomhole appears unfairly treated by the same public that wears Mrs Obaseki the toga of victimhood! Why should the critics be one-sided? Why don’t they also censure Mrs Obaseki, who pulled the trigger first by mocking other candidates – who’ve no wives – in the September 21 governorship election?

    While there’re pressing issues of governance to highlight at every stop on the campaign trail, Mrs Obaseki off-handedly threw “familial matter” into the political arena. Thus, as we blame Oshiomhole for unwarrantedly responding in kind – especially as he’s not a candidate in the election – Mrs Obaseki should also be held responsible for unnecessarily teasing the “unwived” candidates!

    In the interim – as if Mrs Obaseki’s allusion to candidates with no wives was specifically targeted at Okpebholo – there’ve been calls from broadcast talking heads and pundits, and women groups for Okpebholo to introduce to the public his wife, who, they argue, should join in the campaigns to elect her husband on September 21 – citing, as an example, Mrs Ifeyinwa Ighodalo, who joins her husband’s campaign train and/or does separate stomps on his behalf.

    Still, having a wife isn’t a requirement for the Office of Governor – and other elective positions of a Member of the Senate; a Member of the House of Representatives; a Member of the State House of Assembly; the President and Vice President; and the Deputy Governor – as spelt out in Sections 65, 106, 131, and 177 of the amended 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.

    To qualify for any of those elective positions, a candidate must certify that: (a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth; (b) he has attained the age of 35, 30, 30, 40 and 35 (applicable to each office in that order); (c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and (d) he has been educated to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.

    Clearly, there’s no provision of the 1999 Constitution requiring a candidate to have a wife before they can vie for the governorship. It’s an extraneous matter injected into the campaigns by Mrs Obaseki for political optics, to puncture the enthusiasm and momentum in Mr Ighodalo’s opposing camps.

    So, going by the 1967 hit song, “The First Cut Is The Deepest,” shouldn’t Mrs Obaseki’s “polemic” on candidates, who’ve no wives, be ranked as the deepest cut – or at least placed on equal pedestal with Comrade Oshiomhole’s  “thunderbolt” on the Obasekis childlessness – for attempting to throw an already tensed Edo politics into a tailspin, which, indeed, she’s succeeded in doing? Let’s not bury the truth in emotion or partisanship!

     

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

  • Edo 2024: Okpebholo ‘can’t talk,’ yet replies critics in fiery speech at rally in Benin City – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Edo 2024: Okpebholo ‘can’t talk,’ yet replies critics in fiery speech at rally in Benin City – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    In the lead-up to the primaries for the 2024 governorship election in Edo State, the triple issues of not being a “homeboy,” unable to communicate in Esan language, and speak publicly to articulate plans for governance, assailed the formidable aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Asue Ighodalo and Senator Monday Okpebholo, respectively.

    For Mr Ighodalo, a lawyer and business mogul, his “sins” are that having been born, raised, schooled, worked and lived outside Edo State, he isn’t a “homeboy” and can’t communicate in Esan language. As for Mr Okpebholo, a businessman and philanthropist, born, bred, schooled, and lived among the grassroots, his alleged inability to speak and articulate properly his plans for the governorship, “disqualifies” him.

    But the question is: When have speaking in the mother tongue, being a homeboy, and a public speaker, among other factors, become criteria for qualification for the Office of Governor or any other elective position under the amended 1999 Constitution of Nigeria?

    For the record, for the position of a Member of the Senate; a Member of the House of Representatives; a Member of the State House of Assembly; the President and Vice President; and the Governor and Deputy Governor, the qualification requirements are spelt out in Sections 65, 106, 131 and 177, accordingly, thus:

    (a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth; (b) he has attained the age of 35, 30, 30, 40 and 35 (applicable to each office in that order); (c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party; and (d) he has been educated to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.

    And under Interpretation in Section 318 of the Constitution, “School Certificate or its equivalent” means in (c)(iii) “the ability to read, write, understand, and communicate in the English language to the satisfaction of the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

    Clearly, only INEC has the power to determine whether a candidate has the “ability to read, write, understand, and communicate in the English language” – and not in their local language – which medium Ighodalo deployed to address his kinsmen.

    Yet, it’s on the premise that “he cannot speak Esan (language),” because he is a “Lagos boy,” and not a “homeboy,” and reportedly “hired an interpreter” when he intimated his community about his governorship ambition, that opponents, especially supporters of the opposition APC, have attempted to undermine Ighodalo’s genuine aspiration to be governor of Edo State.

    When, on Sunday, December 3, 2023, Ighodalo met with members of his ward in Ewohimi, Esan South East local government area of Edo State, to solicit their support, he spoke in pidgin English, and told the anxious and excited crowd: “I want us to stand as one. If we stand as one, the whole of Esan will take us seriously and we will be the pride of Edo State.

    “I want everybody to go and register so that we can all vote as one body for the goodness and greatness of our land. You must have water, road, jobs and light. By the grace of Almighty, if we get this governorship, we will get everything, and Edo State will be the greatest state in Africa.”

    At important gatherings in Esanland, the people need a streetwise interpreter, to further break down the message, even delivered in the local dialet. So, it wasn’t out of place for Mr Ighodalo’s political message to be simplified for “proper” understanding of the audience.

    This was what critics deviously termed “hiring of an interpreter” – which went viral in the media – to score some undeserved political points. But unfortunately for them, it didn’t scratch the surface, talkless of achieving the intended mileage.

    While some social media posts have lapped on the “engagement of an interpreter” to talk to one’s kinsmen as “a sign of age-long disconnect from the people,” others defended Mr Ighodalo, urging “focus on the progress he could bring to Edo State, as local language would not bring investments.”

    And luckily for Ighodalo, his communitypeople of Ewohimi didn’t – on account of his alleged inability to speak Esan – reject him, his vision and mission, and Blue Print for the Governorship of Edo State in 2024. Rather, reports spoke of enthusiastic reception for him amid pump and ceremony.

    So, whether or not Ighodalo speaks Esan fluently, he’s adjusted to delivering his message of “making Edo the Number one State in Nigeria” in simple English language, mixed with pidgin English – the “unofficial lingua franca” of Esan people, Edo people, and the Nigerian people – that’s turned for him a blessing in disguise.

    Since entering the governorship race in 2023, Ighodalo’s been everywhere in the nooks and cranies of the 192 wards of the 18 local government areas of Edo State, selling himself, his vision and mission to be governor in November 2024.

    Coming to Mr Okpebholo, critics have termed his alleged non-public speaking and eloquence – to communicate his governance plans to the people of Edo State – as signifying a lack of capability, capacity, carriage, congnition exposure, maturity, and popularity. A combination of these factors has caused Okpebholo (APC, Edo Central) and the APC defections of high-profile members to the ruling PDP in Edo State.

    In the interim, Okpebholo continues to be dogged by his alleged inability to speak publicly to the Edo voters, with mostly PDP supporters piling pressure on him to appear on an undisguisedly unfriendly ARISETV – regarded as the broadcast arm of the opposition in Nigeria – as a condition precedent to his qualification for governor.

    As Okpebholo’s shunned the obviously biased bait to lure him to the slaughter, he’s striven lately to prove his political opponents wrong, by speaking forcefully at rallies across Edo State, barely three weeks to September 21. At a campaign stop at Aduwawa area of Benin City, Okpebholo – accompanied by Comrade Oshiomohle, who normally introduces Okpebholo at rallies – fiercely addressed the rallygoers camped out on and around a waterlogged road in the area.

    Following Oshiomhole’s lengthy stomp speech, in which he reminded of the alleged failings of the Obaseki government – around which he’s framed the September election as a referendum – he introduced Okpebholo, saying, “Now, we are bringing somebody who is going to be a practical man. So, this man (patting Okpebholo on the right shoulder) is a simple man” (with applause of ‘yesooo’ from the crowd). His name is Senator Monday Okpebholo, AKPAKOMIZA.”

    Taking the microphone, Okpebholo ticked – in some shorthand fashion – his programmes of action, one after the other. “I want to thank you for the interest you have for Edo (State),” he told the cheering and pulsating crowd. “I’m coming to work for you. Why I’m contesting is to make sure that all the injustice done in our land is reversed.”

    Pointing to the flooded road and its surroundings, on which the rally held, Okpebholo promised that, “all this road, all these gutters, we will desilt everything. Your schools, we will fix them back. Insecurity will be a thing of the past in our land. Hospitals, we are going to revive our hospitals back, and we will build new hospitals. Agriculture, we are going to provide farmers with fertilisers. Market women, we are going to give you soft loans without interests.”

    “We will make sure that our land grows again. We will not steal your money, as they are doing now. They have taken a lot of money out of this land. (The) Obaseki government alone borrowed over N500bn. What did he do with the money? Nothing, nothing to show for it! So, we are coming to serve the people; we are coming to interact with the people; we are coming to solve the people’s problems.”

    Okpebholo then addressed head-on the allegation that he can’t speak publicly, stating: “The government of Obaseki, they are liars. They even told you people on social media that I don’t know how to talk. You understand? A Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; a man who could negotiate between (from) Okpella (Edo North) to Benin (Edo South), for the Federal Government to come and do our road (Abuja-Benin Expressway), and the Federal Government put down N130bn, dual-carriage (way), with street lights in the middle, it has never been done.

    “A man, who could do that, they are telling you he does not know how to talk. Am I not talking to you? (The crowd responded with ‘Yesooo’). Sisters, am I not talking to you? (‘Yessss, the female rallygoers responded). Brothers, am I not talking to you? (‘Yeah,’ the malefolks roared). They (PDP) are cheaters, they are liars, they are deceivers.”

    Momentarily, Okpebholo turned some of the alleged ills of the Obaseki administration into a song, with the enthusiastic crowd refraining after him. He said, “Bye, bye to jedi jedi” (dysentry in Yoruba language), and the crowd responded accordingly. “Bye, bye to M-o-U” (memorandum of understanding, which critics deploy to depict Obaseki’s alleged non-performance). “Bye, bye to De-cei-vers.”

    Back to the issues, in the form of prayers, and with crowd shouting “Amen,” “Iseooo,” Okpebholo declared: “Edo will progress this time around. We will revive our industries; we will revive everything in this town that is not working, to be working. We will bring water back; we will bring our light back. Good things will begin to happen again. Government is for all of us; government is for the people.”

    Rounding off, Okpebholo appealed to the people to vote for him and the APC, to enable them take over at the Osadebey Avenue Government House seat of power in Benin City in November 2024. “I want to beg all of you that September the 21st is for Osadebey Government House,” Okpebholo said, and asked, “Who is the owner of the House?” The crowd said, “A-P-C.” “Who is the owner of the House?” he repeated. The crowd yelled, “AKPAKOMIZA,” which’s the candidate’s popular alias. “Una go allow PDP to remain there?” he queried. “Noooo,” the crowd said. “So, vote for APC on September the 21st,” Okpebholo added.

    Earlier, Oshiomhole, as is his routine on the campaign trail – just as he did for then-Godwin Obaseki during the September 2016 governorship poll – introduced Okpebholo to the crowd. First, Oshiomhole recalled his own achievements as Governor (2008-2016), especially the construction of the waterlogged road, on which the campaign convoy stopped to address the people – symbolising the reported failure of the Obaseki government.

    According to Oshiomhole, “If you see him (Obaseki) on TV now, he will tell you, ‘we have done this, we have done that.’ But on ground, you will not see anything. He has been collecting money from the Federal Government; he has been collecting money from the World Bank. He has been borrowing, but you can see the condition of your road! Is the governor on holiday?” Oshiomhole asked. “Noooo,” the crowd replied. “Is the government on holiday?”

    “What about the money he (Obaseki) is collecting? When I was here (as governor), our monthly allocations did not pass N3bn, but today, Obaseki is collecting not less than N12bn every month. What is he doing with it?

    “If you don’t have a good heart… governance no bi grammar; it is about your heart. Do you care? Do you have sympathy for the (poor) people? Even sympathy for the rich because, if you go to the GRA (Government Reservation Area), it is even worse than this one (the waterlogged road). The road to Government House is as bad. Obaseki has destroyed the state.”

    Try as they may, nothing is likely to assuage the opposition’s doubling down on the allegation that Senator Okpebholo’s carrying a speech deficit through the last days of campaigns that end on September 19, for the crucial September 21 election for the 2024 Edo State governorship!

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

  • Subversion allegation against Ajaero and NLC’s threat to shutdown Nigeria’s economy – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Subversion allegation against Ajaero and NLC’s threat to shutdown Nigeria’s economy – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    The August 21, 2024, edition of Vanguard highlighted reactions of local and international civil society, human rights and labour organisations to the Nigeria Police invitation to the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, to appear before it on August 20, 2024, “for an interview” related to investigation of “a case of Criminal Conspiracy, Terrorism Financing, Treasonable Felony, Subversion and Cybercrime in which you have been implicated.”

    Coming under the headline, “We won’t be silenced over mass suffering in Nigeria – NLC,” the subheads for the reactions include: Anger grows over Police invitation; NLC alerts global labour bodies; ITUC expresses concerns; ITUC Africa warns of dire consequences; Nigerian govt targeting NLC leaders, Amnesty International alleges; Ajaero’s invitation disturbing – Yiaga Africa; Desperate attempts to silence labour – CISLAC; We demand thorough investigation – ActionAid; Why Ajaero turned down Police invitation – Falana; and NLC directs workers to shut down economy.

    Save one or two of the reactions, the responders questioned the power of the police to invite Ajaero – on the grounds of alleged political motive and design to silence public dissent to official actions that affect the masses – and warned of “dire consequences” should Ajero be arrested in the course of unearthing the grave subversive and treasonous allegations.

    The responders quoted national and international laws, conventions and charters the Nigerian government and security agencies had violated in their alleged erosion of the rights of workers to freedom of expression, association, and assembly, and concluded that the police summons to Ajaero was predicated on the fallout of the August 1 to August 10, 2024, #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest against economic hardship occasioned by the policies of President Bola Tinubu’s government since May 2023.

    The responders were incensed that the police invitation to Ajaero came after the NLC leadership criticised alleged police brutality and killing of scores of protesters during the national protest – accusation the police denied via the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Kayode Egbetokun, who noted that police officers, assigned to manage the protest, were actually the victims of attacks by the protesters.

    For the few exceptions, such as ActionAid, which acknowledged that, “No one is above the law except you have immunity, and if you have immunity, after your tenure, you will be prosecuted” – and the stand of the lawyer to the NLC, rights activist Femi Falana (SAN) – other answerers didnt bother about the nexus of the police allegations, and for Ajaero to honour the invitation, if duly and properly routed.

    While the NLC was rattling the sabre on behalf of Ajaero, Chief Falana toed the path of civility, decorum and honour, and sought deferment of the invitation to Wednesday, August 29, as the notice was too short, and as Ajaero had prior appointment before the police letter arrived.

    In a missive to the police, titled: “Re: Letter of invitation,” Falana said: “We have the instructions of Comrade Joe Ajaero to inform you that he is unable to honour your invitation on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, in view of the fact that your invitation letter was received by him yesterday (August 19). He has an engagement that had been fixed before the receipt of the invitation letter. Therefore, Comrade Ajaero is prepared for your interview on Wednesday, August 29, 2024.

    “Furthermore, in accordance with the provisions of section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as altered, Comrade Ajaero requests for the details and nature of the allegations of Criminal Conspiracy, Terrorism Financing, Treasonable Felony, Subversion and Cybercrime levelled against him.”

    Meanwhile, the NLC, asking for an extension of the police invitation, simultaneously issued a notice, directing its affiliates and allies to shut down the Nigerian economy should the police arrest Ajaero – giving no room for a lawful arrest via a duly-obtained warrant issued by a court of competent authority.

    Relaying the NLC position, after a National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja on August 20, the union’s Deputy President, Kabiru Ado Sani, who briefed workers gathered at the Labour House, in solidarity with Ajaero, said: “At the end of the meeting, we reached some certain resolutions. Part of the resolutions is that, as a committed labour centre, we agreed or that we abide by the rule of law and due process.

    “We will honour the invitation of the Nigerian police because we are not a faceless organisation, but we believe that we need an extension of time, after consultation with our lawyers, because this invitation was extended to the Congress President yesterday (August 19) and asked to report at the police by 10am today (August 20).

    “So we are already working with our lawyers to look for extension of time, but this does not legitimize the charges by the Nigerian police to the Congress leadership. And secondly, we resolve that in an event our Congress president was arrested or detained at any moment, we put our affiliates on red alert to mobilize our membership across the country, that all workers in this country should down tools.”

    The police case against Ajaero stems from an early August raid of the Labour House, in what the Force spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi claimed was in search of some incriminating documents, to establish a case against an international “subversive” element that is a threat to Nigeria’s democracy.

    However, the union criticised the raid, linking it to the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest of August 1-10 – which the NLC didn’t participate in, but monitored closely, and subsequently accused the police of killing scores of protesters – and asked the police for an unreserved apology.

    Rather than apologise, the police, on August 19, on behalf of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Intelligence Response Team, asked Ajaero to show up at 10am on August 20, at the Special Intervention Squad (SIS) Office, in Abuja, with a caveat to arrest Ajaero if he failed to honour the invitation.

    The letter, signed by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Adamu Muazu, reads ominously: “This office is investigating a case of Criminal Conspiracy, Terrorism Financing, Treasonable Felony, Subversion and Cybercrime in which you have been implicated.

    “You are therefore required to report to the undersigned for an interview on Tuesday, 20th August, 2024, at 10:00 hrs prompt, at Old Abattoir by Guzape Junction, Abuja, through the Team Leader on telephone no 08035179870, in connection with the above investigation. Be informed that if you fail to honour this letter, this office will have no choice but to issue a warrant for your arrest.”

    The tone of the police invitation to Ajaero was uncivil and unprofessional, an unnecessary display of bravado and a show of force undisguisedly intended to intimidate, overraw, and make Ajaero acquiesce ahead of the invitation that linked him to the alleged crimes under investigation. On that premise, Ajaero and the NLC were right to seek the opinion of their lawyers, for a delay of the invitation.

    But it’s the height of disobedience and disrespect to the rule of law – which the NLC says it upholds – to attempt to deploy institutional cover for an individual’s personal cause, which the allegations against Ajaero represent. Does the NLC equate Ajaero as the union, much like the famed April 13, 1655, phrase attributed to Louis XIV, King of France and Navarre: “L’État, c’est moi” (“I am the state,” literally, “the state, that is me”) – allegedly said before the Parliament of Paris – symbolising “absolute monarchy and absolutism?”

    In the context of Nigeria’s politics, where the President and Governor act as absolute monarchs, who equate themselves as the “State,” Ajaero – as President of the NLC boasting of an estimated 5m membership – can as well proclaim himself as the “NLC” and above the law and reproach.

    And that’ll be taking a page from the three oil workers’ unions: the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and Tanker Drivers, notorious for regularly calling out their members for national or sectional strikes even for the flimsiest of excuses, and disrupt fuel supply and economic activities for days or weeks across the country or part thereof.

    Ajaero successfully executed such a brief late 2023, when – a few days to the off-season election in Imo State (his home state) – he called for a strike action against the government over alleged arrears to workers. But when the workers Ajaero purported to fight for reportedly gave him cold shoulders and manhandled him at the airport, the NLC “imposed a land, air and sea blockade on the state,” and a national protest in tow, for days.

    The NLC was initial formed in 1950 under Chief Michael Imoudu, who’s christened, “Father of Labour Union in Nigeria,” and reincarnated in 1975 following a merger in 1974 of the then-four central labour organisations of the Nigeria Trade Union Congress (NTUC), led by Wahab Goodluck, Labour Unity Front (LUF), headed by Imoudu, Nigeria Workers’ Council (NWC), led by Ramon, and the United Labour Congress of Nigeria, led by Kaltungo and Odeyemi (ULCN), and its inaugural conference of December 18, 1975.

    So, there’s a long list of past leaders of the NLC, or its earlier variant(s) in the 1950s and 1960s, from Chief Imoudu to Wahab Goodluck (1975-1976 or 1975-1978), Hassan Sunmonu (1978-1984), Ali Chiroma (1984-1988), Pascal Bafyau (1988-1994), Military ban of unions (1994-1999), Adams Oshiomhole (1999-2007), Abdulwahab Omar (2007-2015) and Ayuba Wabba (2015-2023). In the course of union activities, these labour leaders endured frequent security operatives’ crackdowns, resulting in physical attacks, injuries, unlawful arrests, detentions, and imprisonments.

    Yet, the union leaders weren’t known to deploying the umbrella union to avenge their physical and psychological humiliations and trauma from the Police, the Department of State Services (DSS) (previously State Security Services (SSS)), the Military or any of the plethora of paramilitary agencies in the country.

    For example, then-President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007) and then-NLC President Adams Oshiomhole were the best of “political friends,” with Oshiomhole able to eke out a 25% increase of workers’ salary under the Obasanjo government.

    But when – for the umpteenth time – Obasanjo increased fuel price in 2004, and Oshiomhole called out workers for a protest, the NLC claimed that about 15 operatives of the DSS, on October 9, 2004, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, “overpowered him (Oshiomhole), wrestled him to the ground and bundled him into a standby Peugeot 504 station wagon, which bore no licence plates,” and detained.

    The DSS called the claim “sensational and inaccurate reporting,” saying that the NLC president had a “misunderstanding” with field operatives, but that the matter was soon resolved, while a presidential spokesperson claimed that Oshiomhole was only invited for a “chat” at the airport, and that no arrest had taken place.

    Still, Oshiomhole – while in or out of the “detention” – didn’t seek the NLC and Nigerian workers’ intervention to avenge his unlawful treatment by State actors. He bore his humiliation with dignity and equanimity, in the realisation that involving external assistance – for economic shutdown – would aggravate the situation and the people’s sufferings.

    Not so for Comrade Ajaero and the NLC under his belt! They’re ready to deploy members and affiliates to the streets in the least of provocations, especially since the 2023 General Election in which Ajaero and the union dragged Nigerian workers into supporting the Labour Party (LP), which Ajaero’s attempted to hijack by laying siege to the party offices in Abuja and the 36 States of Nigeria.

    When politics blurs the line between personal and group interest, the result is what Ajaero exhibits by threatening fire and brimstone over a police invitation to clear himself of the serious allegations reportedly tracing him to a “subversive” element at the NLC secretariat building in Abuja.

    Others in Ajaero’s shoes would gladly honour the police invitation, to clear their names and the organisation they represent. Unless he and NLC have something to hide, Ajaero should go and prove his innocence. It’s an act of integrity and patriotism to do so!

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

  • Tinubu’s hardship palliatives and Obaseki’s ‘rice hoarding’ scandal – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Tinubu’s hardship palliatives and Obaseki’s ‘rice hoarding’ scandal – By Ehichioya Ezomon

    Rice – the most popular Nigerian staple food – has suddenly become an issue, and may contribute to futher scrambling of the campaign of the Edo State chapter of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that’s already reeling from months of defection of high-profile members to the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), ahead of the September 21, 2024, governorship election.

    This follows the reported discovery of thousands of bags of rice hoarded and warehoused in residences or property of alleged chieftains of the PDP in Benin City, the state capital city. As claimed by the “discoverers,” the rice was part of the 20 truckloads,  which the Federal Government donated to each of the 36 States of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, for free distribution to the most vulnerable members of the society, to alleviate the hardship they’ve faced due to high cost of living and food inflation.

    Because the PDP-led administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki allegedly didn’t distribute the rice to the people – even as the government initially denied receipt of the 20 trucks – the commodity has become an instant campaign matter against the election of the PDP governorship candidate, Dr Asue Ighodalo, who Obaseki “anointed” to succeed him in November 2024.

    To get a proper handle on this story, let’s compare how Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum and his Edo State counterpart, Godwin Obaseki, handled the 20 trucks of rice, respectively. On Saturday, July 27, 2024, Prof. Zulum didn’t only demonstrate his leadership by example, but also the need for cooperation and synergy between the federal and state governments, to meeting the basic needs of the masses, especially in these economically-difficult times in Nigeria.

    The governor – scheduled the next day to oversee the distribution of food palliatives and farm inputs donated by the Federal Government to the state – travelled to Monguno, one of the local government areas in North-East of Nigeria, which’s suffered years of bloody and destructive attacks by Boko Haram and other insurgent groups.

    As is the modus operandi of the popular governor – who mingles freely with Borno inhabitants, to feel their pulse and their pains – he moved a day ahead of commencement of distribution of the food and farming palliatives on July 28, to enable him profile the beneficiaries in super camps in Monguno town.

    Addressing the palliative recipients on D-Day, Zulum said: “We are in Monguno town mainly for two functions, first to distribute food items provided to the government of Borno State by the federal government. I want to acknowledge the receipt of 20 trucks of rice, and this morning, we distributed all of them to this community.

    “I want also to inform you that the federal government has provided 90 trucks of fertiliser to the state government for free, to distribute to our farmers. On behalf of the people and government of Borno State, I want to appreciate the support of the federal government and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to the deserving communities. This is not the first time Borno has received palliatives from the federal government. It is a continuous affair.

    “In addition to this, we have distributed seeds, as most of them (farmers) do not have the capacity to buy farm inputs, and we have distributed cowpeas to all the able heads of households (each of the 35,000 beneficiaries received one bag of 25kg of rice and cowpeas to enable them cultivate their farmlands).”

    The Zulum administration complemented the federal government’s gesture with its own palliatives. “We have also distributed N10,000 in cash support and a wrapper to each of the over 45,000 widows and vulnerable women in Monguno town,” Zulum said, noting that the distribution of palliatives by his government wasn’t meant to create dependency but to “support vulnerable families that have lost their sources of livelihood to the Boko Haram crisis facing Borno State.”

    Now, we take a diagonal trip of over 1,000km down south to Edo State in the South-South of Nigeria, to see how the Obaseki administration handled the hardship problem regarding the federal government rice donation.

    In stark contrast to the Borno scenario, trending in the Edo polity – and on mainstream and social media – is a series of posers: “Obaseki & Asue, where are our 20 trucks of rice given by the Federal Government?” “Where are 30,000 bags of rice donated by Dangote?” (Reference to Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Group and the Richest Man in Africa).

    These posers were triggered by the viral videos of angry and hungry Edolites, who looted thousands of bags of rice reportedly donated by the Federal Government to Edo people, but were allegedly hoarded and warehoused in residences or property of chieftains of the PDP in Benin City, and across the state.

    That’s why concerned Edolites tagged Obaseki and Ighodalo to the rice “scandal” inundating the Obaseki government since the Bola Tinubu administration revealed its donation of 20 trucks of rice, and other food and farming products to each of the 36 States and the FCT, to ameliorate the hardship and food crisis across Nigeria.

    While several states, including Borno, had admitted receiving the federal government food and farming consignments, many, like Edo, denied any knowledge, and/or receipt of the largesse, resulting in a war of words between the Edo chapter of the APC and the PDP-controlled state government.

    The controversy started when Obaseki claimed that his administration, for several months, had spent N1bn monthly to supply food palliatives to Edo people, who, disclaimed off-handedly the governor’s unsubstantiated assertion. Notably, the said N1bn monthly palliatives came on the heels of the initial federal government reported allocation of five trucks of rice, and N5bn to enable each of the 36 States and the FCT to purchase more grains and other food items for distribution to their people.

    Some state governments – which’d denied receipt of the rice and N5bn – recanted, claiming that the N5bn wasn’t a grant but a loan from the federal government. Then came the instant 20 trucks of rice to the states and the FCT, with many states keeping mum, and Edo and Oyo publicity dismissing the federal government statement – even buttressed in the August 1, 2024, national broadcast by President Tinubu, while appealing to Nigerian youths to shelve the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest that’s billed to commence the same day and end on August 10.

    But on the first day of the 10-day #EndHunger protest, demonstrators in Edo discovered – and looted – thousands of bags of rice stored in several residences of alleged members of the PDP at Urora community, Ikpoba Hill area of Benin City. The state government, through its Commissioner for Communication, Chris Nehikhare, quickly dismissed the claim by the “rice looters” and the APC state chapter – that it’s the the federal government rice donated to Edo State.

    As reported by the online news portal, GWG.COM,  the Edo State chairman of the APC, Jarrett Tenebe, accused the Governor Obaseki government of “stockpiling the rice sent by the federal government as palliative for political use ahead of and during the forthcoming governorship election.”

    (Recall that the APC and informed inhabitants of Edo State made a similar allegation against Obaseki during the September 2020 governorship poll: That he hoarded – for his re-election bid – the COVID-19 palliatives donated by then-President Muhammadu Buhari administration to Edo State, for distribution to the most impacted by the effects of the pandemic.)

    At a press conference on Thursday, August 1, “to celebrate what he described as a shame of the Obaseki administration in hiding palliative rice from the people,” Mr Tenebe said: “He (Obaseki) has announced also that each month that his PDP government spends N1 billion for purchase of rice.”

    “If Edo (people) were ever in doubt, the video that emerged on social media today (August 1) of an abandoned trailer load of repackaged Federal Government rice with Edo State Government inscription, discovered by Urora residents, has exposed Obaseki’s deliberate plan to deprive Edo people the different palliative measures of the Federal Government.”

    But in a statement, Mr Nehikhare attempted to spin the rice “discovery” as an APC stunt to smear the image of the Governor Obaseki, his government and the PDP, claiming that, “the government does not have any store in the Urora community and that it only distributes palliatives through religious bodies.”

    “The State Government does not keep any relief material by itself but reaches out to the people through these channels,” Nehikhare said. “We will not put this tactic past the All Progressives Congress, APC, which is spreading malicious content to score cheap political points. This condemnable action is intended to cause chaos in the state and the APC is discouraged from such ignoble practice.”

    Yet, confronted in a Channels TV programme, following #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest, Nehikhare confirmed that the Edo government actually received “trucks of rice” from the federal government, without stating how many trucks, and how the rice was distributed to vulnerable members of the Edo public.

    While the rice saga has reinforced opposition’s scrutiny of and referendum on the eight-year tenure of Governor Obaseki, the owners and residents of the premises allegedly used to warehouse the commodity – for rebagging into smaller kilograms, and inscribed with the “Edo State Government,” for onward distribution and/or sale to party members – are counting their losses to the angry mob, who looted the rice and vandalised the property, accordingly.

    “The discovery of the unattended-to truck (of rice at Urora community in Benin City on August 1) led to a frenzy, as the truck was completely looted. A house in the community, where it (rice) was also being housed, was looted, and adjoining houses to the flat accommodating the rice suffered collateral damage, as they were raided and looted by the rice raiders,” the GWG.COM reported on August 4.

    “Like others in the buildings which were destroyed by the ‘rice looters,’ a resident, Charles Omoaka, has become a collateral victim of the people’s wrath on the political class. In an interview, he lamented that he, like many others, ‘does not know where to put his head after the angry protesters went beyond rice to also ransack their homes and took away even the roof over their houses.”

    In saner climes, those, who by their actions instigated the rice heist – which prompted the looting spree, and destruction of property, rendering the residents “homeless” – would be held to account through legal means or via the ballot, which, in the case of the “rice scandal” in Edo State, is barely one month away on September 21, 2024.

    Will Edo voters look beyond partisan and sectional streak, and do right by all Edolites allegedly shortchanged in the distribution of the palliatives donated by the federal government? The answer to this crucial and critical question resides on Election Day!

     

    Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.