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Tag: Elections

  • Jonathan backs NASS decision to reorder 2019 polls

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan has expressed his support on the National Assembly’s proposed decision to re-order the sequence of the 2019 elections.

    Jonathan said the new arrangement was in order and would go a long way in ensuring that more quality people are elected at all levels.

    Majority of the members of the two chambers of the National Assembly want election into the Senate and the House of Representatives to come first next year and the presidential election last.

    “Holding presidential election first will affect the quality of persons that will emerge in other polls because of the bandwagon effect,” Jonathan said yesterday when he granted audience to the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, and members of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) at the Jonathan Foundation in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

    He said the decision of the Assembly will help in the election of quality persons into various positions.

    Jonathan made his feelings known

    A statement by the PDP National Chairman’s spokesman, Mr. Ike Abonyi, quoted the former President as advising the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) to abide by the decision of the National Assembly.

    Jonathan asked the APC to see the proposed order of elections “from national and patriotic interests since laws are not meant for persons in power at a particular time.”

    He said he is even looking forward to a time when presidential election in Nigeria will be conducted differently from the others.

    He was optimistic that the PDP will return to power in 2019, saying: “I believe that the PDP will return to power in 2019, if we continue to build confidence, especially as the ruling party has failed to meet up their promises and give hope to the people.

    “Propaganda may help you win election, but it can’t help you govern and that is what the APC has seen in the last 32 months.

    The PDP National Chairman, Prince Secondus, had earlier briefed the former President on the activities of the NWC since December when they were elected into office.

    Secondus said the new leadership is currently engaged in a number of activities aimed at rebranding and repositioning the party with a view to regaining power in 2019.

    He pleaded for Jonathan’s support and that of other leaders of the party.

    The PDP boss said the focus of the party is on youths and women, pointing out that the leadership will soon come up with a new programme on Generational Next.

    At a separate forum, the PDP National Chairman said that the party has no anointed candidate for any elective positions.

    Speaking at a special banquet hosted for the party leadership by Governor Henry Seriake Dickson in Yenagoa, Secondus said unlike other parties where leaders lord it over to the rest, the PDP derives its power direct from the people who really own the party.

    “In this party under my watch, there would be no preferred aspirant for any position, in the spirit of our rebranding to rebuild, reposition and regain power. We cannot afford not to present our best eleven in the contest, “ he said.

    Secondus also said the party remains open to all Nigerians because it belongs to them, not to any group or individual.

    He said the doors of the party remain open to members from all corners to come in because “all hands are needed to chase the APC out of our political life.

    “We welcome people returning to the party with open arms because the party belongs to them and we need all to be on board for the huge task of chasing away evil regime in our life.

    “We must unite to rescue this country from the APC who has come with vengeance against the people of Nigeria.”

    He said that given the damage done to Nigerians by the APC administration in the past 32 months, what awaits the party in 2019 would be a “Tsunami”.

    While commending the PDP governors for their exceptional performance in office, Secondus particularly singled out Governor Dickson for his innovations in office that had led to the transformation of the state in the last six years.

    Secondus revealed that the party was initiating a deliberate programme called Generational Next aimed at re-integrating the youths in the activities of the party with a view to transferring power.

  • Elections won’t hold in 2019 if herdsmen/farmers’ crisis persist, Bafarawa tells Buhari

    A former Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, on Friday said that there would be no elections in Nigeria in 2019 if the Federal Government failed to find long-lasting solutions to the recurring herdsmen/farmers crisis that has led to the wanton loss of lives and destruction of properties, especially in Benue State.

    Bafarawa made the statement during a condolence visit to Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State at the Government House in Makurdi, the state capital, to commiserate with him and the people of the state over the killings of 73 persons on January 1, 2018, by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

    Bafarawa said, “Why would there be an election in 2019 when there is no peace? The most important thing you can bring to a society is peace. When you bring peace to them, you have brought life and can then talk about the election.”

    Speaking further, Bafarawa said that while it was the duty of the Federal Government to put serious efforts to restore peace in Benue State and other parts of the country, President Muhammadu Buhari must involve other stakeholders, irrespective of political affiliation, to solve the problem.

    The former governor thereafter made a cash donation of N10m to support the family of the victims of the January 1 killings.

    In his remarks, Ortom thanked Bafarawa for the show of solidarity, maintaining that the herdsmen and farmers crisis was a national problem which needed a national solution by the government at all levels in the country.

  • Osun LG election witnesses low turnout

    Osun LG election witnesses low turnout

    Osun Local Government Election witnessed a low turnout on Saturday, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    NAN correspondents monitored the election in Osogbo, Ayedade, Irewole and Ile-Ife Local Government Areas.

    They report that ad-hoc staff of the State Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) arrived at polling units on time but with just a few voters to attend to.

    At St. Peter Primary School, Unit 1, Otun Balogun Ward, Gbongan in Ikire Local Government, the turnout of electorate was low.

    Speaking with NAN, Mr Olasiyan Sikiru, All Progressive Congress (APC) party agent, decried the unimpressive turnout of the electorate.

    Sikiru said out of 600 registered voters at the ward, only 40 came out to vote as at 10a.m.

    “We are hopeful that people will still come out but aside the low turnout, the election is going on smoothly.”

    Mr Oladele Adelowo, the Accord Party agent at Unit 2, Otun Balogun ward, said the low turnout of the electorate was because the election fell on the market day.

    Adelowo, however, commended the OSIEC staff for arriving at the polling unit on time.

    Mr Adeshina Olatokunbo, the ward returning officer, said the election was peaceful without any challenges.

    Olatokunbo said it was expected that more electorate would still come out to vote.

    At Unit 2, Eketa Ward in Osogbo Local Government, NAN also observed that the turnout was also low.

    The accreditation of voters and voting, however, went on smoothly.

    Low turnout of voters was also witnessed in Ile-Ife.

    At Iremo Unit 13, Ward 3 in Ile-Ife, the turnout of the voters was low with late arrival of voting materials.

    Miss Damilola Omiyefa, APC party agents decried non-availability of voting materials as at 10a.m. and low voters turnout.

    NAN reports that the election, which was conducted in the parliamentary pattern, is for ward councillors only who will in turn choose their council chairmen among themselves.

    This pattern of the election runs contrary to the existing presidential system whereby both the councillors and chairmen are voted directly by the electorate.

     

    NAN

     

  • Jonathan set standard for Nigeria’s future elections by conceding defeat in 2015 – Buhari

    …says FG won’t accept actions that will undermine 2019 polls

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said former President Goodluck Jonathan’s voluntary acceptance of the outcome of the 2015 presidential elections has set the standard for future elections in the country.

    The President also warned that the federal government under his leadership would not condone any action that can undermine the smooth conduct of the 2019 general election.

    He asked politicians and political parties to pledge their commitment to the democratic process.

    The President, who spoke through the Secretary to the Government of Federation, Boss Mustapha, at the 15th Daily Trust Dialogue in Abuja, said politicians and political parties must ask their supporters to respect the electoral process and refrain from violence, while aggrieved parties should learn to seek redress through constitutional means and respect for the rule of law.

    He said Nigerians must have confidence in the ability of the country’s political institutions to conduct peaceful and successful election, stressing that timely adjudication and resolution of legal complaints arising from elections is a key component of the nation’s democratic process.

    He said as the election that usher in the present government in 2015 reflected the will of the Nigerian people and was widely acclaimed as transparent and peaceful, adding that “in the build up to that poll, there were concern about widespread violence throughout the country with predictions of the worst scenario for us as a nation.

    “We confounded the naysayers and the outside world. Nigerians showed resilience and patience when the biometric card reader system for verifying voters threw up some technical challenges. The security challenges in the North East did not deter out people from exercising their fundamental political and civic rights.

    “From Umuahia to Damaturu, Jalingo to Oshogbo, our people queued for long hours at their polling units and kept vigil as election officials tabulated their votes. And then the big one, the outgoing President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan historically set the tone for future political conduct in the country by graciously accepting defeat in a keenly contested race.

    “As we look towards 2019 and completing another round of the electoral cycle, there is the need for all of us to sustain efforts at building confidence in the country’s democratic institutions, notably the judiciary and INEC.”

  • Nigeria Third Force Movement rolls out action plans for 2019 elections

    Nigeria Third Force Movement rolls out action plans for 2019 elections

    *Olisa Agbakoba, Tafawa Balewa, Pat Utomi, Obby Ezekwesilli, Col Abubakar Umar, Donald Duke, Ayo Obe, Rabiu Ishyaku Rabiu, Frank Nweke Jnr, Femi Falana, Charles Soludo, Akin Osuntokun others set to lead the Third Force Movement into 2019

    * Plans to engage the Nigerian Presidency towards enduring panacea to herdsmen / Farmers clashes in Nigeria

    The Nigeria Intervention Movement (NIM), a Pro-democracy Movement and Pressure Group of like-minded Nigerians who are committed to changing the political order, which has failed to fashion a Nigeria that works for all is conceived as the THIRD POLITICAL FORCE to rescue Nigeria from corrupt and inept political leadership and system by the year 2019.

    NIM is concerned that the political elite, since independence and particularly since the exit of the military from visible power in 1999, has proved that it is ill-equipped and unprepared for the challenge of transforming our nation from its underdeveloped status to one that is prosperous and can create a veritable environment for the realization of its citizens’ potentials and well-being

    It is clear that the political elite, as currently represented by the 2 dominant political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC) among others have failed Nigerians for lack of clear Ideology and principle on how to run the country

    Concerned that left to their schemes and antics this class of entrenched leaders will lead Nigeria into a state of indescribable human misery characterized by death, hunger, disease, illiteracy and manipulation, therefore the NIM being unable to continue to stand aloof has decided to create a THIRD POLITICAL FORCE, a platform to mobilise all citizens of goodwill and conscience towards engendering a new political system and culture in Nigeria capable of bringing about the desired opportunities for all to actualize their dreams and potentialities; a nation where no man or group is oppressed.

    To this end, NIM is presenting to all Nigerian citizens at home and in the diaspora, a roadmap towards achieving the political alternative to the existing visionless, ill-equipped and unprepared political leadership and order in Nigeria. We call particularly all Nigerian youths, women and the vulnerable to urgently heed this call by joining and supporting the agenda and road map of NIM adopted on Tuesday, 9th January, 2018 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

    This is no doubt, a revolutionary Time Table of Action, which profoundly tallies with the milestones contained in the 2019 elections Timetable released later that same day by the INEC. For we are very confident that Nigerians can together end the misery of the past 19 years and give to themselves a nation of their own making and dream with the action plan attached below:

    The leadership of the NIM is made up of Nigerians with rich pedigrees and credible profile from across political, ethnic, regional and religious divides of the country. Below are the Protem Officers of the NIM:

    Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, SAN – Co-Chair

    Dr. Jhalil Tafawa Balewa – Co-Chair

    Professor Pat Utomi – Deputy Chair

    Rabiu Ishyaku Rabiu -Deputy Chair

    Comrade Isah Aremu -Deputy Chair

    Chief Akin Osuntokun – Deputy Chair

    Hajia Aisha Aliyu – Woman Leader

    Mr Dayo Isreal – Youth Leader

    Dr Osagie Obayuwana – Legal Adviser

    Hajia Barr Shetu Alfa Ibrahim -Treasurer

    Mallam Naseer Kura – Publicity Secretary

    Col Abubakar Umar Dangiwa – Ex -Officio

    Dr Obby Ezekwesilli – Ex -Officio

    Mrs Ayo Obe – Ex -Officio

    Sir Olawale Okunniyi – National Secretary/Director General

    Chairmen of Standing Committees are:

    1. Mr Donald Duke – Finance Committee
    2. Prof Jibrin Ibrahim – Ideology Commission
    3. Comrade Najeem Usman – Political Commission
    4. Mallam Tanko Yinusa – Mobilisation
    5. Mr Wale Ajani – Students & Youth
    6. Mr Taiwo Akinola – Diaspora Commission
    7. Mr Tony Uranta – Strategy & Engagements
    8. Mallam Shittu Kabir – Contact/Logistics
    9. Barr Femi Falana SAN – Legal Team

    However, other Protem officers of the Movement, especially Zonal and State Chairpersons/Coordinators will be announced next week after due zonal Consultations

    The Movement also expressed its deepest commiseration with the governments and peoples of Benue, Taraba and Southern Kaduna on the mass murder of their Folks; alleged to have been murdered by herdsmen. NIM consequently plans to undertake condolence visits to the trouble spots as well as a strategic advocacy engagement of the Nigerian Presidency towards proffering enduring solutions to herdsmen/farmer conflicts in Nigeria

    The Movement, initiated as an inclusive, non partisan, multi-stakeholders pan Nigerian pro-democracy platform to serve the interest of the masses of Nigeria, also resolved at its national Caucus meeting to make membership free for all Nigerians, while requesting Nigerians to urgently take ownership of the platform by donating generously (in the Obama campaign model) to the historic cause of rescuing Nigeria from merchants and traders in power

    Membership of NIM can be accessed and acquired through a dedicated website: nim.org.ng. or at the Temporary National Secretariat of NIM at No 8 Kayes Street, Wuse Zone 1, Abuja and its Lagos Annex at Ojodu Estate, Ikeja, Lagos in the meantime.

  • Appeal Court orders INEC to go ahead with Anambra senatorial re-run election

    The Court of Appeal on Thursday in Abuja dismissed a motion seeking to restrain Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from conducting the re-run election into the Anambra Central Senatorial District.

    Delivering the judgment, Justice Abubakar Yahaya held that the earlier order made on Nov. 20, 2017 directing INEC to conduct election for the senatorial seat within 90 days could not be reversed.

    The judge said such action was not recognised by the court’s practice direction, adding that the panel would not succumb to an invitation to make mockery of the judiciary.

    “The court hereby refuses to grant the request for the postponement of the election already scheduled for Saturday,” the judge held.

    Yahaya also said that the court could not compel INEC to make any undertaken to postpone the election over an application that was not ripe for hearing.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, we have not restrained INEC from conducting the election as ordered by this court on Nov. 20, 2017’’, Yahaya said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sen. Ani Okonkwo, an aggrieved aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had approached the appellate court with the application.

    Okonkwo had through his counsel, Chief Solomon Umoh (SAN), sought for leave to appeal against the Nov. 20, 2017 decision of the court of appeal, which ordered INEC to conduct a re-run election in that senatorial district within 90 days.

    Okonkwo had claimed that he was interested in challenging the decision of the appellate court last year as a senatorial aspirant.

    He, however, averred that the application could not be entertained because most parties joined in the application were not served with the court processes.

    In order to meander this legal tight corner, Okonkwo then applied for an adjournment to enable him effect service on all the parties.

    Worried that he could lose out since the election had been slated for Jan.13, the applicant filed a motion seeking the court to bar INEC from holding the election pending the determination of his appeal.

    He also urged the court to compel INEC’s counsel, Mr Tanimu Inuwa, to make an undertaken in the open court that INEC would not go ahead with the election having been aware of his pending application.

    The counsel for INEC immediately objected to the request on the ground that huge public fund had been expended on preparation for the poll.

    Inuwa also said he did not have the powers to make any undertaken to postpone the poll because of the subsisting appeal court judgment of Nov. 20.

    He submitted that decision compelling his client to hold the election within 90 which was billed to expire on Jan.13.

  • 2019: IPAC seeks early release of elections timetable

    2019: IPAC seeks early release of elections timetable

    The Lagos State chapter of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) on Saturday urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure early release of the 2019 general election timetable.

    The state Chairman of IPAC, Mr. Kola Ajayi, made the call in a chat with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    He said early release of the time-table would help INEC, the political parties and candidates to be properly guided and prepared ahead of the election proper.

    Ajayi said though the electoral body had earlier announced the dates for presidential and governorship elections, there was the need for early release of the full time table for better planning and results.

    “There is need for INEC to release the full timetable for the general elections for better planning and results.

    “Yes, they have already released the date for the presidential and other elections, the parties are still waiting when to have primaries and when campaigns begin, end and all that.

    “The early release will help everyone to start off early and better.

    “I want to believe INEC is working on that and it will be released soon,” he said.

    Ajayi urged INEC to build on its achievements in the 2015 election and deliver a credible and peaceful poll in 2019.

    He said anything short of peaceful and credible polls would not be healthy for the nation’s democracy.

    Ajayi identified voter apathy as a major challenge in the country‘s democratic experience.

    He urged the stakeholders to address the problem.

  • I’ll stop APC, PDP from winning elections in 2019 – Ezekwesili

    As the 2019 election year draws closer, a former minister for education, Oby Ezekwesili, has said she will work assiduously to ensure that candidates seeking public office on the platform of the two major political parties in Nigeria – the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP do not win.

    Ezekwesili, who also doubles as a co-leader of the #BringBackOurGirls movement, tweeted on Thursday that the essence of her new agenda was to “disrupt and end the political and governance stagnation and retrogression that our cyclical low equilibrium political Russian roulette has cost our country and people.

    “Enough is enough,” she said, through her Twitter handle @obyezeks.

    “My political agenda is simple. I shall actively campaign against APC and PDP in the 2019 elections except in rare cases where they field new minds with a strong record of public interest.

    “I shall actively campaign for the best candidates of all other parties in the elections.

    “My individual effort to campaign against APC and PDP in the 2019 elections may not amount to much, but it is at least a definite expression of my personal conviction.

    “My conviction is that it is time to end the tyranny of rulership of a wicked minority political elite class,” she wrote.

    Mrs. Ezekwesili’s position is a reflection of the general discontentment among Nigerians against the country’s political leadership.

    Nigeria, with its main earnings coming from oil, is Africa’s biggest economy. Yet most of its population still live in abject poverty.

    The historic defeat of the ruling PDP in the 2015 elections ended the party’s 16 years of political dominance and gave the people hope of a new beginning.

    But President Muhammadu Buhari and his party – the APC – have been severely criticised as being incapable of tackling the nation’s many challenges, including the killings perpetrated around the country by different groups other than Boko Haram.

    Mrs. Ezekwesili, in her one of tweets, described the APC and the PDP as “twin brothers”.

    “This for me is the #YearOfTheOfficeOfTheCitizen when all citizens lift their red card.

    “Whether many other citizens feel the way one feels about our political status quo does not matter. Standing up for what I believe is what one was raised to epitomize.

    “It is sickening to watch the repetition of a similar pattern of bad behavior by our political class,” she said.

  • Liberia Run-off: Jonathan meets candidates, canvasses free, fair, credible elections

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan has sued for peace and transparency in Tuesday’s presidential run-off election in Liberia.

    Jonathan, who is co-leading the United States’ National Democratic Institute (NDI) International Elections Observation Mission to the country, made the appeal in Monrovia.

    The former president spoke during separate meetings with the two contestants in the race – former FIFA World Football Player of the year, George Weah, and incumbent Vice President Joseph Boakai.

    His media adviser, Mr Ikechukwu Eze, made public the meetings in a statement on Tuesday morning.

    While calling for a free and fair process in the Boxing Day poll, he advised the two presidential candidates to accept the result of the election in the interest of peace and stability in Liberia.

    Weah of the opposition Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and Boakai of the ruling Unity Party (UP) are battling to succeed outgoing President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, whose constitutional two terms in office end in January.

    Jonathan met with both men alongside former President of Kosovo, Atifete Jahjaga; former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ghana, Hanna Tetteh, and other NDI leaders, according to Eze.

    He noted that the future of Liberia depended on the outcome of the run-off, urging Weah and Boakai to advise their supporters to conduct themselves peacefully during the election.

    “In any election, there are winners and losers. Only one presidential candidate will be declared winner.

    “The other should accept the election results to avoid a political crisis, especially if there are no good grounds to challenge the outcome,” he was quoted as saying.

    Jonathan equally called on the National Electoral Commission, security agencies and other stakeholders to be conscientious in playing their role to ensure a “peaceful, inclusive and transparent electoral process.’’

    “The economy of Liberia will benefit immensely from a positive and peaceful outcome as a free and fair process would go a long way in reassuring investors that the country is now safe for lasting investment.

    “If the election fails it means Liberia has failed, it also means that Liberia has failed West Africa and failed the entire Africa,’’ he said.

    The former president noted that Nigeria and other West African nations played vital roles in stabilising the nation, urging Liberians not to do anything that could jeopardise the post-war peace in the land.

    “ Although both candidates pointed out some lapses in the preparations, especially with the issue of the voter register, they, however, agreed to accept the outcome of the results.

    Speaking at the meeting, Weah reportedly said he was prepared to accept the outcome of the election.

    “If the Liberian people decide that the other side will have another twelve years in the Presidency, we will call and congratulate them.

    “But as I said, if the election is free and fair, we are going to win. This is because we have worked so hard and our people want the change which we are offering,” he said.

    Jonathan and other NDI team members also met with the chairman of NEC, Mr Jerome Korkoya, where he emphasised the need for a transparent, free and fair election.

     

  • JUST IN: INEC fixes date for 2019 Presidential, NASS elections

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the date for the conduct of 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

    According to the timetable released by the commission, Nigerians are expected to elect the president on February 16, 2019.

    Also scheduled for the same day is the election into the Senate and the House of Representatives.

    News of the election dates was broken by INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, at an induction retreat for Resident Electoral Commissioners in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

    The Governorship, State Assembly and Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory will follow on 2nd March 2019,” Yakubu said.

    The implementation of the 2019 Election Project Plan is to begin on January 1, 2018.

    He said an additional 3,630,529 voters were registered in the recent continuous registration.

    “This is an important development in our efforts to ensure that electoral services offered to Nigerians are better, more frequent and easier to access than ever before,” he said.

    This exercise will continue until 60 days to the 2019 General Elections, as a provided by the Electoral act.

    The INEC Chairman said the commission was “working assiduously to ensure 100% performance of the Card Readers. That is why there is an ongoing pilot to upgrade it by enhancing its features including new superior processors.”

    He added: “At the same time, the Commission is exploring ways of improving the integrity of the collation and results transmission processes and has begun to deploy the electronic result collation and transmission platform on a pilot basis.

    “Our ultimate aim, learning from the pilot and consequential improvement of the supporting infrastructure, is to deploy the system for all forthcoming off-season elections and, ultimately, the 2019 General Elections. The Commission is working to ensure that this goal is achieved.”

    The commission said it has conducted 175 elections across the country in the last two years.

    These include 79 Court-ordered re-run elections, 73 end of tenure elections and 23 bye-elections.

    Yakubu said that even where electoral tribunals overturned two of the elections conducted, the commission was never asked to do a fresh election.

    He also noted that to the credit of the commission, outcomes of most recent elections were not challenged in court.