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Tag: Electoral Act

  • For broadcasting, foreboding times and days of restraints – By Okoh Aihe

    For broadcasting, foreboding times and days of restraints – By Okoh Aihe

    I like this feeling of optimism that the various laws spring upon Nigerians as the political fever breaks. You know how the holy books put it: “old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new,” especially if you follow the laws of the land concerning elections or even concerning broadcasting during elections.

    What the laws presuppose is that politicians have suddenly become angels; they will no longer buy SUVs for village heads, even while working in government offices. They will no longer fly bullion vans to their homes during elections, and brag, “it is my money.” They will no longer instigate area boys to break heads or cause people to be burnt in their homes, without any investigations by the security authorities. No, in Nigeria, angels will now live on earth, no longer in heaven, in the apparition of politicians.

    There is a spending cap. You flout it and you will be given some paltry fines or you spend a little wink of time in jail; which may never happen anyway, especially, if you are the all powerful. But nothing says the politician will forfeit the rewards from ostentatious exhibition of power!

    In this season, so much is expected of broadcasters, to hold the nation together with their professionalism and be fair to all who walk in to do business. That has always been the creed, further accentuated by the Nigerian Broadcasting Code and the Electoral Act 2022. I am anxious for the day the government controlled stations – Federal and States – will allow opposition parties to enjoy generous airtime in their stations.

    With that impertinent (impediment?) aside, let me observe that I do not like the bind being put on broadcasters, like all sins hail from them, with some subtle hints that the stations are the repositories of slush monies. While the stations may be struggling to unravel the meanings of certain provisions of the law, there will be the need to be mindful of some little traps, so that we do not have the innocent heading to jail just to profit one greedy and scheming politician.

    A certain document from the broadcast regulator, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) caught the attention of this writer. Titled Countdown to 2023 General Elections: A Call for Caution. The letter pointed out some relevant sections of the law which demand cautionary dealings or business transactions from broadcast operators.

    Quoting relevant sections of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, the letter signed by the Director-General of the Commission, Mallam Balarabe Shehu Ilelah states as follows:

    Section 2(1) No person or body corporate shall, except in transactions through a financial institution, make or accept cash payment of sum exceeding – (a) N5, 000, 000 or its equivalent in the case of an individual; or (b) N10, 000, 000 or its equivalent, in the case of body corporate;

    Section (2) a person shall not conduct two or more transactions separately with one or more financial institutions or designated non-financial businesses and professions with the intent to avoid the duty to report a transaction which should be reported or breach the duty to disclose the information.

    Then this followed. “Pursuant to these provisions, the Commission enjoins all Broadcast Stations to keep a log of all advertisements, Campaign Rallies and sponsored programmes during this period showing, Name of advertiser, Frequency/volume of advert, date and time of broadcast; amount paid for Advert/programme; type of payment (cash/bank transfer) etc.”

    Then there was the platitude about their stations not being used to perpetuate Hate Speech, inciting Comments and Fake News, which they don’t monitor anyway. That is, based on what we have seen so far, where politicians use their tongues to pauperise Nigerians or lacerate other political parties from their Icarus position of wealth! Not even a caution. But threats are rolled out every day by relevant authorities when the powerful makes all such good efforts look silly.

    The Electoral Act seems to have agreed with the NBC concerning fairness in broadcasting an advert spend. But Section 95 warns that broadcast and media stations should not be employed to the advantage or disadvantage of any political party or candidate at any election.

    It states in part: “Media time shall be allocated equally among the political parties or candidates at similar hours of the day. At any public electronic media, equal airtime shall be allotted to all political parties or candidates during prime times at similar hours each day, subject to the payment of appropriate fees. At any public print media, equal coverage and visibility shall be allotted to all political parties.”

    It is all well and good to issue warnings and directives to broadcasters while the politicians search for every ingenuity to circumvent every law and regulation, to push the broadcast stations into trouble, just because the economy is so bad and they need to survive.

    I sympathise with broadcasters because there are some people so steeped in the act of governance/government that they have little time for reflections or introspections before saying certain things. So they have an idea of what it takes to run a broadcast outfit? Do they have any idea what the failing economy is doing to broadcast operations in the country? Do they know what it takes to mobilise for live broadcasting? These are questions the broadcasters and even the regulator should answer because, as a regulator, you have to know the health of the industry to protect those who operate in it.

    A little while ago I was with one of the chief executives of a major broadcast chain in Nigeria. One of the lieutenants came to discuss the cost of operations with him. A sore point of discussion was the cost of running the generators every week, and a quick summary brought the cost to several millions every month, only at one location. It was frightening. You can do a business like that and survive.

    While the law stands supreme and operators should do everything possible not to run foul of it, this now is my humble suggestion. Elections are some months away. The broadcast operators should endeavour to conduct training programmes for their staff on the various intervening laws concerning the elections, to prevent their business from being plunged into uncertainty and avoidable difficulties.

    The days ahead, if signs are anything to go by, are going to be very interesting, even tempestuous and challenging. The broadcast operators should be on their feet to report the end of a blighted era, and contribute to writing an elegy for a regime that caused the nation pain.

  • APC pressuring INEC to tamper with Electoral Act – Galadima

    APC pressuring INEC to tamper with Electoral Act – Galadima

    A member of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, Buba Galadima, has accused some chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, APC, of pressurizing the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, to tamper with the Electoral Law, ahead of the 2023 elections.

    Galadima said APC chieftains are pressuring Yakubu to shun election results’ electronic upload.

    Speaking with Channels Television, Galadima said Yakubu was under pressure not to use the Bimodal Voter Registration System, BVAS, to transmit results in 2023.

    He said APC chieftains are pressurizing the INEC Chairman to write the National Assembly on the need to ignore BVAS during the 2023 elections.

    Galadima also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to take cognizance of APC members trying to smear his image after he leaves office.

    According to Galadima: “INEC chairman is under extensive pressure to tamper with the Electoral Act because the ruling party wanted to table an issue before the National Assembly such that they will force the Chairman to write to National Assembly that it should not be compelling INEC to use the BVAS machine and this is the greatest disservice and an unpatriotic thing some elements in the ruling party are trying to put forward.

    “They want to amend the Electoral Act, therefore, I want the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to take note of some bad elements that want to smear his image when he leaves office.”

    Galadima also reiterated that the NNPP’s presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, would emerge victorious in 2023.

    He pointed out that Kwankwaso has one of the largest supporters among other presidential candidates.

  • Ethnocentrism: Atiku risks 12 months jail term for allegedly campaigning based on tribal reason

    Ethnocentrism: Atiku risks 12 months jail term for allegedly campaigning based on tribal reason

    The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has been fingered to have breached Section 97 of the Electoral Act, following his statement to Northerners that they should vote for him in the 2023 election because he hails from the northern region.

    The section states, “A candidate, person or association that engages in campaigning or broadcasting based on religious, tribal or sectional reason to promote or oppose a particular political party or the election of a particular candidate, commits an offence under this Act and is liable on conviction to (a) a maximum fine of N1m or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both and (b) in the case of a political party, to a maximum of N10m.”

    Recall that Atiku made the remarks while responding to a question posed to him by the spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum, NEF, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, during an Interactive Session With Arewa Joint Committee held on Saturday in Kaduna State.

    The remark was said to be in reference to the presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi.

    The PDP flag bearer, a Fulani from Adamawa State, declared that “what the average Northerner needs is somebody who’s from the North and also understands other parts of the country and has been able to build bridges across the country.

    “This is what the Northerner needs. He doesn’t need a Yoruba or Igbo candidate. I stand before you as a pan-Nigerian of northern origin,’’ the ex-vice-president stated at the interactive session.

    However, his comment has attracted widespread condemnation from the APC, the LP, the New Nigeria People’s Party, the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, the apex Igbo group, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and civil society organisations.

    This is happening against the backdrop of the crisis in the PDP which has resulted in the withdrawal of five governors and many members of the Southern bloc of the party from Atiku’s campaign council.

    Those who criticized Atiku on Sunday said despite presenting himself as a pan-Nigerian candidate, the former vice-president’s previous actions had aroused suspicions about his stance on critical national issues.

    Atiku stirred a firestorm in May after he deleted a post on his Facebook and Twitter pages condemning the killing of Deborah Samuel, a student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, who was killed for allegedly posting comments that blasphemed Prophet Mohammed.

    After coming under a barrage of threats from northerners who asked him to forget his presidential ambition for criticising Samuel’s murder, Atiku hurriedly deleted the post, claiming it was done without his approval.

    Atiku’s statement was an attack on the country’s long-preserved national unity- APC

    Reacting, the ruling APC said Atiku’s statement inciting northern electorates to shun Igbo and Yoruba candidates was unbecoming of an elder statesman.

    The National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka, in a statement on Sunday described Atiku’s utterance as an attack on the country’s long-preserved national unity.

    He attributed the statement to the PDP candidate’s desperation to rule the country.

    Scolding Atiku, who is running for the President for the sixth time, the APC stated, “It is beyond the pale for a senior citizen and a former Vice-President of the Federal Republic to so brazenly instigate strife and disunity in our country in pursuit of his befuddled political self-interest.

    “But it is not surprising coming from a desperate and serial failed candidate for the office of President. If, as Atiku believes the average Northerner needs a Northern President now, after a Northern President, when will they ever not need a Northern President?

    “What does Atiku think the average Southerner needs? Why is it about what the average Northerner needs, or even what the average Southerner may need? Why is it not about what Nigeria and Nigerians need? Nigerians need bold and visionary leadership anchored on a firm commitment to transcendental national unity, over and above ethnic or sectional obsessions.

    “Atiku’s words ring loud of extreme and mindless desperation and such an extremely desperate man cannot and must not be entrusted with the most important job of President – a job whose core duty is that of leading, uniting and working in the best interest of all in an ethnoreligious, pluralistic society as Nigeria. Our country does not need this kind of highly inflammable rhetoric now or ever.’’

    The party further expressed surprise that Atiku who claimed to be on a mission to unify the country could engage in acts that undermined national unity.

    “The cat has finally been let out of the bag of him that pays lip service to unity while working hard to undermine our national unity. Our Northern citizens and patriots know far better than what Atiku thinks, and will not walk down that slippery slope with him,” Morka noted.

    Touting the credential of its presidential candidate, Tinubu, and contrasting it with Atiku’s statement, the ruling party noted, “As governor of Lagos State, his executive cabinet was a rare and admirable reflection of ethnic and religious diversity.

    “We are confident he will enthrone equity, fairness, inclusion, and unity as operating national policy when elected as President in next year’s general election, as we urge Nigerians to do.”

    Berating the PDP candidate, the APC Presidential Campaign Council stated that his incitement of Northerners to snub Yoruba and Igbo candidates has exposed his true intention to Nigerians.

    This was contained in a statement signed by the Director, Media and Publicity of the Presidential Campaign Council, Bayo Onanuga.

    Onanuga described Atiku’s speech as “the worst expression of ethnocentric opportunism ever uttered by a former Nigerian Vice-President.”

    He said the PDP flag bearer’s speech clearly demonstrated “how low a man honoured with the second highest office of the Nigerian Constitution is willing to sink in search of a perennial wild goose chase after the highest office in the land.”

    The statement added, “It confirms the argument that Atiku has feasted on such base, cheap, primordial sentiments to use the masses and the elite of the North as the ladder to ascend to power since 1989 without any dividends to show.

    “In clear terms, Atiku who stole the PDP ticket with a similar mindset has cast himself as a northern candidate, who the people from his region should solely support.

    “We view Atiku’s public declaration which framed him as an ethnic and regional champion as unbecoming for a man who was once a former Vice-President of Nigeria. But we are not surprised by his desperate position. Atiku has resorted to whipping up ethnic sentiments, knowing that his chances of being elected have become a mirage.

    “He has himself, not anybody else, to blame for his expected electoral misfortune. First, he broke the fundamental rules of power rotation in his party and the country.”

    Onanuga further dismissed Atiku’s claims as a detribalized Nigeria as pure hogwash, adding, ‘’the Nigerian public now knows better that a man who has been campaigning as a so-called unifier of our disparate groups, is a tribal jingoist, who has now totally eviscerated all pretensions to being a detribalised Nigerian.

    “Atiku only pays lip service to national unity, despite that it features as one of the five cardinal points of his so-called ‘Covenant with Nigerians.’ The facade is over, he is now fully naked before the Nigerian people.”

    “Atiku to tender an unreserved apology to Nigerians over his ethnocentric sentiments”- LP

    The Chief Spokesman of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko, called on Atiku to tender an unreserved apology to Nigerians over his ethnocentric sentiments.

    Tanko stated that it is wrong for anybody whether in a position of authority or not to use the ethnic card as a yardstick or campaign tool in Nigeria at the moment.

    He said, “What we observed is that it is unfair for somebody who had been in the saddle of leadership of this country to play the ethnic card as a way of generating support.

    “Our principal has made it clear long before now that even when people are trying to play ethnic agenda, nobody should look at him as an Igbo candidate. Our movement is a Nigerian project for the Nigerian people.

    “So, in the interest of our democracy and unity of this country, which of course we represent, I think the former vice-president should apologize to Nigerians in such a way that it would show him as a true leader of a free country.

    “Our principal has made it clear too that if there are issues that have to do with his co-candidate, he would be able to answer them personally. I know he actually prefers to speak on issues like this personally.”

    The media aide to the LP Presidential candidate, Emeka Obasi, pointed out that he was shocked to see an elder statesman playing such an ethnic card.

    He said, “I saw the video of Atiku’s ethnic sentiment but I didn’t want to believe he said those things. So, I waited in vain hoping he will deny saying them before I comment.”

    “Atiku has shown that he cannot lead and unite this country”- Ohanaeze Ndigbo

    Speaking in the same vein, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, in a statement on Sunday by its Secretary-General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said by Atiku’s utterances, he had finished whatever was left of the PDP.

    “We find it very weird and disappointing that an elder statesman and a presidential candidate could mount the podium at a public function and play such an ethnic card.

    “We are worried that at such a time Nigeria is seeking a unifier, Atiku is further pushing the country into disintegration. He has shown that he cannot lead and unite this country.

    “His ambition has already destroyed the PDP and pushed it from number one to third if not fourth force. Now, he wants to bring the same division into the affairs of the country. We ask Nigerians to say no by rejecting him stoutly at the polls,” Ohanaeze said.

    The apex Igbo group added that the five PDP governors led by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike had been proved to be the true lovers of the country.

    It said, “We can see that the party has even suspended the presidential campaign after the flag-off in Uyo recently. All is not well with the team PDP.

    “Nobody can trust a man who said he is a stepping stone for the actualisation of the South-East presidency in the future but within 48 hours, he offered the same presidency to Wike. It’s absurd to see how the PDP’s presidential team now hawks counterfeit promises.”

    “Atiku should be preaching unity instead of seeking to divide the country”- Afenifere

    The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere similarly flayed the PDP candidate, saying it was disappointed in him.

    The spokesman for Afenifere, Jare Ajayi, in a telephone interview castigated Atiku for resorting to an ethnicity campaign, noting that he should be preaching unity instead of seeking to divide the country.

  • Why political parties must study new Electoral Act very well – INEC Chairman

    Why political parties must study new Electoral Act very well – INEC Chairman

    Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu has charged political parties to study the new electoral act very well.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Prof Yakubu gave the charge on Wednesday while assuring Nigerians that all the winners in the 2023 General Election will be decided by eligible voters.

    Yakubu affirmed that the innovations introduced by the Commission in the last three years were intended to improve the electoral process just as he pledged that more will be done to consolidate recent achievements and ensure that votes count in all elections.

    The INEC Chairman was speaking while delivering a keynote address at the 4th Abubakar Momoh Memorial Lecture with the theme, “Electoral Act 2022: Imperatives for Political Parties and the 2023 General Election”, held at The Electoral Institute (TEI), Abuja.

    Represented by the Chairman of the Board of the TEI and National Commissioner, Prof Abdullahi Abdu Zuru, Prof. Yakubu tasked chairmen and members of political parties to study the provisions of the New Electoral Act passed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in February 2022.

    He tasked the political parties to be committed to ensuring that the 2023 General election is devoid of deliberate infractions to the Electoral Act, by allowing the electoral process to run smoothly, engender a rich democratic culture and produce an acceptable election outcome.

    On the need for political parties to understand the provisions of the new Electoral Act, Prof. Yakubu said, “as the 2023 general election draws near, it is imperative for all stakeholders, especially the political parties, to note the major features introduced by the new Electoral Act 2022 and the possible implications of these changes on the upcoming elections. The happenings that accompanied the recent party primaries attest to this”.

    He added: “These changes include amongst others, the conduct of early party primaries by political parties, technological changes in the electoral process, the Commission’s power to review the decision of a Returning Officer and overvoting based on the number of accredited voters. These initiatives, as contained in the law, served as the bedrock for the reviewed Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, released by the Commission earlier this year. This in turn dictated the review of the Manual for Election Officials (2022)”.

    Speaking on the legal backing the new Electoral Act gives INEC’s technological innovations, the INEC Chairman said; “Let me draw your attention to the fact that the use of electronic devices, such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), INEC Voter Enrolment Device (IVED), INEC Result Viewing Portal (IRev) and other technological devices, are now legally allowed in the accreditation process for voters, collation of results and in the general conduct of elections”.

    He continued: “Please be assured that these innovations are intended to deepen the use of technology in the electoral process in our country and their optimal performance in the just concluded governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States is an eloquent testimony to their electoral value. We shall do more to consolidate their deployment in our elections. Once again, I wish to assure you that INEC has no preferred party or candidate. We shall ensure that valid votes count and the winners are decided solely by the voters.”

    The INEC Chairman said the Commission was determined to apply the provisions of the new Electoral Act in its resolve to conduct a free, fair, credible, inclusive, and transparent general election in February and March 2023, without fear or favour.

    He explained that the Prof. Abubakar Momoh Memorial Lecture was a platform established by the Commission to project the ideals of a social activist and an advocate of citizens’ involvement in elections and nation building.

    In his welcome remarks, the Director General (DG) of TEI, Dr. Sa’ad Umar Idris, said the theme of the lecture was carefully chosen considering the necessity and requirements for conducting the 2023 General Elections under a new law and its implications for not only the Commission, but the 18 Political Parties that will be fielding candidates for the various elective offices in the General Electionin particular.

    Dr. Idris said: “the unfortunate preponderance of many legal cases arising even from the pre-election period up till after the conduct of the elections, indeed have at many times brought a lot of challenges to the electoral process and our country’s political development at large.

    “It is hoped that with this lecture and training for party executives, due influence can be brought to bear and reduce the swift race to the courts that has characterized our political space in the last 10 years”.

    The TEI DG expressed optimism that the memorial lecture will interrogate the relationship between the new Act and the roles of all stakeholders, particularly the Commission, the 18 Political Parties and 2023 General Elections and suggest ways of conducting free, fair, credible, and inclusive elections without unnecessary litigations that could be drawbacks to the election.

    In his presentation, the Guest Lecturer, Prof. Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), highlighted the new modifications in the 2022 Electoral Act and their implications to the Election management Body and Political Parties.

    He harped on the need for internal party democracy, pointing out that “the Supreme Court has decided in several cases that political parties must obey their own constitutions as the court will not allow them to act arbitrarily or as they like.”

    The Guest Speaker ended his lecture with a food for thought for the political actors. He said: “Politics is not anarchy; it is not disorderliness; it must be punctuated by justice, fairness and orderliness.”

    The wife of the late DG of TEI, Prof. Abubakar Momoh, in whose memory the Lecture was held, appreciated the Commission for the gesture of honoring her late husband 5 years after his demise.

    Mrs. Tawa Momoh, in her goodwill message, said it was a great honour to the family to see Prof. Momoh’s legacies being sustained by the Commission.

    There was also a Training for Political Party Executives on Critical Components of the Electoral Act 2022, immediately after the lecture ended.

    Those who attended the lecture include: National Commissioners; Festus Okoye Esq, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, Dr. Baba Bila, Mal. Mohammed Kudu Haruna, and Prof. Kunle Ajayi.

    Also present were representatives of Civil Society Organizations, the Security, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for FCT, Alh. Yahaya Bello, and Technical Aides of the INEC Chairman; Prof. Bolade Eyinla, Prof. Mohammed J. Kuna, and Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, as well as Directors and other management staff of the Commission.

  • [BREAKING] Electoral Act: Supreme Court strikes out Buhari’s suit challenging section 84(12)

    [BREAKING] Electoral Act: Supreme Court strikes out Buhari’s suit challenging section 84(12)

    The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed President Muhammadu Buhari’s suit challenging Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act.

    The Apex Court held that Buhari, having assented to the Electoral Bill on February 25, 2022, has no power to turn around to challenge the legality of the Electoral Act.

    In a judgment prepared and just delivered by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, the action of Buhari in instituting the case was declared as a gross abuse of court.

    The Apex Court said that the President by the suit sought to approbate and reprobate at the same time and that such must not be allowed.

    Besides, the court held that Buhari had no power under any law to dictate to the National Assembly on law-making.

    The unanimous verdict held that Buhari having participated in the making of the Electoral Act by his assent, lacked Constitutional Powers to come up to challenge same.

    Upon assenting to the act, President Buhari had asked the National Assembly to delete the contended clause, however, the parliament declined the president’s request.

    Section 84 (12) of the legislation holds that, “no political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the convention or congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.”

     

  • Primaries: Tinubu uses provisions of Electoral Act to fault alleged emergence of Lawan as consensus candidate

    Primaries: Tinubu uses provisions of Electoral Act to fault alleged emergence of Lawan as consensus candidate

    The presidential campaign organisation of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has joined the arena of confusion in the All Progressives Congress, APC, to offer clarifications on relevant provisions of the Electoral Act that preclude or forbid the emergence of Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, as consensus candidate of the party in the manner he had allegedly emerged.

    Tinubu Organisation’s consequential intervention was contained in a statement signed by Babatunde Ogala, SAN, Director, Legal Directorate.

    Read the statement below in extenso: “The media is inundated with reports that the Chairman of the All progressives Congress (“APC”) has unilaterally announced the purported adoption of a certain aspirant the consensus presidential candidate of the APC for the forth coming presidential election in 2023. While the National Chairman is yet to deny or offer any clarification on the alleged declaration, it is necessary to state that such a declaration is a legal impossibility. This is because under the regime of the Electoral Act 2022, consensus, though provided for as one of the means by which a political party may produce its candidate, must specifically occur in a precise form.

    “Section 84(9) (10) and (11) of the Electoral Act 2022 are the relevant provisions and they state as follows: “(9) A political party that adopts a consensus candidate shall secure the written consent of all cleared aspirant for the position, indicating their voluntary withdrawal from the race and their endorsement of the consensus candidate”.

    “(10) Where a political party is unable to secure a written consent of all cleared aspirants for the purpose of a consensus candidate, it shall revert to the choice of direct or indirect primaries for the nomination of candidates for the aforesaid elective position.

    “(11) A special convention or nomination congress shall be held to ratify the choice of consensus candidates at designated centers at the National, State, Senatorial, Federal and State Constituencies, as the case may be”.

    “Instructively, none of the above conditions have occurred in respect of producing the presidential candidate of the APC. Therefore, any declaration of a consensus candidate would be premature and a violation of extant provisions of the law.

    “We are confident that as a law-abiding entity, the APC will not be part of such. We are further persuaded to urge our supporters to disregard this report considering that the overwhelming majority of the APC Northern Governors who, after meeting with the President, re-affirmed their preference for a president from the Southern part of Nigeria. This patriotic decision is widely accepted by all Nigerians as a demonstration of deep understanding of the nuanced fault lines of our nation.

    “In the circumstance, a unilateral declaration by the National Chairman of a consensus presidential candidate for the party will not only violate the law, but set the party on collision course with its Governors who are critical stakeholders in the party.”

  • Confusion in APC as court okays statutory delegates vote for primaries

    Confusion in APC as court okays statutory delegates vote for primaries

    A Federal High Court sitting in Kano has ruled that statutory delegates are constitutionally qualified to participate in all meetings, congresses and conventions of any registered political party in Nigeria.

    Sen. Mas’ud El-Jibrin Doguwa, Hon. Habibu Sani and Hon. Bilyaminu Yusuf Shin’Kafi, (all aspirants of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) at the just concluded National Assembly primaries, had filed a suit challenging the disenfranchisement of statutory delegates from participating at the primaries.

    The suit marked FHC/KN/CS/13712022, has the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; National Chairman of APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as defendants.

    The plaintiffs in their originating summons dated 23rd May, 2022 and filed on the 24th May, 2022, prayed the court for a declaration of the Court, “that section 84(8) cannot be interpreted to have excluded statutory delegates from voting at the convention, congress or meeting by virtue of section 223 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Article 20(iv)(c) of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Constitution, which allow Statutory Delegation to vote at
    convention, congress or meeting”.

    The 2nd defendant, Adamu, filed a counter affidavit in opposition to the originating summons dated 1st June, 2022.

    But the 1st, 3rd and 4th defendants did not file any process in the suit.

    Delivering judgment on the suit on Friday, 3rd June, 2022, the presiding judge, Hon. Justice A.M Liman, held that, “Section 84(8) cannot be interpreted to have excluded statutory delegates from voting at the convention, congress or meeting, by virtue of Section 223 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Article 20(iv)(c) of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Constitution, which
    allow Statutory Delegation to vote at
    convention, congress or meeting.”

    The implication of this judgment means all the statutory delegates of each political parties shall participate in the subsequent Congresses and conventions, especially, the forthcoming national convention of the APC.

    Statutory delegates in this context include, ward, local government, state and national executives of the party, including past executives, as the guidelines of the party deem fit.

    Others include, the President, Vice President, former Presidents, former vice Presidents who are members of the party; Governors, deputy Governors, former Governors, former deputy Governors, Council Chairmen, serving Councilors and past Council chairman who are members of the party, as may be decided by party guidelines.

    Those captured in the statutory delegates cadre also also include, serving and past members of the National Assembly of the party; though ministers, commissioners, supervisory councillors and other political appointees are excluded in the newly signed Electoral Act.

  • Ex-President Jonathan recommends removal of Section 84 of Electoral Act

    Ex-President Jonathan recommends removal of Section 84 of Electoral Act

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan has recommended removal of the controversial Section 84 of the new Electoral Act, to allow political parties decide modalities for candidates’ elections.

    Jonathan gave the recommendation at the public presentation of a book titled “Political Party Governance” by former Minister of State Power, Dr Mohammed Wakil, on Thursday in Abuja.

    The former president said that the National Assembly should allow political parties have the leverage of doing certain things differently, as their needs were different.

    “Give parties the leverage. The key thing is that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is regulating them.

    “They mentor them, and the system they will adopt in selecting their candidates must be documented in their constitution and copies deposited with INEC. That is what will be used to judge that party.

    “Parties are not parastatals of government and the National Assembly cannot make laws that choke the political parties. That is my take on this controversial issue,” he said.

    Jonathan also rated as low, the ongoing primaries by political parties to elect candidates for the 2023 General Elections because of provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act.

    He said that the primary where only elected delegates were allowed to elect candidates, was already a failed process.

    “The National Assembly made alterations to the Electoral Law, and now only what they call the `elected delegates’ are to elect people that would vote. Then one day Nigerians will go to the polls and think they are voting a president?.

    “But who presented presidential candidates for you? Very few people at the national level, at the state level, at the local districts, at the federal and state constituencies.”

    Jonathan cited a Federal Constituency in Bayelsa State with only two wards and just only six delegates that elected PDP candidates because every ward had three elected delegates.

    Jonathan said the situation was even more worrisome where the delegates were unknown figures in the society.

    “We have former governors, former deputy governors, former Senators and all the rest. But then, we have only one elected delegate that you don’t know where he is coming from.

    “A delegate that will come to Abuja to select who becomes the presidential candidate. Is that the kind of democracy we will practice?

    “But those of us who have been involved know that it is terrible. Are we bringing those who really know who is who to elect these delegates or those delegates that can be bought over with money?”

    Jonathan advised the National Assembly to make laws that would help solve problems, not those that were irrelevant or designed to create problems.

    “And laws must be made assuming those who are making the law are blind to any interest just like the judges, who rely on only the scale and the sword.

    “Laws must not be made to target a group of individuals or an individual.

    “And when you go into that system of making laws, you will make this terrible mistake that messes things up like the primaries that are going on now.

    “I think we should rather think about institutionalised democracy and make it as our culture,” he said.

    Jonathan who decried situation where those contesting openly shared money and gift, saying those actions should be criminalised.

    “In some countries, you cannot give a gift like what we normally do here; we give bags of rice with photographs of candidates, and other tangibles.

    “We distribute them freely. That is a criminal offence and we expect the National Assembly to make laws to criminalise that.”

    He added that President Muhammadu Buhari should not be blamed for delaying assent to that amended section of the bill.

    Jonathan noted that there were lots of processes a bill must pass through before the president could sign.

    He said the document was supposed to go through a drafting process in the National Assembly with all their committees and joint committees.

    The former president added that when the draft was ready, the speaker and senate president, as well as executive aides, would take a look at it.

    “That is the bureaucracy so that the President does not make mistakes.

    “So nobody should expect the President to wake up and just sign. It must go through a process.

    “People must do their work in this country, you cannot just be taking money and be sleeping. This is a wake up call to the National Assembly,“ Jonathan added.

  • Buhari returns from Abu Dhabi amidst Electoral Act confusion

    Buhari returns from Abu Dhabi amidst Electoral Act confusion

    President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to Abuja after a two-day visit to the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Abu Dhabi.

    The Presidential aircraft carrying the president and members of his entourage landed at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at about 4.10 p.m.

    While in Abu Dhabi, Buhari met the new President of the UAE, His Highness, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to whom he conveyed his and Nigeria’s condolences on the passing of the former president and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, His Highness, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

    The president also joined the Juma’ah prayers, at which prayers were offered for the repose of the soul of the deceased on Friday.

    During a short interaction with Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan, Buhari expressed his condolences and that of Nigeria on the demise of the late Sheikh Khalifah and congratulated the new president on his election.

    Buhari expressed optimism that under Sheikh Mohamed the two countries would continue to actively champion a vision of sustainable security, strengthen counterterrorism cooperation, facilitate trade and investment, and promote prosperity and development.

    The Nigerian leader returned to Abuja amidst confusion on whether or not he had signed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill forwarded to him by the National Assembly few days ago.

    The amendment is crucial to the participation of statutory delegates at the primaries and national convention of political parties.

    They have been excluded from voting and being voted for during the exercises in the previous amendment signed into law by the President.

    When asked to confirm whether or not Buhari had indeed assented to the latest amendment, the Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly (Senate), Sen. Jide Omoworare, simply said the president ”should have signed” the amended fresh electoral act into law.

    Also a member of the House of Representatives, Emeka Chinedu, representing Ahiazu/ Ezinihittee Mbaise Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, was quoted by a national newspaper confirming that the president signed the fresh amended electoral act bill on May 21.

    “I can confirm to you that Mr President signed the bill into law this afternoon and we are all happy about it as it will give us and other statutory delegates the power to vote at the primaries,” Chinedu said.

    However, It was reliably gathered that the president had not signed the latest Electoral Act Amendment as being speculated in some quarters.

    NAN

  • PDP to adhere strictly to amended Electoral Act – Party scribe

    PDP to adhere strictly to amended Electoral Act – Party scribe

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will strictly adhere to the amended Act in the forthcoming primaries and national convention.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports only three elected ad-hoc delegates per ward and one elected national delegate per local government will vote at the primaries.

    This clarification was made in a statement issued in Abuja on Saturday by its National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature.

    The statutory delegates include the president, governors, National Assembly members, state assembly members, local government chairmen and councillors.

    “Consequently those qualified and eligible to vote as delegates in the forthcoming primaries and National Convention of our great Party, the PDP are the three ad hoc delegates per ward, elected at the ward congresses.

    “Also qualified are one national delegate per local government elected at the local government area congresses,’’ Bature stressed.

    Bature also stated that the party’s National Working Committee and the States Houses of Assembly primaries had been shifted from Saturday, May 21 to Sunday, May 22.

    He added that the House of Representatives primaries to elect PDP House of Representatives candidates would also hold on Sunday, May 22.

    Bature advised all PDP aspirants, critical stakeholders, leaders and teeming members to take note of the changes.