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Tag: governorship candidate

  • Anambra 2021: Senator Uba emerges APC governorship candidate, 11 other aspirants reject results

    Anambra 2021: Senator Uba emerges APC governorship candidate, 11 other aspirants reject results

    A former Senator who represented Anambra South Senatorial District, Andy Uba, has been declared winner of the governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

    Uba emerged the winner in the primary election contested by 13 other aspirants.

    Declaring the results of the exercise on Sunday morning at the Golden Tulips Hotel, Agulu, Anambra State, the Chairman of the Anambra State Primary Election Committee and Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, said Senator Ubah polled 230, 201 votes out of the total votes of 348,490, to defeat his closest rival, Onunwoku Johnbosco who polled 28, 746 and 12 other contestants.

    Abiodun said the election took place in 20 out of the 21 Local Government Areas of the state, noting that the election could not hold in Onitsha South due to the failure of the Returning Officers to conduct the election after collecting election materials from the committee’s secretariat.

    The governor further disclosed that an Option A-4 method was adopted in the election, and blamed the delay in the conduct of the election as scheduled on the failure of the contestants to supply 30 of their representatives as directed by the committee.

    According to him, only nine aspirants had supplied their representatives to the committee as at 9:00 am on Saturday.

    Abiodun explained that despite the minor hiccups, Returning Officers, backed by security escorts were posted to all the 326 wards in the state, declaring that “the process was free, fair, transparent and in line with the party’s guidelines, as promised by this committee”.

    The election committee chairman, however, debunked insinuations from some of the contestants that the exercise was deliberately delayed, pointing out that his committee only needed to be thorough and transparent.

    He added that the minor delay was not the fault of the committee or that of the party members, but that of logistics.

    Abiodun thanked party members and all stakeholders, especially the committee members, who according to him were carefully chosen for the task. He also called for all hands to be on deck to ensure victory for the party in the coming governorship election.

    No primary held in Anambra – 11 aspirants

    Meanwhile, eleven of the 14 governorship aspirants of the party have said the June 26 governorship primary in the state did not hold.
    Dr George Muoghalu, spokesperson for the aspirants, made the position of the group known in a press conference on Saturday in Awka.
    Muoghalu said that in all the 326 electoral Wards of the state, people came out, but were disappointed, saying that none of the APC team saddled with the responsibility to conduct the primary and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials were seen.
    Muoghalu, the Managing Director of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and one of the aspirants, said anybody who claimed that there was primary is fraudulent and did not wish APC well in the November 6 election.
    Paul Orajiaka and Edozie Madu, both aspirants, corroborated the position of Muoghalu and warned that the era when one man would come up with fake figure to claim victory is over.
    The aspirants, however, appealed to the party leadership to come up with a fresh date for the Anambra primary to ensure that the party beat the deadline in the Electoral Act.
    Other aspirants at the event were Johnbosco Onunkwo, Ben Etiaba, Amobi Nwaokafor, Chidozie Nwankwo, Geoffo Onyjegbu, Azuka Okwuosa, among others.
  • Edo poll: Governorship candidate asks court to void Obaseki’s election

    Edo poll: Governorship candidate asks court to void Obaseki’s election

    The governorship candidate of Action Democratic Party (ADP) in the September 19 poll in Edo State, Iboyi Emmanuel, is set to challenge the victory of Governor Godwin Obaseki at the Election Petitions Tribunal.

    Emmanuel spoke through ADP National Chairman Yabagi Yusuf Sani at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja.

    Sani said the decision to take the legal action was aimed at strengthening democratic rule.

    The ADP National Chairman said the party believed that the court should determine the propriety of Obaseki’s educational certificates and the process that led to his selection as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the poll.

    “The questions are very simple. Can a candidate buy nomination forms from two parties in the same election cycle? Can a student get into a university with just three Credits and without Mathematics and English?

    “Can a political party shift the date of the sales of its nomination forms after giving the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the public a date? Can a political party extend the date of its primaries with just five days’ notice to INEC when the Electoral Act stipulates seven days? Can a dead and buried Vice Chancellor sign a student’s result and date it after his death?”

    “Most importantly, if any of these issues is resolved in the negative, can the PDP be said to have fielded a candidate in the Edo State governorship election?

    “We should all be thankful to our candidate, Iboyi Emmanuel, who has gone to court to ask these fundamental questions on behalf of Nigerians. The man will end up deepening our democracy.

    “This country shouldn’t be about political parties; it should be about laws, justice and equity. I want to assure you that we are ready to prosecute this matter to a logical conclusion until justice is done to the great people of Edo State,” Sani said.

  • #EdoDecides2020: Governorship candidate held down in Lagos over ill-health, expresses sadness for not participating in poll

    #EdoDecides2020: Governorship candidate held down in Lagos over ill-health, expresses sadness for not participating in poll

    A governorship candidate in the ongoing Edo State governorship election, Mabel Oboh was unable to perform her civil responsibility because of her ill-health.

    TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that Mabel, the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) election earlier left Benin for Lagos for medical care when her health deteriorated.

    She is from Edo Central Senatorial District of the state and has been receiving medical attention in Lagos.

    She, however, said she was confident that the ”Edo people would have made their choice at the end of today’s exercise.”

    Oboh said, “For me, it is very sad not to have participated in the election due to ill health. However, it is just only one vote that is lost and I have been getting briefings from all my party leaders that are on the ground in different parts of the state.

    “At this time, it is not about the individuals anymore, it is about Edo State and if the people decide how they want it. I will be happy with any decision they take, if it is me, I will invite them to work with me and on the other hand, I will work with them for the development of the state.”

    The former journalist/broadcaster said she got information from her field representatives that there was violence in some parts of the state.

    “I got a negative report that there was violence in one or two areas, but I think the security agencies are up to the task,” she added.

  • Police shuns court order, fails to produce detained Bayelsa gov candidate

    Police shuns court order, fails to produce detained Bayelsa gov candidate

    The Nigerian Police, on Wednesday, failed to honour the order of the Federal High Court, Abuja, directing it to produce the Bayelsa governorship candidate, Vijah Opuama, who had been in police detention since Aug. 15.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Taiwo Taiwo had, on Monday, ordered the police to produce Opuama in court on Wednesday following an ex-parte application by his Lawyer, Michael Odey, asking it to show cause why the detainee should not be released unconditionally.

    While the Inspector-General (I-G) of Police, Mr Adamu Mohammed, is the 1st respondent, the Assistant Commissioner of Police in-charge-of the I-G’s Monitoring Unit is the 2nd respondent in the suit.

    Besides failing to produce the detainee in court at the Wednesday’s sitting, the police was neither represented in court nor filed any defence as earlier ordered by Justice Taiwo Taiwo.

    The judge, however, frowned at the police violation of his Monday’s orders.

    After hearing, Justice Taiwo issued a fresh order, directing the two respondents to provide the detainee in court on Sept. 7 “unfailingly.”

    “The applicant shall be produced unfailingly in court on Monday September 7, 2020 at 10am prompt by any person holding him or the respondents named on the court processes i.e. the Inspector General of Police and the Assistant Commissioner of Police Monitoring Unit,” he ruled.

    According to the judge, the IGP and his subordinate joined as the 2nd respondent in suit risked being personally summon should they fail to comply with the fresh order.

    “That if the applicant is not brought before the court as specified on September 7, 2020, this court will not hesitate to order the appearance of the respondents before it,” the judge said.

    NAN reports that Opuama, the Liberation Movement’s governorship candidate in the Bayelsa State’s Nov. 16, 2019 election, was said to have been arrested by the police at the premises of the state’s Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja, on Aug. 15 while waiting for judgment to be delivered on his petition, challenging the outcome of the disputed poll.

    Opuama’s wife, Ebikoboere Amaebi, stated in the affidavit filed in support of her husband’s application that she was with the governorship candidate at Wuse Zone 6, Magistrate Court, Abuja, venue of the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, waiting for the tribunal’s judgment to be delivered in his case, when “some unidentified men” allegedly violently arrested him.(

  • PDP governorship aspirant joins APC

    PDP governorship aspirant joins APC

    Alhaji Sani Gwamna, the Zonal Vice Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara says the party has received as a member the former People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Shehu-Bakauye.

    He told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gusau that Shehu-Bakauye’s defection followed a meeting with some bigwigs in the state to that effect.

    Bakauye contested for governorship position on the platform of the PDP but lost to Gov. Bello Matawalle at the primary elections.

    “Shehu-Bakauye and some of his supporters have today met, agreed to resolve their differences and promised to work together politically”, he said.

    The chairman of APC in Zamfara, Mr Lawal Liman, described the defection as a welcome development.

    He said that the party had already embarked on consultations with aggrieved members to resolve the party crisis in the state.

    He appealed to APC members in the state to remain calm and continue to be united and law abiding.

  • Senator Diri emerges PDP governorship candidate in Bayelsa

    Senator Diri emerges PDP governorship candidate in Bayelsa

    The Senator representing Bayelsa Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Douye Diri, has emerged the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the November 16 governorship election in Bayelsa State.

    Out of the the 1,244 accredited voters, Diri scored 561 votes to defeat his closest rival and former Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Ndutimi Alaibe, who polled 365 votes.

    Keniebi Okoko, a businessman and philanthropist came third after scoring 142 votes in the election, which was contested by 21 aspirants.

    About 16 votes were declared invalid following multiple voting and other unrecognised patterns of casting ballots.

    Diri emerged from the Restoration Caucus of the PDP led by Governor, Seriake Dickson, who presented him as the preferred aspirant of the caucus a day before the election.

    The election of Diri as PDP’s flag bearer further reinforced Dickson’s repeated assertion that his caucus remained a dominant force in the PDP and the state.

    The election was adjudged free, fair and credible apart from pockets of violence that occurred during the accreditation, which was repelled by security operatives.

    Declaring him winner of the election, the Returning Officer and Governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishiaku, said Diri satisfied all conditions contained in the constitution of the PDP having scored the highest number of the vote cast.

    A breakdown of the accredited delegates according to their local government areas showed that 196 were from Southern Ijaw; 169, Yenagoa; 164, Sagbama and 150, Ogbia.

    Others were Nembe, 151; Ekeremor, 148; Kolokuma-Opokuma, 141 and Brass 125.

    Arrangements for actual voting commenced at about 11pm following the arrival of the Returning Officer and Governor of Taraba State, Darius Ishaku, his committee members and observers from the National Independent Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Ishaku invited the agents of the parties to come forward to be guided through the process and read the Riot Act to the delegates and aspirants.

    A former Chairman of Southern Ijaw, Chief Tiwe Oruminighe, who was an agent of one of the aspirants and former Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) observed that the state party officials should stop identifying with the committee since they were delegates and interested parties.

    Ishaku ordered the Chairman of the party, Cleopas Moses and the party secretary, Keku Godspower to be at the rows allocated to their local government areas.

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan arrived the Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre, the venue of the governorship primaries.

    Jonathan, who arrived at about 11:20pm, was given thunderous ovation by the delegates and was also recognised by the Governor of Taraba State and Returning Officer, Darius Ishaku

    The former President after exchanging pleasantries with the electoral committee went to sit at the row allocated to Ogbia, his Local Government Area.

    The Darius Ishaku-led electoral committee distorted the alphabetical order of voting to allow former President Goodluck Jonathan the privilege of voting first in the primaries.

    Jonathan was asked to lead delegates from Ogbia, his Local Government Area, to cast their votes first instead of Brass local government area, which should have come first by alphabetical order.

    Dickson was also given a privileged treatment after Jonathan as he was asked to lead the Sagbama delegates followed by his Deputy, who led the Nembe delegates.

  • Kogi: APC approves indirect primaries to elect party's governorship candidate

    The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has approved indirect primaries to elect the party’s candidate for the forthcoming Kogi governorship election.
    The party said this in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday by its National publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu.
    Issa-Onilu said that the approval was given after a meeting of the NWC on Friday where a formal request from the Kogi executive and stakeholders was considered and deliberated on.
    He recalled that the APC constitution, which was reemphasised by a decision of National Executive Committee (NEC), provides for three mode of primary election to elect party candidates.
    These, he said, were indirect and direct primaries as well as consensus depending on the peculiarities of the state and preferences of the stakeholders in respective elections.
    According to him, the party’s timetable for the sales of forms and conduct of primaries will be announced in due course.
    Issa-Onilu said that the party had also commended President Muhammadu Buhari over his reappointment of Mallam Abba Kyari and Mr Boss Mustapha as his Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Government of the Federation respectively.
    According to him, these reappointments formally reiterate the determination of the president to step up on the Next Level agenda.
    The ruling party noted with satisfaction the reaffirmation of the president’s confidence in the duo.
    “Having worked with Mallam Kyari and Mr Mustapha in the last few years, we at the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party strongly believe that the president has made a well-informed decision.
    “We are fully satisfied with their contributions so far and acknowledge that the duo fully understand the vision and direction of the APC-led administration.
    “Our party is confident that the reappointed Chief of Staff and the SGF would justify the implicit confidence reposed in them by President Buhari and discharge their responsibilities for the overall good of Nigerians and our great country,” he said.

  • Supreme Court affirms nomination of Fayemi as APC Governorship Candidate

    Supreme Court affirms nomination of Fayemi as APC Governorship Candidate

    The Supreme Court, on Thursday affirmed Kayode Fayemi’s nomination as the Candidate of All Progressive Congress (APC) in the July 14, 2018, governorship election in Ekiti State.

    Justice Amiru Sanusi held that the appeal had become status barred as the suit was caught up by Section 285 of the 1999 Constitution.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the above provision of the constitution makes it mandatory for all pre-election cases to be filed within 14 days after the issue in dispute occurred.

    The judge explained that the records showed that Oni filed his case at the trial court 42 days after the cause of action.

    Sanusi therefore noted that the appellant was clearly in breach of the provision, adding that the suit became incompetent the moment the rule was not observed.

    Oni, a former governor of the state had failed to clinch the gubernatorial ticket of the party after coming second behind the incumbent governor.

    Oni, however expressed dissatisfaction with the process as he argued that the governor was not legally qualified to take part in the contest having not resigned his position as Minister during the primary.

    Oni submitted that Fayemi participated in the party’s primary on May 12, 2018, before he officially resigned in May 30, 2018.

    Oni, argued that the constitution had mandated public office holders to resign their positions at least 30 days before contesting elective position.

    According to him, Fayemi’s action is in gross violation of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, as well as APC guidelines.

    NAN reports that both the High Court in Ekiti State and the Court of Appeal Abuja had earlier dismissed Oni’s suit for lacking in merit.

  • 2019: Kashamu, Reuben Abati emerge Ogun PDP governorship, deputy candidate

    2019: Kashamu, Reuben Abati emerge Ogun PDP governorship, deputy candidate

    Senator Buruji Kashamu has emerged as the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate for the Ogun State governorship election following the withdrawal of Mr Adeleke Shittu from the race.

    Shittu, who emerged as the governorship candidate of PDP from the primary conducted by the Bayo Dayo faction of the party in the state, allegedly withdrew from race voluntarily for Kashamu, who represents Ogun East at the Senate.

    Confirming the development, Kashamu’s media aide, Mr. Austin Oniyokor, said the leaders of the party prevailed on Kashamu to replace Shittu to brighten the party ’s chances of winning the governorship poll.

    However, it was gathered that the party retained former presidential spokesman Reuben Abati as the party’s deputy governorship candidate.

    Oniyokor said, “The party’s stakeholders, leaders and elders met and decided that it would be better for Senator Buruji Kashamu to run if the PDP wants to win.

    “Mr Adeleke Shittu, who was at the meeting, also saw reason with them.

    “I can confirm to you that Mr Shittu last week Friday signed the withdrawal letter and at the Senate he has informed INEC of his withdrawal from the race.”

    Meanwhile, the Unity Party of Nigeria has adopted the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Otunba Rotimi Paseda, as its candidate for the election in the state.

    The state Chairman of UPN, Alhaja Aminat Olatunbosun, made this known during a press conference in Abeokuta.

    Olatubosu said the party decided to endorse Paseda because “he is the most credible of all the governorship candidates being paraded by all the political parties in the state.”

    According to her, Paseda remains “the only candidate with impeccable character, whose integrity has consistently earned him the trust of the people.”

     

  • BREAKING: Jimi Agbaje defeats Adedeji Doherty, emerges PDP governorship candidate

    Jimi Agbaje has emerged the governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos State.
    He polled 1,100 votes to defeat his rival Adedeji Doherty who polled 742 votes in the party’s primary election, reports Channels Television.
    Agbaje was the PDP candidate in the 2015 governorship election but lost to incumbent governor Akinwunmi Ambode.
     
    Details later: