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Tag: Governorship

  • Ondo 2020: Governorship aspirant, Olusola Oke submits APC’s nomination form, demands direct primary

    Ondo 2020: Governorship aspirant, Olusola Oke submits APC’s nomination form, demands direct primary

    A governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, Olusola Oke, has arrived at the National Secretariat of the party to submit his nomination and expression of interest forms.

    He was accompanied by supporters from the state.

    Oke said, “During the last (general) election, our party lost two senators and the presidential election due to bad leadership and anti-party activities.

    “I am here to present my nomination and expression of interest forms for the Ondo Governorship election.

    “Why indirect primary cannot be used in Ondo State at this moment is that the APC in our state is polarised into two; but I assure you that with a good candidate we will deliver.

    “All of our leaders and myself are on one side, only Akeredolu is on one side. Even the state exco- their emergence is still a subject of litigation.

    “We are asking for direct primary, that is the system that will give every aspirant equal opportunities if Akeredolu emerges (through this system), we will support him.”

  • Edo 2020: I’m not fronting for any candidate, I ‘m running to win – Hon. Agbonayinma

    Edo 2020: I’m not fronting for any candidate, I ‘m running to win – Hon. Agbonayinma

    …my mission is to ensure good governance for Edolites

    Former Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Nigeria/US Parliamentary ,Relations, Hon Ehiozuwa Johnson Agbonayinma on Sunday dismissed insinuations that he is fronting for a group of leaders or a particular candidate in the Edo guber Race.

    In a chat yesterday, the former Lawmaker and Edo guber aspirant declared that it is unthinkable for anybody to insinuate that he is fronting for a group of political leaders or a particular candidate.

    He said: I am in this race to win not to stand in for anybody, my numerous supporters should ignore such insinuations because I am in the race to win and showcase what is called good governance.

    The US trained former Lawmaker further explained why he’s in the race”because I have been consulting with all my supporters and critical stakeholders on my mission to Denis Osadebey House before the Covid-19 outbreak.

    E.J as he is fondly called gave a narrative on why he is eyeing Governor Godwin Obaseki’s job.

    “In the virtual conference I held with my Edo people I told them that the future of Edo is represented in who we are collectively. Edos of my generation, who work tirelessly to earn a living, striving to make Edo a better place for themselves and their families, and who are entitled to retire in comfort; Our youth who are endowed with fresh ideas, bubbling energy and a passionate desire for change – these are the hope of this State. Without you, we really cannot talk of a future with hope and confidence.

    “That is why the 2020 Gubernatorial election is about you, the good people of Edo State. It is about how to ensure that you live in a safe and secured environment. It is about making sure that you feed well, receive quality and affordable education and training, secure good jobs, support your own families and contribute positively to the development of our State.This is what a responsive and responsible government owes its citizens. This is what our generation owes upcoming generations. This is what we must do to guarantee our country’s future. This is what democracy promises. This is what our party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), seeks to actualize.

    “Our party, the APC, at its inception offered great hope for many Nigerians, Edos inclusive, as a potent alternative to the PDP. We have in our fold selfless leaders who cherish democratic principles and practice and who have demonstrated their patriotism in deepening democracy and ensuring democratic dividends for all of our people.

    “Let me assure you that our party remains strong and capable of fulfilling our State’s thirst for change. And we shall do so united across tribes, religions and generations.

    “I am particularly proud that our party has adopted the innovative Modified Open Primaries in selecting its flag bearers at all levels. This will ensure the emergence of candidates whose mandate will be informed by the popular will of the members of our party.

    I” believe that it is the responsibility of my generation to offer our political shoulders to the new generation to climb upon, improve their vision and expand their horizon. It is this trans-generational collaboration and partnership that represents the best model to create the future that we desire and deserve. This is a well-tested model; the future of our State should never again be subjected to leadership experimentation.

    “My story is similar to the story of many in my generation. I was born in a small village of Evbowe-Isi, some 30 kilometers from Benin City, to a subsistence farmer father and a petty trader mother. I grew up as a farm hand. I had to work long hours on the farm, tapped palmwine and rubber before my parents could save enough to send me to school.

  • We’ll save N290m for conducting governorship, Kogi West senatorial polls same day – INEC

    We’ll save N290m for conducting governorship, Kogi West senatorial polls same day – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral commission (INEC) said it would be saving the country over N290 million for conducting both the Kogi West Senatorial District and the governorship election on Nov. 16.

    The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this at the commission’s quarterly consultative meeting with political parties in Abuja, on Tuesday.

    Yakubu said that the senatorial election would have cost the country N300 million, if conducted as a standalone election.

    He, however, said that conducting it same day with the governorship election would cost less than N10 million.

    The INEC chairman also disclosed that the Brass I state constituency election, holding in six polling units in Bayelsa, would also be conducted on the same day with the governorship election.

    According to him, INEC has already made arrangements for the elections.

    “In the case of Kogi West, it is a whole senatorial district that the Election Petitions Tribunal and the Court of Appeal had nullified the election conducted on Feb. 23 and ordered INEC to conduct a re-run.

    “By coincidence, the judgment of the Appeal Court came very close to the governorship election. So the commission decided to combine the election with that of Kogi West Senatorial district.

    “As a standalone election, the senatorial district election in seven local government areas of the state would have cost the nation over N300 million.

    “ We have to get ad hoc staff, make arrangements for transportation, accreditation of observers and also the cost on the part of the political parties and others.

    “But because we are combining the election with that of the governorship, it is going to cost the nation less than N10 million, instead of over N300 million.

    “So, the commission decided to combine the two elections in order to save cost and for convenience,’’ he said.

    Yakubu appealed to political parties to advise their candidates and supporters to shun hate speech, inciting statements, physical attacks on opponents, destruction of electoral materials and other violations of the Electoral Act.

  • CASE CLOSED! Graduates who skip NYSC can contest governorship, says court

    A Federal High Court in Abuja says a candidate cannot be disqualified from an election for failure to participate in the National Youth Service Corps scheme.

    The court made this pronouncement on Wednesday when it struck out a suit brought against the Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, by a former senator, Iyabo Anisulowo.

    Details of the judgement were sent to newsmen by Mr Abiodun’s spokesperson.

    The pre-election suit challenged the eligibility of Mr Abiodun over his failure to participate in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.

    The NYSC was established in 1973 and participation is mandatory for all Nigerians who graduate from a tertiary institution in or outside the country before they attain the age of 30.

    The presentation of the NYSC discharge certificate awarded at the end of the one-year scheme is a requirement for employment into the formal sector in Nigeria.

    In the suit against Mr Abiodun of Ogun State, his counsel, Wale Ajayi, had prayed the court to dismiss the case against his client, saying participation in the NYSC scheme is not a requirement for participation in elections.

    Justice M A Mohammed, in his judgment, dismissed Mr Abiodun’s notice of preliminary objection and proceeded to deliver judgment on the substantive suit.

    The judge also noted that the plaintiff failed to establish that Mr Abiodun presented false academic claims to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    He held that the NYSC Act does not stipulate that a candidate who failed to participate in the NYSC scheme be disqualified from elections.

    The judge pointed out that a candidate can only be disqualified based on Section 177 of the Constitution, and subsequently dismissed the suit.

    The section states: “A person shall be qualified for election to the office of Governor of a State if: (a) he is a citizen of Nigeria by birth; (b) he has attained the age of thirty-five years; (c) he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that political party, and (d) he has been educated up to at least School Certificate level or its equivalent.”

    The court said since Mr Abiodun has not breached any of these provisions, the suit lacked merit.

    The implication of the judgment is that candidates seeking election to contest governorship elections in Nigeria no longer need to present NYSC certificates.

    The case is the last of a series of pre-election matters filed in court against the Ogun governor. The other cases had been similarly dismissed.

    Only on Monday, the Supreme Court dismissed a similar case brought by Abdulrafiu Baruwa challenging the qualification of Mr Abiodun on the ground of failure to disclose all his academic qualifications.

  • Kano Governorship Election: Deputy Gov. rescued not arrested – Police

    Kano Governorship Election: Deputy Gov. rescued not arrested – Police

    Police have denied arresting the Kano state deputy governor, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, at an Inec collation centre on Monday.

    The police claimed that the deputy governor was not arrested but rescued when some persons reportedly attempted to disrupt election results collation.

    Videos of Gawuna being taken away from the collation centre by the police operatives have since gone viral.

    And there is another video of him arguing at a police station, but the police operatives insist that the deputy governor was rescued from the collation centre.

    “The deputy governor was at the collation centre to observe the process but was not involved in the alleged result sheets snatching,” police spokesperson in the state, Abdullahi Haruna, said.

    It was gathered that two chieftains of the All Progressive Congress (APC) were arrested.

    One is a commissioner and the other is a local government chief.

    The PRO said the two were arrested around 1.00am on Monday morning, after allegedly disrupting the Nassarawa Collation Centre.

    “They were alleged to have penetrated the collation centre and attempted to destroy the election results sheets. While his Excellency, the deputy governor of Kano state, Dr. Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna was rescued from the scene,” he added.

  • ‎ INEC declares Bauchi Goversnohip election inconclusive

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday declared as “inconclusive”, outcome of the governorship election in Bauchi state.
    Prof. Mohammed Kyari, Returning Officer who made the declaration, said that apart from the cancellation of the result from entire Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area because of irregularities, the exercise in some other polling units also suffered the same fate.
    “The margin between the winner and opponent is less than the total number of votes cancelled in some polling units.
    “By law, since the margin of winner is less than the total number of votes cancelled and registered voters in the areas where the votes have been cancelled, this elections is hereby declared inconclusive,” he said.
    He said his decision was in line with section 26 part 53 of the Electoral Act.
    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that while announcing the votes garnered by the two contending parties before declaring the outcome inconclusive, the Returnig Officer had given the scores of incumbent governor, Mohammed Abubakar of APC as 465,453 votes and that of Bala Mohammed of PDP as 469,512 votes.
    Kyari said that the Independent National Electoral Commission would conduct re- run election within 21 days in the affected Local Government area and polling unit which results had been cancelled before the final announcement of the winner.
    NAN reports that earlier in the day, the INEC Collation Officer in charge of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area, Mrs Dominion Anosike, had told the Returning Officer that the original result sheet was snatched by some thugs.
    She said the thugs later came back with an improvised result sheet and forced her to declare its content as being the outcome of the election in the local government area.
  • Kajuru Killings: Kaduna Governorship candidates’ Forum sues for peace

    Kajuru Killings: Kaduna Governorship candidates’ Forum sues for peace

    The Kaduna State Governorship Candidates Forum has called on the people of the state to live in peace and avoid any act that would cause disharmony among them.

    The call is contained in a statement signed by the Forum chairman, Dr Awwal Aliyu, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Kaduna, over the recent killings in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state.

    It said: “On the recent Kajuru killings, we are calling on the good people of Kaduna to be their brothers’ keepers, live in peace, love and harmony for the overall development of the state.”

    The forum also urged security agencies to unravel the cause of the conflict and those involved for necessary action.

    It appreciated the quick response of the state governor, Nasiru El-Rufa’i and security operatives in meeting with the residents to ensure they maintain the peace.

    The forum also reacted to the postponement of the general elections by INEC.

    “We are deeply disappointed that despite the long preparations both locally and internationally, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) postponed the Presidential and National Assembly elections hours to its commencement.

    “Many Nigerians have travelled to various locations to exercise their right, and international observers were gathered.

    “INEC themselves have given assurances, day after day and almost hour after hour that they are in complete readiness for the elections.”

    The forum further urged INEC to ensure that materials already distributed are safe and do not get into wrong hands.

    It also said the commission should do everything possible “to avoid the lapses that resulted in this unfortunate postponement, and ensure a free, fair elections on the rescheduled dates.”

  • 2019: INEC announces dates for conduct of Governorship, State Assembly elections

    Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has said that the Area Council elections in FCT will hold on March 2, 2019, along with the governorship and state Assembly elections.

    He also disclosed that the list of candidates for elections will be published in its Federal Capital Territory office and also at the six Area Councils on Wednesday, 21st November, 2018 (today).

    Yakubu disclosed this during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners at the Commission’s Conference Room, INEC Headquarters, Abuja, on Wednesday.

    He appealed to citizens to check the personal details of the chairmanship and councilorship candidates that seek to represent them.

    “He noted that the Area Council elections in FCT will hold on March 2, 2019, along with the governorship and state Assembly elections,” INEC says.

    Party primaries for the Area Council elections ended on 27th October 2018, INEC noted.

    The information was contained in a series of tweets on INEC verified Twitter handle @inecnigeria

    list of candidates for elections will be published in our FCT office as well as the 6 Area Councils today Wed 21st Nov 2018.The Commission appeals to citizens to check the personal details of the Chairmanship & Councilorship candidates that seek to represent them -INEC Chairman.

  • Finally, INEC confirms Tambuwal as Sokoto PDP governorship candidate

    Finally, INEC confirms Tambuwal as Sokoto PDP governorship candidate

    Presidential aspirant and governor of Sokoto state, Aminu Tambuwal, has been confirmed as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

    The national commissioner and chairman, information and voter education, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Festus Okoye, made the confirmation while speaking with New Telegraph.

    Recall that Tambuwal’s name was reportedly missing from the list released by INEC for the 2019 governorship election.

    Manir Dan’iya was said to have been listed as the governorship candidate of the PDP in place of Tambuwal.

    However, Tambuwal has now been confirmed to bear the flag of the opposition party, while Dan’iya has been named as his running mate.

    Speaking on the development, the INEC commissioner said the PDP “had just taken advantage of the substitution window to field Tambuwal, the incumbent governor of the State.”

    “Now, as you are aware, by the provisions of Section 35 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), a candidate validly nominated by a political party may withdraw his candidature by a notice in writing, signed by him and delivered by himself to the political party that nominated him for the election and such a political party shall convey his withdrawal to the INEC,” Okoye reportedly said.

    “So it is the responsibility of political parties to nominate candidates for elections but such a party can withdraw a candidate properly nominated if the candidate withdraws his candidature by a notice in writing signed by himself and delivered to the political party that nominated him.

    “As at yesterday (Friday), the PDP carried out a substitution in relation to their governorship candidate for Sokoto State. They have now nominated Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as the governorship candidate of the PDP for Sokoto State.”

  • Governorship: Electoral committee, Lagos APC disagree on primary format

    Governorship: Electoral committee, Lagos APC disagree on primary format

    The Electoral Committee of the Lagos All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary and stakeholders in the state chapter, on Monday came out of a meeting without agreeing on the pattern to adopt for the election on Tuesday.
    The Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa made the disclosure to newsmen on Monday, after a meeting between the committee and state party stakeholders in Lagos.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Chairman of the electoral committee, Mr Clement Ebri, led his team to the meeting which was also attended by the Leader of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, the state party chairman, Alhaji Tunde Balogun and other party officials.
    Obasa said that the disagreement stemmed from the insistence that the committee wanted the use of ballot papers for the primary as against the choice of open direct primary by the state stakeholders.
    He said stakeholders in the state rejected the use of ballot papers as it was not be possible to train members on its use before the election.
    Obasa said since the open direct primary system, where members queue behind their preferred aspirants was successfully used in the presidential primary in the state, it would also be suitable for the governorship primary.
    “The meeting was held between members of the state House of Assembly and other stakeholders with the committee, and we were briefed about the coming primaries in the state.
    “They told us that the directive from Abuja was that they should use ballot papers for the election.
    “But we as stakeholders have rejected the idea because we have earlier informed our members on this.
    “So, our consideration at the meeting was that if they aim to adopt the use of ballot papers, there is no time to train officials and party members on the new strategy the primary would follow.
    “We told them that here in Lagos , we stand for open direct primary.
    “We also told them that the presidential primary in the state was conducted in the same format.
    “They then told us the outcome of the meeting will be sent to Abuja and response would be conveyed to us.
    “I am not sure what the outcome will be, but I believe they will yield to our stand,” he said.
    Asked if both parties would agree before the primary, the speaker said he was not sure.
    He, however, expressed the optimism that the primary would hold as scheduled.
    On the primary held in some parts of the state, Obasa said the results would be cancelled.
    He, however, said that the election held because party members were ready to participate in the process.
    Ebri, in his brief remarks, assured that the primary would hold as scheduled.
    He said the committee interacted with stakeholders on the ways to ensure the process was credible.
    “We discussed the basic principles of the guidelines for the primary.
    “The primary will hold tomorrow. For you to participate in the primary, you have to be a member of the party, and you have to have your membership card, and your name must be on the register.
    “If you don’t have a membership card and you have a slip, and your name is on the register, you will vote ” he said.
    The Lagos Chairman of APC, Alhaji Tunde Balogun, who also spoke with newsmen late Monday, assured that the primary would finally hold tomorrow.
    He said the party had concluded all arrangements to ensure successful conduct.
    Balogun said the format would be option A4, where voters queue behind the photographs of their preferred aspirants.
    He said that members with the party ID card will be allowed to vote .
    Accreditation starts by 9 and ends by noon, while voting starts immediately after.
    The incumbent governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode will slug it out at the primary with Mr Jide Sanwo-Olu, a former commissioner in the state.
    Sanwo-Olu is going into the primary with endorsement by leading members of the party, which Ambode claims is an unfair advantage.
    Ambode had urged the National Electoral Committee to ensure fairness by conducting a credible primary.
    The primary, earlier scheduled for Monday, was shifted till Tuesday.