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Tag: INEC

  • Rivers Rerun: APC rejects INEC’s supplementary election results

    Rivers Rerun: APC rejects INEC’s supplementary election results

     

    The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has rejected Etche State Constituency and Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency rerun election results declared by the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that INEC on Sunday declared Jerome Eke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the concluding election into Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency in Rivers.

    According to a statement by the Rivers State APC Chairman, Davies Ikanya, the party was taken aback when it was reported that the National Electoral Commissioner in charge of Bayelsa, Edo and Rivers states, Mrs. May Agbamuche-Mbu,‎ had ordered that the incomplete results be declared despite the earlier declaration by the two Returning Officers on Saturday at Okehi that the elections were inconclusive.

    The statement reads in part: “The APC vehemently rejects the results as declared today (Sunday) at the State INEC Office in Port Harcourt. This action by INEC runs counter and contradictory to earlier announcement on Saturday by the aforementioned Returning Officers who are the duly empowered persons to make such declarations.

    “What INEC did today is a rape on democracy and the APC will surely resist it with every legal window available to it. INEC can only do what it did today because Gov. Nyesom Wike has, as usual, generously compromised key officials of INEC in Rivers State.

    “The APC notes that despite the general outcry concerning Gov. Nyesom Wike’s interference in the electoral process, the governor physically held hostage a Returning Officer to force him announce results in a manner unbecoming of a governor. We condemn this and call on INEC leadership and security agencies to investigate this unfortunate incidence.

    “We recall that this same compromised INEC in Rivers State embarked on the now infamous 2015 elections which is unarguably the worst election in the annals of Nigeria. During the December 10, 2016 rerun that followed, INEC continued to exhibit unwarranted contradictions and unwholesome mishandling of the process which resulted in the further rescheduling of the rerun elections for Etche State Constituency and Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency. Sadly, INEC has, once again, bungled it.”

  • INEC declares PDP winner of federal, state legislative elections in Rivers

    INEC declares PDP winner of federal, state legislative elections in Rivers

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday declared Jerome Eke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the concluding election into Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency in Rivers.

    The election was conducted on Saturday.

    Prof. Jeremiah Sola-Omotola, the Returning Officer, made the declaration at INEC office in Port Harcourt.

    He said that the Eke secured 15,221 votes to defeat Ogbonna Nwuke of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who got 6,220 votes.

    The PDP also won the Etche State Constituency II election with 4,162 votes, while the APC garnered 1,618 votes.

    The Returning Officer for the election, Olatubosun Odusanya, made the announcement at INEC office in Port Harcourt.

    Meanwhile the APC in Rivers has called on INEC not to contradict itself in announcing the results of Etche/Omuma elections.

    Chris Finebone, the state Publicity Secretary of the party, made the call in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Port Harcourt.

    He said that the elections for Etche State Constituency and Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency were formally declared inconclusive by the Returning Officers, Prof. Olatunbosun Odusanya and Prof. Omotola respectively at Okehi on Saturday.

    “’They (Returning Officers) subsequently announced that the conclusion of the process will take place today (Sunday) or on Monday,” the statement said.

    Finebone said the party said was taken aback by signals indicating that Mrs May Agbamuche-Mbu, the National Electoral Commissioner in charge of Rivers, ordered that the results of the inconclusive elections should be announced.

    He reminded INEC that in line with the relevant sections of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), only the returning Officers were empowered to announce results of elections.

    “The APC strongly urges INEC not to go ahead to declare results for elections that it had earlier announced as inconclusive.

    “Doing so will signpost gross violation of its own rules and demonstrate the height of inconsistency and illegality on the part of INEC.

    “We urge INEC to proceed to conclude the elections without further delay before declaring the results accordingly,” the statement said.
    NAN

  • 2019 Elections: INEC to spend N1.4bn for purchase of ballot boxes

    2019 Elections: INEC to spend N1.4bn for purchase of ballot boxes

    Ahead of preparations for the 2019 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has earmarked N1.4billion for the purchase of ballot boxes.

    INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmud Yakub, said this during the 2016 budget defence session before members of the House of Representative Committee on Electoral Matters and Political Parties Affairs on Monday in Abuja.

    Yakubu said that the commission intended to phase out the collapsible transparent ballot boxes and replace them with plastic ones.

    According to the INEC boss, there will be no need to use the transparent ballot boxes during the 2019 general elections.

    He said that the commission was confronted with the inability of local manufacturers to deliver the required volume within the stipulated timeframe for elections, much as it was willing to patronise locally made products.

    “Sometimes, it is easier said that we have manufacturers who have the capacity; but when you engage them, you realise that we may not have such capacity for volumes and this not only peculiar to elections.

    “Immediately you try to produce something locally, somebody rushes to register a patent and claims ownership of that idea.

    “Right now, we have litigations running into trillions of naira by people who said the patent for smart card reader is theirs.

    “And they may get favourable judgment that requires us to pay some fantastic amount.

    “So, while it is important for us to encourage our domestic producers, we are also careful about that because some of the procurement items are time bound.”

    Yakubu, who did not mention the specific amount INEC would need to conduct the 2019 general elections, said that the commission was adopting strategic plans that would ensure a hitch-free exercise.

    “We wouldn’t like to guess an amount; so, we want to go through this painstaking process of producing a strategic plan.

    “I think it is better for us to do the proper thing so that we approach the Executive and the National Assembly with a figure we can vouch for.

    “And once it is approved, we don’t come back to request another supplementary figure.”

    The INEC boss expressed concern that five resident electoral commissioners (RECs) would retire by March, bringing the total number of states without RECs to 33.

    Yakubu, who decried the high rate of attacks on INEC offices and officials across the country, said that 24 INEC offices were burnt between 2015 and date.

    He said that the commission would require a supplementary budget to repair its stores in the zones to guarantee the protection of electoral materials ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    Yakubu also said that the commission had earmarked N500million for the continuous voter registration across the country.

    Earlier, Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Aishatu Dukku emphasised the need for the commission’s 2017 budget to reflect public accountability and transparency.

    “Election management bodies face the formidable challenge of ensuring that stakeholders have trust in the electoral process.

    “The identification and adoption of best practices in electoral framework and administration have placed countries under pressure to introduce electoral reform measures.

    “I am strongly advocating that this electoral reform measures form part of the budget of INEC.

    “It is important that the budget of INEC be made to show widespread public accountability and transparency of the commission,” Dukku said.

  • PDP condemns indictment of Wike in recovered money from INEC officers

    PDP condemns indictment of Wike in recovered money from INEC officers

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has condemned the report of the Police alleging the involvement of Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers in bribing officers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The chairman, PDP National Caretaker Committee, Sen. Ahmed Makarfi, said the alleged recovered money displayed by the police reminded him of the actions of magicians.

    Speaking on Wednesday in Abuja at the submission of the report of Prof. Jerry Gana-led PDP Strategy Review and Inter-Party Affairs Committee, Makarfi said there was no evidence to prove that the money was from Wike.

    “The Police brought out money saying it was confiscated from INEC officers.

    “We too could have brought some monies here and also said they were confiscated from INEC officers.

    “What of the money with the police and other security agencies? Have they not compromised or is the money not recoverable?’’ Makarfi asked.

    He cautioned against bastardising public institutions to do government biding, saying, “it is either we do the right thing or the right thing will be done to us.

    Also speaking, Mr Dayo Adeyeye, Secretary National Caretaker Committee, while urging the police to stop harassing Wike, advised the Inspector-General of police to be conscious of his action on the matter.

    “What is the evidence that the monies recovered from INEC officers were from the PDP or the governor? Were the monies marked?

    “So, APC did not bribe INEC officers?’’ he asked.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the panel, constituted by police high command, submitted its report to the Inspector-General of Police on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The report stated that N111 million was recovered from 23 INEC officials that participated in the Rivers state Assembly re-run elections.

    The police quoted the INEC officials as saying that Wike gave them the money to rig the election in favour of the PDP.

    The recovered cash was displayed during the presentation of the report at Police Headquarters, Abuja.

    The chairman of the panel, Mr Damian Okoro, Deputy Commissioner of Police, made the allegation while presenting the team’s report to the Inspector-General of Police.

    Okoro alleged that three senior election officials collected N20 million each out of the N360 million allegedly given to key officials by Wike.
    He said the other officials received N15 million each.
    Meanwhile two founding fathers of the PDP have hailed the report of the Prof. Jerry Gana-led PDP Strategy Review and Inter-Party Affairs Committee.

    Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, former governor of the Central Bank, said that the founding fathers were satisfied at the efforts being made by the committee to re-unite the party.

    “What is contained in this report is the best thing anybody can do to update the PDP.

    “I as an individual appreciate Gana and his committee members,’’ he said.
    Mr Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, another founding father of the party, also commended the report.

    He said it was time for the leadership of the PDP to take decision against the continuous closure of its national secretariat.

    Iwuanyanwu, who debunked speculation of his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) said it was important for people to remember and be grateful to those who made them.

  • We’ll implement 2015 EU reports to achieve better electoral process in 2019 – INEC

    We’ll implement 2015 EU reports to achieve better electoral process in 2019 – INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has said it is studying recommendations from the European Union (EU) 2015 Elections Observation Report that require INEC’s administrative action and was working with the National Assembly to ensure those that needed legal and constitutional amendments were addressed well ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    This was revealed by the Chairman of the Commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu on Monday in Abuja when the Lead Member of the EU Parliament Democracy Support and Election Coordination group, Mr. Santiago Fisas, led a delegation to the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.

    In his words: “We have studied the 2015 General Elections Observation Report of the EU carefully and we have itemized thirty of the recommendations from the Report. Some of them require some administrative action from the commission and where we can implement some of these recommendations, we have already started implementing them”.

    Some of the recommendations already being implemented by the Commission include: Simultaneous accreditation and voting; Continuous Voter Registration (in states where elections have held under the supervision of present Commission with the national roll out of the exercise coming soon); cleaning up of the Voter Register; sustained consultation with stakeholders; collation and transmission of results; and improving the functionality of the Smart Card Reader (SCR).

    The INEC Chairman however pointed out that the bulk of EU recommendations border on Constitutional and Legal amendments. “These are outside the control of the Commission, but we have had a very good working relationship with both the Senate and the House of Representatives,” he said.

    He stressed that “the Senate has gone very far on the amendment of the Electoral Act on clause by clause basis and it (INEC) has benefited substantially from the recommendations that you (EU) have made for legal amendments. For Constitutional amendments, it is a much more extensive process because it requires the concurrence of states”.

    Professor Yakubu assured that: “ We are committed to strengthening and the deepening democratic process. We are committed to implementing all the recommendations of the EU, beginning with the ones we can administratively implement and then we are working with the National Assembly on those that require legal and constitutional amendments”.

    He thanked the EU and its member countries for their technical support, as well as strategic plans.

    Earlier, Leader of the delegation, Mr. Santiago Fisas, had commended the Commission for the feat achieved in the 2015 General Elections. He said the elections were not only accepted in Europe but globally.

    He disclosed that their visit was to build a special relationship with the Commission and to exchange good practices and ideas. He also said that the visit was a follow up to their recommendations after the 2015 General Elections.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that the 2015 elections was conducted by INEC under the Chairmanship of the immediate past chairman, Professor Atairu Jega

  • Low turnout as INEC conducts Etsako Federal Constituency by-election

    Low turnout as INEC conducts Etsako Federal Constituency by-election

    The by-election for Etsako Federal Constituency in Edo has recorded low turnout of voters across the affected three local governments areas of the constituency.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that few voters were seen at the various polling units in Estako West, Estako Central and Estako East local government areas.

    A NAN correspondent covering the election, however, observed that the voters were peaceful and orderly in all the polling stations visited.

    There were also adequate deployment of security personnel in the polling stations.

    At Obe primary school ward 2, unit 1 to 6 in Fugar, Etsako Central LGA, election materials arrived at about 9:30am .

    The two dominant parties, the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) agents in the three units said they were impressed with the conduct of the election and expressed hope that the exercise would be hitch- free.

    At Igiode Primary School, Iviukwe and Agenebode, all in Etsako East LGA , accreditation and voting commenced at about 9:45am in a peaceful atmosphere.

    NAN reports that the same situation was observed in Etsako West LGA as accreditation and voting commenced at Apena ward 10,unit 11 and unit 13, Azama Primary and Iyamho Primary School.

    There was no restriction of movement as residents went about there normal activities, with some few shops opened for business.

    NAN reports that the election was to fill up the seat after the member representing the area, Mr Philip Shaibu of APC, left to become the Deputy Governor of Edo.

     

    NAN

  • INEC receives 120 case files of electoral violence from police

    The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC says it has received 126 case files from the Nigerian Police Force for the prosecution of electoral violence from the conduct of the 2015 general elections till date.

    The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this when he received the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Special Investigative Panel on Dec. 10 Rivers State Legislative Rerun Election on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Yakubu said that 61 out of the received files of the election offenders had been successfully prosecuted as a result of the INEC collaboration with security agencies on the matter.

    “We have cooperated with the security agencies particularly the police in past in prosecuting electoral offenders.

    “Since 2015 general elections and the rerun elections in 2016, we have received 120 case files from the police for prosecution.

    “I am happy to say that we have so far recorded 61 successful prosecutions as a result of the cooperation with the security agencies.

    “The biggest one came after the disruption of the April 2016 re-run elections in Kano state, in a constituency in Minjibir Local Government Area.

    “In the election, over 40 offenders were successfully prosecuted in a joint effort between the commission and the security agency. The highest number of prosecution the commission has ever achieved,’’ he said.

    Yakubu, who expressed INEC delight in the I-GP for setting up the special investigative panel, assured of full cooperation with security agencies in their investigation.

    “Whatever you required to facilitate investigation from the commission, be rest assured that the commission will be forthcoming.

    “On our own, the commission have also set up administrative review of what transpired in Rivers so that where our staff are found to be culpable we will deal with the situation.

    “We have very contentious staff in the commission but where our staff erred they will be dealt with.

    “The most important thing in this situation is to learn lesson and see how we move forward,’’ he said.

    He said that the commission required the cooperation and active involvement of security agencies to carry out its statutory responsibilities, including successful conduct of peaceful elections.

    Yakubu also disclosed that so far, since the last general election INEC had conducted 163 elections, from re-run to by-elections nationwide.

    “We still have six more re-run elections between January and February, including the replacement of unfortunate death of the member of the Delta State House of Assembly.’’

    The leader of the 10 man investigative panel, Mr Dan Okoro, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Force CID, had earlier said they were at INEC headquarters to seek the commission’s support on the investigation.

    “We are here to introduce ourselves, engage, interact with INEC on our mission to enable us to handle this national assignment successfully,’’ Okoro said.

    Okoro, in an interview with newsmen after the close door session, describe the meeting as fruitful.

     

    NAN

  • Rivers rerun: PDP wins 2, APC wins 1 Senatorial seats in Rivers, says INEC

    Rivers rerun: PDP wins 2, APC wins 1 Senatorial seats in Rivers, says INEC

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Monday that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won two of the three senatorial districts in the re-run legislative election in Rivers.

    Dr Mustapha Lecky, the commission`s national commissioner in charge of the south south states, said the All Progressives Congress (APC) won one senatorial seat.

    He said Magnus Abe of the APC scored 125,938 votes to beat Olaka Nwogu of the PFP who had 25,394 votes.

    He also said George Sekibo of the PDP recorded 93,098 votes to beat Mr Andrew Uchendu of the APC who scored34, 193 votes.

    Lecky said the APC won three house of the eight house of representatives seats while the PDP won one.

    He also said the two parties won three seats each in the results of the state assembly released.

    “With regards to federal constituencies, we have eight federal constituency seats that were contested. Out of this eight, four have been declared and four are outstanding.

    “ These four outstanding are Andoni/Opobo/Nkoro, Bonny/ Degema, Etche/Omuma/ and Okrika/Ogu/Bolo.

    “As far as state constituencies are concerned, we have nine state capital positions that were contested.

    “Six out of these nine have been declared, three are outstanding, which include Andoni, Etche II and Gokana,” he said.

    Lecky said that violence in Etche Local Government Area affected the conclusion of the election in the area.

    ” As a result, we were not able to conclude the outstanding re-run election in Etche, pending further announcement from INEC.

    “As regards the issue of Andoni, which is also outstanding, we had a lot of difficulties due to lots of violence.

    “We went back there several times and up till this moment, we had a meeting with Andoni stakeholders and we have agreed that we can reset the collation,” Lecky said.

  • #RiversRerun: Disregard fictitious results – INEC warns

    The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said for the umpteenth time that only results announced by the Commission from the December 10 rerun election in Rivers State is authentic.

    Different versions of the results were being churned out on different media platforms on Sunday.

    However, the INEC National Commissioner in charge of South-South, Mustapha Leki told newsmen at the INEC Secretariat in Port Harcourt that the Commission had only authenticated few results from last Saturday’s election.

    Leki said the Commission had so far announced results for “1 out of the 3 senatorial Districts, 2 out of the 8 House of Representatives seats and 5 out of the 10 House of Assembly seats contested.

    Leki declined to mention the constituencies where results had been announced but added that “results were announced by returning officers at approved collation centres.”

    He blamed the delay in the collation of results on other constituencies on high rate of violence.

  • 2019 Election: Nigerian develops app for electronic voting

    2019 Election: Nigerian develops app for electronic voting

    Mr Shamah Abubakar, a graduate of Bingham University, Karu, has invented an electronic election application that can improve the electoral process in the Nigeria.

    The President of the University’s Alumni, Mr Haruna Yusuf, said the application called E-Franchise app was invented with the support of the Alumni.

    Haruna said during the Alumni’s election in March, the app was used for the electoral process and proved to be a success with members voting and monitoring the electoral process from beginning till the end from their diverse locations.

    “When we held our elections earlier this year, it was what we used and it was a success. Every member of the alumni voted electronically and the process was free and fair.

    “Every member monitored the process from wherever they were. You don’t have to be physically gathered in one spot to hold an election. For us, we have active members in the diaspora who have voting rights. So this app helped us not to infringe on their rights,” He said.

    The Alumni president, however, revealed that the app is not immuned from setbacks especially hacking hence the recruitment of young anti hackers to thwart the effort of hackers during the alumni election.

    “We had anti hackers on standby who made sure no strange activity tampered with the app during the election from start to finish and every member monitored voting and counting till the end. Till date, no one has complained of foul play,” He said.

    He also revealed that the Alumni has reached out to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), members of the National Assembly and other relevant stakeholders to look into adopting the app for the 2019 general elections.

    According to him, electronic voting would not only reduce foul play, it would reduce the huge cost of conducting manual voting system and release results as soon as they come in just as it is done in advanced countries.

    He said the Alumni was willing to collaborate with relevant government bodies to work to transition Nigeria towards electronic form of voting through its E-franchise app.