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Tag: Kogi State

  • Tension as military beefs up security at INEC office in Lokoja

    Tension as military beefs up security at INEC office in Lokoja

    The military beefed up security around INEC’s headquarters in Lokoja on Wednesday following a siege laid on the premises by a mob.

    Commissioner of Police in Kogi, Mr Bethrand Onuoha invited the military to the INEC office after the mob laid the siege.

    Onuoha alerted the Commander, 12 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Brig.-Gen. Haruna Dasuki to assist in securing the INEC office.

    “I have no option other than to invite the military to join us, the police, in securing the INEC office.

    “The presence of troops really helped. It is the responsibility of the police to protect all citizens and property and that we will continue to do,’’ Onuoha assured.

    INEC itself had earlier reported to the police that its office was under siege.

    Its Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Gabriel Longpet, stated in Lokoja that the mob barricaded all accesses to the office and prevented employees from discharging their duties.

    “The mob also prevented counsel representing political parties that took part in the Nov. 11 off-cycle governorship election in the state from inspecting documents and materials used in the exercise.

    “It took the intervention of the Nigerian Army to calm the situation. The security agencies have assured us that they will maintain normalcy on our premises,’’ he stated.

    Longpet assured all political parties and litigants that INEC would grant unimpeded access to all materials needed to prosecute their petitions on the election.

  • First Lady receives Kogi governor-elect

    First Lady receives Kogi governor-elect

    The First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, on Tuesday received Alhaji Usman Ododo, the new Kogi Governor-Elect in her office at the Presidential Villa.

    The first lady, who welcomed Ododo with a handshake, congratulated Ododo on his victory at the recently concluded Nov. 11 gubernatorial election in Kogi.

    Ododo, who was accompanied by the incumbent Governor, Alhaji Bello Yahaya, told the State House Correspondents that the purpose of the visit was to thank the President’s wife for her support.

    He said President Bola Tinubu and the first lady had confidence in him and supported him to lead the people of Kogi under the umbrella of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    “I have also come to thank Her Excellency for being a wonderful mother, for her support, guidance and for the trust she has in our mission to serve the people of Kogi State.

    “My boss and leader, Alhaji Bello, is well known to be gender sensitive, as you can see in Kogi today, most of the government appointees are women.

    “What we are coming to do is to consolidate his achievement and of course I am coming to build on his legacy, not to destroy it.

    Bello also commended the first lady for her prayers and advice, adding that he believed that his successor would continue from wherever he stoped.

    “Definitely Ododo is my worthy successor that the almighty has given the crown to be the governor as from Jan. 27, 2024.

    “In a simple term, what I am envisioning Kogi to be is just like what our president planted in Lagos to what Lagos is today.

    “In the next administration and nearest future, I envision Kogi to be trailing behind if not overtaking Lagos in terms of development; that is why we are emulating and following the footsteps of president Tinubu.’’

  • Guber Election: Kogi govt. issues query letter to Monarch for allegedly engaging in Partisan politics

    Guber Election: Kogi govt. issues query letter to Monarch for allegedly engaging in Partisan politics

    The Chairman Kogi Local Government Traditional Council, Ohimege-Igu Koton-Karfi, Alhaji Abdulrasaq Gambo Isa Koto, has been queried by the Kogi State Government for allegedly engaging in partisan politics during the just conducted gubernatorial election in the state.

    The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Barr. Salami Momodu Ozigi Deedat signed the query letter before being issued to the monarch.

    The letter reads: “It has come to the notice of the State Government that you deliberately engaged yourself in partisan politics.

    “This is viewed very seriously, especially that your action, role and participation in partisan politics endangered the security of your domain to the extent that crisis erupted under your watch that led to death of an innocent young lady in addition to several others that were wounded.

    “This blatant action of yours is a sad contradiction of your expected role as a revered Royal Father of your status. It is more worrisome that you acted unbothered when the much coveted peace and security of the State was being threatened by your action.

    “In view of the above, you are hereby requested to forward a written explanation within 48 hours why disciplinary action should not be taken against you. Oral explanations may also be required from you when the State Government sets up a panel to examine your case.

    “You are advised to give priority attention to the content of this letter, please, your Royal Majesty.”

  • BREAKING! Governor Yahaya Bello freezes Kogi state accounts

    BREAKING! Governor Yahaya Bello freezes Kogi state accounts

    The Kogi State Government has frozen all state and local government accounts with immediate effect.

    The account freezing was made known via a statement signed by the Commissioner for Finance, Asiwaju Asiru Idris saying, no imprest or any form of payment should be made to anyone from government accounts henceforth.

    According to the statement, “All Standing Orders and Investment Instructions are hereby Cancelled forthwith.

    “All Kogi State and Local Government Accounts are hereby frozen with effect from today, Thursday 22nd November 2003.”

    Recall that  Governor Yahaya Bello last Saturday questioned the loyalty of some members of his cabinet, including  local government chairmen.

    According to him, despite being mobilised to provide transportation and other logistics for the electorates during the election, “you have all failed to deliver while the mobilization funds ended in private pockets.”

    The governor went ahead to issue a questionnaire to all 21 local government chairmen, which they were asked to submit last Tuesday.

  • INEC presents certificates of return to Kogi governor-elect

    INEC presents certificates of return to Kogi governor-elect

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday presented certificates of return to the Kogi Governor-Elect, Usman Ododo and his Deputy, Joel Salifu.

    Ododo and Salifu of the All Progressive Congress (APC) had won the Nov 11 Off-Cycle Governorship Election in Kogi with 446,237 votes, to beat their closest rivals, Murtala Ajaka and Sam Ranti-Abenemi of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) that garnered 259,052 votes.

    The certificates of return were presented to the duo at at the INEC headquarters in Lokoja, the state capital on Friday, amid jubilation by party members and supporters.

    Mr Sani Adam (SAN), the National Electoral Commissioner for Kwara, Niger and Kogi, who presented the certificates to them, congratulated them for emerging victorious in the governorship election.

    Presenting the Certificate, the Kogi State Resident Electoral Commissioner, INEC, Gabriel Longpet, said the presentation was part of the Commission’s mandate.

    Sani said that Ododo and Salifu wete being presented the certificate, for the simple reason that they met the constitutional requirements.

    Speaking shortly after receiving his certificate,  Ododo promised the people of Kogi that he would make good his campaign promises to build on the sterling achievements of Gov. Yahaya Bello.

    The governor-elect, thanked the people of the state for the overwhelming support given to him during the election.

    Ododo described the overwhelming support he enjoyed as a sheer consolidation on the strength and unity of the Kogi.

    “My victory at last Saturday’s election is a victory for all. We will run an all inclusive administration, where everyone, irrespective of tribe, religion and political affiliation, will be carried along.

    “My administration will be committed to sustaining the youth and women empowerment programs of the present administration.

    “My resolve to provide employment for our teeming youths and ensure that education occupies the front burner of our administration remains unchanged, ” he said.

    The governor-elect, however, promising to justify the confidence reposed in him, Ododo.

    Bello, who witnessed the presentation of the certificates of return, urged the people of the state to join hands with Ododo in building a greater Kogi State.

    ”The election has come and gone and a winner has emerged. I call on the people of the State to work towards the unity and togetherness our administration has achieved,” he said.

  • INEC presents certificates of return to Kogi governor-elect, Usman Ododo, deputy

    INEC presents certificates of return to Kogi governor-elect, Usman Ododo, deputy

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday presented certificates of return to the Kogi Governor-Elect, Usman Ododo and his Deputy, Joel Salifu.

    Ododo and Salifu of the All Progressive Congress (APC) had won the Nov 11 Off-Cycle Governorship Election in Kogi with 446,237 votes, to beat their closest rivals, Murtala Ajaka and Sam Ranti-Abenemi of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) that garnered 259,052 votes.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the certificates of return were presented to the duo at at the INEC headquarters in Lokoja, the state capital on Friday, amid jubilation by party members and supporters.

    Mr Sani Adam (SAN), the National Electoral Commissioner for Kwara, Niger and Kogi, who presented the certificates to them, congratulated them for emerging victorious in the governorship election.

    Presenting the Certificate, the Kogi State Resident Electoral Commissioner, INEC, Gabriel Longpet, said the presentation was part of the Commission’s mandate.

    Sani said that Ododo and Salifu wete being presented the certificate, for the simple reason that they met the constitutional requirements.

    Speaking shortly after receiving his certificate,  Ododo promised the people of Kogi that he would make good his campaign promises to build on the sterling achievements of Gov. Yahaya Bello.

    The governor-elect, thanked the people of the state for the overwhelming support given to him during the election.

    Ododo described the overwhelming support he enjoyed as a sheer consolidation on the strength and unity of the Kogi.

    “My victory at last Saturday’s election is a victory for all. We will run an all inclusive administration, where everyone, irrespective of tribe, religion and political affiliation, will be carried along.

    “My administration will be committed to sustaining the youth and women empowerment programs of the present administration.

    “My resolve to provide employment for our teeming youths and ensure that education occupies the front burner of our administration remains unchanged, ” he said.

    The governor-elect, however, promising to justify the confidence reposed in him, Ododo.

    Bello, who witnessed the presentation of the certificates of return, urged the people of the state to join hands with Ododo in building a greater Kogi State.

    ”The election has come and gone and a winner has emerged. I call on the people of the State to work towards the unity and togetherness our administration has achieved,” he said.

  • INEC insists Kogi governorship election credible

    INEC insists Kogi governorship election credible

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says the Nov. 11 Kogi governorship election was free, fair and credible, faulting claims that it tampered with the accredited figures of voters in the election.

    INEC said this in a statement by its National Commissioner and member, Information and Voter Education Committee, Alhaji Mohammed Haruna in Abuja.

    “The attention of INEC has been drawn to some media reports alleging it tampered with the accredited figures of voters in Kogi governorship election results uploaded on the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal.

    “However, these reports are unfounded. For the avoidance of doubt, the most accurate and up-to-date voters’ accreditation data is available in the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

    “BVAS is used for the authentication and accreditation of registered voters at various polling units on election day. It automatically retains the accreditation data of all voters,” he said.

    Haruna said that the BVAS was designed to primarily work offline without Internet connectivity, which facilitates faster and seamless authentication and accreditation experience for voters.

    “When BVAS application is active or in use, depending on the strength of its connection to the Internet, the BVAS automatically exports the accreditation data to the Accreditation Backend System (ABS).

    “This exportation of data does not happen when the device’s application is inactive or when the internet connectivity is poor.

    “The same experience applies to a situation where more than one BVAS gadget is used at a polling unit with more than 1,250 registered voters.

    “This could be compared to a situation when poor network services delay the delivery of an SMS sent from one individual to another through a mobile phone, “ he said.

    Haruna said that at the close of poll, presiding officers were expected to press the data exportation button on the BVAS to ensure that all the accreditation data are exported to the ABS.

    “This process, referred to as synchronization and which is ongoing, could lead to changes in the accreditation figures as more data flow in to update the existing figures.

    “This is the basis for the caveat provided on the IReV portal, regarding the accreditation figures. The accreditation data cannot be changed on the BVAS after the close of poll. The public should disregard the misleading report and misinformation,” he said.

  • Kogi: INEC needs to do more to earn voters’ trust – ADC

    Kogi: INEC needs to do more to earn voters’ trust – ADC

    The African Democratic Congress (ADC) says the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) needs to do more to earn voters’ trust.

    The Lagos State ADC Chairman, Mr George Ashiru, made the remark on Monday while reacting to the conduct and outcome of the off-cycle governorship election in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa.

    Ashiru said: “We are concerned about reports of several areas where voting was disrupted.

    “This indicates that adequate preparation was not made to ensure every vote counts.

    “Voter turnout is almost always directly impacted by fear of lack of transparency by INEC and insecurity. INEC needs to do more to earn voters’ trust.”

    Speaking on the outcome of the poll in Kogi, Ashiru said Mr Leke Abejide, the ADC governorship candidate, however, put up a good fight despite coming fourth in the poll.

    “I am glad that Abejide, though a member of the National Assembly, put his hat in the wring to become one of the political forces to reckon with in Kogi,” the ADC boss said.

    He advised the governor-elect in Kogi, Alhaji Usman Ododo, to demonstrate love for the people of Kogi with all his heart.

    Ashiru urged Ododo to follow the constitution thoroughly saying “therein lies the heart of good governance.”

    APC’s Ododo polled 446,237, while his closest rival, Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) polled 259,052 votes.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate polled 46,362 votes and Hon. Leke Abejide of the ADC got 21,819 votes.

  • SDP narrates how INEC and APC allegedly fabricated 130,000 votes from 30,000 BVAS records in Kogi

    SDP narrates how INEC and APC allegedly fabricated 130,000 votes from 30,000 BVAS records in Kogi

    The Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate for the Kogi State governorship election, Murtala Ajaka, has expressed his dissatisfaction with the conduct and outcome of the poll held on Saturday.

    He alleged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) colluded with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to manipulate the results in favour of Yahaya Bello’s candidate.

    Ajaka, who spoke on on a national tv program alleges: ‘The 2023 Verdict: Off-Cycle Elections,’ claimed that there was no election in the five local governments in the central senatorial district of the state.

    He said that the results were fabricated and inflated by the APC with the help of INEC officials.

    He cited the example of Okene local government, where he said that over 130,000 votes were recorded for the APC, while the biometric verification agent system (BVAS) showed that less than 30,000 voters were accredited. He said that this was a clear case of electoral fraud that should not be accepted by INEC.

    “In the whole of the five local governments in central, the whole of the five local governments in central, there was no election anywhere. They wrote results. Result sheets were given to Yahaya Bello

    “In Okene local government, they turned out over 130,000 votes, haba! And INEC accepted that result and what is on the BVAS is less than 30,000.

    “With all due respect to the person of the INEC chairman, if they don’t do a checklist and investigate their officials that went to Kogi State and allow this to stand, I doubt if there will be election in 2027.

    “Because people will go into that election armed and I fear Somalia will be a child’s play.

    “If we knew it would be the same old music, we would have played along with that old music by inflating the results from my area.

    “When the commission told us yesterday that they were looking into this case, we were hopeful, that is why everybody relaxed. Only for them now to collate these results. It is annoying. Three local governments are producing 230,000-something votes,”

    Ajaka also accused the INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, of failing to investigate the allegations of irregularities and violence that marred the election.

    He said that if INEC does not reverse the results and declare the true winner, it would jeopardize the future of democracy in Nigeria.

    Ajaka, however, said that he would not challenge the outcome of the election in court, as he believed that it would be a waste of time and resources. He said that he had no confidence in the judiciary to deliver justice in the matter.

    He called on the international community and civil society organizations to intervene and save Kogi State from the tyranny of Yahaya Bello and the APC. He said that the people of Kogi State deserved a free and fair election that would reflect their choice of leadership.

  • Kogi won’t regret electing Ododo – Audu

    Kogi won’t regret electing Ododo – Audu

    Aare Atunluse Omoluwabi Oodua Worldwide, Chief Muritala Audu, on Monday expressed confidence that residents of Kogi would benefit from the visionary leadership of the state’s Gov. Elect, Alhaji Usman Ododo.

    Audu, a Chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in a statement in Lagos said that Ododo’s victory in the Saturday’s governorship election in Kogi was well- deserved.

    According to him, Ododo’s victory is a testament to the trust and confidence that the people of Kogi have in his leadership abilities.

    “His track record as the former Auditor of Kogi state Cabinet, coupled with his experience as a member Kogi State Government, showcases his dedication and commitment to public service.

    “Ododo will demonstrate exemplary leadership. His work with the Kogi State Government, and various other levels and assignments reflect his wealth of experience and competence in public administration.

    “As a former Local Government Auditor-General, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo has contributed significantly to the fiscal accountability and transparency of our local government system.

    “His stint at the energy sector further demonstrates his diverse and valuable expertise in key sectors.

    “I am confident that Kogi State will benefit immensely from his visionary leadership and passion for public service,” he said.

    According to Audu, Ododo’s wealth of experience, combined with his youthful energy, positions him as a leader who can drive positive change and development in our beloved state.

    He called on all well-meaning residents of Kogi to rally behind Ododo as he embarks on this important journey.

    “Let us unite and support his candidacy, ensuring that together, we build a Kogi State that thrives economically, socially, and politically.

    “I will want to urge him to be opened to all counterparts and stakeholders for an inclusive government,” he said.

    He prayed God to make Ododo’s tenure bring prosperity, unity, and progress to the good people of Kogi.

    INEC on Sunday evening declared Ododo, the APC Governorship candidate, winner of the just-concluded Nov. 11 governorship election in Kogi.

    Ododo won with 446,237 votes, defeating his closest rival, Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party, who garnered 259,052, while Dino Melaye of the Peoples Democratic Party pulled 46,362 votes.