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Tag: Mandate

  • A’Ibom: Akpabio heads to Election Tribunal, Seeks Order to Reclaim Mandate

    Following the withdrawal of his case filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, which sought to challenge his Senate re-election loss, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District in the February 23rd Senatorial election, Godswill Akpabio, and his party, have approached the Election Tribunal, sitting in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, to kick-start the legal processes, that would lead to the validation of his victory at the poll.

    Akpabio is seeking to upturn the victory of Mr Christopher Ekpenyong and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), based on perceived electoral irregularities which characterised the said election.

    The former Senate Minority Leader, had while the election was ongoing, besieged the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), alleging cases of infractions and deliberate violations of the electoral law and guidelines during the senatorial election.

    In the said election, INEC had in collaboration with some PDP chieftains in the senatorial district, wrongfully declared Mr. Ekpeyong and his party, the PDP, winner of the poll, having scored 118,215 as against Akpabio’s 83,158.

    However, incontrovertible result sheets from Akwa Ibom INEC office showed different figures that had Akpabio securing 138,256 votes as against Ekpeyong’s 123,843.

    Dissatisfied with the conduct and outcome of the election, the former governor of Akwa Ibom and his party vowed to approach the election petition tribunal to ventilate their grievances as well as reclaim their stolen mandate.

  • Presidential election: Remain peaceful, we’ll reclaim our mandate, PDP tells supporters

    Nigeria’s main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it would explore every option, including the legal process to ventilate its grievances on the declaration of President Muhammadu Buhari as the winner of the 2019 election.

    The party which refused to sign the result sheet said the announcement of Buhari who sought re-election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was an abnormality.

    Recall that Buhari was declared winner by INEC having scored 15,191, 847 votes to defeat his closest rival, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party who polled 11,262,978 votes.

    But in his response, the chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said that the difference in the valid votes and cancellation were insignificant to impact on the general outcome of the election.

    According to him, all the observations raised by the PDP would be needed for the future, including the 2023 elections.

    While rejecting the declaration of Buhari, an agent of the PDP and former Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Osita Chidoka, told journalists in Abuja at the National Collation Centre on Wednesday morning that the results that were announced do not represent the valid votes of Nigerians.

    He said, “The PDP does not accept the result as representing the valid votes of Nigerians. We have made three issues: first, after all the investment in technology, we expected that INEC, after spending N27 billion in this year’s budget alone for technology, would have for the purpose of transparency, not just for law, projected to us the result of what the card reader that they used displayed about the people that went through the card reader verification. That singular act has put a dent on the image of the election.

    “The second one is the issue we raised about the number of registered vis-à-vis what the chairman now calls collated voters, which means that 1.6 million people are missing in the voter register. We think that issue is substantial enough to require a resolution.

    “We also believed that the difference between the accredited voters and the voter cast which came to about 750,000 requires an issue to be looked at.

    Finally, we believed that the cancellations that took place in the election impacting 2.7 million voters required to be looked into seriously.

    “So, in our view, this election required to be reviewed, looked at again and possibly, we have a rerun. More importantly, we think that INEC should have looked consciously to the use of the card reader, the absence of card reader is a major violation in the elections, it renders that election null and void, that’s what the chairman promised us.

    “So, for us in the PDP, we believe that this is a new low in Nigeria’s electoral history. Since 2015, we believe that Nigeria would have been making progress in the election, but for the violence. The issues that have arisen in this election, and lack of transparency that we saw in the election did not increase, neither did it improve the belief of Nigerians in the electoral process.

    “However, the PDP remains a very lawful party, we believe in the law, we believe in the constitution of Nigeria, we are committed democrats. The PDP is a party that entrenched democracy in Nigeria, the PDP is the party that made it possible for Nigeria to enjoy the fruit and dividends of democracy.

    “We will continue to support democracy in Nigeria, we will continue to promote democracy in Nigeria. But we have a good message for Nigerians, we want them to remain peaceful, we will explore all our options, including the belief that the legal process in Nigeria is one of the ways to resolve issues.”

  • Osun 2018: Adeleke stole our mandate; withdraw his candidacy – PDP gov aspirants tells party

    Seven governorship aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State have asked the national leadership of the party to rescind its decision on the nomination of Senator Ademola Adeleke as the candidate of the party in the September 22 governorship election.

    The aspirants: Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi; senators Olasunkanmi Akinlabi and Felix Ogunwale; Prof. Adeolu Durotoye and Dr. Ayoade Adewopo said this at a joint press conference in Osogbo on Thursday.

    Other aspirants who are also urging the PDP leadership to drop Adeleke are: Messrs Adejare Bello and Jide Adeniji. They were both absent at the press conference, but their names were listed as supporting the call.

    Olasunkanmi, who read the address said, “The candidacy of Senator Ademola Adeleke will further divide rather than unite the PDP in Osun State in view of the fact that a great number of the party members will not feel secure working for him, because of the very controversial circumstances of his nomination.

    “The PDP may not be able to secure the support of critical stakeholders in the state with Senator Adeleke’s candidacy, because of his not too impressive public conduct as a senator of the Federal Republic.

    “In view of the foregoing, therefore, we the under listed aspirants call on the national leadership of our party to rescind its decision on the nomination of Senator Ademola Adeleke as our candidate for the September 22 governorship election.”

    Ogunbiyi stated that he would not leave the party but would not stop to demand that the party do the right thing.

    He said, “We are actually facing a challenge at present. It is a storm that will pass and I, Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi and other aspirants will not leave the PDP under any guise. We believe that the leadership of the party will do the right thing. We will stay together and fight to uproot the government of APC.

    “The good people of Osun State should remain calm. The PDP is the hope of Osun State. There is no alternative party that can rescue Osun State and Nigeria.

    “I cannot be a mole in the hands of anybody. With my modest achievement as a village boy with this level of grace God has given me, I cannot condescend to do such dishonorable job.”

    Durotoye said the aspirants and people of the state wanted the party to announce the name of the “real winner” as the party’s governorship candidate.

    He said although the aspirants and the people would not defect, they would not join the alleged impunity.

  • Those that defected from PDP to other parties will lose their mandate – Makarfi

    The National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Sen Ahmed Makarfi, has warned that elected officials who defected to other parties will “pay a political price.”

    Speaking during the party’s caucus meeting held in Abuja, the former Kaduna State governor said the party would reclaim the seats won by its former members, who defected to other parties

    He described the defection of some PDP elected officials to other parties as an “unwise decision.’’

    According to Makarfi, “For those, who are running helter skelter for one reason or the other to say they are cross carpeting.

    “There is no division in PDP and it is unfortunate, but they will pay a political price for such unwise decision.

    “I assure you, it is painful to lose anybody, but it was unwise decision taken by them.

    “I assure you what is coming to PDP is much larger than what you may have contemplated and left PDP.

    “So I am not bordered in the sense that it is a temporary setback, but more for them, because we are going to reclaim the seats, which they are occupying, because there is no division in PDP.’’

    Makarfi’s warning is coming at a time when a senator representing Akwa Ibom South, Nelson Effiong, cross-carpeted from the party to the All Progressives Congress, APC.