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Tag: Opposition

  • Kenyan opposition protester dies from gunshot wound, several others wounded…

    One man was shot dead and several others injured during protests in the western city of Kisumu, as opposition supporters try to stop Thursday’s elections, a nurse at the main government hospital said.

    “A young man, aged 17 or 18, was brought in heavily bleeding. We were giving him blood but he succumbed,” said Henry Omosa, head nurse for casualty unit.

    Omosa said the young man was one of four people admitted to the hospital on Thursday with gunshot wounds that occurred during clashes between police and protesters.

    Kenyan police clashed with opposition supporters who where burning barricades and gangs of youths who prevented voting in some towns in an election re-run, seeking to challenge the credibility of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s expected victory.

    In the western city of Kisumu, stone-throwing youths heeding opposition leader Raila Odinga’s call for a voter boycott were met by live rounds, tear gas and water cannon three hours after polling stations were meant to have opened.

    There were no immediate reports of casualties.

    The election is being closely watched across East Africa, which relies on Kenya as a trade and logistics hub, and in the West where Nairobi is regarded as a bulwark against Islamist militancy in Somalia and civil conflict in South Sudan and Burundi.

    By and large the security situation in the country is OK. Polling stations have been opened in over 90 percent of the country and voting has commenced,” Interior minister Fred Matiang‘i told Citizen TV.

    According to footage on the domestic NTV channel, in the western town of Migori, another opposition stronghold, several hundred young men milled around on a main road littered with rubble and burning barricades.

    The handful of polling officials who pitched up to work in Kisumu, the scene of major ethnic violence after a disputed election in 2007, cowered behind closed doors, unable to distribute any voting material.

    Such problems, already acknowledged by judges and the election commission, are likely to trigger legal challenges to the run-off and could stir longer-term instability in a country riven by deep ethnic divisions.

    The re-run follows an August vote whose result, a Kenyatta victory, was annulled by the Supreme Court due to procedural irregularities.

    In Kisumu Central, constituency returning officer John Ngutai said no voting materials had been distributed and only three of his 400 staff had turned up for work.

    One nervous official described his work in the city as a “suicide mission”.

    “We don’t have any options,” Ngutai told Reuters as he and two presiding officers sorted thousands of ballot papers into piles, work that should have been completed the previous day.

    Kisumu businessman Joshua Nyamori, 42, was one of the few voters brave enough to defy Odinga’s stay-away call but said intimidation had put paid to his desire to cast his ballot.

    A decade after 1,200 people were killed over another disputed election, many Kenyans are ready for trouble although on the eve of the vote Odinga backed off previous calls for protests and urged supporters to stay out of the way of police.

    “We advise Kenyans who value democracy and justice to hold vigils and prayers away from polling stations, or just stay at home,” Odinga said.

    Odinga’s National Super Alliance coalition, which has been accused of harassing polling staff in the run-up to the vote, is likely to present a lack of open polling stations as proof the re-run, organised in less than 60 days, is bogus.

    The head of the election commission said he could not guarantee a free and fair vote, citing interference from politicians and threats of violence against his colleagues.

    One election commissioner has quit and fled the country.

    Kenyatta, the U.S.-educated son of Kenya’s founding father, has made clear he sees Thursday’s vote as legitimate.

    In central Nairobi, where support for the two protagonists is more mixed, turnout was significantly down on the August election.

    Anti-riot police were patrolling in Kibera and Mathare, two volatile Nairobi slums.

    Nearly 50 people have been killed by security forces since the August vote.

  • Kenya Presidential re-run: Police clash with opposition supporters

    Kenyan police clashed with opposition supporters where burning barricades and gangs of youths prevented voting in some towns in an election re-run, seeking to challenge the credibility of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s expected victory.

    In the western city of Kisumu, stone-throwing youths heeding opposition leader Raila Odinga’s call for a voter boycott were met by live rounds, tear gas and water cannon three hours after polling stations were meant to have opened.

    There were no immediate reports of casualties.

    The election is being closely watched across East Africa, which relies on Kenya as a trade and logistics hub, and in the West where Nairobi is regarded as a bulwark against Islamist militancy in Somalia and civil conflict in South Sudan and Burundi.

    By and large the security situation in the country is OK. Polling stations have been opened in over 90 percent of the country and voting has commenced,” Interior minister Fred Matiang‘i told Citizen TV.

    According to footage on the domestic NTV channel, in the western town of Migori, another opposition stronghold, several hundred young men milled around on a main road littered with rubble and burning barricades.

    The handful of polling officials who pitched up to work in Kisumu, the scene of major ethnic violence after a disputed election in 2007, cowered behind closed doors, unable to distribute any voting material.

    Such problems, already acknowledged by judges and the election commission, are likely to trigger legal challenges to the run-off and could stir longer-term instability in a country riven by deep ethnic divisions.

    The re-run follows an August vote whose result, a Kenyatta victory, was annulled by the Supreme Court due to procedural irregularities.

    In Kisumu Central, constituency returning officer John Ngutai said no voting materials had been distributed and only three of his 400 staff had turned up for work.

    One nervous official described his work in the city as a “suicide mission”.

    “We don’t have any options,” Ngutai told Reuters as he and two presiding officers sorted thousands of ballot papers into piles, work that should have been completed the previous day.

    Kisumu businessman Joshua Nyamori, 42, was one of the few voters brave enough to defy Odinga’s stay-away call but said intimidation had put paid to his desire to cast his ballot.

    A decade after 1,200 people were killed over another disputed election, many Kenyans are ready for trouble although on the eve of the vote Odinga backed off previous calls for protests and urged supporters to stay out of the way of police.

    “We advise Kenyans who value democracy and justice to hold vigils and prayers away from polling stations, or just stay at home,” Odinga said.

    Odinga’s National Super Alliance coalition, which has been accused of harassing polling staff in the run-up to the vote, is likely to present a lack of open polling stations as proof the re-run, organised in less than 60 days, is bogus.

    The head of the election commission said he could not guarantee a free and fair vote, citing interference from politicians and threats of violence against his colleagues.

    One election commissioner has quit and fled the country.

    Kenyatta, the U.S.-educated son of Kenya’s founding father, has made clear he sees Thursday’s vote as legitimate.

    In central Nairobi, where support for the two protagonists is more mixed, turnout was significantly down on the August election.

    Anti-riot police were patrolling in Kibera and Mathare, two volatile Nairobi slums.

    Nearly 50 people have been killed by security forces since the August vote.

     

     

    Reuters/NAN

     

  • PDP leaders lack experience of opposition – Dickson

    PDP leaders lack experience of opposition – Dickson

    Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa says the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is not playing its expected role as an opposition party due to numerous internal crises within it.

    Dickson, who made the claim during a chat with journalists in Yenagoa, however, said he remained optimistic that the party would bounce back to winning ways ahead of the 2019 general elections.

    The governor, who headed the PDP reconciliation committee, said there were internal forces within the party that were working against the emergence of a cohesive and strong PDP.

    “I have invested enormous efforts in rebuilding the PDP and the work of rebuilding hasn’t been successful.

    “PDP has a lot of work to do to become a formidable opposition party and I think that most PDP leaders lack the experience of opposition.

    “But I remain optimistic. I pray the party overcomes its internal challenges, and I have been very prayerful because Nigeria needs a strong PDP as the country has seen the failure of the APC.

    “Nigeria needs PDP, and I remain hopeful that the party survives,” Dickson said.

    He said that he remained resolute in his call for the restructuring of the country adding that his call was borne out of patriotism and quest for fiscal federalism.

    “The Niger Delta people love Nigeria and have sacrificed to support the economic base of Nigeria. My support for restructuring is for the overall interest of our people. We love Nigeria and will want a better deal in a truly federal structure.

    “There is an urgent need to have an all-embracing discussion to strengthen our unity and take decisions on the terms of the federation,” he said.

    The governor applauded the state Ministry of Health for containing the spread of monkeypox disease, which broke out in the state four weeks ago.

    He urged the people to continue to maintain high level of personal hygiene and remain vigilant.

     

    NAN

  • Politicians using demands for restructuring as another tool of opposition – Presidency

    …Says Buhari does not oppose restructuring

    The presidency on Thursday stated that politicians are beginning to take advantage of the demands for restructuring of the country as another tool of opposition against the President Muhammadu Buhari led federal government.

    This was revealed by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina.

    Adesina said the devolution of powers, which is in the manifesto of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was a form of restructuring that the President would consider in due course.

    According to him, some proponents of restructuring have turned it into an opposition tool.

    He said the President had sworn to uphold the Constitution, which guarantees a united Nigeria and will not depart from his oath.

    Adesina spoke in Lagos at the Fifth Anniversary Lecture of News Express, a newspaper published by a journalist and brand management consultant, Isaac Umunna.

    Its theme was: National Unity and the Demand for Restructuring – a Governor’s Perspective. The lecture was delivered by Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello.

    The presidential spokesman, who was a distinguished guest of honour, said no one should “cross the red line” in demanding restructuring.

    Besides, he said Nigerians were yet to agree on how to restructure the country.

    He said: “The areas of restructuring are yet to be defined. Ask 100 people what is restructuring, and you will get 100 answers. It shows you that there is no unanimity on what restructuring really is.

    “So, how then do you begin to work on restructuring when it has not even been properly defined or explained?

    “No wonder the APC set up a committee to go round the country and find out what people understand by restructuring and what they want to see in restructuring. I think that is a very good step.

    “And then a lot of people say, ‘o, the president does not believe in restructuring’. Not exactly.

    “The APC has a manifesto. Inside it is devolution of powers. What some people want is to see the entire manifesto being implemented in six months. It doesn’t work that way.

    “The mandate is for four years. The President had identified three key things: securing the country, fighting corruption and reviving the economy. It’s work in progress.

    “And when he gets to a point where he feels, oh yes, we have made strides in these three areas, then he can look at the manifesto and consider what next. Devolution of powers could be the next thing.”

    Adesina faulted those who he said had turned demand for restructuring into an opposition tool, saying it could become a distraction to the government.

    “But then, people that are agitating for restructuring – I may be wrong, but my feeling is that they have turned it to another tool of opposition. It comes with a lot of sabre-rattling: ‘Oh, If we don’t restructure, the country will die’. It’s a covert way of opposing the government. That is why I think such people are not doing well.

    “If you oppose the government of the day to the extent that you distract it – it’s our country. What should be achieved will then not be achieved at the end of the term.

    “Therefore, people who are sincere about restructuring and who want to see a tweaking of the configuration of our country – nothing wrong with it. But for those who have turned it into sabre-rattling, then something is wrong with it.

    “If you read in-between the lines, what people that canvass restructuring say, at the substratum level, is the fact that they want to break the country.

    “So, restructuring that will deepen our unity is good, but the one that will fragment the country is bad.”

    According to Adesina, the President has vowed to uphold Nigeria’s unity.

    He said: “No government worth its salt – because the Constitution recognises a united and indivisible country – no President who has sworn to uphold the Constitution will agree with that kind of restructuring that they are trumpeting.

    “Restructuring is good. The governing party believes in it, because devolution of powers is a form of restructuring, but restructuring that is turned to trumpeting evil and doomsday for our country is not what any government will stomach.

    “I’ve heard the President say it many times that he didn’t fight the civil war to keep Nigeria one and then sit down and watch some people dismember the country.

    “He told a story of how he trekked from somewhere in the Eastern part of the country to Gakem in Ogoja in Cross River State.

    “He said: ‘After we did all that, do you think we’ll open our eyes and let some people fragment this country?’ He said it’ll never happen. And I agree with him that it should never happen.”

    Adesina argued that Nigeria’s diversity should not be a vehicle for disunity.

    He agreed with Bello who spoke of other countries more diverse than Nigeria, such as China, Indonesia.

    According to Adesina, some countries have as much as 600 ethnic groups yet have remained united.

    “We have just over 300 in Nigeria. Diversity should be a tool for unity rather than disunity,” he said.

    He also argued that Buhari’s victory accorss ethnic lines shows that Nigeria was positioned for automatic self-restructuring.

    “That is not to say restructuring debate should not continue; it should continue. When we come to unanimity of explanation and definition of what restructuring is, then we can move forward,” he said.

    Adesina urged Nigerians to beware of “fake news”, which he described as an “epidemic”.

    For instance, he said a fake speech purportedly delivered by the President at the United Nations General Assembly was circulated online, and was even published by a newspaper on its website.

    He said some had also mastered the art of twisting his words. He recalled that he once made a comment that some diehard critics could criticise God if they got to heaven.

    “The intention is to cause disharmony in the country. Closely linked to fake news is hate news, meant to cause discord and throw society into upheaval. We need to watch out for things like that. Those behind them don’t mean well for Nigeria. As consumers, we must learn to separate the wheat from the chaff. Let’s be careful,” he said.

    Bello, represented by his Chief Press Secretary Jibrin Ndachi, said he aligned with those who support restructuring that deepens Nigeria’s unity.

    He said Nigeria does not need further fragmentation, adding that diversity should not mean disunity.

    “For us, any discussion about restructuring should not be a discussion that looks at Nigeria as a country that is moving towards dismemberment or fragmentation. The respect we enjoy globally is not only because of our potential, but also size.

    “Indonesia is a country that is very diverse, yet it is united. We don’t have to agree, but the President has said there are red lines that should not be crossed, because there should be certain basis of discussions and dialogue on how to move the country forward.

    “Even countries that have had democracy for hundreds of years have their own challenges. In canvassing issues around restructuring, it should be done with decorum, because the hallmark of democracy is the right of people to have different views. You don’t have to abuse people,” Bello said.

     

  • 2019: Re-alignment of opposition parties against us will fail – APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Oyo State chapter, says the on-going re-alignment of forces by the opposition political players in the state ahead of the 2019 gubernatorial election would fail.

    This was contained in a statement by Mr Olawale Sadare, the party’s Public Relations Officer in Ibadan on Saturday.

    The leaderships of opposition political parties in the state, including the Accord Party, Social Democratic Party, Labour Party and Peoples Democratic Party have initiated a move to regroup against the ruling APC.

    The re-alignment is aimed at dislodging the ruling APC in the state in the 2019 elections.

    Prominent among the state political leaders in the move were former Gov. Rasheed Ladoja, former Gov. Adebayo Alao-Akala, Mr Seyi Makinde and Alhaji Sharafadeen Alli.

    “We are a governing party that has distinguished itself as the only vehicle of good governance, peace and wholesome development desired by the majority of the people of Nigeria, including the good citizens of the state.

    “What they are planning is a civilian coup against the electorate but it would not see the light of day for many reasons.

    “Most characters involved in the gang-up have had opportunities in the past to impact positively on the lives of the people but they failed as a result of incurable traits of incompetence, selfishness and cluelessness,’’ it said.

    The party stated that many of the arrow heads of the alignment are ignorant of how government works from the way they criticize government policies and condemn its projects.

    The party stated that Nigerians would not support any alignment, re-alignment or gang-up from the same set of people that plunged the nation into economic mess.

    It counselled the sponsors of alignment and those who intend to benefit from it to realize that the effort would end up in futility.

     

  • IPOB: Your government responsible for agitations, not opposition – PDP blasts Lai Mohammed, APC

    The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has warned the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Minister of Information and Culture not to drag it into the current agitation by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and other separatist groups in the country.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that minister on Sunday opposition parties of sponsoring agitations to discredit the President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government.

    However, in a swift reaction, the opposition leader said the ruling party should accept responsibility for its failure in offering Nigerians the desired inclusive national government.

    The party said this in a press statement by Prince Dayo Adeyeye, its national publicity secretary.

    “We had advised not a few times that the APC should look inward and seek solutions to its self-induced challenges in government caused by its unpreparedness for governance. But since the party seem set for self-destruction, we shall not relent to expose its ineptitude to the Nigerian populace.

    “We noticed that the minister who is well known for his unbridled capacity for constant polarisation of the polity other than address matters…tried once again on Sunday to shift blames of the poor handling of the agitation by IPOB by the current government to an opposition that exists only in his imagination.

    “It is disheartening that rather than accept blame for its ineptitude, the APC government has continued to blame ‘enemies’ real or imaginary for their woes. How on earth will a serious-minded government blame opposition parties which they have conveniently labelled ‘looters’ for the activities of IPOB, but we take solace in the fact that the APC might actually know the looters as the party has clearly demonstrated its penchant for giving covers to people considered as corrupt?

    “The recent release of 48 confiscated houses as proceeds of crime back to a member of the APC who was standing trial for allegations of corruption readily comes to mind. Much as we will continue to harp on the one-sided corruption fight of this government, we urge the APC to look inwards in locating the looters with their ill-gotten wealth to sponsor separatist agitating against the government of the day.”

    The PDP said the ruling party was being traumatised by an intense power struggle within its ranks.

    “It is instructive to know that we are aware of the internal crisis rocking the amalgam of interest the APC and the struggle for power within the government as the noise of discontent keep rising on a daily basis from the party. Based on this its no news that APC has a problem unto itself which has affected its citizenry who daily gnash their teeth in regret for voting the APC into power in 2015.

    “We wish to put on record that agitation for the actualisation of the state of Biafra was a total silent voice while the PDP was in power because of the government of inclusiveness we provided for Nigeria’s who were made to experience what a genuine national government meant. The APC should, therefore, mould itself into a real national party, provide good leadership for the people and let the generality of Nigeria freestyle.”

    The PDP said ”it has condemned and will always condemn” separatist movements tailored towards balkanising the nation. It further said that the APC government’s policy is a catalyst for the IPOB problem and the party should do some ”soul-searching to correct the anomaly.”

    The party said the APC ”was its worst enemy.”

    The APC won the 2015 presidential election defeating the PDP which had held on to power since the recent Nigerian democratic sojourn began in 1999.

  • Presidential rerun: Kenyan opposition rejects new election date, threatens boycott

    Kenyan opposition leader, Raila Odinga said on Tuesday his coalition would not participate in the re-run of a presidential election proposed for Oct. 17 unless it is given “legal and constitutional” guarantees.

    Incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta responded by saying there was nowhere in law that required the electoral body to consult Odinga.

    Odinga’s conditions for participating in the repeat presidential election include the removal of six officials at the election board.

    He called for criminal investigations to be opened against them.

    “You cannot do a mistake twice and expect to get different results.

    “A number of the officials of the commission should be sent home, some of them should be investigated for the heinous crimes they committed.”

    Kenya’s Supreme Court ordered on Friday that the Aug. 8 vote be re-run within 60 days, saying Kenyatta’s victory by 1.4 million votes was undermined by irregularities in the process.

    Kenyatta was not accused of any wrongdoing.

    The ruling, the first time in Africa that a court had overturned the re-election of a sitting president, was hailed by Odinga supporters as “historic”.

    Analysts have said it is likely to lead to some short-term volatility in East Africa’s biggest economy, but could build confidence in institutions in the longer-term.

    On Monday, the election board said it would hold new elections on Oct. 17, but Odinga said he wanted elections held on Oct. 24 or 31 instead.

    “There will be no elections on Oct. 17 until the conditions that we have spelt out in the statement are met,” he said.

    Kenyatta rebuffed Odinga’s demands to the commission on the setting of the election date.

    “There is no legal requirement that Odinga be consulted. I was neither consulted. Kenya doesn’t belong to one man,” he said in a statement sent by his office.

    Odinga has lost the last three presidential elections. Each time, he said the vote was rigged against him.

    The opposition also plans to lodge 62 court cases contesting governorship, lawmaker, and local seats, spokeswoman Kathleen Openda said.

    At least 33 court cases were filed contesting election results before the presidential election was annulled, said Andrew Limo, spokesman for the election board.

    Others had been filed since but he did not have the updated figure.

    Limo said that the numbers had not yet reached the same level as during the 2013 elections, when the board received challenges to 189 results.

     

     

    Reuters/NAN

  • Opposition doesn’t mean hostility, Buhari lectures APC,PDP leaders

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday met with leaders of the two major political parties in the country- the ruling All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The APC delegation was led by the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; while the Chairman of the PDP’s Caretaker Committee, Ahmed Makarfi, led the opposition party’s delegation to the meeting.

    Buhari in his remarks described the visit by the two main political parties as signifying the unity of the country.

    The President noted that a democracy needs a vibrant but responsible opposition, adding that opposition does not translate to hostility and antagonism.

    He thanked all Nigerians for praying for his recovery and asked them to continue to pray for the peace and prosperity of the country.

    The President said, “I thank you sincerely, collectively and individually for finding time from your busy schedules to come all the way to Abuja and welcome me back home.

    “This visit signifies the unity of Nigeria. It is not a party occasion. It is not a political gathering. It is a symbol of our national unity. It is also an expression of the maturity of our democracy.

    “Multi-party democracy is a very tried and tested form of government; opposition does not mean hostility, enmity or antagonism. Democracy needs opposition, one which is vibrant but responsible.

    “I am very pleased to see you assembled here all shades of opinion in Nigeria. Please convey to our countrymen and women in your respective states my deep gratitude to all those who prayed for my recovery. I am imploring all Nigerians to continue praying for peace and prosperity in Nigeria.”

    Makarfi promised that the PDP will continue to support Buhari in his efforts aimed at moving the nation forward.

  • Kenya 2017: Opposition candidate, Raila Odinga rejects presidential election result

    …Says going to court is not an alternative

    Kenya’s opposition said on Friday it would “not be a party” to the election commission’s imminent announcement of the result of the presidential vote because its concerns had not been addressed.

    Provisional results from polling stations show President Uhuru Kenyatta with a lead of 1.4 million votes as he vies for a second and final five-year term.

    Opposition candidate, Raila Odinga’s camp has disputed the count and said it would accept the election result only if allowed to see raw data on the commission’s computer servers.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Odinga has lost the last two elections, claiming fraud in both cases.

    Many Kenyans fear a repeat of the violence that followed the 2007 contested election, when about 1,200 people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced as political protests led to ethnic killings.

    “We raised some very serious concerns, they have not responded to them. As NASA (opposition coalition) we shall not be party to the process they are about to make,” senior opposition official, Musalia Mudavadi, said.

    James Orengo, Chief Election Agent, the opposition coalition, said: “This has been an entire charade.

    “The Kenyan people have never disappointed … every time an election has been stolen, the Kenyan people have stood up to make sure changes are made to make Kenya a better place,’’ Mr. Orengo said.

    “Going to court, for us, is not an alternative. We have been there before.”

    Earlier, Mr. Orengo had called for the candidates and observers to be given access to the election commission’s servers so there could be a transparent audit of data from 41,000 polling stations across the country.

    Yakub Guliye, Election Commissioner in charge of Information Technology, said the opposition had not made a formal request and it would not act on a verbal request.

    Normal procedure calls for the commission to release final results after cross checking its electronic tally with paper forms.

    A supporter of Kenyan opposition leader, Raila Odinga, holds a sign in Kisumu, Kenya Aug. 11.

    Mr. Odinga’s camp has said figures released by the commission since on Tuesday’s vote were “fictitious” and that “confidential sources” within the commission had provided figures showing Mr. Odinga had a large lead in the race.

    The election commission rejected the claims, pointing out they contained basic mathematical errors.

    Police had beefed up security across much of Kenya – particularly in opposition strongholds in the west and parts of Nairobi – in anticipation of the announcing of the election result on Friday.

    At an international conference centre, ruling party supporters sang “Today is our day, God is good” as the president arrived to address them.

    Kenya is the leading economy in East Africa and any instability would be likely to ripple through the region.

    Mr. Odinga is a member of the Luo, an ethnic group from the west of the country that has long said it is excluded from power.

    Mr. Kenyatta is from the Kikuyu group, which has supplied three of four presidents since Kenya gained independence from Britain in 1963.

    International observers have given the thumbs-up to the vote and U.S. Ambassador Robert Godec issued a statement on behalf of the diplomatic community calling for any complaints to be channeled through the courts, not street protests.

    “If there are disputes or disagreements, the Kenyan constitution is very clear on how they are to be addressed. Violence must never be an option,” he said on Friday.

    But the opposition criticised foreign observers.

    “The observers largely served the interests of the government,” Mr. Orengo said.

    As well as a new president, Kenyans also elected new lawmakers and local representatives. Some of those races have also been disputed, leading to violence in Garissa and Tana River counties.

    (Reuters/NAN)

  • Lagos LG poll: Opposition party agents discover ballot papers inside commercial bus in Agege

    Lagos LG poll: Opposition party agents discover ballot papers inside commercial bus in Agege

    Agents of opposition parties on Saturday discovered ballot papers in a commercial bus during the Lagos State Local Government elections.

    The ballot papers were found in one of seven commercial buses, popularly known as danfo, that left Agege Local Government Secretariat.

    According to a report by The Punch, the two occupants of the vehicle ran away after the ballot papers were discovered by the opposition party agents.

    The agents are accusing the ruling APC in the state of trying to rig the election.

    It was learnt that the vehicle had a police escort

    The DPO Penn Cinema, Sunday Digha, arrived and ordered a fresh police escort to take the vehicle to Area G, where it was meant to go.

    He said the bus was genuinely meant for election duty.

    Some of the policemen threatened to shoot anyone who tried to stop the vehicle from moving.

    The opposition agents claimed that the vehicle does not have the proper tag to show that it was on election duty like the other vehicles.

    A collation officer for Accord Party, Mr. Sabith Bolanle, said: “We have been here since last night; then this morning, we saw as vehicles started leaving the secretariat for the seven wards in the area. After six left, we tried to stop the seventh one when we noticed that there was no tag on it. Each vehicle has a tag; the tag on this one had just been tucked on the dashboard by the driver before he ran away. We must see the end of this matter.”