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Tag: Presidential Poll

  • Presidential poll: APC prays Supreme Court to expunge Atiku’s expert reports

    Presidential poll: APC prays Supreme Court to expunge Atiku’s expert reports

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday prayed the Supreme Court to expunge the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the last presidential election, Atiku Abubakar’s expert reports and evidence from his appeal records.
    APC filed a cross-appeal against admission of the report and evidence of the three data analysts who testified for the petitioners at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and whose evidence was admitted by the tribunal in the interest of natural justice.
    The party in the cross appeal filed by its lead counsel, Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi SAN, wants the Supreme Court to expunge the evidence of the three Information Communication and Technology (ICT) experts who testified on the existence of server allegedly used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to store results of the February 23 presidential election.
    The three key witnesses are Segun Sowunmi, a Media Aide to Atiku, David Njoga, a Kenyan and Joseph Gbenga who are famous data analysts and employed by Atiku to carry out forensic analysis of the presidential election results.
    They had in their testimony informed the tribunal that they analyzed presidential election results state by state and found discrepancies in the results credited to Atiku and President Muhammadu Buhari.
    Specifically the three data analysts alleged that in the results sheets they analyzed the votes of Atiku were deliberately depleted while that of Buhari and APC were inflated.
    The Kenyan expert in his evidence specifically insisted that INEC used the server which he claimed to have penetrated to obtain the alleged authentic results of the February 23 presidential election which ran counter to the one declared by the electoral body.
    But Fagbemi in the cross appeal pleaded with the Supreme Court for an order setting aside the evidence of the three witnesses and the documents including video clips tendered through them from the bar.
    Fagbemi also wants the apex court to out rightly expunge their testimonies and documents from the record of the court for being inadmissible in law.
    The APC argued that the tribunal erred in law when it held that the evidence and the documents of the three witnesses were considered in the interest of natural justice.
    Fagbemi submitted that the decision of the tribunal on the point was untenable on the grounds that the issue of admissibility or otherwise of a document is a point of law and not natural justice as erroneously held by the tribunal.
    Besides, the senior counsel also sought order of the apex court to strike out Atiku’s allegations of electoral malpractices in 10 states of the federation on the grounds that the allegations of the electoral fraud were vague and not specific as required by law.
    The counsel said that the petitioners did not state the specific polling units were the alleged fraud were committed, hence they must be expunged for lacking in merit that can warrant the tribunal to look into them.
    Atiku had on September 23 filed a 66 grounds of appeal upon which he predicated his prayers for setting aside the whole decision of the presidential election petition tribunal which upheld the declaration of Buhari as winner of the February 23 presidential election.
    The PDP candidate specifically faulted the decision of the Justice Mohammed Garba led panel which held that Buhari did not need to attach his academic certificates to the INEC’s form CF 001 before he can stand for the presidential election.
    Meanwhile no date has been fixed for the hearing of the appeals.
  • Between Presidential poll and the Judges’ gavels, By Carl Umegboro

    Between Presidential poll and the Judges’ gavels, By Carl Umegboro

    The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal for 2019 polls concluded its onerous tasks on Wednesday 13 September 2019 which ended in favour of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress, APC candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari and Prof Yemi Osinbajo that polled 15,191,847 votes; the highest number of votes and met all other criteria stipulated in the enabling laws for emergence of a winner in presidential poll.

    In the judgment at the Court of Appeal, the court affirmed President Buhari’s victory as a justified win. Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubarka polled 11,262,978 votes to emerge the first runner-up in the poll, but dissatisfied with the results, brought actions challenging the return of President Buhari as winner by the returning officer. Atiku alleged he obtained different figures from the server of the electoral umpire; Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC which purportedly showed he won the election with margins. Unfortunately, INEC disclaimed the purported servers’ data stating that Commission didn’t use the server for the poll and earlier, the Supreme Court dismissed the action entirely for lack of merit. The outcome repeated itself at the tribunal.

    Resultantly, whilst Buhari’s supporters hailed the judgments, the oppositions insinuated they were robbed of their mandate by the verdicts, bitterly alleging that judiciary merely delivered the scripts of ‘the-power-that-be’. However, in any developing nations, such insinuations are no shocking news particularly in the camps of the oppositions whenever verdicts favour the ruling party or her government. For example, the same judiciary was massively, overwhelmingly hailed as the last hope of the common man when the court’s gavels, one after another stopped APC from fielding candidates in Rivers, Zamfara, Bauchi, Sokoto and Cross River states recently which made PDP to sweep the entire polling units without stress.

    Be that as it may, appraising the poll verdicts demands legal reasoning and critical-thinking in determining if justice is actually done as adumbrated by Lord Hewart CJ in the Appeal Court in R v Sussex Justices, ex- parte McCarthy (1924) – “Not only must justice be done; it must also be seen to be done.” To do this profoundly, the two contentions which bothered on Buhari’s eligibility to contest elections without the School certificate and also the purported polls results tracked from the Commission’s server which the court refused to accept are germane. Convincingly, the two are the major causes of actions.

    Seriously, the contentions vis-à-vis education qualification ought not to be stretched too far to the Court of Appeal as it is settled ab initio. In fact, it isn’t supposed to go beyond a village square as Part IV of the 1999 Constitution (FRN) as amended which serves as the Interpretation Act crystal clearly dealt with it in a simple language. From it, it is noteworthy that issues bothering on education qualification as far as general elections are concened are exclusive duties of the Commission as it is statutorily clothed with discretionary powers to even go beyond certificate holders for all elective offices including office of the President. By implications, a candidate or political party lacks powers to challenge another on the ground of academic qualification as long as it meets the satisfaction of the Commission. This may sound witty but that is the law.

    Section 318 (1) (supra) provides, "In this constitution, unless it is otherwise expressly provided or the context otherwise requires – "School Certificate or its equivalent" means (a)a Secondary School Certificate or its equivalent, or Grade II Teacher’s Certificate, the City and Guilds Certificate; or (b)education up to Secondary School Certificate level; or(c) Primary Six School Leaving Certificate or its equivalent and (i)service in the public or private sector in the Federation in any capacity acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for a minimum of ten years.

    And (ii) attendance at courses and training in such institutions as may be acceptable to the Independent National Electoral Commission for periods totalling up to a minimum of one year, and(iii) the ability to read, write, understand and communicate in the English language to the satisfaction of the Independent National Electoral Commission, and (d) any other qualification acceptable by the Independent National Electoral Commission.”

    These provisos show clearly that the Constitution is broadminded and extremely accommodating on the issue. Apart from the statutory provision above, the court is clothed with powers to reasonably take judicial notice of Buhari's status in the Nigerian Army as a retired major general in government's payroll to determine his eligibility vis-à-vis education up to school certificate level. Judicial notice enables a judge to accept a fact without the need of a party to prove it through evidence on account of notoriety: things of common knowledge.

    On the purported results tracked from INEC server which was the basis for the botched action to upturn the election victory in favour of Atiku and PDP, indeed, it sounds absurd in the sense that a serious contention should have been anchored on original results obtained, recorded and signed by all accredited party-agents alongside designated INEC officials at the polling units accordingly. As a matter of fact, the results authenticated by accredited party agents supersede any results found anywhere whether in the server or INEC records.
    Thus, any results that are inconsistent with the one duly signed by all the party agents are invariably shams. To leave the results from the polling units and accept whatever data inputted by someone in the server is not a robust action. Instructively, in manual elections, the results from polling units are the primary evidence of scores unlike online voting that the server is a primary source. Thus, where results in the servers don't correspond with scores obtained at polling units in a manual election, it shows the server's data were manipulated. Holistically, the verdicts are profound and distinctively anchored on points of law accordingly instead of emotions and sentiments. Thus, I bow to their Lordships.

    Umegboro is a public affairs analyst and Associate, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (United Kingdom). 08023184542-SMS only Https:carlumegboro.com

  • Presidential poll: You can’t amend petitions against Buhari, Tribunal tells HPD

    Presidential poll: You can’t amend petitions against Buhari, Tribunal tells HPD

    The Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on Thursday rejected move by the Hope Democratic Party (HPD) to amend some of its petitions against the election of President Muhammdu Buhari in the last presidential election in Nigeria.
    A five-man panel of the court in two rulings unanimously rejected the the two documents filed by HDP and its presidential candidate during the election, Ambrose Owuru.
    The court dismissed a motion filed by the HPD on July 1, 2019, seeking to include more witnesses and effect some amendments to their witnesses’ statement on oath.
    In the second ruling, the court held that the document titled: “notice to contend,” filed by the petitioners was unknown in law.

  • 2019 presidential poll: DSS opens up on alleged arrest of INEC staff

    The Department of State Services (DSS) has denied that it had arrested and detained seven members of staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC).

    A social media report had alleged that the DSS arrested some ICT staff of INEC for disclosing the commission’s server Identity number to the PDP and its Presidential candidate in the just concluded elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

    Mr Peter Afunanya, Public Relations Officer of the service, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

    He said that the report went further to state that the staff were detained and tortured for three days by the service to find out who among them gave out the information.

    Afunanya said that the report also said that they were hurriedly released by the service when their wives threatened to jointly go on public protest.

    “The service wishes to state that the information in its entirety is false and should be seen as a calculated effort to smear its image.

    ” It states categorically that none of such things happened as it never invited or arrested any INEC staff.

    “There is no iota of truth in these allegations and the public is, therefore, enjoined to disregard them. They are simply manipulative, misleading, inciting and can only be considered as mischievous and unpatriotic,”he said.

    He recalled that the DSS was recently honoured by an International Election observer group for its neutrality and professionalism during the general elections.

    He assured the public that the service would continue to conduct itself in the manner that had earned it honour.

    Afunanya warned mischief makers who were desirous of using fake news to cause break down of law and order to desist from such.

    “The service will not condone deliberate acts of subversion and sabotage aimed at harming the peace of the nation,”he said.

    The spokesman warned that those bent on causing disaffection would be brought to justice.

  • Presidential poll: INEC reacts to ‘server results’, other issues raised by Atiku against Buhari’s victory

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has accused PDP’s presidential candidate in the 2019 election, Atiku Abubakar, of manufacturing results of the last presidential election to prove his case at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal.

    The electoral umpire filed its response on Thursday at the tribunal in Abuja. It distanced itself from an electronic sheet that purportedly contained the genuine results of the presidential election.

    Recall that Atiku’s legal team submitted the sheet at the tribunal last month, contending it was obtained from an internal compilation of results on INEC’s Internet server.

    The team, amongst other submissions, said Atiku won by more than six million votes, but his victory was allegedly suppressed by the commission in favour of incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari.

    In its reaction to Atiku and PDP’s petition, the ruling All Progressives Congress and President Buhari’s campaign in particular wrote to the police and the Department of State Security Service (DSS) to launch a criminal investigation against Atiku. It accused him of maliciously accessing INEC’s files.

    However, in a response, INEC said it, “does not share information with such an unclassified entity and any information purportedly derived there from which does not accord with the result as declared by INEC is not authentic but rather was invented for the purpose” of the tribunal, according to excerpts of the filings.

    In the 291-page response, INEC said it did not transmit results via electronic channels, but used manual collation as stipulated by law. It, however, did not say whether it collated results from across the country and compiled them on an Internet-enabled computer.

    “INEC specifically denies the existence of electronic transmission of results and it is unknown to the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended),” it said.

    Buhari’s Certificate

    The electoral umpire also said it was satisfied by the academic documents submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari while running for office.

    Atiku’s legal team said Buhari claimed, in INEC filings, to have attended a school that could not be traced. He also said Buhari claimed to bear a certificate that was not in existence at the time he claimed to have obtained it.

    But in its response to Atiku’s grounds at the Presidential Elections Petitions Tribunal in Abuja, INEC said it had no objections about Buhari’s academic documents.

    The commission said it was “satisfied with the educational qualification presented” by Buhari to contest for office.

    It argued that Atiku’s petition was “incompetent”, “lacking in merit” and “frivolous”. It also prayed the court to dismiss it.

    Buhari was declared winner of the polls with about 3.9 million votes. He will be sworn in for a second term on May 29.

  • BREAKING: APC approaches Tribunal, says Atiku not fit to contest presidential poll as non-Nigerian

    BREAKING: APC approaches Tribunal, says Atiku not fit to contest presidential poll as non-Nigerian

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) told the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja Friday that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had no candidate in the last presidential election. Responding to the petition filed by Atiku and the PDP challenging the victory of the APC candidate President Muhammadu Buhari in the election, the ruling party contended that by fielding Atiku, “a non-Nigerian by birth”, the PDP cannot claim to have had a candidate in the last presidential election.

    The party argued that by virtue of not being a Nigerian by birth, Atiku, a former Vice President, was not qualified to contest the last presidential election.

    It contended that by Section 131(a) of the Constitution, a person must be a citizen of Nigeria by birth to be qualified to contest the office of the President of the country.

    The party noted that Atiku was born on November 25, 1946 in Jada, now Adamawa State, then in Northern Cameroon, “and is, therefore, a citizen of Cameroon.”

    APC made the argument in its reply to the petition filed by Atiku and the PDP before the presidential election petition tribunal in Abuja.

    It said Atiku (listed as 1st petitioner in the petition) “had no right to be voted for and returned in the election to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria held on Saturday 23 February, 2019, having regard to the clear provision of Section 131(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1999 as amended, which unequivocally stipulates inter alia, that for a person to be qualified for election to the office of President, he must be a citizen of Nigeria by birth.

    “The 1st petitioner is not a citizen of Nigeria by birth and ought not to have even been allowed, in the first place, to contest the election.

    “From available records, the lst petitioner was born on the 25th November, 1946 in Jada, Adamawa, in Northern Cameroon, and is therefore a citizen of Cameroon.

    “His father was Garba Atiku Abdulkadir, who died In December, 1957. Prior to 1919, Cameroon was being administered by Germany. “But following the defeat of Germany in World War I, which ended in 1918, Cameroon became a League of Nations mandate territory which was split into French Cameroons and British Cameroons In 1919.

    “British Cameroons was administered by the British from neighbouring Nigeria.

    “In 1961, a plebiscite was held in British Cameroons to determine whether the people preferred to stay in Cameroon or align with Nigeria. “While Northern Cameroon preferred a union with Nigeria, Southern Cameroon chose alignment with the mother country.

    “The transition took place on June 1, 1961. It was as a result of that plebiscite that Northern Cameroon, which included Adamawa, became a part of Nigeria, and by derivation, the 1st petitioner became a citizen of Nigeria, but not by birth.

    “The 1st petitioner, therefore, contrary to the assertion in Paragraph 1 of their petition, had no right to be voted for as a candidate in the election to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria held on 23rd February, 2019 across Nigeria.”

    The party added that by reason of Atiku not having qualified to contest the election, all votes purportedly cast for the petitioners at the 23 February, 2019 election and as subsequently declared by INEC on the 27th of February 2019, are wasted votes.

    In a preliminary objection raised by the party, the APC contended that the tribunal lacked the jurisdiction to countenance greater portion of the petition by Atiku and his party on the grounds that the claim contained therein, which relates to the challenge of the qualification of its candidate (Muhammadu Burai) was statute barred.

    It added that by the provision of section 31(5) and (6) of the Electoral Act and Section 285(9) of the Constitution, the election tribunal was not the appropriate forum to litigate such claim.

    The APC noted that before the election, INEC posted on its notice boards personal information of candidates for the public to see. It argued that since the petitioners did not challenge what they felt was wrong in Buhari’s qualification at the pre-election state, they cannot raise the issues now.

    It said: “The petitioners failed and or neglected to challenge the validity of the 2nd respondent’s claim regarding his education qualification as contained in the Form CF001 submitted to INEC before the election.

    “The petitioners have waived their right (if any) to challenge the propriety of the information contained in the INEC Form CF001 duly submitted to INEC.”

    The APC, while asserting its victory at the election, noted that by the election results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and as contained in its (INEC’s) website, the PDP and its candidate did not win the election as claimed by the petitioners.

    As against the claim by the petitioners that they had access to INEC’s website, the APC said on its part, it never had access to INEC website at any time.

    The party denied all the allegations raised by the petitioners and faulted the allegations made against Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, service chiefs, military personnel and other security personnel, who were not made parties to the petition. It faulted the competence of the entire petition and prayed the tribunal to dismiss it for being incompetent.

    The APC stated that “the petition discloses no reasonable cause of action or any cause of action at all.” It argued that allegations in a substantial portion of the petition “are generic, vague, unreferable, non-specific, nebulous, bogus, imprecise, speculative and at large, contrary to the mandatory provisions of paragraph 4(1) (d) of the 1th Schedule to the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended). “Allegations of noncompliance must be made distinctly and proved on polling unit basis; the petitioners in the allegations used the vague or generic expression such as: ‘in many polling units in the country’, ‘in some states, local governments, wards and polling units of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’, ‘some of such polling units’, ‘in some polling units and local governments across Nigeria,’ without giving particulars of the affected polling units and wards, hence no enough material to justify the grant of any reliefs sought.

    “In the entire petition and/or the itemised paragraphs (stated in ground (7) herein), petitioners did not provide the particulars of polling unit(s) where any irregularity, malpractice, corrupt practices or non-compliance took place. “Failure of the petitioners to plead, with specificity, the particulars in terms of names, codes and/or polling units where the alleged malpractices, corrupt practices, non-compliance, irregularities, took place is a fundamental violation of Paragraph 4(1) (d) of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended in 2015), which fact renders the petition incompetent and an abuse of court process.

    “The petition, as presently constituted, is devoid of necessary particulars/information to support allegation of corrupt practices, violence and noncompliance with provisions of the Electoral Act.” The APC, which identified all the inadequacies as contained in the petition, added that it is incompetent and in gross violation of sections 2(1) and 24 of the Legal Practitioners Act, having been signed by an unknown individual and or entity. “The petition is not properly constituted, hence, it is incompetent and liable to be struck out. “Based on the foregoing, the 3rd respondent (APC) urges the court/tribunal to strike out the offending paragraphs of the petition and the petition itself,” the party said.

  • Presidential poll: Atiku gives breakdown of ‘original’ results he obtained in 31 states [Full details]

    Presidential poll: Atiku gives breakdown of ‘original’ results he obtained in 31 states [Full details]

    The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has provided a breakdown of how the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) allegedly reduced his votes in 31 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Atiku made the claim in a petition he and his party filed before the presidential election tribunal.

    According to him, data from INEC server showed that he actually polled a total of 18,356,732 votes, to defeat President Muhammadu Buhari, who had 16,741,430 votes.

    However, the official result declared by INEC from the 36 states and the FCT, states showed that Buhari polled 15,191,847, while Atiku came second with 11,262,978 votes.

    A breakdown of the 174-page document showed the electronic collation of results state by state as of February 25.

    In Abia State, the petition claimed Atiku recorded 664,659 votes in the electronic results from the server, against the 219,698 votes announced by the commission.

    In Adamawa, Atiku said he got 646,080 votes, instead of 410,266; Akwa Ibom 587,431 votes, instead of 395,832; Anambra 823, 668 votes, instead of 524,738; Bayelsa 332, 618 votes, instead of 197, 933; Benue 529,970 votes, instead of 356, 817; Borno 281,897 votes, instead of 71, 788; Cross River 572, 220 votes, instead of 295, 737 recorded by the commission.

    In other states, the document said Atiku had 778,369 votes in Delta, instead of 594, 068; in Ebonyi 565, 762 instead of 258, 573; Edo 677,937, instead of 275,691; Enugu 698,119 instead of 355,553; FCT 419,724 against 259,997; Gombe 684,077 against 138,484; Imo 485,627 against 334,923; Jigawa 539,522 against 289,895; Kaduna 961,143 against 649,612; Kano 522,889 against 391,593; Katsina 160,203.

    Kebbi 493,341 against 154,282; Kogi 504,308 against 218,207; Kwara 353,173 against 138,184; Lagos 1,103,297 against 448,015; Nasarawa 344,421 against 283,847; Niger 576,308 against 218,052; Ogun 438,099 against 194,655; Ondo 451,779 against 275,901; Oyo 527,873 against 366,690; Sokoto 552,172 against 361,604; Taraba 442,380 against 374,743; Yobe 306,841 against 50,763 and Zamfara 379,022 against 125,123.

    Also, the petition claimed INEC manipulated the numbers of the party in Osun and Plateau States.

    In Osun, the document said the party recorded 337,359 votes in the data available in the server, but the commission credited the party with 337,377 votes; likewise in Plateau, the party garnered 273,031 votes, against the 548,665 recorded by INEC in its final collation.

  • National Peace Committee meet Atiku over decision to challenge presidential poll

    Members of the Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar-led National Peace Committee (NPC) Thursday held talks with the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.

    Other members of the Committee with the former Head of State at the meeting included the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Rev. Matthew Kukah, Archbishop of Abuja Diocese John Cardinal Onaiyekan and Rev. Fr Atta Barkindo of the NPC Secretariat.

    The meeting, which was held behind closed door, was convened following Atiku’s decision to challenge President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory at the tribunal.

    Speaking shortly after the meeting, Gen. Abubakar said the mission of committee was to douse the tension in the aftermath of the presidential election.

    Also at the meeting were PDP leaders, including Atiku’s running mate Peter Obi; Senate President Bukola Saraki; PDP Chairman Uche Secondus and House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara.

  • Buhari, Aisha arrive Katsina for presidential poll

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday arrived in Katsina en route Daura, his hometown, to participate in the rescheduled presidential and National Assembly elections holding on Saturday.

    The presidential aircraft conveying the President, his wife, Aisha, and some of his aides landed at Umar Musa Yar’Adua International Airport, Katsina, about 3.25p.m.

    The President was received at the airport by Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State, the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, members of the National Assembly from Katsina State, heads of Federal Government agencies in the state and other government functionaries.

    The President left the airport in a presidential helicopter for Daura at about 3.50p.m.

    While in Daura, Buhari, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Saturday’s elections, is expected to join other eligible voters at Kofar Baru 003 polling unit, Sarkin Yara Ward, Daura, Katsina State, to cast his vote.

    Buhari, on February 14, rounded off his nationwide campaign in Katsina and later proceeded to Daura for the February 16 presidential and National Assembly elections before it was shifted by the Independent National Electoral Commission to February 23.

    The governorship, House of Assembly, and Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections were also shifted from March 2 to March 9.

  • Presidential poll: Obasanjo denies ‘running away’, says I’ll vote tomorrow if…

    Presidential poll: Obasanjo denies ‘running away’, says I’ll vote tomorrow if…

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday assured that he would vote during the Presidential and National Assembly elections scheduled for tomorrow if he is “alive.”

    Obasanjo, who described the polls as a “red letter day” for Nigeria, added it should be used to stabilise the nation’s democracy.

    The elder statesman made this known to reporters at his sprawling Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital while readying himself to play a squash game within the facility.

    He also denied rumour on the social media he jetted out of the country without waiting to cast his vote for the Atiku Abubakar he is labouring to foist on Nigerians.

    He cursed the rumour mongers, saying God would deal with them at the “appropriate time.”

    He assured that he would vote at his usual polling (Ita Eko) where he registered.

    Obasanjo said: “If I am here and alive and kicking, I will vote. Why do you think I will travel out of the country because of the election?

    “If there is no any reason, I believe I should be here to exercise my civic responsibility which is to vote according to the dictate of my heart both tomorrow and on the 2nd of March, 2019.

    “Those who are carrying that kind rumour or what they now call fake news, I think I leave them in the hands of God.

    “You know, I’m used to that type of things now and in Yorubaland, we have this saying that if your head is hard, you don’t have to worry yourself.

    “So, let anybody tell lies against me, let anybody issue fake news against me, let anybody abuse me, my God will deal with them rightly and at the appropriate time.

    “On the elections, I believe that tomorrow should be a red letter day for all Nigerians. A day when we should be able to say that we are firmly stabilise our democracy.

    “Although for me, I still have some apprehensions. If the news of the already thumb printed ballot papers in Kano state yesterday.

    “I have received news in Ondo today I have received news in Ikorodu where ballot papers that have been thumb printed were allegedly intercepted there is trouble”.

    “If these things are true; we haven’t had anything like these before. I don’t want to say ‘oh, have I not told you!’ But it will be sad if they are true and then, maybe, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will then have to tell us, how this has to happen and maybe the commission will have an answer to that.

    “And not only answer, but precautions against this tomorrow because if people are already thumb printing, obviously they want to make sure that those already thumb printed ballot papers are used. If that happens, then it will make nonsense of all that INEC has prepared for and all that Nigerians are looking forward to.”