The Rivers State governorship election held on April 11, 2015 was a sham and mockery of democracy, the Independent National Electoral Commission told the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Abuja on Friday.
The electoral body, which conducts governorship and state houses of assembly elections through its Resident Electoral Commissioners in various states, dismissed the poll held in Rivers State on April 11 as a “kangaroo” exercise, with shootings and allocation of figures as well as “all kinds of impunity” taking place on the day of the poll.
INEC is the first respondent to the petition filed before the tribunal by the All Progressives Congress and its candidate in the governorship election, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, who are seeking the nullification of the election on the grounds that it was marred by violence, irregularities and electoral malpractices.
Other respondents to the petition are Governor Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party, whose declaration as the winner of the poll is being challenged by the petitioners.
INEC’s representative, Charles Okoye, who heads the Election and Party Monitoring Department of the commission in Rivers State, appeared before the Justice Mohammed Ambrosa-led tribunal on Friday on subpoena, testifying that the election was conducted in an atmosphere of warfare and “militant terrorism.”
The witness, who said he monitored the April 11 election alongside three national commissioners of INEC, with his monitoring teams in 19 out of the 23 local government areas of the state, also told the tribunal that the poll was characterised by large scale violence and disruption of polls.
He said, “During the monitoring exercise, what we observed was that the election was a warfare. It was a militant terrorism and also a sham, a kangaro election. It is a mockery of democracy. The election was characterised by large scale violence and disruption of polls.
“There was snatching of election materials, shooting and allocation of figures and all kinds of impunity happened at the election.”
The subpoena which compelled the witness to appear before the tribunal was obtained by the petitioners.
Okoye, who was led in evidence by the petitioners’ lawyer, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN), said apart from sending various teams to 19 local government areas of the state, he, along with three national commissioners of the commission, visited eight LGA’s on the day of the election.
The report of the monitoring exercise, which Okoye said was co-signed by him and the three other national commissioners, was tendered and admitted by the tribunal as Exhibit A2.
The counsel for the respondents comprising INEC, Wike and PDP, said they would object to the report at the stage of final addresses because it was not front-loaded with the petition.
Okoye debunked allegation by INEC’s lawyer, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), during cross-examination that the report of the monitoring exercise was his private document.
“If it is my private document, it will not be certified by INEC. The report was passed to the national headquaters,” Okoye further said.
ABUJA—NATIONAL leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP yesterday took a swipe at the opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, APC over its claim that the Federal Government was trying to use security agencies to alter the results of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
In a statement by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the PDP described the alarm by APC as yet another level of desperation.
Metuh said, “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has noted yet another false alert by the APC claiming that the Federal Government was trying to use security agencies to alter the results of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
The APC, in its desperation and quest to cause confusion has forgotten that ballots are publicly counted at the polling booths and results declared in the presence of the voters, party agents and observers.
“They have forgotten that from the polling units, the ballots are taken to the ward for collation; from the wards they get to the local government and subsequently to the senatorial zones for further collation before they get to the states, all in the presence of party agents and election observers before they get to the national level for final collation.
“It is an obvious fact that agents of political parties and election observers at every level of the collation have the results as they move from the polling booths. We therefore ask, at what level will the security chiefs get involved as the APC claims?
“Our question is, is it that the APC believes it is losing the elections and as such resorted to crying wolf and seeking to use every means to discredit the process, create tension in the polity and truncate our democracy?
“For us, as a law-abiding party, we are waiting for INEC to conclude its collation process and announce the results of the elections.”
The candidate of All Progressives Congress, General Muhammadu Buhari may win the general election schedule to hold on 28th of March, 2015. with at least a margin of 10.8%, NAIJA CENTER NEWS poll has revealed.
The poll which was created on the 14th of December for February 14, was later extended due to the postponement of the election to March.
The postponement may have favoured General Buhari because as at Feb 14, President Goodluck Jonathan, the incumbent President and a candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party was ahead of his main opposition.
The poll result which was compiled on Wednesday shows Buhari with 55.4% while Goodluck Jonathan left with 44.6%
The poll was conducted using opinionstage and voters were tied to social profiles and ip address which deprive those who may have wanted to vote twice to switch accounts from successfully carrying out their manipulations.
Election poll
In 2003, Buhari emerged as the sole candidate of the All Peoples Party (APP) after Rochas Okorocha and Harry Akande were pressured to step down for him, while Yahaya Abubakar failed to appear on the date of the primary.
He lost the election which he contested with a former President, Olusegun Obasanjo of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
In 2007, General Buhari tried his luck for the second time after persuading Bukar Ibrahim and Pere Ajunwa to step down on conversion day.
He contested on the platform of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and lost to PDP’s Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
Buhari, then, contested the election in 2011 against the incumbent President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on the platform of the Congress for Progressives Change (CPC), yet lost again.
Though the former dictator sworn not to contest after the last election in 2011, the situation of the country has boosted his moral for the fourth time after emerging as the winner in the APC primaries which was held in Lagos State.
Judging from the poll successfully conducted on NAIJA CENTER NEWS, Buhari may win the coming election if it is free and fair.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has distributed 1, 468, 780 million permanent voter cards (PVCs) to registered voters in Akwa Ibom.
PVC voters card
The State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Austin Okojie, disclosed this in Uyo on Wednesday at a security meeting with candidates of political parties, addressed by AIG Zone 6, Mr Tunde Ogunsakin.
Okojie said that the number of PVCs so far distributed represented 87 per cent of the 1, 692, 662 million PVCs received by the state office of INEC for the elections.
He said that the security agencies had helped the commission to recover 4, 745 out of 5, 955 PVCs snatched by hoodlums some weeks ago.
Okojie said that the police command in the state was making efforts to recover the remaining stolen PVCs.
The commissioner called on those yet to collect their voter cards to do so within the extension period so that they could vote on elections days
He said that the state had also received 4, 101 card readers which would be used for the accreditation of voters in forthcoming elections.
Okojie explained that the state actually needed 3, 650 card readers for the elections, adding that the excess would serve as backup.
“The issue of card reader is not a problem here as we have something to fall on during breakdown,” Okojie said.
He said that all the staff members to handle the card readers were receiving training in the state.
The commissioner said that his office had received a good consignment of non sensitive materials in readiness for the elections.
Okojie assured that the commission would conduct free, fair and credible elections., and called on politicians and their supporters to conduct themselves peacefully throughout the period.
Pressure mounted by President Goodluck Jonathan’s loyalists and service chiefs on the Independent National Electoral Commission led to the postponement of the 2015 general elections, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt.
2015: PDP Leadership Reiterates Commitment To Issue-Based Campaign
The polls were billed for February 14 (presidential and National Assembly) and February 28 (governorship and House of Assembly).
Jonathan, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, is contesting against retired Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress and 12 other candidates at the presidential poll.
Those who pushed for the postponement, despite the opposition from the All Progressives Congress and many Nigerians, include the Presidency; the Peoples Democratic Party Jonathan’s loyalists; the National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki; the Chiefs of Defence, Army, Naval and Air Staff, among others.
Two weeks ago, Dasuki, while speaking at a forum at the Chatham House in London, asked INEC to postpone the elections, saying the shift would allow for proper preparations and distribution of PVCs by the electoral body.
In an apparent reaction to Dasuki’s call, the United States had on January 25, 2015, advised Nigeria against postponing the elections.
The US Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry, gave the advice after he met with Jonathan and Buhari.
Kerry urged the Federal Government not to postpone the elections as canvassed by Dasuki.
Army Chief, Minimah
However, the military chiefs wrote to Jega, informing him of the security implication of holding the elections in February as earlier scheduled. This, it was learnt, what part of what influenced shifting of the polls.
Before the INEC chairman announced the new dates for the elections, the commission had insisted that the presidential and National Assembly elections be held on February 14, while the governorship and states House of Assembly election be held two weeks later.
Jega, however, changed the dates of the elections at a press conference he addressed at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Saturday. He repeatedly held the NSA and security chiefs responsible for the shift.
The press conference came up after he met with representatives of all registered political parties.
Jega was said to have on Saturday told the leaders of the parties, his officers and the civil society groups that the commission was ready for the election as planned, but that he was worried because of the claim by the security agencies that they would not be able to protect members of the staff of the commission and the electorates.
Sixteen political parties led by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party were said to have favoured the shifting of the elections, while nine others led by the opposition All Progressives Congress were against the move.
Jega also had a marathon meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners of all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Naval Chief, Jibrin
At the meetings, Jega was said to have told the attendees that he had received a letter from service chiefs advising that he should postpone the general elections on the grounds that the security agencies were engaged in a renewed battle against insurgency in the North-East.
This, they claimed, would require their full concentration.
In the letter, it was gathered that the security agencies were demanding a rescheduling of elections by, at least, six weeks.
He also told the leaders of the political parties and the Resident Electoral Commissioners that he received a letter on Wednesday from the NSA, informing him that it would be difficult for the security agencies to protect the electorates during the election.
The Council of State had on Thursday rose from a seven-hour meeting, advising the INEC to conduct the elections.
Jega was quoted to have told the council that the commission was ready for the conduct of the election but the military chiefs were quoted to have said they could not guarantee the security of electoral officers, materials and the electorate should the commission go ahead with the earlier schedule.
Same Thursday, Jonathan’s supporters under the aegis of the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly led by Ijaw leader and ex-Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, called for the postponement of the polls.
The group, at a press conference, pressed further by asking for the sacking Chairman, INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, and his arrest for allegedly conniving with some northerners to manipulate the presidential election against Jonathan.
Those in attendance included a former Vice-President, Alex Ekwueme, ex-Minister of Information, Walter Ofonagoro; ex-Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife; Peoples Democratic Party’s National Vice-Chairman (South-South), Dr. Cairo Ojugboh, and the Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee of the recently held national confab, Senator Femi Okurounmu, among others.
Okurounmu, who read a prepared speech jointly signed by him, Clark and Ekwueme on behalf of the group, said the alleged connivance with the Northern Elders Forum was responsible for the near 100 per cent collection of Permanent Voter Cards in the North.
The PDP has also repeatedly called for a shift of the polls in the past two weeks.
An INEC National Commissioner, who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH under anonymity after the Saturday meetings, said it was better for the commission to shift the elections in order to protect the integrity of their outcome and those that would take part in the conduct of the elections.
He said, “You needed to be at the meeting and see the mood of Jega. He was not happy because his integrity was at stake and because these same service chiefs had earlier given their words that they were ready.
“Now, if he didn’t listen to their advice, these same security agencies could create scenes (problems) for the elections. They could sabotage the distribution of sensitive materials.
“Apart from that, they could also refuse to provide security for those involved in the elections and could also sabotage the movement of sensitive materials.”
The source said almost everyone in the country was aware that the PDP-led Federal Government was not ready for the elections.
“If the Federal Government that is funding the security agencies and appointed their heads is not ready for elections, how do you compel their heads who are all appointees of the same government to say they are ready,” another INEC National Commissioner asked.
