POLITICS

Sunday, 17 March 2019 04:43

APC, PDP strategise as supplementary polls draw near in 5 states

Two leading political parties – ruling All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party – are said to be at their wits’ end on the strategies to adopt in outwitting Independent National Electoral Commission in the supplementary polls holding in five states on Saturday. The states where elections were declared inconclusive after the governorship/state House of Assembly polls that held on March 9 were Plateau, Kano, Benue, Sokoto, and Adamawa. It was however learnt on Saturday that much as the two leading parties had mobilised resources for the political battle on Saturday, they had become apprehensive of plans by INEC to…

Sunday, 17 March 2019 04:42

INEC denying Atiku access to election materials – PDP

Peoples Democratic Party has accused leadership of Independent National Electoral Commission of disobeying the March 6, 2019 ruling of the Appeal Court, which directed it to allow the party and its presidential candidate, Mr Atiku Abubakar, to inspect documents and materials used in the February 23, 2019 presidential election. It described the action of the commission as a deliberate and wicked ploy to frustrate the plan by the party and Atiku to file their petition at the presidential election tribunal, and by so doing, ambush the case. National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement in Abuja…

Saturday, 16 March 2019 04:37

Catholic Bishops say ‘2019 elections fall short of global standards’

Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has faulted the outcome of 2019 general elections, insisting that challenges that affected the credibility of the polls were as a result of weak electoral laws which made the conduct of free and fair elections impossible. The bishops said that weakness of the Electoral Act, in some cases, created several lacunae, which evil-minded politicians exploited for their own advantage. They were unhappy that even where the rules were clear, they were never adhered to, thus making it difficult for credible process that would produce winners genuinely elected by the people. The Catholic Bishops, in…

Friday, 15 March 2019 04:47

Obasanjo, Atiku meet in Abeokuta

A former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday met with Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the February 23 election, Mr Atiku Abubakar, in Abeokuta, Ogun state. The meeting came barely three weeks after Atiku lost to President Muhammadu Buhari, All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the election. Atiku who was Obasanjo’s deputy for eight years, arrived at the former President’s Pent House resident inside Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Oke -Mosan Abeokuta at about 12:00pm. Details of what transpired behind the closed doors were not made public. However, Obasanjo’s spokesman, Mr Kehinde Akinyemi, who confirmed the meeting…

Friday, 15 March 2019 04:45

Senators-elect, House members get certificates of return

Except the court decides otherwise, Imo State Governor Rochas Okorocha will not represent Imo West Senatorial District when the Ninth National Assembly is inaugurated on June 8. He was not among senators-elect presented with Certificates of Return (CoRs) by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja yesterday. INEC had said it was not going to recognise Mr Okorocha as senator-elect over claims by the Returning Officer (RO) that he announced Okorocha as winner of the February 23 National Assembly election under duress. Following the RO’s report, INEC placed an embargo on Okorocha’s victory at the…

Thursday, 14 March 2019 04:27

Rowdy session in Senate over elections

Alleged militarization and massive rigging of February 23 Presidential, National Assembly and March 9 Governorship, State Houses of Assembly and Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Area Council elections, yesterday, threw the Senate into a rowdy session. This came as House of Representatives, yesterday, resolved to set up an adhoc committee to investigate Independent National Electoral Committee, INEC, on the spate of inconclusive polls that had trailed this year’s general election. The rowdy session in Senate followed a point of order by Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mr Dino Melaye, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Kogi West. Melaye had requested…

Thursday, 14 March 2019 04:26

Why we won’t recognise Okorocha senator-elect – INEC

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has explained why it will not issue a certificate of return to any candidate in the February 23 Imo West senatorial election. After a controversial results collation process, outgoing governor of Imo, Mr Rochas Okorocha, was declared winner of the Senate seat by the returning officer, Mr Innocent Ibeabuchi, who claimed he did so “under duress”. “…I have been held hostage here for days so I’m trying to ease off and take my life home back to my children and for the sake of that I am calling these results under duress,” Ibeabuchi had said…

Thursday, 14 March 2019 04:24

INEC lacks power to withhold my certificate of return - Okorocha

Imo State Governor, Mr Rochas Okorocha, on Wednesday said Independent National Electoral Commission lacked power to withhold his certificate of return as senator-elect for the Imo West. He described the electoral body’s decision to withhold his certificate as part of efforts aimed at making him irrelevant ahead of 2023 presidential election. Okorocha said this at Government House, Owerri while addressing some youths who paid him a solidarity visit. He said only a court had the power to nullify any election after a winner had been declared. He denied the allegation that INEC’s returning officer declared him winner of the senatorial…

Wednesday, 13 March 2019 03:59

Inconclusive Elections: INEC announces date for supplementary polls

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced March 23 for supplementary elections in states and constituencies where elections were declared inconclusive. Governorship elections were declared inconclusive in six states: Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Kano, Plateau, and Sokoto. The governorship race in each of those six states is between Nigeria’s two largest parties, APC and PDP. In a statement on Tuesday evening, INEC spokesperson, Mr Festus Okoye, said the supplementary elections will also be held for inconclusive state assembly elections. The commission said there were several reason for declaring these elections inconclusive. These include discontinuation of use of the smart card readers,…

Tuesday, 12 March 2019 05:01

I look forward to mutual working relationship with 9th N/Assembly – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said he was looking forward to a mutual and effective working relationship with the ninth National Assembly toward improving the budgetary process and restoring the country to the January-December fiscal cycle. Receiving his old school mates, who came to congratulate him on his re-election in Daura, the President recounted how the delay in the passage of budgets hindered timely execution of projects across the country. With the victory of All Progressives Congress (APC) at the presidential election and majority seats in the ninth Senate, Mr Buhari expressed confidence that more work will be done to improve…

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Tuesday, 12 March 2019 05:00

INEC declares six states’ gov poll inconclusive

Independent National Electoral Commission on Monday continued its declaration of results of governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections conducted across the country on Saturday. But for the first time since 1999 that the nation embraced democracy, INEC declared governorship poll in six states inconclusive. The states affected are Kano, Sokoto, Benue, Bauchi, Adamawa and Plateau. While INEC has stopped announcement of results in Rivers State due to the violence that engulfed the state, the commission has also controversially halted the announcement of the governorship election in Kano State which shows Peoples Democratic Party is leading. Consequently, PDP has accused…

Tuesday, 12 March 2019 04:59

EU notes ‘systemic problems’ in Nigeria’s elections

European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) to Nigeria has concluded that the governorship and State House of Assembly elections on March 9 were marred by overall low turnout and violence including against election officials and voters. The mission said while there were operational improvements in the elections, these were overshadowed by systemic failings, including a lack of transparency, incumbency advantage and a troubling electoral security environment. EU Chief Observer, Ms Maria Arena, said this while presenting the mission’s preliminary statement in Abuja on Monday where she said the problems demonstrate the need for an inclusive national discussion on electoral…

Tuesday, 12 March 2019 04:57

Army slams UK over comment on Rivers elections

Nigerian Army has warned the United Kingdom against interfering in Nigeria’s elections following comments by the UK that the role of the military in the Rivers State elections was improper. British High Commission in Nigeria had in a series of tweets on Monday expressed concerns over the report of military interference in the election in Rivers State. It said the military interference in the polls put stress on the staff of Independent National Electoral Commission and has made it difficult for them to carry out their duties. However, the army said in a statement by acting Director of Public Relations,…

Tuesday, 12 March 2019 04:56

Here’s how APC, PDP share declared senate seats

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released a list of senators elected for the ninth assembly so far. These lawmakers were voted in by millions of Nigerians who came out on February 23 to also vote in a president and a vice for another term of four years. Also elected were members of the House of Representatives. Although Nigeria has 109 senators, 100 senators were announced by INEC in the official document. Winners of rerun elections held March 9 are yet to be included in the list. Of the 100 senators listed, winners have emerged from the ruling All Progressives…

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