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Increased vote buying, bribery in election — YIAGA Africa

Beloved JOHN
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Increased vote buying, bribery in election — YIAGA Africa

THERE was an increase in vote buying in the March 18 governorship and state assembly election, according to YIAGA Africa.

The non-profit civic hub said vote-buying was higher in state elections compared to what was applicable in the presidential election.

YIAGA said this during a press briefing in Abuja on Saturday, March 18.

According to Ezenwa Nwagwu, a YIAGA Africa board member, Party agents bribed voters using various items.

Party agents were found sharing cash, wrappers, food items, and alcoholic drinks.

Nwagwu said YIAGA observers “confirmed reports of vote buying across eight states.”

“In Sarkin Mudu Polling Unit (016) in Giade LGA of Bauchi, PDP agents have been sighted bribing accredited voters with a thousand naira, a wrapper and a pack of spaghetti each. The voters hand over their ballot papers to party agents for a bribe. A similar report was received from PU 006 Rangan Ward, Warji LGAof Bauchi, on distributing wrappers, two thousand naira and a pack of spaghetti to voters.

“Party agents for the APC and PDP party are reported to have shared food, cash and alcoholic drinks with some voters. This happened in Apir market square 1, Makurdi, Benue state. In PU O6 Ward 05 Isoko North, Delta State, INEC officials for the polling unit received a cash gift from the APC party agent present,” he said.

He noted that the election was also characterised by harassment of voters, destruction of electoral materials, and accreditation of voters without the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

He charged INEC to work towards winning the electorate’s trust with the March 18 election.

Rhodes-Vivour got two votes, Sanwo-Olu secures 121 in governor’s polling unit

Marcus FATUNMOLE
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Rhodes-Vivour got two votes, Sanwo-Olu secures 121 in governor’s polling unit

LAGOS State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu today won in his polling unit, defeating his closest rival with 121 to two votes in the governorship election.

Other political parties, namely the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), scored one; African Development Congress (ADC) got one; and Accord Party secured a vote.

Sanwo-Olu voted at his polling unit 006, St Stephen Adeniji Adele, Lagos Island, near his family house.

The ICIR reporter noted that security officers, including the police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and Immigration, were fewer at polling units in Lagos Island than in other locations the reporter visited during the exercise.

However, there were no complaints from any of the party agents the reporter met at over a dozen polling units he visited in the area. The ICIR also observed the area was very peaceful during the exercise, with many youth playing different games on the empty roads.

Some of the polling units (PU) are 004, Anikantamo Ward 003, Odunifa Ore, 023 Idumagbo Aremu, In Front 45, and Idumagbo, all in Adeniji Adele; and PU 005 Ilupesin Idumagbo Ojogiwa, 022 and 017 Ilupesin, Idumagbo, PU 004, Ward C3, and Isale Gangan (also known as Ward 9).

At PU 007, Stephen’s Adeniji Adele, near Governor Sanwo-Olu’s polling unit, the APC got 106 votes, LP had four, PDP won 3, and Young Progressives Party (YPP) secured three votes.

 

Soldiers manhandle House of Reps member in Benue

Sinafi OMANGA
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Soldiers manhandle House of Reps member in Benue

A FEDERAL lawmaker from Benue State, Kpam Jimin Sokpo has been beaten to stupor by suspected military officers at a hotel in the Gboko Local Government Area of the state.

Sokpo, who represents Buruku Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, said he “was attacked for no reason”.

Speaking to journalists, the lawmaker said he was with a group of friends around 2:30 am when “about five trucks filled with 60 soldiers alighted from their vehicles” at the spot they were sitting.

Sokpo said upon their arrival, he got up “to do something” when one of the soldiers confronted him, and asked why he was walking “in the manner” he did.

He added: “As I was talking he slapped me in the face. I asked why he did that, and I introduced myself as a House of Representatives member. I told him he did not know me and just slapped me in the face?

“Before I knew what was happening more than 30 of them just pounced on me using the butt of their guns to injure me. Some of the guns they used on me even broke into pieces. As I speak with you I have stitches on my face, on my head and I have all kinds of injuries on my body.

“While this was going on, their Commanding Officer came in and calmed the situation a bit. Shortly after they went on to harass me and collected everything in my car including every piece of paper.

“In fact, the one who started assaulting me threatened that he could even kill me. Unfortunately, I did not get their names because they removed their name tags before assaulting me.

“Believe me, I do not know why they did this to me. I have gone to the hospital to stitch the cuts and treat myself, but I have reported the matter to the Police and the Security Adviser to the Governor of Benue State.”

However, spokesperson of the police in Benue State, Catherine Anene said the Benue State Police Command is not aware of the incident.

“Our officers are still in the field for the elections. We are yet to receive such reports,” she said.

Sokpo sought reelection to the National Assembly under the platform of the Labour Party (LP) but lost to Sekav Iortyom of the All progressives Congress (APC).

INEC postpones election in 10 polling units at VGC Lagos to Mar 19

Marcus FATUNMOLE
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INEC postpones election in 10 polling units at VGC Lagos to Mar 19

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has postponed the governorship and House of Assembly elections in 10 polling units at the Victoria Garden City (VGC), Lagos State, till tomorrow,  Sunday, March 19.

Eight polling units are within the VGC, while two are in its commercial area.

There were disagreements in the morning after the INEC ad-hoc staff refused to enter the estate.

According to them, they were held hostage during the last presidential election, which took place on February 25.

They chose to conduct the poll at the estate’s gate, but the residents expressed fear thugs might disrupt the exercise.

Briefing journalists, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Segun Agbaje, stated, “We have eight polling units here with 6,024 registered voters, out of which 5,624 people have their PVCs.

“After due consultation and further directive from the national headquarters that we should remobilise here tomorrow (Sunday) morning by 08:30am to conduct the elections, by 08:30am tomorrow (Sunday), we will reconvene here.”

During the February election, the Labour Party presidential candidate won in the estate and the entire Lagos State.

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The major candidates seeking the Alausa, Ikeja, governor’s seat are the incumbent Babajide Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party (LP), and AbdulAzeez Adediran of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The ICIR reports that there are 4,861 polling units in the state, the highest in the country.

The ICIR had reported earlier how Governor Sanwo-Olu defeated the LP candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes Vivour, in his (Gbadebo’s) polling unit.

The governor as well trounced the LP candidate in his (Sanwo-Olu’s) ward, scooping 121 votes against Vivour’s two.

 

N180bn unclaimed dividends unsettle NGX, as Exchange holds awareness talkshop

Ehime ALEX
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N180bn unclaimed dividends unsettle NGX, as Exchange holds awareness talkshop

THE about N180 billion unclaimed dividends resting in the Unclaimed Dividends Trust Fund being managed by the Debt Management Office (DMO) has remained a concern for the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

The NGX expressed the concern at a retail investors webinar it organised in collaboration with Futureview Asset Management Limited on Friday, March 17.

Themed, ‘How to Process Outstanding Dividend’, the webinar sought to promote financial literacy by providing participants with ways to process outstanding dividends and a step-by-step procedure for retrieving unclaimed dividends.

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“This webinar is to educate the retail segment of our market towards the seemingly unended cases of unclaimed dividends,” the chief executive officer (CEO) of NGX, Temi Popoola, said.

Popoola explained that some retail investors remained unaware of the backlog of unclaimed dividends that have accrued to them over many years,  especially those investors with legacy investment held on their behalf and to be bequeathed as investment by patrimony or inheritance.

“According to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), unclaimed dividends in our market have increased steadily, having printed at N180 billion as at December 2022,” Popoola noted.

According to him, it is the aim of the apex regulator to bring this amount processed to zero, so that all investors can get their returns on investment and, possibly, reinvest in the market, and thereby improve liquidity.

The chief executive of Futureview Asset Management Limited, Elizabeth Ebi, disclosed that unclaimed dividends, which rose as high as about N2 billion as at 1999, had “astronomically” swelled to about N180 billion.

Ebi explained dividends to be the shares or profits and retained earnings a company distributes to its shareholders, which usually is done when profits are declared at the end of a financial year.

“But the shareholders or investors failed to claim them over a period of time, which then become unclaimed dividends usually after six months and up to 12 years,” she said.

She highlighted some underlying issues causing unclaimed dividends to include lack of awareness by investors, multiple subscriptions for offers, inaccurate information, or issues of identity management.

At an interactive session with journalists in May 2022, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lamido Yuguda, had blamed the rising number of unclaimed dividends on investors’ failure to mandate their accounts, as dividends are now paid electronically.

An investment and portfolio analyst, Abel Ezekiel, told The ICIR that unclaimed dividends might have kept rising as some investors were yet to perfect the e-mandate requirements, but lamented that with the new digital means, “it, therefore, followed that claiming dividends has become rigorous and challenging for investors.”

Guber poll: EFCC arrests 20 for vote buying in Kwara

Theophilus ADEDOKUN
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Guber poll: EFCC arrests 20 for vote buying in Kwara

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has apprehended 20 persons suspected of involvement in vote buying in Kwara State.

The Commission that the suspects were arrested on Saturday, March 18 in Irepodun, Ilorin West and Ilorin South local government areas of the state during the governorship and state assembly elections.

Parading the suspects, the Acting Commander of the Ilorin Zonal Office of the EFCC, Michael Nzekwe, said the Commission acted on credible intelligence to carry out the operation.

Nzekwe said, “Majority of the people arrested were directly involved in vote-buying. We got credible intelligence and we acted on it. Some of the arrests were made in Omu-Aran, Ilorin South and Ilorin West. We were all over the 16 local government areas.”

Nzekwe added that huge amounts of cash and point of sales (POS) machines were recovered from the suspects.

He stressed that the suspects are currently under investigation.

“After the investigation, we will strictly follow the provisions of the law,” he added.

NPA to investigate extortion at Lagos ports corridor after The ICIR investigation

Nurudeen AKEWUSHOLA
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NPA to investigate extortion at Lagos ports corridor after The ICIR investigation

FOLLOWING The ICIR investigation into widespread extortion and touting at the Apapa and Tin Can ports corridor, the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) has promised to investigate and address the problem.

The development was disclosed on Friday, March 17, by the NPA Managing Director, Mohammed Bello Koko, a day after the second part of the investigation was published.

The ICIR had published the two parts on March 15 and March 16, on how the uncontrolled extortion and touting had claimed the lives of innocent citizens and impeded the efficiency of the electronic call-up system meant to solve the problem of port congestion.

Reacting to the report, Koko thanked The ICIR for the report and assured that the matter would be jointly investigated by the NPA and the Lagos State government.

“Thank you, [ICIR], for your investigative report and footage. I assure you this will be brought to a logical conclusion by my team @nigerianports and @followslag,” Koko tweeted in response to The ICIR post on Twitter.

After the investigation, numerous individuals shared their harrowing experiences with extortionists who operate along the Lagos ports corridor, highlighting the severity of the situation.

For instance, a Twitter user, @Mich12645298, narrated how his haulage business was ruined by the indiscriminate extortion by the marauding hoodlums.

 

 

“Something that ruin my haulage business. touts, Lastma, trace & police collect all my savings, profits & operating expenses, I have 2 trucks, I sold one off when I couldn’t repair it continuously & I have to face another thing, I packed the second, bad country, too much extortion.”

 

Another Twitter user, @EmmaChi06083385

“It’s treble.  From Apapa to Alaba, 1x40ft container pays around one hundred and fifty thousand naira and above to tout so they can allow the container to offload at Importer’s warehouse.”

A Facebook user,  Ubong Joseph, commented as thus :
“The extortion within this corridor is just so bad. Going to clear cars from Apapa is becoming so stressful as a result of this multiple taxation. Even at night when you think things will be relax is when it’s even worse.”
The first part of the full investigation can be read here and the second part can be read here.

2023 Gov/Assembly Elections: Analysts warn INEC of IReV failure as vote sorting, counting begin

Ehime ALEX
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2023 Gov/Assembly Elections: Analysts warn INEC of IReV failure as vote sorting, counting begin

Analysts have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure its Results Viewing portal known as IReV does not swing up technical failure as vote sorting and counting begin in various parts of the state for the governorship and state house of Assembly elections, which held today across the country.

The electoral umpire had received backlashes following the failure of the IReV portal after the February 25 presidential election in allowing results to be uploaded real-time as the results were being announced in polling units.

INEC had blamed the failure on “technical” glitches its officials encountered in using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to upload results to the portal from polling units.

Analysts who spoke on Channels Television thus afternoon, monitored by The ICIR via Channels’ Facebook live stream, made the call on the electoral umpire.

“Your IReV must not fail, and if you [INEC] have any problem with it, please communicate. INEC should be up and doing,” the executive secretary of HEDA Resource Centre, Sulaimon Arigbabu, said.

Also, the executive director, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, Tobi Oluwatola, recalled that “three weeks ago during the presidential election the biggest failure INEC recorded was in proving the credibility of its IReV portal.

Oluwatola said, “A lot of people felt like anything could have happened between polling units and when election results were announced.”

According to him, a few civil societies led by Enough is Enough had put together a platform (ootcresult.com) where citizens can upload results from their polling units and also compare with what comes out of the IReV.

“So go there, upload your results and compare what IReV comes out with and let’s work together to make our elections accountable,” he added.

The distrust INEC created by the failure of the IReV has not only drawn the concern of political parties which lost out in the presidential election, but also civil societies, and international observers who monitored the election.

In fact, weeks after the presidential election, INEC has yet to upload the complete results from all polling units onto its IReV.

The electoral umpire is already being dragged into legal battles as a result of the failure of the IReV in the presidential election.

LP’s Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour loses polling unit to Sanwo-Olu

Marcus FATUNMOLE
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LP’s Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour loses polling unit to Sanwo-Olu

THE candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Gbadebo Rhodes Vivour, lost in his polling unit to the incumbent, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in today’s governorship election.

Rhodes-Vivour garnered 18 votes against his rival’s 29 at his polling unit 045, Oshinfila Street, Anifowose, Ikeja.

The LP candidate is believed to be the main hurdle for the governor to win a second term.

The Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Olajide Adeniran, popularly known as Jandor, got two votes.

Sanwo-Olu, in his own polling unit 006, St. Stephen Adeniji-Adele, Lagos Island, near his family house, defeated Rhodes-Vivour by 121 to two votes.

Other parties, namely the PDP, African Development Congress (ADC) and Accord Party, secured a vote each.

In a report analysing the chances of the three major candidates in the election, The ICIR had comprehensively highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of each of the three major candidates.

Guber poll: CODE condemns violence, voter suppression

Mustapha USMAN
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Guber poll: CODE condemns violence, voter suppression

CONNECTED Development (CODE), a non-profit organisation monitoring the 2023 Governorship and State Assembly elections, has released its observations across the country.

The Chief Executive of CODE, Hamzat Lawal, who gave an update on the election in Abuja, bemoaned incidents of voter suppression and electoral violence in a number of polling units.

He disclosed that one of the organisation’s observers was also brutally attacked by political thugs for voting her preferred candidate.

The ICIR had reported how one Uzabe observer was attacked and beaten by thugs for refusing to vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi State.

Speaking on the incident, Lawal  said, “First, let me iterate that we condemn in strong terms the attack and suppression of voters in a number of polling units. For example, in Ebonyi State, one of our own, an accredited Uzabe field observer, Uzodimma Lucy Ogodo was brutally attacked for refusing to vote for a particular party.

“This is unacceptable and against the tenets of democracy which we strive so hard to maintain as a nation. The democratic contract of our country dictates that we as citizens have the exclusive right to determine who our leaders are and we must protect this right, and this is why we are again calling on security agencies to act swiftly and ensure justice is served.”

He stressed that there were ‘pockets of violence’ in numerous polling units according to the Uzabe observers.

“Also, based on the reports of our field observers, we can say categorically that there are other pockets of violence that have surfaced in numerous polling units across the country.

“For example, in Lagos State, Ojo/Iba LCDA Local Govt Area, Polling unit: Princess Eneni Street, Victory Estate, Polling unit code: 091, was attacked by party hoodlums. In fact, the pregnant wife of our Lagos State Lead was attacked and is currently recuperating. We will not relent until justice is served.

“When we set out to deploy the Uzabe technology for election observation, our goal was to provide citizens the opportunity to partake in the process that brings about their leaders. This was our unique approach to ensuring accountability in the process.”

He noted that they deployed 20,000 citizen observers that populate their database with reports from various polling units across the country.

In the same vein, Lawal also applauded the Independent National Electoral Commision, INEC, for the upgrade in the functionality of BVAS, adding that CODE observed early arrival of INEC to the polling units translating to 79 per cent of areas covered by Uzabe observers.

“Despite all of these faults that we have observed we cannot say that the commission has not done well in some areas for example we observed that we recorded the early opening of polls in 79% of polling units observed by CODE as opposed to the less than 30% in the February 25th general elections. We must commend the functionality of the BVAS in this election. This indicates the commission’s commitment to embracing this new technology in our electioneering process.

“Officially all polling units across the country are closed even though voting is still ongoing in some polling units. We want to remind INEC of their promise of electronic transmission of results for the gubernatorial elections. While we still debate the issues around the February 25th Elections it is not too late for INEC to redeem itself. We would like to remind INEC that they set these standards for themselves and asked us to trust them in executing them.

“Because we observed in the morning at the junction of Odogbolu/Iyarere, PU: 093, Aguda, Surulere area of Lagos, where at the opening of polls the presiding INEC official announced that there would be no uploading of results. Our observer at this polling unit has just updated us that counting, sorting and announcement of results have been made, and the INEC staff lived up to their earlier warning by refusing to upload. While citizens insisted they upload, the Nigeria Police put them in their cars and drove off. 

“We must, however, commend INEC on the uploads of results on the IReV. we have noticed that as of 3:30 pm this afternoon, some results from various polling units have already been uploaded on the IReV portal. We are watching this progress very closely. 

“We are on the precipice of monumental change in our democracy right now. The dynamics of our voting pattern and our electioneering processes are improving significantly and we must NOT allow logistical failures to thwart necessary change. 

“The people have done their part, they are out there either still voting or counting their votes, and following the results, it is time for the commission to do its part as well.”

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