ABOUT 60 per cent of the polling units observed by the Situation Room in the ongoing Kogi State governorship election engaged in vote-buying.
According to an interim statement signed by Dudu Manuga and Celestine Odo for the group on the state poll released at 4:00 pm on Saturday, the incidents of vote-buying spread across almost all polling units it had observed in the state.
“Situation Room is receiving at this time, incidents of vote-buying across the state, with a systematic approach by politicians. These occurred in about 60 per cent of the polling stations where the situation rooms observed in the state.
The platform, in its report, included some polling units where instances of vote-buying had occurred on Saturday.
At Polling unit 001 and 004, Ogugu ward of Olomaboro Local government area, it was visible seeing politicians distributing N6,000 per person, said the group.
It also stated that someone putting on a black T-shirt and face cap with a candidate emblem was sharing money to voters in Ankpa LGA, Ward Abache in LGEA, polling unit 002.
A party agent at polling unit 16, Kuroko ward of Adavi LGA was seen thumb printing for some electorates and they were given coupons to redeem their cash, noted the Situation Room noted.
Apart from vote-buying, the group also indicated several occurrences of violence adding that thugs were not deterred to instigate ruckus despite the large presence of security officers in many polling units.
It highlighted five LGAs where more than 12 polling units were affected with electoral violence ranges from ballot box snatching and shooting of a voter to sporadic shooting in specific areas.
The Nigeria Police Force had earlier announced that 35, 200 security personnel were deployed across the 21 LGAs in Kogi State.
As the voting comes to an end, the Situation Room called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security personnel to be more vigilant and ensure the counting process is transparent, not marred with violence.
It also urged the “political parties and their representatives to exercise restraint and respect the Non-violence pact that they signed earlier this week”.
The CSOs operating together as the Situation Room include the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Cleen Foundation, Action Aid Nigeria, Centre for Democracy and Development, CISLAC, YIAGA Africa, Alliance for Credible Elections, Reclaim Naija, CITAD and Enough is Enough Nigeria.
AS the results of the governorship and senate re-run elections in Kogi State held on Saturday are being collated, the Centre for Democracy Development (CDD) says there was prevalence of vote buying, violence, intimidation of journalists among other irregularities during the elections.
The CDD in its preliminary statement on the conduct of the election sent to The ICIR said there were direct financial incentives to voters who were offered money before and after the voting.
“Notwithstanding that INEC enlisted the EFCC and the ICPC to assist in curtailing vote-buying, vote-buying was very rampant across the state,” it said.
“CDD observers reported that party agents in several polling units engaged in the financial inducement of voters to influence them to vote for the parties. The cost of a vote ranges between N500 and N3, 000.”
On Friday, the Centre raised the alarm in a report, about the extensive use of financial inducements to affect the outcome of the elections, noting that election officials were offered $1,000 each to buy their conscience.
In the statement, it pointed out that there were systematic and coordinated violent attacks numerous at polling units and the carting away of voting materials.
According to the statement, the coordinated disruption of the electoral process by hoodlums mobilised by the political parties undermines the integrity of the electoral process.
It said that observers reported an incident wherein operatives of Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) stormed the location of the polling unit and arrested the PDP party agent.
“This move disrupted voting, as thugs responded by throwing stones in a bid to release the PDP party agent.”
On the intimidation of observers and journalists, CDD said observers and journalists were blocked from access and taking photographs at many polling units which it described as an attempt to prevent the gathering of evidence of electoral malpractices.
CDD said one of its observers was injured in Ayingba Ward 004 while a journalist with the Cable was harassed and his phone seized for trying to take a picture off the APC senatorial candidate giving money to two older women who stood by his convoy.
“Voters were also intimidated, followed into the voting cubicles and forcefully coerced, to vote for candidates against their wishes.”
In addition to this, it lamented the use of violence in the campaign and open threats of more violence in the elections which the centre said was a voter suppression strategy.
“These observations appear to indicate a planned strategy to affect the integrity of the November 16th elections in Kogi state,” CDD said.
Reacting to the time voting commenced, CDD said “As at 11 am, accreditation and voting had started in 55.1 per cent of polling units to which we deployed observers in Kogi State.
“Of these polling units, 20.7 per cent began accreditation and voting at 8 am, 17.2 per cent started at 8.30 am while 10.3 per cent started at 9 am, and 6.9 per cent started as from 10 am.”
It added that a good number of the ad hoc workers were knowledgeable and familiar with the operation of the smart card reader in some of the polling units it deployed observers.
Voters across 21 Local Government Areas in Kogi State on Saturday went to the polls to elect a governor. In Kogi West, a rescheduled senatorial election also got underway following a court verdict cancelling the earlier vote.
DESPITE public outcry against the rise of information disorder in Nigeria, partisan groups and social media trolls still circulated images that turned out to be misleading during the governorship elections held on Saturday, November 16 in Kogi and Bayelsa States.
Many photos have been posted and shared on various social media platforms, illustrating violence, disruptions of the electoral process and vote buying as captured in the two states. While some of the images tell the true story, others are deployed to mislead Nigerians.
The ICIR finds some of such photographs to be dated and explains how we arrived at this conclusion.
Number 1
An image of youths holding of cudgels was shared on three different platforms including; Vanguard Newspaper, a Facebook page identified as The Buharist Reporters and a Facebook user identified as Shima Ate.
On the Vanguard Newspaper, the image was used to report an attack of journalists by thugs at Ayaingba, Kogi state.
The same image and link was reshared by Facebook user Shima Ate on his personal page and the image was shared also by the Facebook page, The Buhari Reporters, that used it to report that “INEC cancelled polls in Ologi Ogbla LGA in Bayelsa State.
A search was conducted on the image using a reverse image search engine, Tineye, and it was found that the image has been used 140 times with the earliest post shared on July 2016 by a blog called Ansutalktalk.
Number 2
A Twitter page, Confluenceviews, shared two photos, claiming that they depict disruptions perpetrated by thugs in Kogi state. One of the photos shared shows a collection of Permanent Voters Card (PVC) and a short gun. The caption shared with the photo reads: “Thugs nabbed with PVC and other materials this early morning.”
A check of the image was run on Tineye and it showed that the image was first shared in February 2019 by Naijapals under the file name ‘hoodlum PVC Ibom’.
Another image shared on the same page showed a group of men lying on the ground, and what appears to be seized weapons were laid close to them. The photo caption reads: “Some thugs identified to be working for PDP has been nabbed by the law enforcement agency”
A search on Tineye showed that the image was first shared in June 2015 on Lazywrita.com and tagged ‘political thugs’, the same image was again used by the same website in July 2015.
Number 3
Another photo was used by a Facebook page, Info Hq to report the disruption of elections in Anyigba, Kogi state, where hoodlums were reported to have snatched ballot boxes. A search on Tineye showed that image used by four different news sites with the earliest being shared in March 2019 by Dailypost.ng.
The ICIR’s check shows that all these photographs were used in a way that is dishonest and therefore finds them as misleading.
PICTURES from the general elections conducted four years ago and 2015 xenophobic attacks in South Africa have been recently shared in support of claims about violence in Kogi and Bayelsa gubernatorial elections, The ICIR has observed.
A report by The Nigerian News, a “citizen’s online publishing and broadcasting platform”, shared on Tuesday made use of a suspicious picture to illustrate alleged thug attacks in Kogi State. (Archived here.)
“Ahead of Kogi November 16th election, the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Natasha Akpoti, and his campaign team have been allegedly beaten up by a suspected team of thugs,” the platform wrote.
“In a yet to be confirmed report, the campaign organisation was attacked at the venue of the INEC Nigeria Stakeholders meeting ahead of the poll.”
However, combining the TinEye reverse image search tool and Google search engine, The ICIR traced the photo back to April 2015 in South Africa, when xenophobic attacks led to the death and displacement of foreigners.
Newsweek, in its caption, explained that the pictures show a man gesturing “with a stick outside a hostel during anti-immigrant violence in Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 17, 2015”. This is according to a news report published the same day.
The picture was taken by Johannesburg-based Reuters photographer, Siphiwe Sibeko.
Screenshot of a report by The Nigerian News.
The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), a not-for-profit research and advocacy organisation, has also pointed out the resurfacing of pictures originally from the 2015 general elections.
A Facebook user, Adams Sirprosper, had written that a group of thugs “invited by APC [All Progressives Congress]” and headed for the Kogi West senatorial district were arrested. But closer scrutiny of the picture attached to this claim shows that it is from a totally different context dating back to April 2015.
As reported by various news blogs, days after the general elections, the pictured “political thugs” had been arrested by security operatives in Nsit Ubiom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
“The hoodlums were caught with dangerous weapons such as dane guns, cutlasses, cans of fuel, lighters and charms as they attributed their actions to the work of the devil,” one report stated.
The CDD, with observers in various local governments in both Kogi and Bayelsa, has also noted as false a claim that Adoni and Ogoni militants, hired by Jonathan Obuebite (the Bayelsa state commissioner for information and orientation) and Tom Ateke (ex-leader of the Niger Delta Vigilante), attacked members of the APC in Nembe Local Government Area.
“CDD fact-checkers investigated and found out that nothing of such happened,” the non-profit reported.
“There are no citings [sic] of militant groups at Nembe River, as the river is guarded by security personnel. There have been relative peace at Nembe at the time of this fact check. The peddler of this news report, put it out to cause unnecessary tension in Nembe LGA.”
CDD fact-checkers have similarlyestablished that, contrary to the claims, no shooting or snatching of voting materials took place in Nembe Local Government.
SERIAKE Henry Dickson, Bayelsa governor who is a member of the People’s Democratic Party, has described the ongoing gubernatorial election in the state a sad commentary on the nation’s democracy.
Dickson made the statement while speaking with reporters at the Polling Unit 5, Ward 2, Sagbama of Bayelsa where he cast his vote.
“Gentlemen of the press, today is a sad commentary on our nation’s democracy,” he told journalists on Saturday.
Accompanied with his wife and aides, Dickson said election had not taken place in Southern Ijaw, except Amassoma.
“As we are speaking, in this day and age, gun-wielding militiamen, with the aid of security forces, have overrun hapless electoral officials. Most of the electoral officials in Southern Ijaw, as we speak, are kidnapped and held hostage.
“Everyone knows APC has no structure in Bayelsa to win an election, but they have armed militias, surveillance contractors, who kill and maim for APC,” he said.
While Dickson described himself as a “man of peace” who would stand for peace and respect for human dignity, he accused the All Progressives Congress of recruiting the Nigerian army and officers of the Nigeria Police Force to work against citizens’ right to vote.
“This has been the lots, this has been what we have been managing since 2015, with the APC at the centre is not caring about the dignity of our people,” he said
He said the APC and federal government were “too hungry” to make Nigeria a one-party state.
The governorship election is ongoing in Bayelsa and Kogi states. While vote counting has been completed in some polling units in both states, voting is still ongoing at some polling units.
Meanwhile, there have been reported cases of violence, ballot snatching and vote-buying in both Kogi and Bayelsa States.
Just before 12 noon on Saturday, some thugs believed to be working for the PDP sold ballot box and disrupted the voting process at polling units 1 and 2, ward 2, Ekeki Yenogoa local government area of Bayelsa state.
Similar allegation has been reported against the opposition party, APC in the state.
UNKNOWN gunmen have snatched ballot boxes at the Ajayi Crowder Memorial School, one of the biggest polling units in Lokoja the capital city of Kogi State.
Voters were seen scampering for safety and ballot papers littered everywhere.
Also, the voting exercise in polling unit 003 in Kogi West Senatorial district was disrupted by thugs who came destroying ballot boxes.
Consequently, security operatives, electoral officials and voters scamped for safety, though the polling unit is close to the office of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).
Also, when Channels TV crew arrived at the unit, there was no presence of security officers, voters or electoral officials
Voting process was also disrupted at Ward 01, Unit 004 in Ayetoro, Kogi State as thugs numbering ten in two Hilux vans and a Honda car invaded the polling unit, shooting into the air and targeting the ballot boxes.
Also, there were voters’ intimidation and press attack at Azuta Ward, Polling Unit 006, Kabba/Bunnu Local Government Area, Kogi State.
Scene of gun violence at Fehintolu, Lokoja Kogi State.
Similarly, youths suspected to hirelings of politicians were involved in a heated argument over the movement of voting materials to various polling units in Otueke, Ngbia LGA of Bayelsa State.
The incident happened at INEC’s Registration Area Centre inside Community Secondary School, Otueke at the early hours of the Saturday.
Voters, including journalists and election observers, ran for safety at the sight of the armed youth.
There are disturbing signals about how public universities are managing or mismanaging huge sums of money allocated to them annually to execute Tertiary Institution Trust Fund (TETFUND) projects. Investigation revealed that many of the institutions executing the projects engage in questionable practices. INNOCENT DURU, who visited some federal universities in the Southwest, reports.
EARLY this year, the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, submitted the institution’s 2015-2018 Budget Performance and 2019 Proposed Budget Reports to the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND.
On page 95 of the document, the institution listed the construction of Pharmacy Building Phase 2 as part of the scheduled TETFUND projects for January-December, 2015. The contract was awarded for the sum of N16,598,644.69, as indicated in the document. A copy of the document, dated March 20, 2019, was obtained by our correspondent.
Investigation, however, revealed that the building in question had been constructed and commissioned before the scheduled execution period. The inscription on the building, which reads: ‘Pharmacy Building Phase II, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile Ife, Nigeria,’ indicated that it was officially commissioned by the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Prof. Rowland Ndoma-Egba, on Monday, December 8, 2014.
An inscription showing the Pharmacy building phase 2 was commissioned in 2014
Students and lecturers in the faculty, who spoke with our correspondent, were shocked that the completed and commissioned project was included in the 2015 schedule. They also told our correspondent that aside the building, there is no other one designated as Pharmacy Building Phase II in the institution.
A student of the institution, who pleaded anonymity, said: “This is the only Pharmacy Building Phase II that we have. It was built and commissioned long ago. I have spent more than three years here, and I met the building already completed when I was admitted. I don’t know of any other Pharmacy Building II. Something is definitely amiss.”
Another project whose inclusion in the schedule of merged TETFUND project for January-December, 2015, is generating controversy is the construction of academic lecture rooms and offices for the institution’s Faculty of Administration.
A project signpost erected close to the building revealed that it was done during the year 2009-2012 merged intervention projects. Curiously, the names of the contractor, architect, structural engineer, mechanical engineer and quantity surveyor listed on the signpost were also included in the 2015 schedule.
On pages 96 and 97 of the document, the institution listed the following as part of the budget for the building construction in the 2015 schedule:
(I) Construction of academic lecture rooms and offices of Faculty of Admin (Structural Engr Services) awarded for N1,499,149.67, as indicated in the document.
II) Construction of academic lecture rooms and offices of the Faculty of Admin awarded in the document for the sum of N2,004,699.56.
III) Construction of academic lecture rooms and offices of the Faculty of Admin (Arch. Consultancy) awarded in the document for N3,021,808.41.
IV) Construction of academic lecture rooms and offices of Faculty of Admin (Q/S Consultancy) awarded in the document for the sum of N1,473,890.60.
(V) Construction of academic lecture rooms and offices of Faculty of Admin (Q/S Consultancy) awarded in the document for N21,160,433.49.
(VI) Construction of academic lecture rooms and offices of the Faculty of Admin awarded in the document for the sum of N49,714,323.66.
But students and officials of the faculty who spoke with our correspondent expressed surprise at the development.
A member of the staff, who spoke with our correspondent in confidence, said: “This is scandalous. This is the building you are talking about. As far as I know, there is no Faculty of Admin building anywhere else.
“How can the management include a project that had long been completed in the 2015 schedule?.”
Added to the list of inexplicable projects in the 2015 schedule is the completion of a workshop complex for the Entrepreneurship Centre, which incidentally was also part of the 2009 -2012 merged projects.
Front view of Pharmacy building Phase 2 commissioned in 2014 but included in 2015 project schedule
The myriads of contracts listed under the project include:
I) Procurement of equipment for entrepreneurship centre awarded in the for N4,087, 828.41.
II) Construction of office complex for entrepreneurship complex builders wk cert 3 awarded in the document for N13,384,295.41.
III) Construction of office complex for entrepreneurship centre awarded in the document for N6,864,124.18.
IV) Procurement of equipment for entrepreneurship centre II. Cert .2 awarded in the document for N8,196,210.75.
V) Construction of office complex for entrepreneurship complex (M &E) awarded in the document for N1,845,774.00.
VI) Construction of office complex for entrepreneurship complex awarded in the document for N3,861,130.27.
VII) Procurement of equipment for entrepreneurship centre awarded in the document for N16, 655, 013.11.
VIII) Procurement of equipment for entrepreneurship centre awarded in the document for N12,567,184.70.
Investigation further showed that the Pharmacy Building Phase 3, which was included in the 2015 schedule with several other projects listed under it, does not exist anywhere in the institution. Students and lecturers in the faculty said that no existing structure or one under construction bears the appellation.
A lecturer in the faculty said: “We don’t have any structure called Pharmacy Building Phase 3. What we have is phase one and phase two. I am also not aware of any ongoing building by that name. If there is any like that, there is no way we the staff and the students would not know.”
Other contracts listed under the project include:
(I) Construction of Pharmacy Building Phase 3 awarded in the document for the sum of N1,676,475.71.
(II) Construction of Pharmacy Building Phase 3 awarded in the document for the sum of N836,929.39.
(III) Construction of Pharmacy Building Phase 3 awarded in the document for the sum of N1,120,072.52.
(IV) Construction of Pharmacy Building Phase 3 M & E Engr Consultancy Services awarded in the document for the sum of N896,058.00.
(V) Construction of Pharmacy Building Phase 3, Structural Consultancy Services awarded in the document for the sum of N666,543.50.
(VI) Construction of Pharmacy Building Phase 3 QT Survey Consultancy Services awarded for the sum of N666,449.95.
(VII) Construction of Pharmacy Building Phase 3 Architectural Consultancy Services awarded in the document for the sum of N3,840,199.57.
(VIII) Construction of Pharmacy Building Phase 3 (builders wk) cert 3 awarded in the document for the sum of N4,362,905.18.
(IX) Construction of Pharmacy Building Phase 3 (builders wk) cert 3 bal awarded in the document for the sum of N16, 598,644.69.
(X) Construction of external works on pharmacy building phase 3 awarded for the sum of N2,623,940.90.
(XI) Construction of external works on pharmacy building phase 3 awarded in the document for the sum of N2,612,510.77.
(XII) Construction of external works on pharmacy building phase 3 awarded in the document for the sum of N5,255,374.42.
(XIII) Construction of pharmacy building phase 3 external works (Memorandum voucher) awarded N16, 598,644.67.
(XIV) Construction of pharmacy building phase 3 external works (Memorandum voucher) awarded in the document N38,454,682.72.
(XV) Construction of pharmacy building phase 3 (Memorandum voucher) awarded in the document for the sum of N836,929.39.
(XVI) Construction of pharmacy building phase 3 awarded in the document for the sum of N1,787,011.51.
(XVII) Construction of Faculty of Pharmacy building phase 3 awarded in the document for the sum of N16, 032,899.86.
(XVIII) Construction of Faculty of Pharmacy building phase 3 (consultancy services QS) awarded in the document for the sum of N833.062.45.
Varsity buys time endlessly
OAU’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Abiodun Olanrewaju, requested that questions be sent to his email address when our correspondent contacted him for comments. But when the correspondent later called on September 22 to remind him about the questions that were sent to his email address as requested, he said he was still awaiting the responses of the Vice-Chancellor and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of administration.
The PRO said: “I have sent it (questions) to the VC and also sent it to the Deputy VC admin who is in charge.”
“He said the VC said he has sent it to the Director, Physical Planning Development Unit (PPDU) of the university. By tomorrow, can you call me by 11 am so that I get the feedback for you?”
The correspondent also called on September 23 as requested by the institution’s image maker, but he only said he was in a meeting and would call back later. It turned out, however, that he did not call back as promised while subsequent calls made to his mobile phone went unanswered.
When he eventually picked the call on Tuesday, October 1, and our correspondent told him about the fruitless efforts made to reach him on the phone, he apologised, saying: “I am sorry. We were too busy and my phones were with my colleagues in the office. I anchor programmes and would not want to be holding phones so that it would not be vibrating with the microphone.
“The vice-chancellor will arrive today by the grace of God. I called the director PPDU and he said he would not send it to me until the V-C has vetted it. The VC travelled outside the country. Whatever he says is the final. If he had vetted the whole thing, I would send it to you straight. “
Asked how soon that would be, he said: “It depends on him (VC). The plane would land by 4pm today. Let’s see how it goes please.”
In spite of the promises made by the PRO, however, the institution was yet to respond to our findings as at press time.
Shocking findings at FUOYE
Our correspondent’s inspection of the implementation of TETFUND projects at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) also revealed discomforting discoveries.
The execution of capital projects at the Oye Campus of the institution was fraught with anomalies. All the signposts in front of the ongoing building projects except one had project titles that were different from what was stated in the document submitted by the institution to the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND early this year.
The document, dated March 22, 2019, and signed by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Kayode Soremekun, was obtained by our correspondent.
The ‘Construction and Furnishing of Twin Lecture Theatre for Faculty of Management Sciences’ is one of the capital projects whose signposts bear different project titles. Instead of ‘Construction of Twin Lecture Theatre for Faculty of Management’, the inscription on the signpost reads ‘Construction of Twin Chamber Lecture Theatre.’
The contract for the building, which is a bungalow, according to findings, was awarded for N126, 939, 918.00. The contract, according to the document prepared by the institution, was awarded in May 2018 without a date for its completion.
Work was still ongoing on the building. The furnishing was yet to commence at the time of the visit. All the external works and interlocking of the ground were also yet to commence.
The same befuddling development was observed when this reporter visited a project that was meant to be the construction of Twin Lecture Theatre for Faculty of Pharmacy. The signpost in front of the building had no link to any of the projects the institution listed as ongoing in the document submitted to the Senate Committee.
Faculty of Pharmacy twin lecture theatre with signpost bearing 250 seat capacity
Instead of construction of Twin Lecture Theatre for Faculty of Pharmacy, the inscription on the signpost reads: “Proposed 250 Seat Capacity Twin Lecture Halls.” Checks revealed that the project was awarded in June 2018 for N113, 845,287.00.
Confusing as it was, some lecturers and students in the institution identified it as the lecture theatre for the Faculty of Pharmacy. Work was still going on the building when our correspondent visited, but the furnishing was yet to commence.
Similar confusion was experienced when the reporter went in search of the Pharmacy building project in the institution. A gigantic building with a signpost that read “Construction of Faculty of Basic Medical Science” was sighted at the Phase 3 area, but a closer look at the board showed it was not a TETFUND project.
Further search took the reporter close to the male hostel where another big building painted yellow and brown was located. In front of the building were skeletons of iron chairs heaped on the two sides of the entrance. On the building was inscribed ‘TETFUND Annual Intervention 2014, 2015, 2016 Merged”. Two signposts were in front of the building. The inscription on the first signpost reads: ‘Nigerian Universities Education Students Association (NUESA) Federal University, Oye-Ekiti Chapter. Welcome to Faculty of Education’. The other signpost, which has TETFUND inscribed on it, has the names and addresses of the contractor, architect and structural engineer boldly written on it but does not have the title of the project. The project was awarded by the institution for N203,315,957.50 in May, 2018.
Proposed Faculty of Pharmacy building with a signpost of Faculty of Education at FUOYE
Despite the confusion created by the signposts, findings showed that the structure is the new Pharmacy building. Sources within the institution alleged that the confusion was a deliberate ploy by the university authorities to hoodwink accreditation officials into thinking that the institution had infrastructure in disciplines where it is lacking.
“The confusion regarding the inscriptions is a result of the ongoing accreditation of courses in the institution,” said a lecturer who asked not to be named for fear of victimisation. “The management is doing everything possible to pull wool over the visitors’ eyes. This is the simple reason for some of these rearrangements. It is a confirmation of the fact that many unseemly things are going on here,” the concerned lecturer said.
Another lecturer, who also did not want his name in print for security reasons, said: “Ordinarily, every sign post meant for TETFUND projects should bear the title of the project so that everybody could see and know at a glance what the project is meant for. But everything here is shrouded in secrecy. I am not surprised to see that the information contained in the document submitted by the institution to the Senate committee is different from what is on ground here.”
The only signpost whose inscription tallies with the project indicated in the document to the Senate committee is the ‘construction and furnishing of academic office block.’ Work was still not completed on the building during our visit.
The building contract was awarded for N41,807,792.00 in June 2018. Checks inside the building revealed that the aspect of furnishing was yet to be carried out.
FUOYE reacts
Reacting to our question on the projects, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the institution, Godfrey Bakji, said in a WhatsApp message: “These projects have been executed according to specifications, with some ready for handing over by the contractors. I am sending the photographs to you.”
The PRO went on to send the pictures of the buildings. Interestingly, two of the pictures he sent as twin lecture theatres for the faculties of Management Science and Pharmacy were the buildings whose signposts read: ‘Construction of Twin Chamber Lecture Theatre and Proposed 250 Seat Capacity Twin Lecture Halls’ respectively.
When the reporter demanded to know why the signposts had misleading inscriptions, Bakji said: “I don’t have immediate comment to make. When it is ready, I will get in touch with you.” The spokesman was yet to get back to the reporter at the time of filing this report.
Concerns over slow pace of projects execution in UI
At the University of Ibadan, in the Oyo State capital, two multi-million naira TETFUND projects have remained uncompleted in about one decade since the contracts were awarded.
One of the projects, for the completion of Faculty of Education Building Extension Complex, a 2009 TETFUND intervention project, according to our investigation, was abandoned along the line and has remained uncompleted for the past 10 years.
One of the pillars of Faculty of Education building (UI) recently adjusted after a shoddy job by the initial contractor
A member of staff of the institution said the construction work was partly stalled because the contractor did a shoddy job that would have led to the building collapsing in the future and possibly killing people. It was gathered that the initial contractor was sacked, paving the way for a new one.
The source said: “The building project has been on for a decade without any hope that it will be completed soon. It was abandoned sometime in 2016 but work is just resuming there now. A good number of students who would have benefited from it by way of using it for the purpose it is meant for have graduated.
“The contractor that was handling the job before did very tiny pillars that would not be able to carry the weight of the building over a period of time. If you look at it now, you will see that the sizes of the pillars have been increased by the new contractor. But there are fears that the pillars are still not big enough to firmly hold the building.”
He said there was need for the school management to tell the public how many floors the building will be, adding: “It is possible that the project is more than a storey building. If another person takes charge of the school and decides to add another floor to it, the pillars and the foundation may not be able to hold the extra load. The implication is better imagined than experienced.”
The source regretted that no punishment was meted out to the contractor that did the initial shoddy job to serve as deterrent to others.
He said: “In saner climes, such a contractor would be reported to both the professional body that he belongs to and an anti-graft agency like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for proper investigation and possible refund of some of the money he collected.”
The second TETFund project in the premier institution that is yet to be completed is the proposed building of offices/lecture rooms for Faculty of Arts (2011-2014). Some artisans were seen milling around the building when our correspondent visited. One of them displayed a high level of hostility to the reporter when he attempted taking the picture of the building.
A source in the institution said that such act of aggression should not come as a surprise.
He said: “You should expect that kind of hostile reaction because they are not sure what you want to do with the pictures of a building that has remained uncompleted for many years.
“If they knew that you were a newspaper reporter, they probably would not have allowed you to go out with the pictures. For us, we know that there are a lot of cover-ups here and there, but with time, they will all be exposed.”
UI management gives partial response
The management of the University of Ibadan could only respond to some of our findings, hinging its failure to respond to others on the failure of the project manager to respond to calls.
The institution’s spokesman, Olatunji Oladejo, said: “Work is ongoing on the Faculty of Arts project. It was this year that the VC laid the foundation. What is the problem with that? It was not last year, it was this year. The Faculty of Arts extension building was this year. I am aware of it. That is a straightforward one. It was when the fund was released that it was awarded.
“All those things have to do with the bursary, the VC and the procurement committee. Until I am able to find out from all those three areas, I may not in a strait jacket answer your question.”
When the reporter got back to him a week later, Oladejo promised to call back the following day to provide the remaining information. On the said date (September 23), however, our correspondent called and reminded him of his promise to call in the morning of that day, and he said: “Yes, I said so. I tried to call one Mr Oni who is in charge of all these TETFUND projects so that he could link you, but he didn’t pick his calls.”
When the reporter reminded him that it was more than a week he had been seeking the institution’s response on the findings, he said: “I know, but I am not in charge. I cannot know all these, whether abandoned or not abandoned. We have scheduled officers here and there. I have called him several times. I wouldn’t know… he didn’t pick his calls. May be he was somewhere; may be in a church programme anyway.”
Asked when he would provide the requested response, the PRO said: “I will continue to call him.”
He subsequently agreed to a suggestion by the reporter that he should send a text message to the man in charge of the projects. However, calls made to his mobile phone thereafter went unanswered. A message sent to his email address requesting his response to the findings was also not responded to.
This investigation was supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the International Centre for Investigative Reporting.
Amnesty International has urged the Nigerian government and relevant authorities to protect people from violence and ensure full respect for freedom of expression as well as a peaceful assembly at the gubernatorial elections in Bayelsa and Kogi states.
The global human rights body said there had already been several instances of violence in relation to the poll.
Amnesty International noted that instances of violence at election campaign rallies in both Bayelsa and Kogi states had painted ‘grim picture of political parties on a do-or-die approach to elections’.
So it called for the electorate’ protection from violence before, during and after the election.
The body urged the government to assure citizen’s freedom of expression as well as a peaceful assembly and association during the electoral processes.
“The election-related violence in Bayelsa and Kogi states is deeply troubling and, if not urgently addressed, will undermine respect for human rights throughout the election period,” said Osai Ojigho, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria.
“Amnesty International has received reports of supporters of some politicians violently targeting political opponents, real or perceived. The authorities must stamp out any potential impunity by ensuring these incidents are investigated and that those suspected to be responsible are brought to justice.”
The report also noted that political parties and candidates have been accusing each other of plotting to use violence during Saturday elections.
”In Bayelsa state, reports say at least two people were killed, while in Kogi state there were reports of violence especially in Lokoja and other parts of the state”, it read partly.
The human rights group asked Nigerian authorities to put in place measures to ensure that politicians and their supporters were not infringed on human rights. They must make clear that there is zero-tolerance for human rights violations and that anyone suspected of wrongdoing will be brought to justice, it added.
“Politicians inciting violence in Bayelsa and Kogi must be fished out and made to face justice. Political parties and candidates must publicly condemn any advocacy of hatred or incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.
“The authorities must also ensure that international and national civil society groups and agencies that will monitor the elections are able to do so in safety,” it said.
ON Friday, the management of the National Examinations Council (NECO) announced that it has approved the dismissal of 70 staff for certificate forgery.
In a statement signed by the Head, Information and Public Relations Division, Azeez Sani, the dismissal was a sequel to a report submitted by a management committee constituted to verify the certificates of staff.
“The certificate verification committee carried out its assignment diligently by inviting all staff with questionable credentials to appear before it, during which some staff actually attested that their certificates were fake,” the statement read.
Subsequently, the committee contacted the schools and institutions the affected staff claimed to have attended, but the institutions denied having certificated them.
On the completion of their assignment, the committee submitted its findings to NECO management which later submitted to the governing board of the council.
“At its 17th extraordinary meeting, the governing board vetted the report and approved the dismissal of the affected staff.
“The council under the able leadership of the Acting Registrar/Chief Executive, Abubakar Gana has zero-tolerance for corruption and is poised to sanitise the system as espoused by President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.
“The dismissal of the 70 staff is the first phase in the series of the on-going staff certificate verification exercise in the Council,” the statement read.
A GROUP of civil society organisations in Nigeria, under the Joint Action Civil Society Coalition, has urged the federal government to ensure adequate protection of lives and properties during the Saturday, November 16 gubernatorial elections in Bayelsa and Kogi States.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, is set to conduct elections in both states in less than 24 hours.
The CSOs said events already indicate that the electoral processes would be marred by violence, therefore urged all parties to respect the rule of law.
“We note in particular the spate of violent attacks and killings in Bayelsa state and call on all stakeholders to make concerted efforts to mitigate further losses as the elections reach flag off,” the statement, signed by Tosin Gbolasere and Chikanne Ezigbo, said.
“From all indications, it would seem that this set of elections may repeat our reoccurring history characterised by violent pre and post-election episodes, resulting in the wanton destruction of lives and property.
“Given the loss of at least 521 lives in our recently concluded general elections of 23rd February and 9th March, 2019, the need to address early warning signs of violence should have been apparent to the Nigerian government and its security apparatus, and should have served as a learning curve to urgently address security threats and deescalate tensions in both states.”
According to a report by SBM Intelligence, which analyses sensitive political and social issues, up to 626 people were killed between November 2018 and March 2019 in connection to the general elections earlier this year. Other organisations have, however, stated fewer figures.
The Joint Action Civil Society Coalition also lamented cases arson and death in Bayelsa as well as clashes between members of rival political parties.
The group noted that “violence has persisted and is spiralling out of control” despite heavy security deployments in the states.
They called on the Federal Government “to live up to its primary responsibility of protecting lives and property and promoting the welfare of all who live in Nigeria by ensuring maximum security of electorates and observers.”
The coalition also urged the government to take steps in ending impunity, which it said has often trailed cases of electoral violence, and to ensure security operatives are held to account for breaches of peace within their jurisdiction.
“All functions must be exercised with respect for human rights and the rule of law,” the statement read.
“Finally, we salute the courage and gallantry of our electoral and security agents who have continued to uphold our peace and unity in extremely difficult circumstances, and sometimes under extreme provocation.
“We assure them that their efforts are not in vain and that Nigerians applaud their efforts. Respect for the rules of engagement will never go out of fashion and will be their saving grace for legitimacy with the very people they have sworn to protect.”
Similarly, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) on Friday, raised alarm about incidents of vote-buying in Kogi State. It called on the electoral commission to monitor the activities more closely and remove all compromised officials from the process.
