Home Blog Page 2248

Yahaya Bello reclaims Kogi as PDP refuses to sign result

Lukman ABOLADE
-
0
Yahaya Bello reclaims Kogi as PDP refuses to sign result

THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has declared the candidate of the All Progressive Party, Yahaya Bello, winner of the November 16 Kogi gubernatorial election.

The Returning Officer for the state election and Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Ibrahim Umar, declared him the winner at the INEC office in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.

The collation was postponed till Monday because results of two local government areas arrived Lokoja late.
Bello and Wada’s vote were close until the arrival of the results from Ibaji and Lokoja.
According to Umar, a total of 1,646,350 people registered for the election while 636,202 were accredited to vote.

Umar said the APC’s candidate, Bello defeated his closest opponent, Musa Wada of the People’s Democratic Party in 12 local governments out of the 21 local governments in the state.
Bello polled a total vote of 406,222 votes to defeat Wada, who trailed behind him with 189,704 votes.

However, the Returning Officer of the PDP has refused to sign the results of the election, alleging electoral fraud.
Natasha Akpoti, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was able to garner total of 9,482 votes.

Foreign observers and civil organisations who monitored the election said the process was marred by vote-buying, violence and voter’s intimidation.

APC unseats PDP in Bayelsa, wins governorship election

YEKEEN Akinwale
-
0
APC unseats PDP in Bayelsa, wins governorship election

THE candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), David Lyon has won the governorship election in Bayelsa, defeating his close rival Douye Diri, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in six out of eight locals government areas of the state.

Since return of democracy to Nigeria in 1999, this is the first time Bayelsa State is falling out of the hands of PDP.

READ ALSO:

According to the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), APC polled 352,552 while PDP secured 143,170 votes, leaving a margin of 209,382.

INEC Chief Returning Officer, Faraday Orumwense, on Monday announced that Lyon is the winner of the election after polling 352,552 votes to defeat Diri, who polled 143,172 votes.

APC’s Lyon won in Nembe; Ogbia, Southern Ijaw, Ekeremor and Yenagoa while the PDP won in the Sagbama and Kolokuma/Opokuma local government areas.

Controversy trails Kogi election as voters, political parties trade blames

Amos ABBA
-
0
Controversy trails Kogi election as voters, political parties trade blames

Lukman ABOLADE and Amos ABBA, reporting from Kogi

AFTER the conclusion of the Kogi governorship polls, residents of the state, and opposition parties have condemned the high level of violence, vote-buying and intimidation of voters which disrupted the conduct of the elections in several areas across the state.

Twenty four candidates took part in the election including Governor Yahaya Bello of the All Progressive Congress, APC, and Musa Wada of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP.

The ICIR observed major political parties offering bribes in money and food stuffs to voters before and after election.

Also, armed thugs disrupted voting exercise in various polling units in breach of electoral act.

READ ALSO:

Ballot Seizures and Electoral Violence

In Lokoja, the state capital, voting was interrupted by armed thugs who tear gassed voters and staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC before carting away ballot boxes and electoral materials.

Voting at Crowther Memorial School, Lokoja came to a halt when gun-bearing hoodlums started shooting sporadically and later escaped with ballot boxes.

Also at LGEA school Lokongoma Phase 1 in Lokoja, gunmen invaded the polling units and disrupted the voting process while an unmarked helicopter hovered around the area.

Security operatives did not make any effort to prevent the heist at any of the polling unit, hence most voters ran into safety.

Eleojo Musa, an INEC staff  said armed men wearing uniforms looking like military fatigue approached security personnel  on duty before they carted away election materials and forcefully took away a corp members at the polling unit.

“They were wearing “terror” police uniforms and they talked to the police officers on duty before taking the election materials and some corpers into their vehicles as they shot sporadically in the air,” he said.

Eye witness told The ICIR that ballot boxes were also snatched from other polling units at SUBEB, Lokoja Club, St. Mary Primary School, Fehintolu, Muslim community, LGA secretariat/NEPA open space and Army barracks all in Ward A of Lokoja, the state capital.

Vote-buying spree

In Kabba/Bunu Local government, at St. Paul Primary school, in ASUTA ward, at polling units 001 and 004, some party agents were seen distributing rice and spaghetti packed in yellow nylon bag to people who are able to provide their voter’s card.

Zainab, a resident bluntly told The ICIR  her vote would be cast for the highest bidder.

“I was told APC gives N3,000 to a voter, if PDP can offer something more…”

At Cinema hall/Angwa Munchi in Lokoja, polling unit 018 voters received “special numbers” from APC  and PDP agents for purposes of identification to collect bribe

The situation is the same at Crowther Memorial School, Lokoja where voters queued up to receive money from APC party agent while voting was ongoing. And the security operatives attached to the polling unit were indifferent.

Section 124 of the Electoral Act stipulates that the offences of bribing or receiving any money or gift for voting (or to refrain from voting) at any election prescribes a 12 months jail term or more.

Opposition Rejects Election Results

The gubernatorial candidate of the  Social Democratic Party, SDP, in Kogi State called for the cancellation of the election in several parts of the State citing irregularities.

“Ballot boxes were destroyed and burnt in Okene, Adavi, Ajaokuta and Ogori Magongo and Okehi Local government areas and other parts of the state.

“Our agents were chased away from the various polling units of the Kogi Central Senatorial District,” she said.

Alleging that Saturday’s election had been tainted by reports of violence, thuggery and voters harassment.

“I am therefore calling on INEC and in line with its powers as enshrined in the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended to cancel the election in Kogi Central Senatorial District and some part of Lokoja and order for a rerun,” she said.

In the same vein, Dino Melaye candidate of the PDP in the Kogi West Senatorial District re-run elections also described the elections as a ” helicopter” election.

“The innovation is that what we had is what I have christened ‘Helicopter election’. For the first time, rigging has been advanced to the level that now the use of a helicopter in perpetuating this electoral atrocity manifested yesterday.

“Helicopter hovering around Polling units in Lokoja, dropping bullets on innocent, harmless citizens and electorate; and as I speak, yesterday, teargas being fired from this helicopter,” he said.

Kogi Election: Missing ad-hoc staff found—INEC

YEKEEN Akinwale
-
0
Kogi Election: Missing ad-hoc staff found—INEC

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday says it has accounted for all the 30 ad-hoc staff engaged for the 2019 governorship election in Kogi State.

The electoral Commission had earlier been reported to have declared 30 of its staff missing.

They were declared missing around 1 a.m. on Sunday during the final collation of results in the local government.

The missing INEC staff include Presiding Officers (POs) and Assistant Presiding Officers (APOs) of polling units in Imane ward 1 and 2 of Olamaboro LGA of Kogi State.

Many of the ad-hoc staff used by INEC were youth corps members of the NYSC.

However, Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman stated in a statement that the Commission has established that none of them was either injured or killed.

“These election-day staff could not be accounted for initially following the violent attacks by some armed thugs at their respective duty posts after the close of polls,” Oyekanmi said in the statement.

According to him, the ad-hoc staff were able to conclude the collation process before the attacks.

“They are safe, sound and back in their respective homes,” he added.

“The Chairman of the Commission has personally spoken with some of them and they confirmed that they are hale and hearty.”

Bayelsa polls: Voters say election is peaceful, despite episodes of violence, vote-buying, flooding

Editorial
-
0
Bayelsa polls: Voters say election is peaceful, despite episodes of violence, vote-buying, flooding

From: Olugbenga ADANIKIN and Jennifer UGWA, Yenagoa

IN SPITE of pockets of violence and vote-buying observed by The ICIR during the Saturday, November 16 election held in Bayelsa State, the electorate has described the poll as relatively peaceful.

The voter’s turnout was high in places visited by The ICIR but election materials arrived late in most of the 1,804 polling units.

Voters, particularly in the mainland areas of the eight Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Sagbama, Ogbia, Kolokuma/Opokuma and some parts of Ekeremor LGA expressed surprise on the successful poll, contrary to the initial apprehension witnessed days to the election.

Despite the heavy downpour in Imiringi, Otuoke and other parts of Ogbia LGA, the voters remained resolute to exercise their voting rights. Pregnant women, physically challenged and aged persons defied the weather to stay through the voting process.

“When we first arrived here, there was an issue with the card reader. Fortunately for us, it was solved very quickly and voting started and went very well. There was no problem at all,” Winstone Abali (58) from Imiringi, Ogbia LGA told The ICIR.

“I’ll give the officials almost 90 percent success for the work done.”

Another voter, Esther Otobo, the 43-year old applicant described the poll as calm, even as she managed from being beaten by the rain at the balcony to the primary school used as a polling centre.

“Police presence really caused calmness, so the election has been peaceful,” says Otobo. “Though the rain interrupted the process for a while, the queue is still moving.”

However, she advised the electoral commission in subsequent elections to provide extra card readers in case a single Permanent Voters Card (PVC) reading machine fails in a highly-populated polling unit, the alternative could be adopted.

“It is very orderly and peaceful,” 59 years old Benjamin Okorodas, a resident who had lived in Ogbia for 11 years added. “The rain altered the process but it still went fine gradually.”

Flooded but not deterred

Despite flooded communities in Kolokuma/ Okpoluma local government area – Ward 6, Polling Unit 3 and 4, voters had to access the communities via canoes to access the polling units.

The same commitment was witnessed in other polling centres visited within the area such as Sampou.

“There is peace, we are happy people are voting,” says Canice M, a police officer assigned to PU 3.

The obviously excited police officer narrated how the security team had arrived night to the poll. This, he noted encouraged the voters with initial believes that the election was held Friday night until the electorate was rightly advised.

“We actually slept here,” Rebecca Michael, a female police officer swiftly added.

But, The ICIR observed a group of thugs loitered around the polling units with threats to disrupt the system but minutes after returning from the apartment of Diri Duoye, the gubernatorial candidate, there was sudden calm.

Meanwhile, at polling units under Opolo Townhall/community, Yenagoa there were reported cases of sporadic shooting by armed thugs to disrupt the election.

Violent attacks and ballot boxes snatching were also reported in Nembe and Southern Ijaw respectively.

“In Ward 12 and 13, Okpoama, Southern Ijaw LGA, some political thugs, led by the local government chairman hijacked INEC materials and disrupted the voting process,” a report Watching the Vote by YIAGA Africa noted.

Vote-buying  

With an exceptional strategy, party agents across most of the polling units visited by The ICIR induced the electorate with cash ranging from N2000 to about N7000. The style adopted was via signs and body language through a fixer.

For instance, in Ward 10, PU 9, Oluozi Obuware Quarters, Sagbama LGA, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) allegedly offered N2, 000 to influence voters. An eye witness, who pleaded anonymous said four persons he knows were offered the said sum each, adding that they might pay more persons.

“APC cannot win in Bayelsa state…PDPs are paying N2000 but APCs are not paying N1, 000. I have not seen anybody paid. They are only causing confusion here.”

“I have seen up to four people paid by PDP. They are still more”

In Otuoke, Ward 13, PU 39, Ogbia local government, voters either got between N5000 and N7, 000. But in other polling units within same community, it was N2, 000.

The ICIR observed how a party agent positioned himself by a bar spot and directs voters to the rear side of PU 39 to claim their rewards.

Kogi Election: Vote-buying occurs in 60% of polling units observed by Situation Room — Report

Rebecca Akinremi
-
0
Kogi Election: Vote-buying occurs in 60% of polling units observed by Situation Room — Report

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.

Vote buying, violence, intimidation of journalists rife in Kogi election—CDD

YEKEEN Akinwale
-
0
Vote buying, violence, intimidation of journalists rife in Kogi election—CDD

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.

FACT CHECK: Fake photos shared during Kogi/Bayelsa elections

Editorial
-
0
FACT CHECK: Fake photos shared during Kogi/Bayelsa elections

By Seun DUROJAIYE

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.

FACT CHECK: Photos from 2015 polls, xenophobic attacks shared in connection to Kogi, Bayelsa elections

'Kunle ADEBAJO
-
0
FACT CHECK: Photos from 2015 polls, xenophobic attacks shared in connection to Kogi, Bayelsa elections

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.”

The same photo was used on its Twitter account.

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 similarly established that, contrary to the claims, no shooting or snatching of voting materials took place in Nembe Local Government.

Today is a sad commentary on nation’s democracy- Gov Dickson

Rebecca Akinremi
-
0
Today is a sad commentary on nation’s democracy- Gov Dickson

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.

1...2,2472,2482,249...3,440Page 2,248 of 3,440