The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa says it remains in the race for the Nov.16 governorship election.
The party insisted on Thursday that in spite of a Federal High Court judgment that nullified the party’s governorship primary of Sept 4, 2019, the party would participate.
A Federal High Court presided over by Justice Jane Inyang had on Thursday nullified the nomination of Chief David Lyon as the candidate of the APC in a suit filed by Senator Heineken Lokpobiri , one of the aspirants that sought the ticket of APC.
Inyang held that the primary election conducted by the APC violated the party’s rules and constitution and therefore a nullity in the eyes of the law and restrained INEC from recognising any of the aspirants that participated in the exercise.
Reacting to the judgment, Mr Jothan Amos, Chairman of Bayelsa chapter of APC said that the party was optimistic of overcoming the setback before Saturday’s poll.
He said that the party had set in motion the legal process of appeal and was in the process of obtaining a stay of execution pending the determination of the appeal.
He assured party followers that the party was seeking judicial review of the judgment and urged them to remain calm.
A Federal High Court in Abuja had on Tuesday disqualified the Deputy Governorship candidate of APC for the Bayelsa governorship election Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, from participating in the forthcoming election.
The court disqualified the Deputy Governorship candidate on the grounds that he provided conflicting information on the documents he presented to INEC, but APC has filed an appeal.
WHILE it still remains sketchy if the governorship election would hold as planned in Bayelsa State on Saturday, Watching the Vote Project of YIAGA AFRICA, Thursday accused electorate in the state of selling their Permanent Voters Card (PVC) for cash.
The Not for Profit election monitoring group in Bayelsa described PVC trading as a predominant electoral offense recorded just two days to the election.
“The buying and selling of PVCs was one of the predominant election malpractices recorded in the pre-election environment. The findings from all four observation reports revealed that PVCs were purchased for N500,” the report stated.
Implication of the trend, the observers noted, could undermine the credibility of the electioneering process by manipulating the procedures of accreditation and voting.
In addition, the group highlighted the likelihood of selected voters being disenfranchised due to flooding in riverine communities. The affected communities include Southern Ijaw, Kolokuma/Opokuma, Ekeremor, Sagbama, and Yenagoa Local Government Areas.
While describing flooding as a major problem to the planned poll, YIAGA expressed concerns on poor documentation, revealing where voters in flooded communities are located or relocated YAIGA noted that this development before the polls would greatly hamper the process of democracy.
Other issues of concern on the Bayelsa Governorship election include high-security threats, recruitment of thugs and arms stockpiling for which locations like Brass, Southern Ijaw, Sagbama and Yenagoa have been flagged are factors that might lead to low voter’s participation.
The WTV project also justified its findings while narrating communal conflict in Nembe community that claimed three lives.
“In addition to this, is the threat of community conflicts that may impact on the election, especially with the recent incident in Ekeremor LGA where a clash over community election led to a major crisis with houses burnt.
“The recent violent clashes between PDP and APC supporters resulting in the death of three citizens in Nembe LGA posed an additional challenge.”
Earlier studies by YIAGA AFRICA revealed tendencies of violence during the poll some of which include arms stockpiling, thuggery among others.
However, it advised the Commission to ensure the electorate adhere strictly to the Electoral Act to ensure fairness and credible poll.
LESS than 48 hours to the November 16, 2019 Governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has tasked political actors and the security agencies to do more to stem the tide of political violence ravaging the two states in the final build-up to the polls.
Speaking at a pre-election briefing at the Election Analysis Centre (EAC) in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital the CDD Director, Idayat Hassan warned the tension in the two states is capable of undermining voter confidence and turnout and the credibility of the entire process.
She said the CDD’s observation of the pre-election environment points to a very volatile political environment, characterised by fierce rhetoric, threats of violence and actual incidents of violence. “A case in point is the recent attack on the State Secretariat of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), whose governorship candidate, Natasha Akpoti is one of the only three women contesting for the governorship election. CDD further observes that such vicious political attacks in the state are capable of further discouraging marginalised groups, especially women from participating in the political process and particularly from contesting for political office.”
The pro-democracy think tank similarly condemned the violent attack on a political rally in Nembe, Bayelsa State, which led to loss of lives.
The CDD warned that being the first set of off-cycle elections after the 2019 polls, the character of the electoral processes and outcomes in Kogi and Bayelsa States will serve as a litmus test to assess if the key lessons and experiences from the 2019 general elections have been applied to make subsequent elections credible. On preparations by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) therefore, the Hassan called on the electoral umpire to leave no stone unturned to deliver credible polls in the two states. She called on INEC to tie up all loose ends with respect to the deployment of ad-hoc staff to the field.
She said: “The welfare of ad-hoc staff, especially youth corps members should be treated with utmost serious urgency. CDD reiterates that the welfare of INEC ad-hoc is critical to the successful conduct of the election. It is of the utmost necessity to ensure the safety and security of these patriotic men and women who would be making sacrifices and taking risks in a volatile environment to ensure eligible voters exercise their franchise. CDD calls on INEC to consider making special arrangements, including hiring security if there are gaps in providing cover from the normal channels.”
Speaking further on the role of security agencies, the pro-democracy think expressed the view that the effectiveness of the deployment of officers would not lie in the big numbers alone. The Director noted that the neutrality, and the level of professionalism on display by the police personnel on the ground would go a long way to determine how effective they are.
“As experience in previous elections, including the 2019 general elections has shown, without effective oversight, the security agencies could forget their responsibilities and begin to act in connivance with partisan interests to subvert the electoral process.”
The CDD also shared its observation on the threat posed by fake news, misinformation and disinformation.
Hassan noted the Centre has been working on countering fake news and disinformation in Kogi and Bayelsa state ahead of the elections. Her words: “Our monitoring revealed the instrumentalization of fake news and disinformation by the leading political parties. The parties created a structure comprising of false news proponents referred to as the Shekpe boys and the data boys. Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp are the leading platforms used to spread disinformation.
CDD monitoring revealed disinformation is tailored to serve several purposes; notably to hurt an opponent, to delegitimize INEC, to counter an attack, to divert attention from critical issues and always seek to gain attention by becoming viral.
“The belief by political parties and candidates that the other side is utilizing fake news to gain votes and win the elections increases efforts in deploying disinformation. Instead of engaging in an issue-based campaign, the political parties have relied more on de-campaigning their opponents. The CDD observed that the spread of disinformation around emotive issues such as ethnicity and violence got significant traction on social media. We found people are more susceptible to believe this because of the high levels of confirmation bias.”
In readiness for voting, Hassan told the political actors to rein in supporters with violent tendencies, especially as their activities create a legitimacy problem for the electoral process and the entire democratic system in Nigeria.
She said: “The rising incidents of violent attacks, vote-buying and intimidation of rival camps make it imperative for the security agencies involved in the process to act with decisiveness and utmost professionalism.”
From: Jennifer UGWA and Olugbenga ADANIKIN (Reporting from Yenagoa)
THERE is rising tension in Bayelsa State ahead of Saturday – November 16 Governorship election scheduled to hold in eight local government areas (LGAs) of the state.
This is on the heels of Thursday’s Federal High Court (FHC) judgment in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital which suspended Lyon David, the All Progressives Candidate (APC) from contesting as candidate of the major opposition party for the governorship poll.
“For now, we have not heard anything. But once we get the court verdict, the commission will decide,” Wilfred Ifeogha, Director of Voter’s Education and Publicity, the State Independence National Electoral Commission told The ICIR.
He emphasised that it would be too early to decide as the commission is yet to be served the court verdict, hence yet to make any decision on the future electoral proceedings in the state.
However, public opinions in the states are beginning to shift their support to Owei-Tongu Woniwei, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) candidate.
“If they like, they can cancel the election and postpone it for all I care, PDP is not winning again in this state,” said an aggrieved voter upon receiving the news of the court verdict.
“Lord we don’t want to suffer again. We don’t want salary cut. We want your intervention,” said a civil servant who pleaded anonymity.
According to her, the state has been backward as there are no basic infrastructure such as electricity, good roads and high cost of school fees.
“Previously, I know I paid N35,000 in the state university but now, fees are almost N100, 000 in a state that people are hungry,” says Jeneware Juliet
On the contrary, a strong loyalist of the ruling party in the state vowed to vote for Sen. Diri Douaye due to his antecedents and purported impacts of the outgoing governor – Seriake Dickson.
Paul James, Head of Training, Watching the Vote Project of YIAGA AFRICA – an independent election monitoring organisation, who spoke with The ICIR in Bayelsa, said the judgement of the court could be a catalyst for unprecedented violence or a restriction to publics voting rights.
His words: “It is absurd that the judgement disqualifying the APC candidate is coming barely 48 hours to the election. The case was filed in September and judgement was only passed two days to the elections without recourse to the logistical and security implications.
“Knowing how volatile Bayelsa is, this judgement could add to the ugly incidents of loss of lives recorded yesterday in Nembe local government area.”
James said the new development could be a conspiracy which could be strenuous work, if not almost impossible task for INEC to reprint ballots without the logo of the APC.
“Unless this is done to limit political participation and to cause chaos to disrupt the process.”
The ICIR further contacted INEC spokesperson, Rotimi Lawrence to react to the court ruling if the election would hold as scheduled or otherwise, but he did not respond to repeated text messages sent to him.
He did not also respond to calls neither did he call back.
Calls and text messages put across to the disqualified gubernatorial candidate – David at the time of this report were not responded to.
He terminated calls put to his line asking if he would appeal the judgement. He also did not respond to his text messages.
THE number of female senators in the National Assembly on Thursday rose to eight, following the swearing-in of Biodun Olujimi as a senator to represent Ekiti South Senatorial District.
The information was disclosed in a statement signed by the spokesperson to the Senate President, Ezrel Tabiowo.
Olujimi, a senatorial candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) had lost to her opponent, Dayo Adeyeye, a candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) during the February 23 election.
Olujimi had petitioned the tribunal hitherto sitting in Ado Ekiti, to nullify the declaration of Adeyeye as the winner because she had the highest number of votes in the election. The tribunal eventually relocated to Kaduna for safety and interference reasons.
On November 6, the Kaduna Division of the Court of Appeal declared Olujimi winner of the 2019 National Assembly election representing Ekiti South Senatorial district, thus, nullifying the election of Adeyeye, the spokesman of the statement.
The Appeal Court has also upheld the ruling of the tribunal, declaring Olujini as the winner of the Senatorial seat, reasons being that she had the highest valid votes in the election.
The court in a unanimous decision pronounced by the lead judge, Uzor Anayawu, asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a certificate of return to Olujimi.
On his part, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, after the lawmaker was sworn-in, congratulated Olujimi, stating that her victory adds up to the number of female Senators in the upper chambers.
“We pray that this addition will bring additional productivity and stability to the Senate.
“I call for unity and of course, we should remain focused and do those things that will make our country great,” Lawan said.
Olujini, born in the 1950s has risen through the ladder of her political career since 2002 when she joined PDP. In 2005, she became the deputy governor of Ekiti State with Governor Ayo Fayose.
In 2015, she contested for a Senatorial seat and won, and became a senator representing the Ekiti South constituency in the National Assembly under the Peoples Democratic Party, where she also served as the minority leader at the 8th Assembly.
However, a report by The ICIR stated that since the return to democracy in 1999, females are yet to occupy 10 per cent of the seat in the upper legislative arm of the government, the maximum is 6.4 per cent.
In 1999, out of the 106 senators, only three were females (2.8 per cent women). There were four, nine and seven females senators in the fifth, sixth, and seventh National assembly respectively.
Similarly, in 2015 (the eighth national assembly), only seven women out of 102 were elected into the red chamber, representing 6.4 per cent, compared to men who constituted the 93.6 per cent of the total number of the senators.
ELEVEN years after it was separated from the Tai Solarin University of Education and granted autonomy, the Ogun State government has finally set up a governing council for the Tai Solarin College of Education (TASCE), Omu-Ijebu.
This was disclosed in a press release made public on Wednesday and signed by Tokunbo Talabi, Secretary to the State Government.
The 12-man council is headed by Yemi Adefulu. Other members include: the college provost, the registrar as council secretary, Olakunle Olubola Aikulola, Amope Ajibola Chokor, Adejoke Sein, Olayinka Oduwole, Akiola Rafiu Abiola, Oladeji Oluwadiya, Adesina Kazeem, Julius Adeyemi, and Gbenga Oduselu.
The announcement is coming nearly six months after Dapo Abiodun was sworn in as governor. TASCE has been facing a number of challenges since its re-establishment in October 2008 including the non-payment of worker salaries, infrastructural inadequacies, as well as alleged misappropriation of resources by the college management.
Until this week, no governing council had been appointed for the school despite provisions for the decision-making body in the institution’s establishment Act.
Ogun State government’s press release appointing inaugural council members
It is the council’s duty to relate the interests of the staff to the state government and be responsible for the general management of the college’s affairs and control of its finances and properties. Among other functions, it also determines fees, recruits staff, regulates salaries, and determines the employee’s conditions of service.
The employees complain they have not been paid salary arrears for up to 60 months, 57 out of which were owed by the administrations of Gbenga Daniel and Ibikunle Amosun.
Daniel Aborisade, a senior lecturer who led the Coalition of TASCE Staff to demand salary arrears and other entitlements, said in September that the new Abiodun-led administration had only paid half salaries for the months of May and June. It owed the balance for those months as well as salaries for July and August at the time.
Aborisade said the governor instigated the arrest and prosecution of some college workers, including him, “to silence us over our demand for our legitimate right”. They had been arraigned at Ogun State Magistrate Court for armed robbery, kidnapping, and assault. He accused also Abiodun of proscribing the coalition without restoring the staff unions banned by the previous government as recommended by the visitation panel he set up.
A month later, the state governor accused the lecturers of a “high level of lawlessness”, of instigating students against the college management, and said he has considered shutting down the school over the crisis.
Speaking to The ICIR on Thursday, Aborisade disclosed that the criminal trial of the lecturers was adjourned to December 13.
He said, once the governing council is inaugurated, lecturers plan to consult with the members in order to ensure the workers’ needs are met. He also said the government has continued to pay half salaries, and paid this up till August. Salaries for the months of September and October have not been paid, and the subvention to the school is yet to be reviewed upwards.
“We hope, now that he has set up the council, they will be given the mandate to look into the whole scenario and act accordingly,” he said. “So far, there have been no positive updates with respect to staff welfare.”
He added that the college provost, Lukman Adeola Kiadese, has been victimising lecturers prominent in the struggle for better welfare.
“He has been issuing queries, transferring staff from their duty posts, and imposing junior ones on the senior ones who are against him,” he noted.
In a three-part investigative series published in March, The ICIR had shed light into the hardship faced by family members of deceased college workers who couldn’t afford basic living and medical treatment, the difficulties faced by the lecturers working at the school despite all odds, and the lack of basic facilities on the fairly new campus.
LESS than two days to the gubernatorial election in Bayelsa State, a federal high court has disqualified the All Progressives Congress from participating in the Saturday, November 16 poll.
Justice Jane Inyang gave the ruling during a court sitting at Yenogoa, the state capital, on Thursday that challenged the victory of David Lyon during the party primaries.
Heineken Lokpobiri, a former minister of state for agriculture who also contested for the governorship seat during the APC primaries had filed a lawsuit praying to be declared the party governorship candidate.
Lokpobiri claimed that he was the real candidate of the APC.
As part of the judgement on Thursday, the court nullified Lyon’s victory. And it added that the party had no candidate for the forthcoming election.
“The court pronounced that the governorship primary conducted by the APC in Bayelsa State was not done in compliance with the guidelines and the constitution of the party, and, therefore, the party has no candidate,” Lokpobiri’s lawyer, Fitzgerald Olorogun, told reporters immediately after the court ruling.
The lawyer noted that the court rule was not part of his client prayers. “It’s strange,” he said.
When asked what was the next action for the client, he said the needful would be done. “But for now, the pronouncement of the court is that APC has no candidate.”
Last Thursday, Lokpobiri was quoted to be urging the people of Bayelsa to vote for the APC in the November 16 election, despite the court case against Lyon and the party.
“I’m a very strong member of APC and I came today to formally tell our chairman and to speak to Nigerians, in particular, the electorate in Bayelsa that all of them should vote for APC regardless of what happens in the court case in which judgment is slated for Nov. 14, 2019,” he said in Abuja after a courtesy visit on the national chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole.
“I told my supporters even before I came here that no matter what happened, I will remain in APC having served as a minister under this administration.
“There is no way the outcome of the governorship primaries will make me leave APC. We are working and campaigning at different levels.
“I always advise that anybody that is grieved, the only place to go is the court.
“So, whatever happens in the matter that is pending in court will not be an infraction on any part of our party’s constitution,” he said.
Earlier in the week, a high court in Abuja had disqualified Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, Deputy Governor candidate of the APC over conflicting information submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
The case filed by the Peoples Democratic Party showed that Degi-Eremienyo had five different names on five different documents.
IBIKUNLE Amosun, Senator representing Ogun Central Senatorial District has sponsored a bill seeking to establish the Southwest Development Commission.
The bill is titled “South West Development Commission (Est, etc) Bill, 2019 (SB. 167)” and was read for the first time at the Senate plenary session presided over by Senate President Ahmed Lawan.
It eventually passed the first reading.
Amosun, the ex-governor of Ogun State, had introduced the bill in collaboration with members of the upper chamber from the South-west region of the country.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time Senate moves to establish the Southwest Development Commission.
Gbenga Bareehu Ashafa, Senator representing Lagos East in the Eight National Assembly, introduced a similar bill in December 2018 that passed only first reading.
11. South West Development Commission (Est, etc) Bill, 2019 (SB. 167) by Senator Ibikunle Amosun.
South West Development Commission (Est, etc) Bill, 2019 (SB. 167) is read for the First Time.
Regional development commissions that have fully come into existence are the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) established in the year 2000 and the Northeast Development Commission (NEDC) in 2017. The primary legislative function of these commissions is to fast-track progress by tackling developmental challenges across the states they cover.
Stella Oduah, senator representing Anambra North had also re-introduced the bill that seeks the creation of the Southeast Development Commission on Tuesday. The bill had been earlier passed by the Eight National Assembly in December 2018 but was not assented to by President Muhamadu Buhari.
The newly introduced bill by Amosun is not yet uploaded on the National Assembly website.
FOLLOWING the live shooting by the Department of State Security Service (DSS) at protesters seeking the release of Omoyele Sowore on Tuesday, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) has called for the full investigation and persecution of the security personnel involved in the exercise.
In a release issued by the National Publicity Secretary Gerald Katchy, she said the dehumanisation, torture and degrading treatment meted out to the peaceful protesters together with The Guardian reporter, Mr Richard Oludare is abuse and violation of Nigeria’s constitution.
Protesters and the journalist had on Tuesday left the scene with serious degrees of injuries in a peaceful protest demanding an end to unlawful and continuous detention of Mr. Omoyele Sowore.
The ICIR had reported how the protest which began peacefully turned into chaos when some DSS operatives suddenly showed and dispersed the crowd with tear gas and firing live bullets in the air.
The African Charter on Human and people’s Rights and other conventions and the covenant are on human rights especially recent Acts signed into law VIOLENCE AGAINST PERSONS (VAP ACT) and ANTI TORTURE ACT which made any type of torture or violence a criminal offence in Nigeria.
The committee called on the Presidency, Ministry of Justice, National Human Rights Commission, National Committee against Torture to investigate DSS’s action.
“This moment will past, records have shown that peoples will always prevail over any type of tyranny or dictator.
“Our clarion call to make good of this bad situation created with disobedience to court orders by the DSS is a life wire to threatened Democracy. Any further delay in releasing Omoyele Sowore and others as ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction is an indication of the government deliberate effort to deploy use of brute force against its citizens especially perceived strong critics of the government, and a clamped down on the media with Agba Jalingo in view, even in cases where dialogue should be adopted,” Katchy said.
The publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, was arrested in August for convening a Revolution Now campaign, has spent 102 days in detention as of November 12 despite having been granted bail by the Federal High Court and fulfilled the conditions.
Group said the recent ‘joke’ by the National assembly to establish an agency for hate speech is bound to create lawlessness.
“When you over dig a substructure, superstructure falling becomes inevitably. We shall no longer watch our constitution and laws that is supreme to our collective existence being ridiculed.”
ON Wednesday, a High Court sitting in Ilorin refused an application filed by a former member of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Muhammed Adebayo, seeking to terminate a six-count charge, charged against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Adebayo was arraigned on August 1, 2019, by the Ilorin Zonal Office of the Commission in Kwara, before Justice Sikiru Oyinloye of the State High Court on count charges bordering on land fraud and obtaining money under false pretence, a statement by the EFCC read.
At the hearing on Wednesday, the defence counsel, I. Abdul-Azeez applied that the matter should be terminated by the court due to the non-appearance of the prosecution counsel.
Justice Oyinloye, however, turned down the application, stating that the basis for the application was not enough to terminate the criminal charges. He said, hearing notice should be served on the prosecution counsel.
While adding that hearing notice should be served on the prosecution counsel, Justice Oyinloye adjourned the matter until December 11, 2019, for a continuation of trial.
In the statement, one of the charges against the defendant reads: “That you, Mohammed Adebayo, sometime in July 2013 in Ilorin, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N950,000 from one Mary Omowunmi Kolade on the false pretence that three plots of land (situated at Malete, Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State) which you sold to her belonged to you, a representation you knew to be false and punishable under Section 1 of the Advance Fee Fraud and other fraud-related offences.”
However, Adebayo pleaded not guilty to all the charges, setting the stage for his trial. Justice Oyinloye adjourned the matter until December 11, 2019, for a continuation of trial.
