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Opposition parties in Delta call for cancellation of bye-election

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Opposition parties in Delta call for cancellation of bye-election
By Jessica Tamaradonye, Asaba

Opposition parties in Delta state have called for the cancellation of Saturday’s bye-election for Delta Central Senatorial District.

The declaration of Emmanuel Aguariavwodo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as the senator-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), attracted condemnation and severe criticism of the electoral umpire by all opposition parties in the state.

Aguariavwodo allegedly won the election with 263,024 votes as against the 29, 075 and 29, 055 polled by O’tega Emerhor of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Ede Definone of the Democratic Peoples’ Party (DPP) respectively.

Delta State Chairman of the DPP, Tony Ezeagwu who rejected the result, called for outright cancellation of the results, maintaining that it was not a true reflection of what transpired during the bye-election as it was a mere allocation of votes to the respective candidates, just as the interim national publicity secretary of APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, had in a press statement issued in Lagos, condemned the manner in which the election was conducted and also rejected the declared result.

Both the APC and DPP alleged that the election was not in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution as amended.

The DPP state chairman said “there were no elections in Delta central on Saturday as far we are concerned and I wonder where INEC manufactured those results from. The exercise was a sham and a complete failure. So we are calling for a total cancellation of the exercise.”

Candidate of DPP, Ede Dafenone, while expressing his displeasure over the announced result, noted that there was very serious concerns for the progress of our nascent democracy and diminishing hope for peace, unity and good governance of Nigeria now and in the immediate future.

Dafenone, in a press statement released to journalists in Warri, said that the significant confidence brought into our elections in 2011 due to visible improvements on the 2003 and 2007 elections was completely wiped off with the conduct the bye-election.

He alleged in the statement that his party agents “were openly shot at and maimed yesterday, as it was in 2003 and 2007, we are able to say that the days where elections are gun wars are back.”

“We are here today to tell the world that the people of Delta Central were yesterday violently denied the right to choose a senator of their own. The proposed election to elect a senator was a complete sham,” adding that “there was no election, as defined by our laws.

“The scale of impunity, assault, molestations and violence by the PDP, thugs/cultists and the supposed security agents was just unimaginable. The lopsided and partisan involvement of state security apparatuses in supporting the PDP and the brazen use of thugs to unleash violence and mayhem on our party members and the electorate is unprecedented,” Dafenone said in a press statement.

He said the PDP and the government have sent “in no uncertain terms, a strong message that the security apparatus of this nation will foist the PDP on the nation at every cost. As was demonstrated yesterday in Urhobo land, security forces and the government will turn a blind eye to open violence and crimes against citizens and a section of the electorate perceived to be supporting other parties outside the PDP.”

“Because INEC did not release or issue out election result sheets and other sensitive election materials in most places but ‘results’ somehow managed to emerged in favour of the PDP, we are able to say that the so-called results were made to suit the PDP even before any election.

“Because few electoral materials appeared as late as 3.30PM in the few places where a few INEC officials managed to reach, we are able to say that our people were deliberately excluded from the election since accreditation was meant to end by 12.00Noon. There was just no election as defined by our laws and common sense,” he said.

While noting that Nigerians “do not expect perfect elections,” Dafenone said “we do expect that there will be improvements on past performances. This is just not the case here. What we had was resort to brute force to suppress the will of the people of Delta Central. Yes, it is often said that politicians tend to find faults to justify unsuccessful outcomes of the electoral bids. Ours is just clearly different. We did not lose an election. There has to be an election before we talk about winners and losers.

“This is a clear case of naked criminality; not an election. It is a clear case of the government imposing Chief Emmanuel Agwariavwodo on Delta Central in the same manner and style he was imposed on his party. This is impossible with a truly independent INEC. Herein lies a clear and imminent danger for our democracy.

“Therefore, we reject whatever result announced by INEC as it is not a true reflection of the democratic will of our people. We call for an outright cancellation of the said election and any fake result arising from same,” he said.

Also commenting on the bye-election, Delta state chairman of Labour Party, Emeka Nkwoala said “it was a flawed election, characterised by intimidation and harassment of voters, ballot snatching and no election in some wards. This election cannot stand; we shall contest it at the tribunal.”

He expressed worries that if the 2015 general elections are also marred by such flaws, the doom prediction of Nigeria’s disintegration might come to pass and therefore urged INEC and security officials to be “very careful so as not to truncate this democracy.”

On his part, candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), David Omoru, said the bye-election was a disgrace to the Urhobo nation, maintaining that “Aguariavwodo was never elected but imposed on the people by the use of force and intimidation. We are going to the tribunal to prove our case for cancellation. My legal team is ready with overwhelming evidence against the PDP.”

 

 

Comply With FOI Act, Court Tells EFCC

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Comply With FOI Act, Court Tells EFCC

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday, in a case filed by one Ikenna Ejezie, a lawmaker at the lower arm of the National Assembly, against the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, held that the refusal of the anti-graft agency to furnish the applicant with information amounted to non-compliance with the Freedom of Information Act.

Ejezie had written to the EFCC using the Freedom of Information Act requesting for the total number of criminal cases filed by the commission from 2003 to 2012, total number of criminal conviction secured and how much has been paid as professional fees to external solicitors in the same period.

He also sought to know how much of the N10. 6 billion which represents total allocation approved by the National Assembly for the commission in 2012  was finally released and how much of N3 billion which was allocated for the construction of a new EFCC Headquarters complex was released, as well as who the Contractors for the project were.

The applicant observed that the sum of N357 million was budgeted for the Agency for Local travels and transportation, another N100 million for international travels, N73 million for local training and another N130 million for international training and demanded that EFCC provide payment vouchers on how it spent these sums, including a list of officers who attended the international trainings and travels and the venue of these travels and trainings.

Ejezie also asked the commission to provide total amount received as grants and aids from international agencies, diplomatic missions and other donors since 2004, among other requests.

The EFCC however had refused to provide the requested information arguing that the case was a frivolous one and they are not willing to give out any of such information to the public.

However, in ruling on the matter, the presiding judge, G. O Kolawole, squashed the provision of order 34 rule 3(4) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2009, which states that the only way which a court can grant such application is after ascertaining “that the applicant has a sufficient interest in the matter to which the application relates” or that the application is frivolous.

Citing the section 1 (2) of the FOIA which states that “an applicant under this act need not demonstrate any specific interest in the information being applied for”, the judge noted that the act establishing the FOI Act supersedes the Civil Procedure Rules

The court held that Ejezie was right in asking for the information as the Act was “a conscious legislative instrument to ensure probity and good governance in the management of finance and other resources of the state”, stressing that the applicant’s demands were not frivolous.

Justice noted that there was no justifiable reason before the court on why the EFCC should deny the applicant his request and advised Ejezie to seek for an order of mandamus (a mandate which orders public agency or government body to perform an act required by law when it has neglected or refused to do so) and serve on the commission.

The case was adjourned to October 23.

Efforts to reach the EFCC acting head of Media & Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, to find out how the commission was reacting to the ruling, proved abortive as his phone lines were switched off. He also did not reply a mail sent to him.

Late Registration, Poor Voter Turnout In Delta Bye-Elections

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Late Registration, Poor Voter Turnout In Delta Bye-Elections

Voting period at Saturday’s bye-election for the Delta Central Senatorial Zone was extended for some hours following the late arrival of electoral personnel and voting materials at the polling centres.
 
Voting should have commenced at noon after the accreditation of voters, but this was not to be as electoral personnel and voting materials did not get to some the polling units until noon, forcing accreditation to begin late and voting to be delayed.
 
Tracy Eluemunor, the electoral officer at Otujeremi Ward 3, Ughelli South local government area, told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, that officials had been instructed by INEC to extend the time.
 
Euemunor said she was optimistic that all the voters in the ward would cast their votes following the time extension.
 
However, there were no electoral officials and materials at polling units at Amakpo Ward 1, Ighrokpokpor Ward 2 and Pipeline Ward 6 in Ughelli North.
 
In Ogharisi Primary School Ward 7 and Otowvovo Ward 9 in Ughelli South and Agbarotor Ward 12, there were no personnel and materials as at noon.
 
The situation resulted in poor turnout of voters as some had to leave the voting centres disappointed since no official was present when they called.
 
The security situation in the areas monitored was peaceful except at Ewu in Ughelli South.

Some angry voters had held members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, deployed to the polling units hostage for some minutes.
 
However, there was a restriction on the movement of persons in Ughelli, and only a few petrol stations were open for business.
 
NAN gathered that voting materials were sent to Ughelli on Friday by INEC to avoid any form of delay in the conduct of the bye-election.
 
The bye-election followed the death of Sen. Pius Eweridoh, who represented the senatorial district in the Senate until June 30.

NDE Trains Over 30,000 Youths In Edo

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NDE Trains Over 30,000 Youths In Edo

The National Directorate of Employment, NDE, says it has trained over 30, 000 youths in Edo State, as part of efforts to check the rate of unemployment in the country.
 
Co-ordinator of the agency in Edo State, Ayo Edegbai, disclosed this to journalists in Benin, the state capital during an orientation ceremony for newly recruited trainees for the National Open Apprenticeship programme of the directorate.
 
Edegbai explained that the NDE intervenes directly through employment counselling service; skills acquisition and entrepreneurship development training; provision of transient jobs and enterprise creation for trained beneficiaries.
 
“Everyone needs skills in the modern world we live in, be you graduates, under-graduates, the unemployed and everybody in the society,” she stressed.
 
While congratulating the trainees, she urged them to utilize the opportunity provided by the Directorate to improve their lives, noting that NDE centers across the State have good equipment, as well as the necessary manpower.
 
“I urge you to make the best use of this opportunity and transform yourselves for the better,” she said.
 
Also speaking at the occasion, chairman, National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, Edo State, Ijogbe Solomon, hailed the programme, while noting that the skills acquisition was far more important than merely having certificates.

“What NDE gives to people is what will be useful in life till one dies. Skill acquisition is the key for success,” he said.

No work No Pay: ASUU Vows To Continue Strike

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No work No Pay: ASUU Vows To Continue Strike

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has vowed to continue with its over three-months-old strike action, even as the federal government has directed that salaries for lecturers be stopped.

At the end of the union’s zonal conference in Abuja on Thursday, ASUU’s zonal chairman, Clement Chup, said the union has resorted to other welfare strategies to cope with the effects of the “no work, no pay” policy.

He confirmed that the federal government has through the National Universities Commission, NUC, directed universities to stop the payment striking lecturers’ salaries effective September this year.

According Chup, the association would adop strategies to deal with the government decision.

“Part of (our) welfare strategy involve distributing food items, giving out soft loans and cash advances to members,” he said

Earlier on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, the chairperson of the union, University of Port Harcourt branch, Antonia Okerengwo, told newsmen that ASUU will continue to stand by the the agreement the federal government voluntarily entered into with it in 2009.

He debunked claims by the President Goodluck Jonathan that the union was being instigated by some politicians, insisting that it was not fighting for itself but for the revitalisation of tertiary institutions in the country.

Okerengwo expressed regret that rather than fulfill its promises to ASUU by reviving the Nigerian education sector, the government had resorted to “blackmail”.

“The resort to blackmail is not the solution to the present impasse as we cannot run away from our problems. We cannot continue to pretend or wish that these problems do not exist. Practical problems need practical solutions. The media must also begin to ask questions about the cost of governance in this country so that we can see the alternative forgone in terms of education, healthcare and infrastructure,” she added.

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Okerengwo further disclosed that the technical committee set up by NEC to review NEEDS assessment report also recommended that the sum of N800 billion would be required in the short term of two years (N400billionn per year) for revitalisation.

“This has remained a mere promise, as only N100bn for 2012, which is 20 per cent of what is due as at today, has been released. The fact is that the N100bn is the amount due and outstanding since 2012.

The question therefore is what about the N400bn for 2013?” she queried.

 

 

Niger Gov’t. Warns Against Illegal Tree Felling

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Niger Gov’t. Warns Against Illegal Tree Felling

The Niger State government has warned those violating forestry and wildlife laws in the state to desist or face the full wrath of the law.

Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu gave the warning while inaugurating 486 Forest Green Guards in Minna, the state capital on Thursday.

He lamented that the laws guiding forestry were being “recklessly” flouted, leading to depletion in forests and exposure to ecological disaster.

Aliyu said the Green Guard Initiative was born out of concern for the protection of the bio-diversity of the environment and the need to take a deliberate step towards preserving the forest in their natural state.

He said a law forbidding forest burning, tree cutting and illegal hunting in the forests in the states would soon be in place.

The governor also charged local government councils in the state to give the guards maximum support in the discharge of their duties.

The guards are part of the 1,656 youth engaged in various sectors under the Subsidy Reinvestment Programme, SURE-P, in the last eight months.

Out of these, 520 were engaged as sanitary officers, while 300 were trained in fisheries and other agriculture related enterprises.

In his address, the state’s director general of SURE-P, Nuhu Hassan, said that people who degrade the environment by burning and felling trees would soon be out of jobs adding that the Green Guards would also contribute in intelligence gathering and compliment the security agencies in its activities.

According to him, N178 million has been earmarked for the salaries and allowances of the Green Guards until they are absorbed into the state civil service in January 2015 adding that more programmes are being initiated by SURE-P to give unemployed graduates a new lease of life.

The youths were drawn from 10 out of the 15 local government areas mostly threatened by encroachers, illegal loggers and hunters.

The other 15 local government areas would be covered in the second phase of the programme which would commence next year, Hassan

Embraer 120 Aircraft Crash Caused By Engine Failure – AIB

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Embraer 120 Aircraft Crash Caused By Engine Failure – AIB

The Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB, Friday in Abuja released a preliminary report on the Embraer 120 aircraft that crashed on October 3, saying that the accident was likely caused by engine failure.

Muhtar Usman, commissioner of the AIB, who briefed newsmen, said that the report was based on the findings from the “Black Box,” recovered from the scene of the crash.

From its preliminary assessment of the Flight 361 recorders, the AIB said the likely causes of the crash include, mechanical and electronic engine control issues related to the right engine and the right engine propeller system as well as the take-off configuration issues with respect to flap settings.

He listed other likely causes as “aural warnings related to auto-feather and the flap settings, required for take-off and when and how the number two engine fire handle was pulled”.

Usman listed other likely causes to include crew decision making and training with respect to proceeding with the flight, in spite of concerns regarding the aircraft’s suitability for the flight.

“The investigation is also focusing on the standard operating procedure with respect to continuing the take-off roll, in spite of continuous automated voice warnings of both take-off flaps and auto feather when there was ample time to abort the take-off,” he said.

The commissioner further disclosed that the bureau was in the process of developing a comprehensive computer reconstruction of the aircraft to assist its investigation team understand the sequence of events that led to the crash.

This, he said, will enable the bureau to come up with a comprehensive report of what led to the crash and come up with safety recommendations.

He also said that the AIB plans to release the transcript of the Cockpit Voice Recorder, CVR, which contained the internal conversation of the two pilots, radio calls and the overall aural environment in the cockpit area microphone.

According to him, the CVR is of good quality and the bureau is in the process of generating a complete transcript of all relevant information.

“However, the actual recording is under international protocol, sensitive and therefore, privileged information and will not be released at any time,” he said.

The ill-fated aircraft, with registration number 5N-BJY operated by Associated Airlines, crashed at the Domestic Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos shortly after take-off.                                  

The aircraft, which was on a private charter flight from Lagos to Akure, Ondo State, was carrying 20 persons, including the crew as well as the remains of the former Governor of Ondo State, Olusegun Agagu.

Cholera Outbreak Kills 2 In Zamfara

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Cholera Outbreak Kills 2 In Zamfara

A cholera out-break has claimed two lives while more than 130 others are hospitalised in Rini Village and Bakura town in the Bakura Local Government Area of Zamfara.

The vice chairman of the Local Government, Dandare Dakko, made the disclosure on Thursday while addressing the families of victims at a camp in Rini Village.

Dakko said that the outbreak affected 102 people in Rini Village and 32 students of the Government Science Secondary School, Bakura.

He said that the sick were being treated at the Bakura General Hospital and that the local government had already released money to buy drugs for them.

The vice chairman said that the council had provided camps for the victims at Rini and Bakura, urging the families of affected people to exercise patience as government was making efforts to assist them.

The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that doctors from Medicine San Frontier, Doctors Without Borders, were seen rendering assistance to the victims at Rini Village and Bakura town.

N36m Scam: Fraudster Gets 10 Years Sentence

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N36m Scam: Fraudster Gets 10 Years Sentence

A High Court in the Federal Capital Territory,has sentenced one Joseph Morah to 10 years imprisonment without the option of fine for obtaining the sum of N36 million from Awalu Abdulrahman, a  Bureau de Change operator by false pretence in 2006.

Spokesman for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, said the convict was first arraigned on November 1, 2006 and re-arraigned in 2011 on an amended three count charge of obtaining money under false pretence.

He was docked alongside three others namely, John Obiamalu, who was discharged and acquitted, Sani Musa and Elvis Ezeani both of whom are at large.

Working with his accomplices, he was alleged to have convinced his victim to part with the said sum under the pretext that they were going to transfer the Naira equivalent to him.

Not suspecting foul play, Abdurrahman convinced his brother Nurudeen who resides in Ghana on the genuineness of the transaction and eventually paid the sum of N36 million to the convict.

However, suspicion grew when the person Nurudeen sent to accompany Morah and his co-accused to collect the Naira equivalent was pushed out of the car.

Three of the five accused, obiamalu, Joseph Morah, and Ezeani who later jumped bail, were initially arrested.

According to prosecution counsel, Maryam Aminu Ahmed, five witnesses were called in the course of trial.

Jonathan Tasks African Leaders on Economic Reliance

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Jonathan Tasks African Leaders on Economic Reliance

President Goodluck Jonathan has urged African leaders to intensify efforts towards total development and utilization of their countries’ comparative economic potentials over other parts of the world for the benefit of their people.

He stated this on Thursday while speaking with Botswana’s new Ambassador to Nigeria, Louis Matshewenyego Fisher, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Jonathan, in a statement issued by his special adviser on media and publicity, Reuben Abati, urged African countries to develop and execute policies that will maximize their economic potentials and make them less dependent on the industrialized nations of the world.

He cautioned African leaders to focus more on building domestic capacity around the strengths of their economies, instead of wasting their efforts on areas in which they lack a competitive edge.

The President pointed out that the growing youth population in Africa was an advantage for the continent, adding that Africa’s largely youthful population gives the continent a competitive edge over other parts of the world by providing a vast labour pool for investors and a huge market for
products and services.

With reference to the inter-connectivity of the world economy, Jonathan said that globalization will work better if African countries fully utilize their resources to enhance their ability to compete effectively with other regions of the world.

He posited that competitiveness could be further boosted through increased regional trade and horizontal investment partnerships.

“I want to insist that our diplomacy should be based more on trade and economic relations. We
must encourage trade between our people and I see that relationship as the bedrock for diplomacy,” Jonathan added.

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He congratulated all the new ambassadors on their posting to Nigeria and wished them success in their efforts to boost bilateral relations between Nigeria and their countries.

Responding, the ambassadors assured the President to be diligent and enhance existing trade, economic and cultural cooperation between Nigeria and their countries.

The President also received letters of credence from some new ambassadors to Nigeria including ambassador from Czech Republic – Pavel Mikes, Republic of Kuwait – Abdulla Ahmed Al-Sharrah and the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Perry Calderwood at the State House.

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