Nigeria's Candidates Blame Each Other In Surprise Vote Delay

Children play football in the sandy courtyard of Badawa Girls School, which would have been used as a polling station, in Kano, northern Nigeria, Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019. A civic group monitoring Nigeria's now-delayed election says the last-minute decision to postpone the vote a week until Feb. 23 "has created needless tension and confusion in the country." (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

BY RODNEY MUHUMUZA, HILARY UGURU AND CARA ANNA

YOLA, NIGERIA (AP) — Nigeria’s top candidates on Saturday condemned the last-minute decision to delay the presidential election for a week until Feb. 23, blaming each other but appealing to Africa’s largest democracy for calm.

The decision, announced just five hours before polls were to open, is a costly one. Authorities now must decide what to do with already delivered voting materials in a tense atmosphere where some electoral facilities in recent days have been torched.

Electoral commission chairman Mahmood Yakubu told surprised observers, diplomats and others that the delay had nothing to do with insecurity or political influence. He blamed “very trying circumstances” including bad weather affecting flights and the fires at three commission offices in an apparent “attempt to sabotage our preparations.”

If the vote had continued as planned, polling units could not have opened at the same time nationwide. “This is very important to public perceptions of elections as free, fair and credible,” Yakubu said, adding that as late as 2 a.m. they were still confident the election could go ahead.

The new Feb. 23 election date is “without equivocation” final, he said. Nigeria’s election process is a sprawling affair with over 23,000 candidates for various posts and more than 84 million registered voters.

Some bitter voters in the capital, Abuja, and elsewhere who traveled home to cast their ballots said they could not afford to wait another seven days, and warned that election apathy could follow. Some anguished over rescheduling weddings, exams and other milestones, along with those in Nigeria’s vast diaspora who had returned home to vote.

The party backing top opposition challenger Atiku Abubakar accused President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration of “instigating this postponement” with the aim of ensuring a low turnout. Its statement urged Nigerians to turn out in greater numbers a week from now.

Abubakar, speaking to reporters outside his home in northern Adamawa state, urged calm. “We will overcome this. You can postpone an election, but you cannot postpone destiny,” he later tweeted. A party spokesman in Delta state in the restive south said the commission “has destroyed the soul of Nigeria with this act.”

Buhari said he was “deeply disappointed” after the electoral commission had “given assurances, day after day and almost hour after hour that they are in complete readiness for the elections. We and all our citizens believed them.” His statement appealed for calm and stressed that his administration does not interfere in the commission’s work.

A spokesman for Buhari’s campaign committee, Festus Keyamo, accused Abubakar’s party of causing the delay to create a “breather” and try to slow the president’s momentum.

One ruling party campaign director in Delta state, Goodnews Agbi, told The Associated Press it was better to give the commission time to conduct a credible vote instead of rushing into a sham one “that the whole world will criticize later.”

Frustrated voters gathered in the capital. “I am not happy, and I’m very, very angry,” Yusuf Ibrahim said. A civic group monitoring the election, the Situation Room, blasted the “needless tension and confusion” and called on political parties to avoid incitement and misinformation.

Nigeria’s more than 190 million people anticipate a close race between Buhari and Abubakar, a billionaire former vice president. Both have pledged to work for a peaceful election even as supporters, including high-level officials, have caused alarm with vivid warnings against foreign interference and allegations of rigging.

When Buhari came to power in 2015 — after a six-week election delay blamed on extremist insecurity — he made Nigerian history with the first defeat of an incumbent president. The election was hailed as one of the most transparent and untroubled ever in Africa’s most populous country, which has seen deadly post-vote violence in the past.

Now Buhari could become the second incumbent to be unseated. This election is a referendum on his record on insecurity, the economy and corruption, all of which he has been criticized by some Nigerians for doing too little too slowly.

Uguru reported from Ughelli, Nigeria, and Anna reported from Kano, Nigeria. Associated Press photographer Jerome Delay in Kaduna, Nigeria, contributed.

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NIGERIA: Voters Paid N5000 Each In Ondo, Anambra Polls – INEC

BY JOSIAH OLUWOLE

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu via Premium Times

ABUJA, NIGERIA (PREMIUM TIMES)--The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said security agencies would be on the lookout for acts of vote buying during the upcoming Ekiti State governorship election slated for July 14 this year.

The commission also noted that such malpractices were prevalent at the governorship polls held in Edo, Ondo and Anambra States respectively.

INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, Solomon Soyebi, who was representing the Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, at a stakeholders’ meeting on the continuous voters registration, in Ado Ekiti on Monday, said the commission was aware that money was used to influence voters during the Ondo and Anambra elections.

The electoral body said it was aware of how people were offered N5,000 each to cast their votes in those states, saying such won’t reoccur in Ekiti ”through strong synergy with the security agencies.”

“The elections in Edo, Ondo and Anambra States were largely monetised,” Mr. Soyebi said. “We are aware of this . It was ‘see and buy,’ but it won’t happen in Ekiti.”

He said INEC had conducted a total of 286 polls since 2015 and that only 28 were nullified due largely to parties’ poor internal democracy.

“It was N5,000 per vote in Ondo and Anambra states. We are working with security agencies not to allow it to happen again. We even seized some cash in Anambra state,” he said.

“In Ekiti election, we won’t allow any vehicle to come near the polling units, because the politicians used to keep the money in the booth. With this, it will reduce because politicians can’t carry large amount in their pockets.”

Mr Soyebi also assured that the commission would be neutral in Ekiti election, urging all to work hard to mobilise the people for the continuous registration exercise and to claim over 200,000 Permanent Voter Cards that were still with the commission.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Abdullahi Chafe, said the police had mapped out strategies to stop electoral malfeasance.

Also the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Abdulganiy Raji, said over 218,000 PVCs were yet to be claimed.

The deputy governor of Ekiti State, Kolapo Olusola, said the people in Ekiti were peace-loving. “All we want from INEC is neutrality, so that Ekiti can be at peace before, during and after this election.”

The traditional rulers in Ekiti State who attended the meeting, charged INEC to avoid the manipulation of the coming governorship election.

The Alare of Are Ekiti, Boluwade Adeniyi, in his comments, said, “INEC boss, we are aware of smart card reader that will be used for this election. Our appeal is that, do not outsmart the smart card reader, so that we can have a peaceful poll.”

The Attah of Ayede, Mumini Orisagbemi, also had a warning.

“INEC is like a referee in a football match. We have never heard of a referee trying to score a goal in a match. If INEC as a referee wants to score a goal in Ekiti, our people won’t allow that.”

"February 14": A Troubled Nation And Jega's Mathematical Errors

BY AMBROSE EHIRIM

Independent National Electoral Commission Chairman, Attahiru Jega, speaks during a news conference Saturday night, February 2, 2015 as the Nigerian Elections postponement is announced in the city of Abuja. Image: Olamikan Gbemiga/AP



The postponement of the February 14 Presidential and Legislative elections did not come to Nigerians as a surprise; it was expected as the speculations about shift in date had already gone viral within the Nigerian social media, even though the Attahiru Jega-led Independent National Electoral Commission, the INEC, was in denial about the voters card and distribution, in addition to the security forces engaged in combat with the bloodthirsty cannibals, Boko Haram, and the inability to guarantee voters' safety on the northeast that is home to the terrorist organization. Jega had long before now been convinced and totally sure that he had it gripped in his hands and have calculated with certainty his January 24, 2014 announcement date for February 14, 2015 presidential and legislative election schedules was firm and would not be changed despite the doubts in his accuracy. He had assured Nigerians that there'd be no way elections would not be held on Saturday, February 14, 2015 until the late, late hour, when he had realized the impossibilities of the guaranteed February 14th date to which he hurriedly went on air to announce Saturday night, February 7, that there's a shift, and it would take another 6 weeks before such election could be possible, rescheduling the first part of the elections to Saturday, March 28. I had questioned Jega's pronouncement with certainty that his calculation for February 14 would not be changed, not even considering the effects of Boko Haram and the instability overwhelming the northeast, the Islamic Jihadists terrorists stronghold.

Jega had assumed one year notice to general elections was adequate and appropriate from his scheduling in what would be the decision for Nigerian electorates on who becomes the next president of Nigeria if Goodluck Jonathan is not reelected in which he also had guaranteed the best outcome in the history of Nigeria elections, beginning the First Republic. From that announcement to hold elections on February 14, Jega also came with lots of assurances that past electoral mistakes had been corrected, putting INEC platforms into perspective that gets the job done for freer and fair elections through time -- with references from the Anambra State Guber elections seen as smoother than previously held, and, as an example, to much better results in the future.

Jega was wrong. Jega was not only wrong; he had knew there was no way he could meet up with the February 14 date, while he kept lying about it's certainty and a guaranteed historical election; to be marked as the freest and fairest election ever to be held in the country. With a date suddenly moved, all about Jega and his declarations, and his authenticity toward the Presidential and National Assembly elections are now questionable with the errors difficult to be erased.

The Wiki Link tells us Jega was born on January 11, 1957, and had attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, earning a degree in political science, and later proceeded to Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, where he wrote his thesis, earning his doctorate in political science before returning back to Nigeria and joining the Political Science Faculty at the Bayero University. He was nominated by President Jonathan in June 2010 as the new Chair to the INEC, in a meeting (National Council of State) presided by the president himself with former heads of state Shehu Shagari, Ernest Shonekan, Olusegun Obasanjo, Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsalami Abubakar in attendance. At the meeting was also the Senate President David Mark, then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Oladimeji Bankole, and a majority of the state governors. Jega was unanimously approved, and had replaced the outgoing Maurice Iwu.

Jega takes over and had gone to work to implement electoral reforms with much anticipations the 2015 elections would have no hiccups by the time it arrives and from the assumption of Jega's clean slate.

While Jega was so sure of an election that would hold on a date he had guaranteed, his thinking did not direct him to a certain disturbance in the country where militants had called home and have continued with the quest in their agitation for an Islamic republic, on the premise nothing else could be held other than the Islamic faith and the doctrine of Mohammed, their Messiah, observed through bloodletting in which the militants haven't stopped, and in which they have consistently carried out their terrorist activities with sustained accuracy, indicating the groups' organizational effectiveness.

Not even President Jonathan's last attempt from exhausting all of his options when on May 14, 2013, the president used his executive privileges to enact an executive order, the "Doctrine of Extraordinary Measures" for national interest giving the military and security details orders on the guidelines of the "Rules of Engagement" to combat Boko Haram, with the backing and support of numerous union heads and the people in general as the bloodlust Islamic Jihadists threatens the security and sovereignty of the nation.

Before the bloodthirsty cannibals, the Boko Haram Terrorists resurrected from a number of previous attacks of previous governments, they have not been known until eruption of the Sharia Debacle in 2000 during the Obasanjo administration. Henceforth, Boko Haram started to cause the havoc that would not allow any political play into the nation's political landscape except Sharia and why Islam matters to the republic from around which those who object becomes target as opposed to Islam.

Jonathan's "Doctrine of Extraordinary Measures" was just another slap on the face, and adding insult to dishonor, Boko Haram would strike in numerous occasions even when a new chief of defense staff had been appointed to handle the case of the Islamic Jihad murderous nihilists.

Jonathan had appointed Air Vice Marshall Alex Badeh as the Chief of Defense Staff January 2014 with all hopes that Badeh who happens to come from the northeast should be able to identify with his Boko Haram kins and resolve what had been a national nightmare, with reports of who had been the brains behind the funding and operatives of the terrorists. Keeping hopes alive and reason why Nigerians should applaud him, Badeh assured the nation that Boko Haram would be history in three months of his appointment as Chief of Defense Staff. Within 72 hours Badeh had run his mouth of containing Boko Haram, a market in Borno State was bombed and a Catholic church in his hometown, allegedly his parish in Adamawa, also bombed to send a strong message to the air marshall that it wasn't time for kiddie stuff, that they had meant business and should be taken seriously.

With the bombing of the Catholic church in Adamawa, Badeh had nothing else to say, had no other options, at all, until the worst of cases started popping up. More bombings which questioned the strength of the Nigeria military continued apace, through the kidnap of the Chibok Girls that received a global attention, and a time for global concerns to act swiftly in rescue of the over 200 plus-girls abducted from their dorms in the woods of Chibok. Every other tactic failed and a new hashtag was born, #BringBackOurGirls.

In my article June 8, 2013 titled "Jonathan's Doctrine of Extraordinary Measures and Nigeria's Political Future," I had said Boko Haram was far from over because the capitalist class, the bunch with the cash that keeps the operation of the terrorists alive still have the influence and resources to train and arm the insurgents even with a US bounty of $7 million on information that would lead to arrest of their leader Abubakar Shekau.

Again, we understand Jega's INEC has shifted the elections to March 28, and the question remains what I had asked way before the social media catapulted what was wrong in Jega's date and a realistic terrorists in the northeast where the elections are still questionable and why the elections may not finally hold.

Is "February 14, 2015" According To INEC Realistic?

BY AMBROSE EHIRIM

 The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in one of how it could still not be understood by some, and in what some pundits had applauded as right and appropriate, released its time table, the schedule for the 2015 general elections on Friday, January 24, 2014. The release had slated February 14, 2015 for the Presidential and National Assembly elections, which is about a year away from now with no known potential candidates from the multitude of political parties and the alliances we have seen erupt over the months.

Though Egbon Goodluck Jonathan has not made his intentions known yet, that is, if he would continue with his stewardship of the nation's top job, INEC, for some reasons, from its announcement, appeared to have thrown in a ball of confusion to a collective of political parties that had been making series of noises in their clamor to get rid of Egbon Jonathan from Aso Rock. Some of the opposition now blame the Egbon Jonathan-led government to have compelled INEC in that surprising announcement even though we are yet to see any candidate emerge as any party's contender or flag bearer.

Nobody is actually sure what is it in particular they have been saying or their strategy to do things differently the Nigerian electorate should buy. And nobody have seen, of all the political talks and campaigns, their political agenda from around which we on the public square should take a close look at, and determine if there's something to it, convincing us that they have a good plan and we should give them our votes. And nobody have seen a candidate, among the aspirants, that Nigerians should take their word in their allured creed to make life better for a desperate and longing for good governance public, attesting from their word of mouth, looking back to their previous handling of the affairs of state.

And nobody indeed knows, or even sure that a sudden love affair out of the blues among grand and small political parties which sooner than later as we found out, becomes one as in marriage in which the head of household is to be known; and now that INEC has released its mandate, we do hope they crawl out and sincerely tell us who they are and one, why we should be listening to them.  Two, what is it that they have for us? Three, what guarantees that when we give them our votes, that they would not turn around and tell us we can go to hell, and that they have used us, taking advantage of our gullible and vulnerable nature. Four,  that they are now in power, and that we should shut up or they would exercise power on us. Five, that everybody serves his or her turn in Nigeria, and that you have to mount your complaints and pressure to get there, which is the parlance in Nigeria politics.  Six,  that we should begin now to mount our own pressures and complaints to lay the path to our turn and as the list goes on and on, where is the origin of the "turn by turn"?

And I'm getting sick and tired of the chants Nigeria needs new hands. The new hands? And assuming we are giving former dictator and military junta Muhammadu Buhari that said privilege, again, what guarantees that Buhari would not as he did in his era of dictatorship, destroy every aspect of civil liberties?  And how do we know that the extremities of the Sharia laws will not be recalled knowing for the fact that radical Islam is baked in Buhari's genes?

And in what had erupted from the vicious attacks by the Islamic Jihadists, Boko Haram, the last few weeks, and yet to see where Buhari had taken the lead to condemn the act of terrorism for the fact that Buhari himself, a Muslim, should be positioned enough to have appropriate contacts and be able to summon meetings of the Northern elders to seek resolve in what had been a national nightmare for several years now. And as the general election fast approaches even though no candidate is in the books as of the moment, Buhari who wants to rule Nigeria in civilian outfits is yet to get involved to determine his contribution as a northern elder to locate the logistics of Boko Haram and the machinery behind its funding. Why?

But as INEC Chairman Attahiru Jega has been confidently sure that the 2015 elections is guaranteed to be free and fair, and in the chairman's own words, much, much better than the previous ones held, including the past gubernatorial election in Anambra last November, which was turned into a police state on the grounds of enforcing the rules of engagement while unnecessary police checkpoints and roadblocks were mounted all around the state, and oftentimes, harassing innocent citizens going about their businesses, having nothing to do with the conduct of said elections.

Jega's freest and fair elections come February 14, and 28, 2015 respectively, means there would be no complaints of missing ballot boxes, improper polling stations and knock-around guys anywhere within the nation's political landscape to cause all kinds of trouble by way of political thuggery, hoodlums and nihilists hired by politicians to throw in series of disorderliness when the election tally seems not be going their way.

What gives Jega the confidence as corrupt as he is himself, and elections that had been marred by irregularities since the inception of the Fourth Republic that the 2015 general elections was going to be exceptional? What had been the measures taken to correct the ills of election failures within these few months? And talk about the discharge of riot police officers as was the case in Anambra, would that be avoided, too, for civilians to exercise their civil liberties as seen in all organized societies? From where is Jega so confident that the loopholes that attracts bribery and corruption, in addition to election rigging having no end in sight can be stopped in this eleventh hour a time bomb is about to explode?

Maybe, there are some magical formulas Jega's about to unveil that would surprise us, and by the time 2015 is up and about, and eventually free of election malpractices, a record, first of its kind in the nation's history, we would begin believing in magic, that mystical experience of a national transformation begun by Jega.

Jega is so sure even with a volatile northeastern states where the blood thirsty Islamic Jihadists Boko Haram have taken hold on a mass murdering spree, and nothing whatsoever stopped them; not even with Egbon Jonathan's unbecoming tactic of the random reshuffle of his service chiefs. So far, it hasn't worked and Boko Haram and its subsidiaries remains firm keeping up with its motive of the acts of terrorism and an Islamic state while it's funded from the coffers of the government.

Egbon Jonathan's moves to contain Boko Haram so far has not worked which seemed to have frustrated his efforts. Just last week, on mounting the defense ladder as the new chief, Air Marshall Alex Badeh, in Egbon Jonathan's attempt to fish out Boko Haram insurgents, Badeh assured Nigerians that the Boko Haram vicious attacks and campaign for radical Islamism would be over by April before Egbon Jonathan's "Doctrine of Extra-Ordinary Measures" expires. Badeh claimed the "war was over" as if we have not heard that before.

As it would happen upon Badeh's assurances of Boko Haram terrorist activities to be a thing of the past and a nightmare over with by April, it would not take 72 hours of Badeh's statement that Boko Haram would struck in two different locations -- one at a market in Borno State and the other at a Catholic Church in Adamawa. Dozens of innocent citizens perished in the two separate attacks, and hundreds more wounded.

So, when Jega is guaranteeing a free and fair election in 2015, what exactly does he mean? Does he mean while Boko Haram is keeping its logistics intact, and when and where next to strike around the northeastern landscapes, that a normal election freer than ever would be taking place in those volatile regions?

Nigerian Presidential Elections Feb. 14, 2015

President Goodluck Jonathan meets with President Francois Hollande of France at the Elysee palace in Paris February 11, 2013. Image: John Van Hasselt


ABUJA, NIGERIA. (AP) — Nigeria's electoral commission says presidential and legislative elections in Africa's biggest oil producer will be held Feb. 14, 2015.

President Goodluck Jonathan has refused to announce his intentions but his perceived desire to run has fractured his People's Democratic Party amid increasing political violence.

Dozens of party stalwarts have defected to a new opposition coalition. It may offer the first real competition to the Democrats, who have governed since years of military dictatorship ended in 1999.
Many consider Jonathan a weak leader who has failed on election promises to end corruption crippling the economy. He has governed since 2010 and also has failed to halt an Islamic uprising that forced a state of emergency covering one-sixth of the country.

The commission announced the date in a statement Friday night.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

APGA's Maxi Okwu's Letter To INEC

Maxi Okwu. Image: Facebook

29th April 2013

The Chairman,

Independent National Electoral Commission,

Zambezi crescent Maitama,

Abuja.

Sir,

RE: APPLICATION FOR CERTIFIED TRUE COPIES OF LIST OF APGA STATE CHAIRMEN AS AT 8TH FEBRUARY 2013


By two letters dated 28th March 2013, we applied formally for certified true copies (CTC) of certain party documents which we itemized. We are now in receipt of the CTC of the following documents:

i. Our letter dated 5th March 2013, titled “Notice of National Emergency Meeting pursuant to Article 22(2c) of the Constitution of our party”.

ii. Our Notice of Convention dated 11th March 2013, titled “Notice of National Convention Pursuant to Section 85 of the Electoral Act (as amended)”.

iii. Our letter dated 28th March 2013, titled “Re: Notice of National Convention Pursuant to Section 85 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended)”.

We thank the Commission for obliging us with the CTC of the documents mentioned above. However by no stretch of the imagination can the extract suo motu by the Commission from minutes of an APGA National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on 1st December 2010 be substituted for the requirements of section 222(a) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). By the simple express of that provision every political party in Nigeria is required to file with your Commission ‘the names and addresses of its national officers.’ By virtue of Article 10(2)XXXV of our party constitution, State Chairmen are ex-officio members of the NEC of our party.

Secondly Hon. Chairman the document titled ‘THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING OF ALL PROGRESSIVE GRAND ALLIANCE (APGA) HELD ON 1st DECEMBER, 2010 AT NICON LUXURY HOTEL, ABUJA’ from which the list is prepared is a document which on its face exposes a serious breach of the constitution of our party which is filed with you pursuant to section 222(c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

The tenure of those who purported to meet on that day was to expire the very next day 2nd December 2010. Please see page 39 of the judgment of the Enugu High Court item G where the Court answered one of the questions in issue before the Court.

The motion therefore by Barr Bako styled Asst National Legal Adviser for the extension of the tenure of the National Working Committee is palpably illegal vide Article 18(2) of the APGA constitution. Again, assuming without conceding that the motion could stand, did it at the same time extend the tenure of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of which the NWC is merely one of the four named standing committees vide Article 15(1)2 of the party constitution? Assuming again without conceding that the names extracted by your Commission are authentic state chairmen their tenure expired on 2nd December 2010 and has since not been extended at any congress monitored by the Commission.

Hon. Chairman, may we in the alternative humbly apply for the CTC of the notice of congresses pursuant to section 85 of the Electoral Act by APGA where these purported State Chairmen prepared by your Commission emerged. Secondly, we further request for the CTC of the list of INEC officers who monitored the said congresses and their report there from.

The fact, Hon. Chairman, is that Victor Umeh the party’s’ erstwhile Chairman had a penchant of unilaterally appointing and sacking national officers including state Chairmen as it suited his fancy. The Chairmen who meet in emergency session on 9th March 2013 at Awka to rescue the party are the authentic state chairmen who have effectively been piloting the affairs of the states. In doing so they merely executed an aspect of the order of Court in the judgment of the Enugu State High Court of 8th February 2013 at page 39. The Court said ' (1) that the National Executive Committee of APGA was bound to meet and fix a date for the election of Chairman of the party upon the effluxion of the four-year tenure of the defendant in 2010.
The result of this patriotic effort was the bottoms up congresses and convention of 8th April 2013 which your commission effectively monitored. This is the first of its kind in the 11 year history of APGA.

Finally please accept assurances of our highest consideration.

Barr. Maxi Okwu
Ikenecheoha II

INEC Imo State: A Criminal Corporation Under Jega

Failure is not a plague from the gods or a kind of curse from outer space, it is a design of Lilliputians who in their supercilious minds hold self above ALL; and conduct public affairs for private advantage. Happenings in INEC Owerri are indications that the next election has been programmed to fail. Elections don’t just fail, preceding actions determine an election. When we ignore events that are indices of failure, predicting the next election becomes a fool’s game!

Integrity, honesty and transparency, are critical virtues, any Electoral Management Body and its personnel, must bring to bear on their official actions and behavior, so as to create and sustain public confidence in the electoral process.

It is against this backdrop, that the happenings in the Imo State office of the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission, under the leadership of (the octogerian ) Prof Selina Oko and her Administrative Secretary, Engineer Moses Udoh, come under discourse here, as those happenings, are at cross purposes with the yearnings of Nigerians, for sanity and credibility in the electoral process.

This is more so, as Jega, on his appointment as INEC Chair, was celebrated as “Mr. Integrity", with the public expectation, that he would not condone acts of dishonesty, on the part of Election Administrators, at whatever level of the Commission, especially, in their dealings with the stakeholders and the public.

It was in line with this expectation, that the attention of the INEC Chairman, was drawn (on several occasions), to the acts of dishonesty and betrayal of public trust, that serially take place, in the Imo State office of INEC. However, surprisingly and sadly too, what was received on each of those occasions, was dead silence from the Abuja end. Moreover, the beat goes on. Now, the specifics:

Imo remains the only state, where the ad-hoc staff, that worked in the cancelled April 2nd, 2011 NASS Election, have not been paid their honoraria and other allowances, till date. And those of them, that went to ask the REC, were told that the money Abuja sent for that purpose, was short, and that (Abuja) had been written, to send the balance.

But having waited for months, without being called to come for their money, on the 16th Jan 2012, Jega was formally complained to, concerning the issue. Silence. No response.

Again, on the 19th of March, 2012) Jega was written on the same issue (among other scams), silence. No response.

The other cases of graft, which Abuja was intimated on, include the following: (i) deduction of N250,000,00 from the N lm advanced to each of the Electoral officers in the 27 L.G.As of the state, for the procurement of some items, for the 2011 voters' registration exercise:

 (ii) payment of N99,000.00, to each of the RACOS (Registration Area Collation Officers), in the 305 Registration Areas of the state, instead of N 120,000.00 each, as provided by Abuja,

(iii) payment of N55,000.00, instead of N65,000.00 each, to ARO (i) and ARO (ii) ,in the 3523 Registration Centers in the state, (iv) non-payment ( for more than 3years), of the monthly imprest of  N20,000.00, to each of the 27 E.O.s in the state and the six Heads of department, at the state headquarters, for the running of their offices, as routinely released by Abuja.

However, it was obviously due to the seriousness of the foregoing cases of scam, that the Jega-led INEC, In March, 2012, sent a Team of Investigators to Owerri, to verify the  authenticity (or otherwise) of these sleazy deals. But till today, nothing has been heard about the team and its report. It has been deafening silence, from Abuja. And the scam goes on.

But if Abuja were sincere, the Investigating Team, would have made their work very simple, by just asking the staff of the Commission in the state, how much they were paid (or not paid), because, they equally worked as ad-hoc staff, in both the voter's registration exercise and the cancelled NASS election. Fela would call it "Government Magic". And towards the end of last year, the owed ad-hoc staff approached a law firm in Owerri, which wrote Jega, demanding the payment of the election duty allowances, to its clients. Deafening silence. And in suit No.FHC/OW/CS/33/2013, the lawyer, filed a court action, to compel INEC to pay the said poll allowances.

Now, the whole world knows, that the May 6th Supplementary Election, was held in four local government areas in the state -Mbaitoli, Ngor Okpala, Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta and Orji ward (in Owerri North), following the violence in these areas in the April 26th Election. And again, This Supplementary Election, in the eleven wards of Oguta, in which men and materials were deployed, again, could not hold because of the same reasons of violence.

The retired DIG Ivy Okoronkwo was there. Dr Ishmael Igbani, INEC National Commissioner, was present. Barr. Ikiowak, the Rivers State REC ( deployed as Supplementary Election REC), was there. In fact, it was the INEC staff from Rivers State, that were deployed to the whole eleven wards in Oguta, for that election.

But INEC in the state, was to shock the nation later, when it appeared in court with results from seven, out of eleven wards in Oguta, claiming that the ‘mystery’ results were got from the botched April 26th, 2011, Gov/House of Assembly election. Electoral Abracadabra!!! And the funny thing is that these stranger - than­-fiction results, were certified by the Administrative Secretary, Engineer Moses Udoh, in favour of the plaintiff, that sued the Commission in court. And based on ‘evidence’ before it, the court ordered INEC to go and conduct the H/A election, in the remaining four wards of the L.G.A. The rest is history. But the Jega -led INEC, remained silent as it did not ask Owerri, how it came about the April 26, 2011 results, it certified and tendered in court, especially, when the same state office, had earlier listed the whole Oguta, in its report to Abuja, as one of the L.G.A.s, where the April 26th election did not hold.

And INEC, headquarters, Abuja, could not ask a simple question: had the Supplementary Election been successful in Oguta, would Owerri have come up with these strange results, it claimed, it got from the unsuccessful April 26 2011 election, in the area?

And when the authenticity of the “results” was further challenged in court, the Administrative Secretary (sweating profusely in the witness box), could not explain how he came about the phantasm results, he certified, to the consternation of the audience in court.

And of course, the court nullified the whole thing, as nothing, but a bundle of forgery. And Abuja remained tongue-tied as the beat goes on in Imo.

Now, since the Jega -led INEC, sees no evil and punishes none, in the several complaints of acts of dishonesty and betrayal of public trust, that go on in its Imo state office, a case was made to the Public Complaints Commission in the state, particularly with regards to the monthly imprest issue.

The PCC, carried out investigation and found, that the Electoral officers, do not actually get imprest (for years) leading to adverse attitude to work by the workers in the L.G.As, as their offices are ill maintained

         

In reaction, the REC told the PCC, that Jega does not give her money (every month) to give to EOs that she has told them that any person, who makes out-of­ pocket expenses, should apply for refund. But the question is, if monthly imprest are given EOs in other states, why is Imo different? INEC Imo State remains the only place where staff get salary one week after their colleagues in other States have.

In anger, the REC summoned the EOs for a meeting, where she accused them of being the brain behind the petition to the PCC. The EOs were thoroughly tongue -lashed and told, that the Management would make a document, which the EOs would sign, that they were not being owed any allowance. And any person, who refused to sign, would be treated as fighting the Management, and that person, would be reported to Jega. And the EOs signed. Ite Missa est! – (And mass ends).

Now, INEC Staff Conditions of Service, clearly provides, that employment of staff on grade levels 01-06, in the STATES/FCT, is for the indigenes of the area. But while in other states, this provision is adhered to, in Imo, the REC and the Admin Secretary, ensure that Imo people are completely shut out, as all the 30 junior Staff, engaged by them in the state, none is from Imo. And several formal complaints made to Abuja in this regard, elicited no response. What type of injustice is this?

The concluding question is: if Prof Jega were to come from Imo state, would he keep silent, when he gets complaints that his people, are being denied their (official) entitlements, which their counterparts in other states, get?

Hilary Eni Njoku

Voice of Conscience.

INEC Never Recognised Maxi Okwu -Umeh

Chief Victor Umeh, a key subject in the sustained drama in APGA, who, on the day a National Convention of the party in Awka, declared Maxi Okwu Chairman, the Court of Appeal, reaffirmed his own chairmanship status , dismisses Okwu with a wave of hand in this interview by JUDE OSSAI. Excerpts:

WHAT is your reaction to the reconciliation move by the Okwu-led APGA to the founding father of the party, Chief Chekwas Okorie

I have read the newspaper reports with pictures where it was reported that Okwu went to Chekwas Okorie to apologise to him for the injustice done to him by the APGA. One must admit that this is a season of comedy in the APGA. The Nigerian public is being treated to all sorts of comedy by some characters masquerading as either members of the APGA or its leaders. The visit by Okwu to Okorie does not come to me as a shock or a surprise for the simple reason that Okorie and Okwu were birds of the feather in the APGA. They were both expelled by the party in 2005 for attempting to cede away Governor Peter Obi’s mandate in Anambra State to the PDP’s candidate, Dr. Chris Ngige. It was Obi who accused Okorie of negotiating away his mandate with a view to sabotaging the defence of that mandate at the Election Tribunal in Awka in 2005. Okwu was of course Okorie’s co-traveller in that alleged act.

It is, therefore, not unexpected that Okwu, having been illegally brought back to the APGA by Governor Obi to become the Interim National Chairman of APGA that his first mission will be to go and bring back his former boss, Chekwas Okorie who suffered the same expulsion with him for the same offence. The only tragedy in the unfolding comedy is the role of Governor Obi who accused the duo of sabotaging his mandate which we fought stoutly to defend at the Election Petitions Tribunal at Awka and up to the Court of Appeal in Enugu. For him now to be sponsoring the same people and also according to Okwu, approving that apologies should be tendered to Okorie for the injustice done to him, that is the irony of the whole situation. One should have expected Obi to accompany Okwu to Okorie’s house to tender that apology. It was Governor Obi who accused both of them of selling his mandate to Dr. Ngige and those of us who fought very hard to defend that mandate through the courts are being fought by the same governor. The leadership that sustained him through all the courts to establish him as a two-term governor in APGA is now being fought by Governor Obi.

What are the lessons from the entire drama?

The only lesson that would be learnt from this unfortunate comedy is that Governor Obi is exposing himself to Nigerians as a man who does not believe in the APGA character. If not for the recent development he would have escaped without notice but we thank God that He has exposed him fully now. Since he has sponsored Okwu to go and apologise to Okorie for injustices done to Chekwas Okorie, we expect him (Obi) to go and apologise to Ngige that he stole his mandate. Dr Ngige who was declared governor-elect by INEC, we had to fight Dr Ngige all through the courts to retrieve the mandate for Obi. By what happened, Obi is saying in effect that he didn’t win the election. So all the efforts we made to get Ngige out of the way for Obi to take over was also wrong. So, we are expecting Obi to lead his kinsmen to go and apologise to Ngige at Alor that he was wrong to have challenged his declaration as the winner of the April 19, 2003 Governorship election in Anambra State.

On the call by Okorie that I should repent and ask for forgiveness, I want to state categorically that I have no regret for championing the cause of justice that saw Okorie out of the way as APGA chairman for betraying the mandate APGA received in the gubernatorial election of 2003. The truth will always remain constant. Despite the attitude of Governor Obi, I will not begin to recant from a just struggle that I led the party through that produced the first governor for APGA in Nigeria and subsequently the second governor in Imo State. There was no injustice done to Okorie at all. He betrayed the party and the party came together to the relish of Governor Obi who participated in all the processes that led to Okorie and Okwu’s expulsion from the party. There is nothing to be regretful about even though Obi has stabbed APGA leadership who stood behind him in the back. The Nigerian public appreciate that we did the right thing. On the present unholy relationship between Governor Obi, Okwu and Okorie, we leave posterity to judge them. Our leadership of APGA remains convinced that the actions we took were not only morally right, but legally right. It was that action that we took that gave APGA the life that it has and enjoyed, but being taking away by Governor Obi through his against the party.

I expect that Okwu would have invited Okorie to come back to APGA as the national chairman of APGA. But from the report, that was not the case. Since he knew that Okorie was wrongfully removed as chairman, the restitution he needed to do was to bring him back to APGA to continue from where he stopped. No such offer was made from the report we read. So, it shows you that they are just doing propaganda and what they are doing will not be accepted by any reasonable person. So on this note, I want to assure you that the APGA leadership in Nigeria can never apologise to Okorie because APGA leadership never did anything wrong to Okorie. Okorie was punished for his breach of APGA constitution by working against the party.

How do you mean?

Everything being pushed out in the media by Okwu has been issues of propaganda. He was appointed Interim National Chairman of APGA according to his claim by an illegal national caucus of APGA whereby they also accepted the judgment of the Enugu State High Court delivered on the 8th of February, 2013 but the Nigerian public has not been made to understand that Okwu has never written a letter to INEC informing INEC of any programme of APGA. Okwu has never written any letter signed by him informing INEC of his activities in APGA from beginning till date.

It was governor Obi who wrote INEC telling INEC, that APGA had no leadership anymore and therefore, he was the only person left; that he can call for congresses and convention as an elected Governor of APGA. INEC replied him that he had no constitutional powers to do that. At the time Obi wrote the letter on the 16th of March 2013, Okwu has emerged as the interim national chairman of APGA giving INEC notice of congresses and convention of APGA. And I can tell you this authoritatively, we have made inquiries in INEC and INEC has told me that they are not aware of the existence of Okwu as an official of APGA since he has not written INEC to say that he has become the interim national chairman of APGA. Secondly, nobody has written INEC to inform that there are interim national officers of APGA now led by Okwu. No such correspondence exists with INEC. So all these things are gimmicks with which the gullible public may not know. I challenge Okwu to bring out one letter he has written to INEC, signed by him as interim national chairman of APGA. I also challenge Okwu to bring any letter that has been written to INEC informing INEC that there are interim national officers or interim leadership. On that note, I want to tell the people of Nigeria that there is no national convention taking place any time soon. It is not going to happen. We will appeal against the judgment of the Enugu State High Court, we are already in progress at the Court of Appeal Enugu Division and there is no way anybody can take any action that will outreach outcome of that appeal. It is pure law.

What is your take on the election of Chief Okwu as the APGA national chairman in a convention supervised by the INEC in Awka, the Anambra State capital?

We went through all the courts in Nigeria to establish Governor Obi as APGA governor in but unfortunately, he has forgotten the processes we went through to establish him as the governor of Anambra State. All the things that the powers that-be did against Governor Obi from 2003 to 2007 and continuously were the things they decided to do against me but he forgot that this court will also protect me. The Nigerian judiciary that protected Governor Obi has also protected me and protected APGA. We thank them; justice is something that is delivered with courage. Obi would have known that if it were might of those who were out to annihilate him from 2003 when he emerged through his impeachment, through his tenure interpretation case, he wouldn’t have been governor today. If it would be decided through the powers- that-be, the high and mighty, he would have been out of power but the courts in Nigeria delivered justice to Obi and our party.

The same courts are at work again. All the things we have argued before which they rubbished, the court has accepted those arguments. The issue that bothered on jurisdiction, they left it and descended on lawlessness. With this judgment today, we get an enrolled order and we will serve INEC and INEC will ask them not to come to him again. That is how it is going to be; because his matter was pending in the court of Appeal here and declared Andy Uba winner, but the court said there shouldn’t have been an election in the first place when the appeal was pending. In this case, an appeal was pending and he went and conducted a convention. I am sorry for them.

I thank our party members, this is the APGA in action and from this court, we are moving to Nnewi at Ojukwu’s house and pay respect to his grave. I will tell him that the party he handed over to me and my colleagues is still alive. Nobody can destroy APGA, it is a spirit that is indestructible. Ojukwu’s spirit will continue to defend us.

Tribune Nigeria Interview April 17, 2013

'Nigeria's' Electoral Mess, Yaradua Retains Seat.

Without a doubt, the contradictions, election flaws and massive irregularities in last year's general elections in Nigeria has now reached alarming proportions. Never before in the country has there been such a confusion in the outcome of an election which has involved and implicated the electoral process and its body, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headed by Professor Maurice Iwu.

In an expected ruling today, the Presidential Election Petition Appeal Court threw out petitions filed by Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria Peoples Party and Atiku Abubakar of Action Congress on the ground the petitioners lacked proof to show Umaru Yar'Adua did not win the presidential election of April 12, 2007. The decision was reached while President Yar'Adua is in China on an official visit to strenghten bilateral relations with China.

In another ruling, the court of appeal sitting in Jos upheld the nullification of Murtala Nyako as Adamawa State governor and ordered the sacked governor to vacate office immediately with fresh elections to be held within 90 days.

The judiaciary is beginning to make sense. It is, however, not surprising that an independent judiciary is beginning to make headway in the nation's democratic dispensation. Many Nigerians place their hope on independent judiciary and a change of the country's leadership starting from every aspect of government -- the executive, the legislator, the judiciary, which has begun to prevail in respecting and upholding the rule of law; and of course, the local government and or municipalities.

Hopefully, every election that has a question mark to it should be well scrutinized and if necessary probe its flaws which has been the major problem in the country's electoral process. The time is now and the judiciary must act fast in eradicating the mess that has destroyed the nation's electoral process over the years, especially in the Fourth Republic.