Connect with us

Politics

Why We Won’t Release 2023 Election Timetable Now – INEC Chair

Published

on

BREAKING: Court Orders INEC To Resume Continuous Voter's Registration

The 2023 general election timetable may not be released soon. This is because the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is still waiting for the Electoral Act Amendment Bill to be signed into law.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu disclosed this Tuesday in Abuja during the commission’s first quarterly consultative meeting with political parties.

He said: “On the Electoral Amendment Bill currently before the National Assembly, the commission is encouraged by the Senate President’s assurance to give priority attention to the Bill when the National Assembly reconvenes from its recess today, and the commitment by the president to assent to the bill as soon as the issue of mode of primaries by political parties is resolved. We look forward to a speedy passage of the bill, which is crucial to our preparations for future elections.

“As soon as it is signed into law, the commission will quickly release the timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Election based on the new law”.

Noting that 2022 is going to be a very busy year for the commission and the political parties, Yakubu reminded them that the 2023 General Election was just 396 days away.

He said all the critical preparations must be concluded this year, explaining that the Continuous Voter Registration CVR which commenced in June last year has entered the third quarter.

“As of yesterday Monday 17th January 2022, a total of 8,260,076 eligible Nigerians commenced the online pre-registration, completed the registration physically or applied for transfer to new voting locations, replacement of their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) or updated their voter information records as required by law.

“At the moment, the commission is undertaking the most comprehensive cleanup of the data to ensure that only eligible citizens are added to the voters’ register for the 2023 General Election and will share our findings with Nigerians and the actual dates for the collection of the PVCs nationwide will be announced very soon”, Yakubu stated.

According to him, the commission has also decided that the suspended Ekiti East I State Constituency bye-election will be combined with the State Governorship election holding on 18th June 2022.

He said the date for the Shinkafi State Constituency bye-election in Zamfara State will be announced after a thorough review of the security situation in the area, while the commission awaits the declaration of vacancy by the Kaduna State House of Assembly in respect of Giwa West State Constituency.

“Turning to the major end-of-tenure and off-cycle elections, party primaries for the Ekiti State Governorship election are scheduled for 4th – 29th January 2022. For the Osun State Governorship election, primaries will hold from 16th February to 12th March 2022.

“In the case of Ekiti State, all the 18 political parties have served the mandatory notices for the primaries. Let me seize this opportunity to draw the attention of parties to the necessity for transparent and rancour-free primaries. Parties should also respect their chosen dates for the primaries based on the commission’s timetable and Schedule of Activities.

READ ALSO: APC Releases Timetable, Begins Sale Of Governorship Nomination Forms For Ekiti, Osun

“Already, many parties have rescheduled their primaries several times. While the commission has earmarked a period of three weeks and 4 days (i.e. 25 days) for the conduct of the Ekiti State Governorship primaries, virtually all political parties have decided to hold their primaries in the last 4 days i.e. 26th – 29th January 2022. In fact, seven political parties have chosen the last day for their primaries.

“Similarly, no party has so far submitted its list of aspirants, the composition of its electoral panel, or the register of members or list of delegates depending on the chosen mode for electing its candidates.

“As of yesterday, only one party has indicated the venue for its primaries. I urge you all to do so immediately to enable us to work out the detailed plans for monitoring the primaries. All primaries for electing candidates must take place in the constituency where election will hold as required by law. In the cases of Ekiti and Osun State Governorship elections, any primaries conducted outside the two states will not be monitored by the commission and their outcomes will not be accepted. This also applies to primaries for bye-elections conducted outside the constituencies”, he added.

On the Federal Capital Territory FCT Area Council election, Yakubu gave insights into the distribution of voters to Polling Units in the territory, particularly the fact that 593 out of 2,822 or 21% of the total, do not have voters.

“This is because voters failed to take advantage of the expansion of access to transfer to these new Polling Units. The detailed distribution of voters to Polling Units in the FCT is among the documents in your folders for this meeting”, he stated.

READ ALSO: Why Conducting Elections In Nigeria Is Like Holding Polls For Entire West Africa – INEC Chair

Responding on behalf of the political parties, the Chairman of the Inter Party Advisory Committee IPAC, Engr. Yabagi Sani said the parties were anticipating more superlative performance by INEC in the remaining off-season elections, beginning with the council elections in the Federal Capital Territory and later on, the gubernatorial elections in Osun and Ekiti states.

He said the most serious and potent impediment to the successful conduct of the 2023 general elections, is the lingering debacle between the Executive and the Legislature on the fate of the 2021 Electoral (Amendment) Bill.

“While time is dangerously running out for the resolution of the disputes between the two arms, the IPAC is of the position that the controversy may have been contrived in the first instance, purely and clearly in the pursuits of narrow and self-centered political ambitions of some of the gladiators.

“We are therefore, using this occasion to once again make our strident call for the immediate resolution of the unnecessary impasse over the Electoral Amendment Bill in the superior and overriding national interest. The IPAC has persistently suggested at various forums that, the first rational step in the circumstance, is for the two apex legislative houses to immediately expunge from the bill, the provisions that make it mandatory for political parties to use direct primary elections in the selection of their flag bearers in general elections.

“Going forward, we have also called on the president to thereafter, assent to the bill without delay. Our concern in the IPAC, is that failure to reach a compromise in the short run may invariably translate into the death of the other very crucial provisions, such as the provisions on the Electronic Transmission of election results”, he stated.

 

Read more authentic news on our social media platforms

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Politics

Thousands Dump Amosun, Re-Align With Abiodun

Published

on

L-R: Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Mr. Tokunbo Talabi, the leader of former Governor Ibikunle Amosun's political group, Chief Derin Adebiyi; Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Olakunle Oluomo; Governor Dapo Abiodun; Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state; Chief Yemi Sanusi; former Deputy Governor in the state, Alhaja Selimot Badru during the integration of the Senator Ibikunle Amosun's political group from the 20 local government areas of the state into the mainstream of the APC in the state on Friday.

Thousands of loyalists of former governor Ibikunle Amosun from the 20 local government areas of Ogun State have rejoined the mainstream of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by the State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun.

Receiving the returnees led by the factional Chairman of the Amosun-led party Executive at the Presidential Lodge, Abeokuta, the State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun commended them for their loyalty and being steadfast with what they believed in.

The governor said: “I want to congratulate your sense of loyalty to leadership, which I will say is not only commendable, it is enviable.

“This is a culture that we must promote and entrench. It is a culture that is fast eroding; it is a culture that we are fast losing. Loyalty is 100 per cent.

“For some others, they move once things are not working well, but for you, you stay put. This sense of loyalty is worthy of emulation. We must appreciate the fact that there can only be one leader in a party at a time.

“Even when we have ambitions and desires, we must subordinate ourselves 100% to leadership and believe that it is in that subordination that will allow us to flourish and achieve our objectives, our dreams, our desires and aspirations, not by forming factions or by breaking away.

“Because by so doing, it only weakens the fabric of that collective union that we call our party. You must appreciate that there can be only one leader of the party at a time in the state, and that leader is the governor.

“As the leader of the party, I appreciate the task bestowed on me and it is my duty to work towards individual and collective welfare of our members,” the governor noted.

The governor urged all members to put the past behind them and work towards repositioning the party to achieve its aims and work for the socio-economic development of the state.

“Let us put the past behind us. Let us promote what unites us as a family. I welcome you back. The future of Ogun State is in your hands and it is for us for the taking. The same joy with which the father of the prodigal son received his lost son back home, the same way I receive you today.

“To those who did not leave, please let us receive our brothers and sisters back. To those who are joining us, please let us display a sense of loyalty. I can assure you, you will be fully integrated. ”

The Chairman of the State All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Yemi Sanusi, said in every human relationship, there is bound to be disagreement, adding that even in time of war, there is always a place for peaceful settlement of conflict, calling the returnees to fully integrate themselves with other members of the party.

Leader of the returnees, Chief Derin Adebiyi, said they had all agreed to return to the mainstream to contribute to the development of the party and the state in general, thanking the governor and the party members for receiving them back.

Continue Reading

Politics

BREAKING: Atiku Rejects Tribunal’s Judgement, Set For Supreme Court

Published

on

Rivers Govt Seals Off Atiku Campaign Office
Atiku Abubakar

The presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election Atiku Abubakar has rejected the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal judgement .

The judgement affirmed the victory of President Bola Tinubu in the February 25, 2023, presidential election.

Atiku said the tribunal judgement failed to restore confidence.

“Though the judgement of yesterday is respected, it is a judgement I refused to accept. I refused to accept the judgement because I believe it is bereft of substantial justice,” Atiku said while addressing a press conference at the PDP headquarters in Abuja.

The tribunal threw out the case of Atiku, who is the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, and upheld the victory of Tinubu.

Both Atiku and Obi rejected Wednesday’s judgment of the tribunal affirming the election of Tinubu. The Legal Adviser to the Labour Party, Kehinde Edun, vowed to challenge the judgment at the Supreme Court.

Also, Atiku’s Lead Counsel, Chris Uche, SAN, said he had received instructions from his client to file an appeal at the Supreme Court.

He said “The judgment has been delivered but we have not received justice. Luckily, the law has given us leverage to go on appeal to the Supreme Court. We have instructions from our clients to go to the Supreme Court. The struggle continues.”

The PEPT which began sitting at 9.40am at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, ruled that the petition filed by Atiku and Obi and their parties had no merit and unanimously upheld Tinubu’s electoral victory in the February 25 presidential election.

The five-member panel took turns to dismiss the petitions presented by Atiku and Obi against the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission on March 1, 2023.

The judgment was delivered by the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, assisted by other members of the panel-Justices Stephen Adah, Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf, Moses Ugo, and Abba Mohammed.

But addressing a press conference on Thursday, Atiku said he was not new to legal battle and he would continue to explore the judiciary for respite.

“However, the disappointment in the verdict of the court can never destroy my confidence in the judiciary.

“Consequently, I have asked my lawyers to activate my constitutionally guaranteed rights of appeal to the higher court, which in this instance, is the Supreme Court of Nigeria.”

He added, “My decision to go to court is anchored in my belief that the court is the sanctuary of justice. The journey of my political career, as you know, holds so much to the courage and fearless decisions of our judiciary.

“Indeed, I am no stranger to legal battles, and I can say that I have a fair idea of how the court system works. All through my career as a politician, I have been a fighter, and I must say that I have found the judiciary as a worthy pillar to rest on in the pursuit of justice.

“The last presidential election in our country and the way it was managed by the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission, leaves behind unenviable precedents, which I believe the courts have a duty to redress.

“Our gains in ensuring transparent elections through the deployment of technology was heavily compromised by INEC in the way it managed the last presidential election, and I am afraid that the judgement of the court as rendered by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal yesterday, failed to restore confidence in our dreams of free and fair elections devoid of human manipulations.

“Like I did say at the beginning of this legal battle when I instructed my lawyers to file my petition challenging the outcome of the presidential election, my ultimate goal in this pursuit is to ensure that democracy is further strengthened through the principles and processes of fair hearing.”

Continue Reading

Politics

NNPP Suspends Kwankwaso Over Alleged Anti-party Activties

Published

on

Rsbiu Kwankwaso

Irked by alleged Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso’s hobnobbing with President Bola Tinubu, the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has suspended the presidential candidate in the last election.

The party’s BoT also accused Kwankwaso of anti-party activities with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, without the board’s authorisation.

The board also strips Kwankwaso of the title as the NNPP’s national and state leader, respectively.

It equally dissolved the party’s National Working Committee (NWC), and constituted a new one led by Dr. Agbo Major as the acting National Chairman, Comrade Ogini Olaposi as the acting National Secretary, and 18 other national officers.

The former NWC was dissolved for incompetence and failure of its members to follow the constitution and due process in filling the vacant positions.

The board also described as flagrant violation of the party’s constitution, the purported suspension of the Founder, Chief Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam, saying it amounted to recklessness and irresponsibility on the part of the incompetent NWC.

“The BoT Chairman Dr. Boniface Aniebonam resigned and a new BoT Chairman, Chief Tope Aluko was elected with Babayo Muhammed Abdulahi as new BOT Secretary, while High Chief Tony Obioha was elected as BoT spokesperson,” the board stated.

Part of the communique signed by the BoT’s Chairman, Temitope Aluko, and ratified by members at the party’s general assembly meeting on Tuesday in Apapa, Lagos, read:

“NNPP constitution has been amended severally without following due process and procedure by a clique of individuals within the system.

“The MoU document has been infringed upon and violated by the NWC members.

“About eight states chapters of the old NNPP were unceremoniously dissolved by the incompetent NWC.

“The letters of reinstatement of the suspended executive chairmen of the various states issued by the BoT chairman in accordance with the Board’s inherent power to call to order, stands valid.”

The board also warned Alhaji Buba Galadima to stop parading himself as the BoT’s Secretary, describing his conduct as a violation of the composition of the members of the BoT in accordance with the party’s constitution.

The former NWC was dissolved due to incompetence and failure of the members to follow the constitution and due process in filling the vacant positions.

While stressing that its Abuja office remains at plot 511, Herbert Marcaulay Way, Suite A1 to A3, Willian’s Plaza, Zone 4, Wuse, Abuja, the Board said the party had also withdrawn its earlier partnership with the Kwankwasia, The National Movement (TNM) and the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF).

In his acceptance speech after the NWC was inaugurated, the acting National Chairman, Dr. Major promised that the new NWC under his leadership would not disappoint the Board and Nigerians.

He said: “We will extend the olive branch to all aggrieved members. We want them back in the party. We won’t shut anybody out. We want to prove to Nigerians that NNPP remains the party with the most people-friendly manifestoes in Nigeria.”

Continue Reading

Top Stories