Politics

What Tinubu, Atiku, Obi, Kwankwaso told INEC about their education, NYSC, occupations

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The publication of the personal particulars of candidates for the 2023 elections has been followed by animated discussions among Nigerians on social media

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Friday, published the particulars of candidates for the 2023 general elections.

The publication has been followed by animated discussions among Nigerians on social media on the academic credentials of some of the presidential candidates.

In the front burner of the discussions are questions around why the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, provided no information on his primary and secondary education.

Stating his occupation as “POLITICIAN,” the 70 years old APC National Leader claimed he obtained a B.Sc degree in Business and Administration from Chicago State University on June 22, 1979 before participating in the compulsory national youth service from November 12, 1982.

Although not seen by PREMIUM TIMES among Mr Tinubu’s published particulars at the INEC office, he swore to an affidavit that his certificates are missing.

“I went on self-exile from October 1994 to October 1998. When I returned I discovered that all my property, including all the documents relating to my qualifications and my certificates in respect of paragraph three above, were looted by unknown persons.

“My house was a target of series of searches by various security agents from the time the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was forced to adjourn following the military takeover of government of 17th November 1993,” the two-term former governor of Lagos State claimed in the court affidavit.

Some Nigerians want to know more about Mr Tinubu’s past than what he revealed to INEC.

Similar concerns were raised over his background when he contested for governor in 1999 and 2003. The late human rights lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi filed a suit asking the courts to compel the police to prosecute Mr Tinubu for perjury and forgery after a petition accused him of those offences in his filings with INEC in 1999.

After the Supreme Court dismissed the suit on the ground that Mr Tinubu had immunity as governor against being prosecuted in court, the Lagos State House of Assembly investigated the matter and absolved Mr Tinubu of the charge of gross misconduct.

Mr Tinubu is considered by many political commentators as the candidate to beat in the 2023 presidential race, the reason for the intense public attention on his candidature.

The former Lagos governor’s spokesperson, Tunde Rahman, did not respond to calls to his phone lines at the time of filing this report when this reporter tried to seek further clarifications on the issue.

Atiku not exempted

PREMIUM TIMES scrutiny of the published documents by INEC picked up a similar thing about two or more candidates.

Despite not being a novice in the contest for president, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, also has a few questions raised about his academic credentials.

Mr Abubakar, who served as vice president from 1999 to 2007, will be hoisting the PDP presidential ticket for the second time in 2023. He had lost to President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 election.

Mr Abubakar also did not provide information on his primary education. The

1965 West Africa School Certificate (WASC) result presented by the 75 years old candidate identified the student as Siddiq Abubakar. He also holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom.

Before joining politics, Mr Abubakar worked with the Nigeria Custom Service until he retired from the agency in 1989 at the rank of Deputy Director.

Mr Abubakar’s records show that he attended Jada Primary School, Adamawa State, but that information is missing in his published biodata by the INEC.

“Well, I think it is INEC that you should be making those enquiries to. Whatever it is that they published was not in my hands,” Paul Ibe, a spokesperson to Mr Abubakar told PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday.

“I don’t know what was submitted to INEC and what was not. So INEC is in the best position to know what it received and what it did not receive,” he said when asked about lack of information on the candidate’s early education.

His running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, also did not state his primary education in the published documents.

Kwankwaso, Obi

The two candidates are being tipped to give the APC and PDP candidates a run for their money. Unlike Messrs Tinubu and Atiku, Mr Kwankwaso provided full information on his academic credentials.

He bagged his first leaving certificate in 1968 and his secondary school certificate in 1975.

Mr Kwankwaso, 66, has Craft Training Certificate, ND, HND, Post Graduate Diploma, M.Sc and Ph.D, which he recently concluded.

He attached a copy of his provisional Ph.D certificate with his thesis on Design and Construction of Irrigation System in Northern Nigeria.

Before resigning in 1991 to join politics, Mr Kwankwaso had worked at Water Resources and Engineering Construction Agency (WRECA) for over 15 years.

Among the four top contenders in the race, he is the only candidate who has served as governor, lawmaker and minister.

Much celebrated in his huge social media fan base, Peter Obi is the candidate of Labour Party (LP) which he joined last month after quitting the PDP.

With a knack for quoting figures/statistics at every given opportunity in any public discourse, the two term governor of Anambra, identified himself as a politician and business executive.

Mr Obi attended primary, secondary and tertiary schools between 1973 and 1984.

Before joining politics, he had worked at Fidelity Bank in Lagos, but he did not stay the years in the INEC published documents.

Mr Obi, 61, is the youngest among the top four presidential candidates.

Lifestyle

Over 62,000 PVCs unclaimed in Bauchi —INEC

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Bauchi State office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has lamented that a total of 62,680 Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) are laying unclaimed in its vault awaiting collection by the owners.

INEC also said that so far, only a total of 6,000 PVCs have been distributed across the state, while appealing to all those who have registered to go to the nearest INEC office to confirm their status and collect their PVCs.

The disclosure was made by the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Ibrahim Abdullahi on Wednesday during a stakeholders engagement on election matters in the state held at the INEC office in Bauchi.

He warned against double registration saying that the Commission as at 13th May 2022 had registered a total of 175,177.

The Commission lamented that the unclaimed PVCs piling in the INEC office in the state would amount to waste of efforts, resources and time if they remain unclaimed.

Ibrahim Abdullahi further warned that all political parties in the state must strictly adhere to the guide lines of internal democracy as any defaulting party would be excluded in the forth coming 2023 general election.

According to him, the election guidelines, Electoral Acts and other regulations have been issued to the parties for the 31 state Constituencies, 12 federal Constituencies, and 3 Senatorial districts including one governorship seat in the state.

The Commissioner then said that the Commission had evolved some innovations that would make the process smooth, including face Verification instead of thumb printing in order not to disenfranchise anyone including persons with disability.

Politics

INEC raises concern over insecurity ahead of 2023 elections

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The Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has expressed concern over the escalating insecurity in the country as the 2023 general elections draw near.

Nigeria has been beset by insecurity with the Boko Haram insurgents and bandits killing and abducting citizens in the Northern part of the country.

Yakubu, who addressed stakeholders at the second quarterly meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) in Abuja, however, noted that with just nine months to the elections, there was still enough time to tackle the insecurity.

He also urged political parties to keep to the time table for the elections.

The INEC chief said: “The general security situation in the country and its impact on the electoral process is a source of concern to the commission.

However, we are confident that with nine months to the 2023 general election, there is enough time to respond to the security challenges and secure the nation for elections to take place nationwide.

“The timetable for the election has also been released. Let us not wait until a few weeks to the election before we realise that time is not on our side and begin to seek for extension of timelines. The time to act is now. We wish to reassure the security agencies that we will continue to work cooperatively with you to ensure the success of all forthcoming elections and electoral activities.

“We have tasked our Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) to provide basic data on areas of security challenges in their states, including citizens living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps.

“Our idea is to harvest the data as a basis for further engagement with the security agencies as well as devising the best way to provide electoral services to all Nigerians under all circumstances.”

Politics

2023: INEC rules out extension of deadline

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday ruled out the extension of the deadline for the conclusion of primaries by political parties in the country.

The commission had asked the 18 political parties in the country to complete the primaries by June 3.

However, the parties had asked INEC to extend the timeline for the exercises by two months.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, stated this at a consultative meeting with leaders of political parties in Abuja.

He also asked the parties to ensure their primaries make room for women, youths and persons with disability.

He said: “Let me reiterate the position of the Commission that there will be no review of the timelines. There are so many inter-related activities that are associated with the timelines which must be carried out.

“Any review to extend the timeline for one activity will affect other activities and put unnecessary pressure on political parties and the Commission. This will ultimately result in more complications than what the extension seeks to achieve.

“Therefore, the Commission will not review the timelines. Working together, we should ensure fidelity to the timelines in conducting transparent and democratic primaries for the purpose of electing candidates for the 1,491 constituencies for which elections will be held on 25th February and 11th March 2023.”

Politics

Supreme Court ratifies INEC’s deregistration of 22 political parties

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The Supreme Court of Nigeria, on Friday, ratified the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to de-register 22 political parties.

Justice Ejembi Eko delivered the judgment on Friday in Abuja.

He also voided and set aside a judgment of the Court of Appeal which had nullified the de-registration.

The parties were scrapped in the year 2020 by INEC following their dismal performances in the previous elections.

Justice Eko held that the Court of Appeal on its own (suo motu) raised the issue of lack of fair hearing.

This was in favour of the scrapped parties and arrived at a conclusion without hearing from other parties in the matter.

This appeal by INEC is meritorious and is hereby allowed. The decision of the court below is set aside,” it ruled.

The affected parties are: Advanced Congress of Democrats, ACD, Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party, ANDP, All Blending Party ABP, All Grand Alliance Party, AGAP, Alliance of Social Democrats, ACD, Change Advocacy Party, CAP, Democratic Peoples Congress, DPC, Green Party of Nigeria, GPN.

Others are Masse Movement of Nigeria, MMN, Mega Party of Nigeria, MPN, New Generation Party of Nigeria, NGP, Nigeria For Democracy, NFD, People Coalition Party PCP, Progressive Peoples Alliance, PPA, People For Democratic Change, PDC, and Young Democratic Party, YDP.

The rest are Re-build Nigeria Party, RBNP, Save Nigeria Congress, SNC, Socialist Party of Nigeria, SPN, United Democratic Party, UDP, United Patriots, UP, and We the People Nigeria, WTPN.

Politics

INEC to address problems with voter accreditation system ahead of 2023 elections – Yakubu

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The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Tuesday expressed confidence that the commission would conduct a free and fair election in 2023 despite concerns over the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS).

Yakubu stated this during a meeting with States Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Abuja.

He said: “When the commission introduced the BVAS last year, the compact device was intended to achieve two objectives. First is the verification of the genuineness of the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs) and the fingerprint or facial authentication of voters during accreditation. Secondly, to replace the Z-pad for uploading the polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) in real-time on Election Day.

So far, the BVAS has performed optimally in verifying the authenticity of PVCs and uploading images of Polling Unit results to the IReV.

“We will review and improve its functionality for biometric accreditation of voters in the forthcoming bye-elections and off-season Governorship elections before the 2023 General Election.

“The Commission remains convinced that the deployment of technology in our elections safeguards the integrity of the vote and provides a better guarantee for electoral credibility than the best manual process. The review of Election Day administration, in general, is one of the issues to be discussed at this meeting.”

The INEC chairman listed plans by the commission to ensure more eligible voters are registered before the elections.

Yakubu added: “Similarly, in order to provide more eligible voters with the opportunity to register, the Commission is considering the devolution of the exercise nationwide beyond our State and Local Government offices where the registration currently takes place. The devolution of the CVR exercise to other designated centres is one of the major issues for discussion at this meeting.

“Closely related to the issue of CVR is the balanced distribution of voters to polling units nationwide. Last year, the Commission achieved the historic feat of expanding voter access to polling units nationwide.

“The idea is to decongest the densely populated polling units by converting the erstwhile Voting Points (VPs) and Voting Point Settlements (VPS) to Polling Units and relocating some of them to unserved and underserved areas to make it easier for voters on Election Day.

While this lofty goal has been achieved in many states, there are still congested Polling Units and other Polling Units with between 0 and 50 voters as we saw in some of the recent elections.

“Over the next few weeks, the Commission will intensify efforts to address the issue ahead of the forthcoming Ekiti and Osun Governorship elections and ultimately the 2023 General Election.”

Politics

2023: INEC warns parties against early campaigns

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday cautioned politicians and political parties against campaigning before the constitutionally approved time.

The Electoral Act stipulates that campaigns by political parties should begin 90 days before the election, and end 24 hours before the poll.

The INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, issued the warning during a capacity-building workshop for the commission’s heads of voter education and publicity officers in Abuja.

He said: “These are normal and consistent people are also free to aspire for political positions with the constitution and the electoral act. It is their constitutional rights.

As of now, we are still operating within the existing electoral framework that makes it mandatory for political parties to only begin campaigns 90 days to the election.

But if the bill before the National Assembly and assented by the President, parties could submit their nominated candidates 180 days to the election.

“What is not allowed is campaigning in public, but you can go and hold meetings with like minds.

“The chairman of the commission and the commission will meet with the heads of the nation’s security agencies and review the security situation in the country and determine further deployment and devolution of the CVR on a roll-out, roll back procedure.

“As we move closer to the 2023 general election, all the critical stakeholders and the security agencies must resolve to degrade and or neutralize the security threats across the federation.

“Our people must be assured that they can vote in a peaceful atmosphere.”

World News

Expedite action on electoral bill to aid INEC preparations for 2023 elections,’ Jega tells Buhari, National Assembly

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A former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru, Jega, on Sunday warned on the danger of making direct primary compulsory for political parties in Nigeria.

Jega, who addressed participants at a Citizens Town Hall Meeting organised by Yiaga Africa in Lafia, Nasarawa, expressed doubt if any political party in the country has a comprehensive membership register.

He urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to reach agreement on the electoral bill before the 2023 elections.

He said the state governors have the capacity to manipulate the electoral process regardless of the system adopted in the absence of substantive improvements in the electoral system.

The former INEC chief stressed the importance of having a new electoral law in place before the next year’s election.

Jega said: “Give INEC the law to begin the preparations for the 2023 elections. INEC made 36 recommendations in the new electoral bill. National Assembly adopted 25 and adopted five with some adjustments.

“I think that this country will be better off with a new electoral law which will enhance the preparation and conduct of the election.

“Since 2010 we have not had substantive improvements until now. We must ensure that this bill becomes law as soon as possible in order not to hamstring the electoral process.

“Which of the parties have a clear register of numbers. Any governor that has the capacity to manipulate direct primaries has the capacity to do for indirect primaries.

“The challenge is how do you ensure that members of parties are properly registered. Governor can only manipulate the delegate list but with a faulty register there will be room for manipulation even in direct primaries.”

Politics

Reps to invite INEC chairman over cost of direct primaries

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The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a resolution to invite the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Mahmood Yakubu to brief the House on the cost of conducting direct primaries in the country.

The motion to invite Yakubu was raised by Representative Leke Abejide during the plenary, informing the House that it was important to address the rumours of the high cost of conducting direct primaries.

The INEC Chairman is to appear before the Committees on Appropriations and Electoral Matters to speak on the issue.

Abejide said there are rumours that it would cost N500 billion to conduct direct primaries.

More details coming…

Politics

BREAKING: With 112,229 votes, INEC declares Soludo Anambra governor-elect

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the early hours of Wednesday declared the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate, Prof. Charles Soludo, as winner of the Anambra State governorship election.

The Chief Returning Officer, Prof. Florence Obi, who announced the results in Awka, said Soludo scored 112, 229 votes to brush aside the challenge of 17 other candidates.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Valentine Ozigbo, garnered 53, 807 votes while Andy Uba of the All Progressives Congress (APC) got 43, 285 votes.

Politics

Anambra election will be ‘embarrassingly’ transparent – INEC

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday assured Nigerians that the November 6 governorship election in Anambra would be “embarrassingly transparent.”

The state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Nwachukwu Orji, stated this during a voter education and sensitisation programme for Persons With Disabilities and women groups in the state.

Orji, who was represented at the forum by INEC Head of Voter Education and Publicity, Samuel Nimen, said all facilities had been put in place to ensure smooth conduct of the election.

He said: “The electoral materials that got burnt recently in an attack have been replaced. Non-sensitive materials have been distributed to all Local Government Areas and training of officials and ad-hoc staff is ongoing as I speak to you.

We have pasted and presented voters’ register to the political parties fielding candidates. We have published the final list of candidates and we have been engaging stakeholders to ensure security at polling units.

We have increased polling units to 5,720 to increase access to all voters and we are carrying out aggressive voter education and sensitisation, appealing to residents to exercise their civic responsibilities.

“With all facilities in place and with the electronic transmission of results, I tell you that Anambra election will be embarrassingly transparent. This will build confidence in our electoral system.

“PWDs are very important citizens, so we give them special attention by creating an inclusive environment.

“You need to participate fully in the electoral process because you are all citizens of Nigeria and have the right to vote and be voted for. I assure you that we are doing all we can to ensure your safety.”

Politics

INEC rules out engagements with IPOB, ESN ahead of Anambra election

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Thursday ruled out the possibility of engaging the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militia arm, Eastern Security Network (ESN), ahead of the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State.

The INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said the commission will not “go out of its way to engage with an organisation that had been declared as illegal by the Federal Government.

Okoye, who stated these when he featured in a programme on Arise TV, said INEC would only engage the political parties, people of the state, civil society organizations, traditional institutions, and clerics on the election.

There have been growing concerns over the safety of voters as the election draws near.

The INEC spokesman said: “For the security agencies, we have had meetings with them at both the national level and also at the state and local government levels.

“We have also interacted and interfaced with the leadership of the various political parties and the consensus is that everything possible should be done to make sure that the elections are scheduled.

Constitutionally and legally, the mandate and remit of INEC are to organize, undertake, and supervise elections. The issue of national security is left for the security agencies and the Nigerian Police Force is the lead agency in terms of election security.

“We are engaging with all the critical stakeholders. We are engaging with civil society groups and organisations, and we are engaging with traditional rulers. Within the commission’s realm, we recognize the political parties, we recognize the people of Anambra State, we recognize civil society organizations, we recognize the traditional institutions and the clergy, so if they are part of civil society groups and organizations and they attend our program we will tell them.

“In terms of IPOB, the commission will not go out of its way to go and engage with an organisation that the Federal Government has declared as illegal so we won’t do that. But the civil society group and organizations that want to attend our programme, are welcome.”

Politics

PVCs for new voters in Anambra ready October 7 — INEC

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Tuesday the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) of new registrants in Anambra State would be ready for collection by October 7.

The INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Festus Okoye, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja.

He said the decision was made at a meeting of the commission on the preparations for the Anambra State governorship election slated for November 6.

Okoye said: “In line with the Timetable and Schedule of Activities, the commission will publish the official Register of Voters and the final list of nominated candidates for the election on October 7.

“The PVCs of the new registrants will be ready for collection on or shortly after October 7.

“Registrants will be notified accordingly through their respective email addresses and telephone numbers when their PVCs are ready for collection.”

The INEC official disclosed that campaigns for the election would end on November 4.

Politics

Buhari swears in three INEC national commissioners

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President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday swore in three National Commissioners of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The national commissioners include Dr Baba Bila representing the North-East zone, Professor Sani Adam, representing the North-Central zone and Professor Abdullahi Abdu, representing the North-West zone.

The swearing-in took place just before the commencement of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, which held at the State House in Abuja.

Among those physically present at the meeting were Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Secretary to Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, Ministers of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; Works and Housing, Babtunde Fashola and Interior, Rauf Aregbeshola.

Also present were the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; as well as the Minister for Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu.

The Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan and other Ministers are attending virtually from their various offices in Abuja.

Politics

INEC recognises Ozigbo as PDP candidate in Anambra

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recognised the former Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Plc, Valentine Ozigbo, as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the November 6 governorship election in Anambra State.

The INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

He said the decision was taken at the commission’s meeting in Abuja where several issues including a court order and the general preparations for the November 6 poll were discussed.

Okoye said: “The commission was served with two judgments of the Court of Appeal, Awka Judicial Division, in respect of the candidature of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Anambra governorship election.

The court has ordered the commission to recognise and publish the name of Mr. Valentine Ozigbo as the governorship candidate. Earlier, the party had substituted its deputy governorship candidate within the deadline provided by law.

“Accordingly, the governorship and deputy governorship candidates of the PDP are as follows – (Governorship) Candidate: Valentine Chineto Ozigbo, Age: 50, Gender: Male, PWD: None, Qualification: FSLC, SSCE, WAEC, BSc., MBA. (Deputy Governorship) Candidate: Lilian Azuka Enemo, Age: 64, Gender: Female, PWD: None, Qualification: FSLC, WASC, BSc.”

He revealed that the final list of candidates for the election would be published on October 7.

The Court of Appeal had last Friday declared Ozigbo as the validly elected PDP candidate for the election.

A three-member panel of the appellate court led by Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem held that the appeal filed by Ozigbo on the judgment which barred him from parading himself as the PDP candidate had merit.

Politics

INEC redeploys five RECs, four Directors

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Five Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and four Directors have been redeployed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in a bid to reposition the body ahead of the 2023 elections.

The announcement was made by the National Commissioner, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, Barr. Festus Okoye, in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday.

According to Okoye, the postings which he described as “routine’, has the REC, Osun State, Olusegun Agbaje, who has been redeployed to Ogun State, while his counterpart in Ogun State, Prof. AbdulGaniy Olayinka Raji, will now take charge as the REC for Osun State.

The Bayelsa State REC, Dr Cyril Omorogbe, will take up his new role as the REC for Cross River State, while Dr Emannuel Alex Hart proceeds to Bayelsa State as the REC from his former office in Cross River State.

The statement reads:

“The REC, Zamfara State, Dr Asmau Sani Maikudi, has also been redeployed to Kaduna State.

Similarly, the Director (Voter Education and Publicity), Mr. Nick Dazang, has proceeded on terminal leave.

“Consequently, Mr. Victor Ayodele Aluko has been reassigned from Director (Administration) to Voter Education and Publicity as Director, while Mr. Mikah Thabbal Lakumna is redeployed to Administration from his erstwhile position as Director (Security).

“Mr. Nduh Lebari Samson moves from the office of the Secretary to the Commission to Director (Security). Mr. Yakubu Mohammed Duku, Director in the Electoral Operations Department, proceeds to Niger State as the substantive Administrative Secretary.

The Handing/Taking Over activities should be completed by Monday 13th September 2021. The redeployments are part of the Commission’s routine administrative postings”, Okoye said.

World News

Onochie’s INEC nomination a dangerous precedent for Nigeria’s democracy – CUPP

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Against the backdrop of the screening of Lauretta Onochie as a commissioner with the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Coalition of United Political Parties has warned that it is a prelude to a third-term agenda for President Muhammadu Buhari.

The coalition made this assertion on Friday via its spokesman, Mark Adebayo, titled, ‘Onochie’s INEC nomination is to perfect Buhari’s third term agenda – CUPP’.

According to CUPP, this action sets a dangerous precedent which is dangerous for the country’s democracy.

An excerpt from the statement reads, “In the established tradition of the Buhari administration, it has again turned deaf ears to the overwhelming public outcry against the ill-advised nomination of a known sycophant of the president as an INEC commissioner.

“Since last year that the nomination of Mrs Onochie went public, many sociopolitical organisations, opinion moulders, Civil Society Organisations and the general public have raised an alarm on the danger a publicly biased individual can unleash on our Electoral system and democracy, but typical of this government that runs a near-fascist regime, it has ignored these patriotic calls for restraint on this Onochie nomination nonsense”.

The CUPP further disclosed that Onochie is an APC member despite her denials.

“Meanwhile, whatever Mrs Onochie says to the contrary, she is an APC member and an active member of Buhari campaign groups. She has not resigned her membership of the APC and remains vocal in her support for the Buhari government.

“If the president wouldn’t listen to the voice of reason and the citizens’ concerns as he is wont to, you the representatives of the people must save our fledgling democracy by rejecting Mrs Onochie’s nomination and reserve for yourselves a place on the right pages of history and posterity. An Onochie confirmation would inflict a damaging dent on the integrity of our elections. Don’t confirm her”, the statement urged.

Politics

Another attack on INEC, police as unknown gunmen strike Awka offices

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Unknown gunmen on Sunday evening attacked B Division of the Nigeria Police Divisional Station and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Akwa, Anambra.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that the fully armed attackers came in three Hilux trucks at about 8pm on Sunday, May 23.

An eyewitness reported that the bandits shot into the air for close to one hour at B Police Division before proceeding to INEC office in Awka.

The source who spoke under anonymity, said before proceeding to INEC, the gunmen drove to Aroma junction and shot in the air for about 10 minutes which made residents scamper for safety before they headed down to INEC.

Though the source said he could not speak on causality figure, he added that there was likelihood of collosal damage at both institutions with possible killings of human beings.

“I saw flames of fire going up from the police station and INEC offices, but I cannot say whether people were killed or not because I did not go closer,” he said.

When contacted, Dr Nkwachukwu Orji, INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Anambra said he had received information on the attack in his office, but that he could not officially comment on the matter.

“I need to get clear picture of what happened in my office before I can speak”, he said.

In the same vein, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) said he was still making contacts to get correct situation of things around the two federal institutions in the state.

Politics

INEC fixes date for 2023 elections

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday announced the date for the 2023 general elections in the country.

The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who addressed participants at a one-day public hearing on the National Electoral Offences Commission (Establishment) Bill 2021 organized by the Senate Committee on INEC, said the country’s general elections would begin on February 18, 2023.

However, the INEC chief was silent on which election would take place on that date.

He said the 2023 general elections would take place exactly 660 days from Wednesday.

He said: “By the principle established by the Commission, the 2023 general election will hold on Saturday, February 18, 2023, which is exactly one year, nine months, two weeks and six days or 660 days from today (Wednesday).

We hope to release the timetable and schedule of activities for the general election immediately after the Anambra governorship election scheduled to hold on November 6, 2021.

“In order to do so, there should be clarity and certainty about the electoral legal framework to govern the election. We are confident that the National Assembly will do the needful in earnest.”

The INEC chief described the prosecution of election offenders as the most challenging duty undertaken by the commission since its establishment.

Yakubu added: “For instance, since the 2015 general election, 125 cases of electoral offences were filed in various courts out of which 60 convictions have been secured so far, including the most recent one in Akwa Ibom State.

“The commission would like to see more successful in the prosecution of offenders, not just of ballot box snatchers and falsifiers of election results but most importantly their sponsors.”

Politics

INEC advocates six-month deadline for submission of candidates’ list for elections

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Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has advocated for a six-month deadline for political parties to submit the list of their candidates for elections in the country.

Yakubu made this suggestion during a retreat of the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on INEC and Electoral Matters in Abuja on Friday, January 29.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that the retreat was part of activities geared toward amending Nigeria’s Electoral Act 2010.

Yakubu said that if the proposed provision scaled through, it would help the commission to prepare better for elections.

“One of the provisions that actually excites me a lot is it will help the commission if there is certainty in the way we prepare for elections; and in the new section, it now commits political parties to conduct their primaries 180 days to the date appointed by the commission for elections.

“This means that parties could conduct their primaries and submit the names of their candidates to the commission at least six months to the general elections.

“This will enormously help us so that by say two months to the election, probably all our materials will be on location so there will be less stress,” he said.

Sen. Kabiru Gaya, Chairman Senate Committee on INEC, emphasised that the draft copy of the report of the technical committee was a working document.

“In fact, the purpose of this retreat is to conduct a clause by clause examination of the report and also prepare it for consideration by the Senate and House of Representatives,” he said.

He said that whatever was to be crafted in the electoral bill would be done with the supremacy of the Constitution as a superintendent umbrella.

In a goodwill message, British High Commissioner, Permanent Representative to ECOWAS, Catriona Laing said that the amendment would give INEC the time needed to prepare properly for the monumental important election in 2023.

“This will give INEC the time it needs, the political parties as well, and the Nigerian citizens to prepare properly for the 2023 General Elections.

“The success of any well-run election depends all entirely on the ones preparing it.

“The UK is really delighted to partner with PLAC to be on this journey with you and we are following it very closely not just the UK but my international community colleagues.

“We are all watching and hoping for good elections in 2023 one where the voices of Nigerian citizens will be really heard,” Laing said.

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