Politics

2019 Polls: The Allegations And Realities

Published

7 years ago

March 13, 2019

Accusations and counter-accusations after an election have no doubt become the hallmark of Nigerian politics. In most cases, the loser does more of the accusations, while the winner eulogizes the process leading to his/her success, even when there are glaring cases of misnomers.
In fact, but for President Goodluck Jonathan, who conceded defeat in 2015 to Muhammadu Buhari, it is difficult to name any other person who lost an election, organised by the country’s electoral umpire and accepted the results in Nigeria. It has become normal, so much that even when there is good reason for the loser to feel cheated and hence aggrieved, he is widely seen as following the band wagon.
Unfortunately, this stance has become a major Achilles’ heel of Nigerian politics, one that has, election after election, either bemusedly present-ed those who say all is well in the face of clear unwell as the real destroyers of the country’s yearnings for democracy, or made the losers (who are tagged mere complainers) as troublemakers.
Ironically, this aspect of the country’s politics is the part that makes each subsequent election stand out on its own. In the history of Nigerian politics, for instance, critics will always point to 2003 as the period when politics of gunrunning found its way into Nigerian politics. Since then, the situation has only been as good or bad as the focus of the sitting president, and in the interpretation of the interest of the one talking.
Worthy of note is the fact that at each point, most of those who dish out these bitter experiences, or receive same, have either been direct or indirect key players when it started, or supported it as the norm they came into play, even when they may have known at some point that it wasn’t right for the polity.
The difference between political gunrunning when it started and now is that while in the beginning the key players were civilians whose briefs was to protect the interest of their principals, currently those commandeering with the aid of the gun are trained military personnel who have sworn to protect the interests of the people.
The result is that while those who are on the receiving end of the alleged excesses of the military, which, like in the Abonnema experience of February 23, 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections, allegedly claimed over 50 lives at the end of the day, those who it has favoured see it as their time to shine. This is all there is to the allegations and counter allegations over the 2019 elections.
In the midst of all this, however, there is the need to think out of the box, if one would truly want to be seen as being patriotic, as most of the key players claim to be, about what Nigeria has been thus far as a Republic, and what it should be in terms of development.
When viewed from the perspectives of the realities as they emerge, which come up almost as frequent as the brains of those who concoct their works, and placed side-by-side with what the leadership claims to be focused on for the good of society, it becomes very easy to clearly separate the real allegations, the reality of it, and the ideality of the situation which everybody seem to lay claim to.
What could perhaps be regarded as one of the first allegations of the 2019 Nigeria’s general elections occurred in Rivers State in Ikwerre and Emohua Local Government Areas (LGAs): The Returning Officers of both LGAs alleged military invasion, intimidation, molestation and carting away of collation materials, as the case may be, hence there was no result to declare at the LGA collation centers.
The reality of the allegations is that it does not change the fact that from the point of the polling units, where results are first declared, up to the Wards level, agents of political parties and virtually all concerned and their cronies have direct access to the real figures of each result.
On the other hand, ideally, whether the results were delivered at the LGA Collation Centers or not, it will be easy to get the results in bits from the Units or Wards and still arrive at the correct result, in perhaps slightly adjustable time, if the electoral umpire had worked out enough contingency plans as backups, and also earned the trust of the voters.
Even when such contingencies may not have been foreseen, if after the killings in Abonnema and the collation disruptions in other areas, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) could ignore them and announce the Presidential and National Assembly elections, what else could stop elections in areas where voting had successfully taken place in a peaceful atmosphere, counted at the Units and Wards, only to be disrupted at the LGA?
But for that it shows the reality that INEC is less concerned (or interested) about getting genuine election results, and so places more attention on getting any result from persons other than the ones they officially appointed to get the results from, the Mahmood Yakubu-led INEC can hardly have genuine reason to let the one characterised by fatalities go, and stamp its feet on a better option.
In its second interim report on the Governor-ship and State House of Assembly elections of March 9, 2019, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) said in part that, “The political parties had a field day inducing voters with money, food items, soaps and various other items to vote for their partie’s candidates. These acts of inducement right before security agents within the voting precincts have the propensity to destroy the citizens’ confidence in the entire election process.
“There were several reports of electoral violence from all over the country. Party thugs and hoodlums had a field day invading voting centers to snatch polling materials, destroy voting materials, harass, molest and intimidate voters and, in some instances, INEC officials”.
The report, credited to the Chairman of the NBA Election Working Group, Afam Asigwe, stated that, “Surprising in most places where these dreadful acts were recorded or reported, security agents were either complicit or indifferent”.
The Chief Observer of the European Union Observation Mission to Nigeria, Maria Arena, summed up when she said,” Observers, includ-ing EU observers, were denied access to collation centres in Rivers, apparently by military personnel. This lack of access for observers compromises transpa-rency and trust in the process.
“In Rivers, INEC suspended until further notice the elections due to violence in polling units and collation centers, staff being taken hostage and election materials, including results sheets, seized or destroyed by unauthorised persons.
“There is no doubt that the electoral process there was severely compro-mised.”
While these allegations have not been able to encourage INEC and the Federal Government to take deliberate steps in ensuring that the military is only involved in securing the environment for peaceful elections, it only proves the reality that as far as these elections are concerned, the military has been given the power to do everything they deem fit, including taking as many lives as they can, even in a non-war situation.
Another key reality is the phrase, “people dressed in Army uniforms”, used to describe Army personnel who are blamed for carrying out all the stated allegations before and during the 2019 elections. While these allegations are sometimes backed by video footages, the military seem to be unperturbed, as it seems with the Federal Government too. With each subsequent denial of the allegations, it seems to be business as usual.
In all of these (and many more), all key players claim ideality: they want the people to see them as saints; people who are doing everything for the interest of the country; that they are the best thing to happen to the people, even when they do not have the least regard for the people, by their actions.
Leadership seem to forget in a hurry that by its actions and inactions, it has done a pretty good job doing in a more grievous manner what it had professed against just about four years ago. The APC-led Government seems only to be bent on improving on the same things it allegedly fought against, and for which it got the people’s Presidential mandate in 2015.

Soibi Max-Alalibo

Politics

Senate Urges Tinubu To Sack CAC Boss

Published

5 hours ago

February 27, 2026

The Tide

The Senate yesterday urged President Bola Tinubu to remove the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Hussaini Magaji, over what lawmakers described as a persistent refusal to appear before its Committee on Finance.

The resolution followed a motion raised by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu during a session where members of the President’s economic team were present for engagement with the committee.

Tension rose at the commencement of the meeting when agency heads were introduced and senators observed the absence of the CAC Registrar-General, who had been invited to account for the commission’s activities, particularly on revenue matters.

Moving the motion, Kalu expressed anger over what he termed repeated disregard for legislative oversight, accusing the CAC boss of consistently avoiding invitations to appear before the committee.

He said, “Since I came to the Senate, this CAC man has always given excuses that he is in the Villa or going to London. He is not above the law. This man is not coming to the Senate. Look at the ministers of finance and budget. They are both here. We summoned them and they came.

“But this man thinks he’s bigger than the Senate. We’re not going to take that rubbish again. He had refused on so many occasions to honour our invitation to appear before this committee. We have issues with the reconciliation of the revenue of CAC.

“I move a motion that the man should be reported to Mr President and ask for immediate removal because we cannot continue with him. Is that what we’re doing here? He should come and give us an account of what he had done.”

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, corroborated the concerns, pointing to unresolved discrepancies in the reconciliation of the commission’s revenues.

He noted that despite several invitations, the registrar-general had failed to show up to address the issues raised by senators.

“The registrar-general of the Corporate Affairs Commission has refused on so many occasions to honour the calls, invitations or summons of this most important committee.

“There are only about three committees that are in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Committee of Finance is one of those committees. Sections 88, and 89 have given us these powers.

“And as registrar-general, we have issues with the reconciliation of their revenue. Anytime he is invited, he will give us one reason or another, and he will send junior officers to come and talk to the Senate. That cannot be accepted,” he said.

In a further show of frustration, Senator Adams Oshiomhole proposed that the Senate escalate the matter by withholding approval of the CAC’s 2026 budget pending the registrar-general’s personal appearance before the committee.

Oshiomhole also suggested that the commission be restrained from spending its internally generated revenue without prior approval of the national assembly.

“This senate should decline to appropriate anything in the 2026 budget until we are satisfied that he has accounted for previous money and spending properly.

“And should he spend money that is not appropriated, he should be heading to Kuje prison,” Oshiomhole said.

The motion urging the President to remove the CAC Registrar-General was subsequently put to a voice vote and adopted.

The development underscores renewed assertiveness by the Senate in exercising its constitutional oversight functions, particularly over revenue-generating agencies.

The Corporate Affairs Commission, which regulates companies and business registrations in Nigeria, is a key contributor to non-oil revenue, making accountability and transparency central to its operations.

News

Amend Constitution To Accommodate State Police, Tinubu Tells Senators

Published

5 hours ago

February 27, 2026

The Tide

President Bola Tinubu has appealed to the leadership of the 10th Senate to amend the constitution to provide a legal framework for the establishment of State Police to tackle insecurity nationwide.

President Tinubu made the appeal during an interfaith breakfast with senators at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, yesterday.

The president said that the creation of State Police has become urgent to address Nigeria’s evolving security challenges, strengthen grassroots policing, and enhance states’ capacity to respond swiftly to threats within their jurisdictions.

He noted that a decentralised policing structure would complement existing federal security architecture and promote intelligence-led, community-focused law enforcement.

“We are facing terrorism, banditry, and insurgency. But we will never fail to make a right response to this cause. What I will ask for tonight is for you (Senators) to start thinking how best to amend the constitution to incorporate the State Police for us to secure our country, take over our forests from marauders, and free our children from fear,” he said.

The president commended the cordial relationship between the Executive and the Senate, saying that unity is needed to defeat terrorism and banditry in the country.

“It is a good thing that we are working in harmony, we are looking forward to a country that evolves, a country that takes care of its citizens and protects all.

Tinubu thanked the Senate for its unflinching support towards achieving various economic reforms of his administration, especially the fuel subsidy removal and tax reform policy.

“I have a lot of credit for bold reforms. Without your collaboration and inspiration, those reforms would not be possible. We are reformists together. What we gave up and what we stopped is monumental corruption in the subsidy system. We don’t want to participate in monumental corruption and arbitrage foreign exchange.

You don’t have to chase me for dollars; you could see what Nigeria is today. You should be proud, and I am glad you are. What we are enjoying is a stable economy, and prosperity is beckoning us. We need to work hard, and this attendance means a lot to me,” the president said.

President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, commended the president for hosting the leadership of the Senate to the Interfaith breaking of fast.

He commended President Tinubu for providing the visionary leadership the nation needs at this critical time, stating that the administration’s bold reforms have now brought more revenue to governors at the sub-national level for the development of critical infrastructure.

The Senate President prayed for the administration, and for the nation’s peace and prosperity.

Politics

FCT COUNCILS’ ELECTIONS: PDP WINS GWAGWALADA CHAIRMANSHIP AS APC SECURES AMAC, BWARI

Published

4 days ago

February 23, 2026

The Tide

Alhaji Mohammed Kasim, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has won the Gwagwalada Area Council chairmanship election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Philip Akpeni, the Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), announced the results on Sunday morning.

Alhaji Kasim polled 22,165 votes to defeat Alhaji Yahaya Shehu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 17,788 votes.

Alhaji Biko Umar of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) scored 1, 687 to come in third place.

“I am the returning officer for the 2026 FCT Area Council, Gwagwalada chairmanship held on Feb. 21, 2026,” Akpeni said.

“That Mohammed Kasim of PDP, having certified the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected.”

In the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Christopher Maikalangu, the APC candidate, was declared the winner of the chairmanship poll with 40,295 votes.

Andrew Abue, the Collation Officer for AMAC, said Hon. Maikalangu, who is the incumbent AMAC chairman, was returned elected having scored the highest number of votes cast.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) came second with 12,109 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 3,398 votes.

According to Abue, the total number of valid votes in the chairmanship poll was 62,861, while the total votes cast stood at 65,197.

He added that the number of registered voters in AMAC was 837,338, while the total number of accredited voters was 65,676.

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Mr. Joshua Ishaku of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the Bwari Area Council Chairmanship election.

Announcing the result on Sunday in Bwari, the Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Mohammed Nurudeen, stated that Ishaku polled a total of 18,466 votes to emerge victorious in the February 21, 2026 poll.

“I am the Returning Officer for the 2026 FCT Area Council, Bwari chairmanship held on Feb. 21, 2026. That Joshua Ishaku, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Nurudeen said.

According to the results declared, the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) secured 4,254 votes, while the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) polled 3,515 votes to place second and third respectively.

The declaration adds to the series of results emerging from the 2026 FCT Area Council elections, as political parties assess their performance ahead of future contests.

INEC UPLOADS 2,602 OF 2,822 FCT CHAIRMANSHIP RESULTS ON IReV

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had uploaded 2,602 out of the 2,822 expected polling unit results from Saturday’s chairmanship elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as at 5:55am on Sunday, data retrieved from its Result Viewing Portal (IReV) showed.

According to The Tide source, the figure represents an overall upload rate of about 92.2 per cent across the six area councils of the territory.

A council-by-council breakdown indicates that Municipal Area Council recorded the highest number of submissions in absolute terms, with 1,309 of 1,401 polling unit results uploaded, representing 93.43 per cent.

In Gwagwalada Area Council, 330 of the expected 338 polling unit results had been uploaded, representing 97.63 per cent — the highest upload rate among the six councils.

In Bwari Area Council, INEC uploaded 463 of 485 polling unit results, translating to 95.46 per cent.

In Abaji Area Council, 129 of 135 polling unit results had been uploaded as at 5:55am, representing 95.56 per cent.

In Kwali Area Council, 164 of the expected 201 polling unit results were available on the portal, representing 81.59 per cent.

In Kuje Area Council, 207 of 262 polling unit results had been uploaded, representing 79.01 per cent — the lowest rate among the six councils as at the time of review.