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Violence Mars Osun Rerun Poll …Election Not Free, Fair Or Credible – CDD …It Is Open Robbery -PDP …Adeleke Heads To Court

Published

8 years ago

September 28, 2018

A major election monitoring group has dismissed yesterday’s re-run election in Osun State as fraudulent and anti-democratic, calling for an immediate investigation into the the roles of government institutions who participated in it, as violence mared the entire process.
The conduct of security agencies drew the most condemnation and warning from the Centre for Democracy and Development, one of Nigeria’s most respected pro-democracy think-tanks.
“In the light of these anti-democratic acts, which have undermined the sanctity of the ballot therefore, we hold strongly the view that the re-run poll of yesterday, September 27, 2018 does not meet up with the minimum standards for free, fair and credible elections,” the CDD said in a statement to newsmen yesterday afternoon. “It falls short of global best practices in democratic elections which Nigeria aspires towards.”
Results of the re-run election have started trickling in as of 3:30 p.m., after voting centres closed at about 2:00 p.m across the seven polling units identified for the exercise.
The Independent National Electoral Commission fixed the re-run for yesterday after declaring the 2018 governorship election inconclusive when it held on September 22. Ademola Adeleke, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, scored 254,698 votes to beat Mr Oyetola, his main All Progressives Congress rival who polled 254,345 votes.
The electoral body said the re-run was necessary because the margin between the PDP and APC (353 votes) is less than the number of registered voters (3,498) in the seven polling units where elections were cancelled for disruption or technical difficulties.
The PDP protested the decision, demanding that its candidate won the election and should be declared winner. The party also approached the court in an unsuccessful bid to procure an injunction against the re-run. The opposition party eventually agreed to participate in the poll, although with strong reservations that it would not be free or fair.
Idayat Hassan, director of CDD, said her organisation observed widespread misconduct by security agencies, including intimidation of accredited journalists, observers and even voters of the opposition party.
“CDD field observers deployed to observe the process and ensure its credibility, especially in Orolu and Osogbo LGAs, were intimidated, threatened and in some cases arrested by security forces,” CDD said.
“CDD observers reported palpable tension in Ifon, Orolu LGAs due to the high-handed conduct of the security agents who seemed bent to sway the vote the way of certain partisan interests.
“At Ajegunle Roundabout, which leads to Polling Unit 003 Ward 9 Gbogbo Primary School in Orolu LGA, security personnel mounted barricades to obstruct observer and deny them access to the polling unit.
“Observers who attempted to carry out their legitimate duties were arrested and taken to nearby police station. They were only released after being denied the opportunity to keep an eye on the process so as to guarantee its credibility,” the statement said.
The body also highlighted the arrest of Kemi Busari, a PREMIUM TIMES journalist deployed as a CDD observer for the exercise, dismissing the police’s claim that he was taking picture near the polling area.
“The police officer’s stance contradicts the statement of INEC, which made it clear that voters and participants were allowed to go with their phones to polling units but not to polling booths after ballot paper must have been issued to an accredited voter,” CDD said.
“This particular incident clearly demonstrates the fact that the law enforcement agents were not properly informed about or deliberately ignored the INEC directive, which banned the use of phones in the voting cubicle, not around the overall polling environment,” CDD said. “In the face of the intimidation and unjust arrests, observers were forced to leave the Polling Units.”
The think-tank also confirmed widespread reports that potential voters of the opposition were being driven away from polling areas by security agencies.
“CDD also observed attempts by members of the security forces to prevent some voters who allegedly belong to opposition party from accessing PU012 Olode Ward 07 in Ife-South LG, even after showing their PVCs.
“Also, despite all efforts by INEC and civic group to ensure violence-free polls, some political actors mobilised thugs and hoodlums to intimidate voters, journalists and observers.
“Chang Mantu, a senior police officer involved in the coordination of security in the Osun election, explained in Osogbo that there was an attempt by some party men disguising as observers to gain access to Orolu in the early hours of yesterday. He said they were arrested by the police.
“According to him, they loaded in a bus and when they were screened, they were found to be members of a political party. He explained the development was the reason why there were restrictions into the area as it was difficult for security officials to know those who were genuine observers and journalists.
“Our observer also reported that election was disrupted in PU 17, Ward 5 Osogbo LGA as a result of sporadic shooting by some
hoodlums. In terms of the sanctity of the vote, CDD observers reported over five attempts by impostors to vote with PVCs from other Wards at PU012 Olode Ward 07 in Ife-South LGA.
“Although these attempts were unsuccessful, they nonetheless reflect the kind of impunity,
which undermines the credibility of the process,” it said.
The police strongly denied all allegations of misconduct, telling newsmen yesterday afternoon that there is no truth to claims of voter intimidation or harassment of observers and journalists.
Ali Janga, a police commissioner who monitored Orolu Local Government Area where most of the complaints about brutal attacks by political thugs and misconduct amongst security agencies emanated, said the election was peaceful and only those who whose PVCs showed they were not registered to vote in the areas where re-run election was underway were being turned back.
The police also paraded some persons they claimed were members of the opposition but impersonated as election observers.
The CDD recommended a thorough investigation of security agencies’ involvement in the re-run election, warning that the same fate could undermine the 2019 general election.
“The acts of intimidation by security forces and the violence unleashed by party thugs are suggestive of an attempt to compromise the integrity the poll.
“Coming as the last off cycle election before the 2019 general election, the conduct of the security forces, politicians and their supporters are sources of concern to strengthening our democratic process.
“We recommend an urgent investigation of the roles and conduct of the security forces and political thugs in the Osun re-run with a view to sanctioning infractions,” CDD said.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party has described the rerun election held in Osun State as the biggest electoral robbery ever witnessed in the history of the state.
The Chairman of the PDP in Osun State, Mr Soji Adagunodo, said this in a statement made available to our correspondent in Osogbo, yesterday.
Adagunodo said the alleged brazen electoral fraud would be resisted by the party, saying the stolen mandate would be resisted in court.
He said the election was openly rigged by the All Progressives Congress with the support of security personnel in broad daylight,
Adagunodo said, “Thousands of eligible voters were chased away from their homes in Orolu, Ife North and Ife South Local Government Areas in the early hours of today.
“Scores of our supporters in those local governments were shot and stabbed on their way to polling centres and in the full glare of security men. Hundreds of people holding PVCs from other polling units were accredited and allowed to vote in Osogbo and Ife South Local Governments.
“PDP agent in Olode was axed and abducted at 7am today. Media men and election observers were denied access in several polling units. By the time access was granted to journalists about 11am, ballot boxes had been stuffed by APC agents acting in connivance with INEC officials.”
The PDP chairman said it was regrettable that election in seven polling units could not be freely and fairly conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
He said, “We reject any returns of results from this sham and call on the INEC authorities in Abuja to direct that the so-called supplementary election result collation be put on hold now.
“We equally invite leaders of thought in Nigeria and the International community to rise up now to rescue Nigeria’s democracy from being ruined.
“We equally call on all members and supporters of our party to resist any attempt to foist concocted election results on the people of Osun using all legal means at their disposal.”
However, the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke, yesterday rejected the results of the rerun goverorship election in Osun State even before the official announcement.
In a statement by the spokesperson, Adeleke Campaign Organisation, Olawale Rasheed, Adeleke said he would head to court to challenge the result, saying that the All Progressives Congress, APC, massively rigged the election.
According to Adeleke, his supporters were harassed, intimidated and prevented from voting in some of the units while describing the exercise as a sham.
“We report to the whole world the brazen theft and daylight swindling of Osun people who were criminally denied their rights to vote and be voted for by an anti-people conspiracy among INEC, security agencies and the ruling All Progressive Congress. An unprecedented travesty of justice and the shattering of democratic values are ongoing in Osun state.
“The whole world is witnessing a charade in the name of an election, a deliberate effort at the imposition of a discredited leadership on the suffering people of Osun State through undisguised brutal force, applying all standards, today’s supplementary poll is a non-event as all norms of electoral process were violated.
“Voters are deliberately refused access to polling points at gun points. Those allowed to voting centres are forced to vote for APC. PDP party agents are arrested, beaten up and shut out of polling centres. PDP agents are barred from many units. Roads are blocked to stop voters and observers.
‘Journalists and election monitors are blocked from accessing many voting areas. Those who attempted gaining access are attacked by hooded thugs. PDP leaders are hounded and arrested. It was a brutal unleashing of force against unarmed election stakeholders,” the statement said.

News

SERAP Drags FG To ECOWAS Court Over N78.8bn Cash Transfer

Published

2 days ago

October 26, 2026

The Tide

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the Federal Government at the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice over alleged diversion, irregular expenditure and failure to account for N78.8bn allocated to cash-transfer and social-protection programmes.

SERAP, in a statement released by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, yesterday, said the allegations involved the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Cash Transfer Office and the National Social Safety Nets Coordinating Office.

The allegations were documented in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report, published on August 7, 2026.

According to the report, the findings covered various periods between January 2023 and December 31, 2024.

In the suit, marked ECW/CCJ/APP/42/26 and filed last week, SERAP is seeking a declaration that the government’s failure to account for the funds violates Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.

The organisation is also asking the court to order the government to provide a comprehensive account of the questioned funds, investigate the alleged irregularities, recover any money improperly spent or diverted where established, and strengthen financial oversight of social-protection programmes.

SERAP argued that the alleged financial irregularities could undermine the rights of vulnerable Nigerians to social security and an adequate standard of living, including access to food, clothing and housing.

The statement party read, “The funds were intended to benefit over 3.2 million households across 35 states, whose access to financial assistance has been affected by the allegations made by the Auditor-General.”

The suit, filed by SERAP’s lawyers, Kolawole Oluwadare and Kehinde Oyewumi, stated that the government’s failure to investigate the allegations and recover any improperly spent funds violated its obligations to protect vulnerable households.

“The failure to investigate the N78.8 billion cash-transfer scandal, account for the questioned funds and recover any unlawfully spent amounts violates Nigeria’s obligations to protect the human rights of vulnerable households,” the suit partly read.

The organisation said it instituted the case to protect affected households and ensure accountability for public funds allocated for their benefit.

“SERAP brings this public-interest case to protect the interests of affected households and ensure accountability for public funds allocated for their benefit,” it stated.

The organisation maintained that cash-transfer programmes could help address extreme poverty and enable vulnerable people to meet their basic needs, but argued that the government had a duty to ensure the funds were properly managed.

“The right to social security cannot be effectively realised merely by establishing a formal cash-transfer programme where the State fails to maintain reasonable systems for identifying beneficiaries, maintaining records, reconciling disbursements, monitoring expenditure, investigating irregularities and remedying losses,” the statement further stated.

According to SERAP, the Auditor-General questioned approximately N33.751bn reportedly transferred to more than 3.2 million households across 35 states in 2023, noting that adequate records to verify the payments and reconcile beneficiary records were not provided.

The report also identified N36.744bn in payments allegedly made without prepayment audits, N4.616bn in unsupported expenditures, N350.182m for enrolment, N89.511m for store purchases and N17.422m in diesel advances.

SERAP said the suit was brought under Article 9(4) of the ECOWAS Court Protocol to protect affected households and ensure accountability for public funds intended for social protection.

“The issue is whether the government has discharged its obligations under applicable human-rights treaties to safeguard resources allocated for social protection, investigate documented financial irregularities, provide effective remedies and ensure that those resources are applied for their intended purposes,” it stated.

The organisation also cited the constitutional responsibility of the Auditor-General to audit and report on the public accounts of the Federation and the offices and agencies of the Federal Government, describing the findings in the annual report as important official records of public expenditure.

It relied on Articles 1 and 2 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, arguing that the government had obligations to give effect to protected rights and ensure that failures in administering social-protection programmes did not result in discriminatory exclusion or unequal access to benefits.

“The Nigerian government has the obligation to take effective measures to prevent and address corruption and related misuse of public resources. The government has failed to take appropriate measures in response to the allegations made by the Auditor-General”, the statement added.

SERAP said it had previously urged President Bola Tinubu and relevant authorities to account for the questioned funds, publish audit records, investigate irregular expenditures, recover any funds unlawfully spent or diverted and take appropriate action against those responsible.

Following the publication of the Auditor-General’s report, the organisation issued a public statement and sent a letter dated September 5, 2026, requesting action on the findings. It also sought payment and beneficiary records, verification documents and an explanation for the missing REMITA records.

“The deadline given to the government to address the Auditor-General’s findings had elapsed without adequate action,” it stated.

The organisation further cited Articles 1 and 21 of the African Charter, alongside Article 9 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, as requiring effective measures to protect rights and resources, promote transparent public financial management, investigate irregularities and recover public funds where losses or improper expenditure were established.

SERAP also relied on the works of legal scholar Kolawole Olaniyan, including Corruption and Human Rights Law in Africa, published by Hart Publishing in 2014, and Ownership of Proceeds of Corruption in International Law, published by Oxford University Press in 2023. It said the publications provided persuasive academic authority on corruption’s effects on human rights, public resources, accountability and international legal remedies.

“SERAP accordingly submits that the Auditor-General’s findings cannot be treated merely as administrative irregularities where public funds allocated for social protection may have been lost, improperly spent or left unaccounted for, and the government fails to take effective corrective action,” the statement added.

SERAP is asking the court to direct the government to conduct an independent, prompt and effective investigation into the identified irregularities, recover public funds improperly spent, diverted or lost where established, and take appropriate legal or administrative action against those found responsible, in accordance with due process.

It also wants the government to strengthen financial accountability, beneficiary verification, auditing, reconciliation and oversight mechanisms to prevent a recurrence of the alleged irregularities and ensure that eligible vulnerable households receive their intended benefits.

The organisation is further seeking an order restraining the government from administering or disbursing cash-transfer and social-protection funds without adequate accountability and oversight mechanisms, as well as appropriate remedies for any established adverse effects on beneficiaries’ protected rights.

No date has, however, been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

News

FG releases N38.93bn to upgrade 166 tertiary institutions

Published

2 days ago

October 26, 2026

The Tide

The Federal Government has released N38.93bn to 166 public tertiary institutions nationwide under the Needs Assessment Revitalisation Fund to address infrastructure deficits and improve teaching and learning facilities.

The intervention covers 79 universities, 46 polytechnics and 41 colleges of education, with universities receiving the largest share of the allocation.

The Federal Ministry of Finance disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday by its Head of Media, Efe Ovuakporie, explaining that the funds would support approved projects in beneficiary institutions.

The statement read, “The Federal Government has disbursed N38.93bn to 166 public tertiary institutions nationwide under the Needs Assessment Revitalisation Fund.”

According to the ministry, the university component accounts for N28.5bn, while N5.8bn has been allocated to polytechnics and N4.7bn to colleges of education.

An analysis of the allocations by PUNCH Online showed that universities would receive approximately 73.2 per cent of the announced N38.93bn intervention, making them the largest beneficiaries.

Polytechnics would account for about 14.9 per cent, while colleges of education would receive approximately 12.1 per cent.

The ministry explained that the intervention was intended to address longstanding infrastructure challenges in public tertiary institutions and support the implementation of agreements reached between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

It stated, “The intervention forms part of the Federal Government’s efforts to address the needs of public universities and support the implementation of agreed measures under the Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities.”

The Needs Assessment Revitalisation Fund is designed to support improvements in institutional infrastructure and other identified needs, particularly in public universities, where inadequate facilities have remained a recurring concern in negotiations between the government and academic unions.

The ministry said the latest disbursement would enable beneficiary institutions to begin new projects or continue previously approved interventions aimed at improving their operational capacity.

“The funds are expected to enable beneficiary institutions to commence or advance approved projects addressing critical infrastructure and other identified institutional needs, with the overall objective of strengthening the quality of tertiary education in Nigeria,” it added.

The government also emphasised the need for coordination among the Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry of Education and beneficiary institutions to ensure that the released funds produced measurable improvements.

It noted that effective collaboration would be necessary to translate the financial intervention into improved infrastructure, institutional capacity and learning conditions.

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Senate Passes Bill For Establishment Of Federal University Of Agriculture In Rivers

Published

2 days ago

October 26, 2026

The Tide

The bill to approve the establishment of the Federal University of Agriculture, Emughan, Abua-Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State has passed third reading.

The Bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Federal Universities of Agriculture Act, Cap. F22, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2024” was sponsored by Senator Ipalibo Harry Banigo representing Rivers West Senatorial District.

The bill seeks to amend the existing Federal Universities of Agriculture Act to provide for the establishment of the proposed institution in Emughan community in Rivers State.

The passage of the bill by the Senate marks a significant legislative milestone towards the establishment of the proposed university.

When established, the institution is expected to expand access to higher education, promote agricultural research and innovation, develop skilled manpower, and contribute to the economic growth of Rivers State and Nigeria at large.

According to a statement made available to The Tide, the bill, having passed the Third Reading in the Senate, will now proceed to the House of Representatives for concurrence as part of the legislative process towards its enactment into law.

The bill underscores Senator Banigo’s commitment to advancing educational opportunities and strengthening agricultural development in Rivers State.

By: Kevin Nengia