Politics
Periscoping 2020 (I)
The receding year 2020 would not easily fade in the minds of many as the year of the Coronavirus that caused large scale disruptions and colossal damage to socio-economic activities, programmes and projects of individuals, organisations, corporate bodies and countries across the globe.
Like others, Nigeria was not spared the devastation as the country slumped into a second economic recession in just a couple of years.
In varying degrees, all sectors and sections of the nation were very badly hit with some succumbing to the situation and others needing a lifeline to survive. The political sector is, perhaps, among the most resilient as it was observed to have recorded among the least disruptions within the year as the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC), managed to, largely, keep faith with its election calendar.
On the political turf, however, it was a mixed bag for players across the spectrum.
While some of the players, individuals and groups, could not have wished for better fortunes, others were visited with pains that would linger for years to come, losing exalted seats and coveted positions. For some others still, the devastation caused by COVID-19 pales in significance compared to the political debacle they suffered in 2020.
Let’s take a look at some of the events, activities and occasions that shaped the political atmosphere in Nigeria: With no fewer than 28 re-run and by-elections in 11 states to conduct on January 25, 2020, the President, Muhammadu Buhari, on January 7, 2020 met with the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, top management of the electoral commission and the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Abubakar in Abuja, charging the electoral umpire to ensure a free, fair and credible electoral process.
“Those that you declare as winners must be the candidates that the people have chosen. Democracy is about free will, and the will of the people must prevail. Get your acts right and leave no room for underhand tricks or manipulation”, the president told INEC.
To the police, he said: “Our elections must be done in violence-free atmosphere. The process must be free, fair, decent, devoid of intimidation or malpractices. It is the duty of the police to accomplish that and it is what I expect in the elections immediately ahead, and going forward”.
On January 8, 2020, the Supreme Court of Nigeria decided election disputes arising from the March 9, 2019 gubernatorial contests in Delta and Abia States. The court affirmed the victory of Senator Ifeanyi Okowa of the Peoples Democratic Party in Delta State.
In the same vein, the court also finally resolved issues concerning the 2019 Abia governorship election in favour of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of the PDP.
The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Dr Alex Otti, had asked the Supreme Court to annul the results of the 2019 guber poll in 13 of the 17 local government areas of Abia State, alleging irregularities.
On January 13, 2020, the Supreme Court, in a unanimous judgment, sacked the Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha of the PDP and in his stead declared Senator Hope Uzodinma of the APC as the duly elected governor of the state.
Reacting to the judgment, the PDP described it as, “another very sad commentary on our nation’s democratic order”.
The party, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbodinyan, said it found it difficult to understand how Senator Hope Uzodinma and the APC, who came a distant fourth in the March 9, 2019 governorship election in Imo, with just 96,458 votes will suddenly, by the token of the judgment of the Supreme Court defeat Governor Ihedioha that scored 276,404 votes.
Later, at a Press Conference, addressed by the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, the party queried the validity of the judgment, pointing out that the 127,209 votes added to the votes of the APC candidate by the apex court could not be justified.
Secondus said the added votes of the APC candidate shot the total votes cast at the election above the number of accredited voters as contained in the record of the INEC.
According to him, while the INEC figure of accredited voters stood at 823,743, the apex court, through its judgment, shot the figure to 950,952, which the party said was in excess of accredited voters in the election. The party therefore asked for a reversal of the verdict.
Monday, January 20,2020, saw the Supreme Court uphold the election of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State. The court in a unanimous judgment by a seven-man justices led by Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Tanko Muhammad, dismissed an appeal the candidate of the PDP, Abba Yusuf, filed to challenge the outcome of the last governorship election in the state.
Similarly, the Supreme Court, same day, affirmed Aminu Tambuwal of the PDP as the valid winner of the gubernatorial election in Sokoto State.
The court dismissed an appeal the candidate of the APC, Ahmed Aliyu filed to challenge Tambuwal’s victory.
Another case decided by the highest court of the land that same day was the governorship dispute in Plateau State. In that matter, the court ruled in favour of Governor Simon Lalong, affirming him as the duly elected governor of the state.
In a unanimous verdict handed down by a seven-man panel led by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, the court dismissed the appeal which candidate of the PDP, Senator Jeremiah Useni filed to challenge the outcome of the gubernatorial coutest that held in the state on March 9, 2019.
Not least of all, Senator Bala Mohammed of the PDP also got the final affirmation of the Supreme Court as the lawfully elected helmsman of Bauchi State.
Next day, January 21, 2020, Governor Samuel Ortom and Ahmadu Fintiri of Benue and Adamawa States respectively had their electoral victories sealed by the Supreme Court.
Both governors who are members of the PDP had their returns as winners of the last gubernatorial elections in their states challenged up to the Supreme Court by the candidates of the APC in the states.
Same day, January 21, 2020, Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Chiji Collins defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), taking along with him nine other members of the house from PDP, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Action Alliance (AA).
In Abuja, same day, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) inaugurated two new Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC).
While Dr Johnson Alalibo, representing Bayelsa State was appointed to replace Frankland Briyai in Cross River State, Umar Gajiran from Borno State was sworn-in to take the place of his late compatriot, Baba Yusuf, in Taraba State.
An FCT High Court, on Thursday, January 23, 2020 turned down an experte application filed by the National Vice Chairman, North East of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Mustapha Salihu, the factional chairman of the APC in Edo State, Anselm Ojezua and others, seeking to compel Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to vacate office as National Chairman of the party.
The move to remove Oshiomhole as National Chairman was however frustrated when the court refused to grant the exparte motion and rather ordered that the Defendant (Oshiomhole, APC and others) be put on notice before the motion was heard so as to ensure fair hearing.
On Monday, January 27, 2020, deposed governor Emeka Ihedioha approached the Supreme Court for a review of its judgment of January 14 in which it declared Senator Hope Uzodinma of the APC as governor in Imo State.
The Civil Society Legialative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), on Tuesday, January 28, urged the National Assembly (NASS) to prioritise ammendment of the Electoral Reforms Act to promote credibility and transparency in the electoral process as the federal lawmakers resumed plenary for the year.
And on Wednesday, January 29, 2020, the National Assembly unanimously passed a vote of no confidence on the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian armed forces and all security services for their collective failure to curb the menace of insecurity across the country.
The Senate Majority Leader, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi, raised the motion titled: Nigerian Security Challenge: Urgent Need To Restructure, Review and Re-organise The Security Architecture.
The motion was supported by 105 other senators.
By: Opaka Dokubo
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has begun deploying non-sensitive materials to the zones as it prepares for the 2027 general election.
Acting Chairman of the commission, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, disclosed this in Abuja, yesterday at a bench-marking meeting with a delegation of Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
“Right now, all non-sensitive materials are almost ready. In fact, today as we speak here, the non-sensitive materials have been lifted to some zones now,” Gumus said.
She said the commission had completed nine of its scheduled activities and was preparing for the next phase.
“We are preparing for the election next year and we have activities lined up. So far, we have been able to complete nine activities and we are still preparing for the next level of activities,” she said.
Gumus said the commission’s leadership had just concluded a tour of the country’s six zones to assess their level of preparedness.
“The purpose was to go round the zones to see how prepared we are, assess what the zones have put in place, their challenges and what to do. We concluded last week and we can see from our tour that we are really going towards the election proper,” she said.
On Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), the acting chairman said production had been completed and distribution to the states was well advanced.
“As of today, we can say that PVCs have been produced and the first, second batches, most of the states have received them. Their PVC collection is ongoing. All those who are supposed to be the voters are supposed to receive their PVCs, and if they don’t have them, it is also another challenge,” Gumus said.
She added that capacity building was under way for staff at the headquarters and in the states, and that the procurement and deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System BVAS devices were also ongoing.
On diaspora voting, Gumus said the commission could not proceed for now because the law did not provide for it.
“Here, because we go by the law, in our electoral law, it is not included there, so we cannot go on for the diaspora voting for now until we amend the electoral law,” she said.
The acting chairman said the commission had arranged for its directors to hold an interactive session with the Kenyan team and present papers on the work of their departments.
Leading the delegation, the Kenyan High Commissioner to Nigeria, Isaac Parashina, said the IEBC team was in Nigeria to benchmark ahead of Kenya’s general election in August 2027.
He said the team was studying how Nigeria handled its diaspora population and special voting groups, as Kenya sought to widen voting rights for citizens living abroad.
“Currently we have about 12 of them who voted in the last general election, but there is intention to expand to around, I think, 26,” Parashina said, referring to the countries where Kenyans abroad vote.
He said the expansion was a constitutional requirement backed by Kenyan court rulings, and would be enforced progressively.
Parashina said Nigeria’s election, which he noted would come in two rounds, would be closely watched across Africa.
“Everyone is looking at what Nigeria will do because it is the biggest democracy in Africa. The success of Nigeria remains a great success to Kenya and indeed to the continent,” he added.
The High Commissioner thanked INEC for receiving the team despite a tight schedule and wished the commission success.
Governor Douye Diri has set a target of at least one million votes for President Bola Tinubu in Bayelsa State in the 2027 presidential election, while charging the newly inaugurated All Progressives Congress (APC) State Campaign Council to prioritise reconciliation, party unity and collective electoral mobilisation.
Governor Diri gave the charge at the inauguration of the 20-member campaign council at the APC secretariat in Yenagoa, where he warned that internal divisions could undermine the party’s efforts to secure victory for President Tinubu and other candidates at the federal and state levels.
Governor Diri urged party members who were not appointed to the council to support its activities by taking the APC’s message to communities, wards and polling units across the state.
He specifically charged the campaign team to mobilise at least one million votes for President Tinubu, arguing that Bayelsa’s voting strength had increased and should be reflected in the 2027 election results.
“I give you a target that in Bayelsa, we must not bring less than one million votes for Mr President. You are going to campaign, and you have a lot to talk about the President. He has done so much for our people,” the governor said.
He listed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the second phase of the Nembe-Brass Road, interventions in the power sector, federal appointments for Bayelsa indigenes and the establishment of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy among the achievements the campaign should present to voters.
The governor particularly praised President Tinubu for the coastal highway project, arguing that it reflected federal attention to the development needs of coastal communities.
“No president, alive or dead, has remembered the coastal people and coastal states to say let us do this signature project from Lagos to Calabar. The first president to think about it is Bola Tinubu, and those were the demands of the Ijaw people,” he said.
Governor Diri also expressed hope that a second term for President Tinubu would provide an opportunity to advance demands for fiscal federalism, greater resource control and state policing, which he described as longstanding aspirations of the Niger Delta.
He said the President had shown indications of addressing some of the demands of younger Nigerians and argued that re-election would allow the administration to consolidate its reforms.
The governor further cautioned campaigners against personal attacks and abusive exchanges with political opponents, insisting that the APC should focus its campaign on issues, policies and achievements.
The governor’s mobilisation directive comes amid criticism from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has questioned his commitment to President Tinubu’s re-election campaign, alleging that APC campaign billboards erected across Yenagoa promote other party candidates without featuring the President.
The PDP, through its Publicity Secretary, Mr Ikaebimo Mark, said the billboards showed Governor Diri urging voters to support APC candidates for the National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections without identifying President Tinubu as the party’s presidential candidate.
Mr Mark described the omission as an indication that the governor was not fully aligned with the APC’s national leadership.
“When we said that the governor, Senator Douye Diri, is not supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we knew exactly what we were saying. Now Governor Douye Diri has erected APC campaign billboards across Bayelsa State without Tinubu’s picture. He is even afraid to associate himself with the photograph of the presidential candidate of his own party. How can this governor claim to be supporting President Tinubu?” he said.
The PDP, however, maintained that the governor’s public campaign posture raised questions about his commitment to the President’s re-election bid. Its allegation over the billboards now places the issue of the relationship between the state APC leadership and the party’s national campaign among the political questions likely to feature in Bayelsa’s preparations for 2027.
The PDP’s allegation has introduced a fresh political dimension to the APC’s preparations in Bayelsa, even as Governor Diri publicly called on party leaders and members to close ranks and mobilise support for all its candidates.
“Every person picked as a member of this campaign council was carefully scrutinised. I want to tell you that our campaign team is loaded. We parade the best candidates among all the parties in Bayelsa State, and there is no doubt about that,” he said.
He urged members to remain focused and united, warning that political opponents could exploit any divisions within the party.
“Our unity is very important because they would want to feast on our disunity. We will not give them that opportunity. Please, as you carry out this assignment, do not take your eyes off the target,” Hon. Ogoriba said.
SP Edafe explained that during the meeting, the organisers were briefed on the identified security threats and advised against embarking on an open-road procession.
Instead, the police reportedly recommended that the political activities be conducted at a designated venue where adequate security arrangements could be provided.
However, the Command alleged that the organisers disregarded the security advice and proceeded with the road procession.
Meanwhile, the Delta State Government has condemned the political violence that erupted in Asaba, the state capital, on Saturday, confirming that one person was killed while four others sustained serious injuries.
The government described the incident as unfortunate and unacceptable, warning political parties and their supporters against actions capable of threatening public peace, security and democratic participation in the state.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, the government reiterated its zero tolerance for political violence, intimidation and other forms of political misconduct.
Mr Aniagwu said the government had repeatedly cautioned political parties against engaging in activities capable of disrupting the peace, insisting that the incident could have been avoided if the organisers had followed security advice.
According to him, the police had advised the organisers to cancel the proposed street march and instead conduct their political campaign at a designated venue where adequate security arrangements could be provided.
He expressed concern that the advice was allegedly disregarded, resulting in a confrontation that claimed one life and left four other people seriously injured.
The government subsequently called on the police to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the violence and ensure that anyone found culpable is brought to justice.
Mr Aniagwu further warned that the state government would not tolerate politically motivated attacks against any individual, regardless of political affiliation.
He maintained that Delta State remained safe for residents and visitors, stressing that the government would not allow the actions of individuals or groups to undermine the prevailing peace and security in the state.
The government also urged political parties, their leaders and supporters to conduct their political activities within the confines of the law and demonstrate respect for human life, public order and the rights of other citizens.
The latest development follows an attack on supporters of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) during a political procession in Asaba, which reportedly left several participants injured and campaign vehicles vandalised.
The government’s condemnation comes amid growing concerns over political violence and the safety of opposition supporters as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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