Politics
Ekiti Poll: Aspirant Vows To Challenge APC Primaries
A governorship aspirant on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has vowed to challenge the results declared by the party in the January 27 primary in the court of law.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary,Human Rights and Legal Matters, said that the alleged abrasion of democracy and brazen abridgement of the Electoral Act in the election would be subjected to legal scrutiny via the party’s constitution and the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Though, Bamidele and six others had withdrawn from the race, but going by the results declared by Governor Abubakar Mohammed Badaru -led APC Primary Election Committee, he garnered a total of 706 to emerge third, while the former Secretary to the State Government , Biodun Oyebanji got 101, 703, to become the party’s flagbearer.In a statement in Ado Ekiti, on Sunday, Bamidele said he would take all the necessary actions to correct the alleged electoral perfidy perpetrated during the primary to deepen democracy and entrench the rule of law in the system .The Chairman, Southern Senators’ Forum, insisted that no election was held on January 27, saying figures reeled out by the Committee were allegedly fabricated to suit a certain sinister purpose.”We are of course taking immediate steps within the confines of our party constitution and the law to seek redress for this blatant abuse of trust and due process by the State actors.”
So whilst on this quest to seek an amicable resolution to this impasse, I urge all to remain calm and prayerful that justice and truth will prevail for the benefit of the people of Ekiti”.Bamidele added that it was unfortunate and regrettable that the process of conducting the primary was “hijacked, truncated, compromised and bastardised by those at the helm of affairs in Ekiti”, which he said was tantamount to a complete abuse of trust and leadership.”It is public knowledge that no primary election took place on Thursday, 27th January, 2022 but yet, rather disappointedly, results were announced based on concocted and fictitious vote counts.”
The underlining level of impunity, desperation and perfidy which characterized the entire rigging process was so much and thought beclouding that I was alloted 700 plus votes in a State-wide gubernatorial primary election in a State where I had scored over 90,000 votes in just one out of three Senatorial Districts to emerge as a Senator.
”More specifically, the breakdown of the votes alloted to me indicated that I got 150 votes in Ado Ekiti, my beloved second home where I had recorded Twenty Eight Thousand votes out of the 42,000 votes that gave me the House of Representatives mandate way back in year 2011 to represent Ado / Irepodun-Ifelodun Federal Constituency.
”But we will remain resolute, strong, focused and faithful in the face of this impunity, total lack of regard for the electoral due process and executive rascality by a chosen few who were elected to represent the interests of Ekiti people”.Bamidele applauded the party at the National, State, Local Government and Ward structures for their continued support and in ensuring the tenets of democracy were continuously entrenched in the political entities and governance of Ekiti State .
”I have fought quite a number of battles in my life based on my sense of indignation to injustice; but I had never been this resolved to stand up and challenge principalities and powers in utmost determination to defeat darkness and make the lights of Ekiti and her people shine again.”A’Ibom Gov Names Preferred Successor (3rd lead, page 12, Wednesday, February 2, 20Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has named the Commissioner for Lands, Pastor Umo Eno, as his preferred successor in 2023.Pastor Eno was presented Sunday evening at a well-attended PDP Stakeholders’ Meeting which took place at the Governor’s Lodge, in Uyo.
Former Governor, Obong Victor Attah, made the formal presentation of the governor’s preferred successor to the stakeholders, which comprised major and leading political chieftains from the three senatorial districts, who all applauded the choice and pledged to work towards his emergence as the governor of the state come 2023.
Speaking after his presentation, Eno narrated how he grew up in the police barracks and how challenging those days were, but he summoned hope to overcome those difficulties.He said he was grateful to God and Emmanuel for finding him worthy of the onerous task to lead the people of the state and continue the people-focused and developmental strides.Bishop Uma Ukpai and the Prelate Emeritus of the Methodist Church of Nigeria, Dr. Sunday Mbang, prayed for his success, a prayer that was re-echoed by the Oku Ibom Ibibio and Chairman of State Council of Chiefs, Ntenyin Solomon Etuk.
Among those who attended the event, were the Deputy Governor, Mr. Moses Ekpo; Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Aniekan Bassey; Senators Akon Eyakenyi, Effiong Bob, Ibok Essien, Aloysius Etok, former Deputy Governor, Etim Okpoyo; member representing Etinan Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, Onofiok Luke; PDP chairman, Elder Aniekan Akpan; Barr Emmanuel Enoidem; the National Coordinator of the Maintain Peace Movement, Pat Ifon; member representing Eket Federal Constituency at the National Assembly and Member, PDP BOT, Chief Nduese Essien; a former Minister of Housing, Ambassador Assam Assam; Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Russia, Fathers of Faith, and other leading members of the state’s political class.APC Is Not Sellable – Senator (5th lead, page 12, Wednesday, February 2, 2022).
The Senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Nicholas Tofowomo, has declared that the ruling All Progressive Congress is not sellable ahead of the 2023 election.Tofowomo said this at Ile Oluji area of the state during the training, empowerment of youths on ICT and distribution of laptops in his senatorial district.
He said that pressures were being mounted on him to defect, stressing that he would rather quit politics permanently instead of decamping to APC.According to him, “Since the coming on board of APC in 2015, it has been sordid and sad tales of events for Nigerians.”Armed robbery and banditry are now an integral part of Nigeria. Nobody is safe, it is as bad as that. So, APC has failed the nation. APC doesn’t have an agenda.
”Than to go to APC, I’ll leave politics because APC is a dead party in Nigeria. They have wrecked the economy of this country. So, it is over my dead body, I can never decamp.”For me, it’s PDP in the morning, afternoon and at night. And if I leave PDP, I’m going back home. If you look at APC, it has ruined Nigeria’s economy, they have scored zero in that aspect.”Look at the Nigeria Police, they have continued to allow them to work in terrible workplaces. The police stations ought to have been refurbished. When you talk about Nigeria Army, the Boko Haram crisis is there.
”When they took power, a bag of rice was N6000, now it is about N35,000. So it is a party that is not sellable. People are decamping from APC to PDP daily. So everybody knows that APC has failed the nation.
”Tofowomo, while rating the APC administration in Ondo State with 25 per cent performance said it deserved commendation in the area of road construction but failed woefully in the aspect of unemployment among youths in the state.”As regards APC in Ondo State, there some areas they have done well and some areas they have failed. In terms of employment, they have failed because they are no jobs.”In terms of road construction, they are trying their best but in total submission, they have failed the state because I will only give them 25 per cent.”He said he decided to distribute laptops to youths and train them on ICT, because ICT was the way to go on the global stage.
”Laptop is an equipment that can refine your life. When I got to England in 1984 laptop was not very meaningful then but in the early 90s, the laptop was everywhere and it was not very common in Nigeria.”In England, when you are inside the train you will see people with their laptops and they will be putting up their programs”.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted on the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise yesterday (Sunday) despite calls by some opposition political parties and civil society organisations for an extension over concerns that millions of citizens could be excluded from the 2027 general elections.
In a notice issued on its X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday, the commission reminded the public that the exercise would end on Sunday, July 26, with designated registration centres open from 9am to 3pm.
“Your future won’t wait. Neither should you. The Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ends Sunday, 26 July 2026,” the Commission stated.
INEC also reminded prospective voters that they could complete the registration process online through its dedicated CVR portal or visit designated INEC offices and registration centres nationwide for physical assistance.
The new Electoral Act stipulates that INEC is required to stop voter registration, updating and revision of the voters’ register 90 days before an election to allow for data clean-up, the printing of Permanent Voter Cards and other logistical preparations.
The law also requires the Commission to display the voters’ register for claims and objections within the stipulated period to enable eligible Nigerians to challenge omissions and errors and help ensure the credibility of the final register for the polls.
The INEC National Commissioner on Information and Voter Education, Mr Mohammed Haruna, told The Tide source that the Commission would not extend the deadline, stressing that the registration exercise had to close to allow the electoral body to begin cleaning the data already collected.
“By midnight on Sunday, voter registration ends. There won’t be any extension. There are so many things that we need to do at the back end. We have to draw a line; otherwise, we won’t be able to produce a clean copy of what has been posted,” he said.
Mr Haruna explained that the commission’s Information Technology team and the Voter Registration Department would begin processing the data immediately after the closure of the registration window.
He said INEC would deploy its Automated Biometric Identification System to detect and remove multiple registrations before the provisional voters’ register is displayed for public scrutiny.
“We have this automatic biometric system that will check whether somebody has registered more than once. They will publish the register for claims and objections. That is, if anybody thinks a name shouldn’t be on the register, or if he has some claims, for instance, that his name has been omitted or some of his details are incorrect,” he said.
According to him, the final number of newly registered voters would only be known after the biometric verification and the claims and objections process.
“So, it’s after all that has been done that we will have a final figure, which we will now add to the existing 93 million or so. That will then become the voters’ register. We are mandated to give every political party a copy ahead of the election,” Mr Haruna added.
Responding to concerns over the number of Nigerians who may be excluded from the 2027 electoral process by the closure, the national commissioner said INEC could only account for eligible citizens who presented themselves for registration.
He added that the commission had recorded registrations through its online platform, physical registration centres and INEC offices across the 774 local government areas.
According to a public announcement signed by Mr Ariyo Rufus, Head of Department, Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Inclusivity on behalf of Mr Oluwatoyin Babalola, the INEC Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), the said exercise is aimed at assessing its operational readiness and testing the efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the governorship poll.
INEC stated that the exercise would simulate Election Day accreditation procedures but clarified that no voting would take place during the exercise.
The commission explained that “the mock accreditation would be conducted in selected polling units spread across the three senatorial districts of Osun State, covering Osun Central, Osun East and Osun West.
“In Osun Central Senatorial District, the selected local government areas are Osogbo, Olorunda, Ifelodun and Boripe, with designated polling units identified for the exercise.
“For Osun East Senatorial District, the exercise will take place in selected polling units across Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Oriade and Obokun local government areas.”
INEC also listed Egbedore, Ede North, Ede South and Ejigbo local government areas as the selected councils for the mock accreditation exercise in Osun West Senatorial District.
The commission urged all registered voters whose polling units were selected to participate in the exercise, stressing that only holders of valid Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) would be accredited.
“This exercise is designed to test the functionality and efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) under conditions similar to Election Day. There shall be no voting during the exercise,” the Commission stated.
INEC reaffirmed its appreciation to residents of Osun State for their continued cooperation and support throughout the electoral process.
INEC also assured political parties, the media, civil society organisations and other stakeholders of the Commission’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive governorship election in Osun State.
Mr Dare made the remark while criticizing Alhaji Abubakar for hiring a United States of America lobbyist with $1.2 million, in preparation for the 2027 elections.
In a statement he personally signed, Mr Dare said the former vice president can’t take Nigeria down the path of self-destruction.
The statement read in part: “Worse still, for a man who presumes to offer leadership to Africa’s most populous nation, his recent resort to grievance offshoring, outsourcing political warfare to Washington and reportedly paying $1.2 million to an American lobbying firm to peddle petitions against a sitting Nigerian President, stands as an affront to Nigeria’s sovereignty and a vote of no confidence in its democratic institutions.
“It is also a stinging slight, an implicit condescension directed at generations of Nigerian journalists, policy analysts, academics, and public intellectuals who have spent decades analysing, critiquing, and carrying the burden of the nation’s democratic evolution.
“The Atiku Abubakar of today cuts a pitiable figure, a grotesque portrait of what a politician becomes when ambition overwhelms judgment and every political faculty becomes programmed for self-destruction.
“No, Atiku cannot take Nigeria down that path with him. He must travel it alone. But first, Nigerians deserve Atiku Abubakar’s report card. Charity, they say, begins at home, not in Washington.
“Nigerians deserve to know whether the Atiku Abubakar who has long presented himself as a democrat is, in reality, a politician of many colours. He has erected for himself a throne built simultaneously on sand and bayonets. It is time to explode the bayonets.”