Politics

How Thugs Attack Bauchi Collation Centre, Injured Scores, Damaged Vehicles

Published

1 year ago

March 4, 2023

Many people were allegedly injured and more than 10 vehicles suffered various levels of damage when suspected thugs of the All Progressives Congress attacked supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party at the House of Representatives collation centre for Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Constituency in Bununu town in Bauchi State.

A former Senior Special Assistant on Media to Yakubu Dogara, the immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Iliya Habila, in an interview with journalists, said he narrowly escaped being lynched by the thugs who were armed to the teeth.

Habila, a former Chairman, Bogoro Local Government Area and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, who also spoke to journalists in the state said that the constituency election was marred by irregularities and violence.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had announced the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Ja’afar Leko, as the winner of the election ahead of that of the PDP, Kefas Magaji. Leko is being backed by Dogara who is representing the area for the fourth time.

But Habila, a journalist turned politician who is an ally of the PDP candidate, said they were robbed of the election that should have been theirs.

“As a supporter of the PDP and one of the key supporters of Kefas Magaji, we were there to witness the collation of results, suddenly, we saw thugs in trucks being brought to Bununu. We were surprised how the collation centre was transferred from Zwall to Bununu. Then later in the evening, we knew that obviously the reason behind it (transfer of the collation centre) was to cause confusion and then allow them to perpetrate the evil they had.

“For hours, they held the electoral officials to ransom, for hours, they held security agencies to ransom and within a corner, a primary school, which they condone off and they were perpetrating that kind of evil. In fact, it took the intervention of military personnel to go and bring out the concocted results and later on, they started unleashing terror on everybody that was perceived not to be with them. I also escaped by the whiskers.

“When most of our supporters had been driven away, they knew that it was a fertile ground for them to announce the concocted results they had. In fact, it was around 1am that they announced the results on Monday in a very nocturnal way and this is not acceptable. We were robbed of this victory, he was supposed to have been announced the winner, but it was a broad daylight robbery.”

He also added that many people were injured and had to run for dear lives. Also, more than 10 vehicles were destroyed. According to him, thugs were imported from communities to cause mayhem and distort the election.

Also speaking, the PDP candidate, a former Special Adviser on Legal Matters to the Bauchi State Governor, rejected the result of the election vowing that he would recover his mandate in the court.

The one-time Caretaker Committee Chairman of Tafawa Balewa LGA, said the voting was peaceful in all the polling units with the exception of a few areas that experienced challenges until the collation of results.

He narrated that “at the time of collation, 30 of the wards brought in their results in good time because immediately after the election, counting started and late in the evening (on Saturday), results started coming in. Surprisingly, in Bununu ward which is the host of the three LGAs, results were delayed.

“The next morning, which was Sunday, results were turned in from the remaining electoral wards of the LGAs but Bununu ward was not turned in until about 6 to 7 pm on Sunday which was very unusual.

“The venue of the collation centre was so tight as there were thugs around and the entrance was mounted with a heavy barricade which made it impossible for anybody to know what was happening. From reports, they collated the results about five times; surprisingly, when the Collation Officer took the results of the three LGAs to the collation centre in Bununu, the results were returned on grounds that the computations were not properly done and that there were so many errors.

“For the first time, instead of allowing the Presiding Officers who are the masters of election results to compute the results, the Electoral Officer for Tafawa Balewa took over the whole exercise and at the end of the day, they came up with a result that was not in consonance with the votes that was cast in that ward.”

Magaji stated that before the Bununu result was released, they made sure that “thugs were recruited who were fully armed with AK-47, cutlasses and machetes. It was at that time, they brought out the result from Bununu and it was late in the night when they knew that bringing in the result at the time, they were supposed to bring it in, the APC will definitely lose that election. So what they did was to ensure that the election result was delayed and that is the area that we are not so comfortable with.”

According to him, despite the delays and the “manipulations that they did in the election result,” they discovered that there were cases of over-voting alleging that instead of cancelling the results because of the over-voting, they refused.

“From the entire results they announced, the APC candidate got about 1,800 votes over me, but if they had counted the votes genuinely, certainly by all standards, I would have won the election. We are taking up this matter before the election tribunal to ensure that this case is pursued through the legitimate means in order to reclaim my mandate” he said.

PUNCH

Related Topics:##NigeriaElections2023 Bauchi

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Politics

JUST-IN: PDP Clears All 33 LGA Chairmanship Seats In Oyo

Published

2 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Editor

The Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) has declared all the 33 candidates of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winners in the local government areas elections conducted across the state on Saturday.

The declaration on Sunday came amid controversy of irregularities as echoed by the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), which alleged irregularities in the voting process.

The APC in the state while the exercise was ongoing on Saturday had described the election as a sham which it noted was capable of causing the Pacesetter state untold disrepute if allowed to stand.

The opposition party then sought the rescheduling of the election for another day when OYSEIC “is ready to conduct a free, fair and credible poll.”

Oyo State APC Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, in a statement regretted that “another opportunity to deepen democracy and return power to the people at the grassroots has had to be missed due to the insensitivity and insincerity on the part of the ruling class in the state.

“With what is happening at the moment in most Polling Units across the state, Gov. Seyi Makinde has again disappointed the whole world. He promised the people that their votes would count today but the opposite is the case. The good people of the state desired to participate in an election to elect a new set of council officials but what they are experiencing is nothing but a sham.

“Even if OYSIEC comes out later to declare all the candidates of the APC, we would not rate this election as credible and acceptable as it falls below the minimum global standard of election conduct. The best thing is for the Commission to suspend the exercise and choose another date for a proper conduct rather continue to connive with a few anti-democratic elements in the ruling PDP to perpetrate electoral fraud and desecration of democracy in the land,” the statement read in part.

The Oyo state government however disagreed, insisting that the victory of all PDP candidates in the Saturday’s elections was predictable.

The state Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, after the announcement of the results, attributed the victories of the PDP candidates to outstanding performance of Governor Makinde in the last five years.

The Commissioner also attributed the election result to the quality of the candidates which the ruling party presented.

“This is a glowing tribute to the governor and his government as this is the last election under his watch till 2027 when he and the just elected LG chairmen and councillors will end their tenures.”

He lashed out at the opposition for starting to rehearse their complaints barely 30 minutes to the commencement of the elections as early as Saturday morning.

Oyelade charged them to behave like sportsmen and stop mixing fantasy with democracy.

The Commissioner hailed the commitments of the security team, the OYSIEC chairman and his team for daring to make a difference after the challenges of the past two local government elections.

Politics

Ondo 2024: lT Expert Emerges As SDP Candidate

Published

4 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Editor

An Information Technology expert, Dr. Segun Oyebolu, weekend emerged the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic party, in Ondo state.

Oyebolu, will be the party’s flagbearear in the November 16, governorship election in the state.

He emerged during the party’s governorship primary held in Akure, Ondo state capital.

The election, was supervised by the officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies.

Speaking at the end of the exercise, the Chairman of the partys primary committee in the state, Joseph Abu, declared Oyebolu as winner

of the exercise having polled 59 votes of the 60 votes cast by the party’s delegates.

Abu who explained that one of the votes was voided, described the election as free and fair and devoid of any rancour or any trouble.

He said that “We have a single candidate and all the delegates voted for the candidate.

” I want to assure you that SDP will win the next governorship election in the state come November by the grace of God.

“I want to thank the people of Ondo state for embracing our party and I am assuring them that SDP will deliver dividend of democracy at their doorsteps.

In his acceptance speech, Oyebolu, assured that his government will focus in freeing the state from the vested interest that had contributed to the underdevelopment in the state.

Oyebolu said that “enough is enough, we are taking our state back”.

“This is therefore a notice to Governor Ayedatiwa to start parking his bags and baggages as our dear Ondo State prepares to replace him with SDP.

“We are duly set to uproot the APC from Ondo State Government House. This is therefore your quit notice served in advance.

“For many of our people yearning for a new day and a new hope – My administration will bring back the good, old days.

“The many destructions wrought on us as a people shall end and in November 2024, SDP shall indeed begin the emancipation of the South West.

” I want to reassure you that the days ahead will witness challenges which collectively we shall overcome as we prepare to return power and comfort to our people”

According to him, SDP is a better alternative to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

He said the ruling party in the state had not changed the lives of the people for better but said the SDP was ready to find solution to the problems of Ondo State if voted to power in the November governorship election.

He noted the current economic crisis facing the people of the state was as a result of the maladministration and ineffective leadership on the part of the party in power in the state.

“We are here today to signal a completely new path, new way and new mindset. What you may call a shift from the unrealisable transformation programme of the APC.

“Our party seeks new way and better alternative entrenched in integrity of managing people, infrastructure and economy for people’s empowerment and emancipation,” he said.

He expressed assurance that the party would defeat the APC and PDP to win the governorship election, said the party is ready to work for the people of the state to rebuild and reposition the state.

The National Secretary of SDP, Dr. Olu Agunloye, while reacting to the primary exercise said “the issue at stake in Ondo State is about ensuring a breakthrough to take the State from its present moribund state to become a prosperous model state.

“This is by leveraging on its abundant human and natural resources, not about the despicable struggle for the purse strings of the State to perpetuate further underdevelopment because of personal interests and unethical agenda.

“In our great Party, the Social Democratic Party we are focused on efforts to move the State forward to social justice, peace, progress, and prosperity”

Politics

Edo Poll: AAC Guber Candidate Unveils ‘Humanity First Manifesto’, As Thousands Of LP Members Defect To Party

Published

6 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Editor

Thousands of Labour Party, LP, members in Edo State on Sunday defected to the African Action Congress (AAC) at the official flag-off of the campaign of the governorship candidate of the party, Dr Udoh Oberaifo.

INFO DAILY reports that Edo State governorship election holds September 21st, 2024.

The defectors drawn from the three senatorial districts of the state, formally defected to the AAC alongside the running mate to Oberaifo, Lord Osunde, who was said to have been a staunch member of the LP and a pioneer Edo Obidient Movement leader.

The running mate who told newsmen that he had defected to the AAC two months ago before the official unveiling, was the organiser of the first Two Millions Obidient Movement Walk in the state in the build up to the 2023 general election.

Speaking at the event, the gubernatorial candidate, Oberaifo, said he decided to make Edo people first in his agenda if elected, hence christening his manifesto ‘Humanity First’, meaning the people (Edo people) first.

A cross section of party members at the event on Sunday, April 28, 2024.

“By God’s grace, my leadership, if elected, will stand for true leadership; will stand for a new perspective; will stand for vibrancy. My government will stand for innovation, and it will answer all the questions of Edo people especially the youth and the women and Edo people in general.

“Humanity first at this time means Edo people first. The People before politics; the people before power mongering; the people before godfatherism; the people before profits. You must put the people first as a good leader, and you will get it right. That means that when you see people through the eyes of God or the way God sees them, you will definitely get it right. I repeat, humanity first,” he declared.

The governorship candidate who said the AAC was an alternative to rescue the state and its people from political, social and economics quagmire it has found itself, lamented that the state had experienced the era of PDP and APC without tangible results.

Speaking on how he intends to develop the state, Oberaifo said being a young businessman, he intends to invest hugely in small businesses in the state, adding that this will boost the state’s IGR and also reduce unemployment.

He said: “We must empower our small businesses. It is the sure way and the easiest way the government can raise IGR. An IGR is what we need to develop our state. it is the only way the government can solve the problem of unemployment.

“When you empower MSMEs, they are better, they create jobs. And when they create jobs, the unemployment rate reduces. The people will have more jobs because if I empower you now, I support you by giving you all you need for you to run your business, one year time, you might employ ten, and five years time, you might employ 20, and the chain continues.”