Ekiti monarchs to APC lawmakers: Don’t impeach Fayose

Governor Ayodele Fayose

Traditional rulers in Ekiti State have warned the 19 All Progressives Congress (APC) members of the state House of Assembly against impeaching Governor Ayo Fayose.
They reiterated their opposition in an unequivocal term to moves by the outgoing legislators and their sponsors to impeach the governor.
According to the monarchs, all attempts to impeach the governor should stop forthwith.
The Obas, who held an emergency meeting on Wednesday on the impeachment crisis rocking the state, accused the APC legislators who form majority in the state parliament of “consistently frustrating all their peace moves by not attending meetings called for the purpose.”
In a 13-point communiqué signed by the Chairman of Ekiti State Council of Traditional Rulers, Oba Adamo Idowu Babalola, made available to reporters on Thursday, the monarchs said, “they are deeply concerned and worried about the lingering political upheaval which became aggravated after the March 28 presidential election.”
The royal fathers, however, praised the State Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, for “rising above partisan positions to uphold the tent of his office despite pressure from interested quarters.
They implored Daramola “to continue in the same spirit so as to ensure that the popular wish of the generality of the people is not subverted.”
The Obas appealed to Fayose to “graciously consider giving palliative measures to alleviate the sufferings of the agitating legislators” whose salaries and entitlements have not been paid since December on the alleged orders of the governor.
They maintained that Fayose still remains the legitimate governor of Ekiti State and should be allowed to exercise the mandate given to him by the electorate in the June 21, 2014 gubernatorial election.

Ex-militants leader declares support for Buhari

Leader of the Bakassi Freedom Fighters (BFF), an ex-militant group in Cross River State, Gen. Franklyn Duduku, has pledged to support the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, in his efforts to move the country forward.
He also said no ex-militant would go back to the creeks, but said the Buhari government should strengthen the Amnesty Programme to enable it achieve its objective.
A statement signed by Duduku and titled: WE WILL SUPPORT GENERAL MUHAMMADU BUHARI TO UNITE THE COUNTRY,  made available to The Nation in Calabar on Thursday reads, “One of the many reasons why ex-militants leaders in the Niger Delta region are teaming up to support GMB is for the interest of peace and development of the entire nation.
“GMB during his tenure in office in the military era was able to achieve if not much, but a few remarkable projects which up till date speaks volumes to his personality.
“No leader is bad. It is only when we allow greed to overpower our conscience that evil becomes prevalent in all the sectors of our endeavour. Electioneering days are over and we now know the next captain of the Nigerian ship.
“It will be rather disrespectful of any well – meaning and peace – loving Nigerian to say ‘Buhari will Islamize Nigeria,’ as claimed by some fanatics who are just mere agents of destruction.
“One would ask why the same GMB, who had been a military head of state did not Islamize the country as easy as it was then than now in a democratic dispensation! It is only in our nation that political opponents resolve to character assassination and castigation, as if it is instrumental to election victory!
“It is an established reality that Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, the President-elect, has come to unite the nation and bring long lasting peace to the troubled parts of the nation. If we must succeed, then sentiments must be avoided, we must bring to bear all avenues that will foster a peaceful co-existence amongst us as a nation and people of one belief. Nigeria is our country. There is no other home like ours. We must support the President-elect to build and unite Nigeria.”

NNPC has started refunding unremitted $1.48bn –Alison-Madueke

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke

The Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, on Wednesday disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has started refunding the $1.48bn unremitted fund into the Federation Account as recommended by an audit firm, PriceWaterHouse Coopers.

She however did not disclose how much has for far been refunded by the corporation.

She also denied reports that she was seeking the assistance of some highly-placed persons in order to escape prosecution for alleged corruption from the incoming administration of the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari.

Alison-Madueke spoke with State House correspondents at the end of the weekly meeting of Federal Executive Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

It will be recalled the Federation Account Allocation Committee had on Monday night constituted a committee to find out the reasons for the delay in the refund of the sum.

PriceWaterHouse Coopers had in the report of its forensic audit report of the corporation recommended that the NNPC should refund the amount to the Federation Account.

Alison-Madueke however explained that the unremitted fund was owed by the NPDC for a block that had been assigned from the NNPC to the NPDC.

She said, “The PriceWaterHouse Coopers forensic audit that was done few weeks ago in his recommendation mentioned that $1.48bn was owed by the NPDC for a block that had hitherto been assigned from the NNPC to the NPDC which is its subsidiary.

“They felt that the right process would be that the NPDC will refund that money to the Federation Account. The NPDC has apparently started those refunds and it is also in discussion with the NNPC and the DPR on same. So the refund has actually began.”

While saying that the payment was being done under her directive, she insisted that the sum was not missing but transferred by the NNPC to the NPDC.

The minister also denied media reports that she was reaching out to some prominent Nigerians, including a former military Head of State, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar (retd.), to seek soft landing from the incoming government.

She said she had in the course of her job as minister met with elder statesmen across the country and wondered why her meeting with Abubakar would be singled out.

The minister said she could not be seeking for a soft landing because she was not aware that she had committed any crime.

She said, “I have not sought such assistance because I am not aware that I have been indicted of any crime that I will need a soft landing.

“Over the last four years, I have many times been unfortunately accused and libelled in so many malicious and vindictive ways.

“I have explained these things and pushed back robustly on these accusations and I have even gone to court on many of them. Yet, they keep being regurgitated.”

What will history say about Ayo Fayose?

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Niran Adedokun

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State is an enigma. I know a lot of Nigerians would find even the contemplation unacceptable but then truth must be told. To drive the point home appropriately, let us attempt a definition of the word “enigma”.

The online dictionary, oxforddictionaries.com, defines enigma as “A person or thing that is mysterious or difficult to understand.” I do not know a better word to describe any man who sponsored some of the most virulent advertisement against the person and candidature of Muhammadu Buhari before the recently concluded presidential election but would equally be the first to congratulate him when it became obvious that Buhari was winning the election. Fayose just seems so adept at compartmentalising his emotions even if just fleetingly. But this is not the only testimony of enigma of Fayose and I am going to attempt a systematic construction from here.

When he was declared winner of the June 21, 2014 governorship election in his state, there were two phenomenal things about the declaration. The first was that the 55-year-old defeated a sitting governor who was a contestant in the election. Now, in Nigeria, you hardly find anyone defeating an incumbent executive, be they president, governor or council chairman. It is just not our way.

Fayose did not just win the election, he defeated Governor Kayode Fayemi in all the 16 local government areas in the state, including the latter’s Oye Local Government Area. Although a tape allegedly recorded by an intelligence officer who was on duty during the election increased speculations about the likely manipulation of this election, two immutable factors testify that Fayose attained this victory creditably.

One is that elections are hardly ever rigged with the perfection of the results of the electoral exercise under consideration. And the second is that all possible courts in the land have conclusively decided that the election was legitimately won by Fayose.

The second significant thing about his victory in 2014 was the fact that he was returning to the position eight years after his first tenure was terminated by an impeachment. Fayose was first sworn in as governor of the state on May 29, 2003. He however soon ran into trouble with the Federal Government under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. This was followed by allegations of corruption initiated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and his eventual impeachment by members of the House of Assembly for a myriad of charges in October, 2006.

In effect, he won the 2014 election with quite a baggage of moral and legal issues hanging on his neck.

These accusations have formed the basis of a chain of actions and law suits which continue to dog the governor since his election. At some point, there were fears that he might not be sworn in because of the issue of eligibility which was one grounds of appeal raised by the All Progressives Congress against him.

Although the governor was last week finally vindicated by the Supreme Court, he still has a case with 19 members of the state House of Assembly who are bent on impeaching him over a series of alleged constitutional infringements.

The impeachment notice brought the cloudy situation that the House of Assembly has been in since November last year when seven members of the House sat and impeached Dr. Adewale Omirin as their Speaker and appointed Mr Dele Olugbemi as his replacement to a head.

The seven legislators alleged that the decision became imperative following Omirin and his deputy’s “absence without official notice,” and that “the business of the House cannot grind to a halt” in their absence. They also accused Omirin of revealing official secrets, misappropriation of assembly funds and signing of bonds with the past executive without the knowledge of other members of the House.

This is the situation that Ekiti has been in over the past few months. When the majority legislators are not plotting to send Fayose out of government, they are calling press conferences to draw national attention to allegations including threats to their lives by the Fayose administration.

And on the part of the administration, we have seen at least two massive blockage of roads leading into Ado Ekiti as well as the House of Assembly complex, all in a bid to ensure those who want to impeach the governor do not have access to the complex.

Just last Monday, private and public schools failed to reopen for the third term while a lot of workers went back home out of fear of being caught in any untoward situation that could emanate from clashes between supporters of the APC and Fayose’s Peoples Democratic Party.

The Monday action was a direct result of the governor’s broadcast the previous day alleging that the opposition lawmakers planned to invade the Assembly on Monday to effect the impeachment proceedings against him. He urged transport unions, market women and workers to rise up to protect the mandate they gave him. Incidentally, a day before that day, Fayose had during a church service appealed to his political opponents to sheathe the sword and join him in the very urgent need to move the state forward. And then the broadcast just shortly after!

One week before this, members of labour unions in the state staged peaceful protests in support of the governor warning that any attempt to impeach him was bound to meet the resistance of workers who voted him into power.

The Secretary to the Nigeria Labour Congress in the state, Mr. Ade Obatoye, was quoted as saying that: “…the people of Ekiti did not only vote for Fayose, but the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, had also revalidated it. We appeal to the APC to wait for four years when there will be chance to elect another governor and if they can appeal to our people, they can get it back, but not the way they are presently doing.”

All of these without any doubt point to the fact that Fayose is quite popular amongst the Ekiti State electorate and that those who voted for him are willing to defend their mandate, something which put him in a rare class of politicians in the country.

However, the governor must realise that there is a difference between populism and delivering good governance, and that there is a difference between being famous and being a role model, which is what everyone who is in a position of leadership like Fayose should aim for. The governor is totally far from that lane with these invitations to protests and sieges to institutions of government.

Maybe, the governor needed to do some desperate things for his political survival at some point, but he has already started to beat the drums too hard and risks a tear. As he gets close to the first anniversary of his administration, he needs to face governance and seek peaceful co-existence of all the people he governs. The governor needs to behave like a leader, live up to the promises he made to work with the APC lawmakers last Sunday, give them all their dues and work towards leaving a legacy that would outlive him. He needs to seek the assistance of traditional and religious leaders, who are too quiet by the way.

True, the APC lawmakers and their party equally need to bury the hatchet and allow peace to reign but the governor has more at stake. He has to justify the second chance that God has given him and work for the good of his people that is going up in waste. He needs to stop this popularity show and work towards the peace and development of the state. So, he will be on the right side of history. That is still possible.

Source:

Twitter: @niranadedokun

APC heads for tribunal to challenge Kashamu’s victory

THE candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Ogun-East senatorial district, Dapo Abiodun, has filed a petition before the state National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal to challenge the victory of the winner, Buruji Kashamu. Kashamu polled 99, 540 votes to defeat eight other candidates. Abiodun was the first runner-up in the election while Adegbenga Kaka of the Social Democratic Party was the second runner up. In the petition, Abiodun argued that Kashamu was not qualified to contest the election and that he did not score the highest number of lawful votes as required by law. The petitioner, who said he would rely on form EC8E (1) to prove his case, further alleged that Kashamu and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, the Independent National Electoral Commission and the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, who were joined as the 2nd, 3rd and 4th respondents respectively, failed to comply with all the electoral laws. The petition read, “The election of Buruji Kashamu is invalid by reason of substantial non-compliance with the provisions of Electoral Act 2015 (as amended), the manual for Election Officials 2015, the guidelines issued for the conduct of the election.” “The election of Kashamu is invalid by reason of corrupt practices and electoral malpractices perpetrated by the first respondents in person and members and agents of the 1st and 2nd respondents in the places mentioned in this petition. “Kashamu was not qualified to contest the election.” Abiodun urged the court to nullify all the results from polling units and wards where the requisite forms were not completed, dated, signed or stamped by the concerned officials. However, the media aide to Kashamu, Austin Oniyokor, had earlier said in a statement that his principal was prepared to meet any petitioner at the tribunal, describing the APC’s allegation of rigging as unfounded. The statement read, “The claims by the APC are totally unfounded. Ordinarily, we would not have dignified them with a response. You can see that the statement is lacking in substance. If they say there were rigging, intimidation and manipulation during the election, they should supply the details, rather than hiding under some nebulous excuses that say nothing. “At any rate, the Electoral Act has made provision for the ventilation of issues arising from an election. They should go to the tribunal to prove their case.’’

Revealed: See what would have happened to Jega.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega

Fresh facts have emerged on the March 31 attempt by a former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Orubebe, to scuttle the announcement of the March 28 presidential election results.

The main part of Orubebe’s action, according to Reuters on Thursday, was a plot to use hired thugs     to kidnap the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega, and consequently stall the electoral process.

The news agency quoted unnamed pro-democracy advocates and a Nigeria-based diplomat as saying that one of Jega’s aides unearthed the plot.

It said that the aide had sent a text message to an independent voting monitor, “warning of an imminent threat to the electoral process.”

Reuters said it pieced the information together from the text message, events on the ground during the announcement of the results and interviews with pro-democracy advocates and diplomats in   Abuja.

It added that when the independent voting monitor sent the SMS, he hoped the outside world would hear of the plot and the text of the message .

“Fellow countrymen, Nigeria on Trial,” read the SMS sent on the morning of March 31 to the head of the Situation Room, an Abuja-based coalition of human rights groups and pro-democracy advocates monitoring the elections.

“Plans are on storm [sic] the podium at the ICC Collation Centre and disrupt the process. Nobody is sue [sic] what will happen. Please share this as widely as possible,” the text read further.

At that moment,   Jega was about to preside over the announcement of the results.

As tallies from around the country showed that the All Progressives Congress candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, was leading, “unidentified PDP(Peoples Democratic Party) hard-liners started to panic, seeking ways of manipulating the count,” the boss of the Situation Room and the diplomat said, citing political contacts in the Niger Delta and Abuja.

Realising they could not engineer an outright win,   the PDP agents set about doctoring the tally at collation centres in pro- (Goodluck) Jonathan areas to ensure Buhari failed to meet a requirement for 25 per cent support in two-thirds of the states, the head of the Situation Room said, citing reports from election monitors on the ground.

Reuters said its reporter witnessed and photographed one tally list in Port Harcourt, Rivers State with suspiciously similar totals for registered voters at polling stations: 500, 500, 500, 500, 500, 500, 500, 500, 450.

In another tally centre in the city, 17,594 valid votes were recorded out of a registered voter population of 11,757, the Reuters reporter said.

Foreign election observers also noted the peculiarities – and contacted diplomats in Abuja who called in international intervention.

The United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, and his British counterpart, Philip Hammond, who were in Switzerland for talks on Iran – issued a tough statement saying vote counting “may be subject to deliberate political interference.”

But   as Buhari’s lead grew, some PDP supporters from the Niger Delta, including Orubebe, decided on a final gamble: to create a disturbance in the main INEC hall and have “thugs snatch Jega from the stage, Reuters quoted the Head of the Situation Room and the Abuja-based diplomat.

What the group planned to do after the abduction was unclear, they   said.

“It was a desperate thing, mostly by a group of people from the Niger Delta who were in the room,” the Situation Room head said, describing events that unfolded publicly in the minutes after he received the SMS.

When Jega opened proceedings on the morning of March 31, Orubebe had grabbed a microphone and launched into an 11-minute tirade accusing Jega of bias.

“Mr. chairman, we have lost confidence in you,” he shouted, pushing away officials trying to make him surrender the microphone. “You are being very, very selective. You are partial,” he continued, surrounded by three or four supporters. “You are tribalistic. We cannot take it.”

At this point, according to the Head of the Situation Room and the diplomat, Jega’s security details were approached by unidentified individuals telling them to stand down but they declined.

“Some of the guards who had been guarding Jega for years demanded a written order,” the Head of the Situation Room said.

Jega later rebuked Orubebe, saying, “Let us not disrupt a process that has ended peacefully,” he said as Orubebe slumped in his chair.

“Mr. Orubebe, you are a former minister of the Federal Republic. You are a statesman in your own right. You should be careful about what you say or about what allegations you make,” he said.

Orubebe later congratulated Buhari on Twitter, expressing his “apologies to fellow Nigerians.”

Orubebe did not respond to requests by the news agency for comment on the details of the plot.

INEC, said the news agency,   also declined to comment and turned down requests for an interview with Jega,

   Reuters however said it found no evidence to suggest that Jonathan, who accepted defeat in the election, was involved in the plot.

The Chief Press Secretary to the chairman of the commission,   Kayode Idowu, told our correspondent that he was not aware of the alleged plot to kidnap Jega.

Idowu said, “I think somebody is imagining here. The chairman was not aware of any such plan, he didn’t conduct any investigation to know that. He was not under such threat during or after the announcement.’’

Buhari, Ezekwesili, Shekau among TIME’s 100 most influential persons

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Buhari, Ezekwesili, Adichie, Shekau

President-elect Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has made the TIME’s list of 100 most influential people in the world.

Also included in the 2015 list are a former Minister of Education and an advocate of the BringBackOurGirlsGroup, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili; award-winning novelist, Chimamanda Adichie, and leader of the Boko Haram terrorist group, Abubakar Shekau.

The TIME 100 is an annual list of 100 most influential people in the world whose works are changing the world, regardless of the consequences of their actions.

Described as “a new choice for Nigeria,” TIME’s Africa Bureau Chief, Aryn Baker, said Buhari made history in March by becoming the first candidate to oust a sitting Nigerian President through the ballot box.

“Now he has to live up to voters’ expectations. From battling the Boko Haram insurgency to tackling endemic corruption, Buhari has many challenges ahead. The greatest may be overcoming his past as a military ruler, who seized power in 1983.

“Already the born-again democrat is demonstrating the inclusivity necessary to lead a nation driven by ethnic and religious tension. It’s a promising start for a President-to-be, who wants to leave a legacy to match the historic conditions of his election,” Baker noted.

Renowned Ugandan activist, Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe, said of Ezekwesili, “It has been a year, and the girls (Chibok girls) haven’t been rescued, but she has made a difference by speaking about it. Not just speaking but shouting. I know some people will say she is too loudmouthed. The loud mouth is needed. People hear it.”

Adichie was also described as a “conjurer of character” by the deputy Managing Director of TIME, Radhika Jones.

“It’s the rare novelist, who in the space of a year finds her words sampled by Beyoncé, optioned by Lupita Nyong’o and honoured with the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction,” she said.

The last Nigerian to make the list is Shekau. Described as the “scourge of Africa” by Gen. Carter Ham(retd.), a former Commander of US Africa Command from 2011 to 2013.

Jonathan to hand over to Buhari on May 28

President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan will hand over power to the President-elect, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on May 28, about 24 hours before the actual inauguration date.

The Minister of Information,   Patricia Akwashiki, disclosed this to State House correspondents   at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting in Abuja on Wednesday.

Akwashiki said Jonathan would perform the ceremony at a dinner on the eve of the May 29 Democracy Day.

She said, “By May 28, the President intends to have the formal handover done at a dinner so that we can reserve May 29 for the incoming government.

“By May 28, we are expected to have concluded our own government and we are welcoming the incoming government.

“Also you know May 29 is our Democracy Day. So, we have activities lined up all through that week, showcasing all what we have achieved and all other things we do normally on our Democracy Day except that this year is special with the inauguration of our new President that is coming up on May 29.”

She added that the President had directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to prepare their handover notes and submit same to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, on or before April 20.

She said it was Anyim’s responsibility to compile the notes which would form Jonathan’s handover document to Buhari.

She added that while the valedictory FEC meeting would hold on May 20, everything that required the President’s approval must be presented to him latest on May 13 so that the incoming government would not accuse the outgoing government of rushing projects.

The minister said that Jonathan had directed the MDAs to brief him on inherited projects and the ones initiated by his administration under their jurisdiction.

She said the briefings were expected to include the status of the projects and their levels of implementation.

The minister added, “The President emphasised on the need for all MDAs to submit their handover notes to the Office of the SGF by the 20th of this month, that is next Monday. So we are going to be very busy this weekend putting our handover notes together.

“The President also emphasised that he would require another little briefing from all MDAs to indicate inherited projects, how far they have been executed and initiated projects by his administration and the level of completion, whether completed, ongoing or abandoned.”

She said the present administration was doing everything possible to ensure a smooth transition, adding that Vice-President Namadi Sambo is heading the government’s transition committee while Anyim is heading the inauguration committee.

Akwashiki however said notwithstanding the transition programme, governance had not stopped in the country.

“That is not to say that governance has stopped. Of course, we are in government until the day he President-elect takes his oath of office,” she explained.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources,   Diezani Alison-Madueke   and her Finance counterpart, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, were among the few ministers who did not attend the Wednesday FEC meeting.

The meeting was the first to be held after the March 28 presidential election which Jonathan lost to Buhari.

Before the President arrived at the venue, some ministers, especially the core politicians among them, used the opportunity to review the polls and their performances in their various states.

They formed small groups to take stock zone-by-zone

The Minister of Police Affairs,   Jelili Adesiyan; Minister of State II, Foreign Affairs, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro; Minister of State, Federal Capital Territory, Olajumoke Akinjide and the Minister of State, Works, Dayo Adeyeye, were seen engrossed in discussion on the Peoples Democratic Party’s performance in the South-West while they awaited Jonathan’s arrival at the venue.

Tinubu is my role model –Kashamu

Chief Buruji Kashamu

SENATOR-ELECT and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, Chief Buruji Kashamu, has described the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, as his role model.

Kashamu, who is the chairman of the Organisation and Mobilisation Committee of the PDP in the South-West, paid a rare tribute to the former Lagos State governor in an open letter, describing Tinubu as a true hero to be emulated by every Nigerian.

Kashamu is the senator-elect of Ogun-East senatorial district and one of the most vocal opponents of the APC before the party won the presidential election of March 28.

He said that it was important to honour those deserving of honour now that elections are over.

In the open letter addressed to Tinubu, Kashamu said, “Truth be told, men like you are made up of sterner stuff and are rare to come by in every generation. Little wonder you are called the Asiwaju and Jagaban of Borgu. I doff my hat.

“I hope that in spite of our membership of different political platforms, we would be able to collaborate for the upliftment of Yorubaland in particular and Nigeria as a whole.

“My sincere prayer is for the Almighty Allah to keep you and give you good health and long life to be able to see the Nigeria of your dream. For me, I join other Nigerians in wishing you the best, even as we aspire and pray Almighty Allah to make us – the younger ones – be like you, the Jagaban of Borgu.”

Kashamu described Tinubu as the architect of modern Nigeria, who, he said, made history by leading an opposition party for 16 years and then grabbing power at the centre.

He noted that without Tinubu, the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, would not have won the March 28 election.

He said, “Although I now belong to the opposition, your achievements transcend political divides and I am not ashamed to publicly acknowledge them. There is no denying the fact that your place in the history of the Yoruba race in particular, and, in Nigeria in general, is well etched.

“The fanatical support that the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, enjoys in his homestead was matched with your commanding influence in the politics of the South-West and indeed the Yoruba race to produce the results we witnessed during the elections.

“By your sheer wit and unwavering commitment to democratic ethos, true federalism and economic prosperity, you led the Alliance for Democracy from a one-state party to a regional party and now a national party that is about to form the government at the centre.”

Buruji, who sued former President Olusegun Obasanjo last December over a controversial book authored by the ex-President, also congratulated Obasanjo and Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun.

He promised Amosun that he would ensure that the nine PDP senators in the Ogun State House of Assembly give him maximum cooperation.

I’ll restore military ties with US –Buhari

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President-elect, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.)

The President-elect, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Tuesday said his administration would restore military cooperation with the United States of America.

In an article published by the New York Times in its Tuesday edition, Buhari promised to among other things reformed the military.

The outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration had cancelled the training component of its military cooperation with the US citing a lack of sincerity on the part of the Americans for its decision.

But Buhari said, “My administration would welcome the resumption of a military training agreement with the United States, which was halted during the previous administration. We must, of course, have better coordination with the military campaigns our African allies, like Chad and Niger, are waging in the struggle against Boko Haram. But, in the end, the answer to this threat must come from within Nigeria.”

Buhari also said he would deploy additional troops in the battle foul away from civilian areas in the south and the north central parts of the country.

In the article, the President-elect said, in the fight to end the Boko Haram insurgency, “We must start by deploying more troops to the front and away from civilian areas in central and southern Nigeria where for too long they have been used by successive governments to quell dissent.

“We must work closer with our neighbours in coordinating our military efforts so an offensive by one army does not see their country’s rid of Boko Haram only to push it across the border onto their neighbour’s territory.”

A member of the Buhari team, who pleaded for anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media said, “Without being told, you should know that what he is simply saying is that under his administration, the military will revert to their constitutional role of defending the nation against external aggression QED.”

It was also gathered that the military would be overhauled and professionalised while the police would be better empowered to take the leading role in internal security.

According to the New York Times article, which carried Buhari’s byline, the incoming administration will aside from using the military to deal with the terrorists’ threat, it will pay greater attention to counter-terrorism initiatives.

Buhari noted that his administration would seek to address why young people were attracted to join the sect. He identified some of the reasons to include poverty and ignorance.

He said, “Indeed Boko Haram – which translates in English, roughly, as “western education is sinful” – preys on the perverted belief that the opportunities that education brings are sinful.

“If you are starving and young, and in search of answers as to why your life is so difficult, fundamentalism can be alluring. We know this for a fact because former members of Boko Haram have admitted it: They offer impressionable young people money and the promise of food, while the group’s mentors twist their minds with fanaticism.

“So, we must be ready to offer the parts of our country affected by this group an alternative. Boosting education will be a direct counter-balance to Boko Haram’s appeal.

“In particular we must educate more young girls, ensuring they will grow up to be empowered through learning to play their full part as citizens of Nigeria and pull themselves up and out of poverty. Indeed, we owe it to the schoolgirls of Chibok to provide as best an education as possible for our fellow young citizens.”

He observed that Boko Haram feeds off despair, lack of hope that things can improve. The former Head-of State also argued that by attacking a school, and kidnapping more than 200 schoolgirls, it sought to strike at the very place where hope for the futurewas being nurtured, and the promise of a better Nigeria.

“It is our intention to show Boko Haram that it will not succeed,” he said.

The retired army general also promised that his administration would not only defeat the sect militarily, it would ensure that it provides the very education the sect despises to help our people help themselves.

Quoting the late Nelson Mandela, Buhari said the sect would soon learn that “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

APC stole my mandate —Ogunlewe

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Moyosore Ogunlewe

Moyosore Ogunlewe, the son of a former Minister of Works,   Adeseye Ogunlewe, has accused the All Progressives Congress of rigging the April 11, 2015 elections in Lagos State.

Moyosore,   26-year-old Peoples Democratic Party candidate, contested the Kosofe constituency 1 election but lost to Mr. Bayo Osinowo of the APC by 87 votes.

The controversy surrounding the election led to wild protests resulting in the death of about three people in the Ogudu and Ojota areas of the state.

Moyosore, who spoke to our correspondent on Tuesday, said the APC connived with officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission to rig the election.

He said, “The election was a flop because clearly, I won it. Go out and ask people on the streets and they will tell you I won. On the day of the election, we found out that two bunches of ballot papers were missing and we wrote a petition to INEC and signed so that the election could continue.

“During the election in Oworonshoki, which is my major base, I won with 1,260 votes, not knowing that in Ifako/Gbagada Ward B, the population of the voters was not high; we found out that ballot papers from Amuwo Odofin local government in majority of the polling booths which led to a lot of irregularities, giving my opponent the advantage.”

When responding to questions on how people were killed, Moyosore, said the violence was sponsored by APC supporters.

He said, “They organised thugs from Oworonsoki, Ketu and other areas of the state to come and beat up our supporters and that was what led to the death of a passer-by.”

Moyosore said he would challenge Osinowo’s victory at the Election Petition Tribunal.

However, Osinowo told our correspondent that Moyosore was only making accusations that had no basis.

Osinowo, a member of the Lagos House of Assembly since 2003, said, “Moyosore is my son and his father is my brother. I pray for him and hope God guides him so that he will understand politics better in future.

“Do I look like a thug? Why would I bring thugs to fight my constituents? He is a small boy; he does not even know what a bill is. I learnt he is still in law school. May be when he starts practising law, he will understand politics more.”

‘Poll fraud in Rivers won’t stand’

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Dakuku Peterside

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the Rivers State governorship election, Dakuku Peterside, has expressed confidence that the electoral fraud allegedly perpetrated by the Peoples Democratic Party during the elections will not stand.

Dakuku, who spoke in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Tuesday, explained that it was too early for the PDP to celebrate because the era of people getting away with electoral fraud was over.

He also described claims by the PDP campaign that media organisations, civil society groups as well as foreign observers who issued reports based on their observation were induced.

Dakuku said, “Are they saying that the European Union, the Embassy of the United States in Nigeria and several well-meaning friends of Nigeria who witnessed the sham in Rivers were induced?

“You cannot cover the sun with one finger. Everybody who witnessed what happened in Rivers knew what happened. What about our party leaders and members that were murdered?

“The blood of these innocent Nigerians and the tears of their widows and orphans will surely speak. On our part, we are going to court to seek justice for the Rivers people.”

He spoke against the backdrop of a statement by his PDP rival, Chief Nyesom Wike, who was declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Wike had in a statement issued by his media assistant, Simeon Nwakaudu, described statements issued by monitors condemning the polls in Rivers as sponsored.

Jonathan rejects amended constitution

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President Goodluck Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan has rejected the amendments made to the 1999 Constitution by the National Assembly.

A top government official who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent on Tuesday that Jonathan vetoed the amendment on Monday.

The official said the decision of the President not to sign the document was because the amendment did not meet the provisions of Section 9 (3) of the 1999 Constitution.

The source explained that with the return of the document by the President, the letter accompanying it might be read on the floors of the two chambers of the National Assembly any time from Wednesday (today).

He said, “The President has vetoed the constitution amendment and he has sent it back to the National Assembly.

“The amendment did not meet the provision of Section 9 (3) of the constitution which talks about the need for four fifth of the National Assembly to agree with the amendment.”

Section 9 (3) of the Constitution reads:

“An Act of the National Assembly for the purpose of altering the provisions of this section, section 8 or Chapter IV of this Constitution shall not be passed by either House of the National Assembly unless the proposal is approved by the votes of not less than four-fifths majority of all the members of each House, and also approved by resolution of the House of Assembly of not less than two-third of all states.”

The rejected amended constitution granted approval for the separation of the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation from that of Minister/Commissioner of Justice.

Supreme Court affirms Fayose’s victory

Ayo Fayose

The Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed Ayodele Fayose as the duly elected governor of Ekiti State in the June 21, 2014 election.

‎In a unanimous decision by the seven-man panel led by Justice John Fabiyi, the apex court upheld the earlier decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Ekiti State Governorship Election Tribunal, which had both earlier ruled that the petition challenging Fayose’s victory lacked merit.

In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, the apex court dismissed all the grounds of appeal filed by the petitioner – the All Progressives Congress – and resolved all four issues arising from the appeal against the party.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared that Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party polled 203,090 votes to defeat the then incumbent governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, of the All Progressives Congress who polled 120,433 votes‎ in the election.

Dissatisfied by the results declared by the INEC, the APC had filed a petition, urging the Ekiti State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which sat in Abuja to nullify the election.

The petitioner had anchored its case on the grounds of alleged irregularities, intimidation of its leaders by the military, ineligibility of Fayose to stand for the election and allegation that the PDP candidate forged his Higher National Diploma certificate presented to INEC.

The Justice Siraju-Mohammed-led tribunal had, in its verdict delivered on December 19, 2014, ‎dismissed the petition for lacking merit.
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The Justice Abdul Aboki-led five-man panel on April 15, 2015 affirmed the decision of the tribunal.

But the APC further appealed to the Supreme having been dissatisfied with the Court of Appeal’s decision.

The Supreme Court, in its judgment on Tuesday, held that none of the grounds of appeal was proved by the appellant‎.

It held that while impeachment was not a ground of disqualification ‎from contesting as governor under section 182 of Nigeria’s constitution, the panel which recommended Fayose for impeachment on October 16, 2006, was illegally and unconstitutionally constituted.

It also held that the allegation of certificate forgery had been caught by the principle of “issue estoppel” as it had been laid to rest since 2004 by the Court of Appeal’s judgment‎ in the case of Alliance for Democracy.

According to the apex court, the Court of Appeal had, in the said judgment, held that the HND certificate was genuinely earned by and awarded to Fayose.

On the issue of militarisation and harassment of leaders of the APC, the Supreme Court held that the Chief of Defence Staff and the Inspector-General of Police, joined as 4th and 5th defendants in the case were not necessary parties.

The apex court held that ‎the actions of the men and officers of the two defendants that allegedly harassed the APC leaders during the election and whose names were not mentioned could also not be answerable for by the INEC as stipulated by the Electoral Act.

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There was anxiety in Ekiti State as the Supreme Court in Abuja prepared to deliver judgment on Tuesday (today) in the appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress against the victory of Governor Ayodele Fayose in the June 21, 2014 governorship election.

Fayose, in a state-wide broadcast on Monday, asked residents to maintain the peace and go about their lawful duties.

The governor, who thanked the people for voting overwhelmingly for all the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidates in the Saturday House of Assembly elections, said the victory had confirmed that he had a genuine mandate of the people.

He said that he was sure that he would be vindicated at the end of the day and triumph over whatever plot being hatched to truncate his tenure.

A commercial driver, Ade Bamidele, expressed confidence that the governor would win the case.

A trader, Esther Orji, said the Ekiti people required peace, saying the judgment would remove the tension associated with the election.

The Ekiti Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal had on December 19, 2014 upheld Fayose’s victory and dismissed the APC petition for lack of merit.

Dissatisfied, the APC had gone to the appellate court on the grounds that Fayose was not qualified to stand for the election as a candidate because of his impeachment on October 16, 2006 during his first tenure as governor.

The APC also alleged that the governor forged his academic certificates and violated the Code of Conduct rules.

The five- member panel, chaired by Justice Abdul Aboki, in its judgment on February 16 had upheld the judgment of the Tribunal, which affirmed Fayose as the winner of the June 21, 2014 poll.

Though the Justice Abdul Aboki-led five-man panel dismissed the appeal filed by the APC, it found merit in the appellant’s complaints that the military was used to harass and intimidate its supporters and leaders during the polls.

Dissatisfied still, the APC had gone to the Supreme Court.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared that Fayose polled 203,090 votes to defeat the then incumbent governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, of the All Progressives Congress, who polled 120,433 votes in the election.

Akande asks Lagos APC chair to resign

Lagos State APC Chairman, Chief Henry Ajomale

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Lagos State, Chief Ayo Akande, has asked the party chairman in the state, Chief Henry Ajomale, to resign with immediate effect “for his dismal performance in the just concluded elections in the state.”

Akande, in a statement on Monday, said Ajomale had no moral right to remain as party chairman given that the APC lost to the opposition in all the contested seats in the March 28 and April 11 elections in his unit, ward and the entire Oshodi Isolo Local Government Area.

But Ajomale, in his reaction, on Monday, said Akande should be ignored “because I have performed.”

“If a leader or party chairman should lose his polling unit in all elections for state assembly, Federal Constituency and the governorship, such party chairman should resign,” Akande insisted.

He said that Ajomale’s report card in the just-concluded elections in the state had shown clearly that he had lost his credibility as a leader and as such he should resign as the chairman of the party

“Our party cannot continue to be old-fashioned, things are changing and the party had to follow suit. The APC leadership should not develop clay feet or whip up sentiment to deal with failures or reward performance in the party as the expectations of the people from the party are high.” the APC chieftain added.

He commended the national leader of the party, Bola Tinubu, for his doggedness and sacrifice for the victory recorded by the party at the presidential level.

He said the victory of President-elect Muhamadu Buhari and others at state and federal levels was a testimony to the political doggedness of Tinubu, adding that he was certain that Buhari would deliver as well as bring succour to Lagos.

But Ajomale described Akande as an unserious person who should be ignored by all well-meaning Nigerians.

The APC chairman, who spoke through his Special Adviser, Mr. Adekunle Olayinka, said he did well by ensuring the overall victory of his party at both the presidential and governorship elections in the state.

Olayinka said, “Chief Ajomale is not a ward chairman but the chairman of the entire Lagos State chapter of the APC. Out of 20 local governments, he ensured the victory of the party in 15 local governments during the March 28 and April 11 elections.

“In Oshodi/Isolo, the Igbo population is over 55 per cent and the candidates presented by the PDP were Igbo, so, of course, they voted for their kinsmen. But Chief Ajomale led the APC to victory and that is the most important thing.”

World Bank backs Buhari to probe NNPC, others

President-Elect. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.)

The World Bank has thrown its weight behind President-elect, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to probe the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation over allegations of missing funds.

Speaking in a video conference from Washington to journalists from across Africa on the release of the bank’s analysis of issues shaping the continent entitled, ‘Africa’s Pulse’, top officials of the bank commended President Goodluck Jonathan for exhibiting political maturity after the March 28 presidential election that would end the tenure of his administration on May 29.

The World Bank’s Chief Economist for Africa, Mr. Francisco Ferreira, said looking into financial records of the country, especially allegation of corruption at the NNPC, would check impunity and build public institutions in the future.

He said, “One norm that has to change is the norm of impunity. I am from Brazil myself. So I am also used to a country where people could be corrupt and escape justice. That keeps the people to keep doing it.

“So, the current stand of the government-elect to look into what happened in the past hopefully will have consequences for the future. And those consequences will be that institutions will be stronger; norms will be cleaner and people will not have to steal millions of dollars from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

“People have alleged in the past that there had been major corruption scandals there. If that stops, then that will have very high returns in terms of the money staying around to be spent on education, health, roads and power that the poor people across the country need.

“So, my sense is that it will be good to promote cleanliness in politics.”

Answering question on some other African countries that have elections between 2015 and 2017, Ferreira said there was no need to be afraid, adding that the fear of elections would drive away investments from the region.

He said the example that had been shown by Jonathan and Nigeria in the just-concluded general election showed that the continent could get it right in terms of transition to new governments.

Ferreira praised Jonathan for political maturity that he exhibited during the elections, adding that if Nigeria could get it right; other countries in the region should also be able to get it right.

Answering a question from a South African journalist on the possibility of the country overtaking Nigeria as the largest economy on the continent given the fall of Nigeria’s main export, crude oil, Ferreira said it did not look plausible.

Also answering a question from an Angolan journalist on who between Nigeria and his country was managing the fall in oil prices better, the World Bank expert said both countries were doing well in putting measures in place to check the decline.

He praised both countries for allowing their currencies to float according to market forces rather than living in denial of the crisis occasioned by the decline in crude oil exports.

Ferreira, however, added that Nigeria stood a better chance to recover faster from the decline because the structure of the country’s economy was more diversified than that of Angola.

The report, Africa’s Pulse, presented by the World Bank Lead Economist for Africa, Punan Chuhan-Pole, stated that sub-Saharan Africa’s growth would slow in 2015 to four per cent from 4.5 per cent in 2014.

The downturn largely reflects the fall in the prices of oil and other commodities, according to the twice-yearly analysis of the issues shaping Africa’s economic prospects.

The 2015 forecast is below the 4.4 per cent average annual growth rate of the past two decades, and well short of Africa’s peak growth rates of 6.4 per cent in 2002-08.

Excluding South Africa, the average growth for the rest of sub-Saharan Africa was forecast to be around 4.7 per cent.

The World Bank Vice- President for Africa, Mr. Makhtar Diop, said, “Despite strong headwinds and new challenges, sub-Saharan Africa is still experiencing growth. And with challenges come opportunities.

“The end of the commodity super-cycle has provided a window of opportunity to push ahead with the next wave of structural reforms and make Africa’s growth more effective at reducing poverty.”

Sub-Saharan Africa is a net exporter of primary commodities. Oil is the most important commodity traded in the region, followed by gold and natural gas, the report stated.

It added that over 90 per cent of the total exports of eight major oil-exporting countries came from the three biggest exports of each country, which represent nearly 30 per cent of their GDP.

Recent price declines are not confined to oil, the report said; adding that the prices of other commodities were now more closely correlated both with oil prices and with one another.

As a result, terms of trade are declining widely among most countries in the region, according to the report, which asserted that the 36 African countries with expected terms of trade deterioration were home to 80 per cent of the population and 70 per cent of the economic activities in the region.

Anxiety as Supreme Court decides Fayose’s fate today

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose

There was anxiety in Ekiti State as the Supreme Court in Abuja prepared to deliver judgment on Tuesday (today) in the appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress against the victory of Governor Ayodele Fayose in the June 21, 2014 governorship election.

Fayose, in a state-wide broadcast on Monday, asked residents to maintain the peace and go about their lawful duties.

The governor, who thanked the people for voting overwhelmingly for all the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidates in the Saturday House of Assembly elections, said the victory had confirmed that he had a genuine mandate of the people.

He said that he was sure that he would be vindicated at the end of the day and triumph over whatever plot being hatched to truncate his tenure.

A commercial driver, Ade Bamidele, expressed confidence that the governor would win the case.

A trader, Esther Orji, said the Ekiti people required peace, saying the judgment would remove the tension associated with the election.

The Ekiti Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal had on December 19, 2014 upheld Fayose’s victory and dismissed the APC petition for lack of merit.

Dissatisfied, the APC had gone to the appellate court on the grounds that Fayose was not qualified to stand for the election as a candidate because of his impeachment on October 16, 2006 during his first tenure as governor.

The APC also alleged that the governor forged his academic certificates and violated the Code of Conduct rules.

The five- member panel, chaired by Justice Abdul Aboki, in its judgment on February 16 had upheld the judgment of the Tribunal, which affirmed Fayose as the winner of the June 21, 2014 poll.

Though the Justice Abdul Aboki-led five-man panel dismissed the appeal filed by the APC, it found merit in the appellant’s complaints that the military was used to harass and intimidate its supporters and leaders during the polls.

Dissatisfied still, the APC had gone to the Supreme Court.

The Independent National Electoral Commission had declared that Fayose polled 203,090 votes to defeat the then incumbent governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, of the All Progressives Congress, who polled 120,433 votes in the election.

Imo gov poll inconclusive

former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos and now Vice-Chancellor of Federal University, Ndufe-Alike, Ebonyi State, Prof. Oye Ibidapo-Obe

The Independent National Electoral Commission Returning Officer for Imo State, Prof. Oye Ibidapo-Obe, has declared the 2015 governorship election in the state inconclusive.

He made the declaration before journalists and agents of the various political parties that were involved in the election after the collation of results at the office of INEC in Owerri, the state capital, on Sunday.

Ibidapo-Obe said the election was inconclusive because the total number of votes in the areas where the election did not take place was higher than the margin between the two leading candidates, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Governor Rochas Okorocha, and his Peoples Democratic Party’s counterpart, Emeka Ihedioha.

Protests about widespread irregularities and manipulation of results in some wards in the state, were also some of the reasons why the results of some polling units were cancelled.

In the result announced by the Returning Officer, Okorocha, polled 385,071 votes, while Ihedioha, got 306,142 votes.

Ibidapo-Obe said supplementary election would soon hold in the affected areas.

APC wins in 13 states, PDP victorious in four

Winners of Saturday’s governorship election began to emerge on Sunday afternoon with the All Progressives Congress topping the Peoples Democratic Party in the results so far released by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

There were however still pockets of protests and killings in a few states even as the results were being announced and collation taking place in many other states.

The first to be officially announced victorious was Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, who defeated PDP’s Ganiyu Isiaka. Amosun of the APC is therefore set for a second term in office.

The Gboyega Nasir Isiaka Campaign Organisation rejected the result of the governorship poll, saying it was “unfortunate and a travesty staged to help the APC achieve victory.”

It claimed that the outcome of the election   was clearly not a true reflection of Ogun people’s wish and said that the result would be challenged as appropriate.

In the neigbouring Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi, also of the APC became the first governor of the state to clinch a second term in office.

He defeated former governors, Rashidi Ladoja of the Accord Party and Adebayo Alao-Akala of Labour Party in the race.

While the governor polled 327,310 votes; Ladoja had 254,520 and Alao-Akala ,   184,111.

APC’s candidate in Lagos, Akinwunmi Ambode, polled 811,994 votes to defeat PDP’s   Jimi Agbaje,who scored 659,788 votes.

Agbaje accepted defeat and congratulated Ambode but the state PDP rejected the result, citing   ‘controversial’ circumstances within which the elections were conducted in the state as reasons.

The media aide of the governor-elect, Idowu Ajanaku, told one of our correspondents   on the telephone that Agbaje called to congratulate Ambode at 6.50pm on Sunday.

“Mr. Jimi Agbaje called at exactly 6.50pm to congratulate Mr. Ambode. He prayed for Mr. Ambode and told him that he was looking forward to a more prosperous Lagos, ” Ajanaku said.

Shortly after being declared winner, Ambode in his acceptance speech, extended his hand of fellowship to Agbaje by urging him to join in making Lagos a better place.

The governor-elect, who commended Agbaje for congratulating him , added that his government would not victimise those who voted against him.

He said, “To my main opponent, Mr. Jimi Agbaje of the PDP, I thank you for a keen contest and invite you, alongside other governorship candidates, to join hands with me in moving Lagos forward.”

Ambode also lauded   the people of the state for voting him and the APC, adding that by aligning Lagos with the centre, unprecedented development would come to the state.

He   gave special thanks to a former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Governor Babatunde Fashola for believing in him.

Ambode said like former United States President, Abraham Lincoln, his government would be run “with malice toward none and with charity for all.”

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto); a former Speaker of the House, Aminu Masari (Katsina); and erstwhile Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nasir el-Rufai(Kaduna) also emerged victorious.

El-Rufai floored Governor Mukhtar Yero of the PDP.

The other APC governorship election winners are Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed (Kwara), Abdullahi Ganduje (Kano), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi), Ibrahim Geidam(Yobe) and Jibrilla Bindow (Adamawa).

Bindow handed Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, a former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission a shocking defeat.

Ribadu conceded defeat     when     results from   most of the LGAs showed that he was trailing behind in results from the LGAs.

Ganduje, who is the current deputy governor of Kano State polled 1,546,434 votes. His PDP rival, Salihu Tokai had 509,726 votes.

The governorship candidate of the APC in Benue State, Samuel Ortom, raced to victory by polling 387,753 votes as against PDP’s   Terhemen Tarzoor, who scored 296,189 votes.

Geidam   polled   334, 847 votes to defeat   Adamu Waziri of the PDP,who had 179, 700 votes.

PDP’s candidates Udom Emmanuel,   Ibrahim Dankwambo,   Dave Umahi, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi   triumphed in   Akwa Ibom,   Gombe, Ebonyi and Enugu states respectively.

Umahi   garnered 289, 867 votes as against Labour Party’s Edward Nkwegu,who came second with 124, 817 votes.

Ugwuanyi   polled 482,227 votes to defeat Okey Ezea of the APC, who got 43,839 votes.

Results from 16 out of 18 LGAs in Cross River State   showed that the PDP candidate, Ben Ayade, was leading clearly.

From the results announced as of 11pm on Sunday, Ayade secured 283, 549 votes, while the APC candidate,   Odey Ochicha and his Labour Party counterpart, Fidelis Ugbo, polled 52, 562 and 35, 848 respectively.

Imo State Governor and APC candidate, Rochas Okorocha, was   clearly winning in 20 out of 27 LGAs in the state as of 8pm on Sunday .His PDP counterpart and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, was trailing behind.

INEC later declared the announcement of the results inconclusive.

The results of the election in Abia ended in a deadlock midway following the reversal of the cancellation of three council   results by the Returning Officer, Prof. Benjamin Ozumba.

Ozumba had announced the cancellation of results from Osisioma, Obingwa and Isialangwa North Local Government Areas on the grounds of “incontrovertible evidence of violence’’ and reports from international observers.

The returning officer reversed the decision after Governor Theodore Orji-led chieftains of the PDP consulted with the Resident Electoral Officer, Prof. Selina Oko and Ozumba.

The governor was in company with   the Minister of State for Defence, Col. Austin Akobundu(retd); the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh and Chief Onyema Ugochukwu .

Ozumba said the cancellation was reversed due to fresh information concerning the conduct of the election in the three councils.

He said that polling centres with issues would be isolated and decisions taken on them later.

The pronouncement heightened tension at the centre, leading to the adjournment of further announcement of results.

The controversial result from Osisioma, which had earlier been announced, showed that PDP scored 42,442 while APGA polled 1, 017.

Meanwhile, results from 10 LGAs have so far been announced.

In his reaction, All Progressives Grand Alliance   governorship candidate, Alex Otti, described the governor’s appearance at the collation centre as ‘‘an abuse of power, designed to intimidate and exert undue influence on the electoral officials.’’

The PDP lost its grip also on Plateau State as its candidate, GNS Pwajok was defeated by APC’s Simon Lalong.

As of last night Lalong scored 537,050 votes while Pwajok had 501,938 votes.

Results from 16 out of 18 LGAs in Cross River State   showed that the PDP candidate, Ben Ayade, was leading comfortably.

From the results announced by INEC, on Sunday, Ayade secured 283, 549 votes, while the APC candidate,   Odey Ochicha and his Labour Party counterpart, Fidelis Ugbo, polled 52, 562 and 35, 848 respectively.

In Gombe State, Governor Ibrahim Geidam of the PDP had an easy ride as he coasted to victory by beating his APC counterpart, Inuwa Yahaya. He scored 285,369 votes while Yahaya had 205, 132 votes.

Also in Delta State, INEC adjourned further action on the results till 7am on Monday. Before then, PDP’s Ifeanyi Okowa was leading in 20 out of the 24 LGAs in the state.

There were earlier reports on Sunday that the APC had made history by producing the first elected female governor in Nigeria in the person of Jummai Aisha Alhassan of Taraba State. But as 12 midnight her reported victory had yet to be confirmed.

Go to tribunal, INEC tells aggrieved politicians

Prof Attahiru Jega

The Independent National Electoral Commission has asked aggrieved politicians to take their grievances to the election petition tribunals.

The commission said that though some pockets of violent incidents were recorded during Saturday’s governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections, it still maintained that the exercise recorded a pass mark.

The electoral body stated this in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday.

It said that INEC’s records showed that there were 66 reports of violent incidents targeted at polling units, the commission’s officials, voters and election materials.

The elections were held in 29 states, while the state Houses of Assembly elections were held in 36 states.

No election took place in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

It said its general assessment showed that the elections went well across the country.

The commission said that preliminary reports it got showed that 88.9 per cent of polling units opened for accreditation between 8am and 10am across the country and that only 5.2 per cent had yet to open as of 1 pm.

Also, it claimed that 73 per cent of the polling units had commenced voting by 2.30 pm.

The commission said, “The process of accreditation with Smart Card Readers was also successful in a majority of the polling units.

“Initial challenges were recorded in Edo and Abia states, but the technical teams deployed to support the states were able to resolve the issues in a timely manner.”

Overall, it said that many parts of the country remained relatively peaceful during the elections, but claimed that some states, however, recorded a significant number of violent incidents.

It listed states that were mostly affected as Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Ebonyi and Ondo states.

The electoral body said, “INEC’s records show that there were 66 reports of violent incidents targeted at polling units, the commission’s officials, voters and election materials.

“These were in Rivers State (16 incidents), Ondo (eight), Cross River and Ebonyi (six each), Akwa Ibom (five) Bayelsa (four), Lagos and Kaduna (three each), Jigawa, Enugu, Ekiti and Osun (two each), Katsina, Plateau, Kogi, Abia, Imo, Kano and Ogun (one each).

“The commission is investigating these incidents and will do everything within its powers to bring the culprits to justice.”

INEC commended Nigerians for once again demonstrating their resolve and commitment to participate in the electoral process and by doing so, contributing to deepening democracy in our country.

The commission called on every citizen to maintain the peace “as the results of the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections are being processed, and to accept the official outcomes.

“It would like to emphasize that winners can only emerge after collation of the official results and on the basis of the requirements prescribed by the legal framework.

“Any aggrieved persons or groups are encouraged to seek redress at the tribunals.”

INEC reminded all stakeholders that the process was not yet completed and urged restraint in their comments, as it strived to bring the process to an orderly, peaceful and credible conclusion.

My ministers must declare their assets –Buhari

Former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.)

The President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, says those seeking political appointments in his administration will be forced to declare their assets before taking office and before leaving.

Buhari said this during an interview with Sahara TV on Sunday.

He said this would encourage accountability and reduce corruption.

He said, “All those that were governors, ministers, permanent secretaries, head of foreign staff and all those with political appointments will have to declare their assets on the assumption of their appointment and definitely with the courts. And once they leave they have to re-declare their assets.”

Buhari, who insisted that last-minute defectors would not be given appointments in his government, promised not to interfere with the judiciary in the fight against corruption but would strengthen the nation’s justice system.

He stated that his administration would not “become embroiled in investigation of every ministry, and then the government will not have time to move forward.”

The President-elect slammed the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, for the depletion of the Excess Crude Account.

Okonjo-Iweala had said a significant portion of the billions of dollars drained from ECA over the past two years was distributed to governors instead of being saved for a rainy day

However, Buhari said the finance minister’s excuse was not acceptable.

“I’m afraid the finance minister has no cause to complain because the governors cannot force the central government to act outside the constitution,” he said.

On the contentious issue of oil block ownership and an equitable distribution of the country’s wealth, he suggested that partisan politics in Nigeria was the cause of the uneven distribution in the oil sector.

Buhari said that he wanted to formalise the oil sector in the country.

He said that the “proliferation of oil fields to people who don’t even know what it is, is one of the messes partisan politics has brought.”