Benue PDP accuses INEC of violating electoral law, rejects election results 

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been accused of violating the Electoral Act by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State, which they claim has a negative impact on the credibility of the recently held presidential and National Assembly elections.

As a political party and a significant participant in Nigeria’s democratic process, it is our opinion that provisions of the Electoral Act (2022 As Amended) in Sections 60 (5) and 148, which give INEC the authority to establish guidelines for the conduct of the elections, were grossly violated. This accusation was made by the party’s chairman, Isaac Mffo, during a press conference on the results of the elections.

“The PDP in Benue State rejects the outcome of both the presidential and National Assembly elections held in certain local government areas of the state on 25th February, 2023, for the reason of the breaches of law cited above.

“The party had shortly after the said elections issued a statement to the effect that it had mandated its legal department to study reports received from its agents who had been deployed to the over 5000 polling units across the state.

“After due consideration of the findings by the legal department, it is the position of our great party, the PDP, that the process of conducting both the presidential and National Assembly elections in Benue State did not conform with the standards stipulated in the enabling laws.

“In this regard, we consider it a matter of grave concern that Clauses 38 and 93 of the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Election, 2022, which make mandatory the transmission of election results electronically from the polling units to the INEC Server were serially flouted.”

Don’t vote who will misrule Plateau AGAIN!!!! Jang warns

A former governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang, has urged the populace not to choose a governor who will mismanage the state for a further eight years just one week before the governorship and state House of Assembly elections scheduled for March 11,2023.

He explicitly urged the electorate to abstain from voting for the candidates of the All Progressives Congress and the Labour Party, as they had collaborated during the previous eight years to inflict immeasurable miseries and suffering on the residents of the state.

He also congratulated the election’s winners and thanked voters for supporting PDP candidates in the elections for the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Prior to the gubernatorial and state House Assembly elections, Jang made a statement on Friday in Jos.

Expressing confidence in the ability of the PDP and its candidates to reverse the ugly past and bring about development to Plateau, the former governor urged the people to vote wisely in the interest of the state.

Jang said, “The presidential election of February 25 has come and gone. It may not have been our desire or preference, but only time will reveal what is best for our dear country Nigeria as it pleases God almighty.

“The governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections are almost here, and it is hoped that urgent steps will be taken to close the ranks, shelve all differences, and pursue the election as a common front. The manipulated presidential poll should propel us to do what is right to put all our candidates on a winning streak.

“We should not allow our emotions to overtake our sense of purpose at this time; the successes achieved in the past election must be the driving force for more outstanding achievements in the forthcoming polls, which are, indeed, local.

“Having secured five out of eight House of Representatives positions and two Senatorial positions already in the kitty with a third on the horizon, we should be working hard to install a governor and a House of Assembly who will join hands to stand for the interest of our dear state.

“The pains and lessons of the past eight years, where we had the APC in government both in Plateau and at the national level but have had no benefit, is instructive. The outcome of the presidential polls has shown where the leanings of Plateau people are; an APC government in the state is a subscription to further neglect, as experienced in the last eight years.

Let’s not forget that the last eight years brought us untold hardship; we were almost robbed of our identity.

He called on the people to resist those who attempt to coerce our mind into believing that we are second class people.

“Let us, therefore, vote for a governor who will have the backing of the state and National Assembly members in pursuing the interests of the Plateau people.

“The time to act is now! The decision to build a virile Plateau where unending peace reigns is ours to make. We must not sit on the fence; we must defend our heritage, not just for ourselves but for our children and the on-coming generations,” he beckoned.

The former governor called on all including the Obidients not to lose faith but join hands with the PDP to redeem the heritage of the stage.

He added, “We must insulate Plateau by voting for the PDP and must force INEC to make our votes count. No retreat, No surrender.”

Asake Still In Race – LP Campaign Council on Kaduna elections

Rumors that the Labour Party’s (LP) governorship candidate, Hon. Jonathan Asake, had withdrawn from the contest in Kaduna State have been refuted by the Asake/Bashir campaign organizations.

This is to call the attention of our party members, our teaming supporters in and out of Kaduna state, to disregard all lies and rumors peddled by PDP that Hon. Jonathan Asake, the gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party for Kaduna State, has stepped down from the race for Hon. Isa Ashiru Kudan, the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP for Kaduna State.

“Those who are spreading these rumours are political bandits of the PDP who are forced to face the hard fact that Asake is the choice of Kaduna state under a free and fair election come 11th March, 2023.

Despite the cruel and malicious rumors that have been spread to damage his well-earned reputation, Asake is very hot in the competition and is not looking back.

“We are aware of several organizations and clergy members who have broken their morals and callings in order to amass large sums of cash from their sponsors in order to sway voters’ opinions against Asake.

“They have become scare mongers who are driving fear and hate in the heart of some undiscerning minds that Asake is sponsored to divide the votes of the PDP so that the APC Muslim-Muslim ticket will be retained in Kaduna State.

Under a free and fair election, we don’t see where the APC will win the gubernatorial seat of Kaduna state after the destruction it had brought upon Kaduna State.

“And in any case, it was the indolent, cowardly and timid way the PDP played politics that gave grounds for the APC to do what it liked with the people, assets and fortune of Kaduna state. It is the same PDP that wasted the votes of the people of Kaduna state in 2019. It is the same characters that are parading the same candidate for the 2023 elections. Our people have no confidence that the PDP has the capacity to coast to victory or after victory, sustain the victory from being snatched by the APC from the courts.

“We have identified our lapses in the February 25th Presidential election and we have taken all necessary corrections to avoid the kind of votes robbery that the Labour Party suffered in Kaduna State. The APC and the PDP know from their hearts that Peter Obi and most of our candidates for the National Assembly elections won in Kaduna State, and we are going to get back our victory from the courts.

“We are therefore calling on our supporters not to be intimidated or be deceived by anyone or groups.

They should mobilise themselves and convince more electorate for a landslide victory in the gubernatorial race come 11th March, 2023”.

Herdsmen killings: Benue APC guber candidate, Fr Alia fumes

The All Progressives Congress’ (APC) candidate for governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Iormem Alia, has decried the latest round of attacks by armed men on communities in the state, particularly Kwande and Gwer-West Local Government.

Since the Saturday presidential and National Assembly elections, multiple attacks in Local Government Areas have claimed the lives of over ten people.

Fr. Alia responded by asking why the herdsmen invasion of Benue Communities and the horrible death of innocent residents could not be stopped in a statement released on Friday by his media assistant, Isaac Uzaan.

The APC candidate criticized the return of the terrible killings, bemoaning the timing of these attacks after the elections that delivered Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the new president.

Fr. Alia warned those who may be profiting from the unrest in Benue State and also using it for political purposes to rethink and consider turning over a new leaf as soon as possible to avert God’s wrath. He also called on security agencies to deploy enough personnel and step up surveillance at the troubled areas.

Given the amount of security agencies based in the state and reporting to the state chief security officer, the priest of God specifically questioned why Benue State has continued to be exposed to similar attacks.

Presidential Election: Judges acting like juju priests, no hope for justice, says Odinkalu

As opposition parties announced plans to contest Saturday’s presidential election results in court, rights activist Chidi Odinkalu says he does not expect justice to be dispensed by the judiciary, likening judges’ conduct to that of juju priests and courts to voodoo shrines.

There are allegations of widespread fraud and violence during the presidential poll, with some international observers saying the election was “distorted.”

“I am one of those who have lost hope. So, please don’t speak about some. That is one of the reasons I no longer can claim to be a lawyer,” said Mr Odinkalu in an interview published by THISDAY.

The former National Human Rights Commission boss added, “The kinds of things that come out of our courts these days can only be manufactured by juju priests and voodoo shrines. I did not train for either and lack the qualifications to practice any of those.”

Mr Odinkalu added, “This is not just about technicality; it is also about bare-faced abuse of judicial office. Going to court these days cannot be fulfilling or meaningful for those who do it at any level, from the area courts, magistrates’ court or district courts to the Supreme Court.”

He alleged that “most of the people appointed to the Bench these days are related to powerful judges or powerful politicians – the son of this, the daughter of that, the wife of the other one, or the mistress of that one. It is no longer about competence, character, skill or qualification.”

Mr Odinkalu censured INEC for its role in the contentious presidential poll, leading to PDP and the Labour Party calling for the election’s cancellation.

He faulted INEC for its inadequate preparations in the build-up to the poll and failure to extensively test-run the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, which recorded widespread malfunctions in many parts of the country during the election.

“Anyone who took minimal interest in the matter would have figured that INEC’s assurances of a seamless process or flawless BVAS deployment were both empty and not believable. I wrote about this more than once, but I guess, as Nigerians, we are wired to miracles and magic,” the ex-NHRC chief stated.

Mr Odinkalu mentioned that “BVAS was untried on anything approaching the scale of the claim INEC made on it” regarding the Saturday polls. 

“Prior to this, it had only been tried in three off-cycle governorship elections in Anambra, Ekiti, and Osun, as well as in the FCT local elections. In all of those, the flaws were very evident,” said the rights activist.

Gazette

Our votes Peter Obi took in South-East, South-South insufficient to make him president: Atiku

Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party said though Labour Party’s Peter Obi took chunk of votes from his party’s traditional strongholds in the South-East and South-South, the regional ballots could not have made Mr Obi win presidency.

Fielding questions from journalists after a press conference on the outcome of the February 25 presidential election on Thursday evening, Mr Abubakar admitted that “It is a fact that he took our votes in the South-East and South-South.” He however added that “That of course will not make him a president. You all know that to become a president in country you need votes from everywhere.”

Per declared results, Mr Obi’s Labour Party won in a landslide in all southeastern states as well as in three South-South States of Edo, Delta and Cross River.

Mr Obi was the running mate to Mr Abubakar in the 2019 presidential election. He left the PDP a few weeks before the party’s primary citing a gang up against his emergence. After he emerged candidate of Labour’s flag bearer, Mr Obi enjoyed wavy support from his Igbo kinsmen and many youths who are angling for a departure from the old political order.

Mr Abubakar however said had Mr Obi remained in PDP, he would have been offered the vice presidential slot on his ticket. 

Mr Tinubu polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat PDP’s Atiku Abubakar, winning 12 of 36 states of Nigeria. 

Mr Abubakar came second polling 6,984,520 votes, while Mr Obi came third, polling 6,101,533 votes.

A former vice president between 1999-2007, Mr Abubakar has vowed to challenge Mr Tinubu’s victory in the court. 

Gazette