Tag: Kogi gubernatorial election

By Our Reporter

A Coalition of 15 INEC-accredited Civil Society Observer groups has decried the violence that characterised the governorship and senatorial elections in Kogi, but said that the process was “generally fair”.

Mr Peter Nwokolo, National Coordinator, Citizens Right and Leadership Awareness Initiative, at a press conference on Tuesday in Lokoja, decried the anomalies but said that they were not enough to justify calls for the cancellation of the polls.

He decried the incidents of thuggery and associated violence, but praised INEC for identifying and evaluating the overall impact of the incidents on the electoral outcome.

“INEC was right to have taken remedial decisions, including cancellation of votes or scheduling of outright re-runs, in some constituencies,” he said.

Nwokolo particularly decried the violence, ballot box snatching and other forms of disruption by hoodlums some of them in Police uniforms, working for unknown principals.

According to him, “the severity of such incidences were more pronounced in certain areas, particularly Lokoja”.

He also decried “transactional practices” such as vote-buying and voluntary breach of secrecy in voting between voters and agents of political parties.

“Voters and political parties voluntarily exchanged money for votes with the voter contriving to reveal his thumb-printed ballot in order to receive payment,” Nwokolo said.

The coalition called on the Nigeria Police Force and other law enforcement agents to unearth the faceless individuals behind such criminal activities so as to save the nation’s democracy. (NAN)

By Our Reporter

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in Kogi governorship election, Mr Musa Wada has rejected results so far released by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the election.
Addressing newsmen in Lokoja on Sunday, Wada said that the results were doctored to favour Gov. Yahaya Bello of APC.
He alleged that the APC massively rigged the election in Kogi Central where the governor came from.
“The result is not a true reflection of what happened. The people of the state voted for PDP but APC changed the result to favour them.
“Results decleard so far by INEC are written results and we can’t accept that.
“Every single result was changed and we are going to challenge the result. The election is not true reflection of what happened in the field,” Wada said.
He promised to challenge the results at the tribunal. (NAN)

By Our Reporter

Further announcement of the results of the governorship election in Kogi has been postponed till 9 a.m. on Monday.

The postponement was necessitated by the non-arrival of the results from the Lokoja Local Government and Ibaji Local Government.

The Retirning Officer, Prof. Ibrahim Umar, said that the psotpinement would allow the staff to sort things out and give other stakeholders to rest.

Before the postponement, the incumbent Gov. Yahaya Bello of All Progressives Congress (APC) was leading Mr Musa Wada of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and 23 other candidates.

The results of 18 local government had been announced while issues surrounding that of Dekina Local Government will be finally resolved also on Monday,” Umar said.(NAN)

By Our Reporter

Prof. Evans Asigwuike, one of the Collation Officers in Kogi governorship election has rejected a gift of N50, 000 by a political party to alter the result of the election.
Asigwuike of the Dept. Electrical electronics, University of Abuja told news men in Lokoja on Sunday that the money was handed over to the Assistant Presiding Officer who in turn handed over the money to him.
He, however, said he did not know the name of the giver and his political party.

Ashigwuike is the Collation Officer for Igalamela/Odolu Local Government Area (LGA) of the state. (NAN)

By Our Reporter

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD)said political parties used fake news to delegitimise Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)and the electoral process during Kogi governorship election.
Ms Idayat Hassan ,Director CDD ,made this known in the group’s preliminary statement on the conduct of Saturday’s Kogi governorship election.
Hassan said that CDD’ electoral environment observation report had previously predicted that political parties would use fake news during the election to cause confusion.
“Some of the fake news circulated today include the disqualification of the PDP candidates, false results, fake images of thugs arrested and snatching of ballot papers.
” CDD fact-checkers were able to debunk most of the fake news.
“The hoaxes are mainly intended at delegitimising INEC and the process; again, Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp are the leading platforms used to spread disinformation. “
Hassan said that earlier, voters across 21 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Kogi went to the poll to elect a Governor and in Kogi West, a rescheduled senatorial election also got underway following a court verdict .
She said that at the CDD Election Analysis Centre (EAC), reports have been coming from trained and accredited observers deployed across the 21 LGAs of the state.
She said that the preliminary statement was an overview of the initial findings on the conduct of the election.
She said that CDD observed use of financial inducements to affect the outcome of the election.
Hassan said that CDD also noted systematic and coordinated violent attacks at polling units and carting away of voting materials.
She said that in many polling units, observers and journalists were blocked from access and taking photographs in what appeared to be an attempt to prevent gathering of evidence of electoral malpractices.
She noted that the use of violence in the campaign and open threats of more violence in the election appeared to be a voter suppression strategy which played out on Saturday.
She said CDD EAC observers reported coordinated disruption of voting across many polling units with hired thugs invading polling units, shooting sporadically to scare away voters, and in several cases carting away voting materials.
“In polling unit 001 in Ward 4, Dekina LGA, CDD observers reported sporadic gunfire;violent caused by rival party thugs who battled one other over control of the polling environment.
“These were in Felele and Ganaja areas of Lokoja LGA, especially in Registration Area 08, Oworo, Felele Area, PU 004. In Ankpa 1 Polling Unit (PU) with number 2203-04-0 in Ankpa LGA,“she said
Hassan said that notwithstanding the fact that INEC enlisted EFCC and ICPC’s support in curtailing vote-buying, vote-buying was very rampant across the state.
She said that CDD observers reported that party agents in several polling units engaged in the financial inducement of voters to influence them to vote for their parties giving them between N500 and N3,000.
She said that as at 11 a.m, accreditation and voting had started in 55.1 per cent of polling units in which CDD deployed observers in Kogi.
She said that further information revealed that a good number of INEC ad hoc staff were knowledgeable and familiar with the operation of the smart card readers in some of the polling units observed.
Hassan,however, said that late delivery of materials experienced in some parts of the state was primarily due to logistics challenge and deplorable state of infrastructures like bad roads and difficult terrains experienced in the deployment of electoral materials.(NAN)