Why we didn’t use server during 2019 elections – INEC
The Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC, has disclosed that the late release of
budget by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government affected the
deployment of servers for the 2019 general elections.
INEC’s National
Commissioner in Osun State, Solomon Soyebi, however, admitted that the
commission once experimented the electronic transmission of results but it was
not deployed in the 2019 general elections.
Soyebi, in a
statement he issued, explained that the commission only experimented the use of
a server in the Anambra, Sokoto and Osun elections.
According to
Soyebi: “We piloted the use of transmission of election results electronically
in Sokoto, in Anambra, even in Osun. What happened was that we were trying to
pilot to see the desirability of such technology in our electoral process.
“Once in a while,
you will see an experiment going on but we have to pilot it before we will
deploy wholesale for election. We did not use it because of circumstances
beyond the control of the Commission.
“First, our budget
came out very late. There was also (an) issue (with) the Electoral Act. For
these and some other reasons, the commission did not adopt that option; 2019
elections were conducted according to the law.
“We used the
Constitution of the Federal Republic, we used the Electoral Act and our
guidelines for 2019 elections. If you look at the three instruments carefully,
the issue of the server was not highlighted.”
Cross River: INEC re-affirms John Owan-Enoh as APC governorship
candidate
The Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday at a renewed sitting of the
Governorship Elections Petition Tribunal in Calabar, Cross River, reaffirmed
the nomination of Senator John Owan Enoh as the lawful candidate of the All
Progressives Congress for the March 9 governorship election.
The commission,
while arguing in a suit no EPT/CAL/COV01/2019, however, said “Sen. Enoh was not
excluded from the elections as claimed by the petitioner since he participated
in the exercise having been re-listed.”
Senator Owan Enoh
had petitioned the electoral umpire, which is the Second Respondent and
Governor Ben Ayade, the First Respondent in the matter alleged unlawful
exclusion from the election.
Counsel to INEC,
Dele Adeshina had stated that “Sen. Enoh was the duly nominated candidate of
the APC and that the commission had issued a letter dated 8th March to that
effect.
Apparently smarting
from the petition, Adeshina said “the candidate, however, participated in the
election and so was not excluded.”
In his argument,
Counsel to Sen. Enoh, Awa Kalu (SAN), said the petitioner would not have
participated in an election if he was excluded.
According to him,
the issue of faction as raised by the first respondent Counsel does not exist
in internal democracy especially when it has to do with the sponsorship or
nomination of candidates.
He contended that
“the issue of factions applies only in the parliament when there’s a crisis
within a party leading to cross-carpeting by legislators and not on the basis
of nomination of candidates for election.
He averred that
”Sen. Owan Enoh was duly nominated for the Governorship election by his party
but was unlawfully excluded for the March 9 polls by the commission”.
The legal luminary,
however, challenged the first and second respondents to be the first to prove
otherwise, the petition on exclusion stressing that INEC had never argued
against a phone call made by the State Electoral Commissioner (REC) at 12 pm on
the elections day congratulating the petitioner for being relisted as the APC
Candidate for the race.
Counsel to Sen.
Ayade, Paul Erokoro (SAN) had argued that “though the Petitioner was nominated
for the election but his nomination was done by a faction of his party”.
Justice Josiah
Majebi has put the ruling on the onus of proof on exclusion or otherwise for
Tuesday, March 17th 2019.
Kogi guber: APC divided as factional executives adopt direct primary
The Governor of
Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello and his supporters now have more mountains to
climb ahead of the November 16 gubernatorial polls following the adoption of
direct primary by the Hadi Ametuo-led faction in the All Progressive Congress
(APC).
In a meeting of the
APC state party executives and stakeholders held at the state’s capital Lokoja,
on Monday, the party has resolved to adopt direct election format for the
forthcoming primary in August.
This came on the
heels of an earlier alleged meeting held by a faction of the party loyal to the
state governor, Yahaya Bello; on Saturday, 15 June, in which they declared
indirect election as the mode for the party’s primary election.
Addressing newsmen
immediately after the meeting, Haddy Emetuo, the factional State Chairman of
the APC, further elaborated on the situation.
“The executives of
All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kogi State have just risen from a meeting
and unanimously adopted direct mode for the APC primary election after
deliberations in which every member was given fair hearing and all suggestions
were put into consideration.
“We adopted the
direct election format because we all agreed that it is the best method that
strengthens and promotes internal democracy within our great party. It is the
method that allows every voice to be heard and gives opportunity to every member
of the APC to participate directly in the decision of who flies the flag of our
great party to victory in November.
“I want also to use
this opportunity to formally attend to the rumour flying around in the media
that some supposed state party executives have held a kangaroo meeting and have
declared indirect election as the method adopted by Kogi APC for the primary
election.
“I want to
categorically state that such meeting is illegal, null and void. The genuine
state party executives and stakeholders have just held a meeting and what I
tell you now is the official position of the All Progressives Congress, Kogi
State Chapter, as regards mode of the forthcoming primary election. Any other
meetings or resolutions should be disregarded by all party members and the
general public as they are fake and illegal.
“We are working
assiduously for victory in November and will not give room to nefarious
elements who want to instigate internal wrangling capable of scuttling our
chance.”
El-Rufai vs Ashiru: What happened in court on Monday
The Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday presented 17 witnesses out of the 685 it lined
up as it opened its case against the declaration of Gov. Nasir El-Rufai as
winner of the March 9, 2019 Governorship election in Kaduna State.
The PDP and its
Governorship candidate in the poll, Alhaji Isah Ashiru are asking the state
Governorship Election Petition Tribunal to nullify the election of El-Rufai and
declare its candidate the winner, having scored the majority of valid votes
cast during the election.
The petitioners,
who joined INEC, APC and El-Rufai in the case, alleged that the poll was
characterised by massive rigging, ballot box stuffing and violence in 110 wards
in 12 local government areas of the state.
The LGAs all of
which the PDP lost to the APC as declared by INEC, include Birnin Gwari, Giwa,
Igabi, Ikara, Kaduna North, Kaduna South, Kubau, Kudan, Lere, Sabon Gari, Soba
and Zaria.
The party said it
had assembled 685 witnesses, mostly party agents and returning officers it
assigned during the poll.
The PDP, at the
resumed hearing on Monday, submitted names of 17 persons as first batch of
witnesses who began testifying before the tribunal.
The News Agency of
Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 684 PDP witnesses are expected to testify before
the tribunal within 14 days.
Earlier, the
Ibrahim Bako-led Tribunal had admitted in evidence various documents presented
by the petitioners.
Elisha Kurah (SAN),
Counsel to the petitioners, had presented certified true copies (CTC) of forms
from polling units, ward collation centres, and local government collation
Centres obtained from INEC.
Kurah also
submitted INEC documents allegedly used to declare the winner of the March 9
election to the tribunal.
He told newsmen
that the forms allegedly contained discrepancies that would be proved before
the tribunal.
Kurah said: “the
forms we tendered, were forms that INEC used during the election.
”Some of the forms
were not signed by the agents, some were not stamped and, you find handwriting
of one person on all the forms. I mean one person wrote everything in those
forms we have presented.
“The Tribunal has
accepted all the documents we presented and addmitted same in evidence.
“There are lots of
differences between those INEC forms we presented to the Tribunal and that of
the PDP agents,” he said.
The Counsel said: ”
the witnesses have been assembled to speak on the forms and the lack of
genuineness of the forms we collected from INEC.”
According to him,
the witnesses would present genuine copies of the documents as they testify.
NAN reports that
the witnesses are appearing based on the documents the Tribunal had earlier
admitted.
Dr Musa Aliyu,
Counsel to INEC said the commission had raised objection to some of the
documents and would submit details of their objections when it address the
Tribunal.
“The witnesses are
coming to testify what happened during the March 9 poll.”
Also, Ibrahim Bawa
(SAN), Counsel to the APC said his clients would present their objections in
the course of the proceedings.
Bawa said the APC
would also bring its witnesses to the Tribunal to prove that the petitioners
had no case.
The Tribunal has
adjourned to Tuesday, June 18 to continue, after taking three witnesses from
Zaria LG.
