2019: Dickson, Clark charge security agencies on professionalism
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by emmanuel oloniruha8 clark said he was not surprised about recently invasion of his abuja house at 91 by the men of nigeria police in a purported search for arms1 dickson made the call when he received the ijaw national leader and statesman chief edwin clark who paid him a condolence visit over the death of his mother mrs goldcoast dickson at his official residence in abuja1 dickson in a statement issued on saturday by his special adviser on media relations mr fidelis soriwei said there was need for professional conduct among security agencies as nigeria prepare for 2019 general elections1 he said that professional conduct among security personnel was also critical to maintaining national and economic stability1 he said that nigerians and lovers of democracy were concerned and watching the conduct of security agencies ahead of the 2019 general elections1 he added that an abuse of the security forces would however constitute a threat to the security and stability of the country1 we urge the security agencies to conduct in a way that would stabilize democracy1 the greatest challenge we have ahead of the 2019 of election is the the conduct of the security agencies1 that is the concern of nigerians1 bayelsa state governor seriake dickson has called on relevant authorities and the security agencies to conduct themselves in a way that would promote the nations democracy rather than putting it in jeopardy1 let us not in the quest for election to destroy these critical agencies of state and the career and reputation of these officials1 when you politicize these agencies you threaten the careers of these people who are professionals in their own right1 the governor condemned the recent assassination attempt on the deputy senate president prof. ike ekweremadu saying it is totally reprehensible1 i also condemn the attack on the akwa ibom state house of assembly. it was an invasion of the democratic order1 dickson also expressed concern about the recent positing of eight police commissioners to bayelsa within a period of three months1 it wont take you long to know that there is a sinister game going on to destabilize and create instability in the state that we have worked so hard to stabilize1 it also quoted clark stressing the need for professional conduct among security agencies to promote credible elections in 20191 the elder statesman also condemned the frequent change of police guards in bayelsa1 he cautioned a former governor who he alleged of being behind the instigation of the politics in police postings to the state to have a rethink1 politicians and people in government need to know that there is a country to govern after elections1

Atiku Campaign Organisation disowns online grant scheme
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by emmanuel oloniruha8 the atiku abubakar presidential campaign organisation apco has disowned a purported pan to disburse grants to unsuspecting nigerians1 the organisation in a statement on thursday in abuja said that its attention had been drawn to an on-going scheme that it purported to disburse grants to nigerians1 information available to us reveal that the scheme code-named atiku grant disbursement programme see link is asking unsuspecting members of the public to contribute a certain amount of money which will be multiplied for them after they have downloaded a particular social media application1 the apco disclaims this scheme and any other in such manner1 for the avoidance of doubt the atiku presidential campaign organisation is not in any way involved in the scheme or any other in such manner and neither did it give a proxy authorisation1 it said the officialverified social media handles of the presidential candidate of the peoples democratic party are www.atiku.org blog www.facebook.comatiku.org facebook www.twitter.comatiku twitter and www.instagram.comaatiku instagram1 the organisation advised members of the public to discountenance communication that did not emanate from any of these social media accounts1 it also advised them to refrain from participating in any online scheme that aimed at defrauding innocent nigerians and with the ulterior motive to embarrass the presidential campaign of atiku abubakar1

2019 elections: INEC insists Zamfara APC has no candidate
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by emmanuel oloniruha8 he however said that the commission had stopped every registration request for transfer and replacement of damaged pvcs1 inec chairman prof. mahmood yakubu stated this on the sideline of the opening of a two-day validation workshop titled study on the cost of elections in ecowas region on monday in abuja1 we have issued a statement on zamfara and nothing has changed. we stand by the statement that we issued he said1 yakubu re-emphasised that the deadline for submission of party candidates name to the commission was oct. 18 saying that it would give a full report on that after nov. 181 inec had informed the ruling apc in a leaked memo that it would not be allowed to field candidates for elective positions in zamfara in the 2019 elections1 the commissions acting secretary okechukwe ndeche in a letter to the apc said that the party was barred from fielding candidates for governorship national assembly and state assembly elections1 the commission said this was because apc failed to comply with sections 87 and 31 of the electoral act of 20101 parties according to the act were expected to comply with the timetable and schedule of inec which says that the conduct of primaries must be held between aug. 18 and oct. 71 inec said it received reports from its zamfara office indicating that no primaries were conducted in the state notwithstanding that our officials were fully mobilised and deployed1 the apc national chairman adams oshiomhole later responded to inec in a statement and said that the party had already arrived at a consensus before the deadline1 the independent national electoral commission inec says it stands by its statement that the all progressives congress apc will not field candidates for the 2019 general elections in zamfara1 after hours of intense horse-trading a consensus was reached within the spirit and context of the electoral act and the constitution of our party1 this was done in strict compliance with section 87 6 of the electoral act 2010 as amended he said1 he said that the claim by inec that no primaries were conducted could only be referring to its officials observation that actual voting did not take place1 the apc chairman said that conduct of primaries was not the only mode prescribed for producing candidates in the electoral act 2010 as amended1 we therefore affirm that indeed primaries took place in zamfara state oshiomhole said1 the party chairman also noted that pdp had similar issues in kano state and wondered why inec did not bar the opposition party from fielding candidates1 yakubu further said that the commission would by the end of november print the outstanding permanent voter cards pvcs1 we have printed the pvcs for those who registered in the first quarter of 2018. we are right now simultaneously printing for those who registered in the second and third quarters1 we are looking at the end of november for all the pvcs to be printed including request for transfer and relocation1 let me just repeat the assurance that every citizen that registered and who have applied for transfer or replacement will get his or her pvc before 2019 general elections1 oshiomhole said that following the high level of friction disagreements and threats of violence by various political camps before the primaries all the aspirants met at city king hotel gusau to find a truce1

INEC insists on Oct. 7 deadline for parties primaries
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by emmanuel oloniruha8 the independent national electoral commission inec has reminded political parties that oct. 7 remains the deadline for conduct of primaries for all elective positions for the 2019 general elections and resolution of disputes emanating from the primaries1 the reminder is in a statement by mr solomon soyebi the inec national commissioner and chairman information and voter education committee in abuja on thursday1 soyebi stated that the resolution was made at the end of the commissions weekly meeting held on thursday in abuja1 he noted that the commission among other things considered the status of political party primaries to elect candidates into various positions for the 2019 general elections1 he said that 89 of the 91 registered political parties that gave notice of their intentions to conduct primaries as required by the electoral act 2010 as amended had commenced and were at various stages of the process1 he added that inec wishes to restate that the conduct of primaries and resolution of all disputes arising therefrom must be concluded on or before oct. 7 as earlier published in the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2019 general elections1 the last day for submission of lists of sponsored candidates form cfoo2 and personal particulars form cf001 remains oct. 18 for presidential and national assembly and nov. 2 for governorship and state houses of assembly1 soyebi restated that the commission would only accept list of candidates submitted by the national chairman and the national secretary. nan1

Saraki, Ganduje set to clash in Osun
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by emmanuel oloniruha8 mr. gboyega oyetola is osun apcs candidate while pdp is parading senator ademola adeleke for the september 22 governorship election1 pdp on monday in abuja urged the campaign committee to do everything within the law to win the sept. 22 governorship election in osun just as the all progressive congress apc earlier tasked its 63-member campaign council1 national chairman of pdp mr uche secondus gave the charge when he inaugurated the partys national campaign committee for the election1 secondus said that members of the committee were carefully nominated because of the importance of osun to the pdp1 he said that pdp believed that its candidate was the best for the state and assured that it would not allow itself to be rigged out in the election1 we will not allow vote-buying in osun because that is rigging and rigging is corruption1 i believe that the international community is watching and all eyes are on this nation he said1 secondus advised security agencies not to allow themselves to be used reminding them that they had sworn to uphold the constitution not an individual or politician1 he urged them to the loyal to nigerians the constitution and the electoral process and law1 he also called on all stakeholders to rise and condemn rigging vote-buying and intimidation in elections by security agencies1 seconduc said that the committee had the responsibility to augment all activities of campaign and reach out to all the critical stakeholders1 it should mobilise all our people in all the local government areas of osun and to do everything necessary within the law for us to win the state1 in his response saraki promised that the committee would ensure that the pdp won the osun poll1 the pdp has picked senate president bukola saraki to lead its national campaign committee to face kano governor abdullahi umar ganduje s apc committee for osun governorship election1 we must win osun to prove that osun is the home ground of the pdp. this is a state where salaries are not being paid he said1 saraki said that winning the osun poll was not just about the state but to also serve as a momentum for the 2019 general elections1 he expressed hope that president muhammadu buhari would live up to his promise to world leaders that the 2019 elections would be free and fair1 the all progressives congress apc had last week constituted a 63 campaign council made up of 14 governor and 8 ministers and 41 other members of the national assembly and seasoned politicians include former akwa ibom state governor godswill akpabio to spear head the partys campaign for the governorship election in osun state1 the governors in the campaign council are abdullahi umar ganduje kano who will serve as the chairman of the campaign council abdulazeez abubakar yari zamfara who will serve as deputy chairman akinwunmi dapo ambode lagos sen. ibikunle amosun ogun sen. abiola ajimobi oyo ogbeni rauf aregbesola osun arakunrin olwarotimi akeredolu san ondo owelle rochas okorocha imo godwin obaseki edo yahaya bello kogi simon bako lalong plateau kashim shettima borno sen. mohammed umar jibrilla adamawa and mohammed b1 the campaign council also include eight serving ministers namely gen. abdulrahman dambazau rtd interior alh. manir dan-ali defence alh. adebayo shittu communications dr. ibe kachikwu petroleum babatunde fashola san power works1 the deputy national chairman south of the party otunba niyi adebayo leads members of the national working committee who are members of the campaign council while former akwa ibom state governor godswill akpabio leads members of the national assembly who will join in the campaign to ensure that the apc retain the governorship seat in the state1 the national chairman of the party comrade adams oshiomhole said the task before the was to ensure that the apc retain the governorship seat in osun state by working with party leaders in the state and mobilizing the people to vote massively the apc candidate1 oshiomhole said many of you present here have been very much involved in helping to provide leadership in most of the campaigns that we have had in recent times after the last general elections1 the most recent one is that of ekiti state where your excellences did very well and some of the governors who were much involved in that exercise are not here but some of you here were very much involved in it1 so we have a body of experience to go about and the whole idea is to sustain the values and the ideals of our party which is based on transparent elections on the basis of one man one vote and joining forces with the party leadership in the state to work hard to mobilise people of osun state to vote wisely for the1 the importance of any election doesnt require much elaboration. as a governing party nigerians resolve in our favour that the all progressives congress should not only preside at the centre1 they have expressed so much trust and confidence in our party that on our partys platform 24 governors were elected even though the supreme court judgment had said it is parties that win election not an individual1 he said that the election was important because pdp had lost two governorship elections in the south-west ekiti and ondo1

Delta governorship poll: PPA grants waiver to Odiakpo Obire
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by emmanuel oloniruha8 this is not just a campaign to take over government it is a progressive campaign it is people-driven campaign he said1 the progressive peoples alliance ppa has granted waiver to dr odiakpo obire ahead of the 2019 governorship election in delta state1 ppa national chairman chief peter ameh disclosed this while addressing newsmen shortly after obire obtained his expression of interest and nomination forms to run for the election in delta1 he said that the decision to give waiver to obire who formally joined the party last week became necessary in order to deepen democracy in the country1 ameh who was a former national chairman and two-time secretary of inter-party advisory council ipac pledged that ppa would conduct transparent and credible primaries1 our objective is to ensure that the people of delta state have the best quality of governance. so we are not looking at the monetary term1 we are not looking at the obstacles that would thwart any credible member of our party from contesting1 for that reason the nwc of our party has decided to grant obire a waiver to contest the governorship ticket1 we have been very aggressive in our campaign for the electorate to collect their pvcs1 delta governorship poll ppa grants waiver to odiakpo obire1 he also advised political parties not to allowed imposition of candidates in the 2019 general elections1 dr. obire said his decision to contest the partys ticket was to win the election and rescue delta state from bad governance1 in his remarks obire said he decided to dumped the all progressives congress apc for ppa because the apc in delta is a crisis-ravaged party1 he expressed optimism that working with ppa structure in delta and his robust campaign team he was certain of victory1 he said that the time has come to rescue delta and for deltans to experience real prosperity and government that would deliver on its promises1 i am committed to seeing a new delta that works. i am committed to great schools for our kids. i am committed to world-class healthcare for all1 i am committed to gainful employment for our teeming youths. i am committed to prosperity for all deltans. indeed no deltans will be left behind1 but i cant do it alone. i need your support. i need the support of every deltan. we must join hands to rescue our state1 if we collectively put our minds to it it is possible because we have the power to do so1

Count us out of underage voting in Kano, says INEC boss
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by emmanuel oloniruha8 the logistics and arrangements for doing so cannot be accommodated before the 2019 general elections1 inec chairman prof. mahmood yakubu disclosed this while briefing newsmen on the commissions investigation committee report on the alleged participation of underage persons in the election1 inec on feb. 21 set up an investigation committee chaired by a national commissioner mr abubakar nahuche1 the committee was to look into the allegations that underage persons voting in the election using the register of voters given to the kano state independent electoral commission kansiec by inec as prescribed by law1 yakubu said though the commission did not receive any formal complaint on the matter the committee was set up to address concerns that could create doubt about voter register in preparations for 2019 general elections1 the chairman said that the committee had since submitted its report while inec carefully considered and accepted its finding and recommendations1 base on its terms and reference there are four key points in the findings and recommendations of the committee which may be summarised as follows1 kansiec requested for and received from inec the kano state register of voters for the elections1 the register was produced for use for the elections. however the register was only sighted in a few polling units. in other words the register was not used in most of the polling units1 in fact accreditation using the permanent voter cards pvcs largely did not take place1 given that the register was substantially not used to accredit voter before voting1 it is logical to conclude that if underage voting occurred in the election it was not due to any presence of underage registrants on the register of voters1 however after examining some of the images in circulation the committee found that they have been available long before the kano local government elections1 the few images and video clips from kano show no accreditation of voters or any relationship with the register of voters1 yakubu added that the committee also recommended that there was need and ample room for collaboration between inec and all stakeholders to continue to update and improve the national register of voters1 the independent national electoral commission inec on friday in abuja said its voter register was not substantially used for the feb. 10 kano state local government election where underaged voting allegedly occurred1 it also recommended that inec should work with the state independent electoral commissions siecs to ensure continuous improvements in the quality of all elections conducted in nigeria1 he said since 2011 general elections the commission had been updating the register in accordance with the law saying the current commission believed that it inherited a register that met a high standard of biometric registration1 let me reiterate that this commission is convinced that we now have a dependable register even if it is not perfect1 we believe that it is a huge national asset easily the largest database of nigerians in existence today containing over 70 million entries of names addresses photographs ten fingerprints telephone numbers etc1 yakubu implored all nigerians to see the register as national asset and work with the commission to continue to improve it considering that there were few if any perfect voters roll anywhere1 yakubu also listed some of the efforts by inec to continue to update the register and remove ineligible entries from it including presentation of the copies of the register to political parties1 only recently on feb. 28 we gave each of the 68 political parties a copy of the register containing names of the 3.9 million new voters registered in 20171 we urged them to use the register not only to reach out to voters but also to check whether there are ineligible persons on the list and draw the attention of the commission to them1 unfortunately since this commission was inaugurated in 2015 there has not been a single report from any political party of ineligible voters on the register1 yakubu noted that inec had also been working with the nigerian immigration service to eliminate aliens from the register by confiscating pvcs from aliens who were not entitled to vote1 he pledged that inec would continue to collaborate with the forum of state independent electoral commissions of nigeria forsiecon toward establishing robust pathways to improving the quality of all elections conducted in nigeria1 as we have consistently promised nigerians as a commission we shall continue to be open to criticisms accept shortcomings and take bold corrective steps whenever necessary1 fielding questions from newsmen yakubu said that the commission spent little over n100 million for the failed recall of sen. dino melaye representing kogi west senatorial district1 the substantial part of it went to the payment of ad-hoc staff and logistics. he also disclosed that the commission was not creating new polling units ahead of the 2019 general elections as there was no time to do so1 this according to him was important to eliminate all ineligible registrants from it including dead persons aliens and underage registrants1

Sierra Leones election results ready soon
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by emmanuel oloniruha8 in the election of chairs and mayors 19 chairs contested to head the 19 local councils into which sierra leone is sub divided nan1 in readiness for the announcement the national electoral commission nec on friday conducted officials of political parties and some observer groups round its results management facilities and tally centre in freetown1 the sierra leone nec chairman mohamed alie-conteh had promised that the commission would produce and announce elections results that are credible and acceptable1 mr paul ejime the spokesman of ecowas network of electoral commission econec and a member of the ecowas observer mission noted that the inspection of the facilities was to address issues raised by parties on the processing of the results1 observer groups represented at the meeting were ecowas au eu and the national elections watch new1 ecowas head of mission prof. amos sawyer was represented by commissioner for political affairs peace and security gen. francis behanzin and head of un office for west africa and the sahel dr mohamed chambas 1 results of the general elections conducted on march 7 in sierra leone will be released any moment from now1 if no candidate was able to score 55 per cent the two candidates with the most votes will participate in a runoff or second round1 in this case the runoff is concluded according to a simple majority or first past the post fptp system1 this means that the candidate who receives the majority of valid votes in the second round is declared the winner1 in all other types of elections the simple majorityfttp system is used to determine winners1 in parliamentary elections there are 112 constituencies in the country and one member is elected from each constituency1 they may run either as members of any of the registered political parties or as independent candidates1 a presidential candidate must receive 55 per cent of the total valid votes cast to win the elections1