TENSION AS 2.4M VOTERS CHOOSE BAYELSA, KOGI GOVS TODAY
Bagudu, Makinde, other govs storm states A/Court stops INEC from disqualifying APC’s Lyon
Victor Edozie, Bassey Willie (Yenagoa), Itodo Daniel Sule, Ahmed Tahir (Lokoja), John Chuks Azu & Abbas Jimoh (Abuja)
Amid fears of possible violence, 2.4 million voters in Bayelsa and Kogi states will today decide the next governors of the two states at the ballot.
A total of 70 governorship candidates are contesting in the polls with analysts narrowing it to a race between the candidates of the major political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In Bayelsa, out of the 45 governorship candidates participating in today’s election, the chances of the PDP candidate, Douye Diri and his APC counterpart, David Lyon, are brighter than others.
Our correspondents report that tension and fear have reached fever pitch in oil-rich Bayelsa State. Sources informed one of our reporters that the two major political parties in the contest are arming and fortifying their foot soldiers for the election.
Tension heightened Monday when two police officers were allegedly killed at Otuogidi in Ogbia Local Government Area of the state.
This is just as 32,000 police officers, 15 Commissioners of Police, three Assistant Inspectors General of Police and one Deputy
Inspector General of Police were deployed to the state to monitor the election.
The state police command said it enforced restriction of movement of boats and all river craft activities in the state’s waterways from mid night of November 15.
A statement from the state police spokesman, SP Asinim Butswat, said movement of persons, vehicles, tricycles and motorcycles were also restricted.
He said the DIG in charge of election duty had also ordered that movement be restricted from the midnight of November 15 till the end of the voting, and urged the electorate to come out and cast their votes for candidates of their choice.
It was gathered that some APC governors are in Bayelsa, including Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe and Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa. Appeal Court stops INEC from disqualifying APC’s Lyon
The Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yesterday granted an exparte order of injunction restraining INEC from disqualifying the APC governorship candidate in Bayelsa State in today’s election.
The three-man panel led by Justice A. O. Lokulo-Sodipi also restrained INEC from executing the orders of the Federal High Court to remove the name and logo of the APC and its governorship candidate, David Lyon, from the race.
Justice Lokulo-Sodipi in the ruling held that the panel abided by the decision made by the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which compelled INEC to maintain status quo from September 18, 2019 when the matter was instituted, pending the determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.
The appeal panel, thereafter, ordered that applicants should serve all the respondents notices and other processes before adjourning till November 21 for mention.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the proceedings, the counsel to the APC governorship candidate, Michael Numa, welcomed the decision which he said had given the APC and its governorship candidate the opportunity to participate in the poll. 1.6m voters set to decide fate of 25 Kogi candidates
In Kogi, 1,646,350 registered voters are to decide who becomes the next governor, and 1,475, 450 of them have collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
A gender analysis of registered voters in the state indicates that 820,687 are males while 825,663 are females.
Occupational analysis indicated that students constitute the bulk of the registered voters with 632,057 representing 38.39%.
Election will hold in 2,548 polling units and 239 registration areas spread across the 21 local government areas. 25 candidates will be taking part in today’s election.
INEC had earlier cleared 23 candidates for the election but following recent court judgments, candidates of the SDP and APM were listed to contest the election.
The election is expected be a fierce contest between incumbent Governor Yahaya Bello and the candidate of the main opposition PDP, Engr Musa Wada.
The two major political parties and their candidates are said to have engaged in last minute underground strategies that would earn them victory, by yesterday.
Some bigwigs of the two major political parties were said to have arrived the state ahead of the election to support candidates of their parties. The political gladiators are said to have been meeting key and influential people across communities in the state to consolidate their winning plans.
Security aides attached to Governor Bello have been withdrawn according to the IGP’s directives.
Daily Trust Saturday learned from credible sources that the order was effected yesterday, amid rising tension and concerns over issues of violence, intimidation and harassment of voters.
In some parts of the state, there were reports of sporadic gunshots yesterday night.
At Umomi in Ofu Local Government Area, some armed men driving in a black Siena vehicle were reported to have shot sporadically into the air to terrorize residents.
At Anyigba in Dekina LGA, there were reports that some houses belonging to key PDP leaders were reportedly torched by suspected political thugs. Armed men invade Lokoja hotel
This is even as some masked and armed men in police uniforms yesterday invaded Suitorial Hotel in Lokoja where the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, was having a meeting with the PDP governorship candidate, Engr Musa Wada and other top party stakeholders.
The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiya, who confirmed the incident, said the security details of the governor however repelled the gunmen.
He alerted the Inspector General of Police to rise to the occasion by ensuring adequate security for party leaders and stalwarts.
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor of Oyo State, Taiwo Adisa, in a statement, said; “Eye witnesses confirmed that the hooded security operatives arrived the Suitorial Hotels, Lokoja, where the governor and some members of the PDP campaign council are lodged at about 12.50 pm on Friday, shooting sporadically and attempting to break into the hotel rooms.
“It was gathered the some of the hooded security operatives scaled the fence of the hotel and attempted to enter the rooms.
“A melee was set off as the security operatives attached to the governor of Oyo state were said to have resisted the invaders.
“Within a short while, some residents nearby also gathered to resist the invading gunmen.”
When contacted, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Hakeem Busari, said he got a report on the incident but that there was no attack on the governor as alleged. INEC urges voters to come out and vote
Despite the tension and pockets of violence in some parts of the state, INEC has called on eligible voters to come out en mass to exercise their franchise today.
INEC’s commissioner in charge of Kogi, Kwara and Nasarawa states, Malam Mohammed Haruna, told Daily Trust Saturday that though there is tension in the state over possibility of violence during the poll, a large turnout of voters would check trouble makers.
“There is of course apprehension, tension is there, it is palpable but if people come out in enough numbers even those who want to perpetrate violence would
be afraid. It is only when a few people turn up that there would be problem so people should come out in their huge numbers and vote for who they want to vote to rule the state,” he said.
He said although problems usually arise when results started trickling in, there are assurances by the police that the exercise would go on smoothly.
Deployment of sensitive electoral materials
He said the deployment of sensitive electoral materials had been without hitches, adding that the materials had been moved to registration centres in all local government areas of the state.
He said the commission was initially worried about the way out of the late court judgments but was able to find its way round the anomaly.
“As it is now, we have two sets of ballot papers, we had already printed them when the court said we must include SDP which we did and then there was one outstanding case and we are not taking chances, we printed another set which have arrived.
“That one includes all the parties and we will only distribute that one that took the two court judgments into account,” he explained.
He said the used ballots would be disposed through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“We bring in party agents and officials and the CBN disposes of them. We have a way of burning them so that nobody would say there is any abracadabra,” he noted.
Also, the Resident Electoral Commissioner for the state, James Apam, said the commission had deployed enough materials and manpower to prosecute the election.
On the flash point zones, he said the situation of things in those areas had been quite calm.
Court grants Bello’s application for joinder
A Federal High Court in Abuja granted an application for joinder by Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi State in the application seeking to disqualify him from today’s election.
Justice Inyang Ekwo yesterday ordered the joinder of Gov. Bello as a defendant in the matter. He directed the service of the court papers on him.
The governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Natasha Akpoti, was asking the court to also issue an order of mandamus compelling INEC to thoroughly investigate the acts o of double registration as a voter made by Yahaya Bello and prosecute him upon the expiration of his tenure in January 2020.
But counsel to Bello, Mike Enahoro-Eba Esq., brought the application seeking to be joined in the matter. He argued that his client would be affected by the outcome of the suit and not just the APC and INEC who are joined as defendants.
Counsel to Akpoti, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), said the governor was not joined because of the immunity clause in Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution.
Akpoti alleged that Gov. Bello committed electoral fraud through his registration sometime in 2011 in Abuja and a second registration as a voter on May 23, 2017 at Government House, Lokoja while his first registration as a voter in Abuja was still active.
Akpoti also asked the court to declare that the governor is liable to be disqualified and/or barred from contesting, participating and/or voting in the election.
She contended that the act of double registration is a violation of Sections 24(E) of the Electoral Act, 2010.
CDD raises concern over vote buying
The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has expressed concern over reported cases of vote buying ahead of today’s governorship election in Kogi State.
The CDD Director, Idayat Hassan, said yesterday in a statement that less than 24 hours to the opening of polls, CDD accredited and trained observers recorded incidences of vote buying in parts of the state.
“Already, our observers have noted the distribution of gift items such as Ankara textile materials and rice in Lokoja and Koton Karfe Local Government Areas. In addition, the latest reports we are receiving from our observers indicate massive inducement of INEC Supervising Presiding Officers (SPO) across the 21 Local Government Areas of the State.
“The reports indicate that one of the parties have made overtures, and has been inducing the SPOs with bribes USD1,000 to buy them over, and get them (the SPOs) to do their bidding on Election Day. These reports were further confirmed from Bureau de Change (BDC) Operators within the State who were interviewed,” Hassan said.
Police aides withdraw from VIPs
Based on the directive of the Inspector General of Police,
Mohammed Adamu to withdraw police aides to public office holders, some politicians in Bayelsa state are now using their loyal boys as cover.
According to our reporters who monitored the situation in Yenagoa, some political office holders who used police as security aides were seen with some boys accompanying them to their destinations.
At the Bayelsa State Government House, the normal military and police men on uniform always stationed at the entrance where sited yesterday even as it was only plain clothes security men that were seen trying to control the number of PDP supporters at the gate.
Earlier in the day, Governor Seriake Dickson was said to have moved to his Toro-Orua village in Sagbama Local Government Area in preparation to cast his vote, though he was not escorted by uniformed security men, but only DSS officials.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of Operations, DIG Abdulmajid Ali, in a press statement yesterday also confirmed the redeployment of police aides from public office holders and top politicians.
He also announced the deployment of 31,041 policemen to the state for the election, adding that they had also made massive logistics mobilization to support the operations.
He said: “The police deployment shall involve conventional police personnel who will be complemented by the special units including the police mobile force, special protection units, counter terrorism unit, air wing and marine detachment.”
At the Yenagoa waterfront, a voter, Nonso Eric, who said he was travelling to his village in Southern Ijaw to cast his vote, said he had to move early to beat the movement restriction.
Several people were also seen traveling in boats to the coastal areas while some politicians hired buses to convey their supporters to areas that can be accessed by roads.
Jonathan urges peaceful election
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has joined the call for violence-free election in the state.
Jonathan, who has not been in the state since after the PDP governorship primary that produced Senator Douye Diri, made the call yesterday while receiving election observers team from ‘Sinf Nigeria’ who were in his office on a courtesy visit. He also agreed to collaborate with the group on his Foundation’s upcoming projects.
He added that the foundation would be championing advocacy for better electoral systems across Africa.
He said: “We cannot say we are electing people in an atmosphere of intimidation and manipulation, that is why my desire is to see that the Nigerian electoral system evolves such that the will of the people prevails, devoid of the intimidation and killing that have come to characterize elections in the country.”
Already, INEC has distributed sensitive materials to various registration centres in all local government areas of the state.
The Resident Electoral Commission (REC) in the state, Mr. Monday Tom Udoh, said INEC was ready to conduct credible election.