Shettima Escapes Death as Boko Haram Hits Convoy

Three killed, many injured

Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State yesterday cheated death, missing a hit by Boko Haram, which attacked his convoy on his way to Gamboru-Ngala for a political campaign.

The governor, who confirmed the incident to THISDAY last night, said his convoy ran into an ambush between Dikwa and Gamboru on Tuesday evening, saying he was only saved by God.

“Two cars next to mine were hit, killing a soldier and two politicians,” he said, adding that one of the dead was “an influential politician in our place.”

Boko Haram had been a torn in the flesh of the people of the North-east, particularly Borno State that had borne the brunt of the insurgence that escalated in 2009.

Although the President Muhammadu Buhari administration had claimed the insurgents had been degraded and were no longer capable of holding positions, there had been a resurgence of deadly attacks on military formations in the state in the last four months.

Late last year, Shettima visited Buhari in Abuja with Borno leaders to plead for

Adhere Strictly to Constitutional Roles, Abdulsalami Tells INEC, Security Agencies

Also speaking at the event, the peace committee called on the electoral commission and the security agencies to ensure strict adherence to their constitutional roles during the elections.

Abubakar stressed that the signing of the second peace agreement was the crowning moment for the consolidation of all the peace efforts that have so far being made, while appreciating all the candidates and Nigerians for making it possible.

He said political campaign is almost ended and keeping the peace during and after elections becomes everyone's overriding objectives.

He explained that electoral peace is a state of harmony characterised by absence of conflict and freedom from fair and the freedom to discharge ultimate responsibilities and obligations essentially the right to vote or be voted for.

Gowon urged the candidates to speak directly to their supporters not to engage in electoral violence so that there would be no need in the future for foreign observers to monitor the country’s election because Nigeria can do it well.

The Head of the EU Delegation to Nigeria, Ambassador Ketil Karlsen, said he hoped that the message would resonate in all four corners of Nigeria by clearly expressing to all Nigerians that they could come out and vote peacefully on Saturday.

He stated: “Seeing the youth, many first time voters participating in democratic processes are not being used for wrong purposes; Seeing women participating on equal terms and seeing other groups such as people with disabilities having their voices geared just like everyone else. You as leaders play a vital role to see that happening before, during and after the elections.”

Speaking on behalf of the Nigerian Civil Society situation room, Mr. Clement Nwankwo, said the country has a great need for peace especially at this critical moment.

He added: “We will be observing this election, we will report what we see, we will report for Nigeria that we have seen free, fair and credible election if that is the case , if it is not we will say so as well. “

PDP Unfolds Five Strategies to Checkmate Rigging

Meanwhile, PDP said yesterday that it had devised five strategies aimed at preventing what it called the manipulation of the electoral process.

Former Aviation Minister and spokesperson/chairman, Strategy Committee of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Chief Osita Chidoka, said yesterday that a state-of-the-art Parrell Voting Tabulation, PVT system, a national network of fully equipped Situation Rooms and Call Centres, a nation-wide hotline for the public to report malpractice as well as the launch of a hashtag, #DefendYourVote, among others, have been put in place.

Justifying the deployment of the PVT, Chidoka said that the device is a scientifically proven, best practice technique, to hold election authorities accountable, particularly when there is a lack

of trust and the result are highly contested.

He added that the PVT would ensure that PDP partisans “accept the results of the election, and that the country remains peaceful and respectful of its differences,” adding that some civil society organisations would also have their PVTs in place.

“Our methodology accounts for several different scenarios to ensure continued collation of the results in the event of any disruptions with collation process.

“Hard copies of the signed voter tally provided to all party agents by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC officers, will be transported to the central command center should future disputes need to be reconciled”, Osita further explained.

And unlike in the past, the former Minister said the party would deploy a huge number of well trained and educated agents to each of the 176, 000 polling units nationwide.

He also noted that the ruling APC may want to re-enact what happened in Osun, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Kaduna, Kano and Rivers States,

stressing, however, that PDP was equal to the task.

For those nursing the intent to rig the polls, Chidoka has a word for them“There will be consequences.”

Meanwhile, the party’s spokesman, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, has expressed optimism that the election on Saturday is PDP’s to lose.

He said that by all manifest indices from the six geo-political zones, 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Atiku is already coasting to victory and not even the machinations by the Buhari Presidency and APC can change this reality.

According to him, “Given that INEC is under siege by the Presidency and now relies on the resilient spirit of Nigerians to ensure a free, fair and credible election, the PDP is resolute to lead in the fronts in the pursuit of the wishes and aspirations of Nigerians to take the destiny of our nation in their hands.

“The PDP acknowledges the fact that for Nigerians, this election is not about politics but about building our nation; it is not between the PDP and APC but between Nigerian

citizens and President Buhari, whose incompetent, vengeful, violent-prone, divisive and inherently corrupt administration has brought so much poverty, anguish and pain to our dear country.

“For Nigerians, this election is a choice between democracy and dictatorship; between justice and injustice, between prosperity and poverty; unity and polarity; peace and bloodletting; freedom and enslavement; progress and stagnation; creation of jobs and job losses, respect for territorial integrity and invasion; a choice between an in-charge President and a President by proxy.”

He said PDP had succeeded in mobilising 40 million of its members nationwide to vote for its candidates on Saturday.

SHETTIMA ESCAPES DEATH AS BOKO HARAM HITS CONVOY

respite.

Weeping like a child, deprived of his beans cake, the governor appealed to the president to save his state and people from destruction.

Tuesday night, he himself, was, as he put it, was saved by God.