PDP begs IGP to transfer petitions against party chieftains to Zamfara Command

By Musa Baba Adamu

Alhaji Muktar Lugga, Zamfara State Acting Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has called on Inspector General of Police (IGP) to transfer the petition before him against some party chieftains to Zamfara Command.

Lugga made the appeal at a news conference in Gusau on Wednesday, saying that the current security situation on the road, especially in Zamfara, was not favourable for traveling outside the state. He said instead of inviting them to Force Headquarters Abuja, they should be redirected to Zamfara State

Police Command to face the necessary interrogation.

Moreover the allegations levelled against them happened in Zamfara state, and going by the jurisdiction, the petition should be better handled at state police command.

“As law abiding citizens, we are optimistic that our party members are ever ready to respect and comply with the directive of security agencies,” he said.

He urged party supporters to turn out en-mass in the forthcoming rerun election in Gummi /Bukkuyum and Gusau/Tsafe federal constituency as well as Zamfara Central Senatorial

District.

He said the supporters should disregard all forms of distraction that could be used to turn down the success of the party in the rerun election.

He said the petition filed at Force Headquarters in Abuja was deliberate to cause panic among party loyalists.

Umahi holding my stolen mandate – Ex-Reps member, Okorie alleges

By Christiana Ekpa

The senatorial candidate of the Labour Party, LP, for Ebonyi South zone, Mr. Linus Okorie, has alleged that his mandate was stolen and given to the outgoing governor of the state, David Umahi, by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

Okorie, who was a twotime member of the House of Representatives, and represented Ohaozara, Onicha and Ivo federal constituency, insisted that he was the one that won the Ebonyi South senatorial election that held on 25th February 2023.

He made this known while speaking with newsmen in Abakaliki, the capital of Ebonyi State.

He alleged that Umahi is not qualified to contest for Senate and that he didn’t win primaries.

According to him: “I like to say that I’m the presumed winner of the Ebonyi south senatorial zone, conducted on 25th February 2023, irrespective of the fact that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, announced APC candidate, David Umahi as a winner.

“I still don’t accept to the extent that I’m in Election Petition Tribunal to retrieve that mandate. I consider that mandate as a stolen mandate, and I’m very dedicated to retrieving it with the provings of the court.

“An election was held on 25th of February, 2023, where governor David Umahi is a candidate for APC and I was a candidate for Labour Party, LP, and there were other candidates. His supporters, including the local government chairman of Onicha LGA, made thugs that are known APC members and supporters to destroy votes in polling Units within my community and my wards, and that’s the areas of my strength, where ordinarily, I’m expected to harvest the maximum number of votes, just like Umahi did in Umunnaga ward and other wards in Uburu community.

“They shot people; they burnt BVAS, they burnt billot papers, they destroyed results in many of my ten (10) polling Units. When you put all these places, including the one that happened in the Isu community in Ugbogologo ward, we have over ten thousand (10,000) votes that were destroyed.

“If you go to Ivo LGA, in Ngwugwu ward, in the ward collations and after tabulating the results by whatever they have done, Labour Party, LP, which is my party, scored 551votes, while APC scored 290 votes, but instead of entering 551votea that my Party scored, they decided to enter 290 votes to be same with that of APC that scored 290 votes. Taking away 261 votes, is stealing of votes.

The BVAS are there to confirm it.

“In all of these irregularities that happened, the total results announced by INEC said he (Umahi) won me by the margin of lead, which is 2882 votes. Meanwhile, we have over ten votes, mostly in my areas of strength, my stronghold that were destroyed by APC members.

“The law says that where the margin of lead between the 1st candidate and the 2nd candidate is not more than the total number of the places where election didn’t hold or cancelled, that you shall not return a winner, in other words, 2882 votes compared to ten thousand (10,000) votes, nobody should be declared the winner but should be declared inconclusive.

“I did a petition when I found out that they (INEC) wants to declare him (Umahi), i quoted section 24(3) of the electoral acts, which prohibits the Returning Officer from announcing that results but because of the pressure mounted on him (returning Officer) he declared that results, is that not stealing?” He questioned.

“That INEC stole my election and that governor David Umahi of APC, are the recipient of a stolen property. And so, INEC stole my election, then Governor David Umahi received the stolen mandate. That’s my stolen mandate. He (Umahi) is holding unto a stolen mandate,” he stated.

In a swift reaction, the outgoing governor, David Umahi, however, in a press conference that took place at his office located at the Centenary City, Abakaliki, had threatened to drag Mr Linus Okorie to court to prove how he (Umahi) stole his mandate.

“I listened to Linus Okorie, and I want to use this opportunity to warn him, if he continues to say that he has a stolen mandate. I will take him to court to prove that his mandate was stolen because he has a criminal insinuation. He (Okorie) must prove on who stole his mandate. And he is relatively influencing the outcome of the Tribunal by saying that, and I must stop him (Okorie) from saying it,” he stated.

Lawan makes case for capacity building for 10th Assembly members, aides

By Ikechukwu Okaforadi

The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan has made a case for capacity building for members of the incoming 10th National Assembly for efficient and effective service delivery.

Lawan said there should be provisions for capacity building especially for the new members of the 10th Assembly to achieve the set goals and targets.

He spoke on Thursday while receiving the 2020, 2021 and 2022 annual reports of the activities of the National Assembly Service Commission.

Lawan said: “What is critical to us is what happens when we leave. Everybody knows the turn over rate has been very costly and this is without prejudice to anybody elected.

“Costly in the sense that when you have only about 30 percent of members of the ninth National Assembly going to 10th Assembly, you know that you have lost capacity. You have lost experience. You have lost skills, enterprise and so on and so forth. These are traits that you need, to hit the ground running immediately.

“And I use the word costly deliberately because what this means is that, the 10th Assembly, we must make provisions immediately for capacity building for new members of the National Assembly If we want to achieve our goals and set targets.

“Everybody is enthusiastic. Everybody is ready. We want to come in and continue to contribute to making Nigeria better. But the parliament is not like the Executive.

“Therefore, I am using this channel to sound that advisory that the National Assembly will need money, will need more resources for capacity building for members of the National Assembly that are coming new, as well as those staff that we will be working with.

“I also want to urge here that the National Assembly Service Commission, the management of the National Assembly, as well as the management of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies will have their hands full because the tenth National Assembly, and I am not speaking for the 10th National Assembly, is yet to be inaugurated, but I know having met many of our Senators-elect, they are all ready to start work immediately we are inaugurated and sworn in.”

The Senate President asked for the support of the National Assembly Service Commission for the incoming lawmakers.

“So we want your support. You are there. It is the National Assembly membership that is always changing. You will give us the kind of support that will make us do so well.

“Whatever we have achieved, wouldn’t have been achieved without the National Assembly Service Commission and the staff of the National Assembly.

“Infact the staff have been very wonderful, very supportive and we believe that this is the kind of staff that we should always have and also as an Assembly, as a Commission, we need to continue to give the staff the kind of motivation that they need,” Lawan said.