Presidential Elections: Labour Party faults process, to challenge result Election:

Low turnout recorded in Abuja South

By Usman Shuaibu

Alow turnout of voters was recorded in Abuja south constituency which comprised of Abaji, Gwagwalada, Kwali and Kuje Area Councils during the Presidential and National Assembly election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The accreditation of voting started early across the Abuja South constituency, but some voters did not turnout early enough

Supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) were demanding for money before voting it was observed that the supporters of Labour Party (LP) conducted themselves peacefully and voted for the candidates of their choice across the Abuja South constituency.

Agents of each political party waited patiently till the voting period and the time results were released in their polling units before leaving.

In an interview, the Senior Special Adviser (SSA) to the Executive Chairman of Gwagwalada Area Council on chieftaincy matters, Hon. Abdullahi Magaji, described the conduct of election as peaceful.

Magaji who is a member of APC in Gwagwalada prayed that all the candidates of APC across the nation should win the election, urging the residents to vote for APC in the area.

He, however, expressed dismay over the low turnout of voters and charged the people to continue to be orderly during the sequent election.

Also, speaking, a strong member of PDP in Gwagwalada, Alhaji Faruk Umaru Abubakar, expressed hope that PDP would emerge as the winners in the country.

He said: “The abnormalities in the election are not much because the INEC has tried today compared to the local governments election. The election was free and faster and we appreciated the INEC for having the second thought in using the machine”

Umar Abubakar, therefore, advised the voters to always cast their votes in accordance with the electoral act in every election and warned them against violence

Meanwhile, there was electoral violence at Dagiri and Tugan-Maje in Gwagwalada Area Council.

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

As the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prepares to collate and announce the result of Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections, one of the four leading and contending Parties, the Labour Party (LP) is faulting the process and collation of results, asserting that it will challenge the outcome in court.

In a statement issued yesterday and made available to the media in Kaduna, the National Secretary of Labour Party, Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim said while the party made inroads with high votes in most parts of northern Nigeria, her members were deliberately prevented from voting, chased away violently from polling units, or had ballot papers and boxes destroyed and burnt in others.

The party said most of its members were deliberately disenfranchised through varied means across the country, but were more discerning in its strongholds.

He cited Lagos, Rivers, Bayelsa, Kano, Yobe and Edo states, among places where such acts were rampantly perpetrated in violation of the electoral act 2022 as amended.

Umar said in some places, INEC staff and electoral materials were not deployed to areas that are known to be strongholds of the Labour Party, or deployed late to frustrate the party supporters who, psychologically got tired of waiting and had to leave the polling units for the fear of the unknown.

“The delay by INEC to upload and announce results, especially where Labour Party, is already known to have taken the lead, is also worrisome and we feel it is deliberate to anger our party and our supporters” he stressed.

Umar also revealed that intelligence from the fields revealed that across the northern states, electorates identified as Labour Party supporters were tactically denied access to their polling units by some INEC ad hoc staff who connived with others to confuse the electorates by insisting their polling units are different and sending them to the wrongs ones. He said this frustrated the electorates, and reduced the votes polled by the Labour Party, which would have more than doubled if the right things were done. some electorates displaying their voters card showing their readiness to vote during the 2023 Presidential/ National Assembly elections on Saturday in Abuja.

While calling on INEC to checkmate and call its polling staff to order and also ensure punitive measures in line with the electoral act 2022 as amended, the Labour Party National Secretary assured that the party would definitely challenge the outcome and final results in court.

Umar Farouk however, called on the party members and supporters to be calm, remain law abiding, but be encouraged by their efforts so far, and mobilise even more for the next round of elections, as the party takes steps to right the wrong meted out to her in the Saturday presidential and National Assembly Elections.

Presidential Poll: Group lauds interception of N32.4m in Lagos by EFCC

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) has lauded the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the interception of the sum of N32, 400,000 in Lagos, allegedly suspected to be used for vote buying in presidential and National Assembly polls, urging the anti-graft agency to intensify its efforts in this regard across the country.

ANEEJ Executive Director, Rev David Ugolor made the commendation yesterday, shortly after confirming that the anti-graft agency actually tracked the money allegedly planned to be used to undermine elections in Lagos State, noting that the EFCC’s action resonates with the Gelegele Declaration by over 200 Civil Society Organisations on Wednesday which called on the Anti-Corruption agency to go after vote-traders bent on undermining the 2023 polls.

“The current scarcity of Naira notes across the country which has increased hardship amongst citizens is attributable to hoarding by some unscrupulous politicians acting in connivance with some crooked bank officials with the intention of perpetrating vote-buying and other electoral maleficence,” Ugolor noted.

He called on the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies to go after all suspects and cease all the monies meant to compromise the Presidential and National Assembly elections nationwide. He called on members of the public to volunteer information to the EFCC to enable the arrest of all suspects.

“We understand the suspect involved in Lagos has been taken into custody, the suspect should be thoroughly investigated with a view to unmasking the big masquerade behind the offence. The EFCC should leave no stone unturned and there should be no sacred cows. It should spread its dragnet across the country,” Ugolor admonished.

He re-stated ANEEJ’s avid commitment to a peaceful, free, fair and transparent 2023 polls and assured that his organisation will work with all stakeholders to ensure that the electoral process is not compromised by devious individuals or groups.

It will be recalled that on Wednesday over 200 Civil Society Organisations led by ANEEJ and Ijaw Youth Movement converged on Gelegele, Ovia North East Local Government where the Gelegele Declaration on the 2023 Elections was issued. In the document, the CSOs demanded a zero tolerance to vote-buying by candidates and their supporters for the 2023 general elections and called on them to refrain from all acts of vote-buying or votetrading in any form whatsoever as vote-buying is capable of undermining the credibility of the electoral process.

The Gelegele Declaration reads in part, “we call on security agents to provide top notch security across the country to ensure that no form of violence is allowed to fester in any part of the country, particularly in flash points where insurgents have threatened to unleash mayhem. Again, security agents deployed for the elections should promptly arrest anyone or group of persons found sharing money at polling stations or other designated election materials sharing centres and venues. Security agents must be professional in the discharge of their election duties and must shun any form of inducements or an act of corruption.”

The CSOs in the declaration further urged the United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada and European Union Countries’ Governments to sanction any individual or political party involved in votebuying or election violence. “They should be placed on their watch list and denied visas/entry into their countries,” they stated.

Matawalle signs Antithuggery bill into law

Gov. Bello Matawalle of Zamfara has signed into law, the Bill establishing the state Anti-thuggery Agency.

This is contained in a statement issued in Gusau on Sunday by the Press Secretary to the Governor, Jamilu Iliyasu.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Matawalle had in February 2022 issued an Executive Order setting up a committee to tackle thuggery, drug abuse and related offences in the state.

The governor later forwarded a bill to the state House of Assembly for a law to establish the state anti-thuggery agency, which was passed by the lawmakers.

The governor said the agency was established by his administration to complement the efforts of security agencies in curtailing thuggery related cases in the state.

He added that the agency would also help to inculcate good morals in the youths towards a more decent society.

According to the statement, the governor also assented to the amended law setting up the state Area Development Councils.

He said the area development councils were created to bring people closer to government and enhance development at the grassroots, to meet the aspirations of the electorate.

The governor thanked the Assembly for passing the two bills into law and supporting the government to ensure the overall development of the state. (NAN)