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The governorship
candidate of the Congress for Progressive change (CPC) in Enugu State,
Osita Okechukwu has said forensic examination of the ballot papers used
in the April 16 Presidential poll will expose the alleged massive
rigging of the election by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in
the south east and south-south zones of the country.

Reacting to the
allegation that the CPC lost the election in the zones, Mr Okechukwu,
in a statement yesterday, said “Forensic test anchored on biometrics
technology, will expose the jumbo allocation of votes to the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in the South East and south-South; characterized
by monumental ballot stuffing” .

“We are assembling
our evidence and will expose to the world the hitech-rigging which
polluted the presidential election. We are not crying wolf, where there
is none. We are not bad losers.”

The governorship
candidate, who is also the spokesperson for the Conference for Nigerian
Political Parties (CNPP), denied claims that intra-party crisis rocked
the party’s election in the zones, adding that no major political party
is free from such crises.

According to him,
the fractionalization of the CPC is not worse than that of the PDP, and
insisted that no hatchet or settled group should use intra-party crisis
as an excuse.

“Let them go in
peace with their loot; but they cannot stop us from presenting our
evidence in the Presidential Tribunal,” Mr Okechukwu said.

He recounted that
there was low turnout of voters in the five state that comprise the
south east zone during the presidential poll, which he said hovered
around 35 percent.

He said, “We
maintain that the low turnout at the presidential election, especially
in the South East, hovered between 30% and 35% and therefore the result
posted is untenable and outrageous.

“No electorate throughout history rewards a political party which
failed to provide common infrastructure like electricity; it will be
inconceivable that Nigerian electorate rewarded PDP for decade stretch
of failed promises. On Forensic Test and Biometric Technology we depend
to prove our case; not on propaganda.”

The Conference of
Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has called on President Goodluck
Jonathan to consider ability during the composition of his cabinet,
saying his appointments should be based on competence and integrity
instead of party affiliation.

The Secretary
General of the group, Willy Ezugwu said in Abuja yesterday that: “We
are very much aware that there are already talks of a government of
national unity; an all inclusive government; and a government that will
compensate those who worked for the emergence of President Jonathan.
All these less reasons are not enough as determinants of the people the
president should appoint,” he said.

The coalition said
it is on record that forming a government of national unity is usually
an excuse for the ruling class to appoint or nominate friends and
family members and, in some cases, outrightly incompetent cronies to
occupy public offices at the detriment of the people.

Competence needed

“Whether
considering his PDP members or members of any other party joining his
government, President Jonathan must remember that Nigerians voted for
him and not his party, which rates poorly among the populace anyway.
The least President Jonathan can do is to populate his cabinet with the
best brains Nigeria has to offer home and abroad as there is no short
supply of these.” The CNPP scribe said.

He said it is also crucial that the competent people who the president will appoint are shielded from the influence of the PDP.

“The election is over, party and ethnic considerations with other
forms of cronyism are done away with from this moment and should
instead be replaced by national interest,” he said.

Ahead of tomorrow’s
2011 gubernatorial election, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and
the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in Jigawa State, have entered into
what they described as a “local” political alliance against the state
governor.

Speaking to newsmen
in Kano over the weekend, the Jigawa State ANPP governorship candidate,
Ibrahim Hassan, said the decision was reached, following an exhaustive
discussion between the two parties on how to defeat the ruling party
PDP in the state.

Mr Hassan revealed
that talks between the governorship candidates have been on for about
two weeks, pointing out that discussion with the Congress for
Progressive Change (CPC) is equally on, saying that an agreement would
be reached before the election on Tuesday.

A strong team

“Legally speaking,
based on the Electoral Act, most of the windows of alliances and
mergers have been closed as you are aware now it is not possible to
even substitute a candidate but what we have is a sort of political
understanding between us for the purpose of the election,” he said.

He said the
decision was taken after a thorough consideration of the outcome of the
previous elections, alleging that the ruling party, the People’s
Democratic Party (PDP) tilted the elections in its favour, despite the
assurance given by INEC that the conduct of the elections would be
credible.

He further lamented
that the PDP took advantage of the ignorance of the people, especially
those in rural communities through financial inducements, to win the
last National Assembly elections in the state, pointing out that such
intrigues by the ruling party would be tackled at the forthcoming polls.

He remained
confident that the inter-party political arrangement in the state, will
succeed, and would be extended to other opposition parties.

The Ekiti State
Police Command has mobilized 7,500 police officers that will work with
the State Security Service, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps
and other paramilitary organisations during the elections in the state
today.

The spokesperson of
the police in the state, Jimoh Mohammed, who made the disclosure in a
telephone interview, said the officers have started displaying a ‘show
of Force’ to alert the populace that they are ground.

Mr Jimoh said the
officers will provide adequate security for election officials and the
electorate to facilitate the success of the polls.

He also said no
police orderly would be allowed to escort their principals to the
polling units during today’s elections in consonance with the
guidelines for the conduct of the elections

Also, the Resident
Electoral Commissioner in Ekiti State, Halilu Hussaini Pai yesterday
disclosed that all materials for the conduct of today’s National and
State Assembly elections have been distributed to the Electoral
Officers in the sixteen Council Areas of the State.

Mr. Pai in a chat
with journalists in Ado Ekiti, said the electorate would witness prompt
take off of the accreditation exercise and voting in all the 177 wards
and 2, 195 units across the State.

He promised that
the Commission will conduct free, fair and credible elections, advising
members of political parties to be law abiding and orderly during the
polls.

Mr. Pai called on
all the security agencies in the state to fully enforce the restriction
of human and vehicular movement tomorrow.

The governor of the
State, Kayode Fayemi, has threatened to deal with anyone who foments
trouble during the conduct of the National and State Assembly elections
in the state.

The governor, who
made the statement while distributing 100 motorcycles to some
commercial motorcyclists at the Government House yesterday, urged the
electorate to troop out en masse and cast their votes for the best
candidates.

Mr Fayemi assured
that all measures had been put in place to ensure the security of lives
and property during and after the elections.

He urged the people
to remain committed to the ongoing electoral process and eschew any act
that could disrupt the peace of the state.

Meanwhile, a
detachment of soldiers that were drafted into the state has taken
strategic positions in all the sixteen local government areas of the
state.

The police yesterday arrested some journalists during a morning raid on a printing establishment in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.

In what some people
have described as the effort of the state government to muzzle media
establishment known to be strong critics of government ahead of today’s
state elections, policemen numbering about 12 were said to have stormed
Aswill printing press ,located along Akpan Etuk Street, in Uyo at about
12am on Monday.

Managing Editor of
Pivot Newspapers, Clifford Thomas, who was one of the persons arrested
by the police at the printing press, said the men came in fully armed
and asked to see the manager and director of the establishment.

The manager, the
director and some other staff of the press were taken away by the
police. Mr Thomas and his staff were subsequently released when no
incriminating evidence against the government was found in their
publication.

During the raid, Mr
Thomas and his men were ordered to sit on the floor, their phones and
other communication gadgets were seized. Narrating his experience to
NEXT, Mr Thomas said the leader of the police team told him that the
deputy commissioner of Police instructed them to come to the printing
press and check for anything that might be construed as an attack on
the state governor.

“The police were
quite polite; they did not beat or harass anybody, except that the
experience of being taken off your work when you were progressing at a
speed and they stopped you was very traumatic,” he said. “The leader of
the police team informed me that he was acting on instruction. He said
the deputy Commissioner of Police instructed them to come to the
printing press and check those newspapers or anything that is an attack
on Godswill Akpabio.”

Gagging the media

“To swamp on a
printing press that was merely printing newspapers show that there is
no freedom of the press and the fundamental rights of people have been
breached. I don’t think they want democracy to survive. Democracy
thrives on free press,” he said.

Editor-in-Chief of
Insight Newspapers, one of the papers printed at the raided printing
press, David Augustine, confirmed that the printing press was actually
raided and that copies of Global Concord newspaper were taken away. He
however said his newspapers were not seized by the police.

“The target of the
raid was not myself or my paper,” he said, adding that he could not
ascertain the motive behind the raid as he was not there.

When the Police Public Relations Officer, Onyekaozuru Orji was contacted on the issue, he feigned ignorance.

About 200 corps
members of Ondo State origin who were evacuated from some northern
states arrived Akure yesterday. The corps members who converged in
Bauchi State before they were moved to Akure, were received at the
government house by the state governor, Olusegun Mimiko.

“Government must do
something for them,” he said. “Those who have completed their
programme, we will give them jobs. During the Jos crisis, we did
similar thing, they have been asked to come back on Thursday to address
their complaints.” Mr Mimiko urged indigenes of Ondo State not to allow
the incident to douse their sense of patriotism and remain committed to
fostering national unity and development.

“Every country
goes through her own difficult times, but I still encourage you to
still appreciate the fact that Nigeria is a wonderful country, a great
nation. Our manifest destiny is that Nigeria will be a leader of
nations,” Mr Mimiko said.

United Nigeria

While commending
President Goodluck Jonathan for the matured way in which he had been
handling the crisis, Mr Mimiko said, “no matter how insurmountable the
situation had been in the past, Nigeria had always come out more united
and strong and I believe this will not be an exception.” Fisayo
Ogunmola, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues, commended the state
government for its prompt response to the situation, a development
which he noted had further re-invigorated their confidence in the
government’s concern for the welfare of its citizens.

“We want to
appreciate the government’s quick response to our plight and the
demonstration of its caring heart posture which had saved our future as
the country’s leaders,” he said.

The state government, according to Ogunmola, provided logistic support for their movement to their various destinations.

Ogun State

Similarly, in
Abeokuta, state officials also received some 150 youth corps members
brought back to the state in two luxurious buses and taken to the
Moshood Abiola Stadium, before they later left to their various homes.

The Ogun State
Commissioner for Environment, Olukoya Adeleke-Adedoyin, who led an
earlier rescue mission during the crisis in Plateau State said the
state government will accommodate those who do not want to go back to
their station.

“The government must have a rethink about this NYSC scheme. People
who come from the North that are serving here, we don’t harm or kill
them. The journey was very terrible. No food, no water, nothing to eat,
they really suffered a lot.” He said.

The governorship
candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria in Niger State, Abubakar
Bawa Bwari, has denied media announcements that he has stepped down for
the candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change in today’s
election.

Mr Bwari said there
have not been any merger talks between his party and the Congress for
Progressive Change and all such insinuations are false.

“They are the
handiwork of selfish people used to working for themselves. They held
an illegal meeting and proceeded to announce an illegal alliance that
has no foundation in truth,’’ he said.

The state
coordinator of his campaign organisation, Abubakar Magaji and other
officials of the party had earlier announced that Mr. Bwari was no
longer running.

NEXT learnt that at
a Sunday night meeting, Mr Magaji had impressed upon his candidate the
need to form an alliance with the CPC in order to defeat the ruling
party’s candidate, Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu.

However, according
to a source at the meeting, Mr Bwari had insisted on running because
despite the poor showing of the ACN at the two previous elections, he
still fancied his chances.

The party chairman,
Isah Mokwa had reportedly told the candidate that if he refused to join
the alliance he will be going into the election without the support of
the party machinery.

A stalwart of the
party who preferred not to be named, said no party in the state can
defeat the PDP by itself and the only hope lied in such an alliance.

The source said
based on what he called ‘performance’ the CPC, which had already
produced a senator and members for the House of Representatives, has
the right to produce the governor in such an alliance.

Mr. Bwari however
said yesterday that, “I am not stepping down for anybody and has not
contemplated stepping down for anybody. I want all our supporters to
come out and vote en masse for the ACN tomorrow.’’

With the failure of the alliance, the chances of the incumbent who
had reportedly been worried by the pact have decidedly increased.
However, the race is still going to be a hard one between the PDP and
the CPC in Niger State.

The leadership of four political parties presenting
candidates in today’s elections in Enugu State have inspected both
sensitive and non-sensitive materials received from the national
headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
ahead of the polls.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the
state, Josiah Uwazuruonye disclosed this in a telephone interview with
NEXT yesterday.

He listed the parties as the People’s Democratic
Party (PDP), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Peoples for
Democratic Change (PDC) and the Labour Party (LP).

Mr Uwazuruonye said that the leadership of the
parties were invited to monitor the distribution of the materials to
the local government areas, but that only four of them showed up.

He explained that the commission took the decision in
order to avoid complaints and troubles, which could mar the smooth
conduct of the polls.

Corps members not afraid

The REC said that the commission is ready for the
governorship and state assembly election, adding that “by now, I
believe that the commission’s officials in the 17 local government
areas would have commenced their own part of the work.” On the
preparedness of the members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC)
for the polls, the REC said there are no indications that the corps
members engaged in Enugu State are afraid that what befell their
colleagues in some parts of the north, will happen to them.

Mr Uwazuruonye assured that adequate security measures have been put in place to ensure their safety during the polls.

There are about seven governorship candidates in
today’s election. The governorship candidates are the incumbent,
Sullivan Chime of the PDP, Okey Ezea of LP, Dan Shere of PDC and Osita
Okechukwu of CPC.

Others are Valentine Nnaedozie of the Action Congress of Nigeria
(ACN), Obinna Obiegue of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Nnamdi
Anigbo of Change Advocacy Party (CAP), Robert Eze of the All Nigeria
Peoples Party (ANPP), Chinoyelum Ojiejemba of the National Conscience
Party (NCP) and Anya Ibekwe of NPP.

The Lagos State
Emergency Management Agency has evacuated 222 corps members posted to
different northern states who are indigenes of Lagos. The agency’s
general manager, Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, told journalists while receiving
the corps members, who arrived over a two-day period, that more corps
members who are in violent prone areas will be promptly evacuated.
“When we received distress calls from the NYSC members serving in the
northern states, especially Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, we sought permission
from Governor Babatunde Fashola to activate our emergency response
plan,” he said. “As we speak, effort is on to move corps members from
different locations to the nearest airport where they can be flown to
safety.”

Nowhere is safe

Jimoh Nonayon, one
of the rescued corps members, said he had to call his friends in Lagos
to get state government officials’ phone numbers because nowhere, apart
from military barracks, was safe in Kano State. “We were very afraid,”
he said. “I contacted some of my friends, who gave me some numbers of
Lagos State Governor Fashola. I tried to send him a text on that Monday
evening. So, I thank God on Friday. They called us back that they are
coming to convey us.”

Though, riots broke
out in many northern states following the outcome of the April 16
presidential election, Mr Oke-Osanyintolu, responding to why it took
days before any rescue plan could be implemented, said the state
government had to monitor “the situation closely to see how it will pan
out and when we saw the need to act, we did immediately .” “The
evacuation process still continues,” he said. “Our men are on the
ground strategically at Jigawa, Gombe and Bauchi. We are not even
talking about the indigenes of Lagos State alone. We evacuated those
whose parents are in Lagos and others who want to come to Lagos for
safety.”

My experience

Mr Nonayon said he
came out of his lodge one day and “saw some gang of guys coming with
cutlasses and sticks.” “We call them Almajiri,” he said. “They were
shouting as they came, all I could hear from what they were saying ‘Sai
Baba, Sai Baba, CPC Sai Baba’. A man riding bike told us to run back
into the lodge. We were told that they were targeting non-indigenes,
corps members and supporters of other political parties that are not
really in support of CPC (Congress for Progressive Change). They
believed that corps members rigged the election in favour of President
Goodluck Jonathan.”

According to him,
some police officers came to their aid, hiding and locking them up in a
room while the rioters went on a destructive rampage, burning almost
every government structure. The rioters were said to have left with a
promise to go and reinforce. The corps members were informed that the
police station was no longer safe. The police authorities at the
station ordered that they be moved to the Bokavo Barracks before the
rioters’ return. “A lot of corps members ran for their lives,” he said.
“Rioters pursued some of them; and some were stabbed. But presently, in
Kano we have not really recorded any loss of life.”

Uneasy calm

The corps members
said National Youth Service Corps officials tried to persuade them not
to flee to their homes but stay in the barracks. “NYSC officials came
to address us but from the address, it was clear they have no plan for
saving our lives,” said Monday Alidumkwu, a corps member. “What they
wanted was for us to stay back and finish the gubernatorial elections,
but the rioters were saying that the violent outbreak of presidential
election was a child’s play. They said they decide who governs their
state.”

Mr Alidumkwu said
he was supervising a senior secondary schools external examination when
the riots broke out and had to flee with some of the scripts already
submitted by exam candidates. “I did not even go back to WAEC office
because doing so will be like dashing them my life,” he said.

Electoral problem

Mr Alidumkwu, who
also worked as a presiding officer during the polls, said he will not
go back to conduct the gubernatorial election, even if offered N1
million.

Another corps
member, who also worked as a presiding officer, Adekeye Oludare, said:
“Even if I am still there, I cannot go out to conduct election. [Party]
agents threatened us and the policemen attached to us were not armed.
So, the policemen were just begging us to comply with their demands. In
the last election, I was almost beaten. We were about to start counting
the votes and some people came telling us they went to go and pray and
they now want to vote. When I refused, they threatened to beat me. I
called the police but they did not show up. I had to allow them because
I was there alone in that village. So, after that election, I already
told INEC officials that I will not show up for the gubernatorial
election.”

The Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Bauchi State has called on the government
to immediately lift the dusk to dawn curfew imposed in the state,
threatening to break the law where necessary if the curfew is not
lifted.

The government
had, in the wake of the violence that followed the presidential
election, imposed the curfew in an attempt to restore peace to the
state. But opposition parties say the government is abusing the curfew.

Speaking to
reporters at a press briefing yesterday at the state Secretariat of the
NUJ, the Director-General of Baba Tela Gubernatorial Campaign
Organisation, Isa Matori, accused the government of using the curfew to
frustrate the opposition in the state.

“Having reviewed
the circumstances carefully, we call on authorities concerned to note
that calm has returned to Bauchi and the people are more circumspect
about actions that undermine peace and security,” he said.

“In view of this,
we urge that the curfew be lifted with immediate effect to allow for
voting without hindrance in a process that will go way into the night.
Maintenance of the curfew is a ploy by the PDP-led government to shut
people in their homes in order to manipulate the results of the
elections.”

‘Government is bias’

Mr Matori also accused the government of bias in its enforcement of the curfew.

“While the curfew
is still in place, the government is busy giving movement permit to its
PDP supporters to continue with their campaigns and consultations as
well as meetings but denying those of the opposition,” he said.

“If the curfew is
not lifted, we will ask our supporters to move freely and protect their
votes during the gubernatorial elections no matter what happens. We
will break the law if it becomes necessary to defend our right”

The opposition
politician condemned what he said was the indiscriminate arrests and
detention, as well as the alleged use of security agents in the state
to intimidate his candidate’s supporters.

“It is our belief
that the PDP-led government of Bauchi State is using security agencies
to scare other political parties and their supporters in order to have
their way in subsequent elections,” he said.

While condemning
the recent post-election violence in the state, which led to the loss
of lives and properties worth millions of Naira, Mr Matori called on
government to urgently compensate those affected and to also prevent a
recurrence.

He also called on the government to address poverty and unemployment
which, he said, are the bane of the teeming youth and the root cause of
their restiveness.