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Benue State leaders
of the Action Congress of Nigeria yesterday protested weekend’s loss in
the senatorial election, accusing the ruling party of rigging and
asking the Independent National Electoral Commission to call for new
elections.

Former governor of
the state, George Akume; a current senator, Joseph Akaakerger and the
party’s candidate for the Benue South seat, Lawrence Onoja and other
top party leaders stormed the INEC office yesterday in protest and
submitted petitions to the office of the chairman, Attahiru Jega.

“This rubbish is
being celebrated in Abuja but elsewhere, there were sham,” Mr Akume
said at the commission’s office in Abuja on Tuesday. “This election
must be cancelled because they are useless, and we keep preaching
one-man one-vote in Abuja. Let us be sincere if we don’t want elections
in this country. Let us say no to elections.”

Coming days before
the presidential election and more than a week to the governorship
polls, the demand for cancellation by the party members is part of a
growing discontent from political parties over the widely lauded polls.

Mr Onoja, who
challenges the return of the senate president, David Mark, was the
first to arrive INEC premises yesterday. He rejected the election
results and called for a rerun in what appears to be a potentially
long-drawn legal contest.

“The election that
took place there is not what you should call election. It was a
tragedy,” he said. “If election that took place in Benue South is
anything to go by, then I think we have a long way to go.”

Rejected soul

Later in the day,
Messrs Akume and Akaakerger, joined by the state party leaders, arrived
at the commission with the same charge. The former governor is
contesting for Benue North West seat which was postponed by INEC to
April 26. Mr Akaakerger was defeated by Barnabas Gemade in results
announced Sunday for the North East seat.

Delta State
recorded the highest cases of ballot box snatching in Saturday’s
National Assembly election, followed by Bayelsa and Imo states, the
Independent National Electoral Commission said yesterday.

The chairman of the
commission, Attahiru Jega, said the three states topped the chart of
incidences of diverted ballot boxes, amongst several other poll
malpractices but gave no specific figure.

An official of the
commission, however, said the highest number of the violation recorded
by Delta State during the relatively well-conducted election was nearly
50.

A spread of
detailed statistics of malpractices, including violence, diversion of
materials, lateness of officials and materials, during the elections on
state-by-state basis was expected from the commission on Monday. Mr.
Jega’s spokesperson, Kayode Idowu, later said there were problems with
the analysis of the data and the information would be made available
Tuesday.

Large-scale malpractice

While addressing
international observer teams, including the Commonwealth, African Union
and the National Democratic Institute, Mr. Jega said the worst cases of
the breaches, were recorded in the three states.

“There were
problems with thuggery. Luckily the police have made a number of
arrests in fact earlier today I got information that the police have
arrested over 500 people, many of them thugs,” he said.

“Delta is a state where we received most cases of ballot box snatching followed by Bayelsa and then followed by Imo states”.

Mr. Jega’s remarks
came as a growing number of political parties that lost in the
elections, laid complaints to the commission, amid concerns that the
overwhelming success of the election generally could deny attention on
genuine cases of violations no matter how minute they may appear.

The parties blamed
their defeat on large scale rigging by the ruling parties, ballot paper
stuffing and box snatching and demanded a rerun and redeployment of
INEC staff alleged to have been compromised.

In Bayelsa State
where one of the most damning cases of violence was recorded, the
opposition parties accused the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
of hijacking electoral materials in connivance with security operatives
including the police, the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) and some INEC
officials.

The parties, led by
the Labour Party (LP) Chairman in the state, Addo Badou, and the Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN) told the electoral commission that elections
did not hold in six local government areas of the state. They demanded
the immediate removal of the State Resident Electoral Commissioner,
Edwin Nwatalari, for alleged connivance with the politicians.

‘Cancel the poll’

In Kwara State
where the PDP dominated in the election according to results announced,
the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Sunday threatened to contest the
results of the elections. Opposition parties have made similar calls in
Benue, Adamawa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.

There are concerns
as to whether new measures including complex ballot paper security,
voters waiting behind to defend their votes and a customized ballot
box, are enough to deal with intricate electoral fraud scheme which
exploits human factor for a compromise.

In the case of Akwa
Ibom state where a raging rivalry between ruling PDP and the ACN
supporters recently reached violent dimensions, the parties say there
abound heaps of questions about the exercise and the commission says
they would be investigated when properly tabled before it.

After a startling
defeat margin on Saturday, the ACN has been quick to dismiss the
outcome of the elections and asked for a repeat as well as the removal
of the REC in that state, Maria Owi.

In a detailed
petition to Mr. Jega signed by the state chairman, Aniekan Akpan, the
party claims many of its agents were chased off from collation centres
by paid security agents siding with the ruling party while some corps
members were compelled to release surplus ballot papers to the party.

“Unused ballot
papers were not returned but were given to PDP members who used palm
kernels or bitter kola nuts to print in place of thumbs! What an
innovation,” the party said in the letter which spokesperson to Mr.
Jega, Kayode Idowu, said he could not confirm whether it had been
received as of Monday noon.

In a particular
case, in Essien Udim Local Government Area of the state, all registered
voters in the state voted for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP),
according to the announced results, leaving no allowance for voters who
died, travelled, took ill.

By yesterday, INEC headquarters could not confirm the total number
of petitions it has received already on the Saturday election.

The Action Congress
of Nigeria ( ACN) and other opposition parties in Rivers State have
criticised the conduct of Saturday’s National Assembly elections in the
state, calling for the cancellation of the poll.

The results of the
election released by the Independent National Electoral Commission on
Sunday showed the Peoples Democratic Party was victorious in all 12
federal constituencies and the three Senatorial districts where
elections were held.

The ACN, however, claims the victory was earned through voter manipulation and rigging.

“In the collation
centres, our agents were refused entry by the Joint Task Force and the
Police. There were no results sheets in many areas of the state, such
as Khana, Degema, Gokana, Tai, Oyigbo, Obio/Akpor, Opobo/Nkoro, Onelga,
Andoni,” read the ACN statement, which was signed by Uche Okwukwu, the
state chairman of the party.

Similarly, Otonye
Briggs, the governorship candidate of the Congress for Political
Change, yesterday expressed dissatisfaction with the conduct of the
elections.

Mr Briggs said his
party was denied an opportunity to fully participate in the process as
there was no level playing field for political parties in the state.

He also accused
loyalists of the ruling PDP of intimidating and harassing CPC members
and supporters. In the course of the elections, he said, one of the
party’s members was killed in Abonnema, the capital of Akuku-Toru Local
Government Area.

Mr Briggs added
that the killing was the manifestation of acts of repression against
the party in the state. He, however, urged supporters of the party to
come out en masse for subsequent elections and vote for the CPC.

Barthlomew
Emuekperi of the All Progressives Grand Alliance also said his party
has problems with the elections. “No doubt, the elections were bad,” he
said when asked about his party’s reaction to the conduct and outcome
of the polls.

Mr Emuekperi said the party will be issuing an official statement on the elections.

No petitions

Despite the
complaints, none of the parties could confirm if they had written an
official petition to INEC. As at press time, neither the Resident
Electoral Commissioner, Aniedi Ikoiwak nor the Public Affairs Officer
of the Commission could be reached for comments on the matter.

The director of the Rotimi Amaechi campaign organisation, Ezebunwo
Nyesom Wike, said the allegations were false and challenged the
opposition to provide proof to back their claims.

The Action Congress
of Nigeria in Kwara State on Monday staged a protest in Ilorin
rejecting the outcome of Saturday’s National Assembly election that
gave the ruling Peoples Democratic Party a sweep to victory in the
state.

The protesters
alleged that the ruling party colluded with some INEC presiding
officers to influence the outcome of the poll, claiming that its
candidates were clearly leading at the wards level before the general
collation.

The peaceful
protest which was held in some parts of the state capital was, however,
planned to be heightened if INEC refuses to meet the protesters demand
for an investigation of the matter.

The ACN
governorship candidate in the state, Mohammed Dele Belgore, led the
protest with hundreds of youth holding brooms and chanting anti-ruling
party songs.

Also at the rally
were the Kwara ACN Caretaker Committee Chairman, Kayode Olawepo;
Senatorial Candidate (Kwara Central), Ibrahim Oloriegbe; Senatorial
Candidate (South), Anu Ibiwoye; Senatorial Candidate (North), Musa
Audu; and other party members.

Victory though the courts

Addressing the
rally, Mr. Belgore thanked the people of the state for their turn out
at the polls, declaring that “we know that they voted for us massively,
but their mandate was stolen.”

He, however, urged
the people not to “despair because we will restore this mandate through
the legal means. But let it be clear to these riggers that it can no
longer be business as usual.

“We will no longer
allow anybody to impose himself or herself on our people. The people of
Kwara want a change and this was what they demonstrated last Saturday
when they trooped out in thousands to vote for the ACN. But this
mandate was stolen. We will help our candidates to reclaim their stolen
mandate, no matter what. We urge our people to be calm and not to
resort to violence.”

He described the
rally as a means to send a strong message to election riggers and their
collaborators to desist henceforth, maintaining that the party “won the
election with a landslide but they manipulated the outcome in
continuation of the status quo. This will not stand.”

The party, through
its chairman, however, said that it will address a press briefing today
on the outcome of the election, saying the statement will adddress
issues of violent intimidation of the voters in areas like Asa,
Ifelodun where he alleged ACN agents were arrested and kept out of
circulation until the end of the election.

However when the
police spokesperson, Dabo Ezekiel was called at the end of the election
on Saturday, he told next that nobody was arrested throughout the
election, claiming that he was coming from the state CID to see the
situation of things there.

A day after the
election, reports of an arrest of 23 thugs was however announced but
Mr. Ezekiel refused to comment on the development when contacted.

However, the ruling party chairman, Yusuf Ayedun has also debunked
the allegation of rigging saying that whoever is not satisfied could go
to any length to get justice.

Delta State
recorded the highest cases of ballot box snatching in Saturday’s
National Assembly election, followed by Bayelsa and Imo states, the
Independent National Electoral Commission said yesterday.

The chairman of the
commission, Attahiru Jega, said the three states topped the chart of
incidences of diverted ballot boxes, amongst several other poll
malpractices but gave no specific figure.

An official of the
commission, however, said the highest number of the violation recorded
by Delta State during the relatively well-conducted election was nearly
50.

A spread of
detailed statistics of malpractices, including violence, diversion of
materials, lateness of officials and materials, during the elections on
state-by-state basis was expected from the commission on Monday. Mr.
Jega’s spokesperson, Kayode Idowu, later said there were problems with
the analysis of the data and the information would be made available
Tuesday.

Large-scale malpractice

While addressing
international observer teams, including the Commonwealth, African Union
and the National Democratic Institute, Mr. Jega said the worst cases of
the breaches, were recorded in the three states.

“There were
problems with thuggery. Luckily the police have made a number of
arrests in fact earlier today I got information that the police have
arrested over 500 people, many of them thugs,” he said.

“Delta is a state where we received most cases of ballot box snatching followed by Bayelsa and then followed by Imo states”.

Mr. Jega’s remarks
came as a growing number of political parties that lost in the
elections, laid complaints to the commission, amid concerns that the
overwhelming success of the election generally could deny attention on
genuine cases of violations no matter how minute they may appear.

The parties blamed
their defeat on large scale rigging by the ruling parties, ballot paper
stuffing and box snatching and demanded a rerun and redeployment of
INEC staff alleged to have been compromised.

In Bayelsa State
where one of the most damning cases of violence was recorded, the
opposition parties accused the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
of hijacking electoral materials in connivance with security operatives
including the police, the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) and some INEC
officials.

The parties, led by
the Labour Party (LP) Chairman in the state, Addo Badou, and the Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN) told the electoral commission that elections
did not hold in six local government areas of the state. They demanded
the immediate removal of the State Resident Electoral Commissioner,
Edwin Nwatalari, for alleged connivance with the politicians.

‘Cancel the poll’

In Kwara State
where the PDP dominated in the election according to results announced,
the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Sunday threatened to contest the
results of the elections. Opposition parties have made similar calls in
Benue, Adamawa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.

There are concerns
as to whether new measures including complex ballot paper security,
voters waiting behind to defend their votes and a customized ballot
box, are enough to deal with intricate electoral fraud scheme which
exploits human factor for a compromise.

In the case of Akwa
Ibom state where a raging rivalry between ruling PDP and the ACN
supporters recently reached violent dimensions, the parties say there
abound heaps of questions about the exercise and the commission says
they would be investigated when properly tabled before it.

After a startling
defeat margin on Saturday, the ACN has been quick to dismiss the
outcome of the elections and asked for a repeat as well as the removal
of the REC in that state, Maria Owi.

In a detailed
petition to Mr. Jega signed by the state chairman, Aniekan Akpan, the
party claims many of its agents were chased off from collation centres
by paid security agents siding with the ruling party while some corps
members were compelled to release surplus ballot papers to the party.

“Unused ballot
papers were not returned but were given to PDP members who used palm
kernels or bitter kola nuts to print in place of thumbs! What an
innovation,” the party said in the letter which spokesperson to Mr.
Jega, Kayode Idowu, said he could not confirm whether it had been
received as of Monday noon.

In a particular
case, in Essien Udim Local Government Area of the state, all registered
voters in the state voted for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP),
according to the announced results, leaving no allowance for voters who
died, travelled, took ill.

By yesterday, INEC headquarters could not confirm the total number
of petitions it has received already on the Saturday election.

The Chairman of the
Senate Committee on Appropriation, Iyiola Omisore, has accepted the
verdict of the people of his constituency in the last Saturday election
where he lost his bid to return to the senate to Babajide Omoworare of
the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). The ACN won all seats for Osun
State in the National Assembly.

Speaking with
journalists yesterday, the senator, who represents Osun East in the
Upper chambers of the National Assembly, commended the turnout of the
people and peaceful conduct of the election, saying all point to a
hopeful future for the nation’s democracy.

Mr. Omisore, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is currently in his second term in the national legislature.

While
congratulating the winners, Mr. Omisore said the results of the
election confirms the readiness of President Goodluck Jonathan to give
the nation credible elections this time, and ensure that every eligible
Nigerian voter is not denied the right to choose their leaders and
representatives.

“I want to first
congratulate all the winners in last Saturday’s National Assembly
election. The peaceful conduct of the election was a clear signal that
our democracy has come to stay and that our politicians are improving.
Politics is a game of win and lose. If you win, you take it, if you
lost too, you should accept it in good faith. That is how we can
nurture our democracy into full maturity,” he enthused.

According to him,
the success of the first round of elections will prove to the world
that Nigerians are ready to allow democracy to thrive in their country,
adding “we cannot afford to fail because all eyes are on us. We need
credible and successful elections in this nation”.

He explained that
the result of the last election, especially in the Southwest, shows
that the ruling PDP was not as desperate as it had been portrayed in
the past by the oppositions, describing the party as one that ‘upholds
the tenets of democracy’.

The former deputy
governor of Osun State, advised the winning ACN members not to see
their victory as a ticket for self-serving mission, but a call to serve
the nation and opportunity to contribute their quota to the development
of their constituencies.

“The result of the
National Assembly elections should be regarded as the wish of the
electorate which we politicians must respect to safeguard the nation’s
growing democracy. In a true democracy, you don’t expect to be winning
every time. Even, life itself is about give and take,” he said.

He urged Nigerians
to be ready to participate fully in the remaining legs of this year’s
general elections, submitting that giving them priorities is the only
way to move the nation forward.

For this week’s
presidential election, Mr. Omisore said, “this is our country, all the
eligible voters must be ready to perform their civic duty by voting for
leaders of their choice”.

Comas Iwu, the
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Senatorial candidate for Imo North
senatorial district has rejected the result of last Saturday’s
election, saying the exercise was marred by violence, rigging and
inducement of voters.

Mr Iwu, who is also
the immediate past Secretary of the Imo State Government told reporters
in his home town of Umukabia, Ehime Mbano, that the election was so
marred with irregularities that the materials used by INEC in the
botched April 2 election were openly sold in the market and used for
voting in the April 9 elections.

The ACN candidate
also said that in his home of Umukabia, PDP thugs snatched ballot boxes
which were later stuffed with already thumb printed ballot papers.

No elections

He said out of the
six local government areas that make up the Senatorial District, there
was no election in many wards in Obowo, Isiala Mbano and Ehime Mbano
council areas. According to Mr Iwu, agents of PDP were bribing
accredited voters with amounts ranging from N5,000 to N10,000 in the
full glare of security officials electoral commission workers without
any arrest being made. He also accused PDP thugs of firing gun shots to
scare away voters to create room for them to snatch ballot boxes.

Mr Iwu, however,
urged his supporters to remain calm, saying that such an injustice and
charade would not stand. “What happened in Okigwe zone was not an
election. Some of us are lucky to be alive because of the violence
unleashed on ACN supporters across the zone”, Mr Iwu lamented.

He called on INEC
to cancel the results of Imo North as no elections was held in majority
of the wards and because of the irregularities that characterised the
entire exercise.

Former Vice
President Atiku Abubakar has advised the Independent National Electoral
Commission to brace up for the upcoming presidential and gubernatorial
elections.

Mr Atiku, who
contested for the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, alongside
President Goodluck Jonathan, said the impressive outing of the National
Assembly elections is a call to the electoral commission and their
security agencies for better preparations during the presidential and
gubernatorial elections.

In a press
statement released by his media office, the former vice president
advised Nigerians, the electoral commission and security agencies to
guard against “complacency, which may play into the hands of enemies of
democracy. “The will of the people is superior to the ego of any
politician,” he said.

Mr Atiku advised
fellow politicians to abandon the culture of do-or-die politics which
he said is getting out of fashion. He noted that events of last
Saturday’s National Assembly elections have proved that a credible,
free and fair poll is only achievable in an atmosphere of non violence.

Advising Nigerians,
he said: “You must never succumb to the antics of scare mongering and
intimidation because your future and those of your children and
generations unborn is what is at stake.”

He expressed joy over the mass participation in the electoral
process and encouraged the voters to participate en masse in the
presidential and gubernatorial elections. He also commiserated with the
families of the victims of the Suleja and Maiduguri bomb blasts and
prayed for the recovery of all those currently receiving treatment.

The Bauchi State
Police Command says it has arrested 20 persons for various electoral
offences across the state during last Saturday’s parliamentary
elections.

The state Police
Commissioner, Amanam John Abakasanga, disclosed this while parading the
suspects before newsmen at the command headquarters in Bauchi. He said
they were arrested for various offences ranging from ballot box
snatching to possession of dangerous weapons, impersonation, multiple
registrations, criminal conspiracy and thuggery, among others.

According to Mr
Abakasanga, “those arrested on 9th April are: Ibrahim Ya’u and Ya’u
Adamu of Toro Council of the state who were arrested at Jajuwa Polling
unit for multiple registrations and being in possession of dangerous
weapons; Abdulkarim Adamu Jumba, arrested at Federal Lowcost polling
unit for being in possession of offensive weapons; Murtala Dankirana of
Kobi Street in Bauchi Metropolis, who was arrested in Alkaleri Local
Government for being in possession of ballot box and ballot papers;
Saidu Magnid of Dambam, who was arrested in Dambam for ballot box
snatching.” Others include “Mohammed Maigari, a citizen of Niger
Republic, arrested in Azare for impersonation and for voting when not
qualified. Musa Adamu, Hassan Mohammadu, Haladu Mohammed, Ibrahim
Saidu, Hassan Alhaji Musa, Hussaini Makama, Mohammed; all of Darazo
Council arrested for criminal conspiracy, snatching of ballot box
containing electoral materials and being in possession of dangerous
weapons.” The CP further revealed that other suspects arrested prior to
the elections on 8th April were: Ahmed Bala Mohammed and Sale Adamu who
were arrested at Federal High Court premises for being in possession of
a pistol revolver and six rounds of live ammunition;

Shuaibu Hambe,
Sani Mohammed, Ibrahim Mohammed, Rabiu Musa and Suleiman Mohammed all
of Bauchi who were arrested yesterday at Unguwar Nupawa in Bauchi
metropolis for thuggery and mischief. He said they were arrested while
damaging vehicles.

The Police boss
said the suspects would soon be charged to court for prosecution. He
commended men and officers of the Police in the state for their conduct
during the polls on Saturday saying, “I have not received any case of
misconduct by any of my men.” He called on newsmen to assist the Police
in reporting cases of misconduct, underage voters, among other
irregularities.

Caught in the act

Some of the suspects who spoke to NEXT admitted to their offences.

Ahmed Mohammed, a
father of three who was arrested with a pistol at the Federal High
Court premises, where the CPC gubernatorial candidate is in court said:
“I am a youth leader of CPC in the state and I took the pistol to
protect myself from opponents who could attack me at any time.” He said
he bought the pistol for N40,000, and prayed that he be shown mercy.

The 37-year-old Nigerien, Mr Maigari said “I am a wheel-barrow
pusher and had been in Nigeria for over 20 years. I have never voted in
Nigeria and even in my country, I have also never voted. I thought that
by living in Nigeria for this long, I now have the right to vote.”

The Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Bauchi State has released the
final result of Saturday’s National Assembly elections in the state.

Announcing the
results at the INEC headquarters in Bauchi on behalf of the Resident
Electoral Officer, Iliya Audu, the Administrative Officer, Aminu Bello,
said the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won the two senatorial
seats where elections were held.

The result shows
that Bauchi State Deputy Governor, Babayo Gamawa of the PDP won the
Bauchi North Senatorial seat, while the Bauchi South senatorial seat
went to Abdul Ningi of the PDP who is an incumbent Member, House of
Representatives, representing Ningi/Warji Federal Constituency.

On the other hand,
PDP won eight out of the 12 House of Representatives seats in the
state. Mohammed Tukur Adamu (PDP) won the Alkaleri/Kirfi Constituency,
Dogara Yakubu (PDP) was returned as the representative for
Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Constituency.

Abdulrazaq Nuhu,
the Chairman, Warji Local Government Area (PDP) won the Ningi/Warji
seat; Umar Abubakar Sade (PDP) won the Darazo/Ganjuwa seat.

Other results, as
announced by Iliya Audu, showed that Abubakar Ahmed (PDP) won the
Misau/Dambam seat, Muhammed Auwal Jatau (PDP) won the Seat of Zaki
constituency. Jama’are/Itas Gadau seat was won by Hassan Isa Mohammed
of the PDP.

The REC said that
Aliu Gebi (CPC) won the Bauchi constituency seat; Lawal Hanaya Tosu of
the CPC clinched the Toro Federal constituency seat, while Adamu Gurai
and Auwal Dahiru Saleh, all of the CPC won the Shira/Giade and Katagum
setas respectively.

Yuguda loses constituency

Meanwhile, the
state governor, Isa Yuguda has lost his constituency, Bauchi Federal
constituency to the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC.

Aliyu Ibrahim Gebi
of the CPC has been declared winner of the last Saturday House of
Representatives election in Bauchi Federal Constituency to represent
the area for the next four years in the lower chamber of the National
Assembly.

Mr Gebi defeated
one of governor Isa Yuguda’s loyalists, Garba Dahiru of the PDP, who is
a former commissioner of finance in the state.

Announcing the
result in Bauchi Local Government Independent National Electoral
Commission INEC office, the returning officer Isiyaku Mohammed said Mr
Gebi of the CPC scored 93,740, to defeat his closest opponent, Mr
Dahiru of the PDP who got 45,807 vote; while Hamidu Sa’idu Ghani of the
ACN scored 12,090, and Comrade Sabo Mohammed of ANPP had 1,0317 votes.

Speaking with news
men after the result was announced, Mr Gebi thanked eligible voters for
the confidence reposed on him and pledged to be fair to all.