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The Court of
Appeal, Abuja yesterday indefinitely adjourned its deliberations on the
appeal filed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to
enable it conduct governorship elections in five states of the
federation.

A federal High
Court recently gave a ruling that stopped the commission from
conducting governorship elections in Kogi, Sokoto, Adamawa, Cross
Rivers and Bayelsa States.

The court held
that the tenure of the five sitting governors, Ibrahim Idris (Kogi);
Aliyu Wammakko (Sokoto); Murtala Nyako (Adamawa); Liyel Imoke (Cross
Rivers) and Timipre Sylva (Bayelsa) shall not expire until next year.

In his judgment in
the consolidated suit filed by the five governors, the presiding judge
Adamu Bello, held that the tenure of the governors legally started in
2008 when they took fresh oath of office and allegiance following the
nullification of their April 14, 2007 elections by the courts.

He said although
section 180 of the 1999 constitution was amended in 2010 by the
National Assembly and signed into law by the President, the amendment
has no effect on the five governors since their re-run elections were
conducted in 2008.

Not satisfied with
the judgment, the electoral body approached the appellate Court with
five separate appeals against the judgment.

Presiding judge,
Paul Galinje, who presided over the panel, said the appeals filed by
INEC so far were against Messrs Wamako, Idris and Nyako.

No polls

But at yesterday’s
sitting, the appeals were consolidated and the written argument adopted
by all the counsels to the governors and the commission. The judge
thereafter adjourned indefinitely for judgment, saying the date for the
judgment will be communicated to the lawyers.

NEXT had reported
exclusively that the Commission may not conduct governorship election
in about ten states in the coming April poll. The ten states are
missing from the commission’s website on the list of governorship
candidate to contest the coming election. Kogi, Sokoto, Adamawa, Cross
River, Bayelsa, Edo, Osun, Ondo, Anambra and Ekiti state are
conspicuously missing on the INEC website list of where elections will
take place.

Elections are not
expected to hold in Edo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states because their
state executives took office after the Court of Appeal voided the
election of previous governors.

The Oyo State
Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Ayo Adakeja, on Thursday, said
the people caught with electoral materials in Ibadan, the state
capital, on Wednesday, were working for the commission.

Mr Adakeja, who
spoke with journalists at the commission’s office in the state during a
meeting with heads of security operatives over Saturday’s National
Assembly election, said the national headquarters of the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) was aware of the development.

His defence came
shortly after the state commissioner of police, Salihu Hashimu,
informed journalists that the suspects had been interrogated and found
not to have gone foul of any law.

The INEC chief
explained that the commission’s chairman, Attahiru Jega, gave the
printer the go-ahead to contract the printing of some electoral
materials to private hands to forestall the kind of crisis their
shortages caused in the botched national assembly election of last
Saturday.

He said the men
were detained by the police till evening and were only released after
he came to identify them. The six men were arrested in a hotel in
Ibadan in possession of a DDC machine and electoral materials.

Measures by INEC

Speaking on the
measures put in place to address the problems of missing names
experienced by eligible voters last Saturday, Mr Adakeja said they have
resolved to use manual register in addition to the electronic register
to ensure that no registered voter is disenfranchised for the elections.

He explained that
many of the problems came after the registration as some of the Direct
Data Capture (DDC) machines crashed and the information in them could
not be retrieved because there were no backup for them.

The REC also said the remaining ballot papers for the National Assembly elections are intact and in safe custody.

He said the
commission had used 277,787 ballot papers for the House of
Representatives election in the state during last week’s botched
ballot, adding that they are still left with a total of 2, 164,126
papers for this Saturday’s election.

For the Senate, Mr Adakeja said only 46, 219 ballot papers were
used for last week’s election, while 2,326,974 are still intact. Heads
of security agencies in the state, including the Army, State Security
Service (SSS), Police, Immigration, Customs Service, Prisons, Civil
Defense Corps and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), were all in
attendance.

The Adamawa State
office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has
distanced itself from the sample ballot papers circulating in the state
and bearing the INEC logo.

The Resident
Electoral Commissioner for the state, Kassim Gaidam, who issued the
disclaimer, said the ballot papers were designed by some political
parties.

He said the
circulation of sample ballot papers bearing INEC’s logo in the state,
printed by the political parties and showing a thumb print against the
party to educate voters “contravenes the electoral guidelines”.

“In as much as we support voter education, we should do it within the confines of the law,” Mr. Gaidam said.

Ready for polls

The Adamawa INEC
official also revealed that all materials for the election, both
“sensitive and insensitive,” are already on ground for the forthcoming
National Assembly election. He equally stated that all the personnel
for the elections are also in place and have received training for the
exercise.

Mr. Gaidam,
reacting to allegations that politicians have infiltrated some adhoc
staff of the commission in order to rig the forthcoming elections said
election officials are under oath to be fair and fearless.

“This is not the
time to make baseless accusation,” he said. “It is time to come forward
with proof so that those involved can be investigated and fished out.”

The Congress for Progressive Change in the state said yesterday it
had uncovered a plot by some politicians to rig the forthcoming
elections hatched in connivance with some INEC adhoc personnel which
the party said have already being compromised ahead of the polls. The
CPC, however, did not reveal the name of the political party allegedly
dealing with corrupt INEC staff.

The Secretary of the Peoples Democratic
Party, George Egu, has accused the deputy governorship candidate of the
All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Jude Agbaso of jumping bail
while he was in the United States.

According to the originating summon
filed at the Federal High Court Owerri, on Tuesday, April 5, by counsel
to Mr. Egu, Mike Ozekhome, Mr. Agbaso committed an offence in New York
and jumped bail.

Mr. Ozekhome explained that a warrant
was issued for the arrest of Mr. Agbaso. The plaintiff further argued
that Mr. Agbaso by virtue of being a fugitive cannot remain the running
mate of Rochas Okorocha in the forthcoming governorship election in the
state.

Mr. Ozekhome stated that if Mr. Agbaso
was found guilty of the allegation then Mr. Okorocha will cease to be
the gubernatorial candidate of APGA as both of them run an inseparable
ticket.

Mr. Ozekhome also asked the court to
grant him leave to publish the notice in a national newspaper to ensure
that all the respondents get the notice. He also pleaded for
accelerated hearing of the case maintaining that time is of essence in
view of the forthcoming election.

The presiding judge, F. A Olubanjo
granted Mr. Ozekhome leave to publish the originating summon in two
national newspapers. It also gave the respondents seven days from the
date of publication to respond.

While denouncing the accusation against Mr. Agbaso as rubbish, a
chieftain of the APGA in Orlu local government, Dan Igwe, said that it
is the product of a party which is coming to terms with its
unpopularity and is employing desperate measures to stop the winning
run of his party.

All persons charged
with kidnapping and armed robbery in Edo State will hence forth, face
trial in the court without legal representation.

This is because the
state chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has decided to
withhold all appearances for such persons till further notice. This
decision was reached at the monthly general meeting of the association
in Benin City.

The lawyers, in a
statement signed by Ede Asenoguan, Secretary of the state branch of the
bar association, said this was because “legal practitioners and
judicial officers are now being targeted by kidnappers.” The lawyers
made reference to the recent kidnapping of the Chief Registrar,
Customary Court of Appeal of Edo State, Agnes Aigbaogu and Aliu
Okunega, a retired high court judge, who were both kidnapped in Benin
City recently.

Medical doctors in the state have also in the past, withdrawn services to protest the kidnap of one of their colleague.

But the bar
association said it has decided to write letters to the state
Commissioner of Police, the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner
for Justice and the Director of Public Prosecution that cases involving
kidnappers and armed robbers be treated with dispatch and advice given
promptly.

Provide security

The bar association established a committee mandated to work with the police.

“The Bar hereby
call on the government of Edo State to beef up security in Edo state
with a view to safeguarding lives and properties in Edo State,” the
association said.

The United States ambassador to
Nigeria, Terence McCulley, has revealed that his country, through the
U.S Agency for International Development (USAID), and the British
government, through the DFID, has committed $35 million (N5.25 billion)
to help support credible national elections through the provision of
technical support to INEC.

Mr. McCulley, who spoke at a forum on
democracy and good governance jointly organised by the US embassy and
its UK counterpart in Abuja, yesterday said free, fair, and credible
elections are an important part of the process.

He urged Nigeria to take the necessary
steps towards achieving its potential by embracing democracy and
strengthening the institutions, practices, and values of democratic
governance.

He, however, acknowleged Nigeria as an
emergent force on the world stage, demonstrating its economic capacity
and engaging the world as a leader in ECOWAS and at the UN.

“Democratically governed nations
deliver safer, more just, more prosperous lives to their citizens,
which if strong, are more likely to secure, deter aggression, expand
markets, promote development, and combat terrorism and crime,” he said.

He said his country is not seeking for
a particular formula for a democratic construct, because “democracy is
as diverse as the global community.”

Mr. McCulley, who noted the challenges
faced in the botched National Assembly elections, said the underlying
challenge remains to conduct peaceful, free, fair, and transparent
elections.

The ambassador, who said the national
elections present a golden opprtunity for Nigeria to demostrate lasting
commitments to democratic values and institutions, warned the political
leadership and all those who aspire to lead, to refrain from engaging
in inflamatory, rhetoric, or supporting acts of intimidation.

“Violence has no place in a democratic
society,” he said, calling on all political parties to respect the
results of these elections.

Workers in Ogun
State have called on the state governor, Gbenga Daniel to pay their
Cooperative Union dues allegedly deducted from their salaries before he
leaves office.

The appeal was
made at the 2011 Delegate Conference l of the Nigeria Labour Union
(NLC), Ogun State Chapter held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto,
Abeokuta. Clement Adeniyi, Chairman of the Congress in his welcome
speech said: “We shall be grateful to your Excellency Sir, if the rest
of our cooperative union dues, pension deductions from our salaries
could be settled before the expiration of your administration.”

Mr Adeniyi used
the occasion to appeal to Mr Daniel to quickly accede to the new
N18,000 minimum wage. “We still have much belief in your saying that no
kobo would be left unpaid on money deducted on workers’ salaries and
allowances. Our prayer is that the resources by which all these will be
settled shall be provided by God in Jesus name.” Mr Adeniyi said.
However, in his speech, the governor represented by his consultant on
labour matters, Wale Oduntan, said: “Eight years into our stewardship
and casting the relationship between our administration and organised
labour into retrospect, I can confidently affirm that this has been a
most rewarding partnership. For this reason, I express sincere
appreciation to the entire labour community of Ogun State for their
support.”

On the new
N18,000.00 minimum wage, Mr Daniel said, “I therefore avail myself of
this golden opportunity to allay your fears over the fate of the new
N18,000 minimum wage in Ogun State. It is a decision that will not be
delayed for the next administration to handle.”

The police in
Kaduna yesterday recovered the sum of N250,000 from two men who
allegedly snatched the money from a woman coming out of a new
generation bank on Ahmadu Bello Way in the Kaduna State capital.

An eye witness
confirmed that the two suspects who came with a motorcycle waylaid
their victim at the bank gate, and as the woman was coming out of the
bank, they snatched her purse containing the money and sped off.

According to the
eye witness, it was the woman’s shouting of “Barawo” (thief in Hausa)
which attracted the police stationed at the NEPA Roundabout very close
to the bank, that led to their arrests.

The arrest of the
two suspects, however, attracted the presence of many commercial
motorcyclists popularly known as “Achaba” riders who demanded that the
Policed should hand over the suspects to them so that they could burn
them to death for using a motorcycle in the robbery.

Their threat to
burn down the bank if the two suspects were not released to them was
resisted by the combined team of the “Operation Yaki” outfit who used
force to disperse them around the bank premises.

Meanwhile, the suspects have been remanded in Police custody for further investigation.

Few days to the
rescheduled National Assembly election, Police in Osun State have
recovered arms and ammunition from hoodlums suspected to be political
thugs in the state.

The arms recovered include 19 pomp Italian guns, one cutlass, eight live cartridges and one automatic pistol.

Parading the 11
suspects at the headquarters of the state police command, the state
Commissioner of Police, Peter Gana said the suspects were arrested
after a tip off.

The leader of the
gang who identified himself as Sheu Olawumi said when interrogated by
journalists that all the 11 members of the gang paraded were card
carrying members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) from Lagos
State.

Mr Olawumi could not however produce his membership card as he alleged that the Police confiscated it when he was arrested.

He said he is a
driver at Ojota Motor Park in Lagos and claimed that the items were
given to them at a meeting of the ACN in a part of Lagos State by a
chieftain of the party who they always refer to as “Jeje”.

Police is committed

The Commissioner of
Police, however, reiterated the commitment of the state command of the
police to ensure a peaceful conduct of the Saturday election, even as
he promised to investigate the matter. He said “the state police
command will not regard anybody as a sacred cow in the present events
as any person indicted would be brought to book not minding whose ox is
gored.” The command, he said is prepared to curtail and contain any
attempt by any group, sector or individual to thwart the relative peace
the state is experiencing now.

“This is also a
warning signal to political parties and their thugs to ensure that they
maintain absolute decorum during their party’s rallies as the police
are prepared to deal decisively with any untoward situation,” he added.

The Inter-Party
Advisory Council (IPAC), a coalition of political parties in the
country, yesterday warned party leaders against preaching violence and
making baseless allegations against the federal government and the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The chairman of
IPAC, Osita Okereke, who spoke on behalf of the group in Abuja, said it
remains opposed to violence by any political party before, during and
after the elections, which begin Saturday with the rescheduled National
Assembly elections.

IPAC, composed of
representatives of the nation’s political parties, had on March 8, this
year, signed up to a Code of Conduct to eschew violence and sanction
any breach of the code. Mr Okereke stated that IPAC would also not
condone a situation where parties level spurious and unfounded
allegations against the government and the electoral body, adding that
such was capable of undermining these institutions and precipitating
crises.

“IPAC, among
others, has the responsibility to observe and monitor the
implementation of the Code of Conduct, 2011 and shall identify,
investigate and sanction violation of the Code of Conduct by any
political party in accordance with existing laws,” he said.

“IPAC is committed
to ensure strict compliance with the Code of Conduct because we believe
it will conduce to peaceful electoral process. Violence will take us
nowhere. It will only cause hysteria in the polity and put the nation
on the edge. The nation can make progress peacefully and that is what
IPAC seeks to achieve in concert with the INEC.”

Mr Okereke, who is
also the national chairman of African Liberation Party (ALP), said IPAC
has already begun work on a profile on each party with a view to
detailing violent acts, tendencies and preachments as well as overall
compliance and non-compliance with the Code of Conduct.

He said that a report would be made to INEC and other relevant agencies for necessary actions.

In a veiled
reference to the allegation made by the Congress for Progressive Change
(CPC) against the federal government and INEC, Mr Okereke said that the
council is worried that some parties have resorted to making unfounded
allegations against the INEC and the federal government.

“This will not augur well for the process. There is need to
reinforce the integrity of the electoral process. This cannot be done
by making spurious and unfounded allegations as some parties and their
leaders are now wont to do.” Mr Okereke also appealed to Nigerians to
go out en masse on Saturday to cast their votes, saying free, fair and
credible elections would strengthen the nation’s democratic
institutions and bolster people’s believability in and respect for them.