The All Progressives Congress (APC) Bauchi State chapter has rejected the decision taken by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the governorship election results from Tafawa Balewa local government area.

The party, at a Press Conference in Bauchi on Saturday, stated that the action taken by the electoral body was null and void.

Addressing the Press Conference, the state chairman of the party, Alhaji Uba Ahmed Nana said the position taken by INEC contravened the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended.

“Considering the letters and spirit of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended), and the INEC Guidelines for 2019 General Elections, INEC is not empowered to reverse any decision taken at the Collation Center by the Returning Officer appointed for that purpose.

“Such decisions can only be reversed by a Court of law, especially when INEC cannot Approbate and Reprobate,”the party stated.

The party also accused the Festus Okoye-led committee of denying it fair hearing as its agent were not invited during the hearing to ascertain the circumstances leading to the cancellation of the Tafawa Balewa local government election result.

“The composition of the committee is also questionable as the Committee chairman, Festus Okoye Esq, is a close ally of and ex-personal Solicitor of Hon. Yakubu Dogara of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“No justice can be done by the committee chairman who is interested in the whole issues and the instant circumstances.,” it said.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/breaking-apc-rejects-inecs-decision-on-bauchi-governorship-election.html

Robert Clarke is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria who is very outspoken and vast in knowledge about happenings in the country. The octogenarian in this interview said that tribe, ethnicity and religion are the dominant factors in Nigeria’s politics.

He also spoke about the recent presidential election and way forward. Excerpts:

What is your take on the Presidential election in which President Buhari was declared the winner?

Well, prior to the holding of the election because of the hype and campaign gimmicks many people believed that Atiku was going to win the elections. But this is an idea being carried by many of the younger people who had never had the privilege of passing through Nigerian elections. For those of us who have known the patterns of elections in Nigeria, one thing was quite clear, ethnicity and religion still play a dominant part in the lives of Nigerians in the way and manner they vote. No matter what a political leader does, no matter how much money he steals, if he is from a particular ethnic group, they will never criticize him openly. They may see it as a bad thing that he has done, but they will continue to vote for him. Therefore, it is quite easy to predict what an election outcome will be in Nigeria. First, where you have two of the three dominant tribes in Nigeria: Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, where you have two of those three aligning together, they can never lose elections in Nigeria. In 1999, the Yoruba never represented Obasanjo, they never voted for Obasanjo, but because the Hausa and the Igbo supported him, he won the election. In 2004, Obasanjo in his second term also won the election because the Igbo and the Hausa were behind him. In 2015, my advice was sought by a top Nigerian, if you are going to rate his nearness to governance, he was about number 10. He asked, who do I think would win the election? I told him that Jonathan would fail. I told him this theory of when two out of the three tribes vote together, I said, now that the North and the Yoruba are in one party, they would win. I said, the Igbo will continue to lose election in Nigeria if they are not the dominant partner in any coalition. I told him, from what I know in Nigeria and from what I see in Nigeria. It will be very hard for the Igbo and the Yoruba to be in one coalition. So, Buhari and Atiku contest was even made simpler. There was no intrusion of the presidency by any other ethnic group outside the North. The presidential candidates were both northerners. If Atiku had won in the North, plus the Igbo and South-south votes, he would have been president. But, from history that I know, since Buhari has been contesting and this is the fourth time, no candidate has ever beaten Buhari in the North. When Buhari and Obasanjo contested in 2007, he defeated Obasanjo in the North by plurality of votes. When he and Yar’Adua contested in the North, he defeated Yar’Adua by plurality of votes. When he and Jonathan contested for the first time of Jonathan, he beat Jonathan by plurality of votes and when he now contested now, he still beat Atiku by plurality of votes. So, he is what is called the silver bullet. Whichever party Buhari belongs, he will always win in the North. Many of you don’t know that the northerners take Buhari like a demi-god. I tell people that they don’t know the politics of the North. When you look at all his four elections in the North, he has maintained a constant level of number of votes in 2019, 2015, 2007, 2004. He has consistently maintained 11million, 10 million, 12 million votes from the North. If people tell you that they rigged the votes in 2019 in the North, I asked them, what about 2004, what about 2007 and what about and 2015? There has been consistency in Buhari votes in the North. Look at the South. The only area I was surprised was in Ondo State and Oyo State, where PDP won. PDP won all the Igbo votes. If Buhari had won any Igbo state, I would have said the election was rigged. But look at APC, they lost two states. Did PDP rig those two? No, that was how the election went. Look at Kwara. Kwara politics has always been dominated by one family. Now, the people themselves said they are tired and they reflected it in all their votes. The man who is involved has seen it in the writing on the wall, he’s not contesting it. He has accepted the results and I thank him for that and for that, history will record him properly. As far as I’m concerned, the votes in Nigeria in 2019 reflects the pattern of voting since 1999. If anybody wants to prove me wrong let him show me facts and figures.

We had soldiers all over the places during the presidential election, is this suppose to be so?

When people say this statement you are making now, I laugh. Have you seen elections in India? The greatest democracy in the world? Do you know that every election in India, over 100 people are killed because of election? In the third world, every election is characterized by mayhem. Nigeria is not different. What has happened during this last election is not different from what has been happening before. I will even say election is better in Nigeria now from what it was because of the advent of card readers. I have been a lawyer to politicians for over 40 years. Ballot box snatching, writing results in the houses of politicians has always been the main thing. They call some wet rigging, they call some dry rigging. It got reduced when the issue of the new IT connections came up. Do you know that these last America elections there were petitions? Even in America, these last national elections to the senate and the congress, there were riggings there. So, it’s not unusual to find a third world country like Nigeria doing the same. We just have to pray and make sure in the future we get rid of these things.

Atiku has gone to court, claiming irregularities in the election, what is your take on that?

One of the greatest bad thing that social media has created – let me show you a funny one – recently, the media showed Obasanjo in the social media running at the airport, thereby creating an impression that Obasanjo is running after Buhari’s election. Social media can create anything. When you follow social media, you will go wrong. The electoral law is so clear. Malpractices will occur, every law must know such things would happen, but what the law says is that, if you feel that an election has not been conducted, the word used in the law is substantially in compliance. It does not say everything must be in compliance, it says substantial compliance. So, if you have 700 polling booths and in three polling booths you have malpractices, the law recognizes that such will happen. So, if you go to court to challenge an election results, you must not only show that the election was marred with irregularities, you must also show that those irregularities are so substantial that they have affected the results. When you take a constituency for a presidential candidate, which is Nigeria as a whole, these instances you are talking about when you count them, all those things you saw about under-aged pictures are not more than in three or four states and you have 36 states in Nigeria. The law says if such things happen, they will be identified, when you identify, then you will subtract them from the votes cast. If they substantially affect the majority of votes, then they redo it. That is why the election tribunal is there.

Then what advice do you have for Atiku in this election?

Not only to Atiku. But to great politicians like him, who are both in APC and PDP to step aside. They have been the problem in this country. Rigging of elections has consistently been done by them. My advice to Atiku’s clique, Buhari’s clique, Tinubu’s clique and all those top politicians is to step aside for younger generation to come in because if they continue to permeate the political scene, they are going to create a situation where the young ones under them now will follow up what they are doing. My advice to all of them is, let them retire from active politics. Let them change the constitution of this country so that no individual governor will be stealing money under the guise of security votes; also, no parliamentarian. Speakers will be chopping money under the disguise of allowances. Nigeria will be free for the younger ones to start a new life for Nigeria. So, I advice that they should kick themselves out. If the young politicians of today are not removed from the top, the ones who have been entrenched in election rigging, there will be problem in future. The problem about Nigeria is that we don’t learn about elections. When the ‘Oyinbos’ are leaving us in the 60s they taught the northerners what they call bureaucracy as the fountain of power.

When the colonialists are going, the Saduana said I don’t want self-government when they wanted to start regional government because the southerners are too far ahead of us. They complained they have no doctors, no lawyers etc; the ‘Oyibo’ sat Saduana down. “Forget about that, call your children at the end of their leaving school to go to immigration; police, and army, by the time the children from the South are going to England to read medicine, law, and your boys are already holding power of the bureaucracy. They are already in government’. The northerners understand politics more than the southerners. They are more politically conscious in the North more than the southerners. If we are not careful, the northerners will continue to hold the whole political sphere. I’m sorry to say, until tribal sentiments are re-oriented in Nigeria, Ao le ba Igbo se po o… (No Yoruba man will follow an Igbo man) that means the Igbo man can only align with the North. And it’s only when they align with the North that they gain something. Go and check Nigerian history. The only time the South-south and Southeast (Jonathan) had opportunity to rule Nigeria was because he aligned with the North. The only time Obasanjo could be a president by election was only when he aligned with the North, the Yoruba never wanted him and Obasanjo could never have won by the Yoruba votes. So, when two tribes of the three tribes in Nigeria come together, they will win election. That should be your guideline.

Why north ’ll remain deciding factor in Nigeria’s politics – Clarke

The Federal Government of Nigeria has condemned the terrorist attack on two places of worship in the city of Christchurch in New Zealand.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said this in a statement by the Ministry’s Spokesperson, George Edokpa, on Friday in Abuja.

Mr Onyeama condemned the attacks which took place during Jumaat Prayers on Friday killing 49 Muslim worshippers and injured many others.

The minister who regretted the barbaric and vicious acts unleashed against innocent worshippers expressed Nigeria’s sympathies to New Zealand.

“Nigeria stands in solidarity with New Zealand in their time of grief and fully supports the prosecution of the perpetrators of this heinous crime to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.

He condoled with the government and the people of New Zealand and prayed for God to grant the families of the victims the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss and wished the injured speedy recovery.

(NAN)

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on has said that President Muhammadu Buhari is probably poorer now than when he became President of Nigeria in 2015.

The Vice President stated this on Thursday night when he hosted a dinner in honour of volunteers who canvassed for votes for the All Progressives Congress, APC during the campaigns in the general election, at the Old Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja. According to him, “When I looked at his assets declaration form, I was checking it in 2015, I said to him, “Mr President, I am so much richer than you, it is an embarrassment.”

He further said, “I am only a soldier, you are a big lawyer so you should have more money than me.” I can tell you that he is perhaps; even poorer than he was in 2015 when I saw his declaration of assets form.” Osinbajo urged Nigerians to vote for the APC in the March 23 supplementary elections in the six states the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared elections inconclusive.

He said “We are still not done with the elections. On the 23rd of March, we still have some outstanding states and as you know we are re-running in about six states. “And all of the efforts we need to put into those six states, we still need to do. “We can’t afford to slack off and say the job is done; we still have some things to do.”

Recalling the experiences he had during this year’s electioneering, Professor Osinbajo said his encounter with Nigerians as he crisscrossed the country, campaigning for votes, showed that Nigerians are so trusting and supportive of their leaders.

He said, “I think that one of the main characteristics of the Nigerian is how so supportive and trusting many of our people are and they don’t ask us for too much. “They never really ask for anything that is impossible to do. “And that’s why, for many of us that went around this country, we realized the tremendous amount of work that there is to do and our capacity to do so much work.

“What our people need, as we discovered, isn’t that much. “As a matter of fact, I do not know any nation where the people are so generous no matter how poor they are.”

Vice President Osinbajo said there was need for the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to connect more with the people. “It just struck me that what we really need to do a lot more is to connect with the people. “All the people need is opportunity for us to interact with them. “We should have a way by which everybody is involved one way or the other.

“One of the complaints that people made about our government is that we were not communicating enough and that people did not know what had done.”

The vice president acknowledged that the diligent communication carried out to put across the APC message in 2015 was not sustained, making the administration lose some ground to the opposition, especially in the social media. He said the new administration would ensure that it makes change in that regard.

Osinbajo said that he would take up everyone who has challenged the administration on the issue with a view to getting its communication of programmes and policies better. Earlier, the Deputy Chief of Staff in the State House, Ade Ipaye, said the volunteers worked during the campaigns to demonstrate the integrity and capability of the candidates of the APC.

He said the event was organized to appreciate them for the work they did in selling the policies and programmes of the administration to the Nigerian electorate.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/03/buhari-poorer-than-in-2015-says-osinbajo/

Kano State Police Command on Friday said it has found the remains of an expatriate engineer who was kidnapped while working at a construction site in Kano State three days ago.

While the man, said to be a Lebanese national, was kidnapped, his driver was shot dead during the incident.

Police said the expatriate’s body was found on Thursday.

The Lebanese engineer, who was an employee of Triacta Construction Company, was working on the underpass bridge at Dengi Roundabout by Zoo Road when he was kidnapped on Tuesday at about 7:00am.

The Command’s spokesman, DSP Abdullahi Haruna, disclosed to newsmen that the body of the Lebanese, which was found under the Zaria Road Bridge, has since been deposited at the Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital, Kano.

According to Haruna, investigation has commenced to unravel how he was abducted and killed, adding that his immediate family members have been contacted, while arrangements are ongoing to convey his body to his home country for burial.

It should be recalled that four unknown gunmen at about 7:40am on Tuesday stormed Dangi roundabout, and abducted an expatriate engineer and killed his driver.

An eyewitness account told our Correspondent that moments after the incident, policemen arrived and took the remains of the driver to a nearby morgue.

When contacted, the Kano Police Command Public Relations Officer, DSP Abdullahi Haruna, who confirmed the incident, said crack detectives have visited the scene, and that efforts were ongoing to arrest suspects.

Kano Police find body of kidnapped expatriate engineer

A former Governor of Kano State and leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, has said the incoming administration in the state will not be able to pay N30, 000 minimum wage.

Kwankwaso, who said his party was sure of victory in the supplementary election, added that the new administration was anticipating to inherit an empty treasury from Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje-led administration.

Kwankwaso made the claim when he addressed a group of Kwankwassiyya supporters in Kaduna, yesterday.

He said the PDP will not continue with the payment of N30, 000 minimum wage as promised workers by Ganduje.

Kwankwaso said, “As the leader of the party in Kano, I have directed our Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, not to pay the minimum wage because that is the APC manifesto and we will not take it.

“Anyway, we will ensure that workers get their salaries on or before the 25th of every month, but what we will not do is to pay the minimum wage.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had declared the Kano governorship election inconclusive.

This was after the candidate of PDP, Abba Kabir Yusuf had polled 1,014,474 votes while APC’s Ganduje had 987,819.

The margin of 26,655 votes between the two top candidates, however, meant it was impossible for electoral umpire to declare a winner.

The Senate has approved the thirty thousand Naira (N30,000) national minimum wage.

The lawmakers also approved Seventy-five thousand naira(N75,000) as penalty for non-compliance.

This agreement was reached by the Senate Committee on New Minimum Wage, according to Senator Shehu Sani(Kaduna Central).

In a tweet on Thursday, the lawmaker said, “The Senate Committee on New National Minimum wage met yesterday and approved the new national minimum wage bill; 30k as minimum wage and 75k as penalty for non-compliance.”

The Senate on Tuesday appointed Senate Deputy Majority Whip, Sen. Francis Alimikhena, as acting chairman of the ad-hoc Committee on Minimum Wage.

The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, who made the announcement at plenary on Tuesday, said Alimikhena would work in an acting capacity while the Chairman, Sen. Olusola Adeyeye, was away on health grounds.

Saraki charged the committee to expedite action on the matter to enable the Senate catch up with the House of Representatives which had already passed the bill.

N30,000 minimum wage: Senate reaches final decision

President Muhammadu Buhari has given the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) up till April 30, 2019 to take over the operatorship of the entire Oil Mining Lease (OML)11 from Shell Petroleum Development Company.

This directive was contained in a letter from the State House signed by the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari and addressed to the Group Managing Director of NNPC.

The letter dated March 1, 2019, with reference number SH/COS/24/A/8540 stated that NNPC and its flagship oil exploration and production subsidiary, Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) confirm the assumption by May 2, 2019.

The letter titled, ‘Operatorship of Entire Oil Mining Lease 11,’ read in part, “Kindly note that the President has directed NNPC/NPDC to take over the operatorship, from Shell Petroleum Development Company, of the entire OML 11 not later than 30 April 2019, and ensure smooth re-entry given the delicate situation in Ogoniland.”

It noted that the President has “directed NNPC/NPDC to confirm by 2 May 2019, of the assumption of the operatorship.”

Located in the southeastern part of the Niger/Delta region, the OML 11 contains 33 oil and gas fields out of which eight are producing as per 2017.

Buhari orders NNPC to take over operatorship of OML 11 from Shell

Today, March 14, 2019 the Kano Central Senator Elect, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau CON Sardaunan Kano, was presented with the certificate of return for the upper chamber.

The Independent National Electoral Commission INEC certified that, he was duly elected as the Senator Kano Central.

On behalf of the entire Sardaunawa and that of the mouthpiece media teams that, tirelessly promoted the campaign, especially the #S4S2019 team, I here by congratulate him on the achievements well deserved.

Signed

The able #S4S2019 State Chairman Hon. Abdullahi Ahmad Tadada

President Muhammadu Buhari met with seven governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

While two of the governors have been elected as Senators for the ninth National Assembly, three are among those re-elected for a second term of four years.

The governors were Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Kassim Shetima (Borno) and Fayemi Kayode (Ekiti).

The President arrived the Villa about 1:00pm after spending five days in Daura, where he participated in Saturday’s governorship and state Assembly polls.

Although the agenda of the meeting, which ended at 5:00pm was not officially disclosed, it came barely 24 hours after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared elections in Adamawa, Plateau, Sokoto, Bauchi, Benue and Kano states inconclusive.

https://m.guardian.ng/news/buhari-meets-apc-governors-in-aso-rock-2/

Cancelled polling units across Kano to be rerun include:

Bichi
One polling unit due to over voting.

Dawakin Kudu
One polling unit due to violence.

Doguwa
8 polling units due to violence, non use of card reader, over voting and manual voting.

Gabasawa
5 polling units due violence, over voting and card reader issues.

Gezawa
1 polling unit due to over voting.

Sumaila
3 polling units due to over voting.

Warawa
3 polling units due to over voting.

Kiru
One polling unit due to card reader issues.

Rimin Gado
8 polling units due to over voting.

Wudil
3 polling units due violence and over voting.

Tudun Wada
4 polling units due to violence.

Minjibir
10 polling units due to over voting and manual voting.

Rogo
4 polling units due to violence and over voting.

Kura
Cancellation is due to over voting.

Takai
4 polling units due to over voting.

Kano Municipal
2 polling units due to over voting and manual voting.

Nassarawa and Dala
There was debate on the exact figures of the affected polling units.

Party agents, press men and security agents getting ready for the announcement of results of Kano governorship election at Kano INEC Office on 11th March 2019.

https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/inec-set-to-announce-kano-governorship-election-result.html

The Kano State INEC Resident Electoral Commission, Prof. Riskuwa Arabu has appealed for calm among residents and indigenes of the state.

He made the appeal following the disruption of the collation process at the Nasarawa Local Government Area Centre, in the early hours of Monday.

According to him, the commission was determined to ensure that the processes and procedures were followed in collating and announcement of the final results later today.

Arabu said, “The results from 10 wards out of the 11 wards were collated in Nasarawa Local Government before the disruption.

“We have invited the representatives of all the political parties to witness the regeneration of the results as we enter it into the necessary forms since they also have copies of these results from the polling units up to the wards.

“I can assure you of our commitment to do what is right and we will be fair to all. We appeal to the political class to support us and cooperate with us.”

Kano polls: INEC REC appeals for calm, promises to declare results Monday

The Hausas often recite proverb that says “if you want to dig a hole of mischief, make it very shallow” for you do not know may be you are the one that will fall therein. For those who closely follow the political antics of the former governor of Kano State and the senator representing Kano Central Senatorial District, Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, they know that he is always fond of revelling in the political misfortune of others and he can go to any length to dig a deep hole for his perceived political enemies to fall into. A recent example was how he cajoled the former deputy governor of Kano State to resign from the plump seat on the promise that he would give him the gubernatorial ticket of the main opposition party only to pick his anointed son-in-law who is well-known as a political tenderfoot. This is because the former number two possesses formidable academic credentials, social status and strong political clout to succeed the incumbent governor, Dr.Abdullahi Umar Ganduje after the expiration of his tenure in 2023.

Should this happen, his political relevance in the state will further be greatly diminished if not completely obliterated.
Before this mischief-making against the former deputy governor and many promising politicians in the state, Kwankwaso repeatedly tried the same tricks against the senator-elect representing Kano Central Senatorial District and former governor of Kano State, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, the elected member of the House of Representatives, Suleiman KawuSumaila, the present Commissioner for Rural and Community Development who is also his kinsman, Hon. Musa IlyasuKwankwaso, Senator Hamisu Musa who was Kwankwaso’s political godfather before they parted ways after Kwankwaso had realized his political ambition and subsequent stardom, DaudaDangalan, the late Muhammad Abubakar Rimi, Musa Gwadabe and even some nondescript but rising politicians who sacrificed their energy, time and resources for his political glory only to be later discarded into the dustbin.

The case of Malam Shekarau is particularly more telling. Having cunningly realized the promising political future of Malam Shekarau, Kwankwaso demoted him from the rank of permanent secretary to a classroom teacher for no concrete reason but sheer mischief and deceit. But as the Almighty had destined, Shekarau resigned, contested and won the gubernatorial election against Kwankwaso in 2003 and served for two terms. Even after becoming the governor, Shekarau did not have respite from Kwankwaso and his foot-soldiers who tried all they could to run him down, sabotage his administration and embark on character assassination for their cheap political ends.

Even after having been re-elected in 2011, Kwankwaso and his diehard followers did not leave Shekarau alone like hunting hyenas that have tested the blood of their prey. In 2015, Kwankwaso left his party for the then nascent APC and forced Shekarau out, who was one of the prominent founding fathers of the party.Shekarau had no alternative but to join PDP despite its unpopularity then and now. But as Allah decreed, Shekarau was appointed minister of education by the former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

As they say history repeats itself. Again having realized that he would not be able to realize his pipedream of flying the presidential flag of APC in the 2019 presidential election, Kwankwaso returned to the fold of PDP late last year and again booted Shekarau and his followers out of the party. Being a calculating politician, Shekarau decided to re-join his former party, APC and he was given its senatorial ticket which he won with over 500,000 votes defeating Kwankwaso’s candidate with over 200,000 votes. In fact, all Kwankwaso’s anointed candidates in the National Assembly elections were crushingly defeated. APC won all the senate seats and the 24 House of Representatives seats leaving Kwankwaso and his followers to lick their deep wounds of political defeat and ignominy.

Before the just-concluded elections, Kwankwaso and his blind followers saturated the airwaves with empty boasts and threats in their bid to frighten the electorate not to come out en masse and cast their votes for the candidates of their choice. His main target is the youth whom he misguides into believing that he is their saviour from their self-inflicted misfortune. Kwankwaso’s veiled exhortations and innuendos encouraged these ruffians to deface or destroy posters of candidates of the ruling party and even resort to violence and robbery in broad daylight in the name of politics.

So what the Kwankwasiyya elements are doing now against the governor of Kano State, to scuttle his administration’s policies and programmes for the development of the most populous state in the country and ultimately his bid for second term is not surprising a bit. Kwankwaso’s sole motive in life is to see the political downfall of Ganduje whom he regards as a strong and formidable political rival with a better following from across all sections of the society and he has not hidden his zeal and machinations toward realizing this empty dream. But as the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes.

To those with sharp memory, Kwankwaso reluctantly agreed to allow Dr.Ganduje to fly the APC gubernatorial flag in 2015 after most political stakeholders had clearly sided with Ganduje. After reading the writing on the wall and fearing the unknown bitter consequences his recalcitrance may breed, Kwankwaso reluctantly acquiesced to the popular choice of the APC members then and all is history now. But, Kwankwaso threatened that if his successor dared to “derail” from his self-created creed, he and his rabid followers would pull off their sleeves and fight Ganduje to the bitter end. True to his words, Kwankwaso and his cohorts have dug one hole after another for the governor to fall in. Even President Muhammadu Buhari was not spared because as Kwankwaso used to often boast, it was his popularity that caused the victory of President Buhari in 2015 and since they had left APC, its candidates from top to bottom would face a crushing defeat in the 2019 general elections. That is Kwankwaso for you!

Kwankwaso was deluded by his sudden rise to political limelight and his rabid followers do not help matters as they have spun a myth around him that he wears shoes made of metal and he could tread on the toes of all – the mighty and the not-so-mighty. He even presumed to be Godlike: he can do and undo, he can make or mar, he can give power to whomsoever he wishes and wrest power from whomsoever he wishes.

The business community in the state bear the brunt of Kwankwaso’s mischief as his policies while at the helm of affairs retarded commercial activities rather than promoting commerce for which Kano has been well-known since time immemorial. This is not to count the ordinary citizens, civil servants and pensioners who suffered varied indignity during his second tenure between 2011 and 2015. Even our revered traditional institution has not been spared from the sharp tongue and disrespect of Senator Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso. What is more painful is that his blind followers see nothing wrong in what he does or says. But the recent elections have shown that the vaunted strong political base of Kwankwaso as majorly constituted by the youth is nothing but a shaky foundation on which the house of Kwankwasiyya has been built. The house has now crumbled like a pack of cards and the domino effect will extend to Kwankwaso’s anointed gubernatorial candidate of the PDP in the state as the farsighted people of the state have demonstrated their resolve to vote out all the red cap wearing candidates of the opposition party in the state, God willing.
Indeed, digging a hole of mischief is self-destructive in both this world and the next but only discerning minds are aware of this.

The deluded minds only doggedly go on digging this kind of a hole in anticipation of the downfall of others. But we strongly believe that whatever the Almighty God has decreed will happen and our subterfuges, evil machinations and other devices will never change the fate of anybody. The just-concluded presidential election especially in Kano State has clearly demonstrated that the Kwankwasiyya creed is now history. But it is not yet late for those Kwankwasiyya elements whose minds have not been poisoned to repent and join the winning party led by the forgiving governor, Dr.Ganduje, unlike Kwankwaso who is unforgiving and vindictive. I am sure, Ganduje will embrace them with open hands and warm heart like a father will do to his repentant recalcitrant children.

Salihu Tanko Yakasai

Special Adviser to the Governor of Kano State on Media.

The Minister of Interior, General Abdulrahman Dambazau (rtd), has ordered the closure of all land borders with immediate effect from 12 noon today (Friday), March 8, to 12 noon of Sunday, March 10, 2019.

This is ahead of the governorship and state assembly elections slated to hold on Saturday.

The interior minister said the development will help restrict movements across the borders during the elections.

In a statement by the Comptroller General (CG), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Muhammad Babandede, urged the public to take note and ensure compliance.

FG Closes Land Borders Ahead of Saturday’s Elections

He said the request was to establish that the exercise was fraught with manifest irregularities, including multiple thumb-printing of ballot papers, saying he intends to engage forensic experts to analyse the election materials. Consequently, he prayed the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, for leave to be allowed to obtain some of the sensitive materials that INEC deployed for the presidential election. Meantime, the tribunal, stood-down its proceedings for one hour to enable it to consider the merit or otherwise of the request.

The three-man panel tribunal headed by Justice Abdul Aboki, reserved ruling on the motion marked CA/A/P/EPT/1/2019 after it heard from Atiku’s lawyer, Chief Chris Uche, SAN.  Uche told the tribunal that the motion dated March 4, was brought pursuant to section 6(6) of the 1999 Constitution,  as amended and section 151 of the Electoral Act, sought for six reliefs, among which included an order compelling the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to surrender all the sensitive materials that were used for the presidential poll, for forensic scrutiny. Among items, he said his client wants to be inspected by forensic experts, include over 80million ballot papers that were used for the election, which he said would be subjected to thumbprint analysis. Other items the motion is asking the electoral body to release to the intending petitioners for scrutiny are the Voters Register, the Smart Card Reader Machines, as well as information stored in INEC’s back-up server. He said the first prayer in the motion paper was for leave of the tribunal permitting Atiku and the Peoples Democratic Party,  PDP, to file the action before the pre-hearing session of the tribunal, as prescribed by the Electoral Act.  The Applicants (Atiku and PDP) urged the tribunal to direct INEC to allow their agents to scan and make photocopies of vital documents used in the conduct of the election, for the purpose of establishing manifest irregularities they said led to President Muhammadu Buhari’s emergence as the winner of the presidential election. They maintained that the six reliefs sought against INEC were for the purpose of filing and maintaining an election petition they intend to lodge against the outcome of the 2019 Presidential Election.

Chief Uche, SAN, said his clients decided to approach the tribunal with the motion, in view of the fact that the Electoral Act stipulated that filing of the petition must not exceed 21 days after the election result was announced. “Because of the limited time,  the Applicants who intend to file a petition, want to go and inspect, to be able to secure some of the documents that will be relied upon to maintain the petition. “We are urging your Lordships to grant us this orders so that if we are inspecting, we can make copies by way of scanning or photocopying. “The entire process will be conducted in the presence of INEC officials, and even the Respondents if they so wish”, Uche submitted. However, the tribunal Chairman Justice Aboki queried Uche on why his clients would not simply apply to be issued with Certified True Copies of the requested items, and if the extant electoral law permits a litigant to scan election materials. The tribunal panel stressed that opinion of forensic experts may not be admissible in evidence under the existing Electoral Act which it said specifically okayed the admittance of certified documents. A member of the panel, Justice Emmanuel Agim, noted that some of the requests by Atiku and the PDP were “outside the precincts of section 151 of the Electoral Act”.  However, in his reply, Uche argued that the court had in a plethora of decided cases, held that the sort of evidence his clients are seeking to secure, could be admitted if it were obtained with the leave of court. He said it would be practically impossible for INEC to certify over 80million ballot papers that were used in over 172, 000 polling units in the country where the presidential election took place. According to Uche, with leave of the tribunal, forensic experts would be brought to testify and give evidence during the eventual hearing of the petition. “My lords if they are not allowed to secure the evidence and testify, it will deprive us of the ability to identify those abnormalities when we find them.  “Besides, if one individual thumb-printed over 500 ballot papers, the certified copies cannot reveal it. That is why we want to scan them and send for expert analysis. “That is why we need INEC to allow us access to scan the required documents. Going by section 72 of the Electoral Act,  all the materials are in the custody of INEC.  “The information we want to go is just to help us to package our complaint, at the end of the day,  INEC will also have the opportunity to confirm the authenticity or otherwise of any of the items we tender in evidence before the tribunal. “In essence my lord no one will be prejudiced if our requests are granted. “We make this application, knowing the very limited time and very disadvantaged position of any petitioner so far as gaining access to the election infrastructure is concerned”, Uche added. After it had listened to the motion, the panel stood-down for one hour to deliver its ruling, even as directed Atiku’s counsel to supply it with the said court decisions that allowed the grant the reliefs sought by the Applicants. The motion ex-parte motion was supported with a 12 paragraphed affidavit that was deposed to by one Col. Austin Akobundu, rtd, the director of Contact and Mobilization of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council. Cited as 1st to 3rd Respondents in the matter are the INEC, President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, APC.

More details soon. 

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/03/breaking-why-i-want-inec-to-surrender-election-materials-for-inspection-atiku/

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state has challenged his predecessor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, to display his Engineering certificate, saying that the former governor only attended Craft School after failing his Common Entrance Examination.

Mr Ganduje was quoted in a press statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Abba Anwar, as saying so during the official inauguration of the Committee for the Payment of Scholarship Allowances to Internal Students, held in Kano on Wednesday.

The statement further quoted Mr Ganduje as saying: “Where did he attend engineering course and graduated. This is somebody who failed his Common Entrance examination during his primary school age.

“It was because Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso failed his exams then, that he was later sent to Craft School.

“It was known to all that, those days, it was those who failed, sometimes woefully in their primary education that were sent to such Craft schools.”

According to the governor, Mr Kwankwaso’s failure in managing education during his tenure, stemmed out from his (Kwankwaso) inability to comprehend that education policies need plans.

“Just imagine, a person who failed his primary school examination, and was only managed to attend Craft school, will now come out boldly and accuse a Professor and a PhD holder that they didn’t know how to best handle education. Is this not deception and ignorance?”  he asked rhetorically.

https://dailynigerian.com/ganduje-challenges-kwankwasos-engineering-certificate-says-he-only-attended-craft-school-after-failing-common-entrance-exams/?fbclid=IwAR3oQgWZqALpiBGinJoR0FUTsLIsGeexRyCPti-e1d0vXs7Ui_QFfu1P1WU

A three-man panel of the Justices of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, is currently hearing the motion the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and its candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, filed to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to surrender all the materials that were used for the February 23 presidential election, for inspection.

The panel which is conducting its proceeding at the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal , is headed by Justice Abdul Aboki. Other Justices on the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal hearing Atiku’s motion marked CA/A/P/EPT/1/2019, are Justices Emmanuel Agim and Peter Ige. In the motion ex-parte dated March 4, Atiku and the PDP, applied for leave of the tribunal to allow them to inspect the Voters Register, the Smart Card Reader Machines, Ballot Papers and other vital documents that were used in the conduct of the presidential election. They equally prayed the tribunal to compel the electoral body to allow their agents to scan and make photocopies of vital documents used in the conduct of the election, for the purpose of establishing alleged irregularities.

The Applicants, through their lawyer, Chief Chris Uche, SAN, told the tribunal that the reliefs sought against INEC was for the purpose of filing and maintaining an election petition they intend to lodge against the outcome of the 2019 Presidential Election. The motion ex-parte motion was supported with a 12 paragraphed affidavit that was deposed to by one Col. Austin Akobundu, rtd, the director of Contact and Mobilization of the Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council. Cited as 1st to 3rd Respondents in the matter are INEC, President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress, APC. Meanwhile, Atiku’s lawyer is currently addressing the tribunal on the legal propriety of allowing him to scan some of the documents he is requesting for, instead of securing a Certified True Copy of same documents from the INEC.

Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/03/breaking-tribunal-sets-up-3-man-panel-to-hear-atikus-petition-against-inec/

Barely few days to the gubernatorial and House of Assembly elections in the country, a High Court in Calabar on Tuesday insisted that the removal of the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidates for the election in Cross River is a settled matter.

The High Court presided over by Justice Eyo Ita in a suit brought before it by an aggrieved APC governorship aspirant, Mr. Ukpan Odey, said since the reliefs sought by the plaintiff were the same as that which a Federal High Court had already ruled on, it could not rule on them again.

The Federal High Court In Abuja had on February 11th, 2019, in suit FHC/CA/CS/73/2018 ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to delist all the names of candidates of APC from the 2019 elections.

Affirming that the ruling stands, Justice Ita directed “that All Progressives Congress, APC, the 1st Respondent herein, is obliged to apply and obey its constitution and guideline and their prayer N0 2 was decided in suit FHC/CA/CS/73/2018 on 11/2/2019 and is res judicatory.

On plaintiff’s prayer No. 3, the court held that “Prayer N0.3 was decided in Suit N0: FHC/CA/CS/73/2018 and following that decision INEC, 2ND defendant herein, has removed the names of all candidates forwarded to INEC by APC as a product of the primaries from its ballot papers.

Prayers N0.4 &5, in this case, were granted in suit No: FHC/CA/CS/73/2018. INEC has removed those names from its ballot papers.

“The name of the 3rd defendant has already been voided and being one of those names sent to INEC by the first Defendant, APC, removed from INEC ballot papers for the Governorship Elections in Cross River state coming up on the 9/3/2109 in line with consequential order 5 in the Federal High court case.

“I am of the settled view that the main causes of action in claims 2-6 in this matter, which are the APC primary elections for her candidates in Cross River state, and the sending of names of APC candidates based thereon to INEC, were resolved by the Federal High Court in the case referred to above on the 11/2/2019.

“The cause of action in those claims are therefore res judicata. Claims 2-6 in this action are in consequence dismissed as there is nothing left to decide in them.”

Speaking with newsmen shortly after the judgment, A .U Bukar, Counsel to Claimant, John Ukpan Odey an aspirant under APC, said he was happy with the decision of the court following the fact that a Federal High sitting in Abuja had already given an order on the matter.

“What was displayed earlier by the APC was political rascality and we are happy that the High Court sitting in Cross River state where my client instituted the matter has affirmed the order of the Federal High Court of 11/2/2019 with Suit No FHC/CA/CS/73/2018 which has already been obeyed by INEC which on the 22nd of February delisted all candidates of APC including the governorship candidate, “he submitted.

Nigeria State elections: Court sacks all APC candidates in Cross River

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday reassured Nigerians that he would not let them down in his second term in office.

He spoke at the Presidential Villa while receiving the leadership of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), who paid him a congratulatory visit.

According to him, he would work harder in the next four years to address the challenges facing the country.

“This is my last lap, I will try to work harder. I assure you, I will not let you down.” he stated

Chairman of the ACF’s board of trustees, Alhaji Adamu Fika who led the delegation, said the visit was to congratulate the president over his victory at the polls.

http://thenationonlineng.net/i-wont-let-you-down-buhari-reassures-nigerians/

The reported death of Bala Haruna, went viral yesterday. Haruna, a staunch supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari in Bauchi State, had vowed to spend 10 minutes inside a gutter and drink the drainage water if Buhari wins the presidential election.

Immediately Buhari was declared winner of the February 23 presidential election in the early hours of last Wednesday, Haruna made good his promise as he swam in a gutter and drink dirty water from it. He immediately made social media blitz after his feat.

But yesterday, he was reported to have died after battling with Gastrointestinal bleeding in the hospital for days after his public stunt.

According to reports, Haruna was rushed to the hospital after complaining of severe abdominal pains and severe stooling of blood for two days.

After series of tests conducted, he was diagnosed with Gastrointestinal bleeding, which was contacted from the contaminated water he drank.

It would be recalled that in 2015, a man, Abubakar Duduwale, trekked from Yola in Adamawa State to Abuja to celebrate Buhari’s victory.

Last year, the Health Minister, Prof. Isaac Adewole, visited the man at the Federal Medical Centre, Yola, after developing leg injury from the trekking.

President Muhammadu Buhari says he holds former President Olusegun Obasanjo in high esteem, regardless of their differences.

He stated this in his congratulatory message on the occasion of Obasanjo’s 82nd birthday on Tuesday.

Obasanjo had stressed that he would not refrain in his criticism of Buhari. However, in a statement issued by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Buhari referred to Obasanjo as a “great patriot who deserves accolades” for his contributions to national unity.

According to Buhari, Obasanjo is “a passionate and great patriot who deserves accolades for his immeasurable contributions to our democracy and national unity.”

He continued: “Regardless of our political differences with Obasanjo, I still hold him in the highest esteem because his contributions to the development of the country overshadow those differences.

“Chief Obasanjo gave a good account of himself and inspired his juniors with his wit and other leadership skills.

“Nigeria’s successful transition to democratic rule in October 1979 was one of Obasanjo’s remarkable contributions to national development.

“As he celebrates his 82nd birthday anniversary, I wish Chief Obasanjo more good health, knowledge and wisdom in the service of Nigeria and humanity.”

http://saharareporters.com/2019/03/06/regardless-our-differences-i-hold-obasanjo-high-esteem-says-buhari

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said the smart card readers (SCRs) are mandatory in Saturday’s governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.

Mr. Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner, and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee stated this on Tuesday in Abuja.

Okoye said the clarification was important going by allegations since the conduct of the Feb. 23, Presidential and National Assembly elections that INEC was selective in its use of smart card readers in its conduct of the elections.

He said that those allegations had led to speculations that INEC may be forced to jettison the use of SCRs in the state and federal capital area council elections.

“INEC hereby states categorically that the allegations are absolutely false and the speculations are without any basis whatsoever.

“The use of the smart card readers is not only mandatory but its deliberate non use attracts the sanction of possible prosecution of erring officials in accordance with the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the conduct of elections.

“This is in addition to the voiding of any result emanating from such units or areas, as was done in the presidential and national assembly elections of February 23.

“The general public and all officials engaged for the elections are hereby informed that the commission is not reconsidering the use of these smart card readers which has greatly improved the credibility of our elections and instilled a high level of public trust in them.

“To clear any doubt or ambiguity, we wish to state that the deployment and mandatory use of SCRs in next Saturday’s elections will not only be uniformed but also universal, and the provisions of the regulations and guidelines will be strictly and vigorously enforced.

“All Stakeholders are to note and be guided accordingly please,” Okoye said.

Smart card readers mandatory for governorship polls: INEC

The Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo on Wednesday disqualified the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Taraba State, Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi, from participating in the election on Saturday.

The court based its ruling on alleged falsification of age in the documents which Danladi supplied to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Details later…

UPDATED: Court disqualifies Taraba APC gov candidate

Speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Warri, Omo-Agege said the President and the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) would avoid the 2015 mistake that led to the emergence of Sen. Bukola Saraki as the president of the Senate.

The senator representing Delta Central Senatorial District, Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege says President Muhammadu Buhari will be actively involved in the process of selecting the next leadership of the Senate.

‘‘Anybody who is going to be Senate President, in the 9th Senate, must be somebody who is loyal to Mr President, the party and the constitution.

‘‘The Senate President will be determined by Mr President. Mr President will indicate to us through the party who he want to work with,’’ Omo-Agege said.

The ruling APC is set to produce the next Senate president after winning the majority of senatorial seats at the upper legislative chamber in the Feb. 23 election.

Asked if APC has zoned the senate presidency to any geo-political zone, the lawmaker said ‘‘I do not know.’’

‘‘But what I can tell you is that we are going to have a Senate that will work with Mr President.

‘‘The era of allowing renegades who rode on the back of Mr President, who rode on the back of the party to go in there and trade the party’s mandate, I think that era is gone.

‘‘I am very hopeful that this time around, Mr President will step in and decide not only the zone that will produce the Senate president and the leadership but also who should be.

‘‘We don’t want to erect another opposition leader in the Senate, as we had in the 8th Assembly.

‘‘There are a lot of us in the Senate who are returning to the next senate who fits into that position. We are so many but any decision the President makes, we will all fall in line and abide.

‘‘We want President Buhari to succeed and it is all in our place, some of us who are close to him, to tell him certain calls he should not make because we know ourselves in the National Assembly and we do not want a repeat of the Saraki saga as we go back to the ninth Senate.’’ he said.

Speaking on the upcoming Saturday’s election, Omo-Agege said the APC stood a chance to win the March 9 governorship elections in Delta, saying ‘‘Delta people are determined not to be in the opposition again.’’

http://thenationonlineng.net/buharill-decide-senate-presidency-omo-agege/

The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party are planning to take their protests against the conduct of the February 23 presidential and National Assembly elections to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, our correspondent has gathered in Abuja.

The protest, it was learnt, would include the conduct of some officials of the commission and the involvement of the military in the elections.

Already, officials of the party had started mobilising for the action, which will hold in Abuja anytime soon.

Details shortly…

Despite a court ruling on Monday, which nullified the Peoples Democratic Party primary elections in Kano State, Alhaji Abba Kabir- Yusuf, insisted that he remains the party’s governorship candidate in Saturday’s election.

A Federal High Court in Kano on Monday nullified the governorship candidacy of the Peoples Democratic Party, citing the failure of the party to conduct its primary.

The Court ruled that the purported nomination of Abba Kabir-Yusuf, as the governorship candidate should be revalidated by the conduct of a fresh primary election.

However, when The PUNCH contacted him, Yusuf said he was not a party to the suit, filed by Alhaji Ibrahim Ali-Amin, rather the case was against the PDP, adding that the party has taken the necessary action.

”Abba Kabir-Yusuf remains the candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party for the coming election on Saturday the 9th. For us, the case is between Alhaji Ibrahim Ali-Amin, who was one of the aspirants that contested 2019 primary of the People Democratic Party.

”The plaintiff did not any way accuse the governorship candidate. He is accusing his party and the party would take the necessary action. So, as far as we are concerned, Abba Kabir Yusuf is neither mentioned in the case nor in the ruling, so, it is an internal issue and the party is taking the necessary action.”

Yusuf went on to reveal that his campaign activities would continue until Thursday night, urging his supporters to remain calm and continue with the electioneering to ensure his victory, come the 9th of March.

Meanwhile, in a dramatic move, the factional leader of the PDP in Kano State, Senate Mas’ud El-Jibril Doguwa, on Monday, said he and his loyalists dumped the party because it has lost popular appeal, among the people.

President Muhammadu Buhari is in a closed-door meeting with Service Chiefs and other heads of security agencies at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The agenda of the meeting which started at about 11am is not made public.

Bashir Ahmad, Buhari’s aide made this known in a post on Twitter, “President @MBuhari receives security briefing from Defence Minister, service chiefs and other heads of the security agencies at the State House, Abuja. Zamfara issues at the top of the agenda. #SecuringNigeria”

Speculations however are that discussions during the meeting may centre on the current security situation in the country and how to ensure adequate security during this Saturday’s governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections across the federation.

Service Chiefs; Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonishakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Yusuf Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Ibok-Ete IIbas and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar, were all in attendance.

Others in attendance are the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major Gen. Babagana Monguno; Director of National Intelligence Agency (NIA); the Director General, Department of Security Service (DSS) and Acting Inspector General of Police, (IGP) Mohammed Adamu.

The Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dangazzau and the Minister of Defence, Brigadier Gen. Mansur Dan-Ali were also in attendance.

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Uche Secondus, has said elections may not hold in 2023.

Secondus speaking at the opening session of the caucus meeting of the party in Abuja said that there might be no election in 2023 if the military continued to participate in elections as they did in the just concluded presidential and National Assembly elections.

Secondus lamenting the interference of the military in the 2019 presidential election, quizzed if such will repeat on March 9th during the governorship elections across the country.

He further urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to ensure that the Saturday’s elections were free, fair, transparent and credible.

He said, “On February 23, 2019, how will history judge you (Buhari)? How will the next generation judge you? In fact, there may not be election in 2023, it may just be an announcement because if you have the military on your side, you do not need the people, you do not need to campaign. All you need to do is to put the figure on election day and announce. Is that what is going to happen again on March 9?”