• Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
Twenty-four Nigerians have filed a lawsuit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for “failing to give them and other seven million Nigerians adequate time and opportunity to complete their voter registration after they have carried out their registration online.”
The Plaintiffs, who are suing for themselves and on behalf of seven million other Nigerians, are seeking to “complete the registration process, so that they can obtain their permanent voter cards (PVCs), and exercise their right to vote.”
INEC had recently revealed that out of 10,487,972 Nigerians who carried out their pre-registration online, only 3,444,378 completed the process at a physical centre.
This represents just 32.8 percent of completed online registration.
But in the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1662/2022 filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, last Friday, the Plaintiffs are seeking “an order of mandamus to direct and compel INEC to re-activate its continuous voters registration exercise to allow the Plaintiffs to complete their registration and collect their Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs).”
They are also arguing that, “The inability to complete our registration is entirely due to factors outside of our control.”
The suit was filed on behalf of the Plaintiffs by lawyers to Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, Kolawole Oluwadare and Adelanke Aremo, partly read: “Closing the gates on eligible Nigerians cannot preserve trust in the electoral process.”
The Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, declaring the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the March 18 election.
Yusuf, who contested on the platform of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), was declared winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
While Nasir Gawuna, his APC rival congratulated him, the party proceeded to court.
On Wednesday, the three-man panel ordered withdrawal of certificate of return which INEC presented to Governor Yusuf and directed a certificate of return to be issued to Gawuna.
The court deducted 165,663 votes from Gov Yusuf total as invalid votes, stating that the ballot papers (165,663) were not stamped or signed and therefore declared invalid.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, has appealed against the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) which upheld the victory of President Bola Tinubu.
Obi in a 50 grounds notice of appeal by his lead counsel, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, filed in the Supreme Court, challenged the decision of the presidential election tribunal.
Obi, in his appeal, maintained that the PEPC erred in law and thereby reached a wrong conclusion when it dismissed the petition he lodged to challenge the outcome of the presidential poll that was held on February 25.
Among other things, he contended that Justice Haruna Tsammani-led five-member panel of the Court of Appeal, wrongly occassioned a grave miscarriage of justice against him, when it held that he did not specify polling units where irregularities occurred during the election.
He further faulted the PEPC for dismissing his case on the premise that he did not specify the figures of votes or scores that were allegedly suppressed of inflated in favour of President Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
Obi equally accused the Justice Tsammani-led panel of erring in law when it relied on paragraph 4(1) (d) (2) and 54 of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act 2022 to strike out paragraphs of his petition.
While accusing the lower court of breaching his right to fair hearing, Obi, insisted that evidence of his witnesses were wrongly dismissed as incompetent.
He told the apex court that the panel unjustly dismissed his allegation that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, uploaded 18, 088 blurred results on its IReV portal.
More so, he alleged that the lower court ignored his allegation that certified true copies of documents that INEC issued to his legal team, comprised of 8, 123 blurred results that contained blank A4 papers, pictures and images of unknown persons, purporting same to be the CTC of polling units results of the presidential election.
“The learned justices of the court below erred in law and occasioned a miscarriage of justice when they held and concluded that he failed to establish the allegation of corrupt practices and over-voting,” Obi added. (NAN)
‘Today, no local government in Kogi can dig a well’
Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the November governorship elections in Kogi state, Senator Dino Melaye, says the people of the state have suffered unjustly on account of the “maladministration” of the Yahaya Bello-led government.
Speaking during the public presentation of the PDP policy document for the state at a brief ceremony at the PDP National Secretariat, Abuja, on Friday, Melaye said only the insane will vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November election as a result of the level of poverty, hunger and deprivation inflicted on the people of the state by the outgoing administration of Yahaya Bello.
Melaye said among all the candidates and parties participating in the governorship election in Kogi State, only the PDP is working on a policy document.
According to him, the PDP policy document was a product of a scientific research on the sections of the state economy requiring urgent attention in order to revive the economy and set the state on the path of growth.
“The civil service in Kogi State will be reformed and we will pay salaries 25th of every month and it will be full salary.
“Today in Kogi there is no middle class, it is only the rich and the poor and today those in government are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.
“Two billion was released to Kogi State Government as palliatives by the federal government, but today not one person in Kogi has benefited from that money. Instead they sat down and appropriated it and said others would be used for road construction.
“By the grace of God, local government money will be local government money under the incoming PDP government. Fifteen, ten years ago, local government areas in Kogi State were doing projects, rural roads, today no local government in Kogi can dig a well.
“Local government have no vehicles, salaries were not paid, some LG secretariats are under lock and key. But we are saying that a new day is coming.
“Kogi is too blessed to be poor, i brought people from outside Nigeria who did a scientific research and gave me the mineral resources in Kogi State.
“We have 52 mineral resources in Kogi State out of which only one has been tapped, limestone.
“The rest are just there, we have Uranium, we have the largest deposit of Uranium in Nigeria in Kogi State. Yet we are participating in this market. He have others in commercial quantity.”
Melaye lamented that the people have suffered so much in Kogi State.
“In the history of the state, we have the largest number of missing persons in Nigeria, even the PDP Chairman of Okene local government area for four years we are still looking for him.
“You can only imagine the number of missing persons in Kogi State, not to talk of those murdered in broad daylight.
“These shows that we have a lot of work to do because the state has been completely bastardized, economy in shambles, hospitals are mere consulting clinics, no roads, the great water works done by former governor Ibrahim Idris, today it is eleven months, no water in Lokoja the state capital.
“That is the type of state we are going to inherit.
“We promised when we got the mandate of the people that we are going to do things differently.
“What we are doing here is to announce to Nigerians that the incoming government in Kogi State, by the grace of God will do things differently.
“No any other party is talking about policy document apart from the PDP. I have looked at this document, I have read it, it is not only robust, but a solution book.”
While promising to look inwards in order to increase the state’s internally generated revenue, Melaye revealed his plans for the monthly allocation from the Federation Account if he wins and is sworn into office as governor.
“Everyone is rushing to Abuja for federal allocation and the money collected did not even reach lokoja, it is shared in Abuja.
“When we take over the government by the grace of God. The allocation from Abuja will be dedicated to paying salaries of civil servants, pension and gratuities and promotion that will be cash backed, training and re training. We are going to raise the IGR without tasking poverty for the development of the state.
“Kogi State is a state where you enter the capital one way and go out one way. Things will be different and that is why we want the Independent Kogi Economic Development Commission, because it will be independent and we will look for credible people who will look into the Governors eye and speak the truth to power to manage and that will take us out of the present situation by the grace of God to the promise land.”
Earlier in his remarks, chairman of the policy document committee, Prof Sam Amadi said, “The policy is over a hundred pages based on hardwork by members who are from different fields.
“The committee recommended that there must be an Independent Kogi Economic Development Commission and when he becomes the governor we are insisting that the people that will constitute that committee should be above board and should have influence on the activities of the Governor.
“The commission should be independent of the Governor, it should be people with pedigree, integrity, so that where it is going wrong, he will be put right.”
