The governor of Rivers State and the Edo Guber Election Campaign Council Chairman, Nyesom Wike, has said the Peoples Democratic Party (APC) is satisfied with the voting process in Edo State so far. Wike through his Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, via his twitter handle and Facebook page posted; “there was minimal violence recorded because of the proactive measures deployed by the security agencies”. According to him; “there was need for both the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agencies to ensure that nothing scuttles the remaining stages. “Like I have said before, election is not only about voting, the votes should be counted, then you proceed to collation stages; ward, local and state government levels. The collation stag...
The governor of Rivers State and the Edo Guber Election Campaign Council Chairman, Nyesom Wike, has said considering the voting process and methodology employed in Edo State 2020 Guber election, the poll may likely be the best in the history of Nigeria. Wike through his Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, via his twitter handle and Facebook page posted; “there was minimal violence recorded because of the proactive measures deployed by the security agencies”. “This may likely be the best election ever conducted in the history of Nigeria. But they must allow the process to continue to the end. Otherwise, they will destroy it. “If it is APC that has won, let it be so. If it is PDP that has won, let it also be so. But I must tell that we are happy with what we hav...
File Photo The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign council for Edo State governorship election, Sunday has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to release the Edo election results, saying that it will resist attempts to declare the election which was held on Saturday inconclusive. Chairman of the party’s National campaign council and Rivers State governor, Mr. Nyeson Wike, who disclosed this to journalists in Benin City cautioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) against such move. Wike alleged that the INEC returning officer for Orhionmwon local government has disappeared after supervising collation of results in the area. He saids, “We call on INEC and to let the general public know that the man is locked up in an office in INEC complex.” Offi...
The Centre for Democracy and Development on Saturday condemned the high incidence of vote-trading recorded in the Edo State governorship election. The organisation said reports from its observers on the field showed that politicians, in an attempt to circumvent the electoral process, used young girls as their contact with the voters for the trading. It lamented that votes were traded for cash gifts from N1,000 to N15,000. The Director of CDD, Idayat Hassan, who said these during a press briefing on the preliminary report on the election said it was quite worrisome that “young girls were used for indirect vote-buying during the election.” She said, “We saw largely vote-buying in the Edo election, the most worrisome trend in this election is the level of sophistication at which politicians e...
File Photo Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have vowed not to leave Edo State amid alleged police intimidation. During an emergency press conference in Abuja on Saturday, the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, accused security agencies of harassing and threatening the lives of its Governors who had gathered in Benin City, the state capital, ahead of Saturday’s poll. This comes amid claims from Akawor Desmond, the party’s chairman in Rivers State, that over 300 policemen laid siege to the hotel where Governor Nyesom Wike was staying. Secondus, expressed shock that, “security agents were detailed to surround the lodging of our governors to harass and intimidate them.” He questioned why APC governors, “including the governor of Kano Sta...
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the House of Representatives has condemned alleged siege on opposition governors by security agents in Benin City, the Edo State capital, ahead of Saturday’s gubernatorial election in the state. The caucus in a statement by its leader, Kingsley Chinda, on Friday night, stated that it is unacceptable that security agencies, whose duty is to ensure safety of lives and property are the ones allegedly causing chaos. Chinda said it is shocking that while All Progressives Congress (APC) governors and a presiding officer of the National Assembly are sheltered in the home of a leader of the party in the state, PDP governors are being harassed. “The caucus find the current siege on Governors by men of the Nigeria Police force and other security officials...
Barely 24 hours to the Governorship election in Edo State, Yiaga Africa, through the Watching The Vote citizens movement, has deployed its Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) methodology for the election. According to Yiaga Africa, the PVT is an advanced election observation methodology that employs well-established statistical principles and sophisticated information technologies in providing timely and accurate information on the conduct of accreditation, voting, and counting, and it independently verifies the official governorship results as announced by the Independent National Election Commission, INEC. In a statement jointly signed by the Chair of Yiaga Africa election observation mission for Edo State, Dr Aisha Abdullahi, Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Guinea and former African Union Com...
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to make Saturday’s governorship election in Edo State a model. Wike, the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Campaign Council for the poll, spoke during a live television programme in Port Harcourt. A statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim, quoted the governor as saying that the outcome of the election would provide hope for 2023 general election. He said: “Everyone that loves this country should ensure that tomorrow’s election is credible, free and fair. “The police and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should show Nigerians that they can support credible elections. “INEC should ensure that result sheets are not in the hands of i...
Ahead of Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Edo State, the government has declared Friday, September 18, 2020, as a work-free day. This was contained in a statement titled ‘Edo 2020: Obaseki declares Friday work-free day’ on Thursday. The statement noted that the declaration of a work-free day was to enable workers in the State Public Service to travel to their respective Constituencies to exercise their franchise. It quoted the Edo State Head of Service, through the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Aziegbemhin P.E, as saying, “Sequel to the forthcoming Edo State gubernatorial election scheduled to hold on Saturday September 19, 2020, Mr. Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has approved Friday 18th September 2020 as a work-free day to enable workers in the State Public Service travel to their respective ...
Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, adjourned to October 14, to commence hearing in the suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking the disqualification of Pastor Osagie Ize-iyamu from the September 19 governorship election in Edo State. Justice Mohammed fixed the date following an agreement by parties to hear the suit after the court’s vacation period. The court had last week adjourned to September 16 for hearing in the application against the suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), challenging the court’s jurisdiction being a vacation court to entertain the suit. When the matter came up, on Wednesday, counsel to the plaintiff, Chief Ken Mozia (SAN), informed the court that the matter for the day was the hearing of the APC’s objec...
Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has asked voters to cast their votes for the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Godwin Obaseki, in the Saturday’s Governorship election in Edo State. He tweeted this a few hours after the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, said Obaseki does not deserve a single vote in the Saturday governorship election. The former governor of Lagos State had in a televised broadcast said, “He (Obaseki) does not deserve any democratic ballot paper. Don’t vote for him, I appeal to all of you.” But Obaseki debunked Tinubu’s claim, noting that Tinubu would fail in his attempt “to extend his political dominance and empire to Edo State”. Atiku in his tweet warned against violence during the election. He said, “The democracy that we enjoy t...