Electoral Act
PDP asks US, others to prevail on President Buhari to protect Nigerians
Ahead of its proposed conference on security, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called on the United States of America and other members of the international community to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to take decisive steps to protect Nigerians and curb escalated violence, terrorism and banditry ravaging many parts of the country. The party also tasked President Buhari to respond to a widespread cry for credible elections in the land by making a personal commitment towards an accelerated amendment to the Electoral Act, to among other things, “give statutory force to simultaneous electronic transmission of results and use of card readers in elections.” PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, presented made this known at a crucial meeting with the political officer with the...
Court orders Governor Obaseki to open defence in ‘certificate forgery’ case
The All Progressives Congress, APC, on Monday, closed the forgery case it instituted against Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, after it called a total of six witnesses and tendered 17 Exhibits. Lead counsel to the APC, Chief Akin Olujimi, SAN, announced decision of the party to rest its case, shortly after the court discharged the sixth witness, PW-6, Dr. Mikano Asekome, who is an Associate Professor in Banking and Finance Department at Benson Idahosa University, Benin city, Edo state. The PW-6 told the court that he was on December 23, 2020, summoned to appear as witness in the matter. The witness went ahead and tendered in evidence, the original copy of his certificate in Agricultural-Economics, which the University of Ibadan awarded to him on July 31, 1978. Under cross-examination, ...
Senator Yerima joins 2023 presidential race
Former Governor of Zamfara State, Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima, says there has never been any agreement in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to zone the presidency to the South-West region in 2023. Yerima made this known in Abuja on Wednesday, December 16, 2020, at a media briefing, where he declared his interest to contest for president at the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure in 2023. Yerima said he had on three occasions stepped down to allow Buhari to win the presidential ticket of defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) as well as the All Progressives Congress. The former governor said he attended all meetings involving President Buhari and the National leader of the ruling party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, saying there was no meeting where it was agreed that the presidency ...
Senator Lawan: Electoral Act amendment ready by early 2021
Senate President Ahmed Lawan on Wednesday said an amendment to the nation’s electoral law would be ready by next year. At the public hearing on the repeal of the Electoral Act 2010 and enactment of the 2020 Electoral Act, held in Abuja yesterday, Mr. Lawan said that the Electoral Act Amendment Bill will be passed by the first quarter of 2021. Mr. Lawan added that the passing of this legislation would enable the 2020 Electoral Act to be tested ahead of the elections to check its efficacy. “A free fair and credible election in 2023 is doable; we just have to remain focused,” Mr. Lawan said. “I have participated in several elections since 1999 and none of them has been the same. I have had different experiences. It means we always have some new emerging problems.” The joint hearing was organi...
National Assembly to make smart card reader compulsory in future elections
File Photo The National Assembly plans to make the use of Smart Card Reader compulsory in future elections in Nigeria, a lawmaker has said. The Chairperson of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Aishatu Dukku, said this at a Joint Public Hearing on “The Bill for an Act to repeal the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended) and enact the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Act, 2020″, on Wednesday in Abuja. The event was organised by the National Assembly Joint Committee on INEC and Electoral Matters. Ms Dukku said the amendment will affect about 300 clauses in the Act. ” In Section 49 of the Electoral Act 2010 under Use of Ballot Paper, Subsection (1) and (2) are to be amended to read: “A person intending to vote in an election shall present himself with his voter’s card to a pre...
Cross River bye-election: Court affirms Stephen Odey as PDP candidate
A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar on Thursday affirmed Dr Stephen Odey as candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the Cross River North Senatorial bye election. Ruling in the suit with number FHC/CA/CS/87/2020, presiding judge, Justice S.A. Amobeda held Odey was the validly nominated candidate of the PDP for the said bye election. Relying on relevant provisions of the the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), provisions of the Electoral Act 2020 and Articles of the PDP guidelines for conduct of its primaries, Justice Amobeda ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish the name of Odey as the duly nominated candidate of the People’s Democratic Party to contest the election. Citing the relevant provisions of the const...
INEC chief wants Senate to accelerate Electoral Act amendment
The nominee for the position of Chairperson for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has appealed to the National Assembly to expeditiously pass the Electoral Act Amendment Bill before the end of first quarter of 2021. Yakubu made the call in Abuja on Thursday when he appeared before the Senate Committee on INEC for screening. President Muhammadu Buhari had on Wednesday sought Senate’s confirmation of Yakubu as INEC chairperson for a second term. Yakubu said the passage of the Electoral Act was critical for the success of the 2023 general elections and ultimately the nation’s electoral system. He said that INEC under his leadership had recommended some areas of amendments in the Electoral Act. He said that if confirmed, INEC under his watch would consolidat...
Governor Wike: Nigeria’ll be on fire if President Buhari fails to restructure
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has stated that the nation would be on fire if President Muhammadu Buhari fails to use the available opportunity to restructure the nation, urging the president to heed the clamour for fiscal federalism and restructuring to douse brewing tension in the country. The governor also advised the president to genuinely address the concerns and grievances expressed by stakeholders in the South-South and those of other geopolitical zones during the meeting with federal government delegation led by Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari. Wike, who spoke Thursday on a television interview tasked the President to use the opportunity to address pressing issues affecting the stability of the country. Wike said: “President Buhari, has an opportunit...
Governor Tambuwal: Rigging Edo election is ‘coup’ against the people
The Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, has said any electoral victory obtained through means other than the legitimate votes of the people was nothing short of a coup d’état. Tambuwal said the Edo State Governorship Election scheduled to hold on Saturday as well as the Ondo State governorship election scheduled for October 10, were test cases of our preparedness for a rule-based and consent-enabled governance. He said this in a statement titled “Tambuwal: Rigging is coup d’état,” which he signed and issued to commemorate the 2020 edition of United Nations International Day of Democracy, on Tuesday. The United Nations General Assembly in 2017 resolved to observe 15 September of every year as the International Day of Democracy — with the purpose of promoting and upholding the principl...
PDP: Edo people will resist attempt to tamper with scheduled date of election
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Sunday said that the people of Edo state would resist any attempt by anybody to tamper with the state governorship election schedule for Sept. 19. PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, at a news conference on Sunday in Abuja alleged that there were plots by certain interests to use frivolous lawsuits to scuttle the scheduled date. “The PDP revealed that the said interests masquerading through certain political groups were seeking to blackmail the judiciary and stampede the court to violate the clear provisions of the Electoral Act and illegally halt the Edo election. “Nigerians are already aware that section 87(10) (11) of the Electoral Act, clearly prohibits the courts from restraining the conduct of party primaries and general elec...
APC: Why Comrade Oshiomhole-led NWC was sacked
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has explained why its National Working Committee (NWC) led by Adams Oshiomhole was sacked. The party, in documents filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja by its lawyer, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said the sack of the Oshiomhole-led NWC was informed by the needs to end the various internal crises that pervaded the party’s rank and file. APC, in a counter-affidavit it filed against a suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/ CS/736/2020 by Kalu Agu, who claimed to be a member of the party in Abia State, said the crises that had characterised its affairs ended immediately the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, led by Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni was put in place. It argued the suit by Agu was designed to destabilise the party’s current peace buildin...
INEC: No going back on Edo, Ondo elections
National Commissioner and chairman information and Voters Education Committee of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Festus Okoye, has said there is no alternative to the peaceful conduct of the governorship election in Edo and Ondo states. He said failure to do so will leave both states with constitutional logjam that would be difficult to resolve. At a sensitisation forum for the media in Benin, Okoye noted that political parties must eschew violence, use of intemperate, inflammatory language designed to incite violence. He said, “Political parties and all the critical stakeholders in the electoral process must see the conduct of these elections as a national project that must be executed in strict compliance with all the safety protocols. “There is no alternative to the...
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